'89 318i 6 speed m50b32tu turbo swap build

[Northern]

I'm pumped. Not jealous of trying to fit a DP past the RHD linkage though haha

[ba114]

I'm pumped. Not jealous of trying to fit a DP past the RHD linkage though haha

Its likely i wont have to. i lack the welding skills to do that properly so may end up taking it to the pros...

[Northern]

i lack the welding skills

I do too, but it didn't stop me hahaha

[ba114]

Slow but steady progress.
Fitting the 6 speed diesel box definitely has its "intricacies" with the tilt of the box meaning the shift carrier sat nowhere near where it needed to.

Eventually after lots of cuts, welds and whatever, the shift carrier and linkage aren't even close to resembling the original items. But finally got the angles and positioning basically spot on.




Waiting on my shifter to arrive from the UK then I can put it in and bolt up the driveshaft and finally see this car move under its own power!

[ba114]

Found (hopefully) the source or my tuning woes. Seems the cam angle sensor is in need of replacement. I knew of the weaknesses of these once they get old and knew I should have checked before fitting but I just got too excited to get it in and running.



Anyway all the insulation on the wires is destroyed at least 10cm up inside the shielding so a new sensor has been ordered and will be here in about a week.

[pazi88]

That's quite normal :D Check the cranck sensor too. It might look the same.

[ba114]

That's quite normal :D Check the cranck sensor too. It might look the same.

Bought and fitted a new crank sensor already. Should have done them both at the same time but you know what they say about hindsight....

Anyway this should clear the code and hopefully address my idle issue

[ba114]

The new cam angle sensor arrived so i fitted that asap and it fixed the CEL.

So i filled the diff with redline 75w90 gear oil, started it up and started filling the power steering.
After bringing it up to temp, i popped it into 1st and rolled out of the garage! First time moving under its own power....however it was short lived. I couldn't engage reverse. Seems the shifter needed some adjusting so using the 3 socket and vice Method i bent the shift lever backwards and towards the right (its a RHD car), then popped it back in and finally had reverse working!

Took it for a couple of laps around the block and all seems well. Need to adjust the steering wheel as it's off centre slightly but otherwise thing are looking positive.

The clutch needs a good bleeding, as do the brakes and I'm yet to start fitting the FMIC but my goal of having it move under its own power over my Xmas Break has been achieved :)

[Northern]

Nice! congrats on getting it moving! It's all downhill from here.

[ba114]

Fitted up the FMIC yesterday. Got it pretty much perfect fitment wise.

It's a 450x300x76mm core with 2.5" inlet/outlet.

Only hiccup is I need a longer 3" to 2.5" 90 degree reducer to connect to my maf tube.

Those with a keen eye will spot that I have retained a new parallel core a/c condenser and the stock hose routing made to work. No fan unfortunately but we'll see how good a job the diesel clutch fan does at drawing through air at idle.

Also safety wired the radiator into the bottom of the core support and gained about 5mm more clearance from the a/c compressor pulley.

[Stamsaas]

Nice project you have going here! Much inspiration in reading this :D I am about to install a simular gearbox, the Gs6-37bz, this is same as yours, but m50 angle. But what did you do with the input shaft? its too short to reach in to the bearing like the other boxes :)

[ba114]

the pilot bearing is part of the flywheel for the 330i/Z4. Make sure you get a flywheel that matches your gearbox and you're good to go.

[ba114]

Downpipe done! After thinking this was going to be my most difficult job, I was incredibly lucky with getting the angles perfect first try. Yes the welds are horrible again, however I pressure tested the pipe to 20psi and found no leaks so that all that matters really.

[ba114]

Welded a bung in the downpipe for my wideband today. I got my argon/co2 gas mix in finally and some solid core wire for the mig. Wow, this is what I've been missing out on by using shitty Flux core. The welds still very average but SO much better than before!



Other things I've been working on include re-fitting the deka 80lb injectors. Had issues with the Orings leaking and messing with my idle so swapped them from the 19lb and lubed with oil and all good.

Need to find a flange for the downpipe that will fit through the tiny space available between the waste gate and the steering shafts. A normal vband won't fit...

[BMW_TUNER]

Build progress is great. You might want to give yourself a little more room on the DP as the engine rocks that direction under load. I found out the hard way.