1991 BMW E30 318iS Complete Rebuild

[Split_S]

That only took a few minutes so I continued on the rear subframe and took a lot of great pics and then, like an idiot, I promptly deleted them while trying to transfer them to my computer. Im none too happy about that!!

Basically what I did was this:

Loosened the 2 hex bolts holding the reinforcement plate to the frame and to the bracket after soaking with loosenut for a day.
They actually came out rather easily considering they completely crudded up...



With those out next up was the large nut and bolt holding the rear beam to the frame. I used my long handled socket wrench to slowly torque this *&$% off. Had a nice pic of this but...





Prior to that though I removed the "rubber" thats put over the bolt head to have a looksee...



The bolts were here...





It was quite straightforward and the long bar made it easy... With the nut loosened the bracket came off...



As well as the bolt which I knocked out from the bottom...



Worse part of the car here on the RH side:



I don't know why this stuff excites me but I was pretty happy with the brackets and bolts out.... Just a little more and the subframe would come out noooo problem....

Bullsh*t.

I thought the subframe bushings would just "slide" out...What a moron... Those %$#&* were stuck and not coming out!!!

I pondered this a bit and when the brain fails the foot acts.

So I placed my foot on the sub frame and gently pressed down and then up to try to wiggle them out...

It "kinda" worked:





The subframe bushings basically cracked and the whole subframe came off. So, success in a way... :(
I had the subframe out but had a new problem with the bushings still stuck in their sleeves...
Its always the same isnt it??

Before I could pat myself on the back I noticed the parking brake cables were still attached.. I knew they were attached but I'd kinda forgotten about it... Sooo...



Loosen nuts on brake lines:



Guide the ends thru their respective holes and THUD, the subframe was free..











Uuuh..This thing is gonna need some serious attention!!

But, Im still pretty happy about having the subframe out and figure getting the bushings out will be for another day...

Tomorrow I want to tackle rebuilding my alternator..

[Split_S]

Decided to get out from under the car and work on the alternator of which I started working on a bit 4-5 days ago...



Not sure what color she may have been when new but there was
no lack of rust, grime and grease!!



No pics of the disassembly (forgot!) but basically you need a 24mm
socket to loosen the nut in the center
of the pulley. I used a pneumatic gun on her and she came right
out..
With that out you pull the pulley out and then the spacer. Easy.
Then you have 4 bolts in opposite corners. You need a phillips
head screwdriver for those but if you don't have one don't
worry because you won't be able to get them out anyways...
use a vise grip wrench tightly clamp to the middle of
the bolt (its exposed on the sides of the alternator). It will p*ss
you off for a while but they will give... Of course spray
penetrating oil before trying this... duh...


Then you remove all the stuff on the back:





Then I lightly tapped the sides apart and she opened up... Here is whats left over:



Im not a big fan of rust so I put the parts thru my magical rust removal process..







After about 5 days...









Not too shabby...

Worked on the exterior



and I also worked on the rotor..





With all that done I cleaned her up with some compressed air
and polished the outside on the wire wheel out in the shed...
and proceeded to put her all back together so the rebuild guys
can take her apart later on...

Finished...











And that's it for alternator porn.... ;)

[Powling]

Holy shit! That came out looking great. Awesome work!

[Gkwan]

This is a great teardown! Hate the rust but I'm glad you are going to fix it! Good luck!

[0-60 freak]

Well, you are certainly committed

Sent from my SM-N920P using Tapatalk

[Split_S]

Thanks guys - I think she came out looking pretty good!

Small update too...

Getting ready for the subframe cleanup! First had to crack-free the four bolts holding the trailing arms to the rear beam... It was an EPIC battle but I did manage to get them loose!! I now firmly believe restoring a car is all about forearm strength... atleast 95% of it anyways....

Dirty rotten bast*rds out and bagged:


Whats left:




Also got to work on the rear sway bar...



Removal, with the subframe out, was easy for a change... The bolts gave easily, probably scared by the beating those subframe bolts got!!



Not too shabby but a little rusty...


New kit, including bushings and brackets, links and bolts..



With the cleanup complete, a few coats of anti-rust paint applied and the bushings as well. I used KY jelly, uh, cause it works...





Fuel tank is next!!!!!

[Split_S]

Well fuel tank is next and time to kill...
With the subframe out of the way this isnt a huge job - but throw in 24 years of rain/road salt/snow/sand/dirt and it gets interesting...

Thinking ahead, I started WD40ing the bolts a few days ago...

Here you can see the state of my brake lines ( a wee bit of rust..) and the rusted seam of the fuel tank:





To get started first I disconnected the fuel filler hose here on the right:



Here was the result of my first bolt removal attempt:



faack....

I took a moment and thought "This is going to be fun..."

Undetered I continued on.. The tank has 3 attachment points facing forward, two bolts far left,
and center and one nut which attaches to a stud on the far right - that's good to know cause I didn't...

Luckily I took it easier and got the 2nd one off.. Here is the stud:



On my car the far left forward bolt has the fuel filter
in the way..While a small pain in the *ss it came out...





Out:



Being optimistic about my chances of actually getting this thing out I disconnected the fuel lines to the filter and put a support underneath the tank...



Oddly enough the rear facing bolts came out no problem - go figure... and I was able to drop the tank:



However there are a few lines to disconnect: Electrical supply to the pump (previously removed)



Fuel line to the filter:





Vent lines:



This line, at the top of the pic below is a vent line to the charcoal filter.



The frame of the car with the tank out: Brake line and fuel line replacement is a breeze now...





Almost out:


Out and uh, in the way... :)



Gonna buy a new one anyways....

Enough for today!!

[Powling]

I'm still so impressed by the amount of work you are hammering through. Getting really excited to see it all come back together!

[bobaflesh]

Great job on this rebuild, subscribed to your thread!

[Split_S]

Thanks guys!

Don't be too impressed- most of this stuff has gone pretty well and my posts are always a bit behind where I'm actually at! Just takes time to put the posts together...

[Powling]

Looking through everything so far, I'm reminded of when I was a kid and tore apart everything I owned to see how it worked...but a lot of it never ended up being put back together correctly unfortunately, haha

[Split_S]

You hit the nail on the head - this is EXACTLY that!!

[DocV]

This is over at M42 club as well, right? Thanks for documenting everything with photos -- it's very useful to have a visual reference when doing these things.

[Split_S]

My pleasure.. Yes but I had a problem with my website picture hoster and pics were lost. Ive had to swap stuff to a new provider. All pics are now on a new web server and wont be lost. I've also learned to size them all the same so they are easy to view..

[Split_S]

I was tooling in my new neighbor's garage while he was out at work and came across this:



WOW! Amazing the things one can find fooling around in our neighbor's garages...

Figuring he wouldn't miss it I dragged it over to my place...
I also went to the local welder and bought a 4x4 sheet of same gauge steel..

Since my welding experience totals ZERO I will take my time.. there's just a "little" rust.. :-?











So out with the grinder... zip zip cut cut...





Like a fat girl in a tight shirt: not pretty...



That left hand corner is really bad. I have to be honest and say Im pretty scared.


Can you tell we salt our roads??


Cut out and cleaned up...


How do we turn on a welder??