6/83 grey market 323i.. mtech I S50 5-lug

[2mAn]

This all sounds a lot more complicated than buying the S54 unit, amirite?

Obviously your situation is different, but seeing as how I need to buy something from the beginning I am leaning at getting one of those.

[Bimmerman325i]

you might have a point. did a bit of reading. apparently if the oil doesn't reach operating temp it doesn't vaporize out water contamination and gets sludgy pretty fast.

looking at this t-stat because it's full flow - thoughts?

something like that should work nicely! VAC has something similar as well.

If available, go for a higher temp thermostat. The S50/2 don't really benefit from an oil cooler until they're being heavily tracked, so for DD use I don't see an OC as being all that helpful. I'd go for a high temp threshold thermostat so that commuting use won't over cool it but in sustained spirited use the cooler circuit will open.

[kronus]

you might have a point. did a bit of reading. apparently if the oil doesn't reach operating temp it doesn't vaporize out water contamination and gets sludgy pretty fast.

looking at this t-stat because it's full flow - thoughts?

[Bimmerman325i]

your cooler is totally cold because there's no oil going through it below that temp, yes.

this one doesn't have a thermostat. If I see the oil not really getting up to temp, I can plumb in one of these

Right-- I'd plan on plumbing one in from the get-go.

My oil barely gets warm enough to open the tstat by the time I get to work, driving ~15min from San Mateo to Menlo. Lots of E46 guys who remove the stock tstat for track use (restricts flow) say the car takes forever to warm up on the road.

[kronus]

your cooler is totally cold because there's no oil going through it below that temp, yes.

this one doesn't have a thermostat. If I see the oil not really getting up to temp, I can plumb in one of these

[Bimmerman325i]

Does the sandwich plate have an oil thermostat, or would you be adding one in?

S54/Z3/S50Euro ones all have a thermostat on the cooler circuit that doesn't open (much) until ~180-190F. My oil cooler is totally cold to the touch below that temp.

[kronus]

the one that came with my plate! I think it is this one

and yeah, this is a pretty sweet solution. one downside to it is that there's no oil thermostat. I'll be monitoring temps..

[2mAn]

I picked it up used from a friend's blown up racecar. You can get new ones from Gutenparts for 300ish IIRC.

Its a pretty sexy piece, wow. It has all the upgrades Im looking to add, all in one. I was originally looking at the S54 or even the MZ3 oil filter housing to keep it OEM, but this looks better.

What oil cooler are you going to use?

[kronus]

I picked it up used from a friend's blown up racecar. You can get new ones from Gutenparts for 300ish IIRC.

Annoying orange it is!

[2mAn]

in the meantime, I sandblasted the magnesium valve cover and am making preparations to paint it. Annoying orange?



and the aforementioned bling: a Economotorsports oil cooler sandwich plate, lines and cooler made their way to me. This will let me run real temperature and pressure gauges as well as not worrying about temps as much.

Might as well since the block is that color, I dont think there is any other color that goes well with orange without it looking like a halloween car.

How much was that sexy oil cooler sandwich plate?!? I need to get me one.

Thanks for buying me more time, Im about to try one final time with the BAR before I say fig it and go fuhraze

[kronus]

cam trays went in, a few days later..



cams followed. these are M52 cams reground to S52 specs, in S50 trays. Weirdly, despite everything I've heard about OBD2 cams not fitting into OBD1 trays, these do.



started putting together the vanos timing stuff..



and snap!



in retrospect, I should have gotten new ones of these anyway, so I'm glad it was weak enough to go right away during torquing and not while the engine was running. Now I have $130 of random small bolts on their way to me in the next few days before I can continue.

in the meantime, I sandblasted the magnesium valve cover and am making preparations to paint it. Annoying orange?



and the aforementioned bling: a Economotorsports oil cooler sandwich plate, lines and cooler made their way to me. This will let me run real temperature and pressure gauges as well as not worrying about temps as much.

[CubbyChowder]

Nice!

[kronus]

Shiny orange update!

Bottom end all together.



Shiny new Mahle pistons in their shiny new homes



Applied some Hylomar sealant to the timing cover seams and water pump hole.



New HG goes on... It's a VR. Am aware of all the bad stuff that's been said about them. Could not get my hands on an elring so this will do. One has been holding up in my m50 car without trouble.



finally, head is on and torqued with new bolts.



Tomorrow, cams, vanos, and a blingy surprise.

[kronus]

Are you finally using the S52 manifolds?

yup. hoping the smog guy doesn't think anything of it, but we'll see how well that will go. I have a set of cast manifolds as well, in case these are not acceptable.

Still working out what I will do for exhaust. I've got a OBD2 center section on hand that I can trade out for an OBD1, but the rest of the exhaust will need to be fabricated. I've been idly looking for a B&B muffler, since I like their sound the most.

[2mAn]

Are you finally using the S52 manifolds?

I need to make an appt with the BAR sometime soon