Gearwrench Ratchet Wrenches are Made in China

I purchased several Gearwrench ratchet wrenches off Amazon and found they were made in China. They are a bit pricey for being made in China and not in the USA.

The wrench very sleek so getting into tight spaces is great. The ratchet works well and it seems to be decent quality but I still prefer US tools.

I will pay more attention and buy SK or Matco wrenches from now on.

E90 Electric Fan Removal and Installation Tips

I've seen posts that say removing the E90 electric fan and fan shroud is super easy and others that took several hours.

For me, it was a huge hassle because of the rubber piece that is attached to the pipe after the intercooler. The electric fan would not come out no matter how hard I pulled. Removing the two torx bolts and the plastic clip above the rubber piece were super easy but I got stuck after that.

I circled the rubber piece in orange below. It is located on the driver side of the electric fan.

Here is how I finally got the plastic clip loose and fan free:

• I got a very long flat head screwdriver
• Placed screwdriver between rubber and plastic clip on intercooler pipe. 
• Pushed and pried plastic clip off rubber piece. It may help to get one side of the clip loose first and then pry from the center. 

Installing the fan did not go smoothly as well. I kept getting snapped on the plastic part of the brace which I circled below. 

Some other things to be aware of:

• Be careful to not snag or pinch wiring or fan controller underneath brace
• Pull coolant hose towards engine as you are lowing electric fan
• The plastic clip on the intercooler pipe was causing issues for me and bent the rubber piece. I used the screwdriver as a guide and straighten the rubber piece. 
• It helps a lot to have another person on removal and installation since the clearance is so tight. 

Removing the cooling fan and shroud will make life a lot easier in removing and replacing the tensioner, pulleys, and belt. I strongly suggest using the Continental belt. 

E39 Trunk Release Button Does Not Work

My E39 trunk button would not work but the key fob would unlock the trunk. This is because the lock on the trunk is in Valet mode. To get out of valet mode, stick your key into the trunk lock and make sure you it's in the vertical position.

I thought this was an electronic issue at first and didn't think much of it. Just a slight annoyance that I had to use the key fob to unlock the trunk. I figured it would be very expensive to fix so I didn't mind. This became an issue when I had to turn of the car and use the key fob for the trunk. I looked online and found other owners having this issue.

Chemical Guys Professional Grade Microfiber Towels

I used to love these towels because they were so plush and thick on the dense pile side. These premium cloths did an excellent job of washing, drying, and buffing out polish or wax residue. Chemical guys did such a good job on this towel that I didn't use any other towel and swore these were the best value. 

That was the past. 

I purchased another set of Professional Microfiber towels from Chemical Guys and immediately felt the difference between the old set and new. The new towels are a less dense pile and the strands are shorter which makes these towels much less plush. No longer do these towels feel professional or premium. They are still a good value at 12 for $10, but they don't feel special anymore. 

I'll stick with The Rag Company Super Plush towels for now. 

4Runner LED Reverse Light - Philips 921 Review

Philips 12789LPB2 921 LED back up light review for Toyota 4Runner 5th Generation

I would not buy if you are looking for brightness and safety. Philips bulbs are dimmer than stock incandescent bulbs which I did not expect. They are bright and glaring to look at directly but the flood pattern is too small and dim.

The 921 LED bulbs do look much nicer and luckily the brake LED lights are bright enough so you can see what is behind you at night while reversing. I don't see any positives other than looks and longer life.

Also, it's a tight fit so you must push hard to insert the bulbs.

I will return the bulbs and reinstall my stock incandescent until I find brighter LEDs.

E39 Ignition Switch Removal Tips

BMW E39 5 Series Ignition Switch Removal Tips

There are multitudes of tutorials on how to remove and replace ignition switch on E39s. Here are useful tips I learned that were not pointed out or emphasized enough in those DIYs.

• Push in the clips on top clam shell cover nearest steering wheel while pulling down on lower clam shell to gain access to switch. Be very careful as the plastic clips are fragile. This took me longer than expected until I found where to push in. 

• Remove lower clam shell all the way by using needle nose pliers to push in two side and three bottom tabs. 
• This will greatly help in using screwdriver to back out screws holding in switch

• Remove wood trim pieces on left and right side of steering wheel using plastic pry tools. Then use Phillips screwdriver to remove screws and lower dash. 
• Absolutely necessary for access to top T27 torx bolt. 

• Use a 1/4 inch ratchet and the smallest T27 Torx socket for top torx bolt. 
• Space is extremely tight. I used needle nose pliers to loosen and tighten torx bolt because my ratchet was pressed against the dash while removing the torx bolt. 
• Other tutorials say the bolt is T30 however mine was T27. 

• A E39/E38 Steering column vibration mount (PN 1093829 or 32311093829) was in lower clam shell upon removal. I don't know how to put it back and left it out with no noticeable difference in driving. 

• You must use flat head screwdriver to position white plastic part inside new switch to where old switch was positioned. Otherwise your new switch will not work. It looks like a T carved into white plastic. 

My bad ignition switch symptoms:

I changed my engine mounts and the airbag light came on. It was intermittent and would flash on and off with strange clunking noises coming from the steering wheel. I lost all steering wheel controls and my radio would stay off after I shut off the 530i. The lower portion of the radio LCD would not illuminate and it would take me several minutes of pushing the volume knob to turn off the radio. 

I figured the switch was faulty by using the passenger and driver side vanity mirror test. All radio electronics would shut off by sliding the vanity mirror cover and the airbag light went off. 

Luckily it was a bad switch and not a clock spring or slip ring. This job is simple but can be annoying due to the tight fit of everything, especially the top T27 bolt. I estimate this will take 1-2 hours to replace. 

I noticed my LCD displays are much brighter with the new switch. Looking back that was probably the only warning that my switch was going out.

E39 Engine/Motor Mounts Helpful Info

There are many tutorials on how to replace engine mounts for E39s but here are some useful tips that they are missing or did not emphasize enough. This job is simple and can be done relatively quickly with my tips below.

Tips: 

• My driver side mount required a 21 mm socket for the top cover
• Universal sockets or adapter is required due to the angle of the nuts
• Raise the car onto four jack stands or ramps. I made the mistake of only lifting the front and it was impossible to remove the mounts
• Other tutorials say jack engine one or two inches. That is not enough to remove passenger side engine mount. You must remove engine fan using 32 mm wrench and holding tool to lift engine. Otherwise the fan will bump into fan shroud and crack
• I highly recommend using two people when lowering engine. One person lowers car jack while other person ensures engine mount studs go through mounting holes
• Penetrating oil on the nuts, especially if mounts have never been replaced before
• Motor mounts are a good preventative maintenance item on E39s and E46s because if they fail the engine fan could hit the shroud and explode, destroying your coolant lines. 
• Use a deep 16 mm socket for the nuts. 

Go with Lemforder engine mounts, they are OEM for BMW. Other brand engine mounts are much cheaper but will not last long. 

There is a big difference in ride quality and idle smoothness after changing my engine mounts. No more harsh idle or front swaying in corners.

I don't know if it's a coincidence or changing my mounts caused my airbag light to go on and steering wheel radio controls to stop working. When I turn off the car the radio keeps playing. 

E39 Windshield Spray Nozzle - Needs Adjustment

You must adjust the BMW windshield spray nozzle on an E39 after installing. Otherwise it will spray over your windshield.

To adjust, I suggest using plastic picks to carefully aim the nozzles downward. It's okay if aiming is incorrect, you can always adjust. Aiming requires some patience as I have noticed it's difficult to break tension but very easy to over-adjust and aim too low.

Please be careful using metal picks or needles, it's really easy to damage the E39's nozzles.

I replaced my spray nozzles because the intensive cleaning hose was cracked, The hose was extremely hard and difficult to remove from the spray nozzle and I ended up breaking the male adapter.

Intensive Windshield Washer Nozzle is part # 61668361042
Regular Windshield Washer Nozzle is part # 61668361039

Intensive washer hose is part # 61608364209
Regular washer hose is part # 61608364200

Guide to Maxing Out Certs in Planetside 2

Farming certs shouldn't be a chore and here is my way to quickly get the most amount of certs.

Pick an Engineer

Equip primary with NS-AM7 Archer anti-materiel rifle and shoot at everything, especially Maxes.

• Purchase 4x scope
• Equip with straight pull bolt if you spend most time looking down scope
• Equip with laser sight if you don't use scope much

Secondary weapon

• NS-44 Commissioner or NS-357 Underboss if you are a great shot
• If you are not a good shot, then find a pistol that you like

Put as many certs as possible into repair tool. 

Anti-infantry mana turret.

Suit slots, implants, and equipment choice is dependent on your play style and situation. 

I love this NS-AM7 Archer because you can take down Maxes in three hits and you can shoot at anything and rack up experience. It doesn't do much damage with infantry so I would follow up with secondary or use anti-infantry mana turret against large waves. 

This build it the ultimate support build and I would pair this up with a Sunderer the ammunition reloading slot and watch the certs roll in. 

Galaxies, Maxes, and Valkyries are my favorite targets. Base/Hive buildings are a good targets as well. The Archer doesn't do a whole lot of damage against vehicles but it's enough to annoy them and gain assist kill damage experience. 

EMP Stewart Water Pump

Comparison of EMP Stewart water pump and OEM on E39 530i.

The EMP Stewart water pump is a high performance all metal pump that comes with lifetime warranty. They claim 20% increased water flow over OEM which works well with larger pulleys for maximum performance.

I have been using the EMP Stewart water pump for over 10K miles and hope to get many more miles. It's not cheap at $175 - $195, but the benefits outweigh the costs.

Used on my M54B30 engine and will fit any related engines.

High quality construction and looks great

Beefier than OEM and larger impeller

Installation is the same as OEM. I highly suggest buying an aftermarket aluminum pulley instead of using the OEM plastic one. Since you have removed everything to get to the water pump, replace the pulley to prevent it from cracking over time.

This pump is a E36 M3 favorite with lower drag and more efficient cooling. Many E36 M3 drivers in my BMWCCA club swear by this pump on their tracking days.

Ammo Boost Winter Wash Unboxing

I ordered Ammo NYC's Boost after watching the release video.

We get really nasty winters and there is so much road salt and crap being thrown on the roads. Corrosion is a big problem because of the large fluctuations in temperatures and weather in March.

Boost is what I have been looking for since I have started detailing and the answer for additional protection while washing road salt and grime off your vehicle.

The only place to purchase boost is Ammo NYC's website and costs $25. Shipping on all order is a $10 flat rate. Their shipping is what prevents me from ordering their other items. Other detailing shops will most likely give you free shipping or a discounted rate if you have large orders.

Boost wrapped in some paper.

Boost comes in the standard Ammo 16 oz bottle with nice clean labelling. 

Review: 

I poured a small amount of Boost into a 5 gallon bucket as shown in the video and Meguiar's Ultimate Wash and Wax. I could tell the difference immediately just by the amount of suds and foaming action coming out of the bucket. As I dipped my wash mitt into the bucket, I noticed the water was much more slippery than without boost. The same slippy and yet smooth feeling could be felt while washing my car.

Boost can be very helpful if you have hard water and can't get a lot of suds out car soap. It definitely does what it is supposed to do and the bottle will last a long time with only a couple of squirts in each wash bucket.

Time will tell if Boost protects against corrosion. If Boost minimizes or eliminates corrosion than the $25 per bottle is well spent.

In the past I would dump a capful of Optimum No Rinse because of the high lubrication and protection against scratching while washing. However, it seemed like No Rinse decreased the amount of suds. Boost doesn't have that issue and in fact, increases the amount of suds by a lot.

I still can't get over $10 shipping. If Larry can lower shipping I would buy more from him.

iPhone 6 vs iPhone 7 Rear Camera Picture

iPhone 7 rear camera has a 12 megapixel sensor with an aperture of f/1.8 and six element lens.
iPhone 6 rear camera has a 8 megapixel sensor with an aperture of f/2.2 and five element lens.

The iPhone 7 also comes with optical image stabilization and a Quad-LED flash, the iPhone 6 does not have this.

Both can record 4K videos and take 8 megapixel still photos while recording.

Pictures on the iPhone 7 look much better, especially in low light conditions. 

How the iPhones have grown in size.

Zimmerman Z-Coated Rear Rotor on E39 530i

Zimmerman Z-Coated rear rotor and StopTech street performance brake pads on a BMW E39 530i. H&R sport springs and Bilstein sport shocks shown as well.

Braking performance is amazing and I love this setup. Only downside is the amount of dust the StopTech brake pads generate.

Aftermarket Cup Holder Replacement for BMW E39 5 Series

This DIY applies to all E39 5 Series 97-03.

OEM cup holders are notorious for breaking because they are extremely flimsy and there aren't any other cup holder locations. If you are lucky, the cup holder will break while open so there is access to the Phillips screws. If the cup holder is broken while closed and you cannot open then removal of the audio and climate controls may be necessary. A small flat head screwdriver may be used to pry open the flanges from the side to access the screws.

Luckily there are aftermarket options that are durable and cheap. The only downsides are they take up the tray area because there aren't flanges and accessibility to the climate control may be difficult with drinks.

I went with the FGT Motorsport E39 Front Cup Holder Upgrade which has been working great. Every aftermarket cup holder looks exactly the same and another good one is the TrunkNets E39 Premium Front Cup Holder.

I have added pictures below of what the aftermarket cup holders look like and how they attach to the tray.

If the flanges are open:
Locate screws on cup holder and remove using Phillips screwdriver.

Cup holder removed to reveal cheap flimsy plastic parts.

Cup holder removed.

Remove tape cover and attach aftermarket cup holder to tray. 

Done! Enjoy your drinks without having to holding them in between your legs. The FGT cup holders are very sturdy and I can fit large drinks in them. No more annoyance looking down at seeing broken flanges, they are replaced with a clean and classy aftermarket mod.