Loving how clean the underside is looking now. Keep up the great work.
Thanks it’s really satisfying to look at...now we’ll see on Saturday how well it performs. Initial indications are really good though. Just too bad that the only day that looks like rain this week and the next is Saturday, but then some sliding will be practiced
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Had a blast Yesterday at Ring Knutstorp. The car worked flawlessly and despite some rain during the day the conditions were really good. The poly bushings have definitely introduced some more sound into the cabin as you can now clearly hear the engine revving in the whole cabin compared to before. I wasn’t quite sure as it’s been a while since I drove the thing but the video clearly shows that the sound is different from past videos which were pretty much silent and the most prominent sound was the seat creaking
The car is really well balanced and I always felt in complete control and it was apparent that the LSD was making it easier to push the car out of corners, but I’m still far from being able to steer it on throttle so a lot of seat time is due. It seemed more predictable than I remember it when coming out of corners and it didn’t snap into oversteer like it used to but rather it builds gradually so you can catch it, but since it’s a very new sensation it took some getting used to. I had an instructor in the car which was really nice to get some pointers on the line and how to work the throttle to make use of the new rear end.
I had a small spin on lap six of this stint which was simply due to the fact that I wanted to see what would happen if I just stomped on the gas in the hairpin. And I guess that’s what track days are for so you can find and explore the limits in a safe place and not out on the road somewhere.
https://youtu.be/FkWb3QOMNuI
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So today I tackled changing the harmonic balancer which was much easier than I had dreaded.
The biggest head ache was actually locating the hole to put fly wheel locking pin and when located it had a little surprise plug in it
After sitting there for almost 20 years it was a real PITA but out it came and in went the locking pin.
Taking off the Jesus bolt was no fuss at all. I used 24” breaker bar from Amazon and it just came off with no issue.
New vs old
Looking at the crank shaft seal after taking off the balancer it looked like it had been leaking at one point and it was very brittle so I decided to change which went like a breeze too.
I was reluctant to clean too much around the timing case as it’s pretty open around the crank shaft and I didn’t want to get any grime in there.
Slipped on the new Corteco balancer, put in a new Jesus bolt and then I drove out to a friend to borrow his MEGA torque wrench. 410 NM / 302 ft-lbs don’t come in small packages.
Popped in the blue plug and put on some new Meyle belts and we’re good to go.
Looking at the old balancer it didn’t seem in horrible condition, but the rubber inside the balancer was a bit “wavey” so I think it didn’t hurt to change it.
Being under the car again showed that I definitely have an oil leak and the whole passenger side of the oil pan is wet so I’m still thinking it need a new oil pan gasket. It’s on my to do list but I think I’ll put it off to the winter.
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New rear brake calipers just went on. As mentioned before the dust boots on the old ones weren’t seated correctly so the pistons are pitted and rusty and the left one had a leak at the bleeder a while back.
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Today however I finally got the Compact out on track again. This time a new place for me, at Jyllandsringen. The biggest racetrack in Denmark. It’s still tiny
A really good day with pretty good weather although we had a 20 minute thunderstorm mid day, but it was during another groups slot and when we went back out it was sunny again. Perfect timing for my group.
Had one session with an instructor, none other than Danish racing legend and 1990 Le Mans winner John Nielsen. It’s just so awe inspiring to have a real racing driver in you car. I had about 6 laps behind the wheel and then he did 2. The way he can control a car is simply amazing. There’s a lot to learn
Well on to the more serious business being a quite big coolant leak after the last session. It was drippjng from the very back of the engine maybe even all the way back over the gearbox and when I took off the cap for the expansion tank I found a redish oily substance floating in the top.
Right then and there I thought “blown head gasket”. I had another instructor in the car for the last session so I asked him if he had noticed if I had money shifted and he didn’t think I had.
As it was a three hour drive home and the track is out in the boonies, I opted for driving it to a nearby town and seeing what happened and maybe get it picked up there by a truck. However no other symptoms arose, no white smoke, no overheating, no rough idle, no white stuff on the oil cap, nothing. And when I got to Vejle, about an hours drive still nothing and only a inch of coolant had left the expansion tank, but it was still dripping. So with no other symptoms in sight I decided to inch the car home not going over 3000 rpm and not a single problem on the way home.
So now it’s in the driveway. Any ideas to what it is wrong? I’m thinking the leak is one of the long coolant hoses that go down to the back of the engine, but what is the redish residue?? Does a blown head gasket cause a leak??
[edit]: having looked at the coolant level this morning when cold it does not seem like any coolant has leaked from the system. With that in mind The below is only what I suspected when looking at the dripping which seemed like a lot. Not a full hemorrhage, but more than I would expect from the A/C although it was coming from that exact location and the weather was very warm and damp and the A/C was running on full swing while I was packing the car up.
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Last edited by KlausH79; 08-19-2020 at 03:30 AM.
Hello KlausH79, do you still campaign this car?
Now that’s the thread has been revived a bit I thought I’d give an update on the latest fix I did last year which was a new oil pan gasket.
2022-01-08 16.38.18.jpg
Although my oil pump nut was completely solid I wanted to do the wired oil pump nut, but the Bimmerworld wire nut that I had had for years turned out to have a busted thread so I just decided to refit the old one with a drop of red loctite and torque it down.
2022-01-08 16.38.36.jpg
Dirty oil pan got a rinse and wirebrush clean
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2022-01-09 12.32.59.jpg
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Only 5 pics per post….tbc
Last edited by KlausH79; 11-11-2023 at 04:52 AM.
Cleaned
2022-01-09 14.39.53.jpg
Gave it a lick of silver paint too
2022-01-16 17.25.41.jpg
installed with new gasket
2022-02-06 16.50.43.jpg
I also installed a new poly steering guibo…not the best idea for road driving as a lot of noise is transmitted at low speeds so it sounds like the steering column is rattling off, but you know….because-race-car ��
2022-01-23 13.23.55.jpg
didn’t drive it much since then but did take it to Gotland Ring this summer where it performed like a champ….although the cooling fan went bust on the way up there, but as long as we were doing 30 km/h the temps were good…
IMG_5100.jpg
Oh yeah….and on the way home the alternator stopped working �� so “performed like a champ” is to be taken with a grain of salt �� it’s a 22 year old BMW so all in all I’d say it’s doing OK……
Last edited by KlausH79; 11-11-2023 at 04:50 AM.
Hi Klaus, I'm happy to hear you and your car are fine! I lurked a couple of years long this thread, after the problem you reported. I was assuming your car was a write off, not seeing any new post in years.
May I ask you a question about harmonic balancer replacement? Did you do the work all from above, without lifting/jacking the car?
Didn't you use any special tool to block the harmonic balancer from spinning?
I am considering doing the same on my Compact, but I am scared about how long it could take to break free the bolt, and what kind of special tools I could possibly need...
AEnrico! Good to gear from you again 😁 The car is running great. I fixed the coolant leak this weekend (I hope!) and did an oil change. Will be driving it this weekend to test.
Regarding the harmonic balancer then this is mostly done from above, but you do need to get that blue plug out of the hole in the engine block and stick in the flywheel lock pin (it’s just a metal rod found cheap on eBay) in to hold the flywheel so you can undo the Jesus bolt and torque the new one. All of the work can be done on Jack stands.
It’s an easy job….but you do need a big-a$$ torque wrench 😄 happy wrenching 🔧
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