Done with this Shift

I finished the shifter bushing replacement a few nights ago. It feels really nice now. I also picked up a replacement brake line and 3 ABS sensors. Now I just need to get the subframe back from powdercoating. Other than that nothing new. The car has been on jackstands for a month now.

Taking a Light Brake

I've been unmotivated to attack the subframe and rear trailing arm bushings lately. I just don't feel like getting dirty and sweat since it has been really hot here. I also haven't ordered any parts, so I figured I would do a little something easy tonight on the car. I happened to find a relatively good example of a passenger tail light. The one I got with the car I found out after removing had a crack in it. This lead to the discoloration and water in the dang thing.

Top is the "new" one and bottom is the "old" one.

Dropping It Like It's...Worn Out?

I haven't made any mention, but recently my e30 325is has been making a clunking sound in the rear during acceleration/deceleration as well as a stutter during acceleration. Well, it has lead me to believe that either my driveshaft/CSB is toast and for certain my subframe bushings are toast.

Having never done subframe bushings on any car in my life I figured I would take advantage of the e30 M3 since it was already jacked up, unmovable at the moment and had quite a few components removed  in the rear. I figured I would do the subframe bushings and rear trailing arm bushings on it first. Then I could use what I learned to quickly do the subframe bushings, driveshaft/CSB, and rear trailing arm bushings on the e30 325is.

I spent several days slowly working my way on removing the rear subframe. Everything went relatively smoothly outside of striping a bolt on one of the brake lines. You can call it a failure to use the correct tool, flared wrench, or you can call it 24 years of age. I like to the the latter. The most challenging part was getting the subframe to actually drop. The bushings were seized to the body, but after some suggestions from a few e30 buddies I got it to drop.

Not sure if you can see it, but part of the aluminum piece of the subframe bushing is broken. Yep, still in the body. That should be fun to remove.

A few things I'm going to do while the subframe is out.

1. Clean subframe (sandblast?) and apply POR-15 to protect it.
2. Replace subframe and trailing arm bushings
3. New bolts, nuts, washers, etc on subframe and trailing arm components
4. Replace cut brake line
5. Replace sway bar bushings
6. If I can find them cheaply, replace the ABS sensors

I don't really care about anything else getting replace that is connected to the subframe since I know I can easily do it later down the road.

Changing Gears

Like I said in my last post I finally got the parts I ordered. Well, seeing as the exhaust was off from the headers back I figured I would start with the shifter refresh. I got a lot more off than I thought. In fact, I got all the shifter components off. I'm stoked I got all the parts off, but not the fact that I didn't order replacement parts for everything.

Brand new guibo, but half the bolts are pointing the wrong direction. I'll fix that when I start putting everything back together.

Center Support Bearing looks brand new and there is minimal to no play in the universal joints.

I recorded a video using my spiffy new phone (Galaxy S III) to record a video. The front part of the drive shaft clicks a bit. I'm not sure if that's normal or not. The play is very minimal, maybe 1-2mm? I don't think it is anything to worry about.

Most of the components out with a side by side comparison of new vs old.

Hold the front of the selector rod.

The essential layout of the shifter carrier. Left side is to the rear of the car.

Sad News and Good News

I'll start off with the bad news. Two weekends ago the guy who dropped my e46 M3 back home took a look at the e30 M3. He is an auto body guy who has lots of experience with e30 M3s.
Well about 2 minutes into checking the rust in the back of the car, he said that the panels had been replaced. Looking around more it looked like the rear of the car was in some sort of rear end collision at some point in its life. The VIN stickers had been transferred to the new body panels which is probably illegal. It stinks because I checked that the VINs on all the body panels matched.

So we talked over some methods on fixing the issue at some point in time. Hopefully it doesn't cost an arm and a leg.

Now onto the good news. Wes, the auto body guy, also dropped off the Raven exhaust that I bought off him. As well, a set if wheels I got during a trade with a friend. The exhaust is from the headers back. The wheels are powder coated white 16x7.5 bottlecaps off a 740i. I know, I know, bottlecaps on an e30 M3!? That's blastphemy! Hopefully picture below will change your mind.


Sometime last week I went over to a buddy's place and buffed the tips on the exhaust back to shiny.

Mid-pipe


I also got 2 of 4 wheels that I thought looked awesome on another e30 M3. They're Pontiac Trans Am GTA wheels.


So with the exhaust off the car I had to try driving it down the road. What a horrible idea. Besides being a massive ass to my neighbors EVERYONE and I mean EVERYONE looks at you. I got about a mile down the road, turned around, and parked the car swiftly in the garage. Also there is even less low end torque with only headers.

After waiting almost 2 weeks for new exhaust gaskets, etc. I got my parts. New bolts/nuts/gaskets for the exhaust, expansion tank cap, and shifter bits for a refresh on that too.
I'll save work for another post.

Bye Bye Exhaust

The time has come to finally get rid of the exhaust on the car. I knew the final exhaust wouldn't last due to how rusted out and ugly the rear tips were, but I didn't think I would be replacing everything from the headers back. I found a deal on a Raven exhaust from the headers back. They should be dropped off this Sunday along with my e46 M3. So, in preparation for the new exhaust after the headers I started to remove it.

The final exhaust was a bit of a bear to remove since the bolts were difficult to remove. The top portion of the clamps where the bolt connects to just spun around. It is also not very easy to get a set of pliers in there. Instead I decided to get my Dremel and start cutting bolts. The first half worked out well, but not the second half. Eventually I got the exhaust off by literally ripping it off. It was that rusted out. Probably took about a hour to remove.

I decided to just toss it since I think I might have to actually pay someone to take this piece of crap off my hands.

The second half the exhaust from the headers to what would have been the final exhaust. I really should have just started here because it took of about 15 minutes to remove after the front was on jack stands. Bolts and nuts were actually 9/16", not metric at all. I knew they were newer since they weren't rusty, but finding out they were metric makes me sad. The cats have a few rust holes, but overall isn't horrible. Hopefully I can get a bit of money for it.

Please note, I'm not revving it above 3k.

 

Finally Off Jack Stands

I finally finished the last piece of work on the car for a little bit of time. I bled the brakes and clutch with the help of my roommate. I went for a test drive and the car felt a lot better. Shifting was more precise and no more clunking in the rear from the crapped out half shaft. The last work to be done where I have parts laying around is the coolant flush and fuel filter.

I went driving again tonight and ran into what I hope didn't screw up the engine. I started up the car to warm up a bit while I was moving another car. Ended up running into a neighbor and talking for a bit. Came back to find the coolant temperature gauge at 3/4th!!!! I freaked out and turned off the engine ASAP. Turned it back to position two and turned on the AC in hopes to cool it off quickly. Interestingly enough the oil temperature gauge was only at 1/4th. I'm hoping the coolant temperature sensor is messed up. Maybe I'll be doing coolant sooner than later. The car ran flawless after letting it cool down a bit.

I also picked up a new set of keys for the car today. They work flawlessly and have the cheesy useless light on them as well. $2 more compared to the standard one, so why not?! I'm still getting a weird buzzing near the fuel fill up when unlocking the car with the new keys. Any ideas?