It's Alive! Pig Fat FTW...

[js22]

Yesterday I drove around the block.

That officially marks the completion of my project, during which I successfully converted a 17 year old car into a 20 year old car.

Started with a 2002 330xi, manual, 190k miles that I bought at auction for $1000. Saw metal flakes in the first oil change, so I picked up a spare M54B30 (130k) off Craigslist for $450, just in case. (I also picked up an identical 2002 330xi (130k) parts car for $300, because who doesn't love parts?)

The car drove great, and subsequent oil changes came out clean, so I was in no rush to rip it apart. Until the clutch (very abruptly!) gave out.

Over the next two years, I made, um, not a whole lot of progress. But this spring, this rainy, rainy spring, I got back in the game.

I used the lower-miles tranny from the parts car.

The engine/tranny/car got new :

• CCV
• Vanos seals
• upper/lower heater pipes
• Rear main seal
• Valve cover gasket
• Oil pan gasket
• O-rings/gaskets: dipstick,sensors,oil pickup,OFH,injectors, air distributor,TB,ICV
• OEM dual-mass flywheel
• LUK clutch kit, pivot,spring
• tranny input shaft seal
• shifter bushings
• Center support bearing
• Front driveshafts (TBH, I did those just before clutch went out)

Most of that work was done with engine and tranny up on a table indoors. Makes life so easy...

Sorry I didn't take more pics, but here's a random one...

Attachment 692362

Back out on the street (I don't even have a driveway!) I pulled the old engine:

http://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/sh...ly)-2002-330xi

I didn't get all "car show" about it, but with the engine out of the way I did do a lot of cleaning up of the engine bay.

Finally, I was ready for the big day:

Attachment 692363

Or maybe not. I noticed kind of a opening between the engine and tranny that didn't look right. Then I remembered that metal gasket/spacer thing (foreground). It wasn't long after that that I realized I had also forgotten the clutch fork and release bearing!

After wrangling the engine and tranny apart and back together (on that tippy three-wheeld cart in the street) I was good to go. And just like that (snaps fingers) the engine was in.

Attachment 692368

20210601_164407.jpg

In that last pic you can see one little thing that would have made life soooo much easier had I realized it sooner.

Show of hands: anybody ever remove their cabin air filter housing? At the top of the image you can see the four familiar screws that hold it on. Now look just beyond the two outer screws and you can see two more screws. If you remove those, that whole black section of "plastic firewall" (???) comes right out. I might be the last person on the planet to realize this, but removing that panel gives you a desperately needed inch or so of wiggle room to get the engine in or out. (Notice the scuff marks just behind the valve cover....)

"Pig Fat: You said there would be Pig Fat!"

Hang on, we're almost there.
Installation, as they say, is the reverse of removal. Which is why people find it so easy to parallel park.

There weren't any serious gotchas, but man oh man did I have to do/undo/redo a lot of steps, spend hours looking for that one little doodad or searching online for where another thingie goes, etc. But in the end, I got there.

Some final steps and pre-launch tips I garnered from the web:

• Make *sure* you added fluids. All of them.
• Pour a little (a little!) oil in each spark plug hole, pour some more into the oil filter housing.
• Remove fuel pump fuse, crank engine, re-insert fuse. This makes sure everything gets well oiled.
• Turn key to position 2, then off, repeat. This runs the fuel pump a bit to build up pressure.
• With a tiny screwdriver (AND. A. RAG.) let air out of Schraeder valve on fuel rail.
• Cross fingers.

Then sit back and watch the sprinkler show!

Yep, I cranked the engine, and just as I heard it try to "catch", I noticed the spray. Not moisture, not dribble, not a slight odor, but multiple streams of gasoline. Up and over the plastic hat on the valve cover. Up and into the cabin air filter tray. Gushers.

I have no idea why. Yes I ordered brand new OEM O-rings (upper and lower.) Yes I cleaned everything very carefully. Yes I did a careful assembly, making sure everything was lined up, well seated, and "just so". I took the injector haness and rail off (gotta love them clips...) I inspected the O-rings for debris, defects, cuts, etc. I conferred with Google. Then re-did everything carefully, again. Same thing.

After an evening to contemplate things, the next day I decided I would pull the injectors and rail, McGuyver a connection, and pressure test the setup with injector cleaner. But then it dawned on me... I have spares! So I went to my spare parts dump site (aka front porch), grabbed the intake manifold and removed the injectors and rail. I had everythng I needed right there, and I was in the mood to drive. I didn't even bother to swap O-rings; the old ones looked just fine.

Now everybody who talks about installing fuel injectors has a different opinion about what to use to lube the O-rings. I didn't want to buck that trend, so I headed for the kitchen and grabbed my bacon grease. (If you grew up deep enough in the South, you'd understand). I gave each tiny black donut a shimmering coat of heaven's essence, and bam: two minutes later I had a nice stable idle.

Put a fork in it. It's Done!

So from a certain point of view, one from which I refuse to budge, this project is done. I drove around the block, drove to the gas station and back. Mission accomplished. I'm leaving for a month of vacation next week, and having this project finished before I leave is an indescribable relief. The word Phew don't even come close.

But there are some issues. I call these future projects. A couple of connectors (ICV, exhaust camshaft sensor) seem to be producing codes on INPA (which I fired up for the first time yesterday!). The DSC module has a code for the Steering Angle Sensor (even though it is calibrated and the analog and digital responses look perfect...). Because of these issues (or not?), the EML light, the DSC light, the yellow Brake light are on. So that will take some snooping and sleuthing.

Oh, and then there's the noise. Over 2-1/2 years, my brake rotors got to be pretty rusty. So I wasn't surprised by the grinding/scraping sound the car made as I pulled away from the curb. I did some hard stops to grind 'em down and they improved pretty rapidly. But there's still a sound when I'm moving. Hard to locate while driving, hard to describe, but a definite sound that goes along with car/wheel motion (i.e., not when revving engine in neutral). One voice is shouting "Italian Tune-up", while another is whispering "$$$$". Got to get the car up on jack stands and look around.

Anyway, the "project" is over. Thanks to all the amazing people in this forum and elsewhere online who share their expertise. I wouldn't dare be a BMW owner without you!

[js22]

Quick update.

I got off my butt and checfked out the ICV and the exhaust camshaft posistion sensor. Some dope forgot to connect them. I guess I was concentrating on the more difficult ones.

After I hooked them up I started the engine and ALL the previous warning lights were gone: EML, DSC, Brake, and (I think) the eninge light.

Who knew automotive electronics was so easy! (ducks...)

[js22]

Quick update #2.

"The noise" turned out to be the drive shaft (and rear u-joint) contacting the aluminum insulation. Surprising how something so minor can sound like something so major. I didn't drop the exhaust, just sort of banged on the aluminum and persuaded it in the right places until I couldn't hear any more contact while rotating the rear wheel. Took it for a quick spin and the noise is all gone.

Also, checked engine and DSC codes with INPA:

No Codes, No lights, No noise! No reason not to go out for a drive.

[TowJamma]

Nice!
I did not offer advice, but it is sooo nice to see a project come to fruition.
Drive!!

[E39 Newbie]

Great write-up and congrats on finishing the project!!

[js22]

And two days later, window regulator dies....

I got the driver's window propped up (before the rain starts, AGAIN) with an old exhaust manifold gasket and a pair of vice grips.

Also, a little more driving has turned up a few little thingies.

A clunk in the front suspension, which I think is due to a worn swaybar end link; the boot on one was torn and I could make it move ever so slightly. New pairordered; looks like a cheap and easy fix.

A vibration under load at around 35-40 MPH. It was worse, but I loosened motor and tranny mounts, lifted engine a bit with jack and set it back down and re-tightened. I think I need to do the "full monty" where I also loosen and then (more carefully) pre-tension the CSB. The CSB is brand new, the guibo looked perfect, the U-joints seemed fine. It all worked before the project, so it must be something I did.

And along with the other stuff I ordered, I added a lower windshield cowl cover. Seems like I'm not the first person to have a windshield that sort of ends in compost at the bottom.

So plently of little projects lined up for August. July is for other things.

[js22]

Well I fixed the window regulator as soon as the part came in, but otherwise I've been driving the car "as is."

This weekend I finally got back to wrenching.

I fixed the drive shaft vibration issue. I posted a separate thread, b/c i thought it could be helpful in general. (title: "drive train noise FIXED with a smart phone. Seriously")

I also attacked the "clunk" in the front end.

My car (2002 330xi) didn't come with that aluminum front end stiffener plate. I bought a used one way back but never got around to installing it. I went out there today with my plate and 8 shiny new bolts, and guess what: My car is not *supposed* to have an aluminum front end stiffening plate. The tubular front subframe is in it's place. DERP!

So next I went after the front sway bar end links. One of them (left) had a torn boot, so it was probably time for replacement. Not a bad job, but a little frustrating for how simple a job it should have been.

One of the teeny-tiny torx gripper holes (you know, the one you can't access very easily) was stripped. I struggled with various approaches before I discovered a simple and easy method: Yank the old end link off of the car and grab the exposed ball that remains with vice grips.

Anyway, the new end links (Meyle HD) went on without a hitch. I like the fact that there are no silly torx holes (the side opposite the nut can be held with a wrench) and the fact that they come with the nuts. (Why FFS do they sell stuff without such obviously neccesary small bits?)

I took the car out to Garden of the Gods and drove on the twistiest, flexiest roads in the area, with a speed limit of 20 MPH. Even pulling away from the curb, I could tell it was better. But the GoG loop is the kind of thing that really brings out the clunks. I would say well over 90% of all the little suspension noises are gone. There is still a little bit of noise coming from the rear end, and once or twice I heard something up front. But nothing a passenger would take note of.

For a "thousand dollar" car with 190k on it, I'd say it rides like a dream now. I'll think about getting around to addressing the remaining noises, but for now it's time to just drive and enjoy.