the one and only e30 s52 engine swap

[stealthbimmer]

The texture probably won't hold paint well. It's molded plastic....something like back to black will bring it back to life

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[AsparagusMike]

Masking = many hours of tedious bull@#$%@

i

Gonna try to get around to painting door trim tomorrow but time will tell. Was able to clean and undercoat rear valance tonight though...

After.....Fixing that nasty battery compartment rust hole/dent is definitely on the list of to do's, but for now it'll gonna have to do as is.

[AsparagusMike]

Was gonna get these pictures up and posted about 2 weeks ago but life happened and I ended up being out of town for a week. Pictures were taken on my phone and it had just rain so the car was a bit wet, oh well.....

So I also received the engine block back as well as the pistons and crank and all the parts to get the bottom end put back together. But, before I get ahead of myself the block deserves some ceramic primer and a nice coat of high heat ceramic black paint...

Was planning on painting it outside but the humidity took its tole and I was dying to get the thing painted so i can start reassembling. So I painted the block in my basement where it was cooler. Also decided I would keep the motor in the basement for the entire reassembly because the temperature was much more steady and the humidity was always low.

Paint is finished and the masking has been ripped off, overall I was very pleased with how it turned out, time for the fun part...:)

All the parts came in on time as well which is always a plus+...

\

Arp Studs are hand tight, king main bearings installed and assembly lube is on.

time for a crankshaft...

Was happy to see that each main bearing cap had a number indicating what order it needs to be in, thank you bmw.

Rings gaped, installed, and clocked

As of now the crankshaft is torqued and secured, Pistons are ready to go and will begin installing them possibly tomorrow.

[wasnt m3]

Nice progress!

[Boris3]

Looking good!

I get the work in the basement logic (though maybe not spray painting next to a water heater) but thinking of my own basement and its steep staircase I'm curious as to how the completed engine gets out of the basement to garage? Open door access to outside, you bench press/dead lift engine blocks on a regular basis, draft friends to help carry, or you have one of those little elevator seats you ride up the stairs?

[B C]

Put the engine on an upside-down Slinky at the bottom of the stairs and let nature take its course.

Looking real good man, I wish my project was half this good

[AsparagusMike]

Boris3 said:

Looking good!

I get the work in the basement logic (though maybe not spray painting next to a water heater) but thinking of my own basement and its steep staircase I'm curious as to how the completed engine gets out of the basement to garage? Open door access to outside, you bench press/dead lift engine blocks on a regular basis, draft friends to help carry, or you have one of those little elevator seats you ride up the stairs?

Well I was able to carry the engine block down the stairs myself with little issue, my thought was all together when its complete me and a friend could probably handle the task no sweat.

Snap said:

Put the engine on an upside-down Slinky at the bottom of the stairs and let nature take its course.

If plan A fails I'll make that plan B. If it does end up working, The car is yours when its done.

[Earl]

Ive helped lift an m5x by hand. It took one 260ish pound man, myself, and your average dad lol

[jc43089]

With the head on it will be approximately a 7 shots of brake cleaner to the eye job to get it up the stairs.  Without the head only 2 sprays.

[AsparagusMike]

Was working on my first piston, had everything prelubed ready to go. Had all my piston rings compressed down (or so I thought) and I took one swift hit and the piston went in. Boom bada bing one down 5 to go. Nope...

The very bottom oil ring ended up not clamping down all the way and when I pounded down it ended up bending and getting pinched between the piston and the cylinder wall.

Right here was my problem, never again......junk junk junk!!!

So I went and found something that I should have used in the first place.

After I switched over, the rest of the pistons went in no problem and are torqued to spec.

So here's my question, How much of a risk am I taking reusing that ring? Should I not even consider it and straight up get a new set for one piston (if I even can)? All the other rings are fine.

Another question...

The arrow and  the Letters AW next to it, anybody know what the AW stand for?  After researching and coming up empty, I guessed and installed the pistons with all the arrows facing toward the front of the engine.  Did I do it wrong? or does it matter?

[B C]

Do not think about reusing that ring.

Not even once.

AW is alpinweiß?

Yes, arrows point towards the front of the engine

[Jdesign]

ALWAYS WORRY

[GunMetalGrey]

In the last picture you posted, it works quite well, as AW stands for Awkward Wiener.
Don't reuse the ring, they are cheap enough and that's a vital engine part.

[AsparagusMike]

Snap said:

Do not think about reusing that ring.

GunMetalGrey said:

In the last picture you posted, it works quite well, as AW stands for Awkward Wiener.
Don't reuse the ring, they are cheap enough and that's a vital engine part. 

Yup I thought I'd be better off just replacing it instead of suffering later. Called up Hastings and ordered a new set for one piston(which as you said was fairly cheap).

[AsparagusMike]

Came in yesterday

And all the pistons are installed and torqued to spec. Double checked, triple checked, quadruple checked, quintuple checked, sextuple checked, septuple checked, and octuple checked the torque on the main studs and rod bolts before confirming the Bottom end is done.

Now that the pistons and crank and what not are done its time for cleaning more parts and ordering gaskets and seals.

So, while I waited for the rings to show up I began to get needed things done, first up, drill oil pump nut...

Probably one of the hardest things I've ever had to drill because of the angle and it would have been easier if I had a vise for the drill press but all in all it ended up turning out half way decent and saved myself a ridiculous $14 to buy one.

N

Also began cleaning the metal plate that covers the crank (not really sure what the name of it is) and timing cover. (Not done yet)

Also noticed something on the timing cover....something that worries me....

Am I gonna be finding another timing cover? It still seems solid and strong I wonder if getting it bead blasted or something would get rid of it.

On another note.......E34 OIL PAN!!!!!!!

Man, what a joke. WHAT A FLIPPIN JOKE it is to find one of these for a decent price, that's all. I'm just happy the struggle is over.

List of parts to order next...

Cometic headgasket                

Rear main crankshaft seal kit (part #: 11142247867)

Front crankshaft seal                   

Stewart water pump                  

Timing cover gaskets                 

Oil pump pickup gasket and oil pump gasket

Oil pan gasket

[jc43089]

I've seen funny looking marks like that on timing covers and other parts. I think it's just from the manufacturing process. If you look closely are they actually raised ridges?

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[B C]

Man oh man is it ever hard to get an E34 oil pan. You have the couple of years they made the M50 E34, then out of those, the ones that made it stateside, then out of those, the ones that arent currently being driven and havent been sacrificed for their oil pans by all the other E30 swaps.

I was dealing with a guy known as “most reliable paul” to get a run of new E34 pans made but he has really dropped the ball.

[AsparagusMike]

Can anybody by chance tell me where I can find or what the part number is for the gasket that goes between the oil pump and motor block? Or is there not suppose to be a gasket there? All I seem to find is the pickup to oil pump gasket.

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[B C]

The only gasket is on the pickup tube. Nothing on that mating face there. Just clean it real well for install

[AsparagusMike]

So got home earlier then normal today and with a little motivation left in me I decided to clean the garage a bit and get parts organized, VERY very happy that I did.

I completely forgot about these little guys. I still can't stop thinking, imagine if I had this thing all together ready to go and I found them then or even worse! after its in the car and I start the frickin thing, bye bye motor. Even though I disliked the fact that I had to pull the crank and bearings back out after its been all torqued down I'm thankful I caught it now.

Everything is back together now and torqued down as before, this time the right way.

For other progress I got my oil pump cleaned up and installed (not torqued down) as well as my oil pickup tube.

Still waiting on my gaskets and seals to show up, tomorrow gonna drop off the oil pan and timing cover at the machine shop for a nice acid bath and should get it back by the end of the day, then gonna work on priming and painting the pan which will be bmw blue to match the valve cover (Which isn't painted yet, but will be).