M30 OEM Turbo project

[CorvallisBMW]

Would you say it was seeping?

I would say it was streaming ;)

seriously, this is a big ass puddle, like 2' in diameter :eeek:

[James Crivellone]

Welp, I got back from 10 days on vacation and found a large puddle of both ATF (power steering) and oil under the car... Before I left I added oil and ATF in preparation for starting her up once the exhaust was finished. Time to get her up on jackstands and see what is leaking

Would you say it was seeping?

[ThatOneEuroE30]

Welp, I got back from 10 days on vacation and found a large puddle of both ATF (power steering) and oil under the car... Before I left I added oil and ATF in preparation for starting her up once the exhaust was finished. Time to get her up on jackstands and see what is leaking

Gonna have to guess you didn't get all your lines tightened up?

[CorvallisBMW]

Welp, I got back from 10 days on vacation and found a large puddle of both ATF (power steering) and oil under the car... Before I left I added oil and ATF in preparation for starting her up once the exhaust was finished. Time to get her up on jackstands and see what is leaking

[bradnic]

Just for reference.. I had a custom exhaust and downpipe built on my old 318is turbo. absolutely stunning work using the original mounting brackets. $900, I supplied cat, muffler and original hardware.

[ThatOneEuroE30]

I got quoted 2k for an exhuast on my 325is going to be doing it on my own after getting that quote.

[CorvallisBMW]

Had a meeting yesterday with a guy who runs a custom exhaust shop out of his home. He's been building headers for over 30 years and still does custom exhausts form Pro3 cars, including Chris Rohm (http://www.rhominnovations.com/). We looked it all over, and actually the front 1/2 (up through the resonator) is in really good shape and probably not worth rebuilding. So that will help save some $, as it's really only the cat-back that needs to be rebuilt. Once the turbo-downpipe exhaust gasket comes in from Germany, we should be good to go. Hopefully I can have it back and ready for a test drive by the 2nd week of June. Cutting it really close to the picnic :drink: :crazy:

[CorvallisBMW]

Thanks for the kind words guys :)

In other news, the shop i was going to have do my exhaust, http://www.r-sportinternational.com, is apparently shutting down in the next month (or at least moving) so they're not taking on any new projects. So there goes my plan to drop the car off for exhaust while I'm on vacation for the next 11 days

I contacted 2 other local shops and gave them descriptions of what I was looking for along with tons-o-pictars. Hopefully one of them says "yes" without also asking me to take out a 2nd mortgage.

[bradnic]

And that's how you do harness work. solid.

[CorvallisBMW]

Did one small thing last night. I needed to extend the MAF plug, so I hit the wrecking yard and snipped one out of a 525i.

Cut off the original plug, Peel back the insulation, and solder wires together


Heat shrink individual wires


Then heat shrink the whole thing to finish it up. In total I added about 12" in length and it now reaches the MAF. All that's left is to run it through the wiring harness cover, though that means pulling the intake tube and ICV, so it won't happen till I get back from vacation

[e30m3s54turbo]

:up:

[efficient]

Real clean bay

[stanhayward]

As you once commented to me, it is now my turn to say that you have a very nice looking turbo setup ;) Congrats man!

[CorvallisBMW]

Good lord that's a full bay.

Ya. It's going to make working on it a complete PITA, hence why I'm trying to get everything 100% sorted now (as opposed to cutting corners) so that I don't have to fuck with it down the road.

You said it, but dang it looks good, totally functional in style.

Thank you! I'm fairly happy with how it's come out. Not 100% happy with the valve cover vent line routing, but I'm not sure how I would improve it. I'm also going to get her up in the air and see whether I can run an air filter that comes straight off the end of the turbo, as opposed to going up and over the IC and then down behind the headlights. This would allow for a more direct route, save come complicated piping, reduce the amount of heat the air picks up on its way to the turbo, and even let me put the high beam back in. If it will fit...

I can't imagine how hot it will be under that hood

Yes that's one of my primary concerns, hence why I had all the exhaust ceramic coated to keep in the heat. Plus I now have 3 temp gauges so I can keep a close eye on things. If I run in to problems, I'll have to change some stuff up, but for now this is as much as I can do without getting really deep in to custom cooling shit.

[bradnic]

You said it, but dang it looks good, totally functional in style.

^ this. OEM+ ftw