Boosting the 2000 Z3M

[ShelbyGT500]

Goal is to boost the Z3M to be around 350hp. The car has ~150,000 miles. I purchased the car ~6,000 miles ago.

Purchased:
Active Autowerke Rotrex C38 Level 2 Supercharger Kit
FX Stage 2 Clutch Kit

Need To Purchase:
Supersprint Headers & Offroad Mid-Pipe

Last weekend I removed the engine & transmission. Overall it wasn't a horrible process. It took some time since I did it alone and on jack stands. The transmission & engine was a total greasy mess. The most time consuming parts of the whole process was: 1) Removing the intake manifold 2) Removing the front bumper and crash bar to make extraction easier.
I have found another S52 engine and will be picking it up next Friday. It came from an Automatic M3. The engine has ~170,000 miles on it.
I noticed a few problems with the exiting engine. First the passenger engine support was cracked, which isn't usual on older cars. Second, the power steering fluid was jet black and smelled like burnt metal. I assume the pump is bad. I plan on keeping the existing power steering rack until I encounter future problems with it.

This past weekend I worked on cleaning/washing the engine bay, cleaning the transmission, and washing the bottom chassis. The engine bay was painted a matte black by the previous owner. I decided this was the perfect time touch up some areas since the engine is out. Pictures will be listed below.

I removed the axle back. I plan on having my friend remove some of the baffling in the mufflers to get a more aggressive note on a budget. When complete I'll be painting them black.


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Dirty Transmission
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Clean Transmission
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Dirty Engine Bay
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Cleaned Engine Bay
IMG_4041[1].jpg

[ShelbyGT500]

Cracked Mount
IMG_4034[1].jpg

Trying To Pull Engine Without Disassembling The Front (Not Successful)
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Question: What is this sensor/device? It is mounted on the passenger side of the aux fan.

IMG_4046[1].jpg

[rf900rkw]

Ambient temp sensor for the climate control system.

[Z-Thrizzle]

Will you be replacing the headgasket and the oil pump nut? I have a spare e36 M3 exhaust mid-pipe if you're interested in having it de-catted.

[ShelbyGT500]

Will you be replacing the headgasket and the oil pump nut? I have a spare e36 M3 exhaust mid-pipe if you're interested in having it de-catted.

Not planning on doing it to the engine that I pick up.

Thanks. rf900rkw

[z3forlife]

If you're going to supercharge it I would recommend replacement of the head gasket and start with a fresh one.

[Venom13132]

looks like a fun project. Keep up with the detailed updates and photos!

[Randy Forbes]

CES cut-ring & ARP studs is the way to go; do it now or do it later...
(but it's a lot easier when you can have the block upright)

[BimmerBreaker]

Replace the HG now or you will wish you did later. Its a 170K mile S52.

[z3forlife]

Randy based on your experience what's the life expectancy of a stock HG at mild 6-8psi max boost.

[Mr Bingley]

I concur with Bimmerbreaker--170K on the motor and you have it out--I mean why not (of course that holds true for about $3,000 worth of work you can do to it while it's on the bench)

[ShelbyGT500]

To be honest doing this is way out of my expertise compared to easy bolt-ons. I have watched M3NACE's youtube videos and it seems pretty straight forward. I also believe Pelican had a good write up. The fact of the matter is that this would be so much easier with the engine already out. If I take my time and document what goes where I think I will be fine. I may test the waters by removing the head on the S52 that I blew to see how it goes. I'll try to get to it this weekend and post some pictures.

Thanks for the heads up guys. I'll post up the exact parts list soon. I want your buy-in before placing the order.

[BimmerBreaker]

ARP studs makes the reassembly a bit less "thought intensive" - though at the end of the day, it's really not more complicated than replacing any other gasket, just the re tightening needs to happen following a certain pattern. Don't overthink it (though, do be meticulous)

[MarketMaster]

Do the headgasket and arp's. ask me how I know. Might as well do an M50 manifold too while you are at it and the cooling system and the, and the.......list goes on

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oh yeah, while you have the tranny out, I would HIGHLY suggest doing the detent pins. They aren't expensive but horrible work if it's not out.

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also the chain guides and tensioners and the vanos. These things probably add an additional ~$400

[Jamesons Viggen]

Randy based on your experience what's the life expectancy of a stock HG at mild 6-8psi max boost.

I ran stock compression and original head gasket, 11-13psi for about 10-15k miles and 2.5yrs.

[rf900rkw]

10.5 psi stage 1+. I'm still on the original head gasket five years in. The life of the gasket is heavily influenced by the skill of your tuner.

[GG///M3]

I’d just do a stock head gasket. Unless like most you want more, and more power which will lead to sadnesses.


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[Venom13132]

I'm pulling my 165k S52 to put in a 318is to make room for an LS1 and after reading this I think I am going to change the head gasket and put ARP head studs in while I have the engine out. I have already replaced every other gasket. May do the front and rear seals while I am at it just to be sure this thing has no leaks.

[Mr Bingley]

VF kit Vortech V3 w/VF tune installed at 112K miles: 6 years and 20K miles going strong

[Z-Thrizzle]

Replacing the headgasket is something I don't want to ever do again....partly because of the difficulty of the engine still being in the car. I highly recommend replacing it while it's off the car. Have a shop inspect and deck the head. While dealing with your vanos, replace the seals or buy an upgraded remanufactured one.

[Jamesons Viggen]

MaxPSI installed my CES Cutring when it was a bit less common. They had a lot of trouble with it moving a bit at the last second so they found undoing all the mounts to level out the engine was a the key. Doing it out of the car while you have the control to make it level makes all the difference .

[Randy Forbes]

10.5 psi stage 1+. I'm still on the original head gasket five years in. The life of the gasket is heavily influenced by the skill of your tuner.

Luck of the draw, I think. The cylinder head on my black car ('99 M Rdstr) was changed twice during the warranty period for oil leaks down the side of the block (never any accumulating, just a "streak" on the block as evidence).

After fitting the Dinan/Vortech SC, I replaced the hdgskt once with OE then again with an MLS. After learning that the MLS gskt required a finer surface finish, and still pressurizing the cooling system, the MLS was replaced and the head milled (first time & only cut .003"). That held until putting the twinscrew on (still <10 psi boost).

By this time, I already had Zoran's/Jen's Coupe (that I fitted a ES/TS to in 2006) and decided to sell the ES/TS fitted to my black car. But I still had sealing issues with the cooling system; in a last ditch effort, knowing that the next step would have to be to pull the engine and get both the block and head decked, I used a bottle of some silver-infused BAR'S Leak (what did I have to loose__a clogged radiator, maybe?). The verdict is still out, as an intermittently sticking thermostat has been giving me grief (but I am finally wrapping up the M3/LS3 that's occupied my garage since November, so the black car will finally gets its day for service).

[ShelbyGT500]

Holy crap guys, tons of knowledge going around. Im game with the head gasket change and ARP studs.

Randy, I plan on going with an OEM gasket. I checked out the CES cut ring gaskets and they seem to be way more than what I need now. I'd rather save the money to buy your kit later this year.

For the time being I'm not going down the path on doing a VANOS rebuild (even though there can be a lot to gain from it) along with the laundry list of items that would would be beneficial to do with the engine out. That will quickly lead me down a money pit. I already have a ton of money invested in this spring build. My goal for fall is to build the engine that I cratered. That is when I'll go the extra mile, because at that point I'll have time since the car is running. However, Right now I need something running sooner than later.

Thanks for all the good feedback.

UPDATE:
Headers and Midpipe purchased. Went with Active Autowerke.
Clutch kit should be shipping out soon.

Can someone post a link where I can get torque specs for all the various parts?

[Mr Bingley]

FYI Rebuilding the Vanos is neither expensive nor a big deal to do--engine in or out, but nets remarkable returns in performance if your old one is bad, which, at 170K, either it's already been rebuilt, or it is--you should reconsider that part. $30.00 for the part and a small investment in tools. Bessian Systems.

[ShelbyGT500]

IMG_4073.PNG
Will this work for the S52?
Got a dumb question. Could I reuse the ARP studs on my other engine when the time comes? Wasn't sure if these were a one time use stud.