New here. E21.

[mk3f.t.w.]

and this stupid thing spun a bearing. All i did was start the car and i noticed a loud clunk, then i saw my low oil pressure light. I thought it might be valve train tick at first so i let it warm up, but as I raised the rpm up to 1k it got really loud. Valve train tick wouldn't cause a low oil pressure light, and valve train noise is at twice engine rpm compared to rod knock.

This car is cursed.

Luckily con rod bearings are like $40 and I can get back my lower mileage e30 oil pump for free

If much more breaks soon after this i dont know if i can take it.

[mk3f.t.w.]

well I have ordered the stuff to hopefully fix my loss of oil pressure. I will inspect the bearings next week and hope the damage is minimal and slide in some new bearings and a newer pump. All this darn maintenance could have been cool wheels and coil overs darn it. Thats all I really care about. I am putting back in my lower mileage (175xxx) e30 pump compared to my e21 pump (330xxx) miles.

[mk3f.t.w.]

I finally got all the stuff to fix the e21s oil pressure. And some stuff to fix the shifter slop and vacuum leaks. 😊


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[scarecrow]

Cool build!

If your engine spun a bearing you are going to need to have the crank ground and the rods reconditioned as well as the correct oversized bearings installed. If you throw those standard bearings in the engine it will knock and probly spin again.

[mk3f.t.w.]

thanks^^ i forgot to update. I havent dropped the pan yet, but I started the car and oil pressure came back. I was doing some reading and it sounds like a stuck pressure relief valve in the oil pump and not a spun bearking. I guess when they get stuck there is a loss of oil pressure particularly on cold start which is the exact issue i had. I just heard a rod knock and saw the pressure light and assumed bearing, but the bearing hasn't spun sincd now its fine. Im still going to replace the pump and put in some fresh bearings to be safe

[mk3f.t.w.]

so I worked on the BMW yesterday

took out the old oil e21 pump

put back in my lower mileage e30 pump

put on a newer gear with fresh teeth, plenty of loctite, and a shim for the chain

my rod bearings were definitely toast. The main bearings and crank were all fine.

slapped in the new bearings and a good pump and no more oil light. hooray.

[MPLFoster]

nice

[mk3f.t.w.]

So I installed all new shift linkage. The shifter feels much better. The internals of the trans feel a little worn, but that's another issue.


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[mk3f.t.w.]

So my original oil pump had 330xxx miles and the pressure relief valve became permanently stuck. The pump I put in has 150xxx miles and the valve is sticky. I finally bit the bullet and bought a new pump.


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[2mAn]

Have you ever considered using the BAE turbo kit? Its a CARB legal turbo setup for the E21 M10

[mk3f.t.w.]

Yes I have considered it. I would eventually like to turbo this thing later on. I still have to take car a bit more maintenance and rebuild the diff before I seriously look into it.

[mk3f.t.w.]

Picked up some wheels for the e21. I need spacers for the rear, lower the front a lot more, and lower the rear a bit more. Also the tires I'm mounting have a bit taller side wall than the tires that came with the wheels.


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[mk3f.t.w.]

So I installed my brand new pump. The other used pump I put in was starting to go bad. The new pump seems to be working just fine. I am havering a tough time finding a mounting adapter for my autometer pressure gauge though, but that will be going in soon so I can keep an eye on things.

And the other thing I noticed is my motor mount arm is broken. Good thing i didn't drive it very far. I had been telling harry for a week or two I noticed the car was more rumbly, and I assumed my trans mount collapsed because i knew it was going bad. my car surprised me haha.



Thankfully the guy on e21legion sent me a new one for free and it's the beefier steel version

[mk3f.t.w.]

So I installed my steel motor mount bracket to replace my cracked aluminum bracket. I also installed a new slc enter support bearing.


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[mk3f.t.w.]

Some more goodies showed up today


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