1991 BMW 325i Coupe - Build Thread - The end is in sight!

[moe30]

Nice build, love how you are doing everything the correct way and taking your time.

[MaksV]

Looking good. What does "he seemed legit and he said it locked up before he geared up" mean?

sorry translation:

The guy drove a clean alpine white 325is with a 24V swap and 16x8 BBS and 225w star specs. After speaking to him and seeing his car - my impression was that he is a legitimate e30 fanatic and was to be trusted. He claimed it locked up great before he pulled it and put in a different differential.




Well I just got out of the shower and feel almost human again. Today was long.

I decided it was time to tackle the supension - so I figured I would start from the rear as it was more complicated.

Accomplished today:
-drop subframe
-replace brake pads
-replace subframe bushings and RTABS
-weld in camber/toe kit

To be Accomplished tomorrow:
-SSK
-put subframe back in the car
-bolt everything up
-LOL at stock ride height up front and full drop in rear.


Pictures:

lets get started


jacking e30's is weird


came of with no troubles


came out with a lot more trouble


and here we go


and apart


had a buddy weld them on but grinding out the holes was a pain - took quite a while too



i figured a couple of coats of black paint on fresh welds couldnt hurt


the RTAB tool from AKG is totally worth the money for those of us without a press


one new one old


LSD - the first building block of the new subframe


stoptech pads - thanks anthony


new rear sway bar end links and bushings - we doing everything


people always claim that the fluid from their diff is clean - I got proof - as far as I know no one has ever changed it


ready for tomorrow to go back into the car

[Restoman]

Looking good. What does "he seemed legit and he said it locked up before he geared up" mean?

[MaksV]

So tomorrow I am going to embark on the last part of my winterbreak checklist - the suspension. I am going to start with rebuilding the rear subframe and everything attached to it. got a bit of an early start on the LSD today so I could just bolt it in tomorrrow.

Here is the info for now, but you can expect a pretty big update tomorrow night.

3.73LSD - got it from a local guy for $50 - he seemed legit and he said it locked up before he geared up. upon inspection it turned out to be clean





had a guy at a local machine shop press the old bushing out for me and put this poly unit in from AKG Motorsports




and some new juice for the diff and tranny

[MaksV]

godamn it im jealous. im going to follow your whole build thread and do everything you've done to your car to mines.. :) haha

haha. thanks.

the old idiom about doing it right means you only have to do it once is especially true about building BMW.s.

[JT325is]

godamn it im jealous. im going to follow your whole build thread and do everything you've done to your car to mines.. :) haha

[MaksV]

You're replacing the uego with your original o2 sensor? If so here is a link to how to hook it up, different unit, but you get the idea. The resistor isn't needed for the Uego ( just my guess )
http://www.plxdevices.com/AppNotes/PLXApp004.pdf

actually I needed the info for my electric fan converion. I plan on running the UEGO simply for data collection and tuning so the stock sensor should stay. great link though thanks.

[trackjunkie21]

need some info
whats the best place to tap into

1. 12V direct from battery under the hood?
2. Ignition switched 12V under the hood?
3. on the temp sensor (stock) the green wire is the low temp trigger correct?

You're replacing the uego with your original o2 sensor? If so here is a link to how to hook it up, different unit, but you get the idea. The resistor isn't needed for the Uego ( just my guess )

http://www.plxdevices.com/AppNotes/PLXApp004.pdf

[MaksV]

need some info
whats the best place to tap into

1. 12V direct from battery under the hood?
2. Ignition switched 12V under the hood?
3. on the temp sensor (stock) the green wire is the low temp trigger correct?

[MaksV]

Dude, a big CONGRATS to you! Well done!

Thanks

one more piece of puzzle came in:

AEM UEGO wideband


Lets talk about squeaks - rubber sounding, happens at cold start, sharp rev between 750 and 1500 rpm - none higher, do it smoothly and nothing happens.

what do you think it might be?

[kingston]

Dude, a big CONGRATS to you! Well done!

[MaksV]

well guys this is it. I can say I have officially completed the internal rebuild part. The injectors are great and once I got it running it sounds pretty.

Figured out how to get the coolant bled and now we are good on the temperature part as well. So now I am going to take a few days of to recoup and then in about a week I am going to start the suspension rebuild. should be fun.

So it took about 2.5 days but considering I did it almost all myself and for the first time, I have to say I am pretty happy with the result.

so a few completed pics

Badass on the playground - yes the hood needs to be realigned

[MaksV]

well it turns out as I was poking around and discovered that I had not actually plugged my injectors in. However as soon as I plugged it in, she coughed for a bit and then went off. Still running a bit rough but that can probably be expected for a rebuild. I will sort out the details tomorrow.

[MaksV]

This is about to become a help my car wont start thread.

I have:
-fuel a fuel rail
-spark at plugs
-fresh oil, gaskets, coolant
-set at TDC before putting head on so timing is correct
-19lbs injectors in there that are rebuilt but never flow tested
-air in the manifold

I dont have:
- a running car
-smell of gas in exhaust
- a clue.


the good news is I got the car reassembled, the bad news is it wont start.

the prior list leads me at least to believe my injectors are not injecting.

three possible causes:
No fuel pressure - WRONG - I have fuel pressure
-electric issue - should be 12V at injectors - how do i check this?
-broken injectors?

Plan for tomorrow - swap in stock injectors again and see if it starts - if it does I am rolling it out of the garage and taking a break for a week till i do the suspenion.

I need some ideas - I need it to start.

Thanks guys.

Pics from today:

head is on




and valve cover too


timing being reassembled

[MaksV]

Ok. Damn I am tired and sore.

enough b1tching - started at 9 am today and just got home.

What I have completed:
-dissassemble everything
-clean engine, bay, and all parts
-dismantle intake
-put in 19lbs injectors
-put intake on new head
- clean eveything again
- drain oil/coolant
-replace oil filter
-clean everything again

Things that are gonna happen tomorrow : (hopefully)
-clean everything
-install head
--connect TB and all peripherals
--connect exhaust
-install valve cover
-install new WP
-install new timing belt
-put the rest of it back together
-install electric fan
-start her up and hope for the best

Lessons Learned:
- the upper engine gasket set doesn NOT include the gasket for the TB and does not include the gasket for the little thing (VCG?) on the other side of intake manifold
-Put a giant bucket underneath the engine block wen draining coolant
-use a giant plastic sheet under the car when working on a project like this
-spray PB blaster on exhaust studs a couple hours before trying to undo them
-double and triple check the orientation of gaskets and make sure to reassemble stuff in the right order.
-It pays to prepare

and most of all do your research ahead of time. This is my first time doing this and I feel like it went pretty smoothly with only a few setbacks - because I spent all of yesterday reading the bently and the forums.

Anyway here are the few pics I snapped for today.

BTW: at 200K my engine looks clean and shiny - so does the old head :thumbsup:

There she is right after I got started


for those who drain coolant from block - the big bucket method seems to work best to collect as much coolant as possible


Old valvetrain coming of engine


block and pistons look good. rings are excellent and there 0 scarring on walls or anything of that nature - But after looking at the head there are signs of a wee oil leak in cylinder - not sure as to why



Old head/maifold combo and extended work area- fvcking leaves blowing everywhere


much cleaner - i took a good CM thick amount of oil of everything


That oil pan and alternator used to be black


and there she sits for the night


and Steve came through again
forgot about the sway bar bushings in my original purchase


and guess who gonna be doing a MAF conversion soon and tuning - - THIS KID!
Moates Ostrich 2.0