My "Great White Buffalo" restoration.

[goskidmark]

Check that off the board.

90% Complete. The Diff cover has been on back order since last October. I might just have to weld, grind, and paint this one. None in stock according to ECS and BMW. Hurry up Germany, I need my damn cover!
I also still need to assemble the new brakes and hardware. I will also attempt a paint trick I know of on the output shafts.

[goskidmark]

Pow.

I got these bastards out. It took my press and the claw, but it was worth it. Never again. Ever.

[goskidmark]

That tire is toast!!!
Any signs something was wrong with it?

Surprisingly, no. I can't believe it did not blow out on me.

[doorman]

That tire is toast!!!
Any signs something was wrong with it?

[goskidmark]

Futt Bucked.

Today seemed to be promising until I decided to take crap apart and I found more broken crap.

The tread wear is low, so it should still be good right? I did not even catch that until I took the tire off to replace the rotted brake line.



New thin spring pads.



I took the thin spring off and replaced it with the thicker one. Who ever put these on mixed up where all the springs went. Who knows what brand they are, but now I know the rates of each spring.



Cleaned up and mashed fresh grease in the passenger side. Driver side will happen tomorrow.



The front left caliper is beyond repair. The piston is stuck. So I will be ordering two new ones. The brake pads were brand new. No wonder why it was pulling to the right when stopping.



Tomorrow the rest of the rear sub-frame bushings will come out. Hopefully.

[goskidmark]

The two arms are very easy to push apart from each other, like I said, first hand experience.

Z3 had these two arms reinforced by a bar across.

You can weld one in yourself, but the metal there is fairly thin, so weld slow and dont weld one spot for too long to keep warpage down to a min.

I might have to give the "New bushing" idea a try. Thank you for the tips.

[goskidmark]

What did the drive shaft set you back?
Local Chicago shop quoted me 300ish with csb installed.

Mine was a little over that. I had made the decision to go with Portland due to all the member's suggestions on this forum. I would give that quote a try to do a comparison.

[doorman]

What did the drive shaft set you back?
Local Chicago shop quoted me 300ish with csb installed.

[goskidmark]

No time.

The driveshaft came in today from Portland! No time to install it until the weekend. I still have to press out the sleeves of the subframe bushings.

[goskidmark]

Something is completed.

The new MTC shifter rod joint came in. I had to add four spacers for the custom selector rod. It feels a lot better. There is still a minimal amount of slop on the very bottom bushing that the shifter sits on inside the cup.



Bonus video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XxGzKP65XwY

[noid]

I already pressed out the center of the bushing, and all that's left is the sleeve. I tried that method and it just bent the crap out of the outer threaded pipe, even with a steel wedge. My sleeves are stuck in pretty good. I called a friend for an exact cut round push plate. He has access to a laser cutter. Thank goodness for awesome friends.



I used the single C-clamp push method. It was the only choice I had due to my press limitations. I can't see that double method pictures above "bending" the trailing arm, unless they are weak laterally, which is unlikely. I could be totally wrong and I just never seen it happen. If that's the case, then I will bust out my crappy Mig welder and cut some pipe to fit in-between those puppies.

The two arms are very easy to push apart from each other, like I said, first hand experience.

Z3 had these two arms reinforced by a bar across.

You can weld one in yourself, but the metal there is fairly thin, so weld slow and dont weld one spot for too long to keep warpage down to a min.

For the subframe bushing:

[gespinal0301]

It started to warp on me as well until I applied some heat to it :ST1G:

[goskidmark]

Not sure if you got the subframe bushings out or not, but this is what I used

http://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?1278591-DIY-Subframe-bushing-removal-Install-tool-easy-to-use-for-uber-cheap!

If you heat up the subframe where the bushing sits for 30 secs with a torch and then use this it should pop right out. It saved me a lot of time also if you can an impact gun you'll get these out in under 20 minutes

I already pressed out the center of the bushing, and all that's left is the sleeve. I tried that method and it just bent the crap out of the outer threaded pipe, even with a steel wedge. My sleeves are stuck in pretty good. I called a friend for an exact cut round push plate. He has access to a laser cutter. Thank goodness for awesome friends.

DO NOT DO THIS. If the bushings give any resistance, the two arms will bend apart, and you will be left with a bent trailing arm (first hand XP, had to get a new trailing arm).

Any tool should be isolated to one arm and not use the other as leverage.

Consider yourself lucky that it worked out for you.

I used the single C-clamp push method. It was the only choice I had due to my press limitations. I can't see that double method pictures above "bending" the trailing arm, unless they are weak laterally, which is unlikely. I could be totally wrong and I just never seen it happen. If that's the case, then I will bust out my crappy Mig welder and cut some pipe to fit in-between those puppies.

[noid]

Tried an air impact gun on the axle bolt? Should be able to knock it off easily.

I took an approach similar to your first to get the bushings out. Worked well for me. Just had to go really slow at it. I REALLY want a press.

DO NOT DO THIS. If the bushings give any resistance, the two arms will bend apart, and you will be left with a bent trailing arm (first hand XP, had to get a new trailing arm).

Any tool should be isolated to one arm and not use the other as leverage.

Consider yourself lucky that it worked out for you.

[gespinal0301]

Not sure if you got the subframe bushings out or not, but this is what I used

http://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/sh...or-uber-cheap!

If you heat up the subframe where the bushing sits for 30 secs with a torch and then use this it should pop right out. It saved me a lot of time also if you can an impact gun you'll get these out in under 20 minutes