M52 Swapped E30 Build - SPANNER RASH

[greyis89]

Great video on the core support! Another great project getting tons of attention :)

[SPANNER RASH]

I tried bending lines and maybe it was just me but I had suboptimal results with leaks and things not fitting properly. I ended up seeing a hydraulic shop nearby and getting custom lines made which have been trouble and leak free for about 6 years. I think the cost ended up slightly more expensive than if I had attempted making my own AN lines.

Interesting, how did you spec the lines? As in, how did you describe your requirements to them accurately? Or did you manage to take the car to them and they then figured it out?

[SPANNER RASH]

Great video on the core support! Another great project getting tons of attention :)

Thank you! That vid has proved popular, sparked a lot of discussion in the comments too. Hopefully it's helpful for other E30 nuts.

[SPANNER RASH]

I know the R3v userbase is largely folk from the US so this update might mean a little bit less to you guys than it will for the E30zone crowd. Nevertheless, I've been beavering away trying to get this Z3 steering rack conversion completed for the E30.

Previously I was considering moving the steering rack to the rear holes (the ones originally for manual racks) for a better tie rod angle, but after asking on social media someone mentioned they had an issue with the rack interfering with their M20 engine sump. As I'll be doing a 24v M52 swap with the E34 front sump. I opted to stick with the inner mounting holes for the rack to avoid regret.

As for the steering linkage, I was following a guide which involves using the steering coupler from a Vauxhall Corsa C (a very common small FWD hatchback here in the UK) or a Holden Barina (not sure how common there, but the same car for the Australian market) and switching one end out for an E30 end. This turned out to be a right pain to do, especially with the little needle roller bearings that like to fall out and go everywhere. After much frustration, I did get it sorted though by more carefully extracting 2 good bearings from the E30's linkage. It worked beautifully in the end. For LHD cars I suspect the steering knuckle is a much lesser issue as it will be on the cold side of the engine, with no exhaust manifold to work around.

As for the routing of the PAS lines, the good news it I was able to use the original ones after all. The low-pressure line required a slight bend to mate up with the Z3 steering rack's port, whereas the smaller high-pressure PAS line needed rerouting entirely to go around the back of the subframe. I am pleased with the result on this because I honestly thought it impossible at the start of the day. for US spec cars I think there is more soft-line closer to the ports so only a slight bend is needed there too. For RHD cars the information is pretty scarce so I was glad to share my solution for those on my side of the pond.

I might have a look at the brake booster next, but there are a couple of potential next jobs, one being quite weather dependent (always a coin toss in Britain!).

[greyis89]

Another good one! Very much enjoy your videos sir!

[moatilliatta]

You want the Steering U joints in sync and symmetrical?

[SPANNER RASH]

There's only one way for the UJs to go on this steering linkage. I'm pretty confident about it, turns totally smooth. :)

[SPANNER RASH]

Turning my attention back to finishing the E30 Build's suspension, I picked up a nice Eibach sway bar kit, coded E2003-320 "Includes Fitting Kit". I'm not sure whether this is a standard thing Eibach do as it's unclear to me whether all kits are the same, but as my 316i came with no rear sway bar installed, having all the parts to fit one from scratch already in the kit felt like a godsend.

I made a guide video showing how to fit E30 front and rear sway bars with hopefully ample detail for those looking to do the same job:

The rear bar actually fitted up a treat after removing one spring, which was a relief as I thought I might have to drop the diff to get that through. The front ARB caused me the most trouble thanks to the poly bushings supplied in the kit being too large. I ended up having to sand the bushings down to make it work which was unexpected.

After all is said and done, I'm pretty happy with the result on this one, can't wait to see how the car handles compared to a stock sport spec E30 in the future, hopefully cornering much flatter.

[cbgb]

There's only one way for the UJs to go on this steering linkage. I'm pretty confident about it, turns totally smooth. :)

I went all in on mine and had the Corsa EPAS fitted , with a column from power steering solutions , its amazing .

[SPANNER RASH]

I went all in on mine and had the Corsa EPAS fitted , with a column from power steering solutions , its amazing .

Interesting! I didn't know that was a thing, seems like a clever solution. Does it feel just like hydraulic PAS though?

[SPANNER RASH]

We had a rare break in the rain over here in the UK, so I set about dyeing my E30's carpets black.

I'm glad I waited to do this outside, as the stuff I used is very strong and solvent-based, but surprisingly inexpensive for what it is.

The results appear to be excellent, I took my time in prepping the carpet, it had had a proper steam clean previously, but the haircut smartened it up nicely.

I feel as though its an incredible transformation, really satisfied with the result. The only negative I can speak of is there is still a transfer of a fine black dust from the carpet.
Possible that i's because I laid it on a bit too thick. Although the good news is its massively reduced since running the vac over it again. Hopefully, it will stop altogether soon enough.

[SPANNER RASH]

Another E30 build update, this time back working in the garage, lucky as the weather's changed back to rain.

I spent some time figuring out how to do the E90 brake booster swap onto E30, this proved to be quite a bit more complicated than I anticipated due to getting mixed up what was required with the clevis pin.
Turns out on a RHD car you don't need to do any cutting and welding of clevis pins whatsoever. The E90 clevis fork lines up directly with the brake pedal linkage so all that was needed was a longer clevis pin and a little stack of washers.

Despite that lucky break, there were still quite a few aspects to it which were fiddly to solve, and those apply to both LHD and RHD. Hopefully, the information and links in the vid help some people out!

[jsta1109]

I ran into the same issue when I did my E90 booster swap on a RHD car, lots of information out there that really only applies to LHD. For RHD there really isn't much to do, I re-made my rear brake line to a proportioning valve and used a t-piece from my standard front lines and made a new m10x1 to m12x1 line. For the clevis pin I did something similar, stacked some washers and reused my standard clevis pin.

One thing I will add is depending on your throttle body, have a look at using an E60 master cylinder reservoir instead of the 2002 one. I believe it will foul on an M50 throttle body but works with an M52 throttle body.

Also, I upgraded from a clio booster and it was absolutely worth it, it's hard to describe but it feels much more modern and safe. I have way more confidence in my brakes.

[SPANNER RASH]

Yep I felt like I was on a wild goose chase at first, each time I thought I'd sussed it out I realised there was something else that didn't add up.

Interesting point on the manifold, I'm 50/50 on whether I'll be doing the obligatory M50B25 manifold swap or not. Some people say it makes a world of difference, others don't. Might be something I just have to find out for myself.

Absolutely, the E90 booster is from a whole new era. Very pleased to hear that will translate to improved confidence on the pedal. It's a pretty key part of the drive feel.

[zoona]

Deat Mr Rash,

Loving your videos. They have been a massive help - i've just ordered all the bits i need for the 5 lug front swap following your lead.

I had a question about the rear though... sorry if you have covered it already.
You are using the e90 rear hubs - do they just press stright on to the std e30 trailing arms/knuckles with std e30 bearings?

I saw the video of you putting the bearings in, but couldn't see anything about the hubs.

Thanks