Brilliantrot 24v swap: BACK UNDER THE KNIFE!..Now with puppy content

[Nick_S]

UPDATE!!
Got up to the shop today and started the basic tear down to see what I'm working with. Started by pulling all the coolant lines off, some reusable, some not. Pulled the fuel filter off next which apparently at some point the original had been bypassed and another was installed? Strange. Next up was the removal of the a/c bracket since I won't be reusing it. Pulled the crank pulley off to reprint and clean it up. Engine arms came off for cleaning aswell. Oil filter housing and alternator bracket were next. Found I'll def need a new idler tension pulley so that was added to the list.



Pulled the thermostat and housing and noticed its looking pretty funky where the water pump was. Any suggestions how to flush and clean this out??


Then came the point I was nervous about. Pulling the valve cover. I was expecting sludge and filth but was very surprised to find the valve train very clean. The cams show almost no marring and the came gears show minimal wear. Unfortunately I forgot to take a picture for some reason.

Pulled the intake manifold next. No real surprises there other than some leaves and light debri fell into the intake port and had to blow it out. I've got a spare manifold with injectors in better shape I'll likely use. The Tb was all gunked up to. I have a spare one of those also.




Next and lastly was to drop the oil pan. I was nervous about this because of some water that came out when I first got it. Drained the oil and it looked used and a bit dirty, but clean which was a relief. Drooped the pan to start prepping for the e34 pan swap. Although I was a tad concerned after I drained what was left. The real sludgy stuff at the bottom of the pan was a little discolored.





Again this was the sludgy stuff at the bottom. Should this be cause for immediate concern?

Overall pretty pumped to feel like I've really got this started. I'll have a pretty large order going out this week for all the gaskets and parts I'll need. Also hope to have the rest of my mandatory parts I've ordered coming in. Kinda bummed I found I'll need a new clutch and am going to go ahead and order a new lightweight flywheel.

Pile of stuff going home with me for cleaning and painting and all bolts small pieces bagged and labeled.



Ive also got the wiring harness I get to go through and figure out what connector is what and which we're cut. Heading back up this week and cleaning and painting the block. More updates to come!!

[NickL]

Looks awesome man great progress. If you need a hand or any help whatsoever let me know I'm local to you and have a couple 24v swaps under my belt now. Any questions just pm me.

And like others have said, 944 booster is the way to go. Usually around 50$ at a local yard.

Also, I would order the oil pump nut with the hole pre drilled and wire included from Rallyroad. Its 10$ preventative maintenance that is easy when you do the pan swap.

[Nick_S]

Looks awesome man great progress. If you need a hand or any help whatsoever let me know I'm local to you and have a couple 24v swaps under my belt now. Any questions just pm me.

And like others have said, 944 booster is the way to go. Usually around 50$ at a local yard.

Also, I would order the oil pump nut with the hole pre drilled and wire included from Rallyroad. Its 10$ preventative maintenance that is easy when you do the pan swap.

Awesome thanks man. Once I get this back together and ready to go in the car I'll hit you up. I could certainly use a hand. Regarding the pump nut. Any benefit of safety wiring over tacking a quick weld on it? I'll be scouring the yards for a 944 booster in the next week or so. Hoping to have this atleast into the car in 3 weeks.

[Nick_S]

Order placed for:
-motor mounts
-water pump
-thermostat
-plugs
-exhaust gaskets and bolts
-valve cover gasket and grommets
-oil pan gasket
-oil filter housing gasket
-oil pressure switch and gasket (also adding oil pressure gauge)
-rear crankshaft seal
-rear sway end links
-dif gasket (doing new bushing)
-injector o-rings
-intake manifold gaskets
-TB gasket
-aux fan switch
-oil pick up tube gasket (for E34 pan swap)

MAF showed up today. Waiting on my harness adapter and DME for a few guys on here.
Clutch and alternator being order through my friend's shop. Lightened flywheel being ordered from gripforce.com and then that should just leave me with sorting out the shift linkage and finding a water pump pulley excluding things like coolant hoses and all the little details...but I think I've got all bases covered. Painting and prepping more tonight.

[JCarp90]

Dude. I hate to say this but it looks like that thing needs a head gasket.

[Nick_S]

Dude. I hate to say this but it looks like that thing needs a head gasket.

The pictures make it look much brighter than it was. It was pretty faint. Friend of mine said he thought it looks like condensation? Sometimes if I do alot of short drives and dont let the oil totally warm up I'll get the same colored sludge build up. Either way, it does concern me. Any real way to check without pulling it? We were going to do a leak down test this week.

[NickL]

Awesome thanks man. Once I get this back together and ready to go in the car I'll hit you up. I could certainly use a hand. Regarding the pump nut. Any benefit of safety wiring over tacking a quick weld on it? I'll be scouring the yards for a 944 booster in the next week or so. Hoping to have this atleast into the car in 3 weeks.

I guess the only benefit of the safety wire would be the ease of removal. But a lot of people do just tack it.

And yeah that does look a little scary in the oil pan and what's coming out of the water pump housing.

How much did you pay for the motor? Did you get any compression numbers? A leak down test won't tell you much about the headgasket unfortunately as it's more for rings/valves.

[Nick_S]

Paid $300 for the motor, a G250, drive shaft and wire harness. Unfortunately it was from a small salvage yard with no known history other than it the car had some rear end damage to it. when I drained the oil it showed no sort of discoloration like that. Was dark, but clean. It wasn't until I dropped the pan and drained the rest that I there was sludge at the bottom and that's what I snapped a photo of. Also the car sat outside without a water pump on it for a bit.

A bit freaked out now. I have a line on a few engines from a reputable salvage yard (cantley's). They have 3 M50's for $400 and are guaranteed. Only down side, none of NV and I've already spent a bit buying parts specific to NV. I'm not sure what to do at this point. I'd like to use this motor but it's really not in my budget for a full tear down as I'd likely need the head resurfaced and who knows what else.

[NickL]

Was going to say when the e36's I buy need a new motor that's where I go. I've negotiated to 250$ with them too. If I were you I'd go have a look personally because sometimes they have no clue what they're talking about. There might be a NV one laying there.

[Nick_S]

I just spoke with my buddy who's shop I'm at. He seems to think that if the head gasket were bad, all of the oil would have been discolored, not just the stuff at the very bottom. Said he thinks it's just a sediment of metal solids normally in the oil but had settled to the bottom. I did also notice the pan had been damaged and looked to have been rewelded somewhat recently.

[JCarp90]

The pictures make it look much brighter than it was. It was pretty faint. Friend of mine said he thought it looks like condensation? Sometimes if I do alot of short drives and dont let the oil totally warm up I'll get the same colored sludge build up. Either way, it does concern me. Any real way to check without pulling it? We were going to do a leak down test this week.

I just spoke with my buddy who's shop I'm at. He seems to think that if the head gasket were bad, all of the oil would have been discolored, not just the stuff at the very bottom. Said he thinks it's just a sediment of metal solids normally in the oil but had settled to the bottom. I did also notice the pan had been damaged and looked to have been rewelded somewhat recently.

I suppose you're right, but I'd buy myself the insurance and just do the HG while it's out of the car. Sucks, but you don't want to drop this thing in only to find out it was blown. It would also suck to buy an M50TU when you have all of these parts for the NV, but damn. I don't know what to tell you other than I'd spend the extra money and have the HG done.

Also I will tell you that my S52 had a very very very small amount of condensation in the motor up by the vanos under the valve cover, but no where near that much. That's why I'm concerned.

[Nick_S]

Also I will tell you that my S52 had a very very very small amount of condensation in the motor up by the vanos under the valve cover, but no where near that much. That's why I'm concerned.

Right, same. When I did the upper gaskets in my M42 last winter I had a fair amount of similar looking sludge in the breather hose and up top. After it sat for awhile working on it some of it had made it's way to the pan but I change it regularly and haven't seen a bit of it since. Being this is a $250 motor, I may roll the dice and just keep an eye on it. Worst case, I buy another M50 and at that point will be a pretty basic swap. Still going to do a leak down test and make sure it's atleast somewhat healthy.

[JCarp90]

Right, same. When I did the upper gaskets in my M42 last winter I had a fair amount of similar looking sludge in the breather hose and up top. After it sat for awhile working on it some of it had made it's way to the pan but I change it regularly and haven't seen a bit of it since. Being this is a $250 motor, I may roll the dice and just keep an eye on it. Worst case, I buy another M50 and at that point will be a pretty basic swap. Still going to do a leak down test and make sure it's atleast somewhat healthy.

Good call.

[NickL]

Honestly man once you do the swap, simplify the bay etc, yanking these motors back out is a joke. I can have the motor back out of my car in an hour. Its cake. So if the case was that the headgasket was shot, its just a day project to throw another m50 in. I say rolling the dice isnt a terrible idea as long as you have a daily which I think you do haha? It could end up being fine.

[Nick_S]

Honestly man once you do the swap, simplify the bay etc, yanking these motors back out is a joke. I can have the motor back out of my car in an hour. Its cake. So if the case was that the headgasket was shot, its just a day project to throw another m50 in. I say rolling the dice isnt a terrible idea as long as you have a daily which I think you do haha? It could end up being fine.

Yup, have an E34 wagon for a daily. This car sits most of the cold months anyways. That's sort of what I'm figuring. Best case, this engine is fine. Worst case, I replace it again in the spring. Either I'm truthfully OK with.