Build Thread?
-
I feel somewhat accomplished on what I got done this weekend.
It was very odd taking this car apart and dealing with a bit of road grime, that doesn't normally happen!
Test fit the new radiator, and still don't know what I'm going to do about an expansion tank. I was thinking about doing an aluminum e36 one but I don't know if it will be thin enough to fit without hitting something. Any suggestions are welcome!
I'm excited to have a larger radiator that should actually have the capacity to keep the engine cool.
Started by pulling the motor (after the front fell off) and I managed to yank the core support without removing the fenders which was quite nice.
Pulled the motor out with relative ease and didn't do too much tensile testing during the process.
I did find something as the motor was coming out that I haven't noticed before. I was pressing my hand against the steering u-joint while undoing fuel lines and noticed that it was moving. I gave the joint a wiggle and sure enough there is play in the upper joint. So that needs to get replaced! New ones are NLA unfortunately. Pic of coupling in question. If you have an upper u joint without play please let me know!
oofta that's blurry.
Separated the trans and the motor and inspected the flywheel and clutch. I'm not overly sure how I feel about it. The flywheel looks like it wasn't all mating evenly, but the clutch disk shows that it was.
Opinions?
The pressure plate side looks fine and worn in well.
After that I disassembled more things and pulled the head off. This was slightly sad as everything had been working fine!
All of the top end stuff was fine, and the block cleaned up well as it had been decked last year.
Now to get the new head gasket setup and install that.
I was mildly annoyed when I was rearranging my shelves to fit more parts and moved one of my ECU's over to another shelf. I got confused because I thought my ecu was still in the car and I had just moved the 413 with the TRM m52 chip in it. I went to the car and pulled the ECU out.
I was using a plain 413 all summer.... I had bought a $250 chip that was setup for an m52 on a 413 with some other changes, and never used it because I forgot that I fired it up on the stock one first. That was annoying to say the least! I will never get to use it either
I just wonder if the car would have felt a significant amount better with that or not, and now I'll never know!More next time!
-
early e30 or e30 m3 coolant tank near the driver's strut tower?
Dan
-
early e30 or e30 m3 coolant tank near the driver's strut tower?
I am trying to find a bolt in solution, as the thought of welding brackets in makes me cry a little bit inside.
I'm wondering if I couldn't sneak an aluminum (slightly thinner?) e36 expansion tank on the DS of the radiator and just make a bracket or two for that.Maybe @Earl could chime in about converting from an expansion tank to an overflow tank? that would solve most of my issues I believe.
-
I'm like 50% sure the e30 m3 one just bolts to the battery tray, no brackets required.
Dan
-
Stick with an expansion tank, also stick with a system from an e30 or a self bleeding type of aftermarket expansion tank there are tons to choose from. Why go back to a manual bleed system. I did a cooling overhaul on a late e36 and did the "Euro" e36 m3 coolant system which is a late e30 expansion tank mounted in the area between the strut tower and firewall on the right side with OE brackets. It worked excellent, just fill it and go.
Sent from my 831C using Tapatalk
-
Stick with an expansion tank, also stick with a system from an e30 or a self bleeding type of aftermarket expansion tank there are tons to choose from. Why go back to a manual bleed system. I did a cooling overhaul on a late e36 and did the "Euro" e36 m3 coolant system which is a late e30 expansion tank mounted in the area between the strut tower and firewall on the right side with OE brackets. It worked excellent, just fill it and go.
Sent from my 831C using Tapatalk
I am running into the issue of not having enough space and not wanting to weld anything in. I can't put a tank behind the ps strut tower and the downpipe runs right past that location and would put the coolant hose way too close.
Any suggestions for aftermarket expansion tanks? I haven't really found any for less than $250. -
That should link to recirculating style tanks on summit, pick your shape/size/fittings. Most look like they would mount to the firewall nicely. Try to mount it as high as possible but it is not necessary to be higher than the rest of the cooling system. The small line from the top of the radiator constantly flows a small amount of coolant (and air if there is any) to the expansion tank and fluid is drawn from the bottom of the expansion tank leaving the air in the expansion tank.
Most important thing to look for is the connection point for the radiator small line is low on the tank or has a tube going to the bottom like the OE tank for an m20. This is so if the tank is not at the highest point in the system when you shut the car off that air doesn't go back through the line into the radiator. It wouldn't wreck anything but it would give you a false level reading when checking the level. Then when the car is started it will bleed itself every time and the level will drop.
-
I'm like 50% sure the e30 m3 one just bolts to the battery tray, no brackets required.
Not only has my battery tray been cut to match the body lines underneath, but my down pipe also runs through where the battery used to be.
Best picture I have that shows the issue.
-
That should link to recirculating style tanks on summit, pick your shape/size/fittings. Most look like they would mount to the firewall nicely. Try to mount it as high as possible but it is not necessary to be higher than the rest of the cooling system. The small line from the top of the radiator constantly flows a small amount of coolant (and air if there is any) to the expansion tank and fluid is drawn from the bottom of the expansion tank leaving the air in the expansion tank.
Most important thing to look for is the connection point for the radiator small line is low on the tank or has a tube going to the bottom like the OE tank for an m20. This is so if the tank is not at the highest point in the system when you shut the car off that air doesn't go back through the line into the radiator. It wouldn't wreck anything but it would give you a false level reading when checking the level. Then when the car is started it will bleed itself every time and the level will drop.
Those bottom fittings are quite small compared to what the hose size for the expansion tank that BMW uses!
This still feels different though, as it doesn't look like this would be a way to fill the cooling system, or would it? I am clearly confused here. -
The Chasebays one is nice because it has an internal dump tube. Most of the universal ones don't have that and just have a fitting on the top and bottom.
https://www.instagram.com/_jdesigner_/ http://nevertoolow.tumblr.com/
🥳SOLD BMW E24 633CSI - BMW M30B32 🧪SOLD HCH ES9 - 1.3 LDA
👽BMW E30 325IC - Toyota 1JZ-GTE ⏰ HONDA EF9 CIVIC SI - JDM B18C5
☠️BMW E36 318i - Ford 5.0 FE302 🚴♂️ GT-Labomba - 26x2.75 Freeride
🤹♀️SOLD BMW E36/7 Z3 - BMW M54B25 🧓SOLD BMW E10 2002 - BMW M10M05 -
I have a very similar overflow to use from Chasebays: http://www.chasebays.com/chase-bays-coolant-overflow/
That won't work with a regular BMW radiator. It is an overflow not an expansion tank.
Those bottom fittings are quite small compared to what the hose size for the expansion tank that BMW uses!
This still feels different though, as it doesn't look like this would be a way to fill the cooling system, or would it? I am clearly confused here.There needs to be one connection for a 5/8" hose (about 16mm) for the hose that is on the suction side of the water pump. And one small hose 1/4" to the radiator. The tank will have another connection for an overflow tube by the cap that runs onto the ground.
Most of the aftermarket ones have NPT ports. For the larger hose a 3/8NPT is a common size to use with a 5/8 barbed hose fitting.
This one has plenty of ports. https://www.summitracing.com/parts/mor-63769
-
@jc43089 Thanks for your persistence, I think I'm finally understanding the smaller details about how the system works.
The link for the one you just posted is pretty darn large, but I feel like I have a better idea of what I'm in need of now.
I guess the missing link for me was not thinking about the fact that the expansion tank connection is on on the suction side of the pump and that the small line on the radiator was always seeing flow.
-
Hence why I am not using an OEM radiator and have a fill cap inline to dump into this when it over pressurizes=)
Right I assumed you knew that but it might have confused somebody.
There are so many different expansion tanks and overflow tanks and some for sale don't even specify very well what they are designed for.
-
@jc43089 Thanks for your persistence, I think I'm finally understanding the smaller details about how the system works.
The link for the one you just posted is pretty darn large, but I feel like I have a better idea of what I'm in need of now.
I guess the missing link for me was not thinking about the fact that the expansion tank connection is on on the suction side of the pump and that the small line on the radiator was always seeing flow.
No problem. Yes there is always a small amount of flow going through the small line from the top of the radiator. In the OE (e30) expansion tanks there is a metal tube from where the bleed line enters to down near the bottom of the tank to act as a trap preventing air from going back into the small line. If you drain and fill the system and start the engine to push any air out you will see bubbles coming from the bottom of the tube up through the coolant in the tank until the air is purged from the system. The cooling system works the same way on an m20 and an m50, the plumbing is very similar other than the switch from auto bleeding to the bleed screw style.
The e36 and later systems do not always have flow though the small line, they block the end of that tube with the bleed screw. I am not a fan of that and prefer the auto bleeding of the e30 style expansion tanks.
-
https://www.summitracing.com/parts/mor-63766/overview/
this may do the trick. I'll have to measure things and see where I could put it.
-
Following this for expansion tank relocation options.
Hello! It looks like you're interested in this conversation, but you don't have an account yet.
Getting fed up of having to scroll through the same posts each visit? When you register for an account, you'll always come back to exactly where you were before, and choose to be notified of new replies (either via email, or push notification). You'll also be able to save bookmarks and upvote posts to show your appreciation to other community members.
With your input, this post could be even better 💗
Register Login