Hello. My name is Dan, and today I doomsday prepped

[Boris3]

HipMF said:

If worshiping at the church of the flaming bushing isn't your style, and you're not in a rush to get started, I could send you the subframe bushing puller that I made:

If by any chance this is the Harbor Freight pitman arm puller (ground down a bit) plus plumbing pipe cap and you supply your own two/three jaw puller DIY tool, I've still got the first two pieces that were floating around the group as a shared tool a while back. It "works" as long as your bushing are not original and really stuck in there.  I'd be happy to send it on to anyone who needs. I even have a new cap since I trashed the old one.

  https://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?1389953-A-better-subframe-bushing-puller

[m42b32]

+1 on doing it with a puller tool. I had my old bushings out of the subframe in a matter of minutes with a crappy homemade tool (made from some square tube scraps) and a bit of heat from a torch to coax it free.

[straight6pwr]

gilber33 said:

I'm assuming as a seasoned e30 owner you already know how to do the entire thing blindfolded - but if you have any questions, let me know since I just dealt with it all. 

My first reaction while I was doing it was all of the write-ups online are complete bullshit and it's not as easy and quick as they make it out to be. It sucked. 

Thanks! I've done all of the jobs that separately add up to rebuilding the rear, just never at once. My car is much less crusty than average so hopefully that keeps me from losing sanity.

[straight6pwr]

I'm almost to the rear end rebuilt project. I've been focusing on getting my garage and basement workshop setup for all the future projects so all my spare time has been dedicated to that. 

Workbench

the previous owner of my house left the skeleton of a workbench which, by my best guess, was built by the original owner in the 70s. pretty basic, and the top was completely warped and trashed. it was a good size, though, so i decided to modify it instead of start from scratch. 

before:

after:

for the work surface, I ripped 25 2x4s to 3" then laminated them together using all-thread rods to clamp and hold it together permanently. then I just hand planed and sanded the top nice and flat.  on the front face, I added some tee-nuts on the back of the first 2x4 before the glue up so I have several holes for clamping/mounting tools, etc. (you can see them as pairs between the all-threads) 

i reused the drawers from a reclaimed walnut lawyer's desk and also added two shallow drawers. 

the tool-wall is just a 4x8 3/4" plywood sheet. the holders are a mix of custom-made plywood brackets, hanging screws, PVC, and magnetic strips.  its hard to believe that up until this point I worked with all these tools out of tool bags, tool boxes, and bins.

[YoungCR]

Very nice! Love the bench top design

[B C]

This is satisfying and inspiring

[HipMF]

Very nice. Only things missing are a vice and a cold beer.

[Jdesign]

Etsy is a hell ova drug. 

JK. Nice work man, I love the PVC holders!

[straight6pwr]

HipMF said:

Very nice. Only things missing are a vice and a cold beer.

 i've been trolling for a good solid vise from yesteryear, but havent had any luck finding something local, so i bit the bullet and ordered a cheapish Dewalt. I don't think I'll really abuse it to where Ill need something heavier duty.

Jdesign said:

Etsy is a hell ova drug. 

JK. Nice work man, I love the PVC holders!

lol, i think you mean pinterest.

[Jdesign]

straight6pwr said:

lol, i think you mean pinterest.

Or This Old house, whatever you and Bob Vila feel is best for inspiration. 

[straight6pwr]

Jdesign said:

Or This Old house, whatever you and Bob Vila feel is best for inspiration. 

Tim the Tool Man is my inspiration.

[Jdesign]

straight6pwr said:

Tim the Tool Man is my inspiration.

EEUUUUUHHaaa??!!

[gilber33]

Jdesign said:

EEUUUUUHHaaa??!!

I can only assume that everyone read that in Tim Allen's voice in their heads (or outloud).

[HipMF]

straight6pwr said:

 i've been trolling for a good solid vise from yesteryear, but havent had any luck finding something local, so i bit the bullet and ordered a cheapish Dewalt. I don't think I'll really abuse it to where Ill need something heavier duty.

I hear this. I recently started looking for some vintage woodworking gear (chisels and planes mostly). Anything that's decent is priced like it's gold, which is fair I guess. I think you have to be in the right place at the right time to get a deal on that kind of stuff now that anyone with a pulse can look up how much something is worth in 30 seconds.

[Jdesign]

HipMF said:

I hear this. I recently started looking for some vintage woodworking gear (chisels and planes mostly). Anything that's decent is priced like it's gold, which is fair I guess. I think you have to be in the right place at the right time to get a deal on that kind of stuff now that anyone with a pulse can look up how much something is worth in 30 seconds.

Sad and true. Good deals are harder to come by. I spent months looking for a good vise. Gave up and bought a harbor freight one to hold me off. had it two months and it literally cracked in half. 

[straight6pwr]

bench done with the addition of a vise. havent reefed on it, but construction seems good for the price of less than $100. the reversible jaws, and top anvil surface are are nice bonus. i consider this car-related because i used BMW head bolts to attach it to the bench. 

[KaiserRolls]

This is super random but did you toss your original carpet?

[straight6pwr]

KaiserRolls said:

This is super random but did you toss your original carpet? 

Nope! I actually just pulled it out and looked at it the other day. I shampooed it this summer before storing it. It cleaned up well, but will need to be dyed black to hide the seat rust stains. there is one tear that could probably be fixed and not seen. You can have it if you want it. I have the separate vertical piece too that goes under the rear seat.

[KaiserRolls]

straight6pwr said:

Nope! I actually just pulled it out and looked at it the other day. I shampooed it this summer before storing it. It cleaned up well, but will need to be dyed black to hide the seat rust stains. there is one tear that could probably be fixed and not seen. You can have it if you want it. I have the separate vertical piece too that goes under the rear seat.

Consider it had! Not sure when I’ll be down there next, but I need to ditch the beige

[straight6pwr]

she's up!

still lovin these cribs I built for the e34 trans swap. yeah they take up more space than a jack stand, but they are more stable and easier to use

almost everything went smoothly with disassembly.

small snags - 

when i went to hammer the subframe pins up through the chassis they wouldnt budge. took a closer look inside the cabin to find that the holes had been filled with body filler when the car was originally painted. i've removed these pins on two other e30s and have never seen this before. *shrug*

nice to see 30 year old hardware that looks like the day it was assembled. 

also had one of the subframe bushing sleeves stuck in the body. i've "been here done that" so I tried the first stage of removal - putting a lag bolt through the side of the sleeve (i did not have a big enough bolt to run up through the hole.)

first i grinded a flat on the sleeve so I could drill a hole. make sure you drill through both sides of the sleeve. 

then i ran a concrete lag bolt (hardened) through. then just put a long screwdriver or other sturdy pokey object from the cabin down through the hole and give er some hits. 

after a bit of wrestling, the subframe is out! 

not a bad process. i'm a pro at removing my exhaust and driveshaft because of my driveshaft woes, so this only took about 4 hours. i also got lucky in that the rear ABS sensors and ebrake cables just popped right out of the trailer arm without a fuss. 

is anyone out there in the land of wibimmers still powdercoating parts?