That's to the left of the elephant trunk tube (which is outlined in green) with the seemingly gold/white clip holding it to the firewall?
I am missing that clip on realoem....trying to source a part number but I don't even know what that line is.
I have a convertible....so we don't have batteries in the passenger rear. Instead, I have that 50 pound dummy weight that BMW puts there in place of the battery.
However, under that weight, I have a quarter sized hole (where you can see the road underneath). I attached a pic, it's not my car, but the hole is exactly where mine is. From doing some research, this hole is apparently where those of you with rear batteries are supposed to vent your battery out to (apparently the white box in my pic has a plug on the bottom that plugs into that hole.....I don't have that box and I don't even think it would fit anyways because the dummy weights are mounted different than the batteries are back there).
Should I plug this hole with something since I don't have a rear battery? There is no rust or anything at this point....but couldn't an open hole invite moisture, etc?
I have what seems like a really nice top. It's in great condition but I found 2 very small paper-cut tears in it. How can I tell if I have an OEM BMW top? I heard there is a tag somewhere under the top.....but does anyone have a pic of what this tag looks like?
So....I had my steering rack replaced last August on my 1988 cabrio. I had it aligned after. Obviously the rear is not adjustable. The shop (which is well versed in E30s) wasn't that concerned with anything except the rear driver toe at 0.63. They suspected a slightly bent trailing arm or subframe. I had my 14 inch bottlecaps on at the time. Car drove/tracked perfectly straight even with that high driver rear toe.
Took the car out of storage last month and took it in for a full suspension refresh....I got a new driver trailing arm (well used...but it was completely redone and powdercoated), all new bushings front and rear (meaning rear subframe, RTAB, rear differential), new sway bar links front and rear, new shocks/struts, new control arms/ball joints/bushings, and put a X bar underneath the car (Garagistic).
Obviously, another alignment was a requirement after this. I also put on 15 inch Maxim Euroweaves. The second pic was my number after changing all suspension parts but before the alignment....and then the last pic is my after alignment specs.
Anything to be concerned about? I am assuming the driver trailing arm was the culprit as that seems to be in spec now toe-wise as that driver side went from 0.63 to 0.01? Any reason the rear passenger toe would have gone up from 0.14 to 0.30 after the new suspension components? Also, FWIW, I only have my driver seat in the car currently....all my other seats and interior door panels (meaning the front door and rear interior panels) are removed for refinishing. All of that still was in the car last year after my rack install and first alignment. I also didn't have a full tank of gas. Not sure if the lessened weight would have any effect. Car still tracks perfectly straight.....just want to make sure some of these other slightly out spec numbers in the caster/camber/ and total toe aren't problematic for a daily driver...
So I had a new steering rack installed last summer. Shop did alignment after. Steering wheel was dead center 12 o clock when tracking/driving straight.
Fast forward to this year, just took car out of storage. Had all suspension bushings replaced, front control arms, new shocks/struts, sway bar links, etc.
You obviously need an alignment after all that. I got one from the same shop as last year and the car tracks perfectly straight when letting off the wheel. However, while going straight, the steering wheel is a little off-center....let's call it 11:57 o clock. The toe was 0.13 on each front wheel and the steer ahead was 0.00.....so from that standpoint the steering wheel really should be at 12 o clock when going straight. If I hold my steering wheel at exactly 12 o clock, it steers the car right.
No problem, I thought I could adjust the steering wheel by moving it over a spline or two to the right. I took it off several times this winter while working on the dash so I'm well versed in doing that. It takes 2 minutes to remove. Well, I moved it over one spline to the right....and now it sits at 12:02 o clock when driving straight. I can't get the damn thing centered at 12. It's either 11:58 or 12:02. I started wondering if my splines on my steering wheel were the issue because aren't there like 60 splines on a fine spline wheel? Thus, I figured moving it into the next spline shouldn't hardly move it at all? The very beginning edges of some of my steering wheel splines look a little mushed....but I've had zero issues with the steering wheel moving even if the steering wheel nut isn't on the wheel. I started to think more about it..... if my splines won't go on so the steering wheel centers at 12 o clock.......then they theoretically wouldn't go on at any orientation if the issue was in fact the steering wheel splines...meaning they should not have gone on at 11:58 and not at 12:02 either, correct? The upper spindle splines are perfectly fine all the way around so I've ruled that out.
Am I overthinking this? Is this just literally a case of the alignment shop (who is really good with E30s) possibly not having the steering wheel completely straight when they did the alignment? Kind of freaking out because I just paid $600 to have the steering wheel refinished. However, from what I now understand......bad steering wheel spindles would cause the steering wheel to basically spin without the wheels moving (stripping them) or bent spindles where you obviously wouldn't be able to get the steering wheel on at any orientation then.
