Das Beast: My E30 track / street build

[dvallis]

Engine disassembly

Time to break down the M20. We got this done in one evening after work. It's actually not too bad. Our method was bag, tag and label the crap out of everything. Takes a bit longer but will make re-assembly a whole lot easier.

Valve cover comes off no problem. Just a few bolts. Don't forget to remove the bracket on top.


Top of head looks pretty good. Nothing bent or broken. Just nasty with 30 years of not being cleaned.


Water pump. 30 year old rotating assembly with rubber inside. This gets replaced. :devil:


Timing belt was in surprisingly good shape. Still gets replaced though. I love the simplicity of the M20. You can see exactly how everything works.


Another view of the 885 head. This will definitely get hot tanked. I am going to port and polish this myself.


Block deck with gasket. Head was not tight and oil was leaking. Pistons have nasty carbon buildup. Will hand clean them in a parts washer and tank the entire block.


These are weird little widgets. Rocker shaft oil seals. You can see where someone tried to seal them with goop. Anyone know if there's an aftermarket version of these in metal? They look like a weak point.


Minor goof. Had to get the block back on the floor and take off crank oil seal on flywheel side.


Pistons and rods pulled. Boy they are nasty.


Block completely disassembled. You can seen the floor through it. :devil:


Here's the money shot. M52TUB28 crank sitting nicely in the M20 block. It fits GREAT. Turns smooth with no interference at all.


Entire M20 bagged and tagged, minus the block, oil pan and intake manifold.


Finally, here are a couple of WTF pictures. If anyone can identify these two things please post here or PM me:

What the heck is this??


What does this inlet or outlet cool? (Tube looking thing on the back of the block) It routes to either the thermostat valve or water pump. Is it required?

[berlow94]

Time to break down the M20. We got this done in one evening after work. It's actually not too bad. Our method was bag, tag and label the crap out of everything. Takes a bit longer but will make re-assembly a whole lot easier.

Valve cover comes off no problem. Just a few bolts. Don't forget to remove the bracket on top.


Top of head looks pretty good. Nothing bent or broken. Just nasty with 30 years of not being cleaned.


Water pump. 30 year old rotating assembly with rubber inside. This gets replaced. :devil:


Timing belt was in surprisingly good shape. Still gets replaced though. I love the simplicity of the M20. You can see exactly how everything works.


Another view of the 885 head. This will definitely get hot tanked. I am going to port and polish this myself.


Block deck with gasket. Head was not tight and oil was leaking. Pistons have nasty carbon buildup. Will hand clean them in a parts washer and tank the entire block.


These are weird little widgets. Rocker shaft oil seals. You can see where someone tried to seal them with goop. Anyone know if there's an aftermarket version of these in metal? They look like a weak point.


Minor goof. Had to get the block back on the floor and take off crank oil seal on flywheel side.


Pistons and rods pulled. Boy they are nasty.


Block completely disassembled. You can seen the floor through it. :devil:


Here's the money shot. M52TUB28 crank sitting nicely in the M20 block. It fits GREAT. Turns smooth with no interference at all.


Entire M20 bagged and tagged, minus the block, oil pan and intake manifold.


Finally, here are a couple of WTF pictures. If anyone can identify these two things please post here or PM me:

What the heck is this??


What does this inlet or outlet cool? (Tube looking thing on the back of the block) It routes to either the thermostat valve or water pump. Is it required?

The long pokey thing is your oil pressure relief valve.

The coolant tube on the back of the head goes to your heater core if i'm not mistaken.

[zwill23]

Heatercore to Head - Coolant Spout

Yep. Berlow94 is correct, that spout on the back of the head provides coolant from the heatercore to the back of the head. In specE30 it is common to use a block off plate here since the heatercore is typically removed, and it doesn't seem to cause overheating issues!

Also, thanks for the exhaust! ;)

[dvallis]

Hey Zach, thanks for the info. You mean back of the block, not the head, right?

BTW how much does that stock exhaust weigh?

[zwill23]

Re: Head to Heatercore Spout

Thinking about it, I actually misstyped. When I replaced my cylinder head, I completely forgot to add that little spout (big mistake on my part), so when I filled the engine with coolant it leaked right out of the back of the head.

From my understanding, coolant flows from the water pump -> Block -> Up to the head -> Thermostat -> Radiator

So that spout would actually be supplying coolant to the heatercore from the back of the head, but it flows through the block first.

I am out of the house currently, I'll weigh them when I get home tonight!

[2mAn]

Hey Zach, thanks for the info. You mean back of the block, not the head, right?

BTW how much does that stock exhaust weigh?

Nope, thats the back of the head, and yes it goes to the heater core. fuhraze means block it off.

exhaust is somewhere around 100#. someone else has also made a list of E30 parts' weights. you can compare your weights with theirs to see how accurate the other stuff on the list is

http://www.e30tech.com/forum/showthread.php?t=8331

[dvallis]

Ha. There was so much grime on my head it looked like part of the block in the photo. :devil: Hot tank time.

When I deleted the heater core, two hoses from it got plugged. One went to the back of the head (above). Where did the other one go? It was short so had to be back or side of the block.

[dvallis]

Zach weighed the stock exhaust complete. 68 lbs

[dvallis]

The Intermediate Shaft Bearing Blues

Cue an appropriately morose blue song. This is the Intermediate Shaft Bearing Blues.

Was doing some research on hot tanking an M20 block and found out the process will eat our intermediate shaft bearings. Apparently replacing them is a PITA, since they have to be machined in place once in the block. Should be no trouble for a competent machine shop. Here's an example of the bearing from another post.



For anyone else doing a hot tank on your block, here are resources on intermediate shaft bearing part numbers, removal and replacement

Thread 1 (Bimmerforums)
Thread 2 (R3VLimited)
Thread 3 (E30 Performance)
Thread 4 (Bimmerforums)

I found both bearings at eEuroParts.com (no affiliation)
11111280863 $20.99
11111264196 $6.24

[dvallis]

You guys should appreciate this info. Basic M20 rebuild kit list. Does not include potential upgrades like rockers, valve springs, piston rings, studs. Rod and crank bearings need to be looked at as well.

Top end gasket kit BMW 11 12 9 059 240
Bottom end gasket kit BMW 11 11 1 730 875
Timing belt BMW 11 31 1 711 081
Intermediate shaft bearing (f) BMW 11 11 1 264 196
Intermediate shaft bearing (r) BMW 11 11 1 280 863
Freeze plugs BMW 11 11 1 714 712 (x11)
Water pump BMW 11 51 9 071 561
Valve stem seal kit BMW 11 34 9 059 172
Throttle body gasket BMW 13 54 1 289 576
Oil filter BMW 11 42 1 707 779
Fuel filter BMW 13 32 1 268 231

[dvallis]

Hot Tank Ttime Machine

Getting the engine ready to hot tank tonight. First thing, intermediate shaft removal. Looks Ok, especially the bearing surfaces.



Ah, the infamous intermediate shaft bearings. Tried to pull them and failed miserably. Note my tool marks. Will check with the hot tank machine shop about pulling them. I have a set on order.



Oil dipstick tube came out easily. Just carefully clamp a set of vice grips onto it, twist and pull.



Water temperature (?) sensor removal



Water drain plug removal



Now .. the frigging freeze plugs. Here is my first attempt at pulling one. Used a drift punch to make a small hole, then inserted a J-hook made from a nail. It was an abject failure. Would you believe the frigging things take 600 ft-lbs to pull. Ugh.



Nothing can resist the Big Frigging Pipe. 2000 ft-lbs of goodness. Cut a slot in each freeze plug using a hardened chisel, insert crowbar, apply BFP and plugs pop right out.



One side of the block done



Other side done



One block ready for hot tank



Don't forget the miscellaneous block bits for the hot tank



Retaining clip to get the rocker shafts out



Rockers and rocker shafts out



Had to stop at this point as my Auto Zone rental valve spring compression tool was crap.



I need to get one of these (Craftsman)

[zwill23]

Nice work!

Took some time to read your thread - so far the build has been very impressive, especially the electrical work you've done!

If you ever need an extra set of hands I would be happy to lend them, it seems I have much to learn!

P.S. Exhaust goes in tomorrow, and my E30 is getting inspected Monday!

[dvallis]

Thanks Zach. Sent a PM to get your cell # again. Will give you a call when we start more work.

[dvallis]

Smash And Grab

Life got in the way of my E30 build. Was on business in Houston when thieves did a smash and grab on our SUV. They grabbed two computer bags, one of which was mine. Ugh. And I usually never, ever, leave my computer bag in the car. Just this one time for 45 minutes ........

Luckily everything is backed up and Das Beast photos are in the Cloud.

[dvallis]

Valve O Rama

Getting down to the last bits before going to the Hot Tank. Pulling valves & springs from the head. This is a proper valve spring compression tool. $30 at Sears.



Step 1: Compress valve spring



Pin goes against the valve head.



Forks go against the valve spring. use a magnet to remove the two retaining collets on each valve stem.



All done. Bag and tag with the associated rocker arms. Don't forget to pull the valve stem rubber seals. Throw away and replace with new ones.