Bought this car in the summer of 2018 after owning a WRX for 3 years and an e36 M3 for 3 months. Loved the e36, however my example was a bit rusty and had major interior issues. After selling it for $6500 I was looking for a “deal” on an e46 m3
That’s when I found this bad beeeech
This turd was posted on craigslist about 3 hours from me for $4500. I offered the owner $3300 and went to look at her.
Thankfully when I was down in Atlanta where the car was, I found an s54 for sale for $2700 without accessories. Rod bearings done, vanos done!
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The car was a 2002 carbon black on black SMG M3 with 207k miles. The previous owner stated it may have a bad head gasket and that it refused to run. So right off the bat I assumed and budgeted that it will be needing a motor.
So after a day of thinking and moving money around I picked her up, and loaded the motor in the back of my 3rd gen 4runner!
The 4 hour drive home without trailer brakes, a leaky trailer tire and a less then stellar tow setup was less then ideal, but the thought of driving my childhood dream car got me through it
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As stated, thankfully I budgeted and negotiated assuming the car would need a motor, as it turns out, the PO’s kid cousin had thrown a rod through the side of cylinder 6...
After I discovered the catastrophic motor failure I set into motor swap mode... this was done in the dirt, on jack stands. Not recommended but very possible.
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After battling with the oil pan on the steering rack, I discovered if I lowered the front subframe an inch or two on the bolts without taking them out, I was able to pull the motor and install the new one way easier.
So I got the new motor in, went to start the car, and had no starter noises, and a Xmas tree dash... after two days of trouble shooting I realized I had mixed up the smg ecu and dme plugs. After I fixed that she fired right up!
First drive!!!
At this point the car had 0 power steering assist, so I replaced the pump... 3 times... after pick a part ran out of 330 pumps, I had to take apart the system, finding that the return (I think) banjo bolt had a check valve completely stuck in it, starving the pump.
Finally had a fully functional car! And promptly took it to the mountains
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Mixed matches rims were the consequence of a $100 set of 18s found on CL, and two bad front tires on my 19s... after I decided the car wasn’t going to bleed my bank account anytime soon, I bought a full set of 255/35/19 firehawk Indy 320 TW tires. These things kick ass!!! Rebranded potenza 003s from what I can tell. I ran them on my wrx and loved them. To fit the 255 square I am running a squared set of 19 inch rears.
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During the two months I was working out the kinks after the motor swap, which lead to
- a starter replacement $180
- water pump replacement $160
- TPS $60
- previously mentioned PWST pump replacement $100 spent on 3 330 pumps
All these things were replaced because of failure all within the month... at this point I wasn’t to fond of the car... however I think this will help me fall back in love with it...
Full manual conversion WITH a stock manual box.
- full manual tranny with linkage $700 (70k miles)
- used pedals+sensors+lines+slave out of a crashed m3 for $100
- rear shift bushing and support from ecs $46
So I’ll be in my swap around $900 as long as nothing goes horribly wrong!
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Last edited by pullinmyhairout; 12-27-2018 at 07:42 AM.
You'll be fine, glad you are keeping her on the road!
I currently have a broken leg, so no m3 for me for at least another month.. here’s another picture of the blue turd the day after my buddy bought a new gti. Ran up and down the blue ridge to celebrate him getting out of his high school truck. Hopefully I’ll get the tranny swap done in my down time
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Forgot about this thread...
So I’m the past months I’ve completed the tranny swap, replaced a fuel pump, and competed in my first few autocrosses.
I’m finally starting to bond with the car, and all this work is becoming worth it..
My next goal is to pickup a set of 17s that are offset enough to look good on the M. This is proving impossible without buying something new so expect apex arc8s soon. I’ve been hoarding 255/40/17 re71rs in the meantime
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Very nice man looking good
Washedit1 by thedude60526, on Flickr11/10's Racing
94 325i #36/64 TEAM PENISTON OILS/ LARSENS BISCUITS
Been there before OP. Always worth it in the end.
CARS
02.92 325is / 06.72 2002 / 02.91 XJ / 08.04 R53 JCW
Was having some clutch slipping issues, which I thought was weird because I had the clutch out 3k ago and it looked fine...
Turns out the transmission input shaft seal was puking pretty good and ruined the clutch disc. You can see the oil collected on the flywheel in the second picture.
So I’ll be throwing in a new clutch kit/flywheel
On a positive note I found a set of 17s for $170 that will work good. X8 et 20 and x9 et 26. I’ll be running the 9s up front and the 8s in the rear with a 20mm spacer.
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Got my track wheels mounted. Re71rs & Style 66s.
rears in the front.
Fronts in the rear with a 20mm spacer.
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Third autocross event and she did well! The re71s have a lot more grip and felt great.
Car took a beating from myself and three other drivers will no major issue.
Alternator low voltage light keeps coming on intermittently so I’m thinking I’ll have to get a new one soon.
Last edited by pullinmyhairout; 04-07-2019 at 09:35 AM.
Tight tracks are about turn in.
Auto crosses rarely get out of 1-2nd. You don’t need big contact patch in the rear with this power level in 1-2. You do want as strong turn in as possible, so in theory wider tires up front afford you that.
Camber, and driving ability dictate a lot of whether you actually see the benefit of wider front rubber or not.
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