MyE28.com

davintosh wrote:I spent a couple too many hours today with the e32, trying to wrestle the M20 out of the engine bay.

Was the M30 in there as well?

1st 5er wrote:

davintosh wrote:I spent a couple too many hours today with the e32, trying to wrestle the M20 out of the engine bay.

Was the M30 in there as well?

Thank you. I was scratching my head too...

Pretty sure we know what he meant there.

1st 5er wrote:

davintosh wrote:I spent a couple too many hours today with the e32, trying to wrestle the M20 out of the engine bay.

Was the M30 in there as well?

I meant e34. M20-powered '89 525i to be exact.

Listen to what I mean, not what I say.

Sadly, I've done ~15 M20 engine swaps. Some with help, but mostly on my own. For a long time I pulled engine and tranny out as a unit if I knew that the re-install was going to be solo. This was because I had lots of problems with mating the tranny to the engine solo. But eventually I figured out a few tricks that made the mating easier so the last 3-4x, all this year, I put the engine in place and then mated it up with the tranny as a follow on step.

Tricks to making this easier....

You'll need to use a tranny lift of some kind. HF sells a cheap, perfectly serviceable, one.

Make godawful sure the clutch tool slides in and out of the clutch and crank very easily.

Once the engine is mostly in place but engine and tranny are separate by about 1.5", grab some long 8 or 10mm bolts and feed them thru where the 2x 10mm (starter) and 4x 12 mm bolts normally go. Put nuts on those that will let you do so. Careful observation of these guide bolts will help you line the tranny up.

Slowly move tranny closer to engine carefully observing tranny and flywheel so the two mate up perfectly aligned. Lots of jiggling as necessary.

Make a decision that the two are aligned perfectly then use the long 8 or 10mm bolts and nuts and tighten tranny in place. It's ok to turn the crank a little to see if that helps the splines mate up. Then pull your guide bolts and replace them with the 10 and 12mm bolts as required.

I used to get to the top engine/tranny bolts from rearward, but the last several times I got to them pretty well from up top. It requires a short Torx socket and a flex-head ratchet. In either case, do this before you put in the motor mounts. No motormounts means the engine will sit 2" lower and make it easier to get to those top bolts.

wkohler wrote:Pretty sure we know what he meant there.

Not according to his signature.

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1984 528e 5-speed
1988 735i 5-speed
1998 318Ti 5-speed
2001 X5 3.0 5-speed

davintosh wrote:

1st 5er wrote:

davintosh wrote:I spent a couple too many hours today with the e32, trying to wrestle the M20 out of the engine bay.

Was the M30 in there as well?

I meant e34. M20-powered '89 525i to be exact.

Listen to what I mean, not what I say.

I'll try to stay more focused.

Today was finishing the front end on the E36, the remaining ball joint and the control arm bushings. The one ball joint is difficult to work with, nothing seems to fit it, so I tried a pickle fork, but in a different way than usual since I wanted to save the boot and I wasn't replacing that joint.



Then last week I got a call from the wife saying the E39 was heating up quickly. I told her to pull over and I'd be right there. I figured it was the water pump, I'd been meaning to replace it and already had a spare, but after the tow home (3rd one for that car in 100K) I found it was the plastic part of the upper radiator hose. Which I was also meaning to replace and had a spare of. Plastic, too much of the goddamn stuff in those cars. But the "O" ring seal makes hose changes a snap.

I have never had to do any transmission work on an E 28. other than taking them out of parts cars. The trick is the top bell housing bolt. . I just undid the tranny mounts and yanked down. I never put one into an E 28. Engines, same deal . How ever, I revived a ratty old Ranger.. with a very similar 5 spd To put it back in after doing the clutch, I slid it unde neath on a sheet of ply wood. I have the bottom of the frame rails 2' in the air on blocks. . I raised the tranny by rocking it back and forth raising it, 1 1/2" per rock Just some blocks and a milk crate Took a while , but there was no drama at all. The bolts were easier to access. On an E 28, I would just toss the top bolt away.

Well, the engine is out, as is the transmission. That trans gave me quite a fight, until I remembered/found the stupid little bolt with the 10mm head that holds the tin plate to the trans on the right side. It was covered with ~23 years of grunge and wasn't even visible.

I'm gonna either need to figure out how to get the engine & trans in as a unit when it comes time for the swap, or just do it the Andy way with wood blocks and a milk crate. That sounds like it'd work allright.

a wrote:... On an E 28, I would just toss the top bolt away.

I took your advice on that top bolt when I did the clutch on the eta a while back, kinda. It's in the car, but it's dangling from the rearview mirror. Drilled a hole through it & strung it up with a dogtag chain. Makes a nice decoration.

djazz wrote:Whether my stupidity or others' I'm sick of it.

I'm still having a hard time reconciling my cheap nature with M ownership. So I'm R&R-ing the clutch again after only a few months. This time with a new flywheel, not just resurfaced. At least I'll finally have a spec for flywheel thickness.

Also discovered someone was nice enough to crack the front bumper on the M5 for me. Also broke a couple of tabs on the lower grill too.

Learned a lot of lessons with the M5 this year, and more importantly I think my wife learned a few things too. I believe it has finally clicked that what I told her was true. "This is still a $75,000 car. Driving requires attention to the maintenance as much as attention to the road and it will cost money to own and operate. Fortunately she has fallen for this car too and brags on it more than I do.

The clutch is finally in after failures on many fronts, and the M is back on the streets. I am a happy camper.

Steering rack in the Volvo 240 wagon...damn, that aluminum steering coupler was stuck firmly on the rack and steering shaft.
It's a simple car to work on, it's disappointing when something so simple takes so much effort.

They are a PITA on an E28 too.

Revisited the Volvo 240 wagon steering rack job, replaced a few fasteners I didn't have available last weekend, added front Bilstein HDs, so there are now 4 all-around. Identified radiator as source of occasional slow coolant leak, I might bundle an e-fan into that upcoming job... It seems that many upgrades seem to take place alongside necessary repairs.

I urinated on the tires on the neighbor kid's car. (The little farqar likes to park where he blocks our driveway.) Does this count?

Finally got the balance of bits off the e34 that's spent way too much time in my garage. Loaded it up on a dolly and hauled it away. Good riddance. Once it gets settled in its new habitat, I'll have to share some photos.

Ken H. wrote:I urinated on the tires on the neighbor kid's car. (The little farqar likes to park where he blocks our driveway.) Does this count?

Surely you've got a friend or relative who drives a real POS who could stop over sometime and remind said neighbor of the hazards of parking like that.

The Rat passed its annual safety inspection. Because it is an old POS, it doesnt need to pass emissions

Cooling system re-build on the E38. Water pump, hoses, radiator etc... All went smoothly. I went overboard and did everything but I do plan to keep the car. Too bad it was a beautiful day and I was in the garage. I did get out and wash the 87 before it got dark.

a wrote:The Rat passed its annual safety inspection. Because it is an old POS, it doesnt need to pass emissions

Same here. . .but some dumbass failed my E30 because of wiper blades, tail lights and front wheel bearings. (he felt there was too much "play"). . .Fuck him, the next day I just went further up the road at 4:00 on a Friday so there wasn't a whole lot wrong at that shop.

Last week played musical tires (wagon tires off the wheels and onto wifey's wheels, snows on the wagon.) Did rear brakes on the 325ti. Bled clutch on the wagon and swapped rear brakes to 540 rears. Left off the M5 fronts because they won't clear the steelies. Didn't feel like swapping the snows to style 2s (which do clear M5 brakes, but only just.)

Today parted out an E32 735i. It'll hit the crusher next week.

mooseheadm5 wrote:Today parted out an E32 735i. It'll hit the crusher next week.

It doesn't happen to be Bronzit with rust-free doors perchance...

The ///M-unization has begun.
Last weekend the Touring got its first taste on ///M goodness in the form of cosmetics,
front and rear bumpers and side skirts, along with the narrow hood and grill assembly.
Today the mechanical swap began with the complete rear suspension being dropped from the donor.
Hopefully tomorrow the Touring will be prepped for its installation.

1st 5er wrote:The ///M-unization has begun.
Last weekend the Touring got its first taste on ///M goodness in the form of cosmetics,
front and rear bumpers and side skirts, along with the narrow hood and grill assembly.
Today the mechanical swap began with the complete rear suspension being dropped from the donor.
Hopefully tomorrow the Touring will be prepped for its installation.

Gonna go all out and do drivetrain too?

cddallara wrote:

1st 5er wrote:The ///M-unization has begun.
Last weekend the Touring got its first taste on ///M goodness in the form of cosmetics,
front and rear bumpers and side skirts, along with the narrow hood and grill assembly.
Today the mechanical swap began with the complete rear suspension being dropped from the donor.
Hopefully tomorrow the Touring will be prepped for its installation.

Gonna go all out and do drivetrain too?

Oh yeah!!!

Anybody need any E34 ///M rust before it hits the dumpster? Just pay shipping!

Water pump(external), and belts on the 2000 passat.
Are all newish cars built where you have to remove the entire front end to work on them?
It's a little disconcerting to peel the face off the thing and reinstall it without breaking anything critical. (LOTS of plastic tabs on this car)
Also fixed the 4011 code; vacuum hose to the combination valve. No more dire warnings on startup! VICTORY!

Rear suspension dropped out of the Touring.
Took about an hour and 45 minutes.
I had help.

The ///M's parts are too rusty, so gonna do a bit of hardware swapping before it gets reinstalled.

1st 5er wrote:Rear suspension dropped out of the Touring.
Took about an hour and 45 minutes.
I had help.

The ///M's parts are too rusty, so gonna do a bit of hardware swapping before it gets reinstalled.

I'm already jealous of the results. An ///M wagon :drool:

New shoes for the E36, now I can drive in the rain at over 55 without the pucker factor whenever I hit water. The Conti DWS were worn, but not that bad, well, only one of them was. With 5/32 still left on the fronts it didn't take much for the steering wheel to go light. Alignment was way off too after new ball joints and control arm bushings. Like .6". Toe out. Wow, no wonder it felt twitchy.

And only $650 poorer.

Put a E32 alternator on a 535i..

I suspect my beautiful wife is driving her E430 like it was her 69 Mach 1.
Just bought another set of 235/45/17's and a 4 wheel alignment.

Put the 18" staggered style 5's on the E38. Pics coming soon.