Something Something Tony G's E30 Sedan (we're using a coupe now) - S54 Swap

[ForcedFirebird]

Genuine bearing, WPC treated.

That's crazy. Genuine had .028mm minimum clearance (.0011", I verified on two engines, both were less than .0015").

That's why almost all aftermarket bearings have an extra .001" in them today. First time I saw it was Randy at EPIC doing it in his e46 back in 2013? (opening the bearings)

BMW also changed the min clearance in ETK from .028 to .040mm after the recall. LINK and LINK

[spike68]

If it its in pieces and you can be more accurate, might as well shoot for that .001 per inch. The rods can be torqued and measured on the bench for out of round. I assume they could hone them back?

Vac has CP pistons, I have had good luck with them. Lang Racing and Achellies has CP also. Hope the cylinders only need 87.5 as not much meat between the walls. The deck should get machined down with another finish good enough for another MLS

Are all the piston squirters still connected? Id get new ones.

Was the head gasket blown?

I'll look into this. I just picked up an inside micrometer so I need a reason to use it lol. I would also assume it can be honed out somehow if theres an issue.

I would prefer not to have to buy pistons, but again it'll be up to the machine shop and what it takes to remove the cylinder scoring. I did check a few different companies including CP and they all only sell pistons starting at 87.5. I took some measurements of the cylinders before and everything is sitting at a pretty consistent 87 so the previous owner just did a quick hone job.

Piston squirters are all intact. I'll get them off an asses for damage. Are these a common fail item?

[moatilliatta]

I'll look into this. I just picked up an inside micrometer so I need a reason to use it lol. I would also assume it can be honed out somehow if theres an issue.

I would prefer not to have to buy pistons, but again it'll be up to the machine shop and what it takes to remove the cylinder scoring. I did check a few different companies including CP and they all only sell pistons starting at 87.5. I took some measurements of the cylinders before and everything is sitting at a pretty consistent 87 so the previous owner just did a quick hone job.

Piston squirters are all intact. I'll get them off an asses for damage. Are these a common fail item?

I don’t think and haven’t seen the piston squirters break off in s54 like M54s. But still always conscious of them. I usually always replace them in rebuilds and the machine shop pushes to do the same. Older ones can get clogged or even heard cause low oil pressure. This design though I don’t think has anything inside to regulate than it’s orifice.

Most the time when I see ring lands break is from booster cars where the rings touch from factory gap, seize up and break down the piston.

[spike68]

I don’t think and haven’t seen the piston squirters break off in s54 like M54s. But still always conscious of them. I usually always replace them in rebuilds and the machine shop pushes to do the same. Older ones can get clogged or even heard cause low oil pressure. This design though I don’t think has anything inside to regulate than it’s orifice.

Most the time when I see ring lands break is from booster cars where the rings touch from factory gap, seize up and break down the piston.

After doing some reading I have also seen some people come to the same conclusion. The only part I'm skeptical about is which part actually breaks. Physically mine all look fine. I did read some people claiming they wern't flowing correctly or could be clogged and for that reason I may take a shot at cleaning them. They seem like such a simplistic piece that it would be difficult for them to go bad. I know I'm allowing new pistons to be part of the budget, but this squirters are another $200 I may not feel like adding lol.

[moatilliatta]

Whats your rebuild budget?

[spike68]

Whats your rebuild budget?

There really isn't one, but also I'm not trying to spend an insane amount of money. I guess a good rule of thumb needs to be reasonable and justified to me to spend the money.

I have a longer answer and I'm saving it for another post to go into "the plan" of the engine build and rest of the car too.

[Codym42]

Were you at 4ngiefest 2013? I think I remember seeing you and your vert there LOL

[spike68]

Were you at 4ngiefest 2013? I think I remember seeing you and your vert there LOL

Woah. Talk about an absolute throwback. Was there one in 2013? Last one I remember being at was probably 2011. I might say I doubt you remember me. My vert was very stock and I was a weirdo just heading into college.

[Codym42]

2013 was at a park parking lot in Marietta. I remember a slammed black diving board vert on Borbets. I probably have pics somewhere lol

[spike68]

2013 was at a park parking lot in Marietta. I remember a slammed black diving board vert on Borbets. I probably have pics somewhere lol

Oh it's all coming back to me now. You're right there was one in a parking lot in Marietta. That was me then! I consider those the "prime" days of the vert because it looked good and I was actively driving it around.

Heres a fun secret I'll open the bag on. I loved those Borbet Type A's I had and regretted selling them. Been looking for a set for years and I finally found a source and just snagged a couple sets of them. I plan to run them on the sedan along side a plethora of other wheels I've been holding onto for years.

[lambo]

Oh it's all coming back to me now. You're right there was one in a parking lot in Marietta. That was me then! I consider those the "prime" days of the vert because it looked good and I was actively driving it around.

Heres a fun secret I'll open the bag on. I loved those Borbet Type A's I had and regretted selling them. Been looking for a set for years and I finally found a source and just snagged a couple sets of them. I plan to run them on the sedan along side a plethora of other wheels I've been holding onto for years.

Modena's finally???

[spike68]

Modena's finally???

If I build this entire car and still dont finish those wheels then you should hit me real hard.

[spike68]

Well tonight was a bit of a failure in terms of documentation. I did some filming while I was working and for some reason all of the video got corrupted. I'm beginning not to like this insta360 camera I got. I thought it was a good alternative to a goPro, but this is just annoying with all these corrupt videos. If I can get this camera to let me use the video I recorded I'll edit this post.

Anyways...I worked on getting the block prepped for the machine shop some more. I'll admit I've been procrastinating a little bit due to being a little under the weather.

IMG_1020 by Tony Gomez, on Flickr

I bagged and tagged some bolts left on the block.

In addition I went ahead and separated the pistons from the connecting rods. Bagged and tagged them and sent them to the parts room in the basement. I think tomorrow I'm going to go ahead and start working on the head in prepping it for the machine shop as well. This should involve bagging and tagging bolts and also removing the valves.

Lastly, I'm working on a "the plan" post since I havent gone into that yet just to give everyone an idea of direction for both the engine and the car. Should be posted in the next few days.

[Panici]

You probably already know this, but be sure to store that crankshaft upright when you pull it out.
They can actually sag out of spec when not supported at regular intervals by the main journals.

[spike68]

You probably already know this, but be sure to store that crankshaft upright when you pull it out.
They can actually sag out of spec when not supported at regular intervals by the main journals.

Oh yeah definitely will. Though I might say that I went ahead and did some research on that for shits and giggles to realize that is seems to be quite the topic of debate.