Preparation for the '04 driving season has begun. There are several tech procedures I need to undertake before I can take the car out on track next spring. Due to limited time resources I have to break these projects up into monthly installments.
Here is the timeline:
October:
Brake Master Cylinder (BMC) Upgrade - from stock Girling 17/22mm BMC to 25mm ATE BMC
R/R Clutch Master Cylinder (CMC) - replace with new OEM
R/R Clutch Slave Cylinder (CSC) - replace with new OEM
R/R Brake lines - replace with Turner Motorsport DOT SS lines (only replaced 4 out of 6 for now)
Flush Hydraulic System with ATE Super Blue
R/R Hood Shock - replace with new OEM
Fix nagging electrical problem - loose ground that makes headlights flicker
Attempt to adjust brake pedal travel
November:
R/R Subframe bushings - replace with IE polyurethane units
R/R Trailing Arm Bushings- replace with IE polyurethane units
Install last 2 SS Brake lines
December:
R/R Steering Rack - replace with E30 M3 Unit
R/R Motor Mounts - replace with 5 series units or IE polyuretahne ones
Track down and fix pesky oil leak
Alignment
Corner Balance
January:
R/R Transmission Mounts - replace with polyurethane units
R/R flex Coupling - replace with 5 series unit
Feb./ March:
Relax and go nuts waiting for April to arrive
April:
Driving Season Starts
This past Saturday I completed my entire October list. So how does the car feel? Great.
Since I would be ripping the hydraulic system apart I decided to do it in the following order to get most of the old fluid out of the system via the brake lines.
1. R/R Brake lines (4 of 6 for now)
2. Loosen power steering pump reservoir and push it out of the way for more work room
3. Drain and Remove Brake Fluid Reservoir
4. Remove BMC
5. Remove CSC
6. Remove CMC
7. Replace CSC
8. Replace CMC
9. Replace BMC
10. Attach Brake Fluid Reservoir
11. Fill reservoir
12. Full System Bleed
13. Re-atach P/S reservoir
Notes:
Flare wrenches are a god send and a requirement.
Do loosen and push aside the p/s reservoir. You will appreciate the extra room.
Put a shit load of shop towels under the area of the BMC. When you remove the brake fluid reservoir and eventually the BMC, fluid will run out of open orifices. The towels will help to catch and absorb all the excess fluid.
Use a turkey baster (not your wifes or moms) or a baby snot sucking bulb (not your kids or brothers) to suck most of the fluid out of the brake fluid reservoir. Girling supplied BFRs have 3 internal chambers. The first (main one and closest to the brake booster) is easy to drain. The second one (forward most chamber is not drainable) will drain when out of the bottom when you pop off the BFR. The third chamber is on the right side of the forward most chamber and feeds the CMC via a hose that sticks out of the side. That little chamber is fed fluid wise from the forward chamber.
The brake fluid reservoir is difficult to pull off the BMC, but not imposible. Its snapped in tight. I used firm yet gentle upward side to side rocking to pop it off.
The CSC is easy to get off. Just 2 nuts holding it ot the clutch bell housing. Once the nuts are off, it pull it out and proceed to remove the line from the CSC. It looks easy, but in my case, 12 years of road grime and rain made it impossible for me to remove. In the way I was laying under the car, I could not get enough leverage to break it loose. Rather than risk stripping the fitting I decided to remove the CSC and its line from the fitting above it an 3 inches below the CMC.
Since the CMC fitting is right upline from the CSC, I simply reached up past the control arm bushing and got it loose. That area is shielded well from the elements and thus the fitting is not hard to break loose.
After doing this you will have 2 parts under the car. The CSC/line assembly and the metal CMC to CSC line.
The CMC is easy to remove, but a PITA to get to as its under your dash. The best bet is to make more room under there. Once you got all the plastic cladding removed, remove the foam/metal chin bar that is right below the steering wheel and attached to both the side of the center console and right above the drivers side foot well speaker. While the CMC removal can be done with this in place, you will appreciate the extra room, not to mention the removal of a sharp corner that you may hit with your head (I did several times and let me tell you IT HURTS) when you go to work down there.
The CMC is easy to remove, but before you do so, place a shop towel over your rug or mats to catch any potential fluid that may or may not leak out. The BFR line that attached to the top of the CMC will be stubborn to pop off if the CMC is near its intended location. I removed all the bolts, pulled the CMC down a bit (this action will pull the BFR hose through the firewall grommet , but if you do this slowly and methodical, you can pull almost half the hose thorugh and still leave enough hose on the other side of the firewall to pull back the CMC back after you re-attach the hose) To pop the line of the CMC, I used a wide blade screwdriver to help remove it.
If you had to remove the hose and fitting from the car and CSC, make sure that when you re-install the metal line is orientated like it was when you took if off. The same goes for the metal line between the CMC and the CSC fitting.
I replaced the CMC and CSC and proceeded to work on the BMC. Although the Girling and ATE BMC look a bit different at the end that goes into the brake booster, they do fit. I will keep an eye on this area to see if I develop any booster air leaks. Installation is the reverse of removal. Just make sure the hydraulic lines line up correctly with the BMC holes.
Pressure bleeding was straight forward.
So how does it feel? Like I said, great. The clutch feels solid with smooth actuation that is neither too light or too hard. Sometimes when I engaged first gear, the shift lever would stick a bit, no more.
My brakes feel awesome despite only having replaced 4 out of 6 lines. While the initial pedal travel is the same, once I get past that and start to feel the brakes, the pedal feel is 15% firmer, The best part is that when slowing down the brakes are so much easier to modulate.
Although the only real mods were the BMC and the SS lines, refreshing the old clutch components has restored my confidence in their feel and performance. I never thought that the stock 318is brake system was that bad. I never had any confidence issues with them. In retrospect, the rubber hoses always had a soft feel to them. Now the brakes are amazing and so easy to modulate, with great pedal feed back. I look forward to replacing the last two lines when I do the rear suspension overhaul. I can only imagine what the car will feel like with race pads.
Here is the timeline:
October:
Brake Master Cylinder (BMC) Upgrade - from stock Girling 17/22mm BMC to 25mm ATE BMC
R/R Clutch Master Cylinder (CMC) - replace with new OEM
R/R Clutch Slave Cylinder (CSC) - replace with new OEM
R/R Brake lines - replace with Turner Motorsport DOT SS lines (only replaced 4 out of 6 for now)
Flush Hydraulic System with ATE Super Blue
R/R Hood Shock - replace with new OEM
Fix nagging electrical problem - loose ground that makes headlights flicker
Attempt to adjust brake pedal travel
November:
R/R Subframe bushings - replace with IE polyurethane units
R/R Trailing Arm Bushings- replace with IE polyurethane units
Install last 2 SS Brake lines
December:
R/R Steering Rack - replace with E30 M3 Unit
R/R Motor Mounts - replace with 5 series units or IE polyuretahne ones
Track down and fix pesky oil leak
Alignment
Corner Balance
January:
R/R Transmission Mounts - replace with polyurethane units
R/R flex Coupling - replace with 5 series unit
Feb./ March:
Relax and go nuts waiting for April to arrive
April:
Driving Season Starts
This past Saturday I completed my entire October list. So how does the car feel? Great.
Since I would be ripping the hydraulic system apart I decided to do it in the following order to get most of the old fluid out of the system via the brake lines.
1. R/R Brake lines (4 of 6 for now)
2. Loosen power steering pump reservoir and push it out of the way for more work room
3. Drain and Remove Brake Fluid Reservoir
4. Remove BMC
5. Remove CSC
6. Remove CMC
7. Replace CSC
8. Replace CMC
9. Replace BMC
10. Attach Brake Fluid Reservoir
11. Fill reservoir
12. Full System Bleed
13. Re-atach P/S reservoir
Notes:
Flare wrenches are a god send and a requirement.
Do loosen and push aside the p/s reservoir. You will appreciate the extra room.
Put a shit load of shop towels under the area of the BMC. When you remove the brake fluid reservoir and eventually the BMC, fluid will run out of open orifices. The towels will help to catch and absorb all the excess fluid.
Use a turkey baster (not your wifes or moms) or a baby snot sucking bulb (not your kids or brothers) to suck most of the fluid out of the brake fluid reservoir. Girling supplied BFRs have 3 internal chambers. The first (main one and closest to the brake booster) is easy to drain. The second one (forward most chamber is not drainable) will drain when out of the bottom when you pop off the BFR. The third chamber is on the right side of the forward most chamber and feeds the CMC via a hose that sticks out of the side. That little chamber is fed fluid wise from the forward chamber.
The brake fluid reservoir is difficult to pull off the BMC, but not imposible. Its snapped in tight. I used firm yet gentle upward side to side rocking to pop it off.
The CSC is easy to get off. Just 2 nuts holding it ot the clutch bell housing. Once the nuts are off, it pull it out and proceed to remove the line from the CSC. It looks easy, but in my case, 12 years of road grime and rain made it impossible for me to remove. In the way I was laying under the car, I could not get enough leverage to break it loose. Rather than risk stripping the fitting I decided to remove the CSC and its line from the fitting above it an 3 inches below the CMC.
Since the CMC fitting is right upline from the CSC, I simply reached up past the control arm bushing and got it loose. That area is shielded well from the elements and thus the fitting is not hard to break loose.
After doing this you will have 2 parts under the car. The CSC/line assembly and the metal CMC to CSC line.
The CMC is easy to remove, but a PITA to get to as its under your dash. The best bet is to make more room under there. Once you got all the plastic cladding removed, remove the foam/metal chin bar that is right below the steering wheel and attached to both the side of the center console and right above the drivers side foot well speaker. While the CMC removal can be done with this in place, you will appreciate the extra room, not to mention the removal of a sharp corner that you may hit with your head (I did several times and let me tell you IT HURTS) when you go to work down there.
The CMC is easy to remove, but before you do so, place a shop towel over your rug or mats to catch any potential fluid that may or may not leak out. The BFR line that attached to the top of the CMC will be stubborn to pop off if the CMC is near its intended location. I removed all the bolts, pulled the CMC down a bit (this action will pull the BFR hose through the firewall grommet , but if you do this slowly and methodical, you can pull almost half the hose thorugh and still leave enough hose on the other side of the firewall to pull back the CMC back after you re-attach the hose) To pop the line of the CMC, I used a wide blade screwdriver to help remove it.
If you had to remove the hose and fitting from the car and CSC, make sure that when you re-install the metal line is orientated like it was when you took if off. The same goes for the metal line between the CMC and the CSC fitting.
I replaced the CMC and CSC and proceeded to work on the BMC. Although the Girling and ATE BMC look a bit different at the end that goes into the brake booster, they do fit. I will keep an eye on this area to see if I develop any booster air leaks. Installation is the reverse of removal. Just make sure the hydraulic lines line up correctly with the BMC holes.
Pressure bleeding was straight forward.
So how does it feel? Like I said, great. The clutch feels solid with smooth actuation that is neither too light or too hard. Sometimes when I engaged first gear, the shift lever would stick a bit, no more.
My brakes feel awesome despite only having replaced 4 out of 6 lines. While the initial pedal travel is the same, once I get past that and start to feel the brakes, the pedal feel is 15% firmer, The best part is that when slowing down the brakes are so much easier to modulate.
Although the only real mods were the BMC and the SS lines, refreshing the old clutch components has restored my confidence in their feel and performance. I never thought that the stock 318is brake system was that bad. I never had any confidence issues with them. In retrospect, the rubber hoses always had a soft feel to them. Now the brakes are amazing and so easy to modulate, with great pedal feed back. I look forward to replacing the last two lines when I do the rear suspension overhaul. I can only imagine what the car will feel like with race pads.
Comment