shifter prob

[Darky]

You're an ozzie? Lucky you...  Im sick of this damn winter we have going here!!!

Grass is always greener on the other side, try our summer and 40+ deg Celsius for 4 days straight!
Cars overheat, particular European cars with there 1.4- 2 bar cooling system and people overheat!
I ended up putting a 6 cylinder (550 mm wide) dual core radiator in mine, had enough of nursing car above 38 deg.

Ok so you have never rebuilt an engine before. Have you ever rebuilt a car before? And your doing it. I'm highly impressed with what you have done so far! Leave it till later and make up your mind then, but you only truly gain wisdom from experience and stuffing up!!!!

[DesktopDave]

This thread is awesome! I loved reading it. Keep up the great work, especially the pictures!

You couldn't have picked up a better car for learning on IMHO. The E30 is simple, well made and cheap - a rare combination. While the M42 seems to be an exception to that rule, the remainder of the car hasn't changed much for decades. You could argue that it's more or less the same as a 700, first on sale in 1959!

[deansweet]

This thread is awesome! I loved reading it. Keep up the great work, especially the pictures!
The E30 is simple, well made and cheap - a rare combination.

I have basically stated this exact same thing about the E30. Nothing i have wrenched on is as easy to work on.
And I love this thread too. i am wanting to fast forward to the end to see results.

[Jay-Vee]

Great thread, mate. Keep it up! 

[Darky]

Great work!

Hate to be your air compressor.

[bigskyis]

How many miles on the diff? Why lean towards a rebuild if there (most likely) is nothing wrong with the one you got? Replace the output seals and call it a day.
 
Why did you have your foot under the diff when lowering it? I prefer to use a good floor jack instead of a body part...only gonna' add to your "rebuild costs". You do have a "good" floor jack, right? The one you have in your pics does not fall into that category. You need to get a real 1.5 or 2 or 3 ton jack with a nice big cup that will support/stabilize the diff as you are lowering it. It would appear that you must have tried to balance the diff on the end of that jack as you were lowering it. That wasn't going to work. Using your foot as bump stop as the diff fell off of your jack would not be my idea of a good time. what was the worst thing that was going to happen...you were going to scrape your concrete?  In one of my earlier posts I told you to be careful. This is not worth getting injured over. It is all fun and games until...somebody loses an eye. Don't be that guy. I have two Sears 1.5 ton floor jacks. One I have had for 25 years. The other (identical twin) I scored at an auction for $30.00. So, for a grand total of $130.00 I have two good sized floor jacks. If I can score a 3 tonner at an estate auction or yard sale, I would buy it. Ya' gotta' have the right tools for the job. Don't cheap out on the tools. If you are going to continue to play these games of screwing with cars...they will come in handy in the future. I like what you are doing...but it is not worth getting hurt over. To give you an example...in the next 2 weeks I am going to be swapping an automatic transmission on a 1998 Audi A4 Quattro...old one out, new one in. Do you remotely think I would consider using your floor jack at any stage of that project? If you said "yes" you need to hand in your man card and put the tools down...step away from the car. I cannot afford to get hurt doing my hobby. Enough of the lecturing.

As an aside...you can probably find a good take out diff for less than a "true" rebuild. Especially if you are remotely going to consider altering the rear gear ratio.

I like what you are doing. Don't get hurt over it. If you do...you are only going to pay people like me to take care of people like you. And that is OK, too. I have to make a living.

[deansweet]

And all the heavy work is done - nothing but details now for a good long while...

bwaahahahahaha... You're not even half way there?! Rebuild, repeat the 'heavy work' getting it all back together then the stress starts.

I love this guy.   Keep posting!

[Darky]

Brilliant work!

3.73 is a great ratio, from the photo that diff looks in great condition. But your there and if you can't see much wear don't bother rebuilding! Replace seals and give it a clean and paint job!

Is it lsd?

Who put that in? It's a medium case diff 8 bolts usually small case 6 bolts! Nice

[bigskyis]

Norm: Nobody is hounding you. You're the one that dropped the diff on your foot. Even I have never had that pleasure.  Keep up the strong work, have fun and best of luck to you.

[Darky]

Hey thanks Darky... 

It is a LSD, 3.73. I eyeballed it and the gears are in great shape - no markings, grooves or anything.... Overall look great but needs a media blast and new paint and of course new output bearing and seals... I figure if I'll do that I may as well change the pressure plates while Im at it but I havent look into the cost yet.. So, like the other 123,687 things I gotta do on the car, its on the list.... 

Hey tell me you win a lot at gambling don't you, tatslotto etc!
Don't you!

That's a option extra in the 325.

Quite rare and here in Australia about $1000 compared with 4.10 small case standard diff at $150.
The reason they are that expensive is because they are nearly bullet proof, you could turbo or supercharge a m50 in your car and your still good!

Hang on a minute what does your gearbox say on the left side getrag 240 is standard?

[Darky]

Yes the 3.73 ratio is a good unit 4.1 is too low and makes the car rev too much at speed. But that diff and lsd is a win anyway you look at!

Do you know why they started using the longer gearbox? Stronger maybe?

Rohan

[normboudreault]

Not sure on the why but it is a closer ratio gearbox than what came before - therefore I think it was performance based reasoning... but who knows - those germans are a funny bunch.. 


Been busy though...

When I started this "project" (insanity is also apt) I was pretty sure I wanted to get rid of the ABS as I would be completely redoing the braking system A-Z and the ABS looked like it was going to be a real b*tch to deal with... I weighed the pros and cons and  since I have no fear of drifting, errr I mean, driving without it, I had at her...

Here you can see the corrosion on the mess of lines leading to the ABS unit...



Same view but with my pot-belly included... (no charge!)



This pic reminds me of my vasectomy....snip snip... 



Top view. I had tried to loosen those nuts on the ABS unit but they would NOT budge. I took that as a signal from the gods I was doing the right thing...



The main bundle merging with the loom...



Ground straps...



Bolts loosened and forcefully "wiggled" out of its mounts...



This is were it gets scary... Look away if you fear multi-colored wires!!
That big red wire was the power to the unit. I found my man courage and cut her...like totally fearlessly too... 



The rest of the signal wires were cut in one go. I assume I will be teasing them out of the loom soon enough...



The ABS sensor on the hub was removed. Torx for that one if I recall...





And removed the associated sensor and wire...







Its new resting place...



I also went off to BMW and ordered a bunch of sh*t including brake lines and fuel lines... I was told all brake lines
come pre-bent though Id heard different on the forum.. We'll find out....

[deansweet]

My OEM BMW brake line did NOT come pre-bent... It's not hard to bend yourself but with some patience and allot of measuring you'll be just fine.
You had stated you were removing the gas tank, be a good time to rebuild the rear brake line before you put that all back together so plan ahead.

 

[normboudreault]

Been doing a few odds and ends...

I mostly completed a rebuild of my alternator - by mostly
I mean that I've left the bearing removal and the brass slip ring
to a rebuild shop as they will do it for less than I can buy the
parts for. Not because its too much of a pain in the *ss.. Oh no... 

Also, I will have them test the output to ensure a nice steady
stream of power. If not I know I will have to change the
voltage regulator...Not what I originally wanted to do but it just
makes sense... 

So here is how she was:





Once she was out I took stock of her:



Not sure what color she may have been when new but there was
no lack of rust, grime and grease!!



So after a few months of thinking about it I hauled her out of the
shed this week and figured Id have a crack at her... I was pretty
much in the zone on the disassembly as I completely forgot to
take some pics... 

Basically you need a 24mm socket to loosen the nut in the center
of the pulley. I used a pneumatic gun on her and she came right
out (after trying for 20 minutes the old fashioned way...
My forearms aint what they used to be!!)

With that out you pull the pulley out and then the spacer. Easy.
Then you have 4 bolts in opposite corners. You need a phillips
head screwdriver for those but if you don't have one don't
worry because you won't be able to get them out anyways...   

What will work is a good fight with the wife to get your blood
boiling (or a regular day dealing with your teenage daughter)
and then use a vise grip wrench tightly clamp to the middle of
the bolt (its exposed on the sides of the alternator). It will p*ss
you off for a while but they will give... Of course spray
penetrating oil before trying this... duh...


Then you remove all the stuff on the back:





Then I lightly tapped the sides apart and she opened up... Here is whats left over:



Im not a big fan of rust so I put the parts thru my magical rust removal process..







After about 5 days...









Not too shabby... 

Worked on the exterior



and I also worked on the rotor..





With all that done I cleaned her up with some compressed air
and polished the outside on the wire wheel out in the shed...
and proceeded to put her all back together so the rebuild guys
can take her apart later on... 

Finished...











 And that's it for alternator porn....

[Darky]

Neat!!