New Member - M45

[16volt]

Just wanted to introduce myself. Picked up a 06 M45 Sport, love it so far having come from the German side of the house.

IMG_1792.jpg by Shannon, on Flickr

I haven't done allot yet but steam cleaned and treated the leather.

Before
IMG_1796.jpg by Shannon, on Flickr

IMG_1794.jpg by Shannon, on Flickr

After
IMG_20160508_154944 by Shannon, on Flickr

IMG_1820.jpg by Shannon, on Flickr

IMG_1830.jpg by Shannon, on Flickr

[Ilya]

Welcome!

That is a great combo and man, the Y50 with sport wheels is such a nice looking car. 8-10 years later and it's still one of the best looking cars IMO. Timeless.

[85sport]

Nice. You will have fun with that car.

Steam clean leather. Please elaborate. Is that something you do yourself or did a pro do it?

[Larz]

Well done, mate ! I capital L the bourbon leather interior. It was only available until 07 or 08 and my 07 M35 had it. You also have the surround 5.1 sound system. Nice upgrade from standard. Enjoy!

[16volt]

Thanks all. Stupid question perhaps - I don't see many M45s with the bodykit (rockers, front and rear aprons, spoiler). Was this an option on the Sport?

I am a bit of a neat freak when it comes to my cars, so you can do this yourself. The key is having a steamer up to the task and starting/staying small. There are a plethora of videos on steam cleaning leather on YouTube. Still have questions, let me know.

[Ilya]

Yes, the sport kit is an option but it's rare and it's no longer produced. If I recall, there is a company which makes one out of NYC but it doesn't look exactly the same. Forget the name.

[reefscape15]

Damn I wish mine came with the lip kit! I have the same color 06 m45 but beige leather and black carpets. I love those seats man, so sophisticated looking.

[Six_Legs]

Welcome and nice ride! I have the front lip and side skirts but I CANNOT find rear bumper lip. Ready to give up and paint what I have...

[16volt]

Spent a couple of hours on the M today. The engine bay was really bugging me.







Not bad for 130K but not great either.

I think I found the vaguely funky smell when first kicking the AC on. I am sure it needs a cabin filter but this probably isnt helping.





Someone is missing a shoelace and a Little Ceasers wrapper etc.

Off came 90% of the plastic, I was too tired to deal with the rain tray piece.




A bunch of vacuuming, scrubbing etc later...







And some steel wool and Aerospace 303 later....









Next up is a bunch of random maintenance items.

[Larz]

What a difference a little TLC makes, yah? Looks brilliant !

[Brian35XR]

Yes, the sport kit is an option but it's rare and it's no longer produced. If I recall, there is a company which makes one out of NYC but it doesn't look exactly the same. Forget the name.

Welcome and nice ride! I have the front lip and side skirts but I CANNOT find rear bumper lip. Ready to give up and paint what I have...

Here's the rear bumper lip http://www.sarona.com/single_product_simple.php?id=2649.

I have their full kit and I do think it looks the same IMO but to be fair..... I don't actually know anyone with the OEM kit so I can compare them side by side lol. Looks the same in the pictures though.

[16volt]

That looks pretty dang close without seeing them side by side.

Also changed out my worn start button, that was really annoying me.

IMG_20160605_201612 by Shannon, on Flickr

[reefscape15]

Awesome job on the engine bay! Looks amazing

[16volt]

Spent a little time with the M45 Sunday. It occasionally made a scraping noise when going over speed bumps, a quick underneath revealed a somewhat fubar belly pan. Originally I thought maybe it was missing a couple fasteners, thus letting it hang down. Once underneath it looks like maybe it has just been hammered.

IMG_1952.jpg by Shannon, on Flickr

IMG_1954.jpg by Shannon, on Flickr

IMG_1955.jpg by Shannon, on Flickr

Not wanting to spend money on a new huge sheet of plastic I figured I would see what I could do with the heat gun.

IMG_1956.jpg by Shannon, on Flickr

Seems to have come back nicely. I dug through my spare Allroad bits and found these clips which give it a bit more rigidity.

IMG_1958.jpg by Shannon, on Flickr

While not the cause of the sag it was missing a few fasteners. I picked this up awhile back, made it pretty simple to find a few fasteners from my stash of again, spare Allroad bits.

IMG_1959.jpg by Shannon, on Flickr

There was also a bunch of these plastic push lock fasteners missing from the engine covers and inner fender liners. Seven bucks on Amazon and my OCD is satiated.

IMG_1961.jpg by Shannon, on Flickr

I also noticed that the serp belts will need to be replaced sooner than later. The DIY guide suggests its just a matter of loosening the tension and installing a new belt. The German car owner in me is highly suspicious. Is that really all there is to it?

Going to pick up a cabin filter and cooled seat filters and do that later in the week.