Today was a good day

[e30serg]

Yeah, that looks super clean! How many miles on this one? The cam lobes look to be in pretty damn good condition. Take it to a shop to have it pressure checked, after you remove the cams yourself. Some shops don't know how to do it right, and if they break them, they probably won't get you a new set.

Don't forget that the "E" on the cams means Intake! and the "A" means exhaust! I've heard of one guy installing the cams in the wrong position.

[Jean]

Yeah, that looks super clean! How many miles on this one? The cam lobes look to be in pretty damn good condition. Take it to a shop to have it pressure checked, after you remove the cams yourself. Some shops don't know how to do it right, and if they break them, they probably won't get you a new set.

Don't forget that the "E" on the cams means Intake! and the "A" means exhaust! I've heard of one guy installing the cams in the wrong position.

I've removed the cams before on a NV head, I'll wait until I get a Bentley manual next week before I dig into the head/bottom end. I heard there is a good BMW engine shop/guru somewhere in Vacaville, need to find out more.

[Jean]

Guys, how does this pricing compare? Good/bad? Just to give me an idea how much is too much etc.

http://sacramento.craigslist.org/pts/763829711.html

Block Prep Special:

Hot Tank
Magnuflux
Bore
Hone
Deck
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Balancing Special:

Total Static Balance all parts
Computer Spin Balance Crank
Document all Specs $180 (add $25 for external) Heavy weight Extra


Valve Jobs from $140
Head Surfacing from $35 Each
Call with your needs

916-482-8053 - Ask for Rich or Email performanceengines@live.com

[Jean]

Got the thing on the engine stand, it sure is top heavy and rotates too easy lol.









Started removing things that I don't think I'll need from it:















driver / passenger sides



underside



rotated toooooo much, coolant is clean lol

[Jean]

Stripped it down a little more on friday, keeping a log of what goes where so that I can put it back together w/o making a fool out of myself :D

A/C compressor mounting assembly, talk about advance over the m10/m20 style hardware.



No rubber bushings that go bad with age like on the e30s..



a/c belt tentioner mechanism or whatever it's called



alternator belt tentioner



vibration damper wheel and main belt pulley. I like the pin that lets you put it back in the same spot.



obd2 knock sensors, once the obd1 ones arrive i'll be able to see how they are different if they are...





Shot before removing the oil filter assembly/ps pump.



exhaust side view, with engine mount bolts in place.



ps pump removal, also like this over the m10/m20 mounting style...





oil filter housing assembly, will the obd1 filter/cap work ?



bolt length







Box worth of parts getting cleaned, I'll get the pan out tomorrow to inspect the bottom end.

Compression check at this point is too late right?

[e30s52]

the connectors on the plugs are diffrent from obd1 to obd2 all there is two instead of them being attached to each other

[Jean]

You are correct. I got a set of obd1 knock sensors and they mount and look the same, but use two connectors instead of 1 like on obd2.

[e30s52]

its nice to see that more people are going to dohc

[Jean]

I've decided to go ahead with the stock bottom end for now and rebuild the head, get s52 cams and possibly new bottom end bearings if needed. I would love to check the compression / leakdown to see if the rings need work before dropping the engine in, as I've heard once pistons are removed (to hot tank the block and get everything cleaned up) then rings won't seat the same etc... I'll ask a couple machine shops to confirm. Feel free to input on this as well. I would love to clean the bottom end before installing, but if this will require new pistons/rings than I don't want to deal with that yet...

I'll keep my eyes open for an m54b30 bottom end to build on a side once this one is in the car. That way I can see how much more power the car needs or what else it might need instead and do it step by step and after next season swap the m52 for m54 bottom end, if that's doable of course.

I still need to pick up a bentley, and hopefully it will have some helpful diagrams on putting this thing back together etc... (I've been saving all/any obd1 engine pictures I can find so that I can see clearly what goes where etc).

[Aatos]

The engine seems low mileage so don't remove the pistons. Just clean the carbon carefully from the piston crowns.

If the rod bearings look good, I wouldn't replace them. There can be tolerance issues with aftermarket bearings. Mine look pretty good, but since I happen to have a set of replacement bearings, I'll see if they're good fit. If they're not within spec(0.02-0.055), the originals go back. Here's something handy I've been using for bearing measurements:

[Jean]

Thanks, the bottom end bolts are stretch type yes?

[Aatos]

Yes.

[scott_is]

oil filter housing assembly, will the obd1 filter/cap work ?

No it won't the housing on the m50 are like the ones on a m42
The cap doesn't screw itself on the housing on the m50
only way to make it work would be to swap the housing
(if its enven possible)

Caps from m42 and M50 for example



Or if you want check realoem...you'll see the diffrence right away

Scott

[Jean]

Yep, found that out. I'll just use the obd2 cap. Shouldn't be a problem though, or do I have to change this as well to the obd1 style assembly?

[e30serg]

I don't think it's a obd1 vs obd2 difference. It's more an M50/52 vs s50/52. The S engines have the metal cover with the bolt that goes through and locks it down. The M engines have the plastic, screw-on covers. You can swap the whole oil filter housing if you really want the metal cover.