The 1986 325iX -3.0L Stroker - Now up and Running!

[downforce22]

Long story short I got a new hose and was about to install when I thought to put my finger inside the slave hole. I could feel the clutch fork, but it was at the end of its travel. I am able to pull it in and out with just one finger! So either the spring clip was not installed or broke. The clutch needs to be dropped regardless and I am working on the logistics for that. In the mean time I may get some replacement parts (cv boots, seals, etc) but am trying to decide whether or not I need to replace the piston rings. It is a risky decision not to do it, but a lot of work regardless. As of now oil is blowing past something into both exhaust manifolds. So either the rings just need to be seated (they haven't even really been brought up to operating temp) or they were not installed right.

May try to get it up on a lift in the next few weeks.

[downforce22]

Time for an update, the car sat for a while before my friend took it to his house where I was going to have him remove the transmission>

I decided to do a compression test before proceeding and the results are in.

Cyclinder compression are 70 70 50 65 67 75
so i will have the engine removed and be replacing the rings, transmission will be staying in the car, slightly different approach. Better to get it checked and fixed right than risk having work done to have it removed again.

[lambo]

Can't wait to see this thing!

Any idea when it'll be done?

[downforce22]

Can't wait to see this thing!

Any idea when it'll be done?

Hopefully the engine will be pulled soon, I am going to calculate the new CR with the pistons I have in it and will be getting rings and appropraite parts. I am getting a great deal on the labor so it may take a while but I am hoping to have it all done by the end of the July to make it to the Pagosa Springs 4 corners meet. (turbo done by then would be nice but that could be a good trip to break in the motor too )

Any idea how to calculate the piston size from the spec sheet i got from Ross Racing?


I'll try to get some pics soon but it may be a slow moving project

[downforce22]

Finally got some work done to the car.

Ended up doing this today:



Its finally out of the car and the front diff really didn't want to come off.



The whole front half of the car was disassembled, gahhh awd. We disconnected the tranny from the engine and pulled the engine out the front. Maybe not the easiest way, but the tranny and transfer case are still bolted to the car (mostly).

The diagnosis.
The front half shafts need to be rebuilt. In fact the first one broke in half, here is the front half still in the front diff:



Besides that, and in no surprise whatsoever, the thing was cobbled together. There was only 1 bolt holding the guibo together and it was bolted directly to the back half of the driveshaft. I was missing a subframe bolt, The sway bar links need to reconnected and one of the control arm bolts has been broken off at the head in the threaded portion of the frame.

After getting it out, the TOB looked good and the spring was still connected inside the transmission housing. Pulled off the pressure plate and there is a 6 puck clutch disk.



If the clutch disk side is supposed to touch the engine, it definitely was backwards and the puck side was toward the engine.

I think that should solve the clutch problem. Now I have a few decisions to make for the engine.

I was looking at the original pistons and they have minimal damage from the timing belt snap, I think it was during cranking and not at high rpm load. I cleaned one up a bit to show the detail.











and one with a little damage, not cleaned up



I could rebuild the engine back to stock specs with these pistons and the original crankshaft for a CR of ~9.75 and minimal expenses. I already have most of the necessary parts excluding bearings etc. I could sell the ross racing pistons and rods to offset the cost of the build as I do not see myself rebuilding an m20 in the near future (college student, already have e30, won't have tools + place to do it etc)

I am also considering the s52 or s50 crank. Both could be expensive options but both raise displacement. I know I want this motor to last a while and not have to come apart again in the near future. With the pistons out for new rings -to begin with- I am thinking I might as well upgrade the crank and be happy with it, not second guess my decision 5 years down the road. The s52 crank would yield a CR of about 9.75:1 and a displacement of 3.0L. The s50 crank would be about 2.8L and from my calculations a CR of just over 8.0:1.

I am tempted to go with a bigger crank for more displacement but am worried that if I were to turbocharge down the road I would have problems with a 9.75:1 CR. 3L sounds better than 2.8L but all in all I think they would cost about the same.

What do you guys think? How much more am I looking at spending by stroking it with an s50 or s52 crank vs the 9.75:1 pistons?

Thoughts, ideas, suggestions welcome.

Thanks! I will be tearing into the engine next week!

[downforce22]

I am limited to working on this only on the weekends, but I have made considerable progress and found lots of problems in the tear down.

The engine was removed. The drivers side axle busted in half as it was pulled out. Ball bearings went flying everywhere! I found a place in denver and they actually had two newly rebuilt axles in stock so I replaced both and got a $100 core refund on each axle! Several screws and bolts were missing including a subframe bolt. After the engine finally came out I pulled off the clutch and pressure plate.

The clutch was indeed upgraded to a 6 puck ceramic type disc, however upon inspection the flywheel had some heating damage, was missing a dowel pin and the disc was in backwards! The TOB and spring look to be in working order so I think I have solved the clutch issue. The driveshaft was connected with 1 bolt straight through the guibo. Several screws didn't have washers. A control arm bolt was sheared off inside the frame, same with another in the oil pan. This really shouldn't surprise me as the PO probably had no previous experience (or any business) working on an engine. I am surprised it started up!



I then proceeded to remove the head and had been doing research regarding the piston specs. I had come to the conclusion that the low compression numbers were because of an incorrect stroke, or crankshaft for the pistons. This gave an equivalent CR of about 6:1!

That left the question as to what crank was still in the engine. I measured the length of the top of the piston from TDC to the deck and it was about 7.4 mm. This meant the 75mm crank was still in the car and the pistons were designed for about a 15 mm longer throw crank, aka the s52 89.6mm crank (89.6-75 = 14.6mm). I have been playing around with the compression ratio calculator and depending on the deck height (I have head 206.2 or 206.7 depending) the CR changes a bit. Right now I am looking at 9.5:1 CR with a 1.75mm head gasket and the 206.2 deck height. With a 206.7 deck that drops to 9.1:1. This leaves FI as an option for me as we look down the road. Also the increased displacement is a good thing)

The rod to stroke ratio is 1.51:1 and nearing the 'limits' of what most engine builders are comfortable with. The bore to stroke ratio is also very close to 1. I have been reading about some of the tradeoffs with these numbers and a lower RS ratio actually may prevent detonation as the piston actually accelerates away faster than the flame front. Cool stuff! Most race engines have high RPMs and the question is really what the end result will be. I don't plan to use this as a drag racer or track car but a spirited highway cruiser rather than a rev limiter bouncing high revver. Another thing I may need to consider is an exhaust with the larger exhaust volume. I am unsure about this as I may be going FI down the road. If you are interested in this stuff and want to read more about it, check out this website as it is very interesting. (particularly about the NASCAR and F1 comparison and how the carburetted nascar engine is so good.

http://www.epi-eng.com/piston_engine_technology/engine_technology_contents.htm

I am on the hunt for a new crank and decided I may want to go with a lighter flywheel while I am in there. Ideally I would like to get this put back together by the end of the month. I realize with this larger crank I will need larger injectors. For now I am planning on using 24# injectors with a 2.5 bar eta FPR rather than 3 bar FPR from the 325i. That should be a bit rich but good insurance against lean conditions at higher RPM. Would anybody suggest a 535 AFM? or straight to a MAF?

I removed the flywheel, oil pan and oil pump and pulled the lowest compression cylinder to check the piston rings. I also cleaned the oil pan surface. Thankfully the oil bung installed was not in front of any oil pan bolts.





After inspection of the pistons a few conclusion could be drawn. First they are very light compared to the stock pistons. That is quite surprising to be honest. I would expect forged pistons to be heavy. The bottom line is they have much less material than the stock ones, which are quite, shall we say, over engineered. Second they have the H beam connecting rods vs the stock I beam rods, which are stronger. Finally cylinder number 3's rings were removed. Part of the second compression ring was broken off. The oil control ring was also gapped much smaller than the original size. I compared it to a replacement ring set I bought.



I am planning to inspect all pistons and rings before reinstall of the new crank.

[325ix]

What does that leave you with for displacement and compression ratio? With Colorado altitude you would be fine running 91 with the higer CR and still running good boost numbers.

[downforce22]

What does that leave you with for displacement and compression ratio? With Colorado altitude you would be fine running 91 with the higer CR and still running good boost numbers.

That is what I am hoping. I just know compression ratio affects combustion temperatures at an exponential rate while boost pressure increases it at a more linear rate.

With this crank it would be 2979 cc.

The compression ratio is more of a best of my knowledge calculation.

I have heard two numbers as far as deck height and that changes the compression ratio. Assuming worst cast scenario 206.2 mm rather than 206.7mm deck height, 42cc combustion chamber(885 head) and 1.75mm compressed head gasket I found a CR of about 9.5:1.

http://www.zealautowerks.com/index.html?setup=6,m84.00,m206.2,m89.6,42,-5,m26.06,m135,m1.75,m0.000,6500,5000,8

Of course the different deck height would show a large decrease in both static and effective compression ratio, dropping the static to a seemingly perfect 9.1:1.

http://www.zealautowerks.com/index.html?setup=6,m84.00,m206.7,m89.6,42,-5,m26.06,m135,m1.75,m0.000,6500,5000,8

I'm not positive what the end result will be as supposedly they are 9.7:1 pistons, however Ross Racing email me the specs they used for deck height was 8.11" or 206.0mm .

Either way it works to my advantage, the question is how much. :D

[downforce22]

Lightweight flywheel also added to the list.



Only 9.6 pounds! OEM Steel, but lightened. Crank is on the way. More to come this weekend...

[lambo]

^ Nice! That's light...stock is 18lbs right?

[downforce22]

^ Nice! That's light...stock is 18lbs right?

I believe so.


I finally got the engine completely torn apart yesterday. Removed the front and rear covers on the block, took out the other 5 pistons and the crankshaft came out.


I'm not really a fan of the blue peeling paint.


The crank.. RIP.


A picture of the crank snout for reference. When the s52 crank comes I will need to be fabricating a oil seal on the front edge. Longer crank bolt should also be necessary. I hope it clears the intermediate shaft.

A couple of the bearings were worn down and a slight hint of copper could be seen. I guess that's what 200k miles does to an engine. There was some damage on the bearings and I am not sure if it is good for anything besides maybe a lawn ornament.

I looked at the flywheel and it does not have the reference pin like the one that came out of the car. After some research the motronic 1.0 computer uses two sensors in the bell housing to determine crankshaft postion, unlike the single on the motronic 1.3 version. You may recall your car has a sprocketed harmonic balancer with the CPS, well mine has a smooth harmonic balancer with a CPS. I would like to use the lighter flywheel but am unsure if adding the pin is a great idea due to location, balance and material selection.

Smooth harmonic balancer:


Here is the pin:


Upgrading to motronic 1.3 in not looking like such a bad option right now... Here is a great link on the differences between the different versions of motronic in the e30s.

http://84.45.115.78/e30zonewiki/index.php/ECU_Pinouts

In other news I have a comprehensive list of replacement parts that I need so I can start ordering and hopefully begin reinstall. Also I don't think I ever posted a picture of the cluster, so here you go. I want to paint the needles orange like the 635csi. But I found the spedometer/odometer only about 2 miles from me!

[downforce22]

Looked into motronic 1.3 swap this weekend. I decided I am going to move forward with it to save hassle down the road and in case the motronic 1.0 box ever took a crap. I can upgrade to megasquirt down the road or use a chip like the war chip if/ when I go turbo. As much as I would like to keep it 'original' that is risky and I read the 1.3 runs better with a few improvements.

I have a good wiring harness,02 sensor, just need a few things like the toothed vibration dampener, c191 injector leads, and CID sensor for my spark plug wires. It looks like there are holes for the cps and bracket already in the block. Already have an ecu and obviously the 'i' engine components. Looking into a fuel pressure regulator and debating on larger injectors. Ideally I would like to use the wideband I have but I have a hole in my exhaust system that will have to be addressed first.

I am looking into the crank spacer/ oil seal and may be getting it fabricated or machined down from the m54 vibration dampener hub. Considering a production run if the price is right. Other than that I just need various seals and gaskets to put the engine back together. I am going to be ordering main and rod bearings as well in the next day so I can get them by friday.

Other than that I really just will be waiting on parts until I can start reassembly next weekend. 3.0L 9.5:1 m20 here I come!

[downforce22]

Made some progress today!! I ordered replacement parts and also found the hub for the spacer I needed, unfortunately I did not have enough time friday to bring it to a shop to get brought down to size.

I went ahead and installed the new crank today. The crank slides in perfectly, fitting like it was meant to be there. The fit begs the question as to why the crank wasn't used in the first place. Some comments I can say right off the bat. First, the m54 crank does not need anything done to it to work on the m20. The counted weights clear the cylinder walls and clear the intermediate shaft as well.

With it all lubed up and the main bearing caps on it turns smooth and very nice! I was in the process of installing the new piston rings and rod bearings when I pulled the rod bearings out and only saw 8. The set I got are for the m42! So right off the bat progress was halted. It looks like I will be trading in the unopened package for a set of 12 in the next few days. I am confidant I found the burning oil issue as the old piston ring oil control rings were so tightly squeezed together that there was no ring gap. This eliminated all possibility of making a proper seal between the bore and pistons so oil went past straight into the combustion chamber. The rear main seal is installed but not the front as I am waiting to make my oil seal crank spacer.

Here are a few pictures of it to show what it will do.







And yes I realize I put the crank gear on backwards for the last photo. The hub will be cut down to half of the size and will be 18 mm wide for the spacer.

Most everything is in so I only have the bearings to come in to rebuild and finish the bottom end.

In the meantime I found the wiring harness in my garage. It have everything necessary except the injector harness (on motronic 1.0 there was no c191 plug) and toothed crank gear/cps and bracket to have a complete setup. I removed motronic 1.0 and the 35 pin 073 ecu board and enlarged the hole for the larger 55 pin connector to go through the firewall. So I will now be running motronic 1.3!

That is about all I can do while I wait for parts. I will be going on vacation next weekend and will not be able to get much done for two weeks. By then I hope to get the pistons installed and put the head back on the block.

Only thing I can think about now is how i will tune the 20% more displacement with stock-ish injectors. I have a wideband but the 02 sensor hole in on the exhaust pipe that has a cut in it.

Slowly but surely its coming together! I estimate it running by this time next month.

[downforce22]

Got the crank spacer in the mail today thanks to tinkerputz, will be opefully installing pistons saturday as well as the oil pan and hopefully getting the engine back together.

Lots of work to do but I am in the home stretch.

Also I found another vin decoder. It turns out my iX is one the first produced. Production for the european 325ix started 10/1/85 and mine was produced 11/04/85 for the 86 model year. Here are the vin specs.

Vehicle information
Type

Value
VIN WBAAB******945312
Type code 1271
Type 325IX (EUR)
E series E30 ()
Series 3
Type LIM
Steering LL
Doors 2
Engine M20
Displacement 2.50
Power 126
Drive ALLR
Transmission MECH
Colour DIAMANTSCHWARZ METALLIC (181)
Upholstery (0208)
Prod.date 1985-11-04

Close Options
Code

Description (interface)

Description (EPC)
S225A SPORTLICHE FAHRWERKSABSTIMMUNG Standard suspension
S296A TD-LM/200/60x365 TD BMW LA wheel, Classic
S300A ZENTRALVERRIEGELUNG ELEKTRISCH Central locking with anti-theft system
S311 ELEKTRISCHER BEIFAHRERSPIEGEL
S324A LM RAEDER ELLIPSOIDSP. 107/MISCHB. Front and rear spoilers
S350A WAERMESCHUTZGLAS GRUEN, RUNDUM Therm.insulat.glass green
S401A SCHIEBE-HEBEDACH, ELEKTRISCH Lift-up-and-slide-back sunroof, electric
S410A FENSTERHEBER, ELEKTRISCH VORN Window lifts, electric, front
S481A SPORTSITZE FUER FAHRER/BEIFAHRER Sports seat
S497A MITTELARMLEHNE IM FOND Centre armrest, rear
S498A KOPFSTUETZEN IM FOND Headrests mechanically adjustable, rear
S530A KLIMAANLAGE Air conditioning
S540A GESCHWINDIGKEITSREGELUNG Cruise control
S551A BORDCOMPUTER II MIT FERNBEDIENUNG On-board computer II with remote control
S708A M SPORT-LEDERLENKRAD II M sports steering wheel leather

http://www.rubmw.ru/vincode/eng/

[downforce22]

In the past two days a lot has been accomplished.

I got rod bearings and replacement parts and got to work.

The crank was in its final resting place and two pistons were in. Rings were end gapped and bearings in place. Getting ready to put piston 3 in the crank would not turn to BDC for cylinder 3. It was very frustrating and finally realized the rods were contacting the bottom of the cylinder bore.

The ironic thing is the first cylinder did clear. That shows how tight of a clearance the piston/rod/crank combination was. It was determined that the slight clearance issue was due to extra casting slag at the bottom of the cylinders.

The crank had to come back out and I toyed with the idea of swapping rods to the stock ones but reasoned that would be more work and there was a chance that the rods would still not clear due to the extra 7mm throw of the crank. I ultimately decided to use a dremel to grind a kind of slot for the H beam rods to clear. This was done on both sides of the cylinder.


Crank in its final resting place after coming out.

The pistons went in and the rings were end gapped. Man was it sweet when the rods all cleared the cylinder bores AND came up to the top of the deck height. It finally all came together as planned. I learned first of all to never trust what a stranger has done before you as it is probably done incorrectly and that is the reason it is up for sale. I also learned to never assume that something will work. I knew the rods would be tighter to the cylinder walls by a few mm but reasoned the pistons and rods came together and the designer has thought and planned for that. Doh!


At any rate the pistons are in.

Here is a view of the arps holding the rods to the crank.


Next came the oil pan and that went together great. No gasket either, per BMW! (don't worry it is sealed with RTV)

The one piece of good news was the oil spacer worked great! Here is a shot of how it sits and why it needs to be toleranced to the specs on the drawings. It literally houses the oil seal and spaces the crank gear out along the snout of the crank.


All in place.

The head also went on and the timing belt is done with a new tensioner. It is almost ready to be dropped in, the lightweight flywheel is bolted on and the clutch is back in the place.


The only thing I need is a couple parts and to shave the front end of the washer for the crank bolt down about a mm. This will ensure the crank gear cannot slide around on the snout of the crank and wear the belt or loosen the crank bolt.


I hope you like my engine stand, it has become great friends with my block.

Speaking of friends, my car found a new headlight and has found some friends as well. :pimp:



(Just don't tell smokey he isn't a real m3!)

And if you wonder why his nickname is smokey, this is my first startup with him.