'89 316i E30 LS1 Swap Build Thread

[shiboujin]

Ah, you're the guy on reddit :)

[Q8y_drifter]

Ah, you're the guy on reddit :)

Protomor I'm guessing?

[shiboujin]

Yep. For some reason, this is the only place I don't use that username.

[Q8y_drifter]

Got my X-Force Varex muffler a couple days back. 3" inlet, 3" twin tips

[Q8y_drifter]

So I attempted to drop the trans today to fix the leaking slave while the engine is still in the car.

Removing the trans and bell housing together seemed impossible given the limited amount of space so I decided to take out the trans alone.

Removed the driveshaft
Removed shifter
Disconnected the wiring and clutch lines
Supported trans with jack and jack stands
Removed trans cross member and lowered trans until the rear of the engine hit the firewall.

5 of the lower bolts connecting the trans to the bell housing were fairly easy to reach. 3 of the top bolts however required long extensions and a swivel head and have to be accessed from the shifter hole. Reaching those and loosening them took me a solid couple hours of work as the bolts were awkwardly positioned.

GREEN = Access from bottom
RED = Access from shifter hole



I still haven't taken out the trans completely as I need a second pair of hands to wiggle it out safely but all the bolts have been loosened/removed.

So if anyone was wondering if the trans can be removed with the engine bolted down yes its possible. The bell housing should now be a piece of cake to remove with the trans out.

[shiboujin]

Thank you! I'll have to replace my clutch sometime this year at the rate I'm abusing it and was wondering how hard it is. I really didn't like the cut out for the shifter hole but it's making more and more sense in the long run.

[Q8y_drifter]

No problem.

A cutout for the shifter hole is a must IMO. You can't access the shifter mounting bolts from the bottom, which means simple shifter maintenance/replacement/etc will require a trans drop. Plus its almost impossible to reach those upper tranny bolts without the shifter removed already (some shifters are easier than others).

[Q8y_drifter]

So here's the deal. Took me another 2 hours to fully remove the trans without the help of a lift, trans jack or a friend.

I highly recommend removing the shifter plate and sealing up the hole with masking tape so crap wouldn't get it. Also don't forget to drain the trans fluid.

Had to deal with a few areas where the trans contacted the tunnel (mostly the shifter hitting the factory BMW shifter bracket) and the lack of space to wiggle it out. This wouldn't have been a big deal if I had hammered out the tunnel and cut any interfering metal prior to installing the engine/trans. Also you're gonna want to use a large pry bar to separate the trans and bell housing.

I have no idea how I'm gonna be able to reinstall this thing but for now it's done and it took me about 5 hours total alone with no trans jack

[shiboujin]

Pay friends in beer :)

[Reyhan335]

I second that ^


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[Q8y_drifter]

I've been out of the country the last couple of weeks so not much has been going on. I've since fixed the clutch leak issue (turned out to be a missing copper washer on the bleed line) and will be reinstalling the tranny tomorrow. I've also finished bending & flaring my rear brakes lines so that's out of the way.

That 188mm diff I picked up from the scrap yard for $100? Well that turned out to be a BMW Motorsport 4-clutch diff. I opened the LSD up and everything looks fairly clean still. I have new clutch discs and some Porsche 2.1mm dog plates on the way and will be rebuilding it shortly. Also placed an order for a Garagistic 2nd diff mount for more support. Once the diff is ready I'll swap it out along with the CATuned axles.

[Q8y_drifter]

Tranny is back in the car. all clutch and brake lines have been bled and so far so good. Car is currently at an exhaust shop to get the piping done. I'm gonna have to shorten the header outlets as they're so damn long and point down towards the ground for some reason (why is that?)

I had to polish out the Sikky trans yoke since it fit pretty tight in the T56 tail housing bushing. I'm not sure if that's because of the tight tolerances of the rebuilt trans or the yoke itself but it's no biggie and it fits nicely now.

Once the exhaust is done I'm gonna have my tuner upload a base map to drive around and break the engine in before tuning.

[90e30ls]

Looking forward to seeing it running!


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[Q8y_drifter]

Exhaust system is done and wired up.

Dual 3" piping merge into a 3" y-pipe to a single 3" X-Force Varex muffler. Sounds pretty good.

Base map has been uploaded and seems to start and run okay. IACV died on me so I disconnected it and adjusted it manually for now to keep the engine from dying.

Also shaved the stock fuse box wiring with the help of my friend and completely removed the C101 connector. Stock BMW fuse box now only operates the ext/int lights, horn, audio system, wipers and dash gauges/warnings.

Some exhaust pics below

http://i.imgur.com/qSRwMMK.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/xhVWni1.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/sowcTpi.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/nG8YbaY.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/OPXzEy2.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/P0ekXq5.jpg

Top steering rack seal blew out on me yesterday and leaked all its fluid so I picked up a Z3 rack rebuild kit from Gates (p/n 348515) and will be rebuilding it this weekend along with my 188mm diff.

[shiboujin]

Oooh how's it sound? I'm surprised you fit those pipes under under the front of the car like that. I had to get ovals just to clear.