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?

Updated To Do List

I've been busy the past week or two. Here is the updated list.

New List

1.  Fluids
1. Coolant
2. Brake/Clutch
2. Filters
1. Fuel
3. Check
1. Rear shock mounts
4. Replace passenger's side ABS sensor
5. Sensors
1. O2 sensor
2. Brake light sensor
6. Buff paint
1. New front and rear roundels, badges
2. New Door handles
7. Install Raven exhaust
8. Find another full functioning side mirror motor

 
 Old List

1. Fluids
1. Motor oil + filter
2. Transmission with updated plugs
3. Differential with updated plugs
4. Coolant
5. Brake/Clutch
2. Filters
1. Air
2. Fuel
3. Spark plugs
4. Half shafts
5. Check
1. Motor mounts
2. Transmission mounts
3. Subframe bushings
4. Trailing arm bushings
5. Guibo
6. Rear shock mounts
7. Rear sway bar links/mounts are already shot
8. FCABs are good
9. RTABs
10. Control arms
11. Front sway bar links/mounts
6. Replace/Install front driver's passenger's side ABS sensor 
7. Replace Differential bushing, not shot, but upgrading to the solid rubber OEM one
8. Replace exhaust hangers to reduce heavy drone from final exhaust
9. Sensors
1. Not running goofy but O2 sensor
10. New front and rear roundels, badges

Almost Done with Maintenance and a New Exhaust

Today I ended up taking my 2004 M3 over to a buddy's shop so he could fabricate up a trailer hitch for it. While I was over there I ended up buying a Raven exhaust he had sitting around for $200. I'm pretty stoked since it is the mid-pipes and final exhaust. It is meant to connect to the E3 headers, but I'm going to see (and hope) it works on my stock headers. He is going to fix a few holes in it and a busted hanger. I guess it had previously lived a life on a race car.

I also managed to get around to finishing almost everything else on the car. I replaced the transmission fluid which was a little dirty (grey/black in color). Hopefully the Redline fluid I'm throwing it helps shifting feel a bit until I can get around to refreshing all the shifter bushings.

I finally got that stupid differential bushing bolt on. It took some further persuading and some clamps to finally get it to go through. While I was there I also filled up the differential with Redline LSD fluid.

I couldn't find the drain bolt for the power steering fluid. So, I just removed the fluid from the reservoir with a turkey baster and replace with new power steering fluid.

Lastly, I managed to get the passenger side's half shaft off the output hub on the differential. Bashed my elbow good, but it came off. That side was all good, so I checked the driver's side half shaft. Sure enough I could hear a bit of metal on metal on the inner portion of the half shaft. I replaced it with a spare I pulled off my 325is from a few weeks ago. Hopefully this one holds up until I can get around to repacking the two half shafts that are now sitting in the garage.

I was going to do the fuel filter too, but I found a small hose that connects to the fuel filter has dry rot. Instead of messing with it and potentially causing it to finally crack, I'm going to order a replacement hose.

Tomorrow with the help of my roommate we'll bleed the brakes and clutch. I think I'm going to postpone the coolant swap until I a. get distilled water and b. get more coolant since I only got 1 gallon, but need two.

Damn you differential bushing!

I got the differential cover back from the shop. I hadn't noticed this originally when buying the new bushing, but it isn't an updated design. It is just slightly newer. Oh well, I figured it is a "while you're there" item.

On a side note, the shop I took the cover to get the bushing pressed in carries Amsoil. I'll probably hit them up and get some 10W40 next oil change.

I got home and started to install the differential cover back on to the rest of the differential. The cover went relatively smoothly outside of having to balance putting on the new gasket while threading bolts on. A little gear oil helped me out though.

Afterwards I ran into what frustrated the crap out of me. The bushing that connects to the body was about 1/4" off from where the bolt holes are on the body. I tried for about 30-45 minutes persuading the bushing so I could get the bolt through. I got close, but I couldn't get it to go through the second hole. Frustrated I gave up since the girlfriend was coming over so we could watch Game of Thrones. I'll give it another go Saturday or Sunday when I have time.

A Little Bit More

Well tonight was interesting. I left work to find I had a rear flat tire on my e30. I called my buddy/roommate to grab my stock wheels/tires and some tools to swap rear tires. Everything went smoothly and we got the e30 back home. The unfortunate thing was that it delayed further work on the e30 M3. Regardless, some work was done tonight.

First and foremost I found the oil leak source. It was the oil drain bolt/washer causing the slow oil leak. Relatively simple fix since I was going to do an oil change anyways. Everything went relatively smoothly other than the gorilla who previously installed the oil filter. Along side the oil change I also took a sample of oil for Blackstone to run analysis on. Hopefully all turns out well. The oil was replaced with Mobil 1 15W50.

The second bit of work was removing the rear differential cover. I setup a lax appointment at a shop to have the current bushing pressed out and the new one pressed in. All went well and the diff looks pleasingly clean.

Time to Get Dirty

Well, I finally received the rest of the parts I ordered. It was essentially all the items I noticed that needed to be replaced while buying the vehicle. Everything from roundels to exhaust hangers.

The first thing I decided to knock off the list was the exhaust hangers. They were literally low hanging fruit and after replacing them the car sounded much quieter.

New on the left, old on the right

After I was done with that I removed the rear underpanel which connects to the bumper. I'm going to realign the bumper down the road and needed to remove a part of it anyways to get to the exhaust hanger bolt.

I dumped the fluid from the differential. The oil looked brand new. I'm quite happy about that. I replaced the existing fill and drain plugs with the updated plugs. I didn't replace the fluid since I'll be pulling the rear cover to upgrade the differential bushing later this week.

While waiting for the differential fluid to finish draining I started to check the passenger side half shaft. I knew it was replaced, but was going to check anyways. I couldn't get the damn thing off the differential. I'm going to assume that this is what a half shaft should feel like with new grease in the boots.

I decided to leave the driver's side half shaft for tomorrow night since I didn't feel like getting a plethora of extensions to remove all the bolts in the inner half shaft.

Last and not least I finally put the front up on jack stands.

 I checked out where the oil leak was coming from and it actually appears to be coming from the drain bolt. The Previous Owner had mentioned the shop that did the oil change last reused the old washer. I started the engine up and let it warm up a bit. I'll see if it is still coming from there tomorrow. If so I'll replace the oil and use a new drain bolt and washer.

Everything to night was done at 135,538.

First Maintenance Items Completed

I was going to wait until I received all the parts I ordered, but I couldn't wait any longer. I decided to do both the air filter and the spark plugs.

I did the air filter on 2012.06.08. I forgot to snap a picture of the new vs. old. It really wasn't in too bad condition, but oh well.

Old Air Filter

The spark plugs I did on the 2012.06.12 Everything went flawlessly and the spark plug tool that BMW provides is perfect for spark plugs on the S14. All spark plugs were gapped to .028. Ignore the ugly valve cover, it will be fixed during a valve adjustment.

BMW S14 Spark Plug Tool

The metal clips on the bottom hold the spark plug in.

Old plugs didn't look too bad

Both the air filter and the spark plugs were done at 135,515.

One final note, after doing a little test drive I came back to find oil sitting in the garage. It looks like it is coming from the oil pan area. Hopefully the lower oil pan gasket.

Things To Do

1. Fluids
1. Motor oil + filter
2. Transmission with updated plugs
3. Differential with updated plugs
4. Coolant
5. Brake/Clutch
2. Filters
1. Air
2. Fuel
3. Spark plugs
4. Half shafts
5. Check
1. Motor mounts
2. Transmission mounts
3. Subframe bushings
4. Trailing arm bushings
5. Guibo
6. Rear shock mounts
7. Rear sway bar links/mounts are already shot
8. FCABs are good
9. RTABs
10. Control arms
11. Front sway bar links/mounts
6. Replace/Install front driver's side ABS sensor 
7. Replace Differential bushing, not shot, but upgrading to the solid rubber OEM one
8. Replace exhaust hangers to reduce heavy drone from final exhaust
9. Sensors
1. Not running goofy but O2 sensor
10. New front and rear roundels, badges

I finally got home and snapped a few shots of the car after hanging out with a buddy.

First mod, euro grills. I'll need to remove them and refresh them, but I was too lazy to since they came off my e30. No worries, no euro smileys on this puppy.

Pick Up and Go

Well my buddy Abheek and I went to pickup the car. Everything went smoothly except one thing. I didn't bother to ask if the Previous Owner had any other keys than the valet key. Oh well, this is a project car for nothing.

Him and I took a short celebratory drive back to his place. I couldn't keep up with his 335 except in the corners. I'm not sure how hard he was pushing it though. Car felt great, a lot less unstable compared to my e30.

We got back to his place and he shot some nice photos of the car before I departed. I decided to do a night drive back home to NC so that I could beat Monday traffic.

Enjoy (These are all with a point and shoot too. You don't want to see my attempt at pictures haha)

Drive on 495 near DC I ran into the first person to acknowledge the car. It was a driver in a slightly modified e36 M3. He sped up after I passed him to throw a wave my way. I threw one back at him.

The drive was pretty mundane, but it was nice to have the radio chugging along. My first full fill up of my newly acquired car was 25.14mpg. Pretty nice for going 70mph from a 4 cylinder with a 4.10 LSD. Better than my 325is at highway speeds.

The rest of the evening went well. I snapped a picture during my pit stop for gas and a little few.

Inspected and Purchased

I'll keep info about me short. I love BMWs. I've slowly gotten more into the older models than the newer ones. The lack of driver assisted aids, the more visceral experience, and the easy of working on the vehicle yourself has been the appeal. There is also the look of older BMWs which always brings a smile to my face.

Well, several weeks ago my buddy Abheek told me about a buddy of his who was thinking of selling his e30 M3. It was a 1988 (12/87) M3 to be exact. He said that the vehicle was mechanically sound, but wasn't the prettiest. That didn't really discourage me since I figured cosmetic flaws were not nearly as important as a strong engine.

Anyways, I got the owner's number from Abheek and gave the guy a call one night. We spoke for about a hour a half over the car and other things BMW related. I found out I had actually parked next to the owner at Bimmerfest East last year. Small world huh?

After a few weeks I was coming up through Maryland where the car lived. I told the owner I wanted to test drive and so we setup a time and place to meet. Test drove it and it was similar to my e30. However, somethings were different. Quicker steering and better brakes were the first. The buzz of that S14 revving quickly to 7,000 rpm. Once you hit 4,000 it just zoomed to redline. It is an amazing engine. The biggest thing I noticed was the suspension wasn't as tight as my e30 which has a relatively new Bilstein Sport/H&R Race combination. As well, there was a rear end clunk of one or both half shafts biting the dust. No worries though since I had just recently done the same work on my own e30.

We got back and settled after some more conversation over BMWs.
Here is the picture I had to take after we shook hands. We decided that I would try and get the car on June 3rd when I was coming back through with my cousin, her husband, and their kid.

Here is breakdown of what is good and bad on the car

Good

• Original registration date 1988.02.17
• Zinnoberrot exterior, Natur leather interior
• ~135,000 original miles (odometer still works)
• 1,200 mile service inspection record at 1,362
• There is documentation from 51,637 in 1995 all the way to 100,631 in 2000.
• All electronics work
• AC was converted to R134a from R12
• Original radio with code
• Original OEM wheels included
• Extra OEM spoiler
• OEM Style 4s, I didn't like them original, but they've grown on me. New tires on them as well.
• Clutch feels good, a lot better than the e30 clutch pedal feel.
• Aftermarket cup holder that sits below the radio. Really handy for long trips

Bad

• Primarily Pennsylvania owned (I don't hate PA, but there is this thing called rust that sucks).
• No documentation between 1,362 and 51,637 miles
• No documentation between 100,631 and 117,xxx miles. During which there were Pennsylvania inspection stickers on the vehicle
• Rust behind passenger wheel arch. It looks superficial and not structure related
• Busted exhaust hanger(s)
• Needs a suspension refresh
• Rust by driver's side front window (common)
• Surface rust on corners of doors, etc. nothing major
• One or both half shafts are toast. Luckily I have at least one good one laying around.
• Repainted on one side, not by the Previous Owner, but perhaps the one before him?
• Rear spoiler is ugly, but there is a backup
• Interior needs a cleanup along with new floor mats that don't slide
• General cosmetic issues (needs new roundels, etc.)
• Needs to be buffed.

 Previous owner performed the following

• 126,121 miles
• Valve adjustment, I'm not sure why only 6 are listed for both intake and exhaust unless 4 valves weren't checked or were inspect?
• Intake: .023 .024 .023 .022 .023 .024
• Exhaust: .031 .031 .030 .031 .030 .031
• Rear passenger half shaft (CV joint) replaced
• 126,211 miles
• Front and rear brake pads and rotors
• Oil change
• Last recording oil change according to the sticker was at 134,120 miles

I was told by the Previous Owner that he performed oil changes ever 3,000 miles.

Initial plans I'll cover in the next post.