PhilbertZ

Oh man, that's not encouraging! So, the moral is...Poly bushings can be "too hard" and cause bits to break under load? So you need to mix it up with rubber and poly? It also mentioned tightening to spec under load while the car is on the ground....it's kind of hard to do that when I need to put the car UP to get under there and replace/tighten things...am I missing something?

Yes - it was in neutral - not a stupid question at all - i've had those moments here and there over the years I'm getting a 27mm socket from a coworker this week to try using my socket wrench from under the car.

Bingo! Mine was last replaced in 1991 at 86,000 miles...it was time. It's a pretty easy DIY - just have some rags around for when you bleed/drain the system and remove the old MC...don't get brake fluid on your paint!

hmmmm....I just replaced my master cylinder this weekend with similar symptoms. You're getting air in the system...are you also losing fluid (is the level going down in the reservoir)? You said there were no leaks - did you get under the dash and feel around the grommet on the master cylinder - where the pushrod comes out to attach to your clutch pedal? That's where my leak was - very small but it was there and I had fluid on my finger when I touched it. A new cylinder was $35 at Black Dragon Auto - I installed in 2 hours (with bleed time!) with my limited knowledge - great upgrade

Thanks guys for the replies. Goldfish - what "damper" are you referring to? Have a photo or can you please explain what it is and how to turn it? I tried manually with my hands and a rag, with all the plugs out. but nothing budged...

I was doing a plug change and was planning to adjust the valves while I was at it. I had everything ready to go, but when it came time to bring the first cylinder to TDC, I had a rude awakening. First, the crankshaft pulley was pretty darn hard to reach from above, so I had to put the car up, remove the skid plate, lower fan shroud, and get under it...then, I realized that I didn't have a socket large enough for the bolt! I tried 1 inch and 22mm sizes - not even close! After about an hour of trying everything I had from hands to pliers (and lots of patience), I gave up. Does anyone here know the exact bolt size for this guy so I can get the right socket and take care of this? Am I missing something here that would have made it easier? I had the plugs all out so compression shouldn't have made an impact on the progress, right? Thanks in advance!

Thanks so much guys! Do these kits usually come with instructions for where each bushing goes? Seems like it would be easy to mistakenly swap them since the sizes are so similar...

Hello all, Great forum here - learning a lot and having an adventure with my (new to me) 1980 ZX. I was replacing the clutch master cylinder today and while under the car, noticed that many of the bushings in the front of the car were badly cracked. I'm semi-familiar with cars and repair work, but have not done suspension work yet. The photos below show the bushings I found and their condition. My questions are: 1) what are these (control arm bushings?) 2) Do they *need* to be replaced, and if so, can it wait? 3) What kits are avaialable to replace them/how much is it going to run me for parts (I want to do myself)? Thanks in advance for any help! Phil Photos:

DROOL! More pics from that issue - MORE!!! gorgeous car man....

Save your money on the Quad core and settle for Dual core - invest the same money (or less) of the difference in price into your Video card - there's more (extra) bang for your buck in GPUs versus CPUs - not just for games....

That's why you build your own - DIY FTW! Gollum - there's some great new DX10 cards out now: http://www.nvidia.com/object/geforce_family.html And if you want a new motherboard (intel OR AMD: http://www.nvidia.com/page/mobo.html For cheap PCs, Dells are great - for High end gaming rigs, go it alone

I don't know...but if you get the Dinan SW upgrade for the 335 you need to get the oil cooler upgrade from Dinan as well - else they won't match the BMW warranty

I had heard the first year models (07) had issues with the oil getting hot but that they fix that in the 08 and forward models with a better oil cooler unit.

I'm excited about them too, and Vishnu kit is pretty damn impressive - a friend at work has one on his 335 and it is ridiculously fast for the $1200 on SW he spent. It's not warrantied though, so I'm not sold on it...seems to run hot too, under load. Dinan has a similar, but more expensive package for the 335 (and I'm guessing wil for teh 135) that is warrantied to match factory BMW coverage. Got to love the E46 M3's 333 HP from a N/A inline 6 though

I've seen this site as well - really cool stuff. But I like the idea of not having to remove the individual wires from each connector in order to seal them - that's why the heat-shrink stuff seems like the best way for me. Anyone tried both methods and am I being a total scardycat about the wire removal? Does the heat shrink not protect as well, or is that a viable option?

Thanks Chief! I'm on HarborFrieght right now...what a cool site! Those snap connectors are terrible...maybe later I'll replace them, but I need the tubing for sure! Best, Phil

my 1980 ZX N/A weighs a sh!t ton!

anyone?

Looks good. But doesn't include ZX models And there are no mounting screws included - not a deal breaker, but interesting. I like that it's color coded - would match great with some blue Taylor plug wires!

Wonder if this is something that can be done on your own - if you just buy the wires and DIY?

I've noticed that all the weather proof protective "boots" on my fuel injectors and other electrical components have rotted and are cracked to bits....I'd like to replace them. I checked wtih Black Dragon Automotive but they don't carry them. Do you guys know of a source for OEM versions? And is there an easy way to get them on (like a heat shrink application for instance)? Thanks in advance!

Just a follow up - I checked the grounds in the engine bay last night (while drying out my TPS after an engine degreasing gone awry - another fun story...). The grounds all seem really good - no rust and no corrosion. I still need to check the cig lighter ground, and look into my non-functioning hazard light switch. Think I'll also check into adding grounds from the battery to other parts of the engine bay, just to be safe for later. Thanks again all who chimed in here! Phil

So...last night I had some time and tackled this - damn it was easy. Removed the TPS and the plug (with rotting electrical rubber boot) and sprayed them both out with canned air (that stuff is tricky - it sprays liquid if you tilt the can at the wrong angle!). Once I had the brunt of the liquid cleared out of both parts (there was a lot), I took my wife's hair dryer to them to thoroughly dry them both out. I then tore off the rotting boot and wrapped the plug with electrical tape to create a somewhat good seal. Pieced it all together, took it for a spin and WOW - the 6,000 RPMs are BACK baby!! Spending some more time poking around the engine bay I noticed that pretty much every "boot" that surrounds a connector like the TPS or my fuel injectors is rotted and cracked through....think I'm going to have to place an order to one of those online places that sells replacements. I took general width measurements of each boot that I need - does anyone have advice on how to best apply new boots? Do I need to remove the wiring from each plug to make this happen or are there kits that you can "self seal" with heat shrinking or something similar? Again - to all who chimed in here: a BIG THANK YOU - this forum rocks!

Thanks! So...57MM 3 pole version would be best for that part right?

Thanks everyone again for your help. I limped home last night (worked great for the first few minutes till I got it on the freeway, then bogged down again). Got home very late last night so tonight is the night I'll dive in and "air it out". I found the TPS and checked it at a high level - the boot is totally cracked and I can see the wires inside - no wonder water got in there! I'll attack it tonight and get it dry. My other question is, can the boot be replaced, or should I just wrap with electrical tape for the future? I couldn't find the boot in my BlackDragon catalog - just the TPS part. Cheers!