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SNAFU; high performance 318is build that lives up to the name, Turbo M42 ➞ Turbo M20

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    do you regret going boost?

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      Originally posted by efficient View Post
      do you regret going boost?
      No. These issues really came down to something beyond my control - if the header hadn't cracked so severely or had a warped flange in the first place none of this would have happened. The warped header working the hardware loose as it heat cycled is what prompted the stud replacement, had the header been a put it on and forget about it deal like I was expecting the old hardware with its seized up nuts never would have been an issue. If I did it again I would skip the M20 and go straight to a built 302 though, I could have as much power or more with more torque across the rev range, better reliability, better sound, superior NA response...

      IG @turbovarg
      '91 318is, M20 turbo
      [CoTM: 4-18]
      '94 525iT slicktop, M50B30 + S362SX-E, 600WHP DD or bust
      - updated 1-26

      Comment


        they make double-ended studs where one side is larger than the other. Basically for your exact same problem, where you had to drill out a hole in the head. I used these on my M20 back in 2006 for a couple studs where the shop that had 'rebuilt' the head stripped them out.

        I bought a whole box of them. I wonder if I still have them laying around somewhere..
        Build thread

        Bimmerlabs

        Comment


          Yeah, I've seen those and considered them as the solution to this problem, but I really didn't have time to keep drilling away at it then wait for the stud and proper size helicoil kit to arrive. Progress was so slow, I would get fractions of a millimeter of drilling progress out of every tank of air then have to wait 15-20min for my relatively small air compressor to cool off before refilling the tank. I'm guessing there's 3-5mm of partially drilled out stud left in there, and I can get to the hole with the downpipe removed and the header still mounted to drill an oversized hole in the future so at least there's that.

          IG @turbovarg
          '91 318is, M20 turbo
          [CoTM: 4-18]
          '94 525iT slicktop, M50B30 + S362SX-E, 600WHP DD or bust
          - updated 1-26

          Comment


            You don't have to helicoil. you drill and tap for the larger stud end. i think it's an M10, if the stock stud is M8.

            But yeah drilling through that hardened steel stud sucks.
            Build thread

            Bimmerlabs

            Comment


              Can't catch a break this year. I discovered excessive turbo shaft play a couple of weeks ago, it was almost trashed with ~5,000mi on it. Installed an oil pressure gauge to see if low oil pressure had killed this freshly rebuilt turbo and it read 0 at idle, so I tossed that piece of junk and spent more on a nicer one, oil pressure was reasonable with that one and my in line filter didn't have significant pressure drop so that kind of narrowed it down to a faulty turbo rebuild. At that point I really had no choice but to buy a new turbo, so I did, and sorted out a permanent and safe oil feed solution to get rid of the in-line filter by having a local hydraulic shop weld a fitting to the oil cooler banjo bolt and cramming the stock oil cooler under the radiator temporarily. I had it done before Cars and Coffee last Sunday and that was fun but the fun stopped the other day. I turned the boost back up and my clutch started slipping. The clutch is 3 years old and it has maybe 60k miles on it, I guess it just couldn't take the daily duty in traffic. No time to do the clutch now with exams coming up so that's twice in a year that my car will be out of service for a couple of weeks. My transmission leaks pretty badly too so I'll be replacing whatever seals are leaking while it's out. Not sure what clutch I'll go with this time around but whatever it is I'm hoping that with everything sorted out I don't have any problems with this car for a few more years.












              IG @turbovarg
              '91 318is, M20 turbo
              [CoTM: 4-18]
              '94 525iT slicktop, M50B30 + S362SX-E, 600WHP DD or bust
              - updated 1-26

              Comment


                Long story short: clutch started slipping a few weeks ago, ordered a new Spec Stage 3+ clutch, transmission had to come off twice because the clutch wouldn't disengage. It's currently driveable but not perfect, there is still some clutch drag and it is not smooth going into first from a stop. I also discovered some more rust in the floor. What a pain in the ass.

                Nice wear on the flywheel


                Machined


                New clutch


                New output shaft and shift rod seals, also replaced rear main seal and input shaft seal.


                Installed


                Best $80 I've spent in a long time


                Rust :(

                IG @turbovarg
                '91 318is, M20 turbo
                [CoTM: 4-18]
                '94 525iT slicktop, M50B30 + S362SX-E, 600WHP DD or bust
                - updated 1-26

                Comment


                  When you text about the trans jack, kinda figured you got one of those typical adapters for a floor jack - that scissor jack looks like it's a better option!
                  john@m20guru.com
                  Links:
                  Transaction feedback: Here, here and here. Thanks :D

                  Comment


                    I'm gonna need to rent that scissor jack from ya.

                    RISING EDGE

                    Let's drive fast and have fun.

                    Comment


                      Man you've had the worst luck over the past year. I hope this is the last of it
                      Originally posted by priapism
                      My girl don't know shit, but she bakes a mean cupcake.
                      Originally posted by shameson
                      Usually it's best not to know how much money you have into your e30

                      Comment


                        Wow I bet you're getting the trans in and out in a hurry with all that practice. What is causing the clutch issues? I need to do mine soon and this situation would be a nightmare as getting the trans off on an iX is a little less trivial...

                        325iX Turdbo Rally/Hillclimb/Beater

                        Comment


                          Originally posted by ForcedFirebird View Post
                          When you text about the trans jack, kinda figured you got one of those typical adapters for a floor jack - that scissor jack looks like it's a better option!
                          Yeah, it's stable and allows pretty fine adjustment of height easily even compared to the transmission adapter for a floor jack so it makes the transmission installation almost trivial compared to my previous experiences balancing it on the pad of a floor jack or bench pressing it.

                          Originally posted by Digitalwave View Post
                          I'm gonna need to rent that scissor jack from ya.
                          Just let me know when and hopefully my transmission doesn't need to come off again at the same time.

                          Originally posted by Northern View Post
                          Man you've had the worst luck over the past year. I hope this is the last of it
                          Me too. This has sucked.

                          Originally posted by Fraser View Post
                          Wow I bet you're getting the trans in and out in a hurry with all that practice. What is causing the clutch issues? I need to do mine soon and this situation would be a nightmare as getting the trans off on an iX is a little less trivial...
                          At this point the leading theories are the clutch disc being too thick or having too much runout and the flywheel being too short since it is below the minimum spec quoted in the Bentley manual. However, the flywheel is not even 2mm too short, the brass pivot I installed is 3mm longer than stock, and I extended the slave cylinder pushrod by 6mm and the problem persists. The math doesn't work out for it being a simple lack of travel and I'm now leaning towards the clutch disc or pressure plate being the problem. The issue there is let's say I take the transmission off again to get the clutch looked at by Spec so they can say "oh yeah that disc is too thick/runout is too much sorry about that", I have to send it back to them for inspection they won't just send me a new clutch so I can swap it out then and there, so I'd have to wait while my clutch goes to AL and waits on a bench for someone to inspect it then wait for a new one to ship to me if they find a problem, and if the problem isn't the clutch I'm getting it back with no clue at all what the problem is. Friggin sucks.

                          IG @turbovarg
                          '91 318is, M20 turbo
                          [CoTM: 4-18]
                          '94 525iT slicktop, M50B30 + S362SX-E, 600WHP DD or bust
                          - updated 1-26

                          Comment


                            What a huge pain in the ass. Sorry to hear about it man. Hope this works out quickly and cheaply. A good friend of mine has had a similar year with his land rover (lol...to be expected with a land rover) and its been hard seeing him so defeated all the time. Stick with it! It'll be worth it in the end
                            1984 Delphin 318i 2 door

                            Comment


                              800mi or so on the new clutch and it is disengaging fully now. As it wore in it gradually got better. Looks like I've lucked out. The next maintenance items are right around the corner. It sounds like my front right wheel bearing is going bad and the boots on my CV joints all need replacement. 3 are cracked, 1 is torn.

                              As for non-maintenance items, my next project is some sort of housing or ducting for my air filter, I have needed it for a long time. I'm not satisfied with seeing high intake air temperatures while sitting idle on a hot day, this is the highest I've seen (177°f). It usually drops to ambient or at least close to it while moving pretty quickly, but I'm hoping to reduce or outright eliminate this sort of thing.


                              IG @turbovarg
                              '91 318is, M20 turbo
                              [CoTM: 4-18]
                              '94 525iT slicktop, M50B30 + S362SX-E, 600WHP DD or bust
                              - updated 1-26

                              Comment


                                Fuck wheel bearings
                                Are rears the same disgusting job as fronts?
                                sigpic

                                (clicky on piccy to get to thread)

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