New owner, BMW 325iX Touring

[D.Martijn]

So I've been able to test the steering rack for a while now and the weird feeling I got on center if fully gone! Had I known before, I would have just used the original bushings the first time around..

Last weekend my girlfriend and I spend 4 days at the Belgian coast, I decided to go with the E30 as the weather was pretty good.
Feels great to drive it again, I should drive it more though! However I did notice some squeaking and screeching coming from the boot.
At first I thought it was the tailgate itself that was moving as I did notice previously that the plastic trim is touching the tailgate a little. I used a small cloth and put it between the two to test if that would be the cause but that didn't solve the noise.
After coming back from a drive, I shook the car at the rear and could hear the noise as well, I think it might be the rear top shock mounts? The noise it mostly only noticeable on rougher roads.

There are a few other things I need to do as well, like replacing the wiper stalk back to the airbag type one so it comes more forward as it's now a little too far away from the steering wheel.
However as for the SWRA /turn signal stalk, I might have to bend that one since the stalk also pressed in to operate the SWRA function.


Before, nice and clean...


After, not so much

[D.Martijn]

Really wish I had some kind of formal training on the lathe, my knowledge is just off trial and error and sometimes there is a lot of error

While I did have some basic turning in school it's been a long time so I'm still a newb lol.

[econti]

Really wish I had some kind of formal training on the lathe, my knowledge is just off trial and error and sometimes there is a lot of error

[D.Martijn]

The new seal for the steering rack arrived just in time on Friday at a local pickup place not far from work. So I was able to get it and start rebuilding the rack.
Previously that week, I stayed a little longer after hours to make a new tension plug for the steering rack. On the old one I stripped the hex nut when first disassembling the rack, I later made a little adapter to use the reinforcement ribs but these also started to deform so I decided it was best to start over.

It has some weird thread, M40,5 x 1,5. Yes 40,5mm... I dunno what ZF was thinking lol
Anyway, I used a thread micrometer to measure the original piece and new piece so the threads were identical. As I couldn't try the threads while the piece was still on the machine. Luckily everything turned out great.
Piece on the lathe, it's been a some time since I manual threaded on the lathe, probably from the time I was still in school. The threads were a little rough as I was turning pretty slow, I should have used a little bit of oil as well..


Piece clamped in the rotary dividing head to mill the hexagon shape (17mm)


Quick fine sandblast to remove the machining marks




New seal, Corteco 15019947B if anyone is wondering


Steering rack assembled. The old 3D printed clips I used got deformed over time, if I remember correctly I printed these out of PETG.
The new ones are ABS, hopefully they last a little bit better as I couldn't print ABS at the time.


Everything torqued back and fitted into place.


While the rack was out of the car, I adjusted the hydraulic lines I got made as well, as I noticed they lightly touched the CV axle.
Looks like I do have a little bit more room now; it's still close though


While I had the printer fired up to print the clips for the hard lines, I also modelled printed a little cap for the Girling brake reservoir as I was missing mine.
(I previously used some kind of grommet that fit snuggly over the cap but this looks a little bit neater) I might print a black one as this was just a test piece - red adds +10HP right?

[D.Martijn]

I (finally) managed to remove the X3 steering rack I placing into the iX, it's been fitted for 2? years now. damn time flies..
The reason I wanted/needed to remove it yet again, I used a cheapish (it was the one kit I could find at that time) rebuild kit to reseal the rack.
I used the new guide bushings from the kit but they were a bit too tight causing the rack to have a sticky feel. Especially noticeable when driving in a straight line, I had to keep adjusting the steering wheel to keep the E30 in it's lane.

By now removing the rack, I could have a feel for the stickiness of the rack when turning the rack with a vice grip.

Oh wow, I can tell you it's sooooo much more enjoyable with everything nicely zinc plated and being fresh.


I was able to get a engine hook/bridge to keep the engine in it's place


And the rack disassembled, the plastic guide bushing is seated in the steel sleeve that still on the axle of the steering rack.
In this same sleeve there is also some kind of oil seal but with an extra nylon/PTFE ring to align the shaft better. In the end I did found the correct part number and got it ordered.
I also plan on making a new plug to adjust the tension on the rack. The first time I tried to loosen this part, I pretty much stripped the hexagon that's on this piece.

[D.Martijn]

Not a whole lot has happen since last time. I did drive the Touring to the Belgian coast with my girlfriend and had a drive over there. It felt great driving it again.

However I did do quite a bit of work on my uncles E30's.

His iX Touring came in for a service as well as replacing the timing belt as it was just passed 5 years. I changed the waterpump, thermostat and some seals as well.


Valvetrain adjustment done as well


Next up was his Baur..
This one needed quite a bit more work, he wants to drive it the the South of France this summer. I did a full service, timing belt + waterpump, all new coolant hoses + vacuum hoses, new flexible brake lines.
I stripped the nut on the both sides of the front brake lines so I had to make new ones. The exhaust was renewed too, last time he drove the car it broke at the front of the muffler. I did need to adjust the exhaust hangers quite a bit as they didn't fit all that great. There were quite a bit of electrical gremlins too, I had to replace the central locking module, replace the SI board batteries as well as fixing a couple of traces on the PCB of the cluster as they were broken by using screws that are too long which damaged these.

[D.Martijn]

Thanks! Yes, I'm 6'5" (198cm) tall. The K2006 hub is better positioned than a stock steering wheel and appears to be 3.4" (8.6cm) in length, so the L2007 would give me just over 1.3" (3.3 cm). I could install a "deep dish" wheel, but I'm not sure I like that style. There may also be an option of extending the current K2006 hub with a quick release setup, but I still need to research that.

Yeah, I'm just over 2meters (203cm). I felt like the K2006 is pretty much like the Mtech 2 wheel I had..
Not a fan of those deep dish wheels as well especially for a street car.

If you really are interested in those L2007 hubs, I could always forward the steering hub on Ebay Kleinanzeigen to you if the seller doesn't ship to the US..

Because of my height, the sport seat is all the way back (to have room for my knees/legs) but I found that I had to stretch my arms too much to reach the steering wheel. It's pretty perfect now with this hub. How is this for you?

[mike.bmw]

Oops, you're right, I messed up the type of hub and the lenght.
K2006 (short) 8cm
L2007 (long) 12cm

Indeed, you can't seem to find these L2007 hubs as easily (I'm pretty sure they no longer make these long versions) I was lucky to stumble upon one in Germany (Ebay Kleinanzeigen), just had a look and there are 2 more for sale as well..

https://www.ebay-kleinanzeigen.de/s-momo-l2007/k0

You're also pretty tall right? Also having trouble with the K2006 hub?

Thanks! Yes, I'm 6'5" (198cm) tall. The K2006 hub is better positioned than a stock steering wheel and appears to be 3.4" (8.6cm) in length, so the L2007 would give me just over 1.3" (3.3 cm). I could install a "deep dish" wheel, but I'm not sure I like that style. There may also be an option of extending the current K2006 hub with a quick release setup, but I still need to research that.

[D.Martijn]

The steering wheel and cover look great! I just installed a Momo Prototipo 350mm wheel with their 2006 hub. I can't seem to find the L2007 you're referencing. Do you have a link (and will that fit any E30)?

Also, how long is the L2007? I see you said 80cm, but that's over 31 inches so I'm guessing it was as typo.

Awesome work as always. Thanks!

Oops, you're right, I messed up the type of hub and the lenght.
K2006 (short) 8cm
L2007 (long) 12cm

Indeed, you can't seem to find these L2007 hubs as easily (I'm pretty sure they no longer make these long versions) I was lucky to stumble upon one in Germany (Ebay Kleinanzeigen), just had a look and there are 2 more for sale as well..

https://www.ebay-kleinanzeigen.de/s-momo-l2007/k0

You're also pretty tall right? Also having trouble with the K2006 hub?

[mike.bmw]

The steering wheel and cover look great! I just installed a Momo Prototipo 350mm wheel with their 2006 hub. I can't seem to find the L2007 you're referencing. Do you have a link (and will that fit any E30)?

Also, how long is the L2007? I see you said 80cm, but that's over 31 inches so I'm guessing it was as typo.

Awesome work as always. Thanks!

[D.Martijn]

Had some time this weekend to fit the new hub and steering wheel, had to sand the 3Dprinted cover a little bit and readjust the plastic steering column trim since the cover was slightly rubbing.
Happy with the result and fitment as well, couple pictures :)

I might cover the plastic with some vinyl but kinda like the look of the printed part as well, not sure yet

[D.Martijn]

Little update on the Touring, not a whole lot has happened but I decided to go ahead and get a MOMO hub as the cheap hub I got didn't fit that great anyway.
However, I did like that it was quite tall, so the steering wheel position changed more and got a little higher so I have more room for my knees..

After receiving the new MOMO hub, I didn't like the original look with it's rubber sleeve.
So I modeled a cover that fit's tightly around the aluminium base of the hub. Fired up the 3D printer - turned out pretty nice if I say so myself.




There isn't a whole lot of clearance when the center pad is fitted, it made the top of the cover quite thin but still plenty strong


And fitted inside the car. I did want to make the diameter towards the steering column a little bigger (I since then measured the Mtech 2 wheel I previously had)
I do like the finish as it's printed quite fine anyways, I might however still wrap it in leather/vinyl




After test fitting a couple of times and checking clearance with me knees etc, I still found the steering wheel sitting too much forward (so also down)
I decided to have a look on the internet and stumbled across a longer version of the MOMO hub.
The small version (K2006) is 8cm long - the (L2007) is just shy of 12cm (measured from the base where the steering wheel bolts on to, to the bottom where the hub sit's against the steering column spacer on the shaft.)

Test fit with the small hub


Test fit with the longer hub


Difference between the two


So I went ahead and measured the hub, changed the length and a few things and voila a new 3D printed cover!

[D.Martijn]

Last week I bought a little upgrade for the Touring!
I'm a pretty tall dude (2m04) so every bit of extra room I can get in the E30 is a nice little extra.
I decided to get a new smaller steering wheel, an Alpina three spoke steering wheel (360mm) to be exact.









I got a cheap hub from Aliexpress in aluminium (more like chinesium) since the hub that other resellers list with the wheel are the typical MOMO hubs with the ribbed plastic cover.
The hub I bought is more smooth and suits the car better in my opinion. The spline of the hub it a little off though, I now kinda forced the hub on.
I'm not sure if I'll stick with this hub. I might even go with the MOMO hub and 3D print myself a new cover and maybe wrap it in leather just like the original Alpina hub was.


We also had our classic car event/drive last weekend, 50 cars, 100 people. Everything went smooth and everyone was very happy!

[D.Martijn]

Having finished the wring under the dashboard for the headlight aim adjust, I was able to test the motors. Turns out the left motor didn't run at all.
I had already found a replacement motor on Ebay so I decided to just buy it as was pretty cheap anyway.

To fit the motor you need to cut off the plastic shaft and reuse the steel one that's original to the aim adjust system. Upon receiving the new replacement motor I found out one of the mounting point on the front housing got damaged.
So I decided to just swap the front housings of both motors. Opening up the housings revealed quite a bit of rust, turns out the rubber seal was broken and water ended up inside the housing and rusted the little electric motor.




I still need to do some fine adjustment on the SWRA wipers as the right side seems to go a little too far and gets stuck behind the glass of the headlights

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cj76wvhrzrg

No one will ever notice the refurbished headlights tho

[D.Martijn]

Last weekend I took a couple of pictures of a friends BMW E36, started out as a regular 235i 4 door sedan. Since then he has fully built the thing.
And the latest addition was a S54 engine swap, the thing sounds awesome!











On Friday I took the mk1 Golf (1.1L engine) to the yearly technical inspection, it was actually the third time (I know..) First time it got rejected because of the lights, second time I went the odometer suddenly stopped working.
I had to remove the dash and replace the little plastic gear. Turns out it's a lot harder to find the correct one for the Golf than for an E30. It took me a few days of tracking down the correct gear type.


And just received the NOS ZKW front turn signal lenses for the E30 as well. These will freshen up the front a little bit more since fitting the restored headlights