Was in a pickle, now in a build...Joe's S50 story within.

[Joe G]

Hey everyone,

You may be familiar with my 'pickle thread':http://r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=187883

Well now that i have the car back, its time to finish the build. So here is my build thread.

Getting my car after 7 months :)


Whats under the hood


Deer guts from a collision somewhere between NJ and OH


A better under the hood shot


Took out the front seats.....
"daddy, can i drive?"

These will take their place


Home sweet home.




Day 2.

Steering rack swap attempt...


I spent about 2 hours trying to get the tie rod end out with no luck. That F*%ker is in there like no other. The car is still in this state, very frustrating. Any suggestions on how to get the damn tie rid ends out???


That is all for now. Im going to try and pick up a few parts today and get back to work tomorrow/this weekend.

On sunday some local BMW guys are coming over to lend a hand, if any of you are local to Granville Ohio (30miles east of Columbus) feel free to stop by.

[structured]

Pickle Fork. Seriously.


Also, I only just realized that your car isn't that disgusting beige in your sig. I had gone this whole time not knowing that it's white.

[Joe G]

Her name is White Lightening!

[CabbE30]

Coool dog bro!
Wish i could help out.

[Joe G]

I drove from here to cali 2 summers ago, it only took 4 8 hour days. Go for it! You can hang with my dog and crash on the couch!

[BimmerTim]

You will luv the s50.

[TwoJ's]

So you're having trouble getting the tie rod separate from the strut? If so, then use a pickle fork as stated earlier. You can also bang it out... put a nut on top of the threads if you want to reuse it.

[e30nub]

So you're having trouble getting the tie rod separate from the strut? If so, then use a pickle fork as stated earlier. You can also bang it out... put a nut on top of the threads if you want to reuse it.

This. Done this numerous times with stuck tie rods, (the hammering method that is).

[ieatmango]

whats the black car?

[ck_taft325is]

I suggest the pickle fork method. The bangin' method works, but if you have to resuse your top gland nut, it can bunger the shit out of it. Ask me how I know.

[sirmaxwell]

the black car is a 59 vette if i remember correctly from the other thread....
I'm glad that you finally got your baby back. was about time that that fcuker returned that car.
she looks good so far. enjoy that s50
hope you will get her running soon.

[Joe G]

I bought a tie rod end remover bar today....took
about 2 seconds to get it off(that's what she said). I hope to
get her running within the next week or so.

[DREWHALL]

Awesome man, congrats. Get it on the road!

[Joe G]

This weekend was very productive!

Yesterday with some help from a friend i got the shifter carrier and shifter installed and determined that i need to bend the shift carrier, but i will save that for later. Without bending it i can get into everything except 5th, not a huge deal. The guy who was helping me has a press and a torch so once the car is up and running all i need to do is drive down to his shop take it out and bend it.

While under the tranny i noticed my buddy mike took out the drive-shaft bolts and forgot to put them back in...Not a huge deal, just an inconvenience because now i need to find or buy new ones ($3/each).

That was all for Friday.

Today some local BMW folk came over to lend a hand.(Gordon, Rich, Kale, and Jono) all great guys!

First I build a Frankenstein clutch slave cylinder.
-2 had a seized slave cylinders, one with the piston stuck all the way at the bottom of the cylinder and the other with the piston all the way extended. There was no way that i could get the piston that was stuck at the bottom to move, so i scrapped that one but before i did i took the little rod and the rubber boot out of that one.
-The second slave cyl with the piston all the way extended had some hope. I put the rod thing in that one and tried to push the piston down with a table vice...no luck. So since i figured i was going to have to buy a new one and had nothing to lose so i grabbed a socket, some lithium grease, and a mallet. I doused the piston with grease, put the socket on top, and hit the hell out of it with a mallet, and presto. I had a freely moving piston and after putting the rod and rubber boot back in a fully functioning slave cylinder. We bled the system and are now fully operational.

While Gordon worked his wiring magic, Kale, Jono, Rich and I got to work on the steering rack swap. This proved to be more of a challenge than anticipated, getting the rack out took some finesse to say the least. 23 years of grime and whatnot really had those bolts on there tight. Once the rack was out we took a beer/BBQ break. With full stomachs we got back to work, I modified the knuckle while the other guys helped Gordon with various wiring odds and ends. Once I got the knuckle together we began the endless struggle of getting the E36 rack in. By this time the sun was setting and it was getting cold fast, and the guys were headed home so we called it a day. As of right now the car is sitting with the knuckle bolted up and the rack almost in.

Tomorrow morning i plan on finishing the rack install and deleting the power steering. This week my goals are to hook up all the coolant hoses, run the fuel lines, finish up the wiring and hopefully have a running and driving car. If anyone is local to central Ohio shoot me a PM if your able to lend me a hand, or just want to check the car out. Another pair of hands are always good to have.

Thats it for today. Check for updates as the week progresses.

[Joe G]

Rack is in successfully. Finally got the car off jack stands and back into the garage. I dont think im going to have any time to work on her this coming weekend/week (going to be out of town), but as soon as i get back I'm on a mission from god to get this car up and running!