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Thread: 328 Take 3

  1. #51
    Join Date
    May 2017
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    Owings, Md
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    1998 328i
    The gray engine paint was a actually silver and I don't care for it at all. It will clash with the aluminum. I left the dirty oil pan, timing cover and rear main seal housing on to mask the bottom and ends because I have a spare set already cleaned up. I don't like the look but don't know if I feel like putting another coat on. I have black on hand but prefer a lighter color to help identify leaks. I may go with red again.

  2. #52
    Join Date
    May 2017
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    1998 328i
    I've finally quit tearing things apart and have moved to assembly. I will say that this engine looks pretty tired for a 128k miles, I believe much of that was due to neglect and lack of use for a long period but the cylinder walls do not have a beautiful and consistent cross hatch, there is a clear staining at the top each cylinder that did not scrub away. I did not see any signs of piston wear mid-stroke like one of my other blocks have. I soaked the pistons with fuel detergent as well as carb cleaner to try and reduce the carbon deposits between the rings but I'm not going to pull the pistons out. I found bits of plastic timing chain guide in the oil pickup screen. This was from the top guide in the head for the intake cam, not the tensioner but the plastic guide which was broken when it came out of the engine but I didn't realize those two pieces did not make a whole. Overall, I'm glad that I did not order new rings and bearings for a bottom end rebuild because it is really due for boring out to oversized instead. It ran great when it came out of my daily driver and I'm sure it will run just as well with a cleaned up valvetrain and cleaned injectors. New gaskets and an external "overhaul" certainly won't make it run any different but it will be more pleasant to work on. The timing cover with a new front seal is on and the oil pan surface is cleaned up for the new gasket but I need to temporarily lift the engine off of the stand so I can remove the rear main seal carrier and replace the seal. I believe you can change it after the oil pan is back on, but you risk damaging the oil pan seal and it just doesn't make sense to do it this way unless the engine is still in the car. I still need to reassembly the head and install it and reseal the transmission. Hopefully I can get the cleaned up engine an transmission into the white sedan prior to the weekend. I'm sticking with the silver painted block as much as I don't care for it, it does show oil very easily and shouldn't be in this car forever anyway.

    In the mean time, I've been running my "saved from purgatory" vert back and forth to work on pretty days and really enjoy it. I have about 1,000 miles on it's motor now and I'm really pleased with how it runs. It will be going up for sale once the sedan is on the road. When the vert is sold, I'll get serious about building up a bigger displacement bottom end for the sedan and swap it to a manual drivetrain.

  3. #53
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    May 2017
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    Owings, Md
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    1998 328i
    Here are a couple pics of the unassembled head. I did not have it skimmed. While is doesn't help performance, I'm pleased with how well the top (cam area) cleaned up, it was heavily stained before.

    Late last night I started my valves but didn't get far. It's the type of task where you take forever on the first and by the time you are finishing up, you are a well oiled machine. I do it so infrequently that was rusty.
    Attached Images Attached Images

  4. #54
    Join Date
    Mar 2020
    Location
    Palo, Iowa
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    187
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    99 323IS, 08 535xi
    Man this is looking so good.. I was so torn about pulling my engine to do all my seals and steering and to clean it all up, but I didnt do it.. Now that I basically have everything out of the front anyways, I should have just taken it all out so I could have painted the block and cleaned up the bay at the same time.. Ohhh well.

  5. #55
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    May 2017
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    Owings, Md
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    1998 328i
    The head is back on as well as the oil pan. I skipped the oil pan gasket this time and went with rtv alone. Neither the block, pan, timing cover or rear main carrier were perfect by the time I removed any sign of corrosion so some sealant was necessary anyway and rather than sealing between 4 surfaces, I figure sealing directly from the pan and block was better. I have it tightened up just enough to squeeze out all (a tiny bit) around and will tighten it more after the sealant has a chance to form up as a gasket. My next job is cleaning up and resealing the dirty transmission.

    Yesterday was the birthday for a very special 8 year old girl so this hasn't been a productive weekend, project wise. A self imposed quarantine to the garage would give me plenty of time to wrap this thing up in a leisurely pace. Perhaps I have a little cough.

  6. #56
    Join Date
    Mar 2020
    Location
    Palo, Iowa
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    187
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    99 323IS, 08 535xi
    Quote Originally Posted by gdavid View Post

    Yesterday was the birthday for a very special 8 year old girl so this hasn't been a productive weekend, project wise. A self imposed quarantine to the garage would give me plenty of time to wrap this thing up in a leisurely pace. Perhaps I have a little cough.
    Happy Birthday to her!

    The cough part made me laugh tho. My wife was traveling this weekend, so it’s just me and the 3yr old (and snow yesterday) has kept me out of the garage..

    Should be back out there tonight/tomorrow as long as it’s warm enough.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

  7. #57
    Join Date
    May 2017
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    Owings, Md
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    1998 328i
    I foolishly ordered my transmission seals from rockauto without crosss checking the part numbers and the torque converter seal was wrong. I save on plenty of cheap and "good enough” parts for some non-critical parts but I occasionally take it too far and regret it. I have the right part coming from fcpeuro like I should have in the first place. This puts me back a few days, of course it had to be the end of the transmission that can't wait till later.

  8. #58
    Join Date
    May 2017
    Location
    Owings, Md
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    1998 328i
    I foolishly ordered my transmission seals from rockauto without crosss checking the part numbers and the torque converter seal was wrong. I save on plenty of cheap and "good enough” parts for some non-critical parts but I occasionally take it too far and regret it. I have the right part coming from fcpeuro like I should have in the first place. This puts me back a few days, of course it had to be the end of the transmission that can't wait till later.

  9. #59
    Join Date
    May 2017
    Location
    Owings, Md
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    1998 328i
    My input transmission seal should arrive tomorrow so I should have the engine and transmission mated back up and into the car by the weekend. I ordered new lifters for the car from the same ebay vendor that I supplied the lifers in my last engine built. That set did have a tick that finally went away after ~1k miles of break in but I have been running conventional oil in that engine for the break in of the piston rings which I suspect allowed the tick. This engine did not get new rings or bearings so I will be going straight to synthetic oil and hopefully this will prevent any ticking.

    I temporarily installed the "sorta" S52 cams and trays on to the head without the lifters so I could turn them by hand, kind of a shade tree check for journal alignment. They turn freely but I am still considering doing my initial break in with the m52 cams instead. Part of me is already regretting not having this head inspected by my machinist even though I've been running this engine for the past 60k+ miles without incident. The head gasket I used was a closeout felpro from rockauto, it cam unbranded but appeared and felt like a quality product. It is the stock thickness and I used Mahle OEM style head bolts. Some guys really seem to enjoy torqueing down heads and perhaps I would be less stressed if I spent the money on ARP studs but I the whole process is a bit unnerving. The initial torque of 22 ft*lb seems so loose but by the time you put another 180 degrees on them, you are really loading them up, this is all by design of course but still unnerving.

  10. #60
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    May 2017
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    Owings, Md
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    1998 328i
    The transmission seals and filter are in and mated to the engine. I realized that the valve cover that I planned to use has a crack which is ironic because I recently sold one that was perfect.
    Lifters should show up later today so I can get the valve train finished up.

  11. #61
    Join Date
    May 2017
    Location
    Owings, Md
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    1,105
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    1998 328i
    Motor is in, motor and trans in together with the core support in place because I prefer doing things the hard way
    Attached Images Attached Images

  12. #62
    Join Date
    Jun 2010
    Location
    NY
    Posts
    9,079
    My Cars
    1997 328i
    fingers crossed! Take a video of the first startup.

    - - - Updated - - -

    fingers crossed! Take a video of the first startup.
    Attn. NEWBIES: Use the search feature, 98% has already been discussed.
    Click the search button, select "search single content type", select the "e36 sub forum" specifically, try the "search titles" then try the "search entire posts".

  13. #63
    Join Date
    Mar 2020
    Location
    Palo, Iowa
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    187
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    99 323IS, 08 535xi
    So what’s the countdown to startup?


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  14. #64
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    May 2017
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    Owings, Md
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    1998 328i
    Quote Originally Posted by MrFixItBuilds View Post
    So what’s the countdown to startup?


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    Probably by the weekend, I'm really progressing slowly. After getting the engine in place on friday, I promptly left town to camp over the weekend, a little break for the cabin crazy kids. It felt like I cleaned every part of the car over the last 3 weeks but I keep realizing how many parts still need to be cleaned up before reassembling. Last night I installed my new lifters and set the timing. Before going any further, I want to pull the auxiliary fan out and clean years of debris out from the front of the AC condenser.

  15. #65
    Join Date
    Mar 2020
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    Palo, Iowa
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    187
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    99 323IS, 08 535xi
    Quote Originally Posted by gdavid View Post
    Probably by the weekend, I'm really progressing slowly. After getting the engine in place on friday, I promptly left town to camp over the weekend, a little break for the cabin crazy kids. It felt like I cleaned every part of the car over the last 3 weeks but I keep realizing how many parts still need to be cleaned up before reassembling. Last night I installed my new lifters and set the timing. Before going any further, I want to pull the auxiliary fan out and clean years of debris out from the front of the AC condenser.
    Completely understand that. I was cruising and then no progress could be made on anything. Now I’m getting to cruising mode again (hopefully)... though fcp euro didn’t include any crush washers for my new power steering line and no one has them locally (m16) so I’m kind of stuck on that again.


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  16. #66
    Join Date
    May 2017
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    Owings, Md
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    1998 328i
    Quote Originally Posted by MrFixItBuilds View Post
    Completely understand that. I was cruising and then no progress could be made on anything. Now I’m getting to cruising mode again (hopefully)... though fcp euro didn’t include any crush washers for my new power steering line and no one has them locally (m16) so I’m kind of stuck on that again.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    My next big delay will be getting the car titled and registered, it will need state safety inspection prior to getting it registered with the department of motor vehicles. Inspection stations are approved privately run repair shops and most seem to be open but the Maryland MVA is closed until further notice. I was planning to get the car on the road and then focus on cosmetic projects but if my registration gets held up I may go ahead and start that project. The interior is passable, no tears the seats and the headliner is not sagging (just staring to separate in a couple spots) but the carpet from my red sedan is better and I would like to pick and choose the best of all portions of the seats. I want to re-upholster the headliner from my red sedan and swap that in at some point. The new car has some chips in the hood and a dent in the driver fender, I'm planning to sand and paint those items off of the red car and take them to a body shop to have the finish and clear coats applied. This car will never be a show car but the goal is having it as clean as possible as a pleasant daily driver.

    With the social distancing efforts, I'm getting some pretty quality garage time without having after school activities to run the kids to or family visits. I'm doing more teleworking so it is easier to get out in the shop in the evenings. At the same time, since I'm driving less, and this sedan will be my daily driver, I'm in less of a rush to finish up.

  17. #67
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    May 2017
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    Owings, Md
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    1998 328i
    Quote Originally Posted by MrFixItBuilds View Post
    Completely understand that. I was cruising and then no progress could be made on anything. Now I’m getting to cruising mode again (hopefully)... though fcp euro didn’t include any crush washers for my new power steering line and no one has them locally (m16) so I’m kind of stuck on that again.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    I actually remembered to order those crush washers, I ran into the same issue with the vanos oil line. They need to be replaced when you replace the oil filter housing gasket or they can leak like mad because it is a pressurized line. I wish crush washers were readily available at local parts stores. You know they have them files away under some domestic or later model part number but good luck finding a parts counter person sharp enough to find it or even try.

  18. #68
    Join Date
    Mar 2020
    Location
    Palo, Iowa
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    187
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    99 323IS, 08 535xi
    Quote Originally Posted by gdavid View Post
    I actually remembered to order those crush washers, I ran into the same issue with the vanos oil line. They need to be replaced when you replace the oil filter housing gasket or they can leak like mad because it is a pressurized line. I wish crush washers were readily available at local parts stores. You know they have them files away under some domestic or later model part number but good luck finding a parts counter person sharp enough to find it or even try.
    The kit I bought from fcp euro for the oil filter housing came with the crush washers for the Vanos. I would have bought the whole steering hose kit from fcp euro except they were out of the pressure hose, so I bought it locally... the fcp euro hose would have come with them, the hose from autozone (uro) did not, but their Duralast one does.. for 2x the price. Ugh. I don’t want to pay 10 in shipping for .30 in washers.


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  19. #69
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    May 2017
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    Owings, Md
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    1998 328i
    I hit the first snag in this swap, the round plugs on the two transmissions are different so the wiring harnesses are different, the immediate solution is using the 96' harness in the 98' chassis. I know this will cause at least minor challenges down the line as the ACS wiring is different. So far I'm aware of the ASC wiring being different as the 98' doesn't have the brake position sensor the 96' had. I don't know if the 98 transmission module will work with the 96 transmission or what happens if i run the 96 transmission module with the 98 DME. No matter what, I have all of the components from the 96' still and can run absolutely everything from it if need be but will probably have some head scratchers down the line. I don't have the best attention span for this sort of stuff.

    - - - Updated - - -

    Manual swapping it now would be another solution to the transmission wiring.

  20. #70
    Join Date
    Mar 2020
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    Palo, Iowa
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    99 323IS, 08 535xi
    Quote Originally Posted by gdavid View Post
    I hit the first snag in this swap, the round plugs on the two transmissions are different so the wiring harnesses are different, the immediate solution is using the 96' harness in the 98' chassis. I know this will cause at least minor challenges down the line as the ACS wiring is different. So far I'm aware of the ASC wiring being different as the 98' doesn't have the brake position sensor the 96' had. I don't know if the 98 transmission module will work with the 96 transmission or what happens if i run the 96 transmission module with the 98 DME. No matter what, I have all of the components from the 96' still and can run absolutely everything from it if need be but will probably have some head scratchers down the line. I don't have the best attention span for this sort of stuff.

    - - - Updated - - -

    Manual swapping it now would be another solution to the transmission wiring.
    Oh no! Are you able to delete asc and not worry about that part? Is it possible to just change physical plug on the harness side? Manual swap is just different work lol. I love manual, but autos are often nice for DDs.


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  21. #71
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    May 2017
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    Owings, Md
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    1998 328i
    I'm sure that one way or the other, can probably just pull the brake sensor our of the old car and connect it to the wiring harness sitting loose in the engine bay. In the worse case scenario, I'll just swap the DME, transmission module and EWS module out of the old car, and tape the old key in the steering column. This car will have to be able to pass safety inspection, I'm not going with historic plates so any warning light will need to be sorted out before getting it registered.

    Getting close and fortunately I've been able to find every part so far that I remembered to order from the substantial pile of boxes and envelopes of gaskets, hoses, orings, etc. Everything is still progressing at a slow pace as I realize I had not cleaned a part that needs to go back on yet or I placed it in an odd location. I nearly lost the new set of valve cover grommets which was in a pile of packaging and some of the crush rings have turned out to be sloppy fits but I've found what I need to keep moving. I did a pretty horrendous job of keeping everything organized when disassembling two cars and the majority of 3 motors. I'm letting the paint harden up a bit more before I install the coolant pipe that runs below the intake manifold, the ends were corroded where it seats in the timing cover and is sealed by a pair of o-rings. It would be a paint to get to after the fact and I need to avoid rushing through things like that. Having so many spare parts at this point has saved me a couple times. Last night I realized the plastic part of the driveshaft clamping rings was completely disintegrated and definitely not sold locally but fortunately the other driveshaft (which was out of balance) had a good one. If all goes well it I should be able to get start it tonight, I forgot the thermostat housing gasket of all things (the odd shaped rubber one) and hopefully can put the cooling system together tomorrow.

  22. #72
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    May 2017
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    1998 328i
    Got it running tonight. I ran into trouble trying to get both mid-pipes onto the headers, it's like the aft bank's pipe is too far forward, I was getting tired and frustrated so I started it with only 3 cylinders running through the exhaust. It started up just fine. I left the ignition harness disconnected for about 15 seconds worth of cranking to get some oil through the engine and the downstream o2 sensors are disconnected so I have CEL codes. The brake position sensor turned out to be a non-issue, I didn't realize that harness goes to the chassis, not the engine harness so using the old harness with the newer DME and transmission module hasn't caused any problems yet. I haven't installed any of the cooling system yet. One way or another I'll get the exhaust sorted, I may try the exhaust from the red car even though it looks rougher.
    Last edited by gdavid; 03-28-2020 at 07:32 AM.

  23. #73
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    May 2017
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    Owings, Md
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    1998 328i
    Pulled my head out of my backside, separated the muffler from the mid-pipe and it went together much easier. I've always been able to put the exhaust all together in the past but it just didn't want to go and I couldn't manhandle it alone effectively. I'm glad I didn't resort to hacking anything up.

  24. #74
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    May 2017
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    Owings, Md
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    1998 328i
    The car is finally complete and moving under it's own power. I have put 7 quarts of transmission fluid in it and still haven't overflowed it. I need to pick up a couple more. I thought I had a quart to spare but forgot that I would need one for the steering pump. Tonight I spent a ridiculous amount of time swapping the shifter surround, head van unit and ended up changing the shifter as well. The surround had old patch of glue or epoxy stuck on the rear right corner, there was some aftermarket stereo piece or something. Seemed odd because it molded like an old school disc changer add on but the car had a factory changer. In either case it looked like hell and had to go. I also don't care for the fake wood shifter knob (again it's an auto) so I wanted to move the handle from my old 328 which was actually a pre-facelift car. It turns out the lever is different and this requires swapping the actual shifter, which is easy as long as the surround is off. Finally I pulled the old factory stereo which didn't work. It's a very cheap old Dual, hardly worth swapping but it has an aux in jack which is all I really need.

  25. #75
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    May 2017
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    1998 328i
    In more serious matters, I realized the fan clutch was bad. Last night as I bleed the cooling system, I watched the engine temp like a hawk via a blue toothed obd2 adapter and an app (Torque). The temp was pretty steady at 178, the radiator was putting off a lot of heat but the mechanical fan wasn't starting to lock up. When I drove the car around the driveways a bit to work any air out of the transmission, the temp got up to 208, which isn't dangerous but too warm for a cool night, even without the aux fan. I don't have the auxiliary fan installed yet because I've left off the entire AC system for now including the condenser which the fan mounts to. I need to figure how I will mount it for now. I will run the car for a while to ensure everything is right before I bother to install the AC but I wouldn't be without the electric fan. The fan clutch is already swapped. I had a few laying around to pick from.
    Last edited by gdavid; 03-29-2020 at 09:45 PM.

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