Okay, I may have lied, swapping spark plugs really isn't a big job reality, but considering I've always paid someone else for my previous cars, I was a little tense while doing the swap.
Ordered 6 of these...because the internet told me to (and as we all know, the internet is never wrong!)
(Well I ordered these because they seemed to be the favourite choice by many and apparently are the oem ones used by BMW, according to other owners)
Started taking them all out, one by one, and yep, these plugs were black.
Lined them all up to compare them all (all consistent, must be a good sign at least, I hope!)
Put it all back together and started her up. To my surprise (just kidding, I was quietly confident) it all worked as it should. Success.
Went in and had a bite to eat and proceeded to start studying, and then I remembered the intake manifold.
So when I was cleaning the throttle bodies, I noticed some oil in the intake manifold. Obviously this is normal, but I wanted it to be clean, purely for my own satisfaction.
Proceeded to pack the books up and went out again to tackle dismantling the intake manifold. Leaving everything plugged in, the manifold came out relatively easily (surprisingly, I didn't actually look up how to do this and just winged it!)
I guess I adopted this attitude based on the fact I knew I have an m50 which I'm on the fence about fitting (for those unaware, it's basically bigger...allowing for more air to enter the engine resulting in more power with the right configuration)
Draped a towel over the inlet to prevent dirt and such falling in.
Placed the manifold in the tub and attacked it with a 50:50 mixture of APC (all purpose cleaner) and degreaser, neat of course, before leaving a clean manifold to sit next to a radiator to dry off naturally (will give it a blast of air before fitting again)
And fitting is a reversal of the removal process. No major issues to report resulting in the car running smoothly with no issues!
Well that was after I had the engine unable to idle on it's own (plenty of swearing ensued) after refitting the cleaned intake manifold. Only to find I had forgotten to fit one of the vacuum lines! Fool!
After reconnecting the hose up, the car just starting up and revving it (even on idle) all sounds and acts much healthier. It's actually amazing what a difference new oil, new filters, new spark plugs and a clean air intake system all makes! Pretty chuffed with myself so far but there's still a fair bit of work to get done before the car is ready for MOT and the track.
Also ended up ordering some new discs and pads. It needed to be done as the current set-up is shot (putting it nicely!) Next week's update should be interesting to say the least! (Purely because as with nearly everything so far with this build, I've never done it before!)
Oh, and filled her up a little too...
And yes she's missing a foglight, because I was experimenting with different options for increasing brake ducting (will be reusing my auxillary lights from my old Smart Brabus most likely (really do miss that car).
Aaaaaand, that's a week!
