E46 Touring - Clean & Bagged Daily Driver

[Mehowski]

Love a sweet e46 wagon build, theres a few around where I live but non of them look as promising as yours
Looking forward to see how it sits on those bags

[austinscottphotography]

Love a sweet e46 wagon build, theres a few around where I live but non of them look as promising as yours
Looking forward to see how it sits on those bags

thank you, i'm half glad that it's such a rare thing here in the states but i'm also bummed that I don't have any fellow wagonists to hang out with.

it's been a very long, tough road just getting to where i am now but i'm so closed to being finished i can taste it...literally, there's been rust and dirt falling in my face and mouth all week

[austinscottphotography]

FINALLY got the car back on the ground!!!
Front bags are installed and rear bags will soon be following. Was hoping to finish them today (sunday) but a nasty rain storm rolled in and stopped me.

The electronics are not hooked up yet so the bags aren't fully deflated. the car will be much lower once everything is hooked up and settled.



last piece of the electrical puzzle is this piece: Ground Block - it takes the 5 ground wires and runs em into one so you don't have to connect all those grounds all over the place. Seems like something Accuair should include in the package but it was only $20 at a local car audio place. Now i just have to hook it up.


here's what a ball joint looks like...lol





and since you can't do this stuff alone, my friend Tony came out to help me and we finally got it done.

[austinscottphotography]

I've hit another wall due to lack of information

I have no idea which was is up on the rear bags. I wish the people at Universal Air Suspension would answer the damn phone!!!!



the bolt is just so long that there's no way to be sure which is the right direction. one direction requires drilling, the other has other issues.

[austinscottphotography]

made a fun video before the install

http://youtu.be/LDZDFiswqjY

[austinscottphotography]

so this is why the stock collapsed



finally hooking up the tank


used plumber's tape to seal up the fittings, had a leak on some of em so i had to double wrap em. Once i determine the permanent configuration for everything i'll use a liquid sealer.




so the VU-4 needed more room for the air lines to fit so i made these with a hammer really fast



wish we could've finished the rear bags today too
all that work for nothing.

[DER E30]

Nice work! I love me a white e46! Both of them! That's pretty nuts how the spring perch rusted clean off the shock tube!

[CubbyChowder]

Man you've hit some hurdles during your build. Bagging a car is not as easy as it sounds. There are a lot of variables that need extensive consideration before actually beginning the install process. It seems like you haven't gotten started on the height sensor installation yet, which will seem like a huge headache once you get started. Once you have one side figured out, the other side is cake. Especially with the new style height sensors that have 4 holes in the arm, makes mounting them way easier. Good luck on finishing everything up, it's an insanely accomplishing feeling when you're done. I've only done it on friend's cars and even then it feels great when it's all working properly.

[austinscottphotography]

Nice work! I love me a white e46! Both of them! That's pretty nuts how the spring perch rusted clean off the shock tube!

Man you've hit some hurdles during your build. Bagging a car is not as easy as it sounds. There are a lot of variables that need extensive consideration before actually beginning the install process. It seems like you haven't gotten started on the height sensor installation yet, which will seem like a huge headache once you get started. Once you have one side figured out, the other side is cake. Especially with the new style height sensors that have 4 holes in the arm, makes mounting them way easier. Good luck on finishing everything up, it's an insanely accomplishing feeling when you're done. I've only done it on friend's cars and even then it feels great when it's all working properly.

thanks for the support, i def. need it!!
yeah, it has been one hurdle after another and I am very fortunate to have another car to get me around while all this is happening. However, nothing has been more helpful than the new friends I have acquired in the Dallas BMW community. These people were all complete strangers who offered to go out of their way and come to my house and help me work on this car for nothing more than a handshake. It's people like this that will keep me owning BMW's for many many years to come.

I am very much looking forward to the completion of this project so i can start enjoying it.

thanks to everyone who is following my build, i hope my info and pics help someone avoid all the pitfalls i had to endure.

[austinscottphotography]

Drove the car down the street about a mile and there is SO MUCH creaking every single time i turn the wheels. It's really really loud and annoying. I think this means i need new CV axles. Guess I won't be taking it for a road trip till those are replaced

**after speaking to my BMW mechanic friends, the creaking noise could be a number of things (hard to diagnose without them hearing it)
Could be a steering rack, fcabs (front control arm busings), bad wheel bearings or what i'm hoping is wrong (cause it's the easiest to fix) the swaybar bushings

"When you lower a car you need to unbolt the swaybar brackets then adjust and re-install. Unbolt the sway bushings, apply grease to the bar, bushings and brackets. See if the noise goes away." this was advice given to me tonight, i'll be trying it out first thing tomorrow.

[Mehowski]

this is so exciting

[austinscottphotography]

UPDATE

so the creaking noise was the new strut tower mounts just getting broken in. it's super annoying but hopefully it will go away after a few hundred miles or so.

anyone else have this issue?

[austinscottphotography]

UPDATE on the UPDATE

turns out i was incorrect about my diagnosis. the plastic was not fully seated in the metal plate (i'll provide pics to explain my horrible terminology) and it was causing a creaking and a rough ride on the front springs.

LESSON #1 : call the manufacturer before installing and ask for installation instructions and write down everything they say. Also ask if they can email you instructions in case you didn't understand them.

bags are easy to install for first timers BUT they can be easy to mess up if you don't ask questions. They customer service is there to help so USE THEM!!!

the car is fully bagged and i'll post pics and vids soon

[330i ZHP]

UPDATE on the UPDATE

turns out i was incorrect about my diagnosis. the plastic was not fully seated in the metal plate (i'll provide pics to explain my horrible terminology) and it was causing a creaking and a rough ride on the front springs.

LESSON #1 : call the manufacturer before installing and ask for installation instructions and write down everything they say. Also ask if they can email you instructions in case you didn't understand them.

bags are easy to install for first timers BUT they can be easy to mess up if you don't ask questions. They customer service is there to help so USE THEM!!!

the car is fully bagged and i'll post pics and vids soon

in for updates

[stbk]

Use more Plumber`s tape on the bolts so you don't get leaks. i had issues on my struts when i didn't use enough. Keep it up, good work so far