E36 3.0 ITB Race Build

[DanielJames]

Re: E36 v2

Il make sure to get round to it this week, lol.

No rush

Looking forward to that feeling of taking my foot of the pedal and the car still cursing that the same speed...

 

[f0xy]

Re: E36 v2

No rush

Looking forward to that feeling of taking my foot of the pedal and the car still cursing that the same speed...

I've had a look and it seems you need the part of the loom along with the stalk and cruise 'ECU' from behind the glovebox. All no problem... plus the bits from the engine bay. Although fitting it to another car seems to be a bit more complicated, involving swapping all sorts of pins and wires around lol! Hmmm


After a bit of patience and waiting I managed to find a matching seat for the one I currently have - so no more passengers sliding about!

I also picked up something else, who needs a van/estate these days?

More on that tomorrow!

 

[sbridgey]

Re: E36 v2

Nah it's dead easy to re fit the cruise control to another car, got mine off an m3, literally just plugged it in and it worked. Didn't even need to be connected to the main computer as it's powered off the brake light circuit.

 

[f0xy]

Re: E36 v2

Nah it's dead easy to re fit the cruise control to another car, got mine off an m3, literally just plugged it in and it worked. Didn't even need to be connected to the main computer as it's powered off the brake light circuit.

Good news! Might be a US thing I read then

 

[sbridgey]

Re: E36 v2

Good news! Might be a US thing I read then

It may well have been but I was shocked how easy to fit it was, couldn't be simpler. The worst part is fitting the brake/clutch pedal switches as they are in a right arse of a place.

 

[f0xy]

Re: E36 v2

Was the plug already there for the clutch switch?

 

[sbridgey]

Re: E36 v2

No you need to swap the brackets between cars really. Yours will have a black and a white switch but you only need the brake pedal one now.

You can just remove the switch from the bracket but they break easily so it's best to just swap the brackets with switches attached.

 

[matt_132]

Re: E36 v2

What's the lump? 325? Tubby??

 

[DanielJames]

Re: E36 v2

Nah it's dead easy to re fit the cruise control to another car, got mine off an m3, literally just plugged it in and it worked. Didn't even need to be connected to the main computer as it's powered off the brake light circuit.

Awesome.

PM flying your way Jord

 

[f0xy]

Re: E36 v2

What's the lump? 325? Tubby??

M52B28, same as whats in there now. Although, a steel lined block, not Nikasil. Unfortunately the amount of hassle the turbo conversions are (especially on RHD) it just does not interest me. If the exhaust manifold was on the other side it would make sense, but not with how it is. It would be easier to drop in a 6pot Jap engine with the turbo on the right side! More below..


So as mentioned previously in the thread, the engine likes to breathe oil quite a bit, and the compression is slightly down. If oil consumption wasn't increasing I would probably leave it and not bother, but it is slowly getting worse. The block in there at the moment has Nikasil bores (Aluminium cylinder coating) which were a known issue with these cars when they were released. The high sulphur content in fuel back then wore the bores out even quicker, and many were replaced under BMW warranty. The block was replaced with one which had steel liners.

I got hold of a low mileage steel lined M52B28, approx 70k miles, without any ancillaries. I could have just put it in 'as is', but decided for the cost of parts I may as well rebuild it so its the best a stock motor can be. It came with a few other useful bits, another set of coils, a metal thermostat housing, spare crank sensor, etc etc.

Removed the sump, oil pump and baffle so I could sit the block flat on some blocks of wood. Then removed the rocker cover..

In rather good condition with minimal wear..

Put the engine to TDC and locked the cams. Removed the Vanos unit (which was in good order with minimal play, not like the one I previously rebuilt)..

Then removed the upper chain and tensioner, de-tensioned the main chain and removed the pulleys. Removed the cams, carriers and tappets..

Finished by removing the 14 headbolts in order and lifting the head off the block.. for a simple task there are many parts compared to an F4R!

The head gasket looks to be in good condition, as do the bores with honing still visible..

Next job is to remove the valves from the head, then strip the bottom end down so both can go to the machine shop. More soon!

 

[JoeyD]

Re: E36 v2

Incredible. You make it look so easy! How difficult is it to renew the Vanos unit? Mine sounds like it's getting worse, and I'm sure I've noticed a drop in power (although I might have just gotten used to it I guess.)

 

[f0xy]

Re: E36 v2

Incredible. You make it look so easy! How difficult is it to renew the Vanos unit? Mine sounds like it's getting worse, and I'm sure I've noticed a drop in power (although I might have just gotten used to it I guess.)

Its pretty easy to remove, timing tools required though. I sold my F4R timing tools a while back and bought some BMW ones instead which have been used quite a bit. Rocker cover off, lock timing, undo the Vanos unit and use the tool to remove it from the head. Quite a few other bits need replacing at the same time like gaskets etc, but its a relatively simple job.

You can see if there is a problem with the Vanos by plugging it into diagnostics - it will report a Vanos Jammed/Stuck code if its got an intermittent fault, which could possibly explain any power loss..

 

[JoeyD]

Re: E36 v2

Is the power loss quite noticeable in your experience then? I certainly don't think it's beyond me to repair, it's more the fact that it's a daily and so can't be out of use for more than one day really.

 

[f0xy]

Re: E36 v2

Is the power loss quite noticeable in your experience then? I certainly don't think it's beyond me to repair, it's more the fact that it's a daily and so can't be out of use for more than one day really.

Mine originally just felt 'flat', and you couldn't hear the changeover between 3-4k in the engine note. Now its working fine if I slowly build the revs up to 3k when driving you hear the engine note change as its climbing - might not be the same for them all. Fuel economy was down also. Other times it would be fine etc. I sort of lost track of what the power loss felt like as I did the M50 manifold and Vanos seals at the same time.

If you collect the parts beforehand there isn't really anything to 'go wrong' so to speak, it took me 3-4 hours but I was taking my time doing other things too. The seals are only £15 or so. You just need a rocker cover gasket, Vanos-to-head gasket, and a few other bits. Its worth reading http://www.beisansystems.com/procedures/vanos_single_procedure.htm - which makes it look complicated as f*ck but really its not, thats just in a lot of detail!

 

[JoeyD]

Re: E36 v2

Awesome, thanks for that! I'll give it a good read over.
Await 'I've ruined my e36' thread...

 

[Tunst]

Re: E36 v2

Still need to have a look into the vanos on my M3.. fancy coming up my way and doing if for me jord :rasp:

Saves me the effort.. Hate working on my own car during the day and sod it at night haha

 

[f0xy]

Re: E36 v2

Still need to have a look into the vanos on my M3.. fancy coming up my way and doing if for me jord :rasp:

Saves me the effort.. Hate working on my own car during the day and sod it at night haha

Slightly different setup on the S50/S52 engines, more parts required and various other bits, sometimes bits need machining etc, so no can do lol!


Had a bit of time before so stripped the rest of the head down ready for machining. Didn't take all that long.. :clown:



Started with removing the sensors and studs that will get in the way, then removed all the valves. Forgot how much I hate retaining collets.

Stem seals removed..

Ready to be skimmed..

 

[DanielJames]

Re: E36 v2

Awesome work mate!!

I thought I was a boss doing my cam cover seal too... lol!

 

[welshname]

Re: E36 v2

Really like the time lapse. Great work as always. I'd love to have room to do this kind of stuff.

 

[f0xy]

Re: E36 v2

Awesome work mate!!

I thought I was a boss doing my cam cover seal too... lol!

I saw your thread on E36coupe the other day Good job to do, they go brittle as f*ck really as you found out!

Really like the time lapse. Great work as always. I'd love to have room to do this kind of stuff.

I've only had the driveway... although the fun starts when the snow comes! The garage was a complete mess (one of those that are a waste of time and a car wont fit in width wise!) so I cleared all the sh*t out and welded together a temporary bench from some angle steel I had lying around. Scrap piece of wood for the top and it does the job!

 

[welshname]

Re: E36 v2

Nice. I have a driveway but there is no way the parents would allow engine swapping etc to go on. I'm tempted by a larger shed to have a work bench in and store my tools a bit better but the space where the shed goes is rather limited so would be literally enough room for sitting/standing at a bench.

 

[Ph1 Tom]

Re: E36 v2

Treat it to a port and polish whilst it's stripped down?

 

[Corby G]

Re: E36 v2

I love the sound of BM's

 

[f0xy]

Re: E36 v2

Nice. I have a driveway but there is no way the parents would allow engine swapping etc to go on. I'm tempted by a larger shed to have a work bench in and store my tools a bit better but the space where the shed goes is rather limited so would be literally enough room for sitting/standing at a bench.

Yeah, I've just always had to work with what was available at the time. I did the E30 in a unit but it was hassle having to drive there just to work on it, then you'd end up forgetting something, etc. My parents were against the idea at first (2008!) and needless to say soon came round to it lol.

Treat it to a port and polish whilst it's stripped down?

I had considered it, but you've also got to wonder why the M52 uses the exact same head casting as the S50 - raises the question why did BMW never bother with it to gain or increase performance on the M3 models?

 

[f0xy]

Re: E36 v2

Bottom end stripped to a bare casing - block is actually lighter than the head, can pick it up with one hand :clown:

Dropped off the head and block at the machine shop for refacing and honing, probably have them back next week. Now to collect the rest of the bits.

 

[Chi]

Re: E36 v2

Subscribed, some mad skill on display )

 

[Paul.M]

Re: E36 v2

You don't mess about do you!

another awesome build coming up by the looks of it.

 

[f0xy]

Re: E36 v2

Had a couple of hours free today so thought I'd look at the exhaust. The one that the car came with was always a bit boomy - literally louder inside the car than outside. Not that it bothered me how it sounded outside, just wanted rid of the 'boom' from inside. A common mod is to gut a standard backbox, to give a slight bit more noise over a standard system but not over the top volume wise.

Started by cutting the top of the back box off to reveal the complex design beneith..

Cut it out from either end..

Instead of using all new pipe I just re-used two of the pipes..

After a bit of cutting to shape and welding them in place, it resulted in..

To take a bit of the 'edge' off the noise some slots were cut in the pipes..

Then finished by welding the lid back on..

Fitted it to the car and its much better. No 'boom', stock volume on idle, opens up with some rasp and volume on WOT. May change the tips at some point, but will see how it goes for now.

 

[aucky]

Re: E36 v2

Great work with the exhaust

 

[Chi]

Re: E36 v2

Brilliant! So that's what it looks like inside an exhaust. .

 

[JoeyD]

Re: E36 v2

Wanted to do that to mine, awesome work. Needs a video IMO

 

[f0xy]

Re: E36 v2

Wanted to do that to mine, awesome work. Needs a video IMO

I cut it open again today, it was a bit too 'raw' on WOT. I've added some wadding and closed it back up, much better now. Swapped the tips over from the other exhaust too. Will get a couple of clips over the next few days!

 

[matt_132]

Re: E36 v2

Impressive stuff!! I'd love to have the know how to re-build an engine.

 

[f0xy]

Re: E36 v2

Impressive stuff!! I'd love to have the know how to re-build an engine.

Just a matter of jumping in and doing it, best way to learn. As long as you follow a manual (clearances/torques) for the specific engine you cant go far wrong. Taking apart and putting together is the same for any engine really - All the information is out there on the web, its just research and plenty of reading

 

[DanielJames]

Re: E36 v2

Great work on the exhaust mate. Never knew they were so complex inside.

 

[f0xy]

Re: E36 v2

Probably why they weigh so damn much too!


So another parcel arrived a couple of days ago..

Deja-vu! The 'new' radiator from a couple of months ago started leaking a short while ago. Seems there must be a crack where the core joins the side tank..

It was randomly spraying coolant everywhere too. Contacted Driftworks and they didn't question it, sent a replacement out straight away. Fitted it and no more leaks :sleepy:

 

[DanielJames]

Re: E36 v2

Good guy driftworks!

 

[f0xy]

Re: E36 v2

So remember new bearings were fitted to the trailing arms when the subframe was done?

Had a bit of a noise from the rear N/S, although there was no play in the wheel. Started clicking on rotation, thought it was the CV on the output shaft. Removed the shaft to find..

Just a bit of movement here..



Part of the inner race looks to have cracked and broken off..

Then removed the caliper and the disk/stub axle literally fell out..

Well that lasted a good 2 months! :banghead:

 

[JoeyD]

Re: E36 v2

My god!!!

 

[DanielJames]

Re: E36 v2

What bearing was it mate? I'll make a note to not use them lol.

Installed a FAG bearing on my E46, apparently BMW OEM?