Joined the dark side

[tehwickerman]

There is also a shop in Denver called finish line performance so I'm thinking that's where it came from.

[Roland H]

also "finish line racing engines" is engraved on the front of the head. anyone have any experience with them?

Google says they build drag racing engines and are based in Florida... :weak:

[Roland H]

Nice. The E36 is such a dream to work on compared to the E30/E46. Good to see you doing all the while you're in there stuff now, it will pay dividends in the future.

[tehwickerman]

also "finish line racing engines" is engraved on the front of the head. anyone have any experience with them?

[tehwickerman]

Been hard at work:

top chain guide was also broken...



brand new OEM oil pump that came with the car installed



definitely not seeing why you all are saying head removal is a good idea... seems way easier doing it without taking the head off.



lots of goodiezzzz basically everything on the front end is getting replaced. got dr VANOS stage II, fan delete kit, ss brake lines, upgraded tensioner, etc etc.



valve cover just went off to be powder coated matte black... looking forward to seeing the result.

overall this has been a pretty simple job. just waiting on parts to get it all finished up.

[Cloudbase]

When you get done with the front if you are going to do rear subframe stuff I have everything you need, brand new and would let it go for cheap. I also have front control arm bushings and a stock thermostat housing that I am going to return. I'll sell them to you for what pelican charges, you'd just save on the shipping (which could be free anyway, it might not be worth it).

[clarkkey594]

I'm going to do a compression check and if everything is fine avoid pulling the head.

From consulting the bentley manual it doesn't say anything about pulling the head so I'd like to keep it that way if possible.

IMO, you can't do the job properly (read: very likely to have leaks and/or problems) without pulling the head. There aren't any clips that hold that guide on except the guide itself. They probably broke it when they were lifting the head off/on. I did that once... Only once.

Listen to Chris or you will regret it...........

[iamsam]

Sounds like a PITA. Good luck!

[fsmtnbiker]

IMO, you can't do the job properly (read: very likely to have leaks and/or problems) without pulling the head. There aren't any clips that hold that guide on except the guide itself. They probably broke it when they were lifting the head off/on. I did that once... Only once.

[Roland H]

febi bilstein is a pretty good company iirc.

[tehwickerman]

btw would you all trust autohauz Febi chain guides?

[tehwickerman]

I'm going to do a compression check and if everything is fine avoid pulling the head.

From consulting the bentley manual it doesn't say anything about pulling the head so I'd like to keep it that way if possible.

The guy I bought it from mentioned something about the head being done not long ago and from how clean it is I wouldn't doubt it. It seems someone forgot the clip that holds the timing guide on so it came loose and shattered... by the looks of the other guides not being too worn at all I'm not sure how else it could have happened.

I'm obviously going to replace all of the guides and the chains while I'm at it. I like doing this kind of stuff... makes me confident my engine isn't going to blow up when pushed hard :D

I'm really enjoying working on the 36. A bit more complicated than the 30 but nothing that really causes a headache/large amounts of cursing/bloody knuckles. I guess the real test is about to come though....

[M-technik-3]

E46 Style 68 wheels. When in doubt consult the factory chart.

http://felgenkatalog.auto-treff.com/

[Roland H]

It's pretty much impossible to put the timing cover back on. and you can't replace that driver's side guide with the head on anyways, there isn't room.

Also, use heat on the crank bolt. It is extremely tight from the factory (for good reason.)

You can put the timing cover back on if you have the oil pan off, but like you said, that doesn't help with the driver's side guide.

Make sure to get a new crank bolt, and put it back on as tight as possible, and then some.

[fsmtnbiker]

It's pretty much impossible to put the timing cover back on. and you can't replace that driver's side guide with the head on anyways, there isn't room.

Also, use heat on the crank bolt. It is extremely tight from the factory (for good reason.)