Bleeding the Brakes...Again

 Found this video showing me this nifty little item that will allow me to bleed brakes on our euro's by myself.  No more looking for someone to sit in a jacked up car and press the brake pedal over and over and over and over again.... Good deal.

E90 HVAC Blower Motor

 My Video Coming Soon!

Ever sound like the right side of your car was being torn to shreds when the ac/heat was on?  Probably means the bearings are out on the HVAC motor.. Fortunately on this E90 it is a pretty simple fix.

Here is a nice little video showing how to get the blower out...

Once it is out if you purchased the whole unit you just reverse the process and voila! In my case I want to try and reuse the relay that you see at the bottom of the pic above but two Torx screws later it is out of the old unit and then getting attached to the new one... then I reversed the process and again voila! heat and air again without it sounding like metal being torn apart.

S60 Throttle Body

 Decent video for getting to the S60 TB

Does the Unicorn Exist

Wanting to try and determine if I can locate and wrangle a Unicorn.  

What is this mythical creature, you may ask, it is a car that I can build out and utilize to have a bit of fun at an autocross, also put some laps in at the circuit and also use for a fun Friday date night cruise.  

Does such a thing even actually exist?  I'm not sure.  I am positive that I cannot find such a beast that will be best in class at all 3, however can I find something that fits the bill and is comfortable in all 3 roles?

So would like to hear any feedback or suggestions from anyone.  Had any success in such an endeavor? Any suggestions on a good base from which to start?  Any flat out "you're crazy" admonitions?

To be crystal clear I am just looking for something that will be a little fun, provide me a means to tinker and to scratch the racing itch a bit without diving into the deep end.  ....  Maybe I am crazy.

 

Too little, Too much, but not just right

 The dreaded check engine light is back on my wife's 2015 Volvo S60.  

The codes it has historically thrown are the P0171 - Bank 1 too lean and P0172 - Bank 1 too Rich.  I am going to begin to tackle this monster with the hope of getting it addressed once and for all.  The primary contenders are:

A vacuum leak - going to smoke test to see if we can find a leak

MAF Sensor - going to take it out and clean it first with some CRC if still an issue will replace

Check the plugs for fouling

Run some injector cleaner through it

if all else fails, consider replacing the O2 sensors

We shall see if we can track down and remedy this problem......stay tuned..

Stopping power

One of the first projects I want to tackle is on our 2015 Volvo S60 T5 Premiere.  She needs some new brakes pads and rotors.  Along the way I also plan on replacing the lug bolts as well as anything else that I determine needs looking at upon inspection.  I also plan to clean up the brake areas very well and get rid of as much old dusting as possible.

Found a good video for replacing the fronts which are the ones I am going to start with:

As far as parts go I plan on using FCPeuro for their lifetime guarantee and am leaning towards either the Akebonno or Bosch kits both of which come with Zimmerman coated rotors.