TruTaing

Headers installed - No change in sound... lol. Updates to come in after an adaptation period allows the car to settle into the new stuff.

WaveyKat

woohooo do i hear 300HP

Glyn M Ruck

Great - Let us know the outcome once settled in.

phister

Hey I was wondering if you knew the part# for your lug bolts and lock? Or if you can tell me what dimensions you used to order them. I would really appreciate your help. I'm in the market for some CLS wheels and I know that you had to order a special kinda bolts to make them fit the w203.
Thanks

TruTaing

Phi, Check out my photo album... All the info for the wheels is there.

phister

oh ok thanks man... I've been searching all of your threads and post to look for your wheel info thanks again john

TruTaing

I have been telling myself to spend more wisely lately and not put so much into the car, but..... I just dumped a bunch into investing so Ive been thinkin about the car much more lately. Its been a while since Ive had a 'good' post on my thread. I figure I bump it with the current stuff I'm doing.

I have noticed my headers make a bit more sound during start up and the low end torque improvement is definitely felt also, but more importantly passing has become MUCH easier after the header install For the most part, the car still sounds the same before w/o the headers. I can still manage 26+ mpg too

The AMS light weight crank pulley and LET under drive pullies have been great still.

I just posted this thread about my issues w/ Tein Basics and all the stuff I've gone through. If you're new to the board - have a read. Its worth it if you're thinking about lowering your car.

I have already talked w/ TVT about their catch can, stg 2 intake manifold, and larger throttle body. I dont see any reason NOT to get a catch can on our cars after seeing all the pictures of the blow by in our intake manifolds.

Question: Would it hurt to redirect PCV to an area away from the MAF/throttle body? Somewhere BEFORE the filters? :x

I am STILL seeking a good dyno for my car in the Seattle area that doesn't want $140+ for ONE PULL. Any suggestions here would be great!!!

I would like to get some baseline numbers down for where I am now before I go on another spending spree. I am also concerned that if I do add the TVT goodies, that my car will run very lean...

I spoke w/ a local fabricator about making me a little something He has an appointment with my car in the middle of May for a couple of days Updates to come!

Things I still gotta do:
Must change oil!
Replace my valve cover gaskets (sealant and gasket, they're both leaking )
Get some oil out and send it to be analyzed.
Dyno + get my AFR + send my ECU off to be tuned by LET.

I have decided to say F it to fixing the bumper right now. I want smore more power!

Anywhooo... after a bit of an absence from the forums, I am now modding like usual! Hope yall are gettin ready for the summer!

Im gonna be in LA this weekend and again in a couple weeks - I would love to see some w203s

splinter

I’ll see if some of the usual suspects can catch up to help make your visit a little more memorable.

PM sent.

TruTaing

I haven't updated this thread in more 2 months...

Little updates:

I met up w/ no_clue a few weekends ago to wire up some capacitor stuff on the HID fog lights that I bought a LONG time ago but never got around to installing. I will eventually get around to installing them. They are 3000k for functionality! The added capacitor was MUCH easier than I thought. It took a total of about 10 minutes to wire up and from the success (no flickering), reported in the thread in the w211 section, I imagine they'll work like a charm!

I met up w/ the fabricator today and we are in the works of building a custom 3" intake with a cone filter (non oiled type) and a airbox for it such that the system will only intake air from the passenger side air duct. We will NOT be using the default size intake inlet ontop of the radiator, instead - we will open it up as much as we can there and then lead that air directly into the air box. We'll see how this goes - hes a busy guy and is trying to fit me into his schedule. I am also hoping he will remove my secondary cats also.

I have a new set of rear lower control arms (and their bushings) that need to be installed. I believe they are the cause of the squeaking that started in my rear suspension a few weeks ago. I also have the thinnest set of spring pads for the rear springs too. Hopefully itll put my car down the additional 8-10 mm and I can finally be done with messing with my rear suspension.

Aside from the squeaking, the car has been running like a champ - I have been easily pulling 26+ mpg while averaging around 45mph. Easily pulling 28+ mpg on the highway averaging around 55mph without making a major attempt to stay off the pedal. I have also been getting 20+ while averaging around 35mph. Ive been pretty darn happy w/ the economy of the car even while I haven't been the tamest of drivers.

Unfortunately, I noticed drops of oil on my parking spot.

I took some time to investigate and I have discovered that the oil is dripping from the FRONT of the engine. It appears to be coming from BEHIND the Crank pulley. You guys can guess what I am leaning towards as the cause of this. For now the car is parked while I am going to be out of town for the next few days.

Hopefully, its not what I think it is.

Updates to come. Hopefully good things!

FrankW

glad to hear the updates and sucks to hear about the oil leak from the crank bearing. definitely makes you question the balance of the said product you bought.

Glyn M Ruck

Well that's calling the spade a friggen shovel. I decided not to comment. If it was my car I would replace the crank seal. Toss a certain pulley into orbit & place the original back on the car.

TruTaing

Well my car turned 1 last night:



The oil leak has been resolved w/ a new crank seal. I have left the said pulley in place for the time being. I don't know if my oil leak was caused by wear and tear or the pulley, but I had my tech test my oil after replacing the crank seal and he said it came out completely normal. I would have no idea what to really look for and I didn't get a copy of the results. So, we're gonna have to take his word for it. No more leaking oil from the crank seal.

The car has been running absolutely great - fuel efficient during commutes, but still fun to drive when I wanna get on it.

saespyder

Very nice man. I'm relatively new, but am also trying to follow in your relative footsteps with doing the work on your own (and to STFF).

Again, great work and keep the updates coming!

saespyder

Very nice man. I'm relatively new, but am also trying to follow in your relative footsteps with doing the work on your own (and to STFF).

Again, great work and keep the updates coming!

Glyn M Ruck

Tru - I will gladly interpret sample results for you at any time. Your car is just nicely run in now.

TruTaing

When ever I think the car is running flawlessly.... Something comes up. haha.

Crossed 112k miles today while driving through downtown but got the:

"Undervoltage Consumer Defective"

Message to appear on my dash twice. It went away after a bit, but came back on one other time after a restart of the car.

A bit of searching has resulted in a few threads:
here, here, and here....

After doing some reading it seems as though this message appears only when our accessories are running low on power. I had the head lights and fog lights on, while running the radio, and blasting the AC. Nothing I've never done before, so I am not quite sure whats different.

I recently installed some LED city lights and will remove those just to see if that has an affect.

Otherwise, the old threads point towards a battery, voltage regulator, and/or alternator issue. I swear I just had my battery replaced a year and a half ago, so Im guessing its not the battery...

How do I go about testing the alternator/voltage regulator?

Im paranoid that this may cause further issues w/ the front/rear sams.

Suggestions would be great!

Additionally, what ever happened w/ the potential recall?

FrankW

either the alternator or the voltage regulator. start with the cheapest. at 112k miles I wouldn't be surprised if the alternator decides to take a dump.

hope this is resolved soon

TruTaing

Called up my local tech and he suggested that I get a new alternator based on his experience he said the c alternators were not super uncommon w/ going out w/ my kinda mileage. He said he could get a new alternator for new for 250 and replace it in about an hour and a half. So about 400 bux + tax. He suggested NOT to just replace the voltage regulator even though its a cheaper part that its a more complicated piece of technology and is more complicated to deal with than in the past. In all honesty, I thought my quote would have been much worse (looking at parts.com's prices on the alternator).

Im paranoid this issue will leave me stranded and would like to get this dealt with asap. What do yall think?

Glyn M Ruck

I would start with a battery load test & charging system test while under full load from accessories. It will take an Auto Electrician 10 minutes - What codes are you throwing? I hate replacing without diagnosis. Likely alternator but you don't know that.

TruTaing

I will definitely have him check my battery before going ahead w/ the alternator replacement. Frank I might have to hit you up more about your battery Im HOPING nothing terrible happens to my SAMs..

FrankW

cool, just pm me.

btw, forgot if you have any exhaust video clip after the header was installed?

TruTaing

Just got the car back and the shop and they found that battery tested out to be within operating specs while the alternator was slightly under the typical production. Ive got a new shiny alternator in my car now and I'm hoping it'll last me another 112k miles.

Frank, now that I know my battery is healthy I'm gonna probably should a battery next summer. For some reason I don't imagine my battery will last much longer than 4 years. Would be nice to drop a few pounds anywhoo!

Meanwhile... its time for some fun mods

Glyn M Ruck

Ah - good - sorted. If you have an MB OE battery they will go 7 years.

TruTaing

Today I got under my car to install my new rear lower control arms and the accompanying bushings. I got the bolt off on the inside, loosened up the spring and damper and went to remove the bolt that holds the arm to the rear knuckle and discovered that the bushing there looks like its in REALLY bad shape. Since I didn't have this bushing, I decided to just reassemble everything.

I tried to find the just this bushing by itself, but I couldn't seem to find it alone. Do I have to replace my whole knuckle to fix this thing? It looked pretty bad... Part numbers would be great.

On a side note, I realized I was able to completely disassemble and reinstall my rear suspension w/in the span of an hour per side with very basic garage tool. Lol - Ive done this far too many times!

Stay tuned: Aftermarket filter ordered

Glyn M Ruck

Tru - what bush are you looking for? I can't make out your description. Will look up part No for you.