The complete repair, rebuild, repaint, and v8 swap of my early model sedan

[The Dark Side of Will]

BMW and GM electrical diagrams are basically the same. Both companies apparently used the same publisher.

Ever try reading a VAG wiring diagram? If you haven't, don't.

[JGood]

I have the trouble shooting manual, and it's useful, but cumbersome, and there are man small single and double pin connectors that I have no clue where they go.

Just the ETM. Is that what you're referencing?

http://www.wedophones.com/BMWManualsLead.htm

There are definitely some wires and connector/splice locations that are difficult to find in the schematics, but compared to any other automotive schematic from any manufacturer that I've looked at, these are absolutely amazing. Once you figure out the consistencies in how they're written and get used to the flow of the diagrams, it's almost like just reading the English language.

[Melon]

Fun fact: The OEM dash sound deadening is designed to be installed underneath all of the things that I had just previously re-installed. Pedal box, clutch hose, brake linkage, steering column, the whole all of the everythings. Needless to say, it's been a frustrating night.

You aren't joking.

Those small plastic nuts up under the main connector coming from the fuse box, on the left side.



It will be worth it waffleswaffleswaffles, I have to keep reminding myself of that when I get frustrated.

[Melon]

On the subject of wiring, what are you using for reference?

I have the trouble shooting manual, and it's useful, but cumbersome, and there are man small single and double pin connectors that I have no clue where they go.

[2mAn]

The little headaches you deal with now will be worth it down the line...

[JGood]

Fun fact: The OEM dash sound deadening is designed to be installed underneath all of the things that I had just previously re-installed. Pedal box, clutch hose, brake linkage, steering column, the whole all of the everythings. Needless to say, it's been a frustrating night.







I have a lot of wiring to sort and clean up, which is a good thing. Something I've been wanting to do for a few years. Luckily, I'm in no rush, since I have to wait for my new $90 ignition switch to arrive. I broke one of the two mounting tabs trying to install the upper steering column cover, which renders it completely useless. The lock cylinder pushes out against the switch, it absolutely needs those tabs to work. I searched around for used, and realized I've already made this project agonizing enough, I don't need to pay $40 for a used one and break it trying to install it.

[JGood]

Made some progress. Got both floors fixed, painted, seam sealed. Then installed some Noico 80 mil butyl sound deadening material over some key areas (big flat panels, wheel arches, etc...











Then I covered the back seat area with 1/8" thermal insulation, since I no longer have the factory foam pad there.





Finally got the DME grommet into it's intended location, for the first time in over 6 years. This is the e34 grommet, intended to go into the square hole in a plastic box in the engine bay, not the round e30 firewall hole. I cut the hole out previously, but was never able to get it seated. I finally did, and then sealed it up with RTV and then seam sealer, as the corners were just a hair too big. I'm sure when I need to remove it, I'll fully regret this. But I'm excited to see what it's like to drive the car without massive gaping holes through the firewall.






My car is a very early model, and does not have the two tabs to hold the late model rear shift carrier bracket in place. This caused the bracket and it's sole mounting piece to bend down over time, over and over again. These transmission use huge guibo's, so that caused the linkage to hit the guibo. I'd have to get under the car and bend it back up a few times. So, I made a little L bracket, drilled a hole through the trans tunnel, welded a screw in there to use as a stud, and bolted the L bracket on. Seems to work fine, although not looking spectacular. If this works, I'll come up with a better looking and more permanent solution next time I pull the engine. It's just too hard to work in the tunnel right now with the trans installed.






Got the carpet and seats back in, and started sorting through the wiring. I'm going to clean a lot of this up, as some of the engine swap wiring was sloppy. Currently waiting on my new dash insulation to arrive, after which I'll begin putting the wiring in place.

[alistairolsen]

Ouch, that is an unpleasant surprise! Repair plans sound good however!

[JGood]

Houston, we have a problem.

I decided to take my carpet and dash out, to put in the OEM sound deadening that I removed years ago, and maybe some additional butyl sheets, as well as plug up the firewall holes (engine harness grommet, clutch master, etc...) As I get older, the sounds and smells coming from the engine bay get less enjoyable. I just want to hear the exhaust. The carpet is also falling apart, so I wanted to replace it.

So, I pulled the carpet, and had a rather unpleasant surprise waiting for me. Turns out, I had several unplugged holes in the firewall that leaked water every time it rained or I washed the car, which puddled up on the floor, that I just repaired 6 years ago.










I wire wheeled both sides, and dumped phosphoric acid on it. Then wire wheeled again, to see what I'm working with. The drivers side is fine, minor surface corrosion.





The passenger side metal was corroded thin, and had a few holes. So I patched it up and painted it in rustoleum:






That's where I'm at today. Still need to touch up the drivers side, seam seal everything, plug the holes, add sound deadening, etc...

I got this free grey carpet from a friend:

[The Dark Side of Will]

Early (12mm output, 8mm return):

12mm output?!? SWEEEEET! Dual 340 LPH pumps! :devil:

[JGood]

One thing I forgot to note: I used the proper SAE J30R10 in-tank hose to connect the Walbro pump to the hanger. Make sure you do this.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001R5XSGU/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

If you want to use an OEM hose, an e34 in-tank hose between the pump and the hanger is also rated for this use. Don't have the part number off hand.

[JGood]

Got the Walbro installed in the 318is hanger. Comparison with stock 325e low pressure pump.









The pump connectors are different, something to be aware of when doing this conversion. I spliced the new style connector on. The wire size is also slightly different, as the stock in-tank pump did not require as much power. I left the wiring as-is. We'll see how that works out.




I ended up spending a bit of time trying to figure out how to route the hoses, since the output/return on the pump is reversed. Turns out the 318is pump setup uses the hard line attached to the tank as the feed line to the engine. That is the return line on the early cars. So I followed the 318is routing, which allowed the hoses to sit in there nicely, just as it was stock. Then I mounted the fuel filter where the old external pump used to be.







Got the 2.93LSD in there, driveshaft and exhaust all bolted up, and took her for a test drive. Everything seems great. The gearing is definitely a bit longer and the less frequent shifting is nice. I didn't notice a huge drop in acceleration when winding out the gears either. Still pulls like a train in any gear/any rpm.

[alistairolsen]

Perfect, thanks very much for the info!

[JGood]

Early (12mm output, 8mm return):



m42 (8mm output, 8mm return):



Late model (8mm output, no return)

[JGood]

For those not in the know, what is different about the 318is fuel system?

Thanks

There's 3 different types of fuel pump/tank setups in e30's:

-Early model, (up to 87 IIRC), and M3: Dual pump. One in-tank, low pressure/high volume pump feeding an external high pressure pump. In-tank pump has a 12mm output and an 8mm return from the fuel rail. External pump has a 12mm inlet, 8mm outlet.

-Late model (but not m42 cars): Single in-tank high pressure pump. 8mm output only on the pump, return from the rail is built into the tank itself.

-m42 cars: Single in-tank high pressure pump. 8mm output and 8mm return from the rail.

My goal was to have a single in tank high pressure pump on my early model dual-pump car.

You can't (safely) put a high pressure pump on the stock early model in-tank hanger because the 12mm output line is not high pressure, the chassis line is 8mm so you'd need to adapt it there, and also most high pressure pumps are 5/16" (8mm) outlet so you'd need to adapt it there as well.

You can't put a later model pump in because it doesn't have the necessary return line.

You can use the m42 pump because it has the proper return and an 8mm output. You just run a new 8mm hose the hole way to the chassis line. And an aftermarket in tank pump goes right onto the hanger.

That said, I think a stock m42 fuel pump flows enough to support an N/A m60. I know a few people did m6x swaps in 318is without swapping pumps, and I read somewhere that someone was supporting a S/C s52 with a stock 318is pump as well. They are about $250 though. I bought a used pump for like $30 and am putting an $80 Walbro on it.