s52 Redemption, last ditch effort to fall back in love

[ZekeTheSneak]

Hello r3v it has been awhile. I started building this car back in 2011 and its had its ups and downs. The current s52 in it hates life. Consumes oil and burns it like no ones business. I had given up on it, parked it inside my garage and let it collect dust. That is until a couple weeks ago when I finally got a wild hair up my ass to get the old girl back on her feet.I was ready to sell the car but I figured i should at least try to see if I would fall back in love with my once loved e30.





Fast forward 4 years and a depressing s52 swap that has failed me. Its time to start tearing it down.

IMG_20170308_170834

IMG_20170308_172602

IMG_20170331_192539



With the engine out it was time to find a new one. Found a good deal on a s52 with 161 on the clock and good compression. I opened the valve cover and was like damn someone has been changing there oil!:)

Quick question, When should the timing guides be replaced, because Im tempted to just do it now. Also what gaskets do you think were leaking? front cover was caked in grease.


IMG_20170329_180101

IMG_20170327_180326

IMG_20170326_145655



That is all for now, I am going to try and document as much as possible.I hope to get it finished up this summer but I will be making a few changes from my previous set up. I will be switching from the getrag setup, using a zf. Stay tuned!

[318isbmw]

Great to meet you today Zeke, can't wait to see the car back to it's former glory.

[ZekeTheSneak]

Well today I got some of the While your in there stuff done. I tell you that wiper assembly is a pain in the ass. I really want to get the wiper motor out and clean it but I just cant comprehend how to get it out lol.

First things first I removed the old gaskets for the wiper linkage. They were pretty dry and all cracked.








Next up was to remove the fan resister and install the new one. Tempted to take out the motor and inspect the brushes but Not too sure if Im feeling ballsy enough.









Next I moved onto the coolant expansion tank. I never mounted it on my previous swap and always hated it sliding around. I will be replacing it with a clean white one eventually.

I made a little bracket out of abs plastic I bought on amazon. I heated it up with my map gas torch and bent it into a little bracket. I then drilled it and riveted it in. Riveting I know. For the upper mount I drilled a hole and found a spare bolt and bolted it up from the underside. I think I got it as close to factory as I could from the pictures.

[Gooch]

Thank you!! I have been wondering how to mount a late model coolant reservoir to my car which also started life as a 318is. What a fantastic idea.

[ZekeTheSneak]

If needed I can send you a few links to the info I found. I believe I got it in the right spot. Thank you!

[Gooch]

Sure, that'd be awesome, shoot me a PM!

[ZekeTheSneak]

Small update, Getting somethings done on the chassis before I focus on the engine.

I installed the fan resister because well why not.






I also tackled what I thought to be absolutely horrible. The dreaded wiper
motor. Mine was very slow and since I was replacing the bushings on the cowling I figured I would open up the motor to clean it.









I think my problem is the linkage, it was stiff as hell. I have been letting it soak with pb blaster for a few days so hopefully that loosens it up.

I also installed the electric fan. The fan used to be zip tied to the radiator using those cheap mounts but i decided I wanted something better and also have the dual speed function.

I ordered the brackets off amazon and ordered a fan relay. I also ordered a weather pack connector and crimpers so I can unclip the connector and remove the fan when needed.














You can see it is mounted to the radiator support using the factory holes. Spal sells a gasket that fits onto the fan that seals it up perfectly to the radiator.

[Dagamus(NM)]

Looking good.

Just wondering, why not rebuild the s52 that you had?

What are you doing with the s52 that needs rebuilding?

[avery0829]

WOOOOWOOWWWWWW


You make me proud.

[ZekeTheSneak]

Looking good.

Just wondering, why not rebuild the s52 that you had?

What are you doing with the s52 that needs rebuilding?

I would if I knew what I was doing but I do not. I tried to get a rough idea of how much it would cost but I wasn't having much luck. I will be selling it once the new one goes in. You interested?

[Dagamus(NM)]

I am. Very much so.

[ZekeTheSneak]

Well some updates finally. Wittling away at the body modifications before I touch the s52. I got my order from blunt for all the wiper gaskets and what not, Got that finished finally.

All new hardware and new gaskets. Also got the plastic air ducts new from blunt. They were 20 bucks a side.








Waxed everything before installing.















I also got to work on the firewall panel. I dont know what bmw coated this thing in but god damn not even air craft stripper was eating it.





Ordered these grommets off amazon, Its close with the harness but not super tight so Might try my options elsewhere.





Next up was cleaning up my donor subframe and reinforcing it. I purchased all the laser cut pieces from garagistic. Everything needed light trimming but it worked out well.

Before



After, Many thanks to my millermatic 211 for taking the guess work out of it.










This was the hardest part. I trimmed and trimmed and bent them into shape. These were the hardest and well not exactly like garagistics photos but they should work.








Many thanks to my miller. This thing was spendy but has millers autoset feature so it sets speed and power for you.




Thats it for now. hopefully I can get a few orders in this week so I can start on the subframe install and new diff.

[c0rbin9]

First pic in this thread is amazing!

[ZekeTheSneak]

Thank you. Back in the hay day when me and Eric's cars were cool

[ZekeTheSneak]

Well finally got the body side all done before I start on the engine. This honestly took a long time but I am glad I redid the subframe and coilovers at this stage.

Old subframe coming out





New subframe back in, M3 rack from previous swap, No power stearing for now.





I also finished painting the hvac panel. What a pain in the ass that was. The factory paint was impressivly strong. I painted it in rustolium truck bed liner.






Next up was the 2.93 diff install. I didnt bother to clean it up since the rear subframe is coming out next winter but I did fill it with redline and bolt it back in. I ordered diff studs from garagistic but they gave me some issues. First issue was the threads were cut poorly on the studs so I had to chase them all with a die. The after all that I couldn't get the studs to line up in the subframe so I said f it and pulled them out and used the stock bolts. I assume it wouldnt line up because my rear bushings are very shot but who knows.





My coilovers needed some love. They were pretty well seized up since 19yo me had never heard of antiseize. I tore them all apart, cleaned and lubricated everything. Used anti seize this time around. Also bought some heavy duty coilover wrenchs from tacoma screw. These things wont bend like the shitty aluminum ones that they came with.








I ordered all new locking rings since mine were wore out from the shitty stock wrenchs, They were cheap and bc racings sells just about every replacement part you would need.





And all put back together






I just ordered the last of every part I need to reseal the s52, also had to get a clutch which wasn't cheap. Should start moving along now.