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I haven't used BelMetric that much because we have McMaster-Carr out here on the west coast. I'm using BelMetric more now because I think since weed was legalized in California, the entire shipping department at McMaster is stoned all day. I was replacing some BMW vacuum lines and since the OEM ones were plastic and expensive, I decided to use copper. I ordered two 1 meter pieces of 5mm tubing and they sent each piece in separate gynormous cardboard tubes. It doubled the shipping (but at least the pipes weren't scratched on arrival).
I like the time-bomb. Nice. What kind of explosive mix will you be putting in those tubes?
Got the wheels yesterday. They came with really nice tires too. The shipping was free, so I guess it doesn't matter.
Fortunately, I was able to get the tires off; without having to go to a tire shop. They're all sanded and ready for paint next time the humidity is low. This is before sanding. There's a bit of rash.
The nice center caps were a fair trade for having to deal with the tires. Good thing the price was right, the caps were not aligned with the valve stems!
About 160 miles to go for the first oil change. I'll eat up most of that on Thursday and Friday. No issues or concerns, other than the water temp being higher than should be seen for a properly functioning low temp thermostat. I'm not happy with the high cam deviation number I'm seeing on bank #1 (~ -4.3). Other than really small things, I am most satisfied so far.
The humidity was tolerable today. I used an old can of paint on one wheel and a new one, on the other. They look almost the same in this shot. I'm not so sure if they are the same. Doesn't matter. Once covered in dirt and mud, there'll be no way to tell.
Yeah, FedEx and UPS almost collided with each other in the driveway! Our silly dog goes nuts when she hears a delivery truck coming up the driveway. This morning she got to go with my wife to the feed store. Evidently they were at the barn when FedEx arrived so she got her barks out. Then they headed out to the store and spotted UPS coming down the road. My wife said she figured it was on its way to us, then she saw the truck turn in our driveway...
All that I can say about that is that my neighbor has an oil-less compressor.
Speaking of deliveries, your package was supposed to be there Saturday. USPS "2 day Priority" is at 5 days and counting.
Oil-less compressors. The answer to a question that should never have been asked. What a stupid idea. Here's my solution. My wife calls it the 'mother of all compressors'. She's funny.
All mounted and balanced. Just waiting on the snow...
USPS has been my last choice since it took three weeks for the "2-day Priority" to reach me from Belmetric. Is it too soon to repeat my airline luggage joke?
Hey - one week isn't too bad. A cool dude sent me some goodies.
And a little extra surprise.
And since I've officially defaced the car, I decided to go full on.
Put a bit over 70 miles on Speedy today. Went to work to 'clean out my desk'. We're working from home as much as possible now. I think I can live with that.
Still need at least 90 more miles before I will consider draining the break-in oil. I figure to install the dirt/ winter tires when it's on the lift. Probably will fit the skid plate at that time. Yeee haaa
Quick update. All is good. Changed the oil. Overfilled it by putting in 10 qts. It took 10.5 to fill the new engine. Guess about 1.5 qts were still hiding in there. Dropped the (full) oil filter and installed a dry one in its place. Should get closer to the proper fill level after this.
New low temp thermostat and rear shocks. Nice of LN to include the thermostat tool.
Oil was quite clean. A bunch of light ferrous debris was on the magnetic drain plug. Looked normal.
New shocks and slight increase in ride height with spacers.
New wheels and tires on. About 1/2" increase in ride height due to spacers and tires.
Won't be posting much here anymore. The "management" has seen fit to embrace the SJW and cancel-culture attitude. It seems tolerance and diversity are only acceptable as long as it aligns with their ideals. Once my membership expires, I won't be renewing and therefore will lose all photo posting privileges. I've already exceeded the non-member quota by about one million...
Last edited by Scott at Team Harco; 08-12-2020 at 02:28 PM.
Quick update. All is good. Changed the oil. Overfilled it by putting in 10 qts. It took 10.5 to fill the new engine. Guess about 1.5 qts were still hiding in there. Dropped the (full) oil filter and installed a dry one in its place. Should get closer to the proper fill level after this.
New low temp thermostat and rear shocks. Nice of LN to include the thermostat tool.
Oil was quite clean. A bunch of light ferrous debris was on the magnetic drain plug. Looked normal.
New shocks and slight increase in ride height with spacers.
New wheels and tires on. About 1/2" increase in ride height due to spacers and tires.
Won't be posting much here anymore. The "management" has seen fit to embrace the SJW and cancel-culture attitude. It seems tolerance and diversity are only acceptable as long as it aligns with their ideals. Once my membership expires, I won't be renewing and therefore will lose all photo posting privileges. I've already exceeded the non-member quote by about one million...
Well that sucks!
I've been ruler wacked a few times...
Those bolts with the break-off heads are frequently used for ignition lock cylinders. The reasoning should be obvious.
Good find on the BMW screws, SoCal. BelMetric is a great place for all sorts of things - unless you order a meter of M5 left-handed threaded rod in the middle of a pandemic.
I got mine from McMaster Carr in 2009 for my engine rebuilding still have half of it with nuts to match.
07-19-2020, 06:17 PM
