135i build thread. I'm done hobcobbling posts together

[i_love_cars]

suspenceful said:

...I forgot that you were N55. Doh!

I need to see this car in person some time. Wouldn't mind see what 500whp is all about either.

you forget because you're spoiled with N54 lol F my life ;(

[i_love_cars]

so after a minor delay due to my inlet pipe not being ready, turbo is now in transit and will be delivered on Tuesday next week. 

After talking with Hallway Pat for a bit I decided it would be wise to pick up a cheaper set of coilovers (BC Racing BR series) for $950 shipped. So I ordered those on Saturday. This will allow me to fix my bro-status ghetto drop that I've been suffering with my H&R sport springs, and hopefully help stabilize the power delivery of the new turbo.

[i_love_cars]

I had a couple hours free tonight from 9-11 so I started disassembling the car. I'm definitely dropping the subframe. Got under the car and took about 4 seconds to realize it would be insanity to install a turbo on this thing without removing subframe.

Unraveled

Sway bar removed, upper and lower control arms disconnected from subframe, steering rack ends disconnected from wheel hub:

Will hoist the engine tomorrow and just need to remove the steering rack bolts, 6 subframe bolts, and engine mount bolts, then the subframe will come down. Tomorrow I expect to finish disassembly so I can ship my OEM turbo to PURE right away to get my core charge refunded.

[Chris Welter]

Its not as bad as it looks.  I think I had my subframe dropped in about 3 hours (my first time doing it) and I have Xdrive.  I think the whole turbo removal process took me about 4 for what its worth.

[i_love_cars]

Chris Welter said:

Its not as bad as it looks.  I think I had my subframe dropped in about 3 hours (my first time doing it) and I have Xdrive.  I think the whole turbo removal process took me about 4 for what its worth.  

that's what it seems like. Honestly after 2 hours last night for where i'm at - all we're talking about at this point is the engine mount bolts, subframe bolts, and the 2 bolts for the steering rack. I'm about to head out now to get started for the day. More photos to come.

[i_love_cars]

progress continues steadily. Subframe is now out of the way, engine mount/bracket removed, thermostat is off with WP soon to follow. 

I ended up just using my jack to support the subframe and rotate it counter clockwise along with the steering rack. I gained miles of room to work on the turbo but I also don't need to futz with jockeying the subframe back over the steering rack during re-assembly now. 

the $80 harbor freight engine support brace seems to be working well so far but to be sure I put a jackstand underneath the transmission bell housing right where it bolts up to the block. The car is shored up pretty well though. There was no movement from the engine when I disconnected the mounts and subframe.

[i_love_cars]

clear to the turbo and inlet pipe now. Just have to disconnect feed lines and such and will be able to pull the stock turbo out. Calling it a night for now. Also, +1,000,000 for working on cars without rust. 

[i_love_cars]

More updates. Turbo is out. Now I wait for parts. 

[KaiserRolls]

Nice! I don't envy the lack of room in those cars

[B C]

That is a very busy block casting. The manifold flanges and bolt pattern are interesting as well

[suspenceful]

Looks like you snapped off a stud on the right side of the manifold area?

Glad you got everything out.

[GunMetalGrey]

Snap said:

That is a very busy block casting. The manifold flanges and bolt pattern are interesting as well

That was the first thing I saw when I looked at the pictures.

[i_love_cars]

suspenceful said:

Looks like you snapped off a stud on the right side of the manifold area?

Glad you got everything out.

Yeah the nut brought the stud with it. I was pretty upset because it was the ONE nut that I couldn't get with a T47, which I'm 100% sure is why it brought the stud with it. I had to use an 11mm open wrench to break it loose and turn it because the upper coolant line was in the way and while I was able to unplug the line from the block, i absolutely could not break it free from the turbo. No good point of leverage and it was fucking ON there. I talked to Dan about it and he said that he usually just removes the lines at the block and then takes them off the turbo when it's out of the car. Given what I saw with the oil lines and coolant lines, I agreed with that logic but the one drawback was the aforementioned with the open wrench. 

A little pb blaster and some finesse application of vice grips and the nut came off pretty easily though. 

Thankfully during re-assembly that won't be a problem and I will have clearance to properly torque. I kept telling myself that to keep my sanity as I was turning my wrench 15% of a turn at a time with a cramping hand.  

[suspenceful]

i_love_cars said:

Yeah the nut brought the stud with it. I was pretty upset because it was the ONE nut that I couldn't get with a T47, which I'm 100% sure is why it brought the stud with it. I had to use an 11mm open wrench to break it loose and turn it because the upper coolant line was in the way and while I was able to unplug the line from the block, i absolutely could not break it free from the turbo. No good point of leverage and it was fucking ON there. I talked to Dan about it and he said that he usually just removes the lines at the block and then takes them off the turbo when it's out of the car. Given what I saw with the oil lines and coolant lines, I agreed with that logic but the one drawback was the aforementioned with the open wrench. 

A little pb blaster and some finesse application of vice grips and the nut came off pretty easily though. 

Thankfully during re-assembly that won't be a problem and I will have clearance to properly torque. I kept telling myself that to keep my sanity as I was turning my wrench 15% of a turn at a time with a cramping hand.  

Gotcha. Glad it came out in one piece and you'll be able to thread it right back in there. I know how tight that area is on the 135i. I'm sure it helps that the subframe is dropped, but still.

[i_love_cars]

Just ordered a JB4, flex fuel wires, Fuel-It stage2 LPFP, 3.5 Tmap sensor & adapter, cooler plugs, and fluids for refilling the car when it's all back together. Going to shoot for somewhere in the 60-70% range of E85 and see if I can be at 20-21 psi without meth. Methanol injection is really the only missing piece of the puzzle for the car right now and if I can even approach 500 whp without it, I'll probably leave it off the table. If push comes to shove and I really need it to hit my power goals, I'll cross that bridge when I get there.

[B C]

N5X folks turning the volume up to 11 around here

[i_love_cars]

well the odyssey continues. Turbo arrived today:

I transferred the wastegate over to the new turbo, built the forge diverter valve, and started taking lines off to swap those and quickly realized I would be better off buying new lines. All the parts I needed sadly aren't in stock for 3 days so my progress on the installation is halted until early next week, however, by that time I should have everything I need in entirety. I'm currently waiting on parts from 3 different sources.

[Chris Welter]

i_love_cars said:

Just ordered a JB4, flex fuel wires, Fuel-It stage2 LPFP, 3.5 Tmap sensor & adapter, cooler plugs, and fluids for refilling the car when it's all back together. Going to shoot for somewhere in the 60-70% range of E85 and see if I can be at 20-21 psi without meth. Methanol injection is really the only missing piece of the puzzle for the car right now and if I can even approach 500 whp without it, I'll probably leave it off the table. If push comes to shove and I really need it to hit my power goals, I'll cross that bridge when I get there. 

FYI no octane benefits over E60. I think I can run close to 20psi with port injection and pump gas FWIW as well. 50-60% e and No meth should be fine I'd think on 20-21 easy..

Sent from my HTC6525LVW using Tapatalk

[i_love_cars]

Update: turbo is installed!

There was a significant delay in receiving the new hardware and lines for the turbo that I required. Finally arrived yesterday so I got everything back together and filled with fluid, primed the water pump, and then today TJ stopped by right as I was priming the turbo so he got to be the first witness to the car starting up. Everything appears to be in order - no leaks, no unexpected noises/grinding/explosions/fire, and no warning lights. I've gone through a couple cooldown cycles of the engine over the past 6 hours consecutively idling for 2 minutes, 15 minutes, and 30 minutes (just finished the 30 minute run). I'm calling it good. 

Things still to be done:

-Re-install subframe and hook up suspension bits and get the front of the car back on the ground.

-install JB4, colder spark plugs, flex fuel wires, N20 3.5 tmap sensor, and Fuel-It stg2 fuel pump

-map appropriate tune.

-get to Big Bear Tire on April 8th for an alignment

[i_love_cars]

I got bored last night at about 9:30 so I went out to the garage to get the passenger side engine mount as well as the subframe in. 

All in all wasn't too bad, but I did have to improvise at one point, lol. I spent probably 45 minutes working to get the subframe lined up perfectly straight. This is a critical part of the process so that you don't cross-thread the bolts. For anyone who wants to do a turbo on a car like this, I will say this was probably the part requiring the most patience. I got it to the point where I was able to just freely use my hand to thread all 6 subframe bolts all the way in. Great.

Then I go to grab the 4 bolts (2 for each engine mount) that need to go through holes in the subframe and into the threads on the engine mount. Rut-roh. Forgot to line those up! I was so focused on making sure the subframe bolts themselves were lined up that I forgot about these other holes. I had already torqued the subframe bolts to 80 ft lb so I was not interested in re-doing any of that. 

I was able to reach the 4 bolts that attach the passenger side mount to the block, so I i loosened them enough to the point where I could wiggle the engine mount to line it up with the subframe and get the bolts in. On the driver's side, other than the 2 subframe-to-mount bolts, the engine mount is only secured by a nut on top which I was able to get from the top side of the car with a 2 foot extension. So I loosened the nut on that one as well and was easily able to shimmy it to line up with the subframe.

So now I just need to re-attach the control arms and I'll be able to put the car back on the ground. 

Total time spent was 2 hours which I think is pretty good considering I had to raise the subframe with my jack and align it by myself (much easier if you have two people).