m60 - Correct drivetrain angle without subframe spacers

[JGood]

Figured I'd throw up some pics of the work required to get the drivetrain angle correct without subframe spacers. My buddy did the aluminum welding, and did a hell of a job. It was not easy, we ruined a pan figuring out how to prevent it from warping. In the end, in just needed to be bolted down to the block, as no amount of preheating, slow cooling, or various welding techniques would prevent it from warping and cracking the weld as it cooled.


Stock pan:





Modified pan:

















While my friend was working on the pan, I made a set of engine mounts to lower the engine 3/4". I also had to modify the subframe steering rack mounts to allow for clearance. This requires the use of the smaller e36 rack, which I was already using anyway. I'm hoping to drop the engine in the car tonight to verify everything is clearanced properly.






Stock subframe:




Modified subframe:

[36brua]

THANKS !! post of the month --sticky this in v8 section

[filthiest e30]

This is a really good write up thanks

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

[Zacm829]

Any pictures of the engine mounted with pan clearances? This is the next step of my swap.

[JGood]

No, but I can take some. I have maybe 10mm of clearance from the front of the steering rack to the 'sump' part of the oil pan, and about 5mm of clearance between the top of the rack and the flat part of the pan. It's less then what I thought it would be, but still more then what I had before with the old setup (e30.de mounts with the stock pan). It's plenty of room with the revshift mounts, the engine moves maybe 1-2mm under load. Even with the stock m60 mounts I think it would be enough.

The pan is leaking a bit, three very minor pinhole leaks. Not even big enough to form a drop in 200 miles of driving over a 3-4 day period. I'll probably just clean it up and throw some jb weld in those spots.

[Zacm829]

Some pictures would be great if you have the time, sorry to hear about the leaks. Seems like you have an ample plan to remedy the situation.

[MJCRO]

Your buddy did an awesome job. I hate how low my control arms sit with these spacers.

[dirtysix]

This is to align the guibo through to the centre bearing yeah? Any room to lift the rear of the gbox a touch rather than drop the engine?

[JGood]

This is to align the guibo through to the centre bearing yeah? Any room to lift the rear of the gbox a touch rather than drop the engine?

It's to align the entire drivetrain. The trans is already properly aligned, it's the engine that is too high (hence the use of subframe spacers). If you were to just lift the trans higher, to level out the engine/trans assembly, your u-joint angles will still be off, and you'll probably be putting stress on the guibo. I'm not an expert on that, but I can't imagine that would be ideal.

Besides, with the 6 speed trans, there is no room to go upwards. Mine is about 2mm from the body in like 5 different spots.

[CorvallisBMW]

Great info, thanks for sharing.

[36brua]

I've got my pan cut( M60 4.0) -- just trying to decide on thickness of new material
1/8" 3/36" ? the 1/8" looks pretty good to me. but any input is appreciated TIA

Also for anyone getting ready to do this reworking the cross member for the E36 rack by lowering the top mounting tabs to eliminate the usual rack spacers is really helpful in that you gain about 10mm clearance which means not having to cut the pan too much. I was able to keep the 2 rear sets and front set of cast windage tray mounts. I will follow up with pics thanks

[LoneWolf]

Hard to tell with that gloss black paint. Did you cut the existing mounts and just weld them flush to the top of the subframe or did you add some plate on top of the subframe?

I'm getting ready to do this too.

[JGood]

I used a 1/4" 5052 plate.

Yes, the steering rack mounts are cut off completely. I then bolted them to the rack, and butt welded them to the subframe. Do just one side first without even loosening the other bolt, that way the positioning of the rack doesn't change.

[36brua]

I used a 1/4" 5052 plate.

Yes, the steering rack mounts are cut off completely. I then bolted them to the rack, and butt welded them to the subframe. Do just one side first without even loosening the other bolt, that way the positioning of the rack doesn't change.

Thanks for the materials info

[nrubenstein]

So, this weekend, I attacked the rod bearings in my S62. Unfortunately, when I got the pan off, I discovered that modifying the S62 oil pan is not nearly as simple. It seems that the S62 has multiple rear pickups in addition to the front sump. On the same token, it is shaped very differently. I'll have to slap it into the car and see what it looks like.