New guy

[LateFan]

I really want one of these in there......917 shift knob

[LateFan]

I want to change the two U joints while it's apart. They're greyed out on the realoem diagram. Is that a standard piece from a driveline shop?

What about balancing the driveshaft assembly?

[LateFan]

A search found this post by iwantspeed in 2018: His pics are long gone on his DIY.

"But this presents another opportunity to fix a mistake you made.
You should remove the harmonic balancer ring on your driveshaft.
It will hit your shift linkage since you did the z3 shifter.
You can bend your shift linkage to clear the harmonic balancer, but if you ever change shift levers in the future or upgrade to a dssr (highly recommend) then you can't install it until the that ring is removed.


"You will need a few new bolts.
From what I remember that ring uses pressed in studs.
You can hammer out the studs, remove the ring and install regular bolts.


"Also make sure you orientate the guibo in the correct direction.
The tip of the arrow needs to point to a flange.

"Most e30 do not have a harmonic balancer on the driveshaft.
A diy I made I while ago:"
http://garagistic.com/index.php?page...arrier-bushing

"Now heat up the studs and hit them with a Big fucking hammer (BFH).
Once the studs come off and fly across the room, rotate the harmonic balancer and slide it forward.

Success!"

[LateFan]

Yeah, neither of those little L brackets came with it and I don't see any out there just yet. The NW guys out here might have parts stashes to help out. Funny I was just doing a spreadsheet parts list! Thanks. Right now I'm trying to cross reference early eta case with 6 1/2" depth with part numbers for TO bearing and clutch. I think I'll get the standard SACHS kit.

I'm just taking out this melted harmonic balancer on the output flange. Is that OK? I'm under the impression most people leave it out, and it was discontinued on later cars? Trying to get it to pop loose from the yoke. Do those studs press fit in? I've tried PB, two boards, and a careful 2 lb hammer.



Simon - But, but....I won't get to drive it! He's moving to Illinois - U of I. We have to get this thing in and shaken down before he goes. I'm a bit stressed. Guess which project is on hold while I do this? I do have the RF suspension going back together with shiny bits!

[Albie325]

I did an early model manual swap recently, with the plate style shifter. I might have a parts list excel sheet somewhere for all the carrier parts and the trans re-seal. If you run into any issues I may be able to help, the biggest different between the plate style sift carrier and rod style is the mounting bracket where the end of the carrier mounts to the body. The plate style one works a little odd (to me) but everything mounted up nice and solid. I hope you got the little bracket off the donor car, it's NLA and I was lucky to find someone who had one after posting a WTB ad.

[2mAn]

You will LOVE the manual...

after that, maybe an Alfa Update?

[LateFan]

About to start the manual swap over here boss. We're gathering all our DIY lists and making a big parts list.
Maybe I should make a thread over in Transmission & Driveline since I'll have questions to ask.

We have the early shift plate type. There was a small engine fire under the donor car - got the rubber and plastic hot enough to melt, so we're replacing a lot of pieces.



That bushing is shot, so you have to buy the lower shaft lever, which now looks to have a Delrin ball instead of this dimpled aluminum one.

So I ground it all off with the wire wheel.




So many bits to keep track of!

[LateFan]

This weekend we adjusted the valves - they were all right on or max .001" off. Inside of head was very very clean, that's good. New VC gaskets and plugs. Did a compression test finally. Mostly 180 with a couple of 165s. New used ABS computer module under the dash - didn't seem to make any difference, so maybe the pump / solenoids, or a wiring connection somewhere? We changed out the E90 drop hats on the front back to stock ones plus new rubber spring seats. It was just too low in the front for rough roads and city driving. Sits a little more level now, not so down in front. Played with a fender roller on the front lips where the tires were catching on turns.


Next is timing belt & tensioner (WP is <20k miles), flush the coolant, replace cam seals. Assemble the list of pieces we need to complete the manual swap package - we have trans, cross member, driveshaft, nice flywheel, shifter assembly (plate type), pedals.

[LateFan]

Fun to find a good metal guy that does it right.

[rturbo 930]

Looks great! Glad to see you went that route. Too much replacement these days, not enough repair.

[mike.bmw]

Wow, that turned out nicely!

[LateFan]

Very pleased with the metal work and paint.

[LateFan]

OK, went to three body shops today - son was in class and at work. One seemed worried and thought the whole quarter panel would have to come off. The other two said, Oh, no problem, we can work this metal, not that big a job. Estimates on the spot. Well below the car value so they didn't seem worried about that.I have another one to see Monday, which has a good metal guy and very good painters. They do classics and hot rods and Porsches and everything.

Fingers crossed.

We'll need to find that short side molding piece from the door to the rear wheel arch. Don't know if that's available.

[LateFan]

BMW parts guys confirm that panel is NLA. Are aftermarket panels junk?

Car-part.com search shows several 2-door pre-'87 quarter panels in my region, at $150-200. Shipping is an issue I'll bet. More money to ship, less labor on metal work (maybe).

[LateFan]

Really interesting to see that work. I guess the issue is whether there's room to do all that working from inside the car. I can also see where a butt seam isn't desirable on the fender. But you've got to find and ship a whole quarter panel. So you'd weld in the door jamb, at the sill of the window under the trim, down the trunk gutter seam, behind the taillight, and along that sill ridge? Or all the way down to the pinch seam under the sill?

I don't imagine a "rear side panel" is actually $387 new, or still available (#1). There are a few shells out there, usually with front damage.


And I'm not clear on how it welds to the fender liner shell #6. That could produce a lot of heat right on the backside of the fender / arch.