1987 325is Build Thread!!

[ZeroDarkE30]

Kind of a backwards order but this was the bell housing section before:
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Lastly, Here is the clean RMS Carrier (I also got the RMS driven back into it after the pic):
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Now i'm going to put the carrier and new RMS back onto the back of the block and then scrape the old gasket off.

[ZeroDarkE30]

Wow i got a lot done this weekend. Got the Rear main seal back on the block and the plastic guide that corteco sends with their seal is super useful for getting the Carrier back on without flipping the edge of the seal. Keep that one in the tool box. I also got the oil pan back in with Permatex 2 on the pan then the gasket then Permatex 2 on the other side then bolt up. Was able to get the engine up enough by lifting the AC bracket and pumping the hoist up where the Fan JUST touched the top of the shroud and then i could just carefully slide the pan in with the gasketing on without rubbing it on anything. Also helps to have a buddy hold the other side and start bolting up the other side so it hangs flat since you cant really reach the other side from the front.
IMG_8116.jpg
After that i got the New motor mounts in, resecured the subframe and connected the top of the struts back in. Getting the motor mount stud to line up with the engine brackets was a b****! I got the left side (AC Bracket side) with out too much trouble but since the hoist was holding it up from the driver side of the car it was kinda pulling the engine towards the fender where it wouldnt line up. So i had to call a friend to drop the hoist while i used a pry bar between the frame rail and the engine arm to align them. Finally got it in and secured the nuts and now i only have one more leak to seal up (i think), the power steering.
Old mounts weren't in terrible shape but definitely was good i changed them when i did.
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[superj]

the passenger side is usually the one that sucks for me to try and get lined up. sounds like it was opposite for you

[ZeroDarkE30]

Started some work on my drive shaft and got my old CSB off and the drive shaft centering sleeve.
For the CSB, I used a puller to get the threaded collar off and then i was able to cut the rubber moulding and then use a punch to push the sleeve up a little until i could get a 3 jaw puller onto the back side of the bearing and pull it out.
IMG_4673.jpg

The hard part was next which was getting the driveshaft centering sleeve off. This was a b****. I tried pry it out first but ended up breaking the exposed edges off. Then i pulled all the rubber out and tried to used an expanding slide hammer but it just pulled out. Then i just tried hammering a screw driver into one side hoping it would wiggle it our move the opposite side up but no luck. Then i tried the bread method that worked for my pilot bearing but i couldnt get it out that way either because its hard to hold stabilize the drive shaft and find something to fit in that hole well enough. So what i ended up doing was taking it to work and dremeling out two of the sides to break it into two sections and then i pry'd out each half relatively easily.
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With that out of the way i sand blasted my drive shaft since it was all rusty and pitting. (Covered my splines and the inner U-joints).
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[ZeroDarkE30]

I was thinking about just buying a new Driveshaft because the u-joints are non serviceable but realistically they don't have a ton of play and haven't failed yet so i decided to just refinish this one and see what happens. The driveshaft is relatively easy to pop out anyways so i can always replace it down the line.
Next i sprayed the halves with rust resistant flat black paint that is made to go on bare metal no primer. The shaft halves got two coats and came out great!
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With the halves painted i popped the centering sleeve in with the flange resting on the top of a vice and then a block of aluminum over the top and a regular hammer tapping it down evenly. I knocked it in there until 6.5mm were exposed and the rubber side facing out. Hope i didn't goof that up because it would be a PITA to redo lol.
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Last thing with the drive shaft is to put the new CSB on but i realized that i need new cover plates that go over the bearing section so i have to buy those. Also does anyone know which way i'm supposed to put the CSB on? Ive read some things but im still not clear. Does the CSB side with the exposed splines face the transmission or the diff?

Also last night i picked up my resurfaced flywheel and put it on the back of the engine and torqued all the new flywheel bolts and got it in place.
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Now i'm waiting on my clutch alignment tool to put the clutch and pressure plate on so i can bolt the trans back up. I ripped all the falling sound deadener off the trans tunnel and I don't plan on replacing it so hopefully it doesn't make the inside of the car miserable. When i get the trans back in i will put the booster and master cylinder back in because i am leaving them out for access to starter nuts.

Im getting close now with everything going back together but im gonna start taking apart the intake manifold, throttle body and valve cover on the top side to seal it up and put my wrinkle black and brushed set on. Spring is only a couple months away!

[ZeroDarkE30]

Anyone know the size of the condor speed shop shifter cap? i am making my own shift knob out of aluminum and want to make a CB to put the cap in but know the size. I havent ordered the cap yet so i dont have it for reference at the moment

[superj]

nope, not me. I always liked the e21 wooden shift knobs, the round one with the roundel in it. I am hoping to find one of those in the junkyard for cars we have.

[ZeroDarkE30]

Been working on a couple of things but something fun i been working on is making my own shift knob. I was going to buy one off of condor or something then i decided to jump on a lathe and make one. Started with a 2" OD rod of aluminum and cut it off to about 4" OAL. The first iteration of the knob i kinda decided to do it on a whim and freeballed the whole thing and it came out pretty close to the way i wanted it except the bottom hole where the shift lever goes in was very slightly too big. i thought about just letting it rip but decided to just re-do it and make it right. 2nd time around i made a part and drawing in SolidWorks and then printed it and made the knob to some rough specs, mainly focusing on the diameter dimensions i made. For the 14mm hole on the bottom i only had fractional drill bits so i used a 33/64 or a 1/2" drill (cant remember) and then slowly took away material from the ID to hit the .551" (14mm) dimension. Only things left on the knob are to round out the top a bit, make a counter bore on the top to accept a condor speed shop shifter cap, and drilling a hole for a set screw. I thought about engraving it with the shift pattern but i like the 5 speed cap that condor puts out, I think it'll match well with my steering wheel. For the set screw i think i might mill a small flat then do a through hole with a counter sink and then tap the lever instead of relying on the cup point of the set screw. Not sure if other people have done similar things. Here are a few pics.

fullsizeoutput_1d63.jpegIMG_8874.jpgIMG_5394.jpgIMG_4857.jpg

[ZeroDarkE30]

Also i got my intake manifold off which will be another post but anyone have recommendations for cleaning it internally? Was thinking Simple Green and a Dryer Lint Brush

[superj]

that shifter came out cool. I don't know if anyone has done tapping the lever for the set screw but that sounds way better then relying on a small screw (which has not ever worked on other shifters I have bought).

I never tried cleaning the inside of the intake but I know some people have. not sure what they used though

[ZeroDarkE30]

anyone have the part number for the grommet/oring type thing that fits in the bottom of the intake manifold where the oil return (bitch) tube goes in? i cant seem to find that part number, only the one for the two orings on the block side.

[ZeroDarkE30]

I've been very lazy with updating so ill make a couple posts this weekend. But in the mean time check out the shifter that is almost finished! I bought the shift cap emblem from condor speed shop and then measured it, made a counterbore and then rounded out all the edges and brushed the aluminum with a scotch brite on the lathe. I think it came out pretty slick!! Last thing to do is drop a screw hole to secure it to the lever that i think im going to tap.
fullsizeoutput_1d6f.jpeg

[superj]

just X's for me. I cannot see the pics because work blocks stuff randomly

[superj]

I found that oring pn. 11151714390

[ZeroDarkE30]

I found that oring pn. 11151714390

Yeah i saw that PN but the part i pulled out of the manifold looked less like an oring and more like a grommet. do you just put one oring uptop and one on bottom of the bitch tube? Also scroll up and see if you can see the knob picture now

[superj]

If i remember right, its a square shaped seal, not an oring. One on top and one on bottom

[ZeroDarkE30]

Got the transmission back in, new starter, put my new shift linkage in with all the new and upgraded bushings, put my brake booster back in, filled my trans up with redline MTL, put my new clutch master and slave cylinders in, new braided clutch line is in. Does anyone have a picture of which way the CSB is oriented and the dustcover pieces too?

[ZeroDarkE30]

Alright so i got the valve cover off and redid the valve cover gasket and got new half moons. I also installed a painted wrinkle black/polished accents valve cover and painted the intake manifold and oil cap aluminum silver.
The intake manifold bitch tube was quite annoying to get back in there because i had already put the intake manifold on when i realized i forgot to put the tube on. So i pulled manifold back out, put the oring and washer on under the spring, put a couple zip ties to alleviate some of the spring tension then guided it into the hole. Then with one hand i put the washer and oring on the top side and held down the spring loaded tube while with the other hand i wiggled the intake manifold back into place and popped the tube into the intake. I recommend getting a second person to manipulate the intake while you hold the tube because it took me like an hour to get it proper.
Next I started putting all the cables in the right spots, re-routing and replacing hoses and doing some clean up.
New brake master cylinder is also in as well as the cleaned up reservoir and new cap since i broke the old one.
I put a wrinkle black throttle body on and connected everything back up to it. Including replacing my worn out throttle cable.
My hood latch cable broke so i pulled the front end of the car out and cleaned up the latch and replaced the cable. While i was in there, I found some janky resistors all wired together that looks like it was bypassing a resistor on the fan in front of the heat exchanger/radiator. (If anyone knows the resistor i'm talking about please let me know where and what to buy.)
My oil cooler was leaking and broken so i pulled that out and will be putting in the threaded adapter for the delete to put the oil filter straight to the block.
I also pulled out my fuel filter and the fuel dampener and the stuff that came out of the two were disgusting.
Here are some pics of whats been going on though.




Hood Latch & Cable(below)


Bullshit resistor pack i found tie wrapped

[ZeroDarkE30]

https://youtu.be/FPEfyePOS10

Shes alive!! Running rough though....gotta let some fuel run through but ill have to start diagnosing after i get the exhaust on

[ZeroDarkE30]

Car is on the ground but it keeps smoking....really hoping my head gasket/piston rings arent trashed


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[superj]

is it still smoking? I don't remember the ones I have done smoking very long

[ZeroDarkE30]

Yeah definitely still smoking. My rough idle wont go away either, even though i replaced all the vacuum lines and my fuel pump is humming loudly. Thought i was crossing the finish line but if my rings and or head gasket are blown i gotta reconsider what my plan is. Will it be worth it to pull the head and replace the gasket and rings or do i just kill the engine and then do a swap if it makes it that long.


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[superj]

I wonder if it was overheated?

[ZeroDarkE30]

It was very briefly before the radiator waterpump and lines were all changed
Im gonna do a compression test tonight but here is the color of the smoke.

https://youtu.be/16pFt6kvOrE


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[superj]

its blocked here at work.

the compression test will let you know, or a vacuum reading will help also