I've been rebuilding a M50 that I plan on putting in my E30. I'm in the process of measuring the bearing clearance for the main and rod journals. As far as I know, main bolts and rod bolts are TTY and I seemed to have lost/thrown out the old bolts. If I use new bolts to check the clearances, can they still be used in assembly? Do I need to fully torque down the bolts to get accurate measurements? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
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M50 Rebuild: Bearing Clearances
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Originally posted by CMBusch View PostI've been rebuilding a M50 that I plan on putting in my E30. I'm in the process of measuring the bearing clearance for the main and rod journals. As far as I know, main bolts and rod bolts are TTY and I seemed to have lost/thrown out the old bolts. If I use new bolts to check the clearances, can they still be used in assembly? Do I need to fully torque down the bolts to get accurate measurements? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
I'd see if there's someone willing to send you a set of old bolts, or find a yard and pull all those bolts out, or just buy a full 2nd set.
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Damn, I was hoping to avoid that as they are $150 for each full set. I have another complete M50, but I didn't want to take it apart until I got this one back together. Since they sell both bolts individually, I think I'll buy two extra of each and sacrifice them to get the measurements one by one. That would work right? Regardless, thanks for the feedback.Originally posted by MelonEngine work takes patience and finesse.
Suspension work takes anger, a big fucking hammer, and a torch.
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Originally posted by CMBusch View PostDamn, I was hoping to avoid that as they are $150 for each full set. I have another complete M50, but I didn't want to take it apart until I got this one back together. Since they sell both bolts individually, I think I'll buy two extra of each and sacrifice them to get the measurements one by one. That would work right? Regardless, thanks for the feedback.
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Originally posted by Sh3rpak!ng View PostBuy a set of ARP main studs and ARP head studs and then sell the oem bolts to offset the cost? I think the ARP mains are the same price as the oem mains (wish I knew that when I was building mine)
And you could also use regular m10x1,5x75 grade 10.9 bolts that can be get from any bolt store.
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Originally posted by pazi88 View PostHow come? Oem main bolts are like dollar a piece. The set of arp's 120-150? And the arp main bolts suck ass because they distort main caps if torqued to the manufacturer spec.
And you could also use regular m10x1,5x75 grade 10.9 bolts that can be get from any bolt store.
A regular m10 grade 10.9 might be usable, but I'm not sure I would trust the quality compared to oem. Maybe I'm just paranoid.
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Originally posted by Sh3rpak!ng View PostBuy a set of ARP main studs and ARP head studs and then sell the oem bolts to offset the cost? I think the ARP mains are the same price as the oem mains (wish I knew that when I was building mine)
Originally posted by pazi88 View PostHow come? Oem main bolts are like dollar a piece. The set of arp's 120-150? And the arp main bolts suck ass because they distort main caps if torqued to the manufacturer spec.
And you could also use regular m10x1,5x75 grade 10.9 bolts that can be get from any bolt store.Originally posted by MelonEngine work takes patience and finesse.
Suspension work takes anger, a big fucking hammer, and a torch.
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Originally posted by Sh3rpak!ng View PostDunno where you bought the main bolts from but the best price I found was $7.50 per bolt x14 = $105 for the set. First I've heard of the distortion.. good to know.
A regular m10 grade 10.9 might be usable, but I'm not sure I would trust the quality compared to oem. Maybe I'm just paranoid.
Did you check the bearing clearnces with the arp specified torque? I have heard that it's quite common.
And the oem main bolts are just regular bolts. So you can get those from bolt store. Just make sure those aren't some cheap chinese ones where the grade is ofter totally different than it should be. The rod bolts are bit special so those need to be oem.
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Originally posted by pazi88 View PostI order my parts from bmw part stores at germany.
Did you check the bearing clearnces with the arp specified torque? I have heard that it's quite common.
And the oem main bolts are just regular bolts. So you can get those from bolt store. Just make sure those aren't some cheap chinese ones where the grade is ofter totally different than it should be. The rod bolts are bit special so those need to be oem.
I didn't do the ARP mains in my build so I didn't measure with them.
Again, good to know about the oem mains being able to use a quality m10 10.9 bolt. For anyone looking for a good source, you can order from mcmaster carr, m10x75mm (assuming 1.5 thread pitch) is $10 for 10 bolts. Belmetric also has assorted sizes and grades, their m10x75 10.9s are $1.29 ea https://www.belmetric.com/10x15-coar...io1l9bdgbdjs76
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Originally posted by Jaker View PostI could probably send you some used rod and main bolts for the cost of shipping. I plan to be south of the border shortly and can drop them in a Priority Mail Flat Rate box for $7.
Originally posted by pazi88 View PostMaybe Offtopic but I'm not aware if there is problem of ordering stuff from germany to US. At least the shipping from US to europe is quite reasonable priced. And many sellers offer world wide shipping.
Originally posted by Sh3rpak!ng View PostAhh just saw you're in Finland. I guess ordering from BMW parts stores in Germany is cheaper? Lucky you!
I didn't do the ARP mains in my build so I didn't measure with them.
Again, good to know about the oem mains being able to use a quality m10 10.9 bolt. For anyone looking for a good source, you can order from mcmaster carr, m10x75mm (assuming 1.5 thread pitch) is $10 for 10 bolts. Belmetric also has assorted sizes and grades, their m10x75 10.9s are $1.29 ea https://www.belmetric.com/10x15-coar...io1l9bdgbdjs76
Originally posted by philakamrbean View PostI'm looking into this actually as well.
I've found the rod bolts for ~3.50 each on autohausaz.com, but the main bolts are ~7ish each. Are the M54 main and rod bolts the same as the m50?Originally posted by MelonEngine work takes patience and finesse.
Suspension work takes anger, a big fucking hammer, and a torch.
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Originally posted by M3PO View PostCould be worse, I'm building an early S54 where the rod bolts are to be reused, are not available separately, and must be returned to THE hole they came out of. Oops...lolOriginally posted by MelonEngine work takes patience and finesse.
Suspension work takes anger, a big fucking hammer, and a torch.
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