[Spannerhead]

Some weekend progress:

• Replaced driver's door handle carrier.
• Replaced driver's door window regulator.

The door handle carrier replacement was actually incredibly easy with the regulator out of the way, and probably would have been easy even with it in. Very straightforward, and now the driver's door opens from the outside again.

The window regulator replacement was tougher, but straightforward also. It helped to keep the upper and lower track bolts loose until the two glass-to-regulator bolts were secure.

Some pics. Dirty glass:

Clean glass:

Dirty door handle interface:

Clean (though it doesn't look it) door handle interface:

Kinda wish I had ordered new grommets, but they came off OK and I doused them in 303 to restore them a bit:

Installed new handle carrier:

Fixed door handle. I put a dab of grease at the front pivot point and lubed up the carrier mechanism:

As for the regulator, I greased up the tracks and zip-tied both "shuttles" to the cable to hopefully reinforce the assembly and keep the cable from popping out:

Nice to have a functional door handle and 4 fully functional windows again...

 

[Spannerhead]

Oil change Saturday. Dropped the belly shroud just to have a routine look around and... Steering rack leaking. Left boot torn, fluid dripping out. Wonderful. Guess Rack Doctor will be seeing my credit card soon...

 

[Spannerhead]

Changed the trans oil today. Put about 1-3/4 quarts of this in:

I think it was time, given that this was all that came out when I removed the drain plug:

Barely a splash in the pan. I wonder if a change had been attempted at some point in the past but they couldn't get the fill plug off after they drained it?

Regardless, the gears and synchros are swimming in the Good Stuff™ now. Not optimistic but maybe this will help my shift detent pin issue??

 

[alan53]

How is your gearbox not been destroyed!

 

[Spannerhead]

How is your gearbox not been destroyed!

That's a very good question. But it hasn't. No popping out of gear or noises prior to the change... Shifts were pretty notchy though.

 

[alan53]

That's a very good question. But it hasn't. No popping out of gear or noises prior to the change... Shifts were pretty notchy though.

Seriously stunned. good catch

 

[YoitsTmac]

When it rains it pours, but glad you got on top of it!

 

[tlow98]

Gorgeous car. Had fun reading this. Good on you for keeping it so fresh. I hope to do the same!

 

[lllRazorlll]

Thread bump but how have the floor mat clips been holding up? Have the holes you cut in the mats gotten bigger?

 

[Spannerhead]

Not great! The holes have stretched a little bit and honestly, the mats are pretty much done at this point. Fading, the black backing has been disintegrating for some time, etc. I really need those WeatherTechs...

Sorry for the lack of activity. I've been pretty focused on the 240Z for the past few months, and we're actually in southern France right now on vacation... The E46 will get more attention when we get back.

 

[lllRazorlll]

Not great! The holes have stretched a little bit and honestly, the mats are pretty much done at this point. Fading, the black backing has been disintegrating for some time, etc. I really need those WeatherTechs...

Sorry for the lack of activity. I've been pretty focused on the 240Z for the past few months, and we're actually in southern France right now on vacation... The E46 will get more attention when we get back.

Got it. I just picked up a 435i and the velcro on the bottom of the floor mats have come off. Debating if I should just get new mats or get the clips you used

 

[Bali]

I really need those WeatherTechs

I opted for these WeatherTech floor liners. Much better coverage and durability than just mats.

BMW 330Ci FloorLiner | WeatherTech US

Check out our BMW 330Ci FloorLiner and more from WeatherTech US!

www.weathertech.com

 

[YoitsTmac]

I miss this car. Glad to see you’re still here, even if you’re playing with other cars


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Spannerhead]

Hey all. Not a whole lot of updates lately. He's been soldiering on DD duty. At 203K now and runs just fine.

The water pump bearing failed on the way to work back in early July; I had the car towed home and installed a replacement (Saleri) pump and t-stat that weekend.

Easiest water pump I've ever changed. 1.5 hours start to finish, and I was taking my time. I also rewrapped the wires going to the exhaust VANOS servo since the plastic covering had disintegrated.

Otherwise it's the Z that's been getting all the attention lately:

You can go here if you want to read about THAT adventure:

One-Family 1972 240Z Restoration (HLS30-93069)

Hi guys. I figured I should start a build thread in here. The actual restoration is very close to being complete, but this seems like a good place to document a few things and perhaps ask little questions so I don't clutter up the main subforums with little inquiries when I can't find the answer....

www.classiczcars.com

In other news, I bought a '95 MX-6 V6 5-speed off eBay yesterday. Planning on fixing it up to flip. '90s Japanese car values are going up, so I'm hoping for a decent return. At the very least, I don't think I'll lose money, and it's a nice little car even if I have to wait to move it at the price I want.

 

[Bali]

The 240Z is looking nice!

 

[Spannerhead]

Well, Indigo's new owner drove him away today. It was far and away the hardest car decision I've made.

I gave the MX-6 priority all last month, gave it a bespoke photoshoot, and thought it would go through when I had a collector from Arizona interested, but he couldn't make it work.

By contrast, I just used old pics of the E46 and the ad majored on the car's defects.

It was really hard to watch it drive away. My first thought was that I'll probably be back in an E46 eventually. Something Alpine White this time around. 6-speed 330 or maybe an M3 if I become independently wealthy, haha.

 

[kylanjohnson]

Well, Indigo's new owner drove him away today. It was far and away the hardest car decision I've made.

I gave the MX-6 priority all last month, gave it a bespoke photoshoot, and thought it would go through when I had a collector from Arizona interested, but he couldn't make it work.

By contrast, I just used old pics of the E46 and the ad majored on the car's defects.

It was really hard to watch it drive away. My first thought was that I'll probably be back in an E46 eventually. Something Alpine White this time around. 6-speed 330 or maybe an M3 if I become independently wealthy, haha.

Really sad to see it go. We hope you come back to the forum.

Until again

 

[Spannerhead]

Really sad to see it go. We hope you come back to the forum.

Until again

Thanks! I'll pop back in from time to time.

Here's the current daily's progress thread, if anyone's interested:

"Megumi" ('95 Hunter Green V6 5-Speed)...

Current pic for thread thumbnail: Original post starts below: * * * * * * Hi guys. Just picked up this beauty today: '95 V6 5-speed, 103K. First thing I did was to 86 the sunroof shield. Hate those things. It has a misfire. No CEL, but it's OBD1 so I'm going to have to figure out how...

www.mx6.com

 

[Bali]

I thought you would get more for the E46 and sell it faster, because MT and slicktop.
Best of luck going forward!

 

[Spannerhead]

I thought you would get more for the E46 and sell it faster, because MT and slicktop.
Best of luck going forward!

A SE46 racer from NC was pretty interested but couldn't make the logistics work.

I actually tried a lot harder to sell the Mazda. Did a full 120+ pic photoshoot with my DSLR camera, posted it more places, etc. It got accepted to Bring a Trailer but their backlog meant that they couldn't list it for almost a month.

It is what it is... Guess I'm joining you in the ex-E46 club now!