(Yet another) M42 top end refresh and engine reseal (mid-2021)

[econti]

Pull the DME out and pop the lid, takes all of 3min to do, if it's chipped it'll say. Other easy way is to see if it revs to 7k or 7200, stock redline is like 6500 or so.
Don't be afraid to beat on it.

[bmwman91]

If you do end up getting a chip, I recommend Sssquid Tuning very VERY highly. I worked with them for multiple years on reverse engineering the Motronic 1.7 ECU (which the M42 uses) and I am confident in saying that no other tuner out there knows it as well. On top of that, the quality of their work is top notch, with tunes that improve all operating areas (idle, partial throttle, wide-open throttle). I had a Turner/Conforti chip for several years. While they are certainly more fun than stock, the level of tuning in those is far less than what Sssquid does (the Conforti tunes were developed in the late 90's and I would be sort of surprised if Turner made any updates since the M42 is not exactly a widely popular engine). Anyway, Sssquid has off-the-shelf tunes for the M42 and they are very helpful if you have questions.

[jsnppp]

Awesome. Highly recommend an aftermarket chip for the ECU if you haven't fitted one already, makes a big difference. Go out and drive the dinger out of it, they thrive on revs. Have fun

Thanks econti

One other step (maybe today) is to check if it's been chipped already. It came from San Francisco and has Tuner motorsports stickers on it, so - maybe.

I actually hope it isn't chipped yet. Feels sprightly as it is!

I wanted to heat cycle it a few times before bringing up the revs too much. And give it a chance to verify leaks too.. (haven't been to the garage yet this morning to see what dripped - ha ha).

FCP delivery coming today (I don't want to add up what we have spent on shipping).

[econti]

Awesome. Highly recommend an aftermarket chip for the ECU if you haven't fitted one already, makes a big difference. Go out and drive the dinger out of it, they thrive on revs. Have fun

[jsnppp]

Wow, awesome! I am really happy to see that this car is getting a pretty thorough rebuild.

For the CM5908 re-cap, have you bought new caps yet? If not, don't bother with the "kits" that are out there, they overcharge for very generic-grade parts that they claim are "audio grade." You can order true automotive grade audio caps for less than $25. See the table below, it is the BOM I put together when I rebuilt one of these radios last year. Note that these are only the rear audio board caps...I did not replace the ones on the main logic board since they all seemed fine and are not in the audio path. If you want to do those you will have to catalog them when it is all opened up.

If you want to do the backlight bulbs for the LCD, I used these. They are sort of overpriced, but I was not sure that I could find ones of the proper brightness on my own without a PN or some sort of spec. Don't bother with the cap kits they sell...I bought and returned one once I saw the lack of quality, hence selecting my own parts. They also sell a new drive band for the cassette player, but replacing that is a MAJOR undertaking. If it is working fine now, don't mess with the cassette transport lol...it is a nightmare to work on.
https://www.germanaudiotech.com/prod...-back-lighting

I sold the radio, but you may find some of the pictures useful for future reference.
https://www.r3vlimited.com/board/for...08-w-code-pics


Audio board cap BOM (missing reference designators, but you can just match them up to the ones you remove):

Capacitance (uF)	Voltage (V)	Diameter (mm)	Height (mm)	Pitch (mm)	AEC-Q200	Quantity	Brand	Mfr. PN
4.7	25	5	11	2	Y	4	Nichicon	UKT1E4R7MDD
10	16	5	11	2	Y	1	Nichicon	UKT1C100MDD1TD
100	10	5	11	2	Y	5	Nichicon	UKT1A101MDD
220	10	6.3	11	2.5	Y	4	Nichicon	UKT1A221MED
1000	10	10	16	5	Y	4	Nichicon	UKT1A102MPD
2200	16	16	15	7.5	N	1	Nichicon	URS1C222MHD1TN
470	16	10	12.5	5	Y	2	Panasonic	EEU-FC1C471B
470	16	8	11.5	3.5	Y	1	Nichicon	UKT1C471MPD

Wow, fantastic! This is super helpful. Thank you. I need to digest all that you wrote here.. will reply more soon.

[jsnppp]

Not sure if we faced the same issue, but I also had problems installing new sealed beams early last year. In my case the 3 nubs on the back did not line up with the slots in the buckets, but in my haste I tighted the rings down on them and figured it would hold. They eventually cracked that same day and stopped working, I originally thought I got some defective bulbs because of the trouble fitting them but the set i got to replace them also didnt seat correctly. So I gave up on the sealed beams and installed the euro smileys that I had be to lazy to fit. Never figured out why the new bulbs have a different mold.

Love the build, It's coming along nicely. Hopefully I'll catch a glimpse of it at Radwood this year ;)

Would love euro smileys! Yes, the nubs on the sealed beams just don't line up very well overall.

[jsnppp]

Really annoying that the 4th green brake lining LED appears to be out. Not a huge deal, I don't remember if it ever worked. But annoying because I am not going to take out the cluster again just for that!

[jsnppp]

It moves!



This morning I locked down most everything. Took the 10 tons of crap I had been storing on the roof, installed drivers seat, premium radio tweeters, passenger midrange, vacuumed it, adjusted throttle position, verified all lights work and then drove it around the neighborhood!

Drove really well. Solid. Quiet. Drove straight too, amazingly. Brake fluid light came on, due to the dual reservoir, I didn't have enough in both sides. Filled it. Also reoriented the steering wheel. Took it out again with my wife and it was even better. No faster than 30mph, no real revs, just taking it easy. When my daughter comes home I'm sure we will go again.

I like the exhaust note (so far). I'll take a video of it too.

We are far from being "done" but the fact that I can move it out of the garage is huge. We changed nearly every hose, all suspension parts, all brakes, bearings, etc.

Going to order tires for it before I get it aligned and inspected (same shop) so it can all be done at once. Not sure what size, but a bit meatier than the 185s that are on there. I believe I can still get 195/60-14s. 205s don't seem to be available in a size that will look ok.

I'd love to bring it to radwood, not sure when that is in Austin? I'll bring it to the monthly BMW 2002 cars and coffee (trianon coffee in west lake) next month for sure.

Feeling good!!

[paulparra]

Not sure if anyone else has had this problem but the headlights we bought did not line up horizontally. There is only so much you can rotate them. Especially the passenger side high beam, it was angled down. My answer was to dremel the nub off of the glass headlight back to allow additional rotation. Worked well, but need to go over all of them..

Not sure if we faced the same issue, but I also had problems installing new sealed beams early last year. In my case the 3 nubs on the back did not line up with the slots in the buckets, but in my haste I tighted the rings down on them and figured it would hold. They eventually cracked that same day and stopped working, I originally thought I got some defective bulbs because of the trouble fitting them but the set i got to replace them also didnt seat correctly. So I gave up on the sealed beams and installed the euro smileys that I had be to lazy to fit. Never figured out why the new bulbs have a different mold.

Love the build, It's coming along nicely. Hopefully I'll catch a glimpse of it at Radwood this year ;)

[bmwman91]

Wow, awesome! I am really happy to see that this car is getting a pretty thorough rebuild.

For the CM5908 re-cap, have you bought new caps yet? If not, don't bother with the "kits" that are out there, they overcharge for very generic-grade parts that they claim are "audio grade." You can order true automotive grade audio caps for less than $25. See the table below, it is the BOM I put together when I rebuilt one of these radios last year. Note that these are only the rear audio board caps...I did not replace the ones on the main logic board since they all seemed fine and are not in the audio path. If you want to do those you will have to catalog them when it is all opened up.

If you want to do the backlight bulbs for the LCD, I used these. They are sort of overpriced, but I was not sure that I could find ones of the proper brightness on my own without a PN or some sort of spec. Don't bother with the cap kits they sell...I bought and returned one once I saw the lack of quality, hence selecting my own parts. They also sell a new drive band for the cassette player, but replacing that is a MAJOR undertaking. If it is working fine now, don't mess with the cassette transport lol...it is a nightmare to work on.
https://www.germanaudiotech.com/prod...-back-lighting

I sold the radio, but you may find some of the pictures useful for future reference.
https://www.r3vlimited.com/board/for...08-w-code-pics


Audio board cap BOM (missing reference designators, but you can just match them up to the ones you remove):

Capacitance (uF)	Voltage (V)	Diameter (mm)	Height (mm)	Pitch (mm)	AEC-Q200	Quantity	Brand	Mfr. PN
4.7	25	5	11	2	Y	4	Nichicon	UKT1E4R7MDD
10	16	5	11	2	Y	1	Nichicon	UKT1C100MDD1TD
100	10	5	11	2	Y	5	Nichicon	UKT1A101MDD
220	10	6.3	11	2.5	Y	4	Nichicon	UKT1A221MED
1000	10	10	16	5	Y	4	Nichicon	UKT1A102MPD
2200	16	16	15	7.5	N	1	Nichicon	URS1C222MHD1TN
470	16	10	12.5	5	Y	2	Panasonic	EEU-FC1C471B
470	16	8	11.5	3.5	Y	1	Nichicon	UKT1C471MPD

[jsnppp]

Left to do (primary)

• Under dash panels drivers side
• Drivers seat
• Sunroof install (waiting on "BMW grease" to finish relube
• Verify diff has fluid (99.999% sure we put it in but it's been so long now)
• install brake line clip under drivers side (holds hard lines)

Secondary

• Fog lights
• Passenger side mid-range speaker
• Both front premium speakers (upgraded tweeters
• CM5908 replace caps and test, install
• Replace broken headlight
• Line up the headlights

Tertiary

• Full repaint
• Probably needs tires

Not sure if anyone else has had this problem but the headlights we bought did not line up horizontally. There is only so much you can rotate them. Especially the passenger side high beam, it was angled down. My answer was to dremel the nub off of the glass headlight back to allow additional rotation. Worked well, but need to go over all of them..

Once it's on the road we will get inspected and order plates..

Getting close!

[jsnppp]

Good progress today. Planning for a drive tomorrow or monday.

• Tracked down exhaust rattle. Found the middle hanger not connected and, most importantly, that the 02 sensor was loose. 30m of research for a 30 second fix.
• Wiper fluid bottle installed
• Front apron installed. Lots of wiring work tied to this effort. Everything is snug and clean now.
• Brake cooling ducts in place.
• Fog lights mounted but we still need to add the rubber surround.
• Garage-grade alignment completed
• Tightened all front end stuff, just to make sure.
• Routed the ABS wiring and added the rubber grommets to engine bay
• Headlights in place and leveled. Cracked one and so new one coming Monday.
• Under dash drivers side wiring + speakers in place. We upgraded the speakers and so had to build a pigtail harness to handle the new bits (I don't like to cut things). Then had to route all the wires, etc. Installed speaker grill cover, drivers side door sill, hood latch
• Installed gauge cluster plastic trim - we cut the lip back 1/2" to make it easier to fit back in.
• Installed steering wheel - this was a bigger PITA than I remembered b/c of how it all fits back together. I thought I was doing it wrong until I remembered the steering nut had to be in place to let it rotate.
• Resealed the Denso 10PA compressor (did this earlier, not today. won't know for some time if it actually worked)

Doesn't look like much but it's nearly there.

[mjweimer]

I've driven many 2002s but never an M42 swap. I'd think it would be a great match.

Interestingly I haven't driven the 318is over 30mph (this was pre-engine reseal too) so I can't say what it will be like! We may get it moving this weekend which is really exciting. I'm buttoning up the interior now..

Being a 2002 guy...you will immediately recognize the character of that car lives within the 318iS....and you will enjoy it tremendously. I still have a vivid memory of my first drive in an Alpine white over blue cloth 318iS - 22 years ago now. The free revving nature of the engine, combined with the perfectly weighted/excellent feedback from the front end is what made it memorable. Can't wait to hear your thoughts.

[jsnppp]

I've driven many 2002s but never an M42 swap. I'd think it would be a great match.

Interestingly I haven't driven the 318is over 30mph (this was pre-engine reseal too) so I can't say what it will be like! We may get it moving this weekend which is really exciting. I'm buttoning up the interior now..

[mjweimer]

M10 is good for a 'classic' car but honestly M42s feel way better to actually drive. Plus it's an easy 5 speed conversion rather than trying to find a m10 5 speed.

I agree. I've driven a M42 swapped '02 and it was fun in a different way. The engine likes to rev and seems to match the character of the car really well...and it all can be reversed easily if done properly.