1990 - 24v swap

[mjweimer]

Continued progress...

Rear wheel house and rocker repairs are done. After the seam sealer dried, I sprayed several areas with 3M stoneguard, then finished that off with 2k satin black paint. Without a professional gun I could not get an exact match to the texture of the factory applied stone guard but it's not too bad.








Since my pseudo paint booth was up, there was no better time to paint the fuel filler and the steel line that runs on top of the fuel tank.




Installed all new seals in the junkyard 3.15 differential and was happily surprised to find a Torsen LSD...not the Salisbury. The build date of the donor was mid '98 so I had assumed it was a clutch type but there must have been a changeover around this time.


An inspection of the brake lines revealed a badly rusted area in the main rear line towards the front of the chassis in the area where the firewall transitions to the floorpan. It did not look too bad initially but a quick poke from a screwdriver removed a large chunk of material.



I had heard good and bad about NiCopp/Cunifer brake line but had never used it....it is easy to bend but those same properties also make it hard to keep a long section from folding under its own weight as it is installed. I had also heard it could be challenging to flare but I did not seem to have any issues.....we'll find out later when the system is bled.








Making progress.....

[mjweimer]

The fuel tank was dented badly on each side from sloppy placement of floor jacks and lift arms...sigh. I had good luck with a Spectra radiator on my E21 so I decided to try one of their fuel tanks - the BM1B for the late model E30. It comes in a nice silver NiTern finish, however I thought it would look weird so I gave it a shot of black paint, installed a new VDO pump, new seals for the level senders and new rubber grommets at the mounting locations.




It fit perfectly - zero issues with mounting hole alignment that some have said was an issue in the past.




Next up was trailing arm re-assembly. Everything went together smoothly....I have done many of these rear suspension refreshes over the years and have finally assembled a collection of tools that makes it straightforward.

I used Lemforder bushings and FAG bearings and unfortunately had to buy one new hub from BMW due to damaged splines.








I also installed a new set of Lemforder subframe mounting bushings...upside down...I figured this out quickly but they were damaged upon removal....(says the guy who was bragging above about doing so many of these....)

No pics = never happened.

However it seems that Lemforder subframe bushings are NLA...no one has them in stock and their website shows discontinued. It is too bad because these were the OE parts (the BMW logo and part numbers are ground off). I'll probably suck it up and buy a set of BMW parts. I don't want to go poly on this car and I don't necessarily trust the other "stock" alternatives.


Moving on....rear dampers assembled and installed along with a stock E30 M3 14.5mm rear anti-roll bar.

[mjweimer]

Made some more progress this weekend.


Finished assembling the rear subframe - just need the new mounting bushings to show up and it will be ready to install.




Two if the parking brakes shoes were missing the friction material and they were partially frozen so everything came apart, cleaned and reassembled with a mix of new and old hardware.




Installed all new rubber hose at the fuel pump, and vapor recovery tank.






I hope to have some time this week to install the endlinks on the rear anti-roll bar, get the clutch master cylinder swapped out and test fit the iX brake booster.

[AWDBOB]

Look at that nice new fuel filler ga$ket! What did you use for the large vent line?

[mjweimer]

Look at that nice new fuel filler ga$ket! What did you use for the large vent line?

Ha - no, no - that is a well used fuel filler gasket I found in my parts stash. I just cleaned it up a bit prior to install...the rubber is pretty stiff and it is torn in the lower area around the filler but it is not too bad. I just can't bring myself to spend $40+ on a small piece of rubber!!


The large vent line is 14x20mm cloth covered hose. The OE part number is: 16 12 1 177 553. I believe I sourced mine through BelMetric:

https://www.belmetric.com/braided-metric-hose-oem-c-14_138/rh14x20-braided-hose-14mm-x-20mm-p-9431.html?zenid=gtj267tstfom7mpcfaagekutb2

Of course the overall length needed is just over a meter (it's about a meter to the Y-fitting) but I had some leftover from the E21 that made up the difference.


MJ

[mjweimer]

Subframe bushings arrived yesterday and subframe is now installed.

[mjweimer]

Over the past couple of days, I managed to finish a few details on the rear suspension - new e-brake cables, swaybar links and the replacement of the speed sensor wiring that had been damaged at some point in its lifetime. It was now time to tackle transmission #2. Unlike trans #1, this one shifts well through the gears on the bench....I checked first this time....It was however covered in an oily mess and had evidence of several leaks.




I started with the rear output shaft seal and sure enough it was rock hard and wanted to come out in pieces - the pic looks rough but I managed to not damage the bore.




The manual says to use Curil K2 or equivalent to seal the splines and surface of the nut, I use Aviation Form-a-Gasket 2 which has very similar properties, is cheaper, and is more readily available. Loctite 243 is used on the threads.




I fabbed up a simple bar out of a piece of scrap 1" box tube to assist holding the output shaft while the nut is torqued - 125 ft lb initial - release the nut - then 95 ft lb. I also followed the manual and heated the output shaft in the oven to 180F - it essentially slipped right on.




Input shaft seal was next - a small slide hammer makes this easy work.




Cleaned up the splines and installed a new TO bearing guide tube, the old one was heavily scored.




Shift detent pins were next, this is my least favorite job. Removing the 5th and Reverse pin bushings are a huge pain and don't seem to get any easier with experience. Both the 5th and Reverse pins were stuck in the bushings on this transmission so it must have been trying to stick into those gears.

I used this excellent guide for the work (may have posted it before): https://webspace.ringling.edu/~dplas...hift_pins.html






With the interior out and an empty engine bay, the clutch master is a piece of cake. I also replaced the soft line and left it extra long since I am unsure where the 2002 fluid reservoir will ultimately mount.




I've got both Z3 2.8 and E46 clutch slave cylinders and will decide which fits better once the transmission is installed in the car. I have heard the soft line is difficult to install on the E36 slave due to the orientation of the threaded hole...the E46 has that in a different orientation but it may need a longer line. I did confirm that both are 22.2mm bore. Anyone have experience with either part on an M5x - ZF320 swap?

Z3 2.8 top and E46 bottom:




Hopefully more progress today.

[dadsbmw]

This all looks very familiar, just... nicer. Keep it up!

[Northern]

Can't say I have experience with either slave cyl, I used an E36 328i one. Might be the same as one of the two though.

[mjweimer]

Can't say I have experience with either slave cyl, I used an E36 328i one. Might be the same as one of the two though.

Thanks for the feedback. I believe the E36 328i is the same as the Z3 2.8 but I will double check just to see if there is another option.


MJ

[mjweimer]

This all looks very familiar, just... nicer. Keep it up!

I've been following your build and we are on similar paths for sure....I'm about to get into some of the same fun you are having with fitting the booster, engine and auxiliaries. I have a feeling some of it will be more difficult than others have made it out.



MJ

[Northern]

Thanks for the feedback. I believe the E36 328i is the same as the Z3 2.8 but I will double check just to see if there is another option.


MJ

I should also mention I had an e30 stainless clutch line from Ireland Engineering, and I don't remember the length difference between that and the stock e30 line.
I also installed the line to the slave, then bench bled the line+slave before installing the two at the same time.

[dadsbmw]

I've been following your build and we are on similar paths for sure....I'm about to get into some of the same fun you are having with fitting the booster, engine and auxiliaries. I have a feeling some of it will be more difficult than others have made it out. MJ

I'm really happy with the path I finally ended on, which was the e92 booster, cutting off the clevis and welding on a 10x1.5 bolt to use the e30 clevis, and bending/flaring 2 custom brake lines to reach the far side of the master cylinder. You also may need to relocate the MC reservoir or replace it with the e34 reservoir.

[mjweimer]

I should also mention I had an e30 stainless clutch line from Ireland Engineering, and I don't remember the length difference between that and the stock e30 line.
I also installed the line to the slave, then bench bled the line+slave before installing the two at the same time.

Another good data point - thanks. I have a stainless E36 clutch line for test fitting - it is slightly longer than the stock E30 line with a hard fitting at the end featuring a slight bend. I think it will be fine for the E36 slave but probably not long enough for the E46 line...if I remember correctly, the E46 installation has a hard line at the slave which I would not run due to tunnel clearance. I need to get this sorted when the engine/trans goes into the car.


MJ

[mjweimer]

I'm really happy with the path I finally ended on, which was the e92 booster, cutting off the clevis and welding on a 10x1.5 bolt to use the e30 clevis, and bending/flaring 2 custom brake lines to reach the far side of the master cylinder. You also may need to relocate the MC reservoir or replace it with the e34 reservoir.

Your E92 booster install turned out well and looks like it fits properly. I have an iX booster/master which I plan to run with the spacer/bracket. There seems to be lots of folks who made this work with and without the spacer/bracket so we'll see what really works. I expect to have some minor fit issues.....I'll find out soon enough.

What draws me to the iX booster/spacer/master is the fact that it is designed for the same braking system and the clevis does not need any mods, only a minor line change for the rear circuit. Nothing wrong with the other options, just my desire to do it this way and find out if it really is as clean as advertised.


MJ