After a year of searching, an Alpineweiß story

[getouth]

Build is 2nd to none!

[iwantspeed]

hey guys, bought an is lip splitter


used some clamps to mock it up before attaching it


used some self tapping screws and large fender screws


all done

[iwantspeed]

whats up guys,
wanted to post an update.
My friend eric payley hooked me up with almost brand new front strut bearings. He bought them and install them on his track e30 with new bilsteins and H&R race springs, after a 1,000 miles he moved them and install some ground control camber plates, then these bearings just sat in a box.
Last weekend my driver side strut started to make a popping sound going in and out of driveways. So I decided to track down the noise.
I lifted the car in the air and decided to check a few things
the gland nut for tightness,
the coilover adjuster to make sure they were moving around.
thin layer of grease on the upper and lower spring perch.
removed the cap on the bearing in the engine bay and packed it full of grease with a grease gun.

This greatly reduced the popping but it was still there.
my friend eric gave me these near new sturt bearings but the grease left a little to be desired. I spray the bearings down with carb spray and compressed air and got rid of most of the old grease.
I could not remove the bearing to put in a wheel bearing packing tool i have so I made a tool to shove grease in with a zerk fitting.

the tool consist of a big washer drilled and tapped for 1/4-28 thread on the zerk fitting. Then just a bolt and nut to tighten it down.

big washer


drilled and tapped


bolt it on


apply grease with this
Mobil 1 synthetic bearing grease


success on the other side


that by itself is good project for afternoon, later that day i installed them on the car.
I wanted to try and see if I could get away with not having to unbolt the control arm and tie rods.
so i bought a 3/4 size spark plug socket.

3/4 is equvalent to .750 inches
19mm (which is the size of the top nut on the strut) is equivalent .748 inches
so just 2 thousands of an inch in difference.
i could not find a 19mm spark plug socket in a 6 point with an external hex.
so i made do with a 3/4 size tool.
my plan was to remove the top nut, then the strut would just fall out. then unbolt the bearing from the body and install the new one in, and reattach the strut.

fresh bearings ready for install.
3/4 size spark plug socket.
long 6mm allen wrench with a vice grip for leverage.




start here, remove the cap


dont remove the 3 bolts yet, place socket on the top nut


place allen inside the socket and make sure you get the tool all the way in.


with one hand hold the vice grip and try to keep the strut from rotating and with the other hand loosen the nut with a wrench.
i didnt have a sae wrench big enough so i just used a crescent wrench


success the strut just came down. you CANNOT DO THIS if you have stock suspension or lower springs. you need to use a spring compressor.
with my car on jackstands the springs do not touch the upper spring perch so i can just remove the bearing.



bottom view of the old bearing,


old vs new
the old mount is really smashed and the new one is noticeably taller.


old
2.344


new
2.517


difference is .173 thousands of an inch



ran into an issue installing the struts into the new bearings since they are bigger, i couldnt push the wheel down far enough to allow the struts to be lined up with the bearing so i unbolted the sway bar end link and that allowed just a little extra clearance, enough to line everything up and install.
here is a picture after unbolting the end link.


all done just need to buy new caps for the bearings, the old ones are 1.100 thousands, the new ones need to be 32mm or 1.206

[iwantspeed]

The whale sharks up close in Oslob, south of Cebu are a rare experience, Alex. Hope to see you again.
OCD + amazing skills = awesome build. Keep it up, motor on!!!!

cool cool

[minsanity]

The whale sharks up close in Oslob, south of Cebu are a rare experience, Alex. Hope to see you again.
OCD + amazing skills = awesome build. Keep it up, motor on!!!!

[iwantspeed]

Been a fan, very much am & will always be! I never tire reading & rereading this thread.
Any plans of visiting Cebu again, Alex? Surely, lemme know.
Regards!

Thanks James maybe next year we will come again. I will let you know.
I want to visit Boracay island.

Thanks
Alex

[minsanity]

Been a fan, very much am & will always be! I never tire reading & rereading this thread.
Any plans of visiting Cebu again, Alex? Surely, lemme know.
Regards!

[iwantspeed]

Very excited just got some e30m3 prototype brake backing plates for brake ducts.

They need to be trimmed
holes drilled to attach them to the strut
edge cleaned up with resin after cutting the edge

They are a few layers Of carbon fiber
And Kevlar on the inside to have some extra strength

[iwantspeed]

My friend bought a smoke machine to check for vaccum leaks.
I have always wanted to find a shop that had one of theses so when I found out I had access to one I couldn't pass up the opportunity.

I replaced my brake booster check valve with a new one. And BMW replaced the old part number with a superseded design part number. This one has an extra port on it that just gets capped off. But this extra port if perfect to introduce smoke into the engine.
The smoke is not harmful it's usually just baby oil.

And I'm happy to say that no vaccum leaks where found.
I have replaced almost everything on this engine except the pistons rings and the bearings.

[iwantspeed]

Thanks bull wings. I sent you a pm regarding your questions.

[Bullwings]

Awesome build thread!!! Very inspiring. I picked up a beater '88 325is to use as a DD and to learn more about cars in general.

I've learned a lot so far and have done more work than I'd ever imagined, but no where near this extensive.

I'm still trying to sort out my HVAC, and have now been inspired to tackle rebuilding my shifter (just OEM, but with upgraded delrin bushings).

BTW, do you work for garagistic? one of my Front sway bar tabs broke and I'm going to need welding services. Shoot me a PM - plans are to do this sometime next month.

Anyway, great build and restoration (haven't gone through everything yet, but I've added this build to my book marks). I've been re-inspired.

Oh, and here's to hoping you stick with a naturally aspirated M20 rather than going 24v swap or turbo.

[iwantspeed]

hey guys currently in the running for next years calendar.
2 shots of my car are being voted on.

please vote here
picture 27 and 28

http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=303588

[iwantspeed]

Great build Alex !! Nd love your handles :)

thanks howard, hurry up and get me the catch can!

So jealous of your m3 rear seat. I'm looking for one and can't find anywhere! And I really like how you do everything, really clean and neat.

thanks!
it took about 7 months trying find the back seat.

[twism]

So jealous of your m3 rear seat. I'm looking for one and can't find anywhere! And I really like how you do everything, really clean and neat.

[E30Jigzaw]

Great build Alex !! Nd love your handles :)