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How far should I take it apart? I have the time....

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    How far should I take it apart? I have the time....

    Hey guys,

    So I got my e30 a garage. I have taken most of the stuff off the intake side of the engine simply to clean all the gunk off and determine what exactly is leaking. The problem I have is that I want to replace everything. The starter for example looks pretty gnarly....but it still works. But....they are under 200 bucks for a new one, so why not just get a new one?



    Ok well with that attitude I would also end up swapping the possibly leaking rack (although it looks so damn shiny) for an e46 rack ($200-$250)

    The motor mounts, tranny mounts, and guibo appear to be new. The master cylinder + brake calipers + caliper lines have all been recently done as well.

    Replaced the cat back system with an oem equivalent. Replaced timing belt, VCG + rocker plugs, water pump, all the water hoses, the t stat, rotor + cap + spark plugs and ignition wires.

    Will send out the injectors to be rebuilt, and get new seals for the intake. Have/will replace all the rubber vacuum hoses as well as most of the fuel lines (on charcoal canister and fuel lines back to pump).

    But since I have it on jack stands and ramps I was thinking of just dropping the entire rear subframe, replacing all the bushings and end links, rust treating the trailing arms etc, then take off the exhaust as well to clean up that side of the engine bay. While the exhaust is off I will either disconnect the driveshaft or remove it entirely depending on the state of the CSB. This way I can lower the transmission and go ahead and replace the shift linkage.

    At what point is this just ridiculous and too much? The goal is to have everything up and running come spring so I can put my e46 sedan up in the garage and ideally do some tuning up on her! But furthermore, I hate leaks so this also will allow me to plug potential ones and then be able to keep an eye out for future leaks

    I've noticed that once I get myself into the garage after work... i can go crazy for like 5 hours and do serious work. So it really wouldn't be outrageous to try and tackle what I am thinking about doing.

    I've already spend maybe 1300 in parts and I am willing to spend another thousand or two b/c this is my hobby and I enjoy wrenching around.

    Now that i've typed this out, I'm not sure what the point of this post is...I'm just going to work slowly through each system and see where I end up.
    Last edited by BaltimoreBimmer; 12-28-2016, 07:42 AM.

    #2
    If you enjoy it (like I do) go as far as your wallet will allow you.

    I did an almost complete strip down one winter on my last E30. Spent probably 5k on parts, some upgrades, some preventative maintenance.

    It felt great to get it back on the road, just knowing that every bolt was looked over, it had all new suspension bits, and the engine was leak free.

    Definitely worth the time just for the piece of mind.

    Plus, I had a blast doing it.

    I will do it again one day.
    My previous build (currently E30-less)
    http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=170390

    A 2016 Toyota Tacoma TRD 4x4 Offroad in Inferno is my newest obsession

    Comment


      #3
      I have the same problem. Once you're you start disassembling something for a simple project you start thinking:
      "well, I'm already in there might as well do this and this and this....."
      ...and then 6 hours later....


      Originally posted by 2mAn
      The BMW V6 is the best

      Comment


        #4
        Replacing a starter because it looks bad is dumb. Just clean it/paint it and call it good. Replacing worn out wear items, yeah, that's always a good idea.

        Comment


          #5
          I think you should do it. enjoy it. replace things. why? because its German...which means the more you take care of it, it will take care of you. plus you will learn a lot!

          Comment


            #6
            ^
            Not quite right, German cars, like some percentage of German women, are best when you ride them hard and put them away wet.

            Yeah, they'll blow up from time to time, and you'll patch things up, but doing it that way is more fun than having a beauty queen that you never get to ride.

            Comment


              #7
              Originally posted by roguetoaster View Post
              ^
              Not quite right, German cars, like some percentage of German women, are best when you ride them hard and put them away wet.

              Yeah, they'll blow up from time to time, and you'll patch things up, but doing it that way is more fun than having a beauty queen that you never get to ride.
              QFT

              This thread should probably just be turned into a build thread now, right OP? Pretty sure you got bit.

              Comment


                #8
                I have the same problem going into this 5spd swap....can't decide what to get new and what to pull from the parts car!


                Edit: enjoy wrenching? wanna do my 5spd swap? LOL

                Comment


                  #9
                  Originally posted by Lodsin View Post
                  QFT

                  This thread should probably just be turned into a build thread now, right OP? Pretty sure you got bit.
                  What? I totally didn't get bit! Unless... ah shit. I did.... then again, the whole reason I got this car was so I don't take my e46 DD apart when I'm bored. So I think this is working out

                  Put her up on 4 jack stands and dropped the exhaust with surprisingly little struggle:



                  Driveshaft, transmission, and rear sub frame are next! Decided I'm going to clean up all visable rust and re coat the underbody. Also will be doing the rear brake line and some other hardlines that need it.

                  I woke up extra early this morning (~7:30) in hopes of getting some work done before the new year.

                  bonus picture of Annie looking concerned:

                  Last edited by BaltimoreBimmer; 12-31-2016, 07:03 AM.

                  Comment


                    #10
                    I am in the same boat as you. The 85 I've got, the tabs for the front sway broke off the subframe. So now, I keep digging deeper.

                    Reinforced Subframe
                    Motor Mounts
                    e36 rack
                    steering guibo
                    Control Arms
                    Instead of buying a few bushings, why not buy a full set?
                    rear subframe bushings
                    rear brake lines
                    SS lines all around
                    new springs and shocks
                    UUC front and rear sways
                    new guibo
                    new trans mounts
                    shifter rebuild and SS kit

                    list is piling up for me...

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Originally posted by Haystack View Post
                      I am in the same boat as you. The 85 I've got, the tabs for the front sway broke off the subframe. So now, I keep digging deeper.

                      Reinforced Subframe
                      Motor Mounts
                      e36 rack
                      steering guibo
                      Control Arms
                      Instead of buying a few bushings, why not buy a full set?
                      rear subframe bushings
                      rear brake lines
                      SS lines all around
                      new springs and shocks
                      UUC front and rear sways
                      new guibo
                      new trans mounts
                      shifter rebuild and SS kit

                      list is piling up for me...
                      The cycle never ends.... haha

                      Originally posted by 2mAn
                      The BMW V6 is the best

                      Comment


                        #12
                        having difficulty getting the driveshaft off. I have unbolted the four nuts on the diff flange end. I have the 3 bolts/nuts out that secure the guibo/vibration dampener (and in turn driveshaft) from the transmission. I have the center collar sleeve loosened and the CSB bolts out so I can drop it down and theoretically compress the driveshaft. The problem is I can't seem to get it to budge off of the transmission end or the diff end. The bentley mentions doing rotating the VD 60 degrees however I don't see how would work in my case. It appears like it should just pull straight back. Unless I am misunderstanding how the centering pin and bushing slide into the drive shaft.

                        Letting it soak in PB while I think it over. Any tips? Here are some pictures b/c they are always nice:

                        guibo to transmission bolts out:



                        guibo to transmission bolts second view - notice the other 3 studs are not removable



                        the diff flange and rear drive shaft studs:



                        the driveshaft collar sleeve loosened:



                        here it is pulled back - tons of junk up there. I applied liberal amounts of PB blaster



                        I soaked it all and am going to let it sit for tonight. Is it safe to use a pry bar anywhere? How far can I angle it down while pulling and is it possible to damage it by going too far?

                        Instructions i'm going off of if any one is curious:

                        Last edited by BaltimoreBimmer; 12-31-2016, 03:52 PM.

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Hey. Ended up taking it a bit farther. after all:



                          since my moms old blue alfa spider caught on fire from crappy fuel lines, I figured it would be a good idea to make sure my fuel system is top notch.

                          Here's some more evap parts:



                          ew! look at all the corrosion buildup!



                          cleared out:

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