M42club.com - Home of the BMW E30/E36 318i/iS
FAQ / REFERENCE => Member Profiles => Topic started by: keflaman on May 23, 2011, 09:29:56 PM
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Hello Everyone! I joined the forum a few years back when we lived in Naples, Italy, and I owned an '89 ECE E30 318is. Unfortunately, I couldn't bring it back with me and I vowed I would buy another when we got settled in our new home. Almost two years passed and I half-heartedly searched the different forums and venues with disappointment. The teutonic gods finally smiled down upon me and everything fell into place two weeks ago...
(http://imageshack.us/a/img829/7557/jg21.jpg)
(http://imageshack.us/a/img31/451/fn2.JPG)
The car also comes with 17+ years of maintenance records and the original window sticker:p
(http://imageshack.us/a/img833/3890/frr3.jpg)
Here at the house I have all the goodies I pulled off my "Italian" car and brought back with me such as:
-Mark D chip
-COP kit (From Rob)
-E36 320i (ECE) steering rack and pinion
-E36 window switches
-and a big box of stuff that I can't remember what's in it:confused:
I fly to Chicago this Saturday to pick it up and then drive back to Virginia. The trip should give me a good basis for a plan of action to address anything needing immediate attention and then look at useful mods or problem areas such as "the mess under the intake", engine leaks, dancing instruments, etc.
I'm pretty excited to be back on the M42 forum as I think it's one of the best forums and a good fit for me. I look forward to the good advice and resources available here.
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Welcome back! You could say that while new members are fine, used ones are even better!
I know, my car jokes need work. Just like my car....badda bing!
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Why, thanks. I think.
I leave the day after the day after tomorrow to pick the car up. Pretty jazzed!
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I'll bet you're jazzed, I know exactly how you feel...I love buying used cars. They're like a box of chocolate, aren't they?
Good luck with the trip. If you break down close to Pittsburgh PM me & I'll drag some tools over. I'm sure you'll have no trouble though.
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Congrats on the find!!! Sweet!
I don't know you and I am already envious of you. :D
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Thanks. I hope the weather and traffic cooperate with me this weekend.
Sitting in the airport ready to board for my flight to Chicago. Five hours from now the seller should be picking me up at O'Hare!
@ Dave: I'll be heading down I-65, but I'll keep you in mind for when we are visiting family in P'burg!
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Picked the car up yesterday and happy to report the seller represented the car well and no unexpected surprises. He installed JOM coilovers and I don't believe the rear right is set correctly. The fender rubs the tire, but except for the noise it travels all right.
Left Chicago and drove until I could find lodging that wasn't packed for the Indy 500. Just crossed the Ohio border on I-65 after topping off gas and coffee. The weather looks good for now...I could use a little sunshine.
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Good that it's all as represented. I've had pretty good experiences with BMW owners. They tend to maintain their cars well and have been totally honest in my experience. Frequently they're looking for someone to take good care of the car; that helps a lot.
We're supposed to be partly cloudy today...'round these parts we get a lot of cloud cover and precipitation from the "lake effect." All that fresh water right next door tends to do stuff like that.
Where's your family located? I live well to the south myself.
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It turned out to be good traveling weather for the rest of the trip. Light traffic and going over and through the mountains in WV and VA was nice.
Gas mileage was exceptional. I topped off three times and calculating the difference in tire sizes I got 27, 31 and 36.6 MPG. Much better than my Jeep!
My BIL and family live in Fox Chapel.
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I'll bet mileage improves after you've had it for a while. That seems pretty typical for high-alcohol fuel though.
Feel free to drop by Bethel Park anytime. There are two other 'burgh members on the board, maybe we'll have a little get-together!
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The car looks exceptional, especially with the rs'. How many miles?
Congrats!
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@ Dave; if the mileage improves much more I'll be selling gas back to the oil companies!
@Eurospec: Yes, they do look good with RSs:D. The car turned over 154K as I was bringing it home. It looks better in pictures than close up due to multiple scratches on the hood, roof and trunk lid. They're not bad at >10 feet, but my wife keeps reminding me that it's a twenty year old car and looks good to her. To me, it looks like the car was used as a storage shelf and the scratches were from sliding boxes along the paint surface:mad:.
At least this gives me the opportunity to finally use the airbrush I bought one or two years ago.
And the orbital buffer my wife gave me last Christmas.
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Pretty Car, I do really dig those wheels. I grew up in the Fox Chapel Area and live in Shadyside. Plus one to Dave's suggestion that we should all meet up!
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My optimistic intentions of buying a mid-western E30 with >154K miles and putting it straight to use as a daily driver were...well...sometimes ya gotta live life on life's terms.
After running three tanks of gas without any problems I suddenly noticed fumes entering the passenger compartment that were bad enough to necessitate grounding the car and troubleshooting the source of said smells.
That was sometime around Thanksgiving (end of November) and I think (once again perhaps somewhat optimistically) that the car may be on the road soon. :confused:
It's not so much that there's a lot wrong with the car, but more like "while I'm in here" (WIIH) and it's not like there's a lot of little things wrong with the car, but more like, "I'm fixing every little thing that I find". That wasn't in line with my initial intentions and I said I wouldn't do a restoration, but rather, a "rustoration". You know, concentrate on functionality and not on cosmetics.
Right.
So I invite you to grab a cup of coffee, sit back and join me as I highlight (somewhat haphazardly) what I've done so far. Let's start out with the brake system -
After pulling the gas tank and inspecting all the piping and lines in the area between the top and front leading edge of the tank I found this::eek: Twenty-some years of transit through Chicago's winter streets have rusted the brake lines to the point of almost crumbling between my fingers. The cause of the gas fumes is related to what I found in this area, but that's another subject.
(http://m42club.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=176&pictureid=1177)
Thanks to Craigslist and two parts cars I manage to assemble a decent set of pipes for fuel and brakes.
(http://m42club.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=176&pictureid=1178)
Although nowhere near the same state of decomposition as the piping, this pretty much represents the state of my brake components.
(http://m42club.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=176&pictureid=1179)
This was my first iteration of electrolysis rust removal.
(http://m42club.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=176&pictureid=1181)
Our local missing, lost, stolen freight warehouse store had several of these on the shelf for $5 a jar. You can find it at pool supply stores.
(http://m42club.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=176&pictureid=1180)
The results of a good electrolysis bath and light wire wheel brushing.
(http://m42club.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=176&pictureid=1182)
After electrolysis treatment I sandblasted, cleaned and applied hi-temp caliper paint to all metal parts and baked in a toaster oven @~200-250*F for 15-20 minutes. Before electrolysis all the rubber parts were removed, inspected and were good to reuse, so they were scrubbed with dishwashing detergent and Go-Jo (with pumice) and came out looking pretty close to new. :)
(http://m42club.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=176&pictureid=1183)
There was plenty of material on the brake pads to re-use, the rotors were turned just enough to clean them up and I painted the parking brake hub with hi-temp satin black. I sold the JOM suspension that was installed by the PO and put in a set of Racing Dynamics progressive rate springs. Dampening is performed by a set of Boge-Sachs sports and all the rear suspension bushings were replaced with OEM parts.
(http://m42club.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=176&pictureid=1184)
This was a little over-the-top OCD for parts that won't ever be seen...
(http://m42club.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=176&pictureid=1185)
A shot of the front calipers treated, painted and blinged a little bit. It takes a steadier hand and better eyesight than I possess to do a good job on the lettering. But that’s okay…we’ll leave it as is. Come on…leave it…
(http://m42club.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=176&pictureid=1186)
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How much more do you have to do on the car? Seems like you're really getting deep into this...your post is both inspirational and timely, especially with an early spring this year.
That electrolysis is awesome! How did you set up your anodes? Are they just iron? I never thought about dipping brake calipers; makes me wonder about uprights and strut housings! I've used an ultrasonic cleaner for them but the results were mixed. What recipe did you use? Can't use that on alu or zinc though, right? I have a bunch of different metals to worry about...
I have a box of washing soda ready to go...well-rusted motorcycle gas tank in my case. I'm figuring a big plastic storage bin might do the trick. Vinegar worked very well but gets a bit too expensive for large items.
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Dave here as always, but this time with great questions, instead of excellent answers!
+1 on the electrolysis q's. Seems almost magical, and a handy set of skills for any petrol head.
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At the risk of sounding a bit narcissistic I would say my inspiration comes from you guys leaving positive comments on my thread. After reading several build threads and member profiles I realized I might have a few ideas or areas of expertise to put out there for the benefit of others in the same way I have benefited from them.
The fact that I’m an aircraft mechanic by profession makes it impossible for me to accept “good enough” and my SOP is to go through every car I buy and rebuild the suspension/brakes at a minimum. My long term plans are to have a solid, leak-free vehicle reliable enough to toss the keys to any member of my family and not have to issue any eccentric instructions for its operation.
How much more do I have to do to the car? Let me put it like this…my Pelican Parts Project List is 11 pages long! :eek: The suspension is finished and the brakes are almost done. I have one more floorboard spot to repair before I can reinstall the driveshaft and then I can go on into the engine compartment and replace all the drivetrain gaskets and seals. I’m finishing up with the rest of the rust repair and maybe top it off with a paint job, but that will most likely be next year.
And all the while I’m also dismantling an ’89 325 and putting the suspension, brakes and M50/ZF drivetrain into the 318is shell that’s left of the parts car I bought for the suspension and brakes for this car.
And along the way for some reason I started picking up S50 engine components for a car I don’t even own yet! :p
But I digress…
There are three websites I used to put together my electrolysis bath and it is quite easy to get overly involved in different aspects of the procedure and process. I gleaned over what I considered the most useful information foremost being SAFETY, secondly efficiency and lastly economy. The usual disclaimer is that I don't accept any responsibility for how you use this information. It's not rocket science, but there are precautions you need to follow in order to preserve your health, life and property.
http://www.rowand.net/Shop/Tools/Electrolysis.htm
http://antique-engines.com/electrol.asp
http://www.stovebolt.com/techtips/rust/electrolytic_derusting.htm
Dave you are correct; this process is only for ferrous metals such as steel or iron. No chrome plating, zinc, copper, aluminum, etc.
Very simply, I use a five (or maybe six) gallon bucket and four pieces of rebar approximately 12 inches long and wired in series with 10 gauge copper wire around the lip of the bucket. Attached in the center of the copper wire is the positive lead from the battery charger and the negative lead is attached to wire or chain that is used to suspend parts from a piece of non-conductive material.
(http://m42club.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=176&pictureid=1187)
My power source is a ten amp "dumb" battery charger. On a smaller scale my very first experiment used a 1.5 amp wall charger with alligator clips and a plastic Glad storage container.
I tried using Arm and Hammer wash soda and wasn’t happy with the results, but that may have due to dirty anodes. I have no idea what the exact ratio I now have, but I used about 1/2 to 3/4 cup of sodium carbonate to six gallons.
The rebar works well enough for my needs, but for efficiency sake the cleaner you keep it the better it works. I intend to source some graphite bars later on to eliminate using rebar.
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This is so cool in so many ways.
I love the cleaned up p brake adjusters. :D
Awesome work.
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This is so cool in so many ways.
I love the cleaned up p brake adjusters. :D
Awesome work.
Thanks. Positive reinforcement has given me a boost of enthusiasm that I needed.:p
Today I finished assembling the front calipers and installed them. It was a bit of a let down that brake fluid leaves "stains" in the caliper paint no matter how fast I wipe it down.
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Today was spent torquing all the brake and suspension components. I decided to swap anti-sway bars and I was glad I did. The original was pretty rusty and had already started to chew up the new rubber bushings installed a few months before I bought the car. Tomorrow I will power bleed and flush the brake system and then torque the control arm attach bolts after I get throw on the wheels and get the car back on the ground.
With the assistance of my "helper" torquing the axle nuts and CV joint hex bolts was easily accomplished within a few minutes...
(http://m42club.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=176&pictureid=1188)
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Keith,
looks really good. Did you got my e-mail?
Here's few BMW brakes i did for a friend's E30.
(http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y170/olli951/Jarrut/687051e2.jpg)
(http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y170/olli951/Jarrut/80fcc9ea.jpg)
(http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y170/olli951/Jarrut/b7f7a7af.jpg)
Starting point of the front brakes
(http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y170/olli951/Jarrut/890b10df.jpg)
After citric acid bath
(http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y170/olli951/Jarrut/090efe27.jpg)
Before powder coat i blasted the surface rust off with glass beads
Brakes will be bolted on this 2.7L E30
(http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y170/olli951/c582ed84.jpg)
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Hey Olli! I did get your email and haven't come through on what I promised. :(
Please forgive me, but the weather has been super mild and I've spent more time outside than I usually do. I'll get on that soon. Sorry! :o
As usual your work is beauty to behold and those calipers look super nice. What exactly does the citric bath consist of? Is it commercial only or can any average "Joe" from off the steet get it? I believe the next set of calipers I do will have to be powder coated.
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Keith,
citric acid i use is 100% citric. Same stuff can be found (milder though) from food and beverage, like Fanta etc.
I buy it from a local farming equipment store. It is mainly meant to heel sore stomach of pigs.... When you have cleand your parts, you can recycle the fluid and serve it to your friends as a lemon juice ;)
Glad the weather in VA has turned nicer. We still have a lot of snow and at the moment we have -10C. No hurry with our business, take your time.
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I'll have to look into that. I'm sure citric acid would add a scent to the shop that smells better than rust, old brake fluid and stale gas. :p
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Today I was excited to finally use the pressure bleeder my wife bought me for Christmas, but was sadly disappointed to realize it was a siphon bleeder. :(
(http://m42club.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=176&pictureid=1189)
I gave it a shot, but it just wouldn't pull the fluid through the lines.
Well, poop:mad:
Then I remembered a DIY pressure bleeder that I had started a few years ago based on this article: http://www.bmw-m.net/TechProc/bleeder.htm. I already had the modified master cylinder cap...
(http://m42club.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=176&pictureid=1191)
I put a different twist on it that was cheaper and simpler than the DIY. A small pressure regulator from Lowes with a barbed connector installed in the outlet port and a short piece of clear tubing (3/16" ID) connected to the connector on the master cylinder cap. I set pressure at 15 PSI and it worked perfect. :cool:
(http://m42club.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=176&pictureid=1194)
The pump sprayer has been sitting on a top shelf in the garage collecting dust...and it still is. :D
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Bleeder built in that DIY article, looks a lot like Motive item. Got one from a friend of mine, who is the Finnish importer for it
(http://www.9xx-parts.com/store/image/MOTIVE-0100.jpg)
I suppose i will try next Keith's design :)
Motive is OK, works well with most German made cars, execpt older Porsche 911's :(
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I like the Motive type units, but it's overkill for someone like me who would use it at the most only a few times a year. In fact, I'll post pictures later to show how you can add a pickle jar in series between the regulator and master cylinder reservoir to duplicate the exact same process:).
Olli, I invite you to paste a link to the Porsche project you are helping your son restore. To those who aren't familiar with Olli's work you will be very impressed!
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Actually nothing special in our project, but you can take a look at http://forums.rennlist.com/rennforums/944-turbo-and-turbo-s-forum/561811-project-951-young-mans-first-porsche.html
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Actually nothing special in our project, but you can take a look at http://forums.rennlist.com/rennforums/944-turbo-and-turbo-s-forum/561811-project-951-young-mans-first-porsche.html
Well, I was quite entertained for a few hours the first time I visited your thread. :p
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Talk about entertaining, I spent some time going through the pile of records I got with my car and noticed the replacement of the antenna mast was performed a total of five times (six if you count the one I installed after purchase). The first mast was replaced at 11,114 miles and the antenna motor failed at 16,930 miles. The mast was replaced at the following mileages: 11,114; 45,769; 96,456; 120,789; 127,529; 133,663; 155,500.
The profile gasket was replaced at about 45K miles after the car was towed into the dealership. BMW did a goodwill repair covering 75% of the cost.
Like Desktop Dave said earlier in the thread, it's always interesting to go through the car and pick up clues to the previous owners. With detailed service records and paperwork I get a little more insight on the original owner. Funny how 20 years ago we threw our SSNs around and printed entire account numbers on the credit card receipts.:eek:
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Looks like all my hobby cars are model year 1988 vechiles. 944 Turbo i have owned about 12 years in next summer has circulated a lot. I am 13TH owner... When i studied things more closely i found out there has been 9 car shops who have owned it just few weeks. I managed to locate the first owner who bought car in september 1988 in Rockford IL, and brought it two years later to here. I phoned this guy and he was very surprised when he found out his old car is still around. He even sent me original IL plates and some pictures of cars early years.
(http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y170/olli951/nxg13Lauri.jpg)
My 1988 318I is a different case. I am a third owner. The second owner, a young guy, had it only two months. I have owned it three + years. So, the first owner got it almost 20 years. I suppose that explains why cars body is in excellent condition. Car have had on 4 years interval a complete anti rust protection, which most likely has saved the body. Both of these cars are my time machines to the days when i was a young guy with thicker hair. Hair has gone in most places, but i have these cars ;)
(http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y170/olli951/84ea8b37.jpg)
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They're both beautiful cars! I can only imagine what the original owner of your Porsche thought when he received your phone call.
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Where we live was once farm land and I found a few horseshoes earlier this month. I asked to borrow my neighbor's metal detector and started searching the property. I found a spot with many pottery and china shards along with some Mason jar lids. In the same area I found an old toy pistol and it looked like a good candidate to see how my electrolysis bath would work on something this far gone.
The before pictures...
(http://m42club.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=176&pictureid=1205)
(http://m42club.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=176&pictureid=1206)
The after picture...
(http://m42club.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=176&pictureid=1207)
A quick search on the internet and I'm pretty sure what I have here is a post-war "clicker" toy pistol made under the Wyandotte brand name by the All Metal Products Company founded in 1920 (and bankrupt by 1956).
Obviously this toy was pretty well gone and some areas were tin foil thin and simply crumbled when I touched them with a toothbrush. Still, it was an interesting break from working on the car every day.
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Nice find Keith :)
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Funny how we men always think we're the masters of our own destiny and then the wife comes home from work to find we (I) didn't mow the lawn like we (I) promised and BAM! Garage timeout. :mad:
So for the past several days I made some pretty heavy deposits to the significant other's emotional bank account and it appears the crisis has subsided. Okay, so maybe the anesthesia and recovery from today's lithrotripsy (11mm kidney stone) left her a little groggy and she didn't notice where I went after bringing her home. ;)
Anyway...less talk and more pictures!
I found out the middle heat shield from a 325i doesn't fit because of interference with the "connection pipe" on the 318i/is' gas tank, therefore I would have to use the original shield that came with the car.
A bit rusty wouldn't you say?
(http://www.m42club.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=176&pictureid=1210)
(http://www.m42club.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=176&pictureid=1211)
This is becoming a regular sight...
(http://www.m42club.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=176&pictureid=1212)
Hmmm...a little too much amperage due to large rust deposits, so I switched to six volts and that brought it down to where I wanted.
(http://www.m42club.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=176&pictureid=1213)
Time check...
(http://www.m42club.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=176&pictureid=1214)
Nasty stuff coming off...
(http://www.m42club.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=176&pictureid=1216)
Since the electrolysis doesn't take off undercoating I decided to wirebrush the shield before blasting...
(http://www.m42club.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=176&pictureid=1218)
Good thing I decided not to sandblast! Plenty of material, but some of the pits connected in the middle. :D
(http://www.m42club.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=176&pictureid=1222)
I started out with flat hi-temp black, but decided the leftover silver caliper paint looked better. Finished and ready for install...
(http://www.m42club.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=176&pictureid=1224)
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Keith, i suppose you can do it with less effort using citric acid. Just put parts overnight bath and rinse with warm water to neutralize acid. Some slight wire brush during rinse procedure and you are done ;)
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Keith, i suppose you can do it with less effort using citric acid. Just put parts overnight bath and rinse with warm water to neutralize acid. Some slight wire brush during rinse procedure and you are done ;)
Will the citric acid dissolve undercoating, tar, grease and oil?
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Yes, in most cases, if you just brush parts lightly during a rinse procedure. When you start "acid bath" just be sure water is warm, it helps procedure to start faster. It takes about 20 seconds and then you can see how it starts to effect. After over night (or couple of hours) bath, rinse and slightly brush the parts and dry parts properly, if not, they will have very fast some surface rust on them.
Few parts after citric acid bath
(http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y170/olli951/DiamondBlue951/491a35c2.jpg)
After re -anodized
(http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y170/olli951/DiamondBlue951/e75d8036.jpg)
Nowadays Anodized parts are a bit lighter shade of yellow as they used to be. About a years ago all EU-countries denied use some nasty stuff they ealier used on anodized process. Here's few parts which were plated on good old days ;)
That piss yellow color is very close how all anodized parts on german made vechiles used to look from a factory.
(http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y170/olli951/Bling1.jpg)
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I asked my wife to be on the lookout for citric acid AKA "sour salt" in our local stores...nothing found, but I understand beer brewers use it also and I know a place close by that may have it.
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Well, I took the "Little Red 3" off the lift on Saturday and took her for a quick five mile test drive to check for fluid leaks and general security. I returned with all four wheels and body panels intact and nothing gushing out from places it shouldn't. Yay!
The weather turned crappy and the rest of the day was spent installing the rear seat and other interior/trunk bits and trim. Yesterday I took her for a spirited 25 mile drive out on the highway and backroads. No major surprises and nothing unexpected other than notes where I have to fine-tune things.
-Had a shimmy/shake through the steering wheel when braking which I had when I first bought the car. That was a disappointment considering I had replaced the entire suspension with bushings and rebuilt the brakes and turned the rotors. Maybe it was just the rotors bedding in as it didn't return with the second test drive.
-Along that note I noticed a slight vibration at highway speeds through the steering wheel which I believe is wheel related. I have another set of rims to swap and verify. It's not bad enough to even cause fuzzy mirrors, so I'll get to that when I get to it.
-The previous loud exhaust was apparently masking the whine of the fuel pump as it is definitely noticeable now. I have another unit in my parts car which would be a direct swap, but mileage unknown; or I could install the new unit sitting on the parts shelf IAW http://m42club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=9856. I hope it's the fuel pump going out and not a restriction from one of the flexible fuel lines I replaced.
-The "new" muffler is definiately quieter, however, the baffle running down the center has come loose and when all the harmonics are in sync there emits a strange, obnoxious noise from the rear. I may just try to cut off the exhaust pipe at the muffler's intake and try to fish out the pipe or secure it somehow. Maybe it's time to look at a Magnaflow, but for now I'll live with it.
-The Racing Dynamics springs and Boge/Sachs shocks deliver a nice ride; not harsh and really firm up when pushing it in the corners. I have slight amount of rubbing in the rear when in a hard corner and hitting a dip. The wheels are 15X8 front; 15X8.5 in the rear with 205/50/15 Falken ZE512s all around. I think my solution here is to change the 2.5" lips on the back with 2.0" and square everything up.
So to summarize everything done since Thanksgiving (and the last time I drove it):
-Repaired rusted "pipe" and area inside R/R wheel well associated with gas fumes inside cabin.
-Replaced rusted gas tank with used, rust-free unit and installed new o-rings.
-Replaced all brake and fuel hard lines with used, rust-free piping.
-Replaced all flex lines in brake and fuel systems.
-Rebuilt all four brake calipers.
-Turned all four brake rotors
-R&R L/R wheel bearing.
-R&R front struts, subframe and rear control arms with rust-free units.
-Rebuilt and replaced all suspension components with OEM.
-Installed Racing Dynamic springs and Boge/Sach inserts and shocks.
-Replaced transmission output and selector rod shaft seals.
-Replaced exhaust system from cat-back with used OEM components.
-Rebuilt parking brake system w/new shoes, spring kit and brake cables.
-Replaced Guibo with good, low milage unit.
-Replaced drive shaft CSB, guide bushing and lubed splines.
-Replaced upper RSMs.
-Rebuilt shifter linkage and installed M3 shift lever.
-Installed new antenna mast and grommet after cleaning and lubing internals.
-Installed new fuel/air/oil filters.
-Performed E36 window switch mod.
-Installed E36 steering rack
-Deleted power steering (for now until I find the clamps I want to rebuild my hydraulic lines).
Boy, my insomnia is going to put you all to sleep. :o
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Funny how we men always think we're the masters of our own destiny and then the wife comes home from work to find we (I) didn't mow the lawn like we (I) promised and BAM! Garage timeout. :mad:
So for the past several days I made some pretty heavy deposits to the significant other's emotional bank account and it appears the crisis has subsided. Okay, so maybe the anesthesia and recovery from today's lithrotripsy (11mm kidney stone) left her a little groggy and she didn't notice where I went after bringing her home. ;)
^^^LOL this...sounds very familiar. Wish your wife a rapid recovery from us. Sure, it's from the car guys that waste your time & support your habit...but it's sincere!
I use straight vinegar as a de-rust agent in place of citric acid. Citric Acid might be cheaper though. I'm told it won't dramatically effect other metals, so it's a good solution for assemblies that might contain alu/tin/zinc/etc. I donate excess to the wife for household cleaning.
It's not great at removing grease. I usually start with green 3M pads & oxy-clean laundry detergent or Simple Green to de-grease.
The normal white 5% vinegar works well. I've also used Wal-Mart's apple cider vinegar by the gallon. Just be quick with a baking soda bath or rinse...vinegar will flash rust naked steel almost instantly.
I'll have to look into anodizing and/or plating...that seems like the ticket.
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With pressure casted zinc parts i would skip citric acid. It eats those really fast. This kind of parts can be found from older cars from 50's etc.
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I've used vinegar before, but prefer electrolysis because once the rust is gone the process stops. For non-ferrous items corrosion is removed mechanically using the mildest means first (abrasive pad, nylon brushes, etc) with liberal cleaning media such as dishwashing soap. There's really no one-size-fits-all solution for cleaning and corrosion/rust removal.
Flash rust is a problem and I've looked into anodizing, plating and plastic coating kits from Caswell or Eastwood, but for what I'm doing, priming and rattlecan painting seems the easiest and quickest solution. It may not the best long term solution, but probably the most practical for my needs.
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I like the Motive type units, but it's overkill for someone like me who would use it at the most only a few times a year. In fact, I'll post pictures later to show how you can add a pickle jar in series between the regulator and master cylinder reservoir to duplicate the exact same process:).
Did you ever take said pictures?
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That is quite a list of work you have done! I am just gearing up to do the e36 steering rack swap here soon. How is it without the power steering? I am currently running the stock rack without power steering and I like it just fine, however I wonder how much the effort will increase with the quicker ratio....Thoughts?
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Did you ever take said pictures?
I mocked it up and then noticed I had the tubing reversed when I reviewed the pictures, so I have to take them over again. I think I'll do a little DIY thread, so look for that in a week or two.
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That is quite a list of work you have done! I am just gearing up to do the e36 steering rack swap here soon. How is it without the power steering? I am currently running the stock rack without power steering and I like it just fine, however I wonder how much the effort will increase with the quicker ratio....Thoughts?
Other than parrallel parking or making tight U-turns I don't notice a significiant difference between the two racks, however, my wife hates the steering at anything slower than 5-10 MPH.
One thing I want to revisit is the spacer placement. I always installed a couple of nuts to act as spacers on the bottom of the E36 rack, however, when I ordered the spacer kit from E30Tech (http://www.e30tech.com/forum/showthread.php?t=94377) I installed them on the top of the rack and the steering now seems to be easier at parking lot speeds (again <5-10 MPH).
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I mocked it up and then noticed I had the tubing reversed when I reviewed the pictures, so I have to take them over again. I think I'll do a little DIY thread, so look for that in a week or two.
(http://steveandkatyrun.files.wordpress.com/2011/01/thumbs-up1.jpeg)
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So I discovered a set of Bosch 4303 sparkplugs in one of my top toolboxes and figured I'd replace the plugs and valve cover seals and perform a compression check while I was in there.
The outside of the cover would give you pause to doubt the inside wasn't a chocolate mess...
(http://img152.imageshack.us/img152/7871/misc044.jpg)
...however, a peek inside indicates a regular maintenance schedule as there was no sludge buildup on the inside of the valve cover.
(http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/2257/misc042l.jpg)
I threw another cover on there for now. I plan to pull the motor/tranny this summer and do the MUTI and re-gasket everything as well as remove all the cosmoline from the engine and compartment.
(http://img689.imageshack.us/img689/3227/valvecover002.jpg)
Service records document an Inspection II was performed on 01/21/02 @110,460 miles which was exactly 45,433 miles ago. Do these plugs look like they have 45K miles on them? You could stick a coat hanger in there. Seriously. The coloring had me a little concerned as I have been slowly losing coolant. After my test drive I pressure checked the cooling system and found the lower, left radiator hose leaking. That's an easy fix. Whew!:p
(http://img209.imageshack.us/img209/3079/misc046.jpg)
I can't complain about the compression results for a motor with 155,893 miles; the high numbers may indicate carbon build up on the pistons or an inaccurate compression gauge. I don't get too hung up on compression tests other than to tell me if I have a problem that requires further investigation.
(http://img221.imageshack.us/img221/1406/misc048z.jpg)
I buttoned everything back up, checked for obvious leaks and took a test lap; all clean and dry upon return and what a difference the new plugs made. Wow.:eek:
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Hmmm. I threw together a couple of quick disconnect fittings with a union and plugged my compression tester gauge directly into two different regulators; there was less than 4 PSI difference, so my compression numbers are accurate.
(http://img341.imageshack.us/img341/2811/compressiontestergaugec.jpg)
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My car came with the JOM spring/shocks combo, but was too low and didn't give me the ride and handling I was looking for. I replaced that setup with a set of Sachs shocks and Racing Dynamics green springs. The green springs are progressive, but I didn't like the way the front end rode, so when I saw a used set of H&R and Bilstein Sports (http://m42club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=15056) show up I jumped on the deal.
I also installed a set of ~15mm drop hats for additional drop in the front and here's how we look with everything installed on the stock wheels and tires...
(http://m42club.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=176&pictureid=1290)
No before pictures, but with the drop hats the front end now sits ~1/2" lower in the front and 3/4" higher in the rear.
Handling is VASTLY improved, but what I found when I compared the Sachs, JOM and Bilstein struts side-by-side is that the former two are about 1.5" shorter than the Billy struts.:confused:
(http://m42club.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=176&pictureid=1295)
I have used the Sachs shocks on my 318is with the stock springs and the green springs; the ride was about equal and not satisfactory due to a choppy feel on moderate bumps. I now think that was due to a higher preload on the front springs with the shorter struts.
Doesn't really matter to me now as I absolutely love the current setup, but more contact patch with the pavement is needed!:D
Time to throw the BBSs back on...
(http://m42club.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=176&pictureid=1291)
Sachs P/Ns: 100 590 front, 105 750 Rear with .
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Looks awesome! How are the drop-hats? I have heard a lot of mixed reviews on them, and how they can mess up the shock travel and cause binding mid-turn. Any experiences with this, and if not, what brand are you using? Thanks!
Evan
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Looks awesome! How are the drop-hats? I have heard a lot of mixed reviews on them, and how they can mess up the shock travel and cause binding mid-turn. Any experiences with this, and if not, what brand are you using? Thanks!
Evan
I haven't noticed anything similar to what you mentioned, but I'll pay attention to see if I do next time I drive it. I'm taking my favorite curves with a firmer, planted feeling and about 10-15 MPH faster.
I don't know what brand the hats are, but I believe they're a bit deeper than the E90 items.
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Now that my niece is back in college and I have my car back, I finally replaced the noisy fuel pump. There was always a surge and lag that took some concentration to get a linear acceleration. I drove it a few days to get an impression and it definitely drove nicer...and quieter.
With that out of the way, I decided to finally install the Mark D chip and see what that would do for the old girl. The idle still isn't the smoothest, but it's acceptable and I suspect a good cleaning of the ICV will take care of that.
Out on the road the overall feeling of the car is smoother. I always thought the M42's first gear was worthless and felt like the 1950 John Deere tractor I learned to drive as a kid. I definitely get more out of first gear with Mark's chip and I do so without feeling like I'm wringing the hell out of the motor.
Gas mileage is going to be tricky figuring out because the car is so much more fun to drive!:p
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Thanks for posting all this...great to see your progress.
I haven't even set up an electrolysis station yet and here you are tempting me to overhaul my suspension!
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Quote:
Originally Posted by fixierider84
"Looks awesome! How are the drop-hats? I have heard a lot of mixed reviews on them, and how they can mess up the shock travel and cause binding mid-turn. Any experiences with this, and if not, what brand are you using? Thanks!
Evan"
I haven't noticed anything similar to what you mentioned, but I'll pay attention to see if I do next time I drive it. I'm taking my favorite curves with a firmer, planted feeling and about 10-15 MPH faster.
I don't know what brand the hats are, but I believe they're a bit deeper than the E90 items.
After a hundred miles or so I don't notice any binding.
On another note, I love having power steering back and wouldn't go back to deleting it again.:D
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Thanks for posting all this...great to see your progress.
I haven't even set up an electrolysis station yet and here you are tempting me to overhaul my suspension!
It took a while, but I have found the right combination that satisfies my driving spirit and the Significant Other says it rides pretty smooth.
What?!?:eek:
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I pulled the instrument cluster to replace the odometer gears I purchased from tfrain and instead of finding the usual set of crumbling, bubbling gears I found these...
(http://m42club.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=176&pictureid=1310)
They seem to be made of a semi-rigid rubber material and are in very good shape. I twisted them in my fingers expecting to see stress cracks of some sort, but nothing of the sort was noted and they snapped right back into shape. I put them back off to the side and finished the installation of the new gears and checked all the bulbs and cleaned the contact points. I then polished the face of the cluster to a nice, clean smooth surface.
Although I don't have the cruise control bowden cable or coding plug for the OBC I decided that as long as I had the cluster out it would a good time to run the wiring harnesses. Installation was pretty straight forward and in my excitement I neglected to check everything before installing all the trim and steering wheel.
So...a loose/AFU contact in the OBC/turn signal stalk causes the headlights to stay on bright, a burned out bulb in the cluster turned out to be the ABS light and the OBC light bar is burnt out as well.:o
Argh! I'm my own worse enemy!:mad:
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Although I don't have the cruise control bowden cable or coding plug for the OBC I decided that as long as I had the cluster out it would a good time to run the wiring harnesses. Installation was pretty straight forward and in my excitement I neglected to check everything before installing all the trim and steering wheel.
So...a loose/AFU contact in the OBC/turn signal stalk causes the headlights to stay on bright, a burned out bulb in the cluster turned out to be the ABS light and the OBC light bar is burnt out as well.:o
Argh! I'm my own worse enemy!:mad:
A little time off down in North Carolina's Outer Banks and I returned energized and excited to get back to the car and finish what I started/screwed up.:p
First up: cannabilize bulbs from other OBCs and test. Done.
With a little scrounging in the junkyard I made my own M42 bowden cable using M20 and M44 cables. With that installed and adjusted I went back to the wiring harness and discovered I didn't have power going to the system.
Using information from a post by "longtallsally" (http://www.m42club.com/forums/showpost.php?p=81563&postcount=74) helped me figure out what I did wrong, but I intend to install heated seats so I didn't want to use terminals "T" and "U" (Accessory connector 302) for cruise control. Instead, I tapped power from fuse #6 and ran a pin socket to terminal "S" in C302 and then tapped the green/red brake switch wire and installed a pin socket in terminal "R".
Before I took the car out for a test drive, I swapped out the SRS and ABS modules and that took car of my ABS and SRS lights!:eek: Yay!!
Buoyed by those little victories, I set out on the open road and after getting up to speed I somewhat tentatively pushed the cruise control lever forward and...
Voila!
The car maintained the speed I set it at and all functions worked as I ran through the different positions.
It was a good day!:)
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This is an awesome thread! I am jealous of your suspension set up...
I have always wondered about cruise control on these cars. after some decent driving, let me know how it holds up!
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This is an awesome thread! I am jealous of your suspension set up...
I have always wondered about cruise control on these cars. after some decent driving, let me know how it holds up!
As I mentioned in the cruise control thread, I'm quite happy with the system. Initially it had some surging and sometimes rather abrupt operation, but I've noticed it has smoothed out significantly.
Overall, I'm happy with the system and would recommend installation to those considering it.
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After participating in a couple of threads brainstorming for answers to driveability problems, I discovered upon performing a stomp test on my car the fault code 1271 = Ignition coil 1 (A break or short in the Ignition Final Stage wiring has occurred. Check primary ignition signal pattern).
As I recall this will probably be the result of the coil driver in the DME being toast, so this would be a good time to install the COP kit sitting on the shelf and do some troubleshooting.
First thing to do is install the COP kit and clear the stored codes. For this I have an old Snap-On MT2500 aka "The Brick". After resetting the codes I started the car up and immediately saw stored code "55" = ignition coil.
So it wasn't the coil.
Next, grab a spare DME, swap it out, clear the codes, yadda, yadda, yadda.
Bingo! No codes.
Right. With that done I'm still stuck with a slightly lumpy idle. Although I've done the MUTI (Mess Under The Intake) mod, I didn't change the original intake to throttle body boot because it didn't exhibit any cracks. Well, there's a brand new one sitting on the shelf and it's quite a bit more pliable than the one currently installed, so, what the hey. Guess I'll throw it on.
Hey!! The idle is significantly smoother!:eek:
Now we're on a roll! What else do I have sitting on the shelf waiting for installation that might have to do with driveability?
Reviewing the stack of maintenance receipts that came with my car would suggest that it’s still running with the original O2 sensor. Looking at it supports that assumption…
(http://imageshack.us/a/img803/83/o2sensorremoval001.jpg)
I spent an inordinate amount of time helping to replace an O2 sensor on a friend’s E34 the day before, so, pardon my language, but I’m not going to spend a lot of time dicking around with this…
(http://imageshack.us/a/img213/1893/o2sensorremoval008.jpg)
I know the sensor threaded section is fused to the exhaust bung, so there’s no need for a lot of finesse. If all else fails my little BFH awaits its turn…
(http://imageshack.us/a/img801/363/o2sensorremoval009.jpg)
Luckily, that wasn’t needed…
(http://imageshack.us/a/img12/9051/o2sensorremoval011.jpg)
The ceramic internals sure dull a brand new blade quickly…
(http://imageshack.us/a/img268/6053/o2sensorremoval013.jpg)
Time to clean up what’s there in preparation for the next step…
(http://imageshack.us/a/img69/3971/o2sensorremoval015.jpg)
My intent is to drill several small holes in the sensor threads to weaken the area and then knock out it out in sections. A new drill bit operated at the proper speed yields good results. I like long, skinny, piggy tails…
(http://imageshack.us/a/img542/6431/o2sensorremoval017.jpg)
Whoops. I broke the bit inside the hole located at the two o’clock position. Guess we’ll stop here and have a go at it…
(http://imageshack.us/a/img600/9086/o2sensorremoval020.jpg)
Not altogether pretty, but brute force wins over and I’m on my way…
(http://imageshack.us/a/img89/1229/o2sensorremoval022p.jpg)
Here’s the O2 sensor in its dissected form…
(http://imageshack.us/a/img17/4581/o2sensorremoval023.jpg)
Hello, what do we have here?
(http://imageshack.us/a/img255/7379/o2sensorremoval024.jpg)
I search the M42Club forum and realize the part number I bought based on an older thread has been edited with the correct part number. Drat it all. Not to be defeated at this point, I quickly cannibalize, cut, crimp and heat shrink the correct connector onto my new sensor.
The screen on the Snap-On MT2500 “brick” shows voltage and heat to and from the sensor. The idle has smoothed out nicely and a test drive revealed an appreciable improvement in responsiveness. Upon my return I scanned the DME again and there are no stored codes.
Life is good.:)
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Aren't you the busy one last month or so? Knocking out those projects one by one has to feel good.
It's good to see you're using the proper tools for delicate work on a BMW...drills, band saw and a sledge...
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Aren't you the busy one last month or so? Knocking out those projects one by one has to feel good.
It's good to see you're using the proper tools for delicate work on a BMW...drills, band saw and a sledge...
You should see me solder micro-miniature components onto circuit boards with a butane torch.:eek:
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For me pipe wrench works all the time to remove such O2 sensors. It would be good to clean thread with tap prior new instalation, and new one should be tightened few Nm only because to prevent what ceramic will crack inside O2 sensor.
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For me pipe wrench works all the time to remove such O2 sensors. It would be good to clean thread with tap prior new instalation, and new one should be tightened few Nm only because to prevent what ceramic will crack inside O2 sensor.
All good advice and I'll try a pipe wrench the next time one rounds out on me.
I bought an 18/14mm thread chaser for O2/sparkplug holes before I started on this repair, but a complete set of thread chasers is next on my "tools to buy" list.:D
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Finally got around to installing the Sylvania H5006 low beam headlights I bought for my other car when I lived in Italy...that was around 2008? (My favorite animal is the three-toed tree sloth). I hardly ever drove in the dark, but I recently started working again (yay!!) and leaving the house at 0630 brought poor lighting to the forefront of my maintenance to-do list. Can't wait to see the improvement; the right side already had the Sylvania and the left side was either a Phillips or General Electric and was noticeably dimmer.
I noticed my coolant level was low...again. I've been tracking down a leak and after finding a couple consisting of loose clamps it now appears to come down to the plastic coolant pipe. I could have sworn I installed a new one when I threw this last engine in. Maybe not.:( Either way, I have a new pipe and replacement hose that will be swapped next.
Later on I'll post some initial numbers regarding MPG calculations and such from the 13 button OBC install.
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With just a few fill-ups after installing my 13-button OBC, it appears that the MPG calculator is consistently 2.5-3.0MPG lower than actual fuel consumption. I don't consider that too bad especially since I don't have the correct coding chip for the OBC. Eventually I plan to purchase the correct chip, but in the meantime I'm happy to have done away with the original 6-button unit and it's bleeding LCD screen. AND...there's always something to be said about the cool factor:cool:.
The real reason for posting today is to document my semi-shadetree main journal inspection and polishing project. Over the past two years I have accumulated a small collection of internal parts for my M42 rebuild as well as parts to build an M/S50B30 for my 318is project car.
From left to right we have crankshafts for M42 (X 2), M54, and S50.
(http://imageshack.us/a/img405/4170/bmwcrankshaft020.th.jpg) (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/405/bmwcrankshaft020.jpg/)
First step is to check runout. According to the TIS, we support the crank on the first and last main journals and measure at the middle one.
One of the six cylinder cranks is placed on the fixture and we're set up to measure the number four journal...
(http://imageshack.us/a/img855/5518/bmwcrankshaft003.th.jpg) (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/855/bmwcrankshaft003.jpg/)
Runout specs for M42 are 0.15mm (0.0059"); 0.20mm (0.0079") for the six cylinders. Of the four crankshafts I measured, this was the most runout I saw...0.0635mm (0.0025"):)...
(http://imageshack.us/a/img716/7198/bmwcrankshaft004.th.jpg) (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/716/bmwcrankshaft004.jpg/)
After confirming runout I prepared the cranks for non-destructive testing and performed a Magnaflux inspection. Unfortunately, the S50 crankshaft did not pass...:eek:
(http://imageshack.us/a/img195/4089/bmwcrankshaft010.th.jpg) (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/195/bmwcrankshaft010.jpg/)
And the second crack...:mad:
(http://imageshack.us/a/img259/6084/bmwcrankshaft009.th.jpg) (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/259/bmwcrankshaft009.jpg/)
I had been debating whether to use this crank for a 2.9 hi-comp M50, or to build an actual S50 with the short block this crank came out of. With the decision made for me, I can now build the S50 lamp I always dreamed about, but could never afford.:p
Right. :rolleyes:
M42 crankshaft set up on the lathe to polish the main journals...
(http://imageshack.us/a/img259/6966/bmwcrankshaft017.th.jpg) (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/259/bmwcrankshaft017.jpg/)
Nothing fancy. I used 600 wet/dry cut into strips 3/8" X 11" and lubricated with air tool oil. Honestly, none of the cranks really needed polishing, but since I was offered use of the lathe, I didn't see any sense in not taking advantage of it.
(http://imageshack.us/a/img221/8994/bmwcrankshaft019.th.jpg) (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/221/bmwcrankshaft019.jpg/)
Next week's project: Checking connecting rod twist and convergence.
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That looks like fun. Is it a local machine shop, technical school, something like that?
Sorry about the S50 crank. Good think you found out early...that could have gotten really ugly.
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I had intentions of doing a 24V install to the shell of a parts car I had stripped, but other garage projects were taking priority. When I was finally seeing daylight at the end of the tunnel, I started dreading the amount of work it was going to take to put the shell together. That's when this thread appeared: http://www.m42club.com/forum/index.php?topic=17908.0
There aren't many E30 318is' that pop up for sale in these here parts, so I thought it might be worth a look...the fact it was a slick top certainly made it all the more tempting. :-\
Long story short...
(http://imageshack.us/a/img545/3205/tlgv.jpg)
Here's the worst of the body damage...a relatively soft hit by an inattentive SUV driver. The shell I spoke of earlier is a Diamond Swartz with all good sheet metal and plastics... ::) The tires have less than 5K miles on them and the wheels are in really good shape.
(http://imageshack.us/a/img833/7866/0c59.jpg)
I'm going to try and save the fender simply because all the VIN numbers are present and there are no indication of previous repairs anywhere else on the car. The front valance is a little distorted and missing the lip. The fog lights were in the trunk, but not in the best of shape; I'm going to be installing fog deletes...
(http://imageshack.us/a/img27/2324/uu6a.jpg)
(http://imageshack.us/a/img10/274/2g47.jpg)
The A/C was converted to R-134, and along with a new radiator, the PO had new hoses, thermostat and t'stat housing installed. There was a K&N sticker on the airbox, but installed was an old, dirty OEM filter and a hand full of cherry pits. The MUTI was done recently, the TB boot was nice and pliable, and there was even a new fuse box cover!
(http://imageshack.us/a/img822/2228/d4t6.jpg)
Moving on to the interior...a Kenwood head unit with iPod adapter (Bonus: OEM radio WITH OEM connectors was stowed away in the trunk), analog clock (not hooked up), change tray, and leather wrapped OEM airbag wheel with matching parking brake handle and boot. Extra, extra bonus: Leather shift boot with ///M shift knob wrapped in...leather...and...a SSK as well. :D
(http://imageshack.us/a/img21/6845/cmnl.jpg)
The headliner has to be one of the nicest, cleanest ones I've ever seen.
(http://imageshack.us/a/img19/1156/9vs4.jpg)
Looks funny without a sunroof crank handle, huh?
(http://imageshack.us/a/img820/2065/pehc.jpg)
The seats are in O-K condition and probably look better in pictures than in real life. I've seen worse, but I won't be keeping them as I have a near perfect set of black perforated covers to replace them.
(http://imageshack.us/a/img546/9828/ct09.jpg)
The back seat top is split on both sides as shown here. Again, no problem. I have a damned near perfect black leather seat to throw in there. Except, I want a black perforated seat to match my fronts...hint, hint.
(http://imageshack.us/a/img405/3485/i8aq.jpg)
Like the change tray and cocoa mats, another period correct "option" installed is an OEM dead pedal. I forgot to take a picture of that...
(http://imageshack.us/a/img716/4765/am4p.jpg)
Moving along to the trunk, we have a complete tool set. I had an extra 8/10mm wrench to throw in there, hence the slightly different look...
(http://imageshack.us/a/img812/5708/4g8o.jpg)
The liners were in excellent condition, as is the fairly new battery. Standing water in the left, rear quarter panel indicates new taillight seals are required and if that doesn't fix it, we'll continue with the usual suspects. (I had an extra antenna grommet and installed that immediately...unfortunately, we still have water intrusion).
(http://imageshack.us/a/img818/388/87ti.jpg)
Also stuffed in a bag of parts in the trunk was... ???? I was pressed for time and didn't get a chance to see if the DME had any nice little surprises stashed away in there.
(http://imageshack.us/a/img266/3972/cy8b.jpg)
Just like the seller suspected, the fuel pump was DOA. I threw in an extra one I had on the shelf and she started right up! :D I took it for a short spin and was quite happy with the total product. It sounds quite good as well...the seller didn't mention until I came to pick it up that it had a Super Sprint exhaust. :)
(http://imageshack.us/a/img17/7674/pqwh.jpg)
With the asking price the seller offered to throw in new shocks, control arms and hardware. Since it was all OEM and I already have a built suspension with too many other parts laying around to trip over, I passed on those and dickered the price down a little. Overall, I'm quite pleased and happy, happy, happy. ;D
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That is an awesome deal! Your list of little treasures just keeps getting longer...color me green with envy.
Thanks for sharing.
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Neat stuff. Any pictures of the dead pedal? I've seen Alpina and hartge dead pedals, but I didn't know there was an OEM besides the "built-in" one.
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Neat stuff. Any pictures of the dead pedal? I've seen Alpina and hartge dead pedals, but I didn't know there was an OEM besides the "built-in" one.
Me either. I'm heading home today and will get a picture in the next day or so.
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(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/10/18/hanaha2u.jpg)(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/10/18/sy5yvyde.jpg)
Not the greatest pictures in the world, but here's what the dead pedal looks like. There's another attachment point under the speaker cover. The second picture shows the '///M" logo.
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OBTW, I found a unicorn in my mailbox...
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/10/18/3e2y2edy.jpg)
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OBTW, I found a unicorn in my mailbox...
Unreal! You wouldn't happen to have a PROM reader, would you? We could publish that code!
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Sorry, Dave, no prom reader. :'(
But, I'd be happy to provide my chip for someone to burn one.
What brought me to post in my profile was to post a picture of the rubber cap I used on the plastic water tube when I did my "Mess Under The Intake". I remember one of the forum members warning of the relative short longevity of these caps.
(http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/1024x768q90/191/2msh.jpg) (https://imageshack.com/i/5b2mshj)
(http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/1024x768q90/842/ieiq.jpg) (https://imageshack.com/i/neieiqj)
That was bad enough, but when I found this I was pissed! >:(
(http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/1024x768q90/822/iu9u.jpg) (https://imageshack.com/i/muiu9uj)
That's a BMW OEM vacuum hose that goes from the intake boot to the idle control valve and...it was installed less than two years ago!!! I chucked it and used a 12.9mm fuel line from NAPA as a replacement.
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Sorry, Dave, no prom reader. :'(
But, I'd be happy to provide my chip for someone to burn one.
That was bad enough, but when I found this I was pissed! >:(
That's a BMW OEM vacuum hose that goes from the intake boot to the idle control valve and...it was installed less than two years ago!!! I chucked it and used a 12.9mm fuel line from NAPA as a replacement.
You're the first other person I've ever heard with a complaint about OEM BMW rubber parts. I've had two lengths of OEM 8x13 fuel line spring leaks on my car in two years. Both were on the kink between the pump and filter. While that's the area of highest pressure, the filter was new and properly installed.
I've always used BMW OEM rubber as I thought it best (except where silicone rubber was a better option)...I might be revising that notion.
Don't you mean 1/2" NAPA fuel line? ;D
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It's been a while since I posted anything about my car, but I've been daily driving and enjoying it! I still have body work to complete and will eventually get a paint job. In the meantime I noticed the paint was fading fast over the summer and so I decided to break out the buffing and polishing equipment.
I initially rinsed the surface with high pressure from a garden hose and then washed with a car soap. I followed that with a good clay bar until the surface was slippery to the touch. The paint is very scratched on the hood, roof, and trunk from what looks like use as a storage shelf in the car's previous life, so I started somewhat aggressively with 3M Imperial Microfinishing medium compound on a wool bonnet. Here you can see where I have finished both sides of the hood and ready to start the center section.
(http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640x480q90/674/eICOVw.jpg) (https://imageshack.com/i/iqeICOVwj)
I cut the trunk before moving on to the roof. Here you can clearly see the oxidized paint compared to the area I just polished.
(http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640x480q90/905/9ONA0K.jpg) (https://imageshack.com/i/p59ONA0Kj)
Here's the results of a few hours polishing. I washed the car again to remove residual compound and then took my leaf blower to the entire car to remove any standing water.
(http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640x480q90/540/cZwkJk.jpg) (https://imageshack.com/i/f0cZwkJkj)
I moved the car into the garage and spent a few hours the next day using a foam pad on an orbital polisher with Mequires cleaner wax. That was two weeks ago and here's the results as of this morning. I got quite a few compliments on how nice the car looked and even asked if I had it repainted. :)
(http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640x480q90/905/CabEF3.jpg) (https://imageshack.com/i/p5CabEF3j)
(http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640x480q90/911/midyIx.jpg) (https://imageshack.com/i/pbmidyIxj)
(http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640x480q90/538/olhLH7.jpg) (https://imageshack.com/i/eyolhLH7j)
(http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640x480q90/910/kcgANX.jpg) (https://imageshack.com/i/pakcgANXj)
In all sincerity the pictures don't show the real extent of the fading, nor the true difference polishing and buffing made. I would have used a glaze and seal, but in all honesty I just didn't feel like the effort would be worth it. It's a 24 year old paint job and it looks good from 10-15 feet away...I'm good with that. ;)
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Those are really good results. How long did it take? Can I get away with a cheap HF buffer if I use expensive compounds?
Your post is timely as well. My newest project car will be arriving soon and project #1 will be the faded Zinnoberrot. It needs a lot of help.
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Thanks, Dave. Like painting, a lot of time is spent in preparation...which I didn't do and I paid the price in time afterwards cleaning the trim and windows. Apparently a PO used some sort of dressing on the door trim and the heat from the polishing pad caused it to streak and turn gummy. After some trial and error, I found that acetone cleaned it right up and evened it out. Some light abrasive mat and acetone also worked well on the window seals and wiper arms.
I'm definitely no expert on the compounds used today. The 3M compound I used is left over from my days repairing gel coat on boats...back in the early nineties! ::) In fact, I see it's now obsolete. ;D
But, to answer your question about an HF buffer, I'd recommend a six inch orbital DA and I see it's on sale right now for $68!!
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Looks real good from here Keith!
Cheers
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In preparation for (someday) installing my JakeB turbo kit, I decided to install the E30 IX windshield washer reservoir .
I used a hole saw and cut out a small notch for the injector wiring harness...
(http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640x480q90/537/2Wg8Aq.jpg) (https://imageshack.com/i/ex2Wg8Aqj)
I found it helpful to adjust this "clamp" for slack in order for the injector harness to fit between the reservoir and plastic trim piece.
(http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640x480q90/901/QrJtke.jpg) (https://imageshack.com/i/p1QrJtkej)
There are two tabs on the backside of the reservoir which fit into a slot at the bottom of the firewall...
(http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640x480q90/537/kLptMD.jpg) (https://imageshack.com/i/exkLptMDj)
Here's a shot that shows how the injector wiring harness fits between the reservoir and trim piece where I notched it and put the slack in the clamp.
(http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640x480q90/537/jmc9fa.jpg) (https://imageshack.com/i/exjmc9faj)
Here it sits all nice and cozy in its new place...
(http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640x480q90/745/0awaVl.jpg) (https://imageshack.com/i/kp0awaVlj)
Another angle where you can see how it fits. I have to extend the original wiring and install the washer pump. I also need to find a plug for the reservoir fluid level sensor hole...
(http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640x480q90/901/Kg7Z6E.jpg) (https://imageshack.com/i/p1Kg7Z6Ej)
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You give me much too much credit amigo!!! Besides, if you did it my way, you probably had to restart at least once, probably twice!!...
http://www.m42club.com/forum/index.php?topic=18128.270
The above quote and link pertain to "normboudreault's epic thread entitled, "1991 318iS resto". inspired by his progress, I wanted to post some pictures of my work. First off, I never, never, never. restart a repair. My welding skills are such that I just gob on the filler material and grind it off, gob some more, grind some more, gob/grind, gob/grind...you get my drift.
I didn't take a "before" picture (or maybe I did and just can't find it ???), but here's the cut out piece. The area between my forefinger and thumb represents missing sheet metal that had rusted away...
(http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640x480q90/908/pdAVRU.jpg) (https://imageshack.com/i/p8pdAVRUj)
It took some time to measure, cut, and compare, but the fit was acceptable and I started tacking my little heart out...
(http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640x480q90/633/PnS4JR.jpg) (https://imageshack.com/i/hlPnS4JRj)
I'm not exactly sure how I ended up with such a large gap, but a short piece of 1/16" filler rod fit in there nicely. I was frustrated by my failed attempts to get the correct feed and speed on my MIG welder...I'm not a good welder, but I'm better than that!!
(http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640x480q90/673/gcyON6.jpg) (https://imageshack.com/i/ipgcyON6j)
Luckily, my wife called me in for supper and afterwards I did some searching on Youtube. I suddenly came out of my food coma when I realized I had forgotten to rotate the drive wheel after changing the wire spool from 0.032" to 0.024"! :o
(http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640x480q90/908/Oot8Us.jpg) (https://imageshack.com/i/p8Oot8Usj)
Perhaps not the best, but it will work after I finesse it with the 4" grinder!
(http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640x480q90/631/YwPFu0.jpg) (https://imageshack.com/i/hjYwPFu0j)
The other side is going to be a bit more challenging, but easier to weld since I have my settings dialed in. ::)
(http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640x480q90/538/oU32Z5.jpg) (https://imageshack.com/i/eyoU32Z5j)
In lieu of buying a welding spoon, I cut a few random sections of copper pipe, slit them lengthwise, and pounded them flat. Held behind the area being welded, these act as heat sinks and prevent/minimize blow-through. I'm anxious to start the other side and see if my results are improved!
(http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640x480q90/673/tT7TY2.jpg) (https://imageshack.com/i/iptT7TY2j)