91 318is Never ending project(s) journal

[monty23psk]

http://www.colorbondpaint.com/collec...pet-refinisher

[monty23psk]

Got my new exhaust installed a week ago. Old one had many leaks and small cracks in different locations. Went with a DynoMax Turbo exhaust, Magnaflow universal SS cat, with Jones SS resonator. Also added a basic SS tip. I went from the 2.25" stock size to 2.5" all the way back after the headers. All the stock mounting points still exist so I can remove it in two pieces if I need to work under the car. Here are two pics of the install. Car has a nice deeper idle sound. Does get a little raspy over the 4-5k band. Its not as loud as I thought it was going to be. With windows up, AC on and with the extra cabin insulation the exhaust is not heard unless it approaches the redline. Now with my sound system on a normal volume, it can only be heard if paying attention to it.

Here are the pics:

[Rouvld]

Just went through your thread and its f#cking awsome!! Sub'd!

[Julien]

nice build!! did you ever get the rear e30 m3 brakes installed?

[monty23psk]

Not yet. Working on some other items in the rear of the car and house projects/work have kept me busy.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G920A using Tapatalk

[monty23psk]

I decided to upgrade my reverse lights with nice bright LED bulbs. What is nice, they come in a glass dome like OEM. The difference is huge. Very bright white light when both are swapped.

Bulb:


Installed on the driver side with stock on passenger side. Took pic without flash which shows a difference but picture does not give it any justice. I just bought a pair for my dad's e28 and he loves them. He is not into the newer LED stuff but he is really happy with them.


I also had my antenna motor die where I have to force the mast up and down to help motor. Even installing a new mast didn't help. I have fixed the internals so many times that finally bit the bullet and got one. Luckily there was a mess up on the order and with BMW part NLA, I got a new Hirschmann for $130. I was debating on using the Z version but I link the vintage look of the mast going up and down. I also like the minimized look when the antenna is down.

Newly received antenna.


Old one before removal:


New one prepped with old bracket for installation:


New one installed and it all works fine. Silky smooth operation. I got some free Hirschmann wipes to clean and lube the mast. Plan on using it every 3 months. If after 2 weeks all is well, I will sell the old mast, Hirschmann brand with black tip for a discount. Its not even a month old.

[monty23psk]

Happy New Year everyone!

So 2 weeks before Christmas, I noticed my clutch pedal would only get into gear if the pedal was against the floor. The MC and SC are not even 4 years old and I did try to bleed it. Nothing changed and I felt the issue was mechanical inside the bell housing. With the SC out, I noticed the plunger was going in at an angle. Weird. I felt the clutch for, and it was too noisy when I would tap it, seemed loose. I started the process last week of removing everything as I am off the last two weeks of the year. I have everything off and sure enough, the clutch pin on the opposite side of the SC behind the pivot fork broke in two. How a $3 plastic part is making me do all this work is not fun.

Here is a pic of the two piece issue:


I did order a performance clutch pin made of silicon bronze so that it outlasts this transmission and prevent this from happening again. Here is a pic courtesy of AGA in California.



Here is a pic of inside of the bell housing and you can see where the clutch fork kept rubbing against the bell housing. Glad I did it now as eventually I don't believe would you have been able to engage the clutch.



But like with everything I do, I am taking an approach of doing a lot of "while I am in there" repair. First thing, I need a new driveshaft. I believe this is the original and the rear u-joint is notchy. New one came in and silky smooth. I called the best in the business from research on the forums, Drivline in Portland, OR. They gave me a price and said they can ship one out of a warehouse in Virginia. They don't servive the BMW non-serviceable U-joints anymore and dont even sell the ones that came with serviceable U-joints. My thought which is what they stated, they never sold many of theses and normally a drive shaft should last you 10+ years. If you remove it, you might as well replace the whole thing then service the u-joints as the price is not a deal breaker. I then called Powertrain Industries in CA which I bought a driveshaft over 10 years ago for my M5. The guy gave me the option to send in my driveshaft or it would be easier and not a difference in cost to just purchase a rebuilt one. They also stated to have one in warehouse in Virginia. Coincident, I think not. Did some research and there is a compnay that pretty much handles all of the US for rebuilt driveshafts with 4-5 warehouses around the US. I ordered it from Powertrain, got it here on the 24th. Here is a pic of the old and new (inside the box).



Here is the tranny. I ordered all the seals and even ordered a UUC Evo3 SS with DSSR. This saved me on some funds which I was gonig to spend on rebuilding the shifter parts, a savings of about $75 which when towards the SS. Also they have a sale with a free DSSR.



I am going to replace the flywheel with the M20 conversion so need to put that order together. Just reading up on the how to make sure I get all the right parts.

[rzerob]

When I did my 5 speed swap on my ix, the bell housing had a worn down clutch pin. It was probably the original. I opted for the solid one as well. I had to hammer it in place. I figure if it didn't break with me hammering on it, it would probably last me the life of the car as well. Don't forget about the round sponge that is part of the shift assembly the evo and dssr won't replace that. I went with the delrin upgrades from garagistic as well. And a steel braided clutch line. Happy New Year.

[ForcedFirebird]

I make it habit to replace the pin, fork and retention spring whenever we have a transmission out. As you said, that $3 part is not easy to get to later.

[monty23psk]

When I did my 5 speed swap on my ix, the bell housing had a worn down clutch pin. It was probably the original. I opted for the solid one as well. I had to hammer it in place. I figure if it didn't break with me hammering on it, it would probably last me the life of the car as well. Don't forget about the round sponge that is part of the shift assembly the evo and dssr won't replace that. I went with the delrin upgrades from garagistic as well. And a steel braided clutch line. Happy New Year.

Thanks for the tips. I saw from AGA for installation to use a certain size socket to bang it in without damaging the head.

When you say round sponge, you mean the rubber boot at the top under the knob and boot? If, so, mine is new and was replaced 5 years ago as the old one was all ripped. I will look at the Garagistic ones as mine are still a few years old but if they go, I will probably swap them out with these. I have a ss line already and getting another one with the order free. Will probably sell it here to recuperate the cost of the SSK.

[rzerob]

Thanks for the tips. I saw from AGA for installation to use a certain size socket to bang it in without damaging the head.

When you say round sponge, you mean the rubber boot at the top under the knob and boot? If, so, mine is new and was replaced 5 years ago as the old one was all ripped. I will look at the Garagistic ones as mine are still a few years old but if they go, I will probably swap them out with these. I have a ss line already and getting another one with the order free. Will probably sell it here to recuperate the cost of the SSK.

http://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/showparts?id=AF93-USA-01-1991-E30-BMW-318is&diagId=25_0027

#20 is the sponge I was talking about.

And here are the two delrin upgdrades from Garagistic.

http://store.garagistic.com/e30-performance-parts/bmw-bmw-delrin-shifter-bushing

http://store.garagistic.com/e30-performance-parts/e30-rear-shifter-bushing

[monty23psk]

Couple work pics are delaying progress. I did receive my m20 flywheel today. Also confirmed it by weight, 8lbs. Need to resurface it and will look at ring gear swap option and a light lightening.

[gieros]

Thanks for this thread!
realy fascination reading!

[monty23psk]

Got mor time to work on car while m20 flywheel gets the works. I found a local shop to swap out the m42 ring gear and add it to the m20 fw. This way, I don't need to modify the m42 starter or purchase a m20 starter. Getting it down for the price of a good used m20 starter. I am also looking at getting the TDC flywheel lock hole added to the m20 flywheel. Not a need but a want.

Today I swapped out the rear engine seal and started the cleaning the back of the block. I used the adapter to tap in the new seal used blue hylomar for the seal/carrier fitting. My rear seal was not leaking but rather swap it out now while in there. I have the pilot bearing to replace, and that is next.

I first drilled a tiny hole into the seal and the screwed in a machine screw. Then using the back of a hammer, I pulled the seal out. 10 mins total. Used the trick I read only a few times.

The parts, using BMW brand where I can:


After the install:


The pilot bearing:


Next up, will be the pilot bearing replacement, installing the flywheel, still debating on getting it lightened with the clutch masters stage 1 clutch and pressure place. I have all brand new OEM bolts and hardware straight from BMW for this install. More pictures to come.

[rzerob]

Did you get the sponge?