The Long Awaited: The Myth, The Legend, The Douchebaggery

[Beej]

Man, so you took the leap on this project. Well done!

So...head gasket was leaking coolant (externally, not into the combustion chambers) and the timing cover was leaking oil?

How big are the cams you're gonna put in?

[SlimKlim]

Man, so you took the leap on this project. Well done!

So...head gasket was leaking coolant (externally, not into the combustion chambers) and the timing cover was leaking oil?

How big are the cams you're gonna put in?

Only took me 2 years to jump off the cliff! Only slightly freaked out now that I'm in free fall and tearing this thing to pieces. hock: I'm no stranger to big projects and this is easily the most intense project I've ever done by a mile.

Yep, the shop said it was just leaking externally, the lower edge of the rear piston looks like it has some oil on it, but just oil thankfully.

No cams. But I am working on cobbling together a little something extra if the budget allows for it.

[davej]

No cams. But I am working on cobbling together a little something extra if the budget allows for it.

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:dunno:

[SlimKlim]

I mean if we're dreaming, no crappy centrifugal blower is going on my baby.

http://www.eurosporthighperformance.com/...arger.html



But nah, no forced induction. I was trying to be all cute about it but no one really cares so I'll just spill it.

I got a good price on an RK chip tuned for 24# injectors and 3.5in MAF. I have the MAF, i just need to source some injectors and cobble together some intake parts from summit racing and I'm in business. I'm waiting to do it all last though, in case anything catastrophic happens. Some threads I read said ~235rwhp, but I can't find too much info on it.

A lot of guys say not to run the 24#ers because there's no additional gain, but they all seem to be from places you can't get 93 octane. This tune was done with for the 24#s so that's what I'm gonna run. Plus if I ever do cam it in the future I'll just change the cams and tune and be ready to go.

[D_Eclipse9916]

Exhaust/m50/pulleys/intake/tune my m3 made 247rwhp. Attached is my dyno plot playing around with restrictor plates. You should make at least 230.

[ScottyB]

I mean if we're dreaming, no crappy centrifugal blower is going on my baby.

http://www.eurosporthighperformance.com/...arger.html

oh my damn that is some linear power if i ever saw such a thing. then i saw the price and realized i'd have to double my rounds on the corner pulling tricks if i wanted to play the BMW big-boy-mods game.

digging the chip upgrade...pretty minor stuff with a nice payoff. 230 to the wheels is not mundane, sounds like it'll wake the girl up nicely and keep things pretty bombproof. as you said you'll also be ready to roll when cam time comes and see immediate gaiinnzzz

enjoying the restoration, learned some cool stuff. A++ would ride this ride again

[SlimKlim]

So brown santa was supposed to show up last night, but didn't come until this morning. I didn't have to time to manhandle the head into the car so I'll have to drop it off at the machine shop tomorrow.

[CaptainHenreh]

I didn't have to time to manhandle the head

:thumbup:

[SlimKlim]

I guess I spent too much time playing with my other head this morning to get around to that one. :dunno: Try again tomorrow

[SlimKlim]

Oh yes.





Oh God yes.

This honestly may be the most satisfying thing I've ever done. It's gonna take forever to finish but I really don't mind that much.

Also, this method works beautifully to remove header studs.



This weekend I'm going to finish cleaning the block, clean up all the hardware I'm too cheap to replace, and attempt to remove the lower timing cover, but I'm not sure if I'll be able to break the crank bolt loose without borrowing some major tools, apparently the torque spec is 303ft-lbs. hock:

I also need to sit down and figure out where the hell all the tiny little washers and o-rings that come in the HG kit are supposed to go. I paid for 'em, seems like I should use them all. :dunno:

[Kaan]

I cant see your face in that piston top son! :wink:

[SlimKlim]

I'm trying sir!

[SlimKlim]

Well this was the weekend of the good, the bad and the meh.

Good News!

The block surface is prepped and ready for the head to go back on.



Bad News!

The fuckin' drain plug hole in the oil pan stripped out. Didn't cross thread it, didn't force it, nothing. I threaded it in by hand and when i went to tighten it it wouldn't hold more than 5ft-lbs. Took it back out and all the goddamn threads came out on it. I guess the sins of oil changes past finally caught up with it. So now I need a helicoil kit or some shit to repair the threads. I'm really hoping I can tap it by hand without having to drill out the pan, because I don't think I could get a drill in there without uninstalling the pan, which will be a major pain in the dickhole.

Meh.

Didn't make a bit of damn progress on the lower timing cover, which I will regret not doing before putting the head back on.

I have a friend who's a professional tech, I offered him some moonlighting work to come over next weekend with his hardcore tools to get the crank bolt off and repair those threads, and hopefully the head will be back from the shop so we can start getting it back on but I don't have super high hopes, I dropped it off Friday and he said he'd probably have it for "at least a week."

[SlimKlim]

I picked up the head from the machine shop on Friday.





This isn't even close to the total amount of parts I have laying around.



On Saturday I just did a lot of general cleaning and getting the garage in order, and reinstalled the head sensors, oil check valve and header studs so the head is ready to be dropped back on the car. I also swapped in my new chip and the new injectors.

Unfortunately on Sunday when we did finally get the lower timing cover off (took a torch and the biggest breaker bar you've ever seen) the intake timing chain guide was busted. I had just taken it the rest of the way off in this photo.



The good news is the car is as "torn down" as it needs to go. Everything is cleaned and prepped and can start going back together as soon as the chain guides come in, which should be this week.

With this parts delay and family obligations this upcoming weekend it seems very unlikely I'll have the car together for the show. I figure if that's the case I might as well take my time and try to sort out some little annoyances, here's my list of things I might get around to doing after work this week.

1.) Re-wrap the headers. I'm 90% sure I have most of a 50ft roll left over, the old stuff is loose, fraying and has 2 years of coolant and oil packed into them.

2.) Strip off the crap flaking from my valve cover and give it a decent coat of high temp paint. I know that freaks people out but my valve cover has a removable plate on the little vacuum channels so everything can be accessed and meticulously cleaned, I've done it before, I just didn't sand long enough to make it look good.

3.) Drop the radiator in and make myself some good sturdy brackets so it stops hitting the fan.

4.) Pull the driver's seat and replace my clutch and brake arm bushings, the parts are lying around somewhere, i might as well throw them in

5.)I deleted the washer reservoir and hid the wiring, which kinda has me fired up to try and clean up the rest of the wiring a bit.

6.) A friend sent me a coolant level sensor a long time ago (like 2 years ago) I just now opened it and realized my connector is a different shape, so i might see if i can find the right connector to splice in so I'm not getting a low coolant warning in my rebuilt-ish engine.

[Senor_Taylor]

Jeez, man. You're REALLY diving in. Every post is you adding more things to do. I really wish you luck on staying on track and not getting lost in a pile of parts.

[SlimKlim]

It's not as bad as it sounds. I have a professional tech friend (works on Ferraris 'n' shit too) helping me do the major stuff. He's the one that rethreaded my oil drain pan and got the Jesus bolt off. I have family stuff next weekend so we'll probably only get to put a few hours in and hopefully finish it up the weekend after that.

That list of stuff is mostly optional that I'll try to knock out after work if I have time, but if not it's not a big deal, the car is ready to start going back together regardless once the timing chain guides get in which should be the middle of this week.

Here's the current path to salvation (probably, at least what i remember off the top of my head).

1.) Install new timing chain guides
2.) Reinstall timing chain cover and front main seal, new crank bolt and washer and torque to Jesus-spec.

(Hold on, lemme take a second to explain why people call this the Jesus bolt, because I totally get it now. First we hit it with a torch and got everything nice and hot, then to break it loose, I had the car in 5th gear and held my foot down hard on the brake pedal while he put the breaker bar on it. Remember, we're applying 303ft-lbs directly to the crankshaft, which is where the car itself generates, what, 225ft-lbs of torque on a good day?When he got all the "slop" out of the drivetrain (aka the motor, clutch, driveshaft bushings, diff and tires) i could feel and hear the chassis of the car pinch up a little bit when'd apply enough force to crack the bolt a little bit, and then when he let up on the breaker bar I could feel it relax. Jesus.)

3.) Re-install front accessories (crank pulley, WP, WP pulley, AC bracket and compressor and drive belts)
4.) Re-install head requires a crazy precise torque procedure
5.) get the motor and VANOS units timed
6.) Install thermostat & housing
7.) Install manifold, radiator, hoses, fan, valve cover, plugs, coils, injectors etc
8.) throw headers on with 2 nuts each for test starting purposes
9.) reassemble the cowl and put the hood back on
10.) Fill with shitty oil and bleed cooling system, test start
11.) Tow to the shop, mock up headers and midpipe, tack flanges in place, remove, weld, install for the final time
12.) Profit.

[.RJ]

You might as well have the headers ceramic coated...

[ScottyB]

do BMW t-chains need replacement from time to time? i know on the VAG VR6's the chains stretch and get slop so they're considered a wear part similar to belts. might not be a bad time if you're going whole-hog anyway, if in fact the car could use it.

the head looks purrrty. shiny parts are good for morale.

[SlimKlim]

Too much money to pay for coating, I haven't gotten a quote but I'm assuming its too much. I'm considering doing it myself with that VHT header paint stuff and seeing if the shop or a place nearby has an oven I could use to cure them.

You people gotta quit recommending parts 90 minutes after I've placed an order. :-p As far as I know people don't replace timing chains very often, I know of one guy with a supercharged car that managed to snap one but it was a freak occurrence. Mine seems to hold plenty of tension with the tensioners tight. Not sure if it's something you can tell just by feeling though. :dunno:

[SlimKlim]

PROGRESS BITCHES.

New timing guides on. I ran into a weird parts documentation issue with the exhaust side guide, resulting in me getting a guide for an S52, that has a different dowel pin in the motor. Meaning I had a solid 1/2in of play behind the freaking guide when it was installed.





Luckily FCP was very willing to make it right, helped me figure out the PN I should've ordered and overnighted me the correct one.



Then I was finally able to get the LTC back on.



Then I dealt with a couple "little things," mostly just hitting the valve cover (the visible part anyway) with some fresh paint, and fashioning these bad boys.



They are not pretty. I have since painted them black, but right as I was dusting my 4th beautiful coat of color a gust of wind caught the cardboard tehy were sitting on and flung them across the driveway, so now they really look like shit.

However, they work. The OEM clips have been responsible for the death of 2 cooling fans, these aren't gonna let that happen. In this photo I haven't drilled a hole through the front edge yet for the mounting bolt, just btw. Also, yes I am using a rubber spacer so I'm not bolting aluminum onto steel.

I was going to replace the clutch and brake arm bushings but realized I can't remove the seat without having power to the car. Jake has done that job before so I think I might try to do it when he can drink a beer and give me instructions, It was more complicated than I expected when I peeked up in there.

Last night Cory came over and that's when we started making real progress.

We got the "Jesus bolt" torqued back down to 305ft-lbs using the most bitchinest of all torque wrenches. It was at least 5ft long and weighed 50lbs. We also used a belt chain wrench to hold the pulley in place while torquing it which worked beautifully, but my dumb ass let it mar the inside edge of the AC hub on the crank. I'll just file the inner edge a bit so there aren't sharp edges touching the belt and it should be fine. If not I'll find a pulley off a dead motor somewhere, no biggie.

Then the cylinder head went back on. We miraculously got it on the "first try", but trying to line up the dowel on the block with the hole in the cylinder head while holding the 60lb head up is not an easy task. Especially because you're trying to "sink it" without letting the dowel touch the mating surface of the head.

Imagine trying to have sex, in pitch blackness, while hanging upside down, with a dick full of Novocain. It's probably a lot like that.

Once the head was on we got it torqued down, did the timing (hopefully correctly), installed the vanos unit and then called it a night.



Next steps:

1.) Torque Vanos banjo bolt
2.) Install Cam and Crank Position Sensors and Water Pump Pulley
3.) Connect sensors on head
4.)Put drain plugs back in and pour some preliminary oil all over the camshafts.
5.)Install Valve Cover and spark plugs
6.) Reconnect wiring harness and ECU
7.) Install Manifold, fuel injectors, spark plugs
8.) temporarily install headers
9.) Install new air intake parts
10.) Install cowl, hood and wipers
11.) Drop in radiator, hoses, tank
12.) connect power, test start, bleed cooling system
14.) Tow to shop, test fit and tack in V-band flanges, remove headers/midpipe and weld, then do the final install.
15.) Profit?