New owner, BMW 325iX Touring

[D.Martijn]

I would get it to work first then you can perfect as you go. These projects are never ending so you can always go back later if it is not exactly the way you want it..

Yeah, true but I do think the length is way to big to use it as is. I'm pretty sure I'll have to get it shortent.
Maybe I can get away with leaving the height as is.

[rzerob]

I would get it to work first then you can perfect as you go. These projects are never ending so you can always go back later if it is not exactly the way you want it..

[D.Martijn]

Any progress on the steering rack swap?

I've had the chance to measure both steering racks and the iX subframe.

After putting the measurement reports into Solidworks, I came to the following conclusion.

To get the X3 steering shaft/cylinder in the same position as the original iX steering rack, the X3 steering rack mounting points need 7,8mm removed.
When removing this amount from the mounting holes, there is even more clearance issues with this stump on the X3 rack and subframe.
I could mill a pocket to get clearance, the iX subframe has plenty of reinforcement ribs, so I think it shouldn't be a problem


I centered the rack from the inner holes of the rack, not sure how to explain this, but the plane/surface where the inner tie rod ball joint hits the rack. Somehow these pockets aren't the same depth, 18,7 and 22,5mm respectively.

New holes need to be drilled to mount the rack as well. 3mm more towards the rear and each hole 4mm more inward.

Now, to get the same bumpsteer as the original.

iX rack has 70,2mm travel/each side
X3 has 80,9mm travel/each side

Total length iX = 617mm ; total length X3 = 672.8mm)

So to get the same length, the X3 needs to have 27,9mm removed

Then, 80,9 - 27,9 = 53mm travel
-> 17,15mm less travel than the iX rack, only then you will get the same bumpsteer as original.


Question now, anyone that has an idea how much the 7,8mm height will have in bumpsteer? Should I just try and run the X3 rack without making any changes to it first and go from there.?

Cheers!

[D.Martijn]

So I was planning on rebuilding the transmission of the iX only didn't expect that I would already pul it from under the car today. Luckily everything came apart quite easy.
And I didn't break any studs on the exhaust manifold this time either!

Being that it was my forth transfercase removal, you would expect that I now know what extensions and swivels I need. nope.
Still a pain in the ass to remove it, for the upper bolt, on the passenger side, I was able to use this combination. I decided to take a picture as I won't remember this next time!
Transfercase still looks great after two years under the car. The black grease on it is from handling it under the car, no leaks!





Might have to replace this clip as it's a little twisted, wouldn't want to loose my ability to shift on a drive..
Also the rear (and maybe front) bushings wil get replaced with a poly version instead of the delring that is not fitted. to hopefully keep some of the noise down (if there is any after the trans rebuild..)


Next was the transmission, some long extensions made it very easy to remove the torx bolts
Replaced seals are still dry, only the selector shaft seal is seeping a little
[





An old colleagues of a friend rebuilds transmission at work, he also does in his spare time. He told me if I wanted I can come and assist him with rebuilding my transmission.
That's an offer that I can't turn down right.. good time to learn a bit more about rebuilding a transmission!

[D.Martijn]

Couple of pictures of last meet & drive I did with the iX

[D.Martijn]

Any progress on the steering rack swap?

I haven't yet. I plan on tackling this project in the winter together with removing my transmission to get it rebuild

[iXguido]

Any progress on the steering rack swap?

[kreinholtz]

Thanks man. I'll reach out to both of these guys. If he's not making the blades a few of us might tackle the project here in SoCal. Will keep you all posted. A buddy of mine is restoring a Mercedes e320 (W124) Cabriolet. There are quite a few parts that need to be printed or created as they are no longer available so I may have talked him into adding the wiper blades to the build list :)

[D.Martijn]

Hi there. Great post. I have been working on getting my HLWW system working on my e30 and have almost everything I need with the exception of the parts you mentioned: 61631359531. Can I get more info on how to get a set of these? Also need a better way to get the wiper blade replacements. Thanks! K

Hey man!

Sorry for my late reply.
Thanks for the nice comment! I'm glad that you enjoyed my thread.

For the wiper motor shaft seal I found this guy, as far as I know you can only contact him via facebook.

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100013242129282

This person on Ebay sold me the wiper shaft end caps

https://www.benl.ebay.be/usr/sergekolon?ul_noapp=true

As of now I can't seem to find the guy who sold me the new wiper blades. But the first guy on Facebook was talking that he might also remake these parts.
So maybe you can ask him.?

Anyway I hope I could help you in the right direction.

[kreinholtz]

Hi there. Great post. I have been working on getting my HLWW system working on my e30 and have almost everything I need with the exception of the parts you mentioned: 61631359531. Can I get more info on how to get a set of these? Also need a better way to get the wiper blade replacements. Thanks! K

[D.Martijn]

I was going to ask for the part # for that upper spring pad, but when I looked at the post again on my laptop I see you perfectly positioned the part # in the photo (33531091952). Thanks! Looks like a 22mm spring pad.

I used E46 14.5mm spring pads (up from stock 7.5mm) on my rear springs to get a little extra height. The 7mm pad increase netted a half inch (12.7 mm) of ride height due to the suspension geometry. This spring pad looks like another good option for those wanting to raising/leveling the rear of the car.

Oh yeah, what a coincidence! My uncles was holding them, I pretty sure he didn't notice that there were numbers on the side ;)

He told me the car felt different (positive) but I'm not sure what/how. I'll have to test drive it myself sometime..

[mike.bmw]

I was going to ask for the part # for that upper spring pad, but when I looked at the post again on my laptop I see you perfectly positioned the part # in the photo (33531091952). Thanks! Looks like a 22mm spring pad.

I used E46 14.5mm spring pads (up from stock 7.5mm) on my rear springs to get a little extra height. The 7mm pad increase netted a half inch (12.7 mm) of ride height due to the suspension geometry. This spring pad looks like another good option for those wanting to raising/leveling the rear of the car.

[D.Martijn]

Thanks for input that poly coupler, that is one thing in my list to do

Yeah, no worries! Worthwhile and pretty easy upgrade for sure!
I ordered this one.

https://www.motorsportparts.nl/bmw/bmw-e30/subframe-en-draagarmen/urethaan-stuurstang-rubber

But I think it should be possible to also install on of these as well. I was a bit hesitant about the thickness but that shouldn't be a problem since the lower shaft can slide up and down according to the thickness of the coupler.

https://www.condorspeedshop.com/products/e30-steering-coupler

[litu]

Thanks for input that poly coupler, that is one thing in my list to do

[D.Martijn]

So an update about the steering column guibo. After looking online, there are two different types. One regular and one for airbag cars/steering column.
Most (delrin) steering couplers I find are for the regular steering column E30's, where the guibo is located inside of the engine bay. (However, with removing my original steering coupler, I think one of these might also fit. as the thickness of the coupler isn't very important which I later found out).

So before I knew about this information, I decided to order a "universal" polyurethane coupler that fit's a number of older BMWs (2002, E9, E28, E30....)
This week it arrived in the mail and I fitted it this weekend as next weekend I'll be participating in a drive/meet.

The new poly coupler it quite a bit thicker, I was hoping to be able to reuse the original studs that are pressed in the shaft and aluminium mount but had to press these out with the bench vise




It was a tight fit but I was able to wiggle the lower shaft away from the splines. (You do need to remove the big nut on the end of the shaft before disassembling everything else though!) As far as I understand, this nut just centers/holds the shaft onto the spline..
I've read a couple posts about tightening this nut resulting in less play in the steering wheel but according to me that doesn't do much.


And new coupler fitted, I made a short test drive and there is definitely a big difference in the overall feel and input. Feels a lot more direct and am able to make small inputs when cornering as before the steering felt a little vage.
I didn't use any grease on the metal inserts (I forgot and was way to eager to test it out). When the car is standing still and I rotate the steering wheel there is some rubbing noise coming from the coupler. I might come back and put some grease on the inserts


A while back I also noticed the Alpina gauge was a little loose, after contacting the seller. He told me that the clips that hold the gauge in place were likely broken off.
I asked if it was possible to order a new case, I only had to pay for shipping


And new case fitted with the original electronics, I'm now able to reposition/rotate the screen again :)



While being in the workshop, my uncle stopped by with his iX Touring. Next weekend he is participating in a timed rally and asked if we could fit the custom light bar again that we made for last years rally.


We also decided to install a couple thicker rear spring pads that I ordered a while ago but never had the time to fit them. The front of his iX sit's a little high (I'm pretty sure it's the original iX ride hegiht) compared to the rear.




His iX sits a lot more level now, before it squatted quite a bit in the rear especially when there was some weight in the trunk. Unfortunatly I don't have any before and after pictures..





Loving the SWRA look on mine :D