ttrousdell's Project Thread (E30 M3 & S38 swap content)

[freeride53]

nice cars.

[ttrousdell]

seals

Now that i had my gaskets, it was time to put it all back together. New rear crank seal. Threw a little oil around the inside and it slid on without too much trouble.



Next up was the oil pan. Cleaned the sealing surface with a razor first to remove the heavy stuff, then scotch brite for a nice finish. Also took the time to clean the screen filter on the oil pump which was full of old gasket peices and crap.



This is how i do all the seals except the intake and exhaust gaskets. I put a small coating of rvt on both sides of the gasket. You may do it differently but this method has been working great for me.



Gasket on with the light coating on top. You should kinda be able to see the color of the gasket below the layer of rvt. Putting too much will make it look like shit when it spews out the sides later when you tighten everything down.



Done...

[5spoke]

Looks like its coming along nicely!

[moe30]

That's so awesome that you built that motor in your dorm room lol

[ttrousdell]

Bottom End Back together

Continued progress. The bottom end is mostly back together.



Cleaned up the alternator. Instected the brushes and they looked ok. The black peice on the back of the part is the voltage regulator. Usually the main reason of alternator failure is because this part is worn.



Alt. Back where it belongs



Chain tensioner assembly. New spring and crush washer.



*If anyone finds a project thread where someone rebuilds a head post it below. Just ordered a valve spring compressor tool so I think i'm going to redo the valve guides and clean the head up.

[e30m3s54turbo]

Sweet project.

[BMWerke]

sorry i couldnt swing by yesterday, i caught up in a whole mess of shit. but its looking great!!!!!!!

[E30darkknight]

looking a lot of progress, hope we see it at a meet soon. probably in the spring

[ttrousdell]

Thanks everyone. Still planning to swap in the beginning of May, then making all the meets I can.

[toointoxicated60]

I love seeing build thread from people i know. lol

As soon as i fix my shit ill def swing by. Cant wait

[ttrousdell]

^Awesome.... Amazing what a little internet searching brings up. This site is amazing and full of helpful information.

http://www.e30zone.co.uk/e30zonewiki/index.php/Special:Allpages

Information by same site on how to do a full head rebuild...enjoy
* http://www.e30zone.co.uk/e30zonewiki..._Cylinder_Head
* http://www.e30zone.co.uk/e30zonewiki...n_a_M20_engine

[Doughnut]

Great work, and good engine choice. m30 e30's are a bunch of fun to drive!

Test that the starter turns the engine over a few times before installation into the chassis. Removal of the starter once the engine is installed can be bloody frustrating work.

Ask me how I know...

[mikeedler]

loking good. spend some of that left over cash on getting that thing a bit closer to the ground. looking really nice though.

[ttrousdell]

I'm going to bench test the starter before I get it back in. It definitely is a bitch to take it off the engine while its in the car. After the new motor is in the car, im going to go lower and update the rest of the suspension.

[ttrousdell]

more progress

Continued to clean the head. Removed the oil spray bar to make cleaning easier and replace the crush washers.

[ATTACH]36742[/ATTACH]

Think these banjo bolts were overtightened....Ive never seen crush washers this mangled. These only have to be tightened to 8-10ft.lbs. Threw a little thread locker on mine and torqued them down.



Adjusted al the valves. The gap for m30 engines is .012" and .01" for m20.



TDC



Threw the head on. Think its coming together quite nicely. Turned it over a few times and the timing marks lined up perfectly.