A Tale of 2 Sedans M42/S52

[eternal24k]

If you're running the stock aux fan from off to high speed without first starting low speed, you will pull more than 30amp (especially on an older fan) and blow fuses.

Interesting, this is the first I have heard of this with Spal fans, I read it had 21 amp draw, I assumed that was peak. Do you suggest going to a 3 pole setup?

[eternal24k]

In regards to your throttle cable issue, you can run an M42 throttle cable. Fits perfectly Nice car, btw. makes me miss my S52 E30

Thanks, I ended up getting the modified E34 working well, wish I had known the M42 cable would have worked from the beginning...

[jsta1109]

Interesting, this is the first I have heard of this with Spal fans, I read it had 21 amp draw, I assumed that was peak. Do you suggest going to a 3 pole setup?

That should be fine then, not sure why it would be blowing fuses?

I was running my stock aux fan from off to high and blowing fuses, it was drawing well over 30amps from a complete stop. Starting from off to low then to high (3 pole temp sensor) fixed my issue. I just run my puller (Spal 30100400) on a separate relay using the high speed signal.

[eternal24k]

That should be fine then, not sure why it would be blowing fuses?

I was running my stock aux fan from off to high and blowing fuses, it was drawing well over 30amps from a complete stop. Starting from off to low then to high (3 pole temp sensor) fixed my issue. I just run my puller (Spal 30100400) on a separate relay using the high speed signal.

I have been using a 35amp fuse with no blowing, so i suspect i am just hitting that 30amp mark. My father who does a lot of work with electronics suggested a slow blow fuse, so i have some 30amp slow blow fuses ordered.

in other news, the car has been running great and my oil temp gauge started working




i also picked up some new OEM euro grills and hood insulation which i need to tackle

[jeenyus]

where did you get those from?

[eternal24k]

where did you get those from?

Euro grills? They were on sale at ECS, rare time I order from them over FCP Euro

[eternal24k]

Spent some time with the M42 car, man I love how nice this thing is to drive, the Z3 shifter feels so much shorter and crisper in the G240 than the ZF320. I threw an oil catch can in since the mess under the intake fix seems to add a lot of oil into the intake

[eternal24k]

I took a break from the E30s to enjoy the fall with the CRX, making hard cider, and some motorcycle rides...


Discovered that my gf fit in my BMW leather my dad gave me, i think her, the CRX, and the leather are all from 1989


Work on the m42 car has included prepping for new hood insulation



And installing a new CSB, giubo, and centering bushing

love the power of grease for getting bearings out



And my favorite, 1 series rubber mats, fit great



The only thing I have to figure out with the M42 car is something loose and reverberating in or behind the dash... It's been driving me nuts and lead to me refreshing the driveshaft, which got rid of a knock when shifting, so beneficial, but not everything i hoped...

[eternal24k]

we had some freakishly warm weather in VT, so i was able to get the car back out of the garage the other day (it's back to 15 degrees and snowy now)


But more importantly, my gf has taken over my manual E91 wagon so i could move into this E46 Touring from Tippey764 in Maryland....





It's not perfect, but I wouldn't have been able to get perfect. I just went through and and did new spark plugs, got it on some snow tires, and undercoated the whole thing to keep it from rusting out on me.

Going to probably do valve adjustment in the spring and send off some oil to Blackstone to see if things look ok with the rod bearings.

[jeenyus]

that's a super cool purchase! I'm jealous honestly. is it manual too, like the e91? I have a 6speed e91 and i love that car. i figured another wagon would be just as useful.

[eternal24k]

that's a super cool purchase! I'm jealous honestly. is it manual too, like the e91? I have a 6speed e91 and i love that car. i figured another wagon would be just as useful.

It is, has a great shifting 6 speed. The extra 100hp over the E91 is really what it needed. I have been slacking and havent taken any pics since I got it home.

[KIRIEIW]

I miss my e46 325i 5 speed wagon.. Having the S54 in yours must be killer though!

[eternal24k]

Well, I am finally about ready to get back to work on the S52 sedan, the only thing I have left is to wrap up stereo, quiet the exhaust, and then interior (leather lseat covers) or exterior. My girlfriend is voting exterior (rightfully so), I have always wanted a British racing green car, but not sure if it will look as good with the sedan compared to black.
So do I wrap it green with plans to do brown leather interior?
or keep it black with a respray and either black or brown (undecided with the black exterior) leather....


Anyways, spent a little time getting the S54 wagon up to snuff:

• New spark plugs
• New filters
• New horns (previous horns were inop, and the Hellas were cheap at FCP, just had to find a spot to fit them with the ZHP bumper and the washer res in the bumper)
• Valve adjustment, the motor has 112k on it, the PO put 25k on it and never did a valve adjustment. This was my first time doing a valve adjustment, ran into some issues with varnish on the sliders and rockers getting stuck, after a lot of swearing and frustration with things like carb clean not working well, i dropped Wile Motorsports a line and they recommended Xylene solvent, so i sued that on an acid brush and it worked great. Got all valves adjusted and have since put 2k on it in the past week....
• Replaced the bulbs, had a D2s bulb flicker and suddenly die every now and then, would come back with some rotations of the light switch. New ballast did not fix the issue, so i got some Philips D2S bulbs which were MUCH brighter and no more flicker

img]https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49492977702_64dfa6b77a_z.jpg[/img]

And because i am super paranoid about the rod bearings, sent an oil sample to Blackstone, great customer service, I will be making an oil analysis a regular part of the S54 schedule, but also send in a sample for my other cars... Happy to see a positive report

[eternal24k]

Also, since there seems to be some confusion on using the X3 brake booster, i will add here as I have had a couple people tell me it does not fit:

You need to remove the plate outlined in red and use the shorter (green circled) studs for mounting.

[eternal24k]

been awhile, did not get nearly as much done on the cars this summer as I hoped. Couldnt find someone able and willing to paint my S52 sedan but i did put the OG M42 sedan under the knife and freshen it up so my wife would enjoy driving it more (she wasn't into the shit paint job look).



Massive PITA vinyl job, my wife helped out for the first two panels, and then decided that it wasn't for her. Ultimately I decided that anything was better than it was...


all trim and plastic got some SEM Ultra Black



powder coated the valve cover and found a $40 strut brace


New Turkish door seals and a dog blanket for the mutt



and the end results: Good from far, far from good