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

[riverdale21]

The clunk could be caused by an improperly seated pinion crush sleeve. The internals of that newer differential you got from the 24v swap guy looked too clean to not have been recently re-sealed/rebuilt. Considering the price you paid I'm sure the PO was aware there was a clunking issue.

Before disassembling your rear diff double check your work on the rest of the rear subframe. It helps to also have a second set of eyes look over things too. There is a possibility of something as simple as a loose bolt causing your issues.

[bataangpinoy]

strange.. ive never had an issue with akg.

[MaksV]

strange.. ive never had an issue with akg.

have you ever contacted them? I mean I have no issue with their products.

[MaksV]

a few snow pics from the storm

Fedex got delayed so hopefully I will get my bloody hose tomorrow and put it in this week. also need to blow out the oil cooler as I feel it is clogged.



some asshole spun out on the freeway cause he was going to fast and almost hit me and caused me to spin - this is the only damage - I am gonna try to zip tie it back on when it warms up


not exactly motorcycle weather, plus i lost the key to it in the snow the other day - this snow week has been kinda shitty


with no lip its not really a plow but the oil pan burns a tunnel through the snow too

[Styleprojekt]

Wow good job on the documentation of your build. I will certainly look for major guidance in my upcoming reconditioning of my M20 since is pissing oil and the suspension feels crappy. Great great work

[MaksV]

Wow good job on the documentation of your build. I will certainly look for major guidance in my upcoming reconditioning of my M20 since is pissing oil and the suspension feels crappy. Great great work

Thanks :)

and good luck.

[MaksV]

So a baby update for now. Finally fixed the leaky oil cooler hose - no more leaks at this point (I think)

also ordered the mount for my seat a few days ago - hopefully sometime this week I will have a reason to clean the interior out. :facepalm:


we also blew out the oil cooler as the oil in there seemed to be older/nastier than the rest but it was clean so no worries.

[MaksV]

Look what else came in today:



My dad is going out of town this weekend so the garage is mine. Mornings will be dedicated to the car and the afternoons to studying. School really has a way of getting in the way of car work.

you guys can look forward to a few more things this weekend too.

-hopefully I can take my short throw out and put it in right this time
-fuel filter
-take a look at what I have laying around waiting to go into the car and make plans.
-car wash and vacuum.

[MaksV]

So I was driving to my house today and about 30 seconds out I hear a pop and the front suspension goes all wonky.

This was not good. Turns out the nut that holds the strut in place had worked itself loose and popped off. I spent a good hour getting everything back together and correct, and torqued it down again. The issue is that it was originally shot on with air tools and then torqued with a wrench until I couldnt move it anymore. Both sides had worked loose, the left had popped.

not good.



everything all better


So I am really pretty bad about keeping my cars clean and with the recent bout of snow and salt and sand I had let it all go to sh!t. time to clean (the inside at least)


My seat :) time to put the base on


Here is the base I took off. looks like an ebay piece - The guy I bought it from never used it, said previous owner had it in a "cool old school supra". If that sounds like your ride and you want it shoot me a pm.


got two good working buckles of e30tech a while back for 20 bucks. Time to swap out the driver side one that was falling apart.


ready to go int the car



my old seat mounting "hardware" :facepalm:


lets vacuum first shall we?


new hardware


Now since they had drilld out the front studs and the holes are pretty ragged I decided to do this as right as I could. So the order was

small washer - seat mount - large washer - floorboard - large washer - small washer - locking washer - nut

front bolt


underneath


so issues with the mount - the mount doest quite fit right in my opinion - of course its official for the e30 M3 but the front holes fit pretty right and you could get one of the rears to fit but the mount is too narrow to get both bolts in there.

also the seats most upright position is really far back. Will call corbeau on monday and ask if I cant get the seat more upright.



having a bit of idle surge on startup and I think I found the culprit


I want some of those nice silicon intake boots.

courtesy of some asshole who cant drive in teh snow and didnt even stop - didnt get a plate :(


a couple of screws will go a long way for now.



she needs a bath.


thats it for now. but there will be more soon.

[MaksV]

More updates

Stuff I want to accomplish today:
-Temp sensor
-brake sensors
-tranny mount
-tranny fluid
-redo the shifter
-fuel filter

So I got everthing done except the temp sensor. I could not find the wires. and even though I hooked the brake sensors up the light is still on. hmmm

stuff for today


rear brake sensor wires - red goes to pin on the plug



and tied up as I am not sure where it is supposed to plug in


here is the temp sensor I bought

where the wires are supposed to be but arnt


old tranny mounts and hardware - super dirty and the old mounts were a bit squishy but not that bad

new mounts and clean hardware

and put in their place


fluid time

bolts are h17 - THIS STUFF WAS SOO NASTY - I dont think it was ever changed.



after cleaning



fuel filter


A side not on the 3.0LZ4 shifter. I took it back out, and bent it about 10degrees under the ball with a massive pipe wrench and a pipe extender. Didnt get pics but now it doesnt rub on the guibo anymore and feels super stiff and awesome

[MaksV]

So lately school has been sucking up all my time and it ill continue to do so for the next week. and then its SPRING BREAK TIME!!!! I am sad cause I had to miss the first BMWCCA AutoX of the year today, since I had to work and study I decided to rebel and go figure out what I had and what I need to buy for my spring break to be productive.

Also my dad has been bitching at me to clean out the shed/garage/patio of e30 parts, or at least repack everything so I took care of that. We are gonna have a large sale when this stuff is over.

in true BMW community fashion I gotta help my buddy Alex (dakkon) reassemble his M42 first, then help Anthony (trippinBimmer) get his car driving and THEN i can get to my car.

so the list

Spring Break e30 Project List
-Electric Fan Conversion
-replace steering wheel with a newer unit
-motor mounts
-Ostrich 2.0 and tuning
-MAF conversion
-Replace brake fluid and do a better bleed
-brake sensors
-bend seat back
-US ellipsoidals (run halogen for a while )
-OBC temp sensor
-Paint Plastics
-Wash Car
-ReAlign Hood
-Mount new wheels
-Photoshoot :4ngie:

Some of these things have been done lots of times, and many great DIY exist, for others (e-fan, MAF, chip) there is only partial knowledge so I will do my best to keep documenting everything so that others can have an easier time pushing through this stuff.


some part pictures:

E fan conversion kit
-16" spal fan
-BimmerWorld Wiring kit
-Spal Mounting kit


steering wheel


motor mounts


Moates.net Ostrich 2.0 Kit


brake fluid


MAF and pigtails


Things I have to put in e30


things I have taken out of e30 before


things I have taken out of e30 after

[matias88e30]

shit!! nice progress man! looking good

[801coppertop]

Spring break... FTW. Your list seems great, looking forward to seeing the progress.

[Turd]

A+ build :up:

[MaksV]

shit!! nice progress man! looking good

Spring break... FTW. Your list seems great, looking forward to seeing the progress.

A+ build :up:

thanks guys

I am gonna tease you a bit.