Hello. My name is Dan, and today I doomsday prepped
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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?
Dan
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Interesting, I've had filler in the bolt holes of both of my e30s when I did the subframes. The bushings had never been done before so maybe that's the difference?
Great suggestion on removing the sleeves if you've got enough sticking out. I've tried the big lag bolt approach with mixed results, and when it didn't work ended up using small flat bits and other drill bits just to ream out the sleeve.
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Interesting, I've had filler in the bolt holes of both of my e30s when I did the subframes. The bushings had never been done before so maybe that's the difference?
Great suggestion on removing the sleeves if you've got enough sticking out. I've tried the big lag bolt approach with mixed results, and when it didn't work ended up using small flat bits and other drill bits just to ream out the sleeve.
I was thinking early/late models for the difference. I know one of the other e30s never had the subframe bushings done before I did them. The other two were 87 and 88 models
I had the same type of clay stuff above my mounting pins also.
I like those cribs!
I ended up just doing POR15 with a topcoat on my rear frame+ arms.
which bushings are you installing?
I may do por15, but with the car not driven in the winter it seems pointless. Look how clean they've stayed for 30 years on their own.
Powder is for odds and ends like the diff cover, subframe support brackets, etc
I got revshift 80A poly bushings for the subframe, trailing arms, and diff
Dan
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a little more progress today.
in my haste to remove the subframe bushing pins, i forget I borrowed mike's homemade puller tool which is a through-bolt style. this required me to backtrack and take that lag bolt back out lol
was worth it, as the tool worked great, thanks @HipMF !
fully extracted, no burning or mess.
the workbench is now full of mini projects.
the "subframe overhaul" consists of:
clean everything
replace passenger side rear wheel bearing
replace subframe/trailing arm/diff bushings
reseal differential (output seals, rear cover gasket, sensor gasket and fill plugs crush washers)
install new ebrake cables
install rear brake lines (body to subframe SS soft lines)
install new rear sway bar bushings and end links
install ebrake rebuild kit (shoes and springs)
maybe powdercoat odds and ends
Dan
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Don’t forget new lock plates for the axle nuts
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Don’t forget new lock plates for the axle nuts
optional, at best. wheres the axle gonna go if the nut falls off?
Dan
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optional, at best. wheres the axle gonna go if the nut falls off?
Axle can't come out but the wheel hub can come off. The brake rotor would probable keep it from coming totally out though
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Axle can't come out but the wheel hub can come off. The brake rotor would probable keep it from coming totally out though
my comment was sarcastic, but thanks for making sure no one tries something dumb like that lol
Dan
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putzed a bit before dinner.
i DIY'd a subframe bushing puller so I didnt have to burn those out as well.
1.12" 3/8 threaded rod, with a few different size washers and coupling nuts
2. 4" 1-1/4" steel pipe
3.a socket that fits (18mm, 19mm? dont remember)
heat the trailing arm first to help the bushing slide
voila.
I also DIY'd a rear hub puller. i used a bearing separator last time with success, but didnt want to take a trip to the store for one, so this is what I put together. It uses a pair of main bearing caps, some door hinges, and two scrap pieces of steel. basically anything will work so long as its steel and doesnt shift around on you.
just crank down the bolts to force the hub out.
voila! this rear bearing was in pretty good shape, but the grease is definitely showing its age.
to remove the stuck race from the hub, I dremeled a slot about half way through, heated the race, then struck the slot with a cold chisel. it cracked the race and I could slide it right off.
finally, to pull the wheel bearing out, first remove the big ass snap ring (not shown) then attached your puller. I purchased a FWD bearing puller kit from Amazon for cheap which worked well both times Ive used it.
had to bust out the cheater bar to get this to even budge. its not recommended to use an impact gun as you will greatly reduce the life of the threads on the tool
voila!
lastly, I got out all the new parts to inventory and see what I missed.
Seen here:
Turner Motorsports rear sway bar reinforcement plates (my last e30 torn the mounts, dont want to deal with that again)
R3vshift poly TA, subframe, and diff bushing.
ECS rear SS brake lines (chassis to subframe. the other 4 are installed)
Sway bar bushings and links
New rear wheel bearing and associated hardware
Ebrake hardware rebuild kit, shoes, cables
Diff resealing items
Diff studs
What I so far can tell i'm missing: one axle nut lock plate, new locknuts for the subframe bushings, brake fluid, crush washers for the diff fill plugs, new allen screws for ABS sensors, o-ring for speed sensor.
Anyone know what kind of lube they include with poly bushings? I think Ill need more than they sent.
Dan
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probably something similar
thanks! "silicone grease" - probably will try this https://www.lowes.com/pd/Oatey-Silicone-Grease/50236505?cm_mmc=shp-_-c-_-prd-_-rpe-_-google-_-lia-_-142-_-plumbingconnectionsandsupport-_-50236505-_-0&store_code=2554&placeholder=null&gclid=CjwKCAjw3-bzBRBhEiwAgnnLCqXEIvyluZ1suejDtt6F7e8iGE9Ub0bvaFkeyuO13TgQygChCxpaiRoC-ocQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds
Dan
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new wheel bearing pressed in.
hub pressed into the new bearing. smooth as butter now. both procedures done with the FWD bearing kit. antiseize applied between the bearing and the trailing arm, for good measure.
pulled the ebrake cables. after undoing the nut in the cabin and pushing the cables down from the ebrake lever, i found that when I went to get under the car to pull them from the chassis, they had already fallen out of the chassis. #sorrygabe
very little corrosion on either end. I am lucky!
started disassembly of the diff by cleaning some of the anti-corrosion coating off
just the faintest whiff of the "S" stamp left. i think ill try to repaint it nice in the end.
Dan
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stage 2 of diff cleaning complete (degreaser, wire brush, rags, garden hose) good enough to crack her open
cleaned up more parts, too. don't think i'll need to powdercoat anything, its all in good shape.
found a few of the output flange/axle bolts are too damaged to reuse. 07119919620 for my reference.
edit: hmm, it appears there is a torx version. this may be way better than the allen head type. however they are m10x43 vs the stock units that are m10x50 - https://www.ecstuning.com/b-genuine-bmw-parts/torx-screw-with-ribs/33207572716/
slightly stripped threads on a couple as well. i believe this happens because they drag on the axles when turning them out due to the rubber boots being in the way.
removing the stock rubber diff bushing is as easy as cutting through the outer sleeve, then tapping with a screwdriver to pop it free.
voila! never force this bushing, you can break the whole mount ear off the diff cover.
the diff oil was pretty clean. no burning, no particles.
another stroke of luck, 95% of the paper gasket peeled right off
LSD unit. not cracking this open yet to replace clutches, the diff still has good lockup.
Dan
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Nice progress Dan. Looks like the parts were just being preserved for you by the grime lol.
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Nice progress Dan. Looks like the parts were just being preserved for you by the grime lol.
fo sho!
got the output shaft seals replaced. one of the caps from my FWD bearing kit proved perfect for hammering out/in the rubber seal.
and the diff rebuild is done. did some more cleaning. good enough for the girls i go out with.
Dan
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i was going to upgrade to the newer e-torx style, but they are too spendy. $15 each!
Dan
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Which diff oil are you using?
I had one diff that was a little noisy and tried back to back to back fluid changes.
Lucas and Royal Purple were about the same, Valvoline anecdotally seemed to run the quietest of the 3 but it wasn’t a science experiment.
Install solid bushings for proper analysis. Science.
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