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

[MaksV]

Use a wire wheel on the bench grinder to remove that crap, valves are tough.

I do have a power drill with wire brush attachments.

[StereoInstaller1]

Use a wire wheel on the bench grinder to remove that crap, valves are tough.

[MaksV]

not a whole lot of updates for the day. Figured out how to get the gear off. A few taps with a rubber hammer and off it came, go the old gaskets out of the other piece and bought some Berrymans chem dip. not really impressed, after soaking for 30 minutes it didnt really get anything off the valves, but cleaned the springs and other pieces pretty well. left an exhaust valve to sit in there overnight as an experiment. maybe it just needs more time. we will see... A few pics:




and for 10 bucks on ebay got some pigtails for my elipsoidals, as mine only came with them on the driver side....

[MaksV]

yay more updates.

Powerflex FCABS came in


finally got all the springs out. what a bitch. slipped and tore up my hand on one of them. another trick - get it tight and smack it once, cause those collets dont always want to come out.


Bolt that holds the cam gear cover on. didnt have the right socket and ended up destroying it. whatever will just order another one, along with other stuff.


next unbolt those two 10mm bolts


and its out. No clue how to get the gear off? does it just screw off? help?


nice and empty


some shitty degreaser and a bucket of water later


not much but its a start. Then I started to clean components



before and after


it definitly pay to be meticulous and inspect stuff - look what I found - thankfully its only one of the 12 so shouldnt be too expensive


Exhaust side done - with the broken one set aside


I moved on to trying to clean these bad boys but its not really working. is there a better way to do this other than wire brush and letting it soak in brake clean? different pads to polish with? any help is appreciated



we need to be respectful to the environment. no need to waste. Anyone know where to recycle brake fluid?



Thats it for the day.

Please someone answer these for me?
1. how to remove cam gear?
2. where to recycle brake clean?
3. how to get gunk of valves?

more updates coming soon....

[MaksV]

thanks.

[grantlacey11]

i cannot WAIT to be able to buy all of these parts for my car!! keep up the good work!! looks great.

[MaksV]

So my SPAL fan kit came in today from bimmerworld. I cant say enough about the quality of this kit. It only costs a litte more than the ebay version but the quality of the plastic to the motion of the fan is beyond question. At first I was like damn, no instructions, but after close inspection the bundle of wires (wiring kit) has typed letters on the wires. tells you what to connect the relay to. Speaking of which the relay is sold by bimmerworld is amazing, completely water proof and made from quality packaging. Lynn at Bimmerworld is definitly the man.

if anyone is curios.
Red = power wire to fan
Yellow= +12V
Grey = trigger
Orange = ignition

the box also included the metal mounts for the fan, and a fuse kit that includes a weld in bung for a thermostat if you want to go that route. Also there is a small connection for the fan and ground.

[MaksV]

more goodies coming in today

Ellipsoidals:



and this is what my living room is turning into, cant wait for finals to be over.



should also be getting some goodies from Tischer,

[MaksV]

Now that I have a little time between finals I wanted to get started on the head. So I spent some time today trying to break it down to components to clean it. I also learned a few things on the way. If you think I am doing something wrong please point it out, since this is my first time doing this sort of thing.

The head and the work bench - sh*t is dirty. very dirty








I plan on using brake cleaner to clean up each component but is there some sort of pad you guys recommend to use to scrub - i was gonna use a nylon brush - I know there are specific pads used to clean surfaces that you do not want to scrape.....

and some measurements (needed for secret plans )







and with teh rockers and rocker shafts removed


This part is important for you DIY guys. The BMW specific valve spring tool is expensive and hard to find so I bought one off amazon for $28. The link is here. Now like with anything else in my life it didint just work. So here is what I learned.

First is positioning - on the exhaust side you wanna jam it in there as much as you can so the tool doesnt turn. Also you want to make sure the angle of the tool matches the angle of the spring.



Use a magnet to remove the clips, but basically your going to have to crank this thing down and then I had to put my body weight on top of it to move it down enough to pull them out. This is easier with two people, have a magnetic retriever and some pincers handy, as the clips tend to stick to the valve a bit.

Now the modifications to the tool to make it work include pullign out the little brace thing pictured:


and then taking out the silver thing in the middle that pushes the spring and putting it in a vice to narrow the profile of the tool. Then they come out slowly but surely.

now it very important to konw where what goes, and to keep the springs going back in there original locations, thats why sandwich bags, a sharpie, and some container from walmart are handy, especially later on when we are cleaning.


and without the stuff I took out




and put it away for the day



so to recap please answer me these questions:

What do I use to clean this stuff? as far as pads go?
How do I remove the camshaft without damaging it, or buying a tool to hold it?
anything I am missing?

[MaksV]

and more parts courtesy of the stealer - tow hook, and all the plugs/gaskets for my LSD



new seat belt clips and the delrin bushing for the shifter from turner.

[MaksV]

I was confused. Thanks.

[Philo]

and the koni struts came in - interesting there is no lower perch - I need to have the GC D rings welded on and I need to assemble that stuff all together so it will be ready to go into the car.

Either I'm confused on what you've said, or you're confused on the E30 suspension. Those are inserts which go inside of your old housings. Those are what have the perch.

Also, the tire size and selection sucks if you plan on it being a semi-track car. I'd suggest 225/50. Vulcantire.com has Falken 912s for $66 a piece,

[MaksV]

cosmo race camber plates came in -

seriously guys I know you are canadian but I am not putting that plastic chrome on my car. if you had sent me a decent sticker I would have run it (I am trying to run stickers for all the contributing companies)



and the koni struts came in - interesting there is no lower perch - I need to have the GC D rings welded on and I need to assemble that stuff all together so it will be ready to go into the car.

[MaksV]

Another small update:

19# injectors came in - seller was a POS d1ck, but for 20 bucks cant complain, they are all reading the same steady resistance so we seem to be good, I have a rebuild kit for them anyway.



Also bought a spy cam - gonna tape this to my bike or car, and experiment with some vids....

[MaksV]

So I have pretty much decided on the TRC1's in a 15x8 but it seems tires are easier and cheaper to find in a 205/50/15 size. I am down to three choices and need some hlep.

The first is the Federal SS535 - it has a 260UTQG rating making it the stickies and it is also the cheapest at $55 a piece


the next choice is the Nitto Neo Gen these have a 280UTQG but they are all seasons supposedly. Also I have never heard of these tires, but they are only a few dollars a piece more but I dont know much about them


the last choice is the Dunlop Direzza Dz101 N/A - at 300UTQG they are the longest lasting of the bunch. also they are the most well known fo the bunch. at 66 bucks they are a bit more expensive but they have a 100 dollar instant rebate promotion going on so after shipping it would be about 50 bucks a piece.



so i need a little help deciding - kinda leaning toward the Dunlops cause they come otu super cheap.