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

[JGood]

Mishimoto radiator #2 just dumped it's guts as I arrived at work today. The original one lasted 1 year/10k miles. The warranty replacement lasted almost an identical amount of time/miles. I'm going to give it one more shot, but if it happens again in this short of a time period, I'm going another route.

Also had to get towed home from bimmerfest a few weeks ago. The car stalled as I was leaving the parking lot and wouldn't restart. The main relay wasn't clicking, but I didn't have a multimeter with me to troubleshoot. Turned out to be the fusable link on the DME power wire. I spliced in a generic inline fuse housing that uses normal 1/4" fuses, and now have a 5 pack of 30 amp fuses in the glovebox, so no more worries.

[The Dark Side of Will]

Any idea *why* it blew the fuse?

[JGood]

Any idea *why* it blew the fuse?

I don't think it 'blew', I think it just corroded to the point where it was too thin to handle the load of the DME. It's not uncommon on a 30 year old, 315k mile car. The part of the thin metal strip that was left behind looked corroded too. I also had a trunk full of crap, something could have given it the final blow while I was accelerating out of the parking lot.

The factory fuse was a 50amp, I replaced it with a 30amp, and have yet to have an issue, so I don't think it was a short or overload.

[The Dark Side of Will]

True dat, makes sense. Fusible links are terrible ideas, but saved BWM .50 DM or something.

[JGood]

True dat, makes sense. Fusible links are terrible ideas, but saved BWM .50 DM or something.

They could have at least put it somewhere safer then the middle of the trunk. Could have been incorporated into the junction on the firewall, that would have been nice and easy to access/repair. Then again, I think e30's do come with a hard plastic cover for the cable in the trunk, which mine no longer has. Suppose I should pick one of those up to protect my new fuse...

[Denny]

Went to the drag strip the other night.

2820lbs without me, but with 3/4 tank of gas, the spare tire, and my normal crate of tools/supplies in the trunk. Basically, the way I drive it 99% of the time.

Best time was as follows:

60' ...... 2.018
330 ..... 5.592
1/8 ..... 8.505
MPH .... 83.01
1000 ... 10.996
ET ...... 13.099
MPH ... 107.21

All of my runs were 13.1-13.3, 107-108 mph. Didn't hook up in any of them. I've done a 1.9 60' before in this car, just couldn't do it again that night. I guess the additional low end torque makes it more difficult. If I can do that again, I'll be in the 12's. But I'm VERY happy about the trap speed increase. From 102-103 with the m60b40, to 107-108 with the m60b44. That shows that there is a serious power gain. I'm probably near 300whp. e39 M5's with good drivers usually end up with very similar ET/MPH numbers, so I'd expect I'd be about even with one until probably 130ish or so, when their peak power and aerodynamics take over.

Exactly the amount of power I'm looking for... Awesome numbers for a full street car with N/A power. Anymore then this and its a new world of SNAP action not clutches slipping but in like Axles snapping. With my Twincharged setup at its almost lowest power setup I was making over 400 pounds of torque...sold the setup it was getting too expensive..v8 is taking its place its a great compromise between a M30B35 swap and all out Boost power.

[DER E30]

They could have at least put it somewhere safer then the middle of the trunk. Could have been incorporated into the junction on the firewall, that would have been nice and easy to access/repair. Then again, I think e30's do come with a hard plastic cover for the cable in the trunk, which mine no longer has. Suppose I should pick one of those up to protect my new fuse...

If you think about it, putting the fuse right near the battery is probably safer than in the engine bay because the length of wire that isn't fused is much shorter. Having fuse protected wire in the entire car makes sense then. My buddy almost lit his car on fire with a 00 welding cable for his amp that had no fuse! The wire rubbed the insolation off and it arced off the frame.

Love your car! The color is awesome! And that v8!

[JGood]

If you think about it, putting the fuse right near the battery is probably safer than in the engine bay because the length of wire that isn't fused is much shorter. Having fuse protected wire in the entire car makes sense then. My buddy almost lit his car on fire with a 00 welding cable for his amp that had no fuse! The wire rubbed the insolation off and it arced off the frame.

Love your car! The color is awesome! And that v8!

Well the main thick battery cable isn't fused. There's a smaller 14 gauge wire that runs parallel to it for the DME that is fused. It's literally taped right to the main power wire. I guess it's not a big deal either way, most e30's make it to their grave without that fuse ever being seen.

Thank you!

[The Dark Side of Will]

Obviously the main wire from the battery to the starter is unfused and VERY rarely has any problems, across the entire auto industry. It's just run more intelligently and protected much better than most guys who run unfused power to their amps...

[Jean]

JGood good numbers man!

[JGood]

Destroyed another axle, so it looks like I'm going to be picking up a set of the CA Tuned chromoly axles. The price for a pair is the same cost as a single OE axle, so it's a no-brainer.

I'm wondering if the design of the diff naturally puts more power to the drivers side wheel. I've had a total of 3 axles on that side, and they've all twisted the splines. Neither of my passenger side axles have done that.

[The Dark Side of Will]

Longitudinal torque reaction from the engine and trans twisting can load the suspension asymmetrically... it usually only affects live axle cars, though.

Do you have urethane or rubber subframe bushings?

[GunMetalGrey]

If you do get a set of the CA Tuned axles make sure to post up about them! My half shafts fear the m50 turbo that powers them and if the CA tuned ones hold up they may be on my upgrade list.

[JGood]

Longitudinal torque reaction from the engine and trans twisting can load the suspension asymmetrically... it usually only affects live axle cars, though.

Do you have urethane or rubber subframe bushings?

Urethane, but they were only installed after I twisted 2 axles. So it did it both with stock rubber and urethane. T/A bushings are new rubber. 650lb springs/Bilstein Sports back there as well, there isn't a ton of movement.

[JGood]

If you do get a set of the CA Tuned axles make sure to post up about them! My half shafts fear the m50 turbo that powers them and if the CA tuned ones hold up they may be on my upgrade list.

That's why I've yet to take the plunge. They almost seem too cheaply priced, compared to other beefy e30 axles. I'd really like some customer feedback first. I mean even if they're equal in quality/strength to OE, they are still 1/2 the price, and according to my local dealer there are currently no axles in the US, and the wait time is 2+ weeks...