Hardest job?

[kasbatts]

Man!! just put on one of the upper door rubbers (the one the goes along the roof and down the A pillar) My thumbs hurt!!
The guy that did this in the factory when they build the cars must have had the strongest thumbs in Germany.
Even with lube on the rubber where it clips into the aluminum profile this was a hard job! Any tips for the other side?

 

[deQuincey]

wow, you are my hero

that is probably the only job in the coupe tgat i will never attempt

thumbs ?, ...problably Hans used an appropriate tool !

good luck !

 

[Tundra]

The hardest part IMHO is reinstalling the dash particularly the upper dash so that it sits perfectly on the lower dash and the A pillar and then securing it properly so it doesn't rattle when you drive. You need to be a contortionist and have small hands to reach some bolts.

 

[siscobmw]

the hardest job I did is redoing my zf auto transmission, evetything myself....
you have to do everything perfect and pray that everything works properly, or you must remove again the gearbox...

 

[Bwana]

Reassembling the wiper motor? I needed at least one more hand with several more fingers. Finally got it though once I assembled it completely differently than the way I took it apart

 

[pmansson]

Steering column bearings

I had a small movement, in all directions, in the steering wheel. I had put this off for years, when my very able Swiss mechanic said "ok, let´s do it". Nice NOS parts in plastic covered yellow paper with BMW marked all over. Old but good grease inside. Lots of wiring had to be undone but the hard bit was undoing the locking clips. 4 hands, various tools, several attempts but we did it. then put the axle back in the assembly and the latter back in the car.
The steering wheel is now rock solid. None of my other coupes have needed, or need, this job but I have more of the NOS bearings should the need arise.
Peder

 

[kasbatts]

Always the way isn't it, put the other door seal on today, took all of 5 mins and was dead easy!!

 

[decampos]

Getting the windows to work right after the body shop completely gutted the doors (and did a half-arsed job of putting it all back together). Good christ that was mindlessly tricky and time consuming. The door rubbers were like a stroll in the park after that (though I probably did those wrong).

 

[Sven]

There are a few on my list:

1. Removing rear body quarter panels - many spot welds and difficult to access welds.
2. Removing and reinstalling heater box (with AC) - the fit is so tight that is has to be twisted and angled in just so without breaking plastic.
3. Reinstalling outside chrome/rubber 'J' molding at rear window - with rivets / screws.
4. Door handle mechanism and alignment - very tight tolerances and work close to new paint.
5. New front windshield and rubber install.
6. I suppose rebuilding the transmission - if I was crazy enough to attempt it....

These are the jobs that stand out in my experience.

 

[kasbatts]

Yep, have come to the conclusion that they are not easy cars to restore (i remember reading somewhere that someone said that the e9 was one of the most difficult cars to restore that he done)


Decampos, you can sit back and have a chuckle at me because I am about to start the whole window Assembly thing

 

[kurtd]

Man!! just put on one of the upper door rubbers (the one the goes along the roof and down the A pillar) My thumbs hurt!!
The guy that did this in the factory when they build the cars must have had the strongest thumbs in Germany.
Even with lube on the rubber where it clips into the aluminum profile this was a hard job! Any tips for the other side?

My go to tool for this type of rubber work is the metal paint can opener that looks like a bent flat end screw driver. It allows you to magnify the push and pull required for rubber seals without damaging them.