Messages

1

WTB/WTT / Roof rack

« on: August 22, 2012, 11:39:01 AM »

Where are you located?

I've got one in NJ, but don't really want to ship it.

2

Engine + Driveline / Best way to torque the crank bolt

« on: July 02, 2012, 11:33:05 AM »

I've been able to take the crank bolt off and put it back on using a large spanner and some bolts w/washers threaded into the harmonic balancer.  The spanner is long enough from what I remember to hit the ground below the car or a frame rail.  It worked very well and the spanner can be used for other things like removing the bolt from the trans output flange.

The part number for the KD tool is 3900 and it's called a "universal pulley holder".  You should be able to find one way cheaper than the OE tool.

using washers and the extra nuts on the spanner is important.  If they're not used the spanner can slip away from the vib. damper and will just bend the bolts rather than provide the holding power needed.

A link to the picture with the spanner on the damper is below
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/58198780/spanner.jpg

3

Swaps, Turbos, Buildups / m42 Turbo Flange

« on: April 09, 2012, 12:57:15 PM »

The easiest way to find a flange might be to get one made for a M50 (much more popular in the US than the M42) and then cut off two of the ports.  Everything else should match up since enough people here have used the M50 turbo manifolds for their builds.

4

Engine management / How to fix a stopped km odometer

« on: February 07, 2012, 07:05:06 PM »

+1 for odometergears.com

I know the guys running the company and they're making great products and offer great support.

5

For Sale / Log Style Mosselman Turbo Exhaust Manifold (Oregon) $200

« on: January 18, 2012, 10:10:26 PM »

sent PM on turbo and manifold

6

Engine + Driveline / S14 $1000: Should I?

« on: October 19, 2008, 08:16:27 PM »

That sounds like a very good price.

If everything's running you should be able to at least get your money out of it....

7

Engine + Driveline / Radiator!!

« on: December 02, 2007, 09:54:54 PM »

When I replaced mine I just went with a stock replacement.  The car's seen 6 track days since then and hasn't had any issues with overheating.

8

Suspension / IE sway bars

« on: November 29, 2007, 08:30:00 PM »

I've got the set of 22/19's on my car.  they were a great addition, but not too rough on the road.  I welded the reinforcements onto the trailing arms and installed the mounts through the trunk floor of the car and so far have had no problems.

I have a friend that's got the 25/22's on a 325 and his only conplaint is that if he's going through a bumpy turn he gets a fair amount of wheel hop which can lead to not fun things.....

9

Engine + Driveline / Ahhhh crap, more piston ring problems

« on: November 25, 2007, 11:20:05 AM »

are you sure the gaskets around the spark plugs tubes are sealing well?

10

Engine + Driveline / Repair Manuals?

« on: November 24, 2007, 08:06:09 PM »

when I first got my e30 318is I went through this too.

I went as far as asking Bentley directly what I should do.  

According to them the E30 Bentley was released sometime around 89 or 90 so they had no info on the M42.  Since then I've purchased both the Bentley for the E30 and the E36 models.  I use the E30 manual for all chassis related issues and the E36 for engine related issues.

to date the only thing I haven't been able to find in the manuals is information about the  fan belts on E30 318is's because by the time the M42 got to the E36 the setup was changed to use different style belts

11

Engine + Driveline / Crankshaft Pulley

« on: November 24, 2007, 06:37:35 PM »

Thanks,

I can hear a bit of rattle in the timing chain when it's hot. Should I stop driving it altogether or can I keep her well oiled and drive softly?

If you've got another way to get around I'd stop driving the car till you got a chance to change everything.  I'm a fairly cautious person though.

Here's pictures of how I removed and installed the crankshaft bolt using a spanner on the vibration damper with 2 longer M8 bolts and some nuts and washers (washers aren't pictured below, but would go between the spanner and the extra nuts)

I already had a large spanner that I've used for holding the trans output flange still while removing the 30mm bolt that holds it to the output shaft (the spanner is picture 1)

Along with the you'll need some longer bolts, nuts, and a couple washers to be safe (you can find these at Home Depot/Lowes/your local hardware store).  I think the bolts that hold the vib. damper to the crank sprocket are M8, but check to make sure.

Removal:
1. take all bolts out of the vibration damper.
2. insert longer M8 bolts with washers and extra nuts
3. use the bolts to hold the spanner while you loosen up the crank bolt (with the engine in the car the handle of the spanner will hit the ground which keeps it from turning.

Installation is reverse of removal.  In the pictures the timing case is already removed because this is a block I've got in my basement.   There's a factory style tool you can use rather than the spanner that attaches to each of the bolts on the vib. damper, but I had no trouble with the spanner, just make sure you use the extra nuts to hold the spanner tight against the vib. damper, otherwise you'll just bend the bolts and won't get anywhere.  If you need further instruction just let me know....HTH.

12

Engine + Driveline / Crankshaft Pulley

« on: November 23, 2007, 11:33:17 PM »

If your not a member of the BMW CCA you might want to think about joining.  There's 2 or 3 dealerships in my area that give between 10-20% off on parts.  One job like this will more than pay for the membership fee's and you get a subscription to roundel as well.

I'll try to get pictures of what to do with the crankbolt sunday...

13

Engine + Driveline / Crankshaft Pulley

« on: November 22, 2007, 10:13:16 AM »

Do you think my clutch will hold that much torque? It's near the end of it's life so I'm not sure.

When I did mine I tightened the crankshaft bolt as much as possible, then threaded in 2 bolts in the vibration damper.  I used a spanner wrench hooked to the two bolts so there wasn't pressure on the clutch.

If you want pictures of what this would look like let me know.  I've got an extra vibration damper in my basement I can use for the pics...

14

Engine + Driveline / Crankshaft Pulley

« on: November 21, 2007, 09:20:26 PM »

I'm about to do the timing chain and I'm not sure of the best way to get the crankshaft pulley torqued back to 230 ft-lbs.

Also, I've been told to replace the cams. Would performance cams be a good idea in an engine with 160k? Should I do the head gaskets and get the heads re-surfaced and maybe new piston rings while I'm at it?

If you don't have a torque wrench that can handle 230ftlbs you may be able to rent one somewhere.  Mine only goes up to about150 or 175.  I torqued it to that and then just used a regular wrench to get it about an extra 1/8 of a turn.  I've heard of others doing that with this bolt and also wheel bolts where a high amount of torque is needed and haven't run into any trouble yet.

If you can do a compression and leakdown check on the engine do that before you start with the project.  If you find that compression and leakdown all look good you should have no trouble with putting a hot set of cams on.  If you do see issues now's the time to do it all...good luck with the project.

15

Exterior / Rocker Panel Paint

« on: November 19, 2007, 11:14:11 AM »

I used POR 15 on mine and then rattlecanned some rustoleum over it to protect it from the sun.  It's been a year since I did it and it seems to be holding up very good.

Here's the POR 15 site.  I'm pretty happy with the results

http://www.por15.com/products.asp?dept=1