Alpine e30 progress/build thread

[m42b32]

Had some time to work on this on Sunday. Installed a new water pump (with an impeller that faces the correct direction) and ECS aluminum water pump pulley. I also got as far as I could installing the Beisan Systems dual vanos seals and anti-rattle kit. This is a much easier job on the M54 compared to the S52 since you don't need to deal with the splined interface between the cam and the piston. 

Got the valve cover off, cam lobes and lifters all look excellent. Could be a little cleaner, but there really isn't any sludge so I can't complain. 

Vanos unit removed and disassembled:

The anti-rattle kit made a huge difference, so hopefully they are nice and quiet. Before I took them apart there was a pretty significant amount of axial play, but once the new spacers were installed it was completely gone while still allowing them to spin freely. I didn't have to do any sanding or adjusting on either piston which was a nice surprise since that can get tedious. New seals went in easily as well. Got it all reinstalled but ended up breaking one of the plastic plugs that covers the bolt holding the piston to the cam, so I can't go any further till I order a new one.

[B C]

No sanding required here either thank goodness. I did have to check my work about 15 times to make sure i wasnt hamming it up though

[m42b32]

Took advantage of the somewhat decent weather on Sunday and got some work done. Three cans of brake cleaner later I'm calling the block clean enough. It's not perfect, but this car isn't winning any shows so it'll do just fine. 

I got the replacement caps to finish the VANOS install and replaced the OEM buna o-rings with the viton ones that came with the Besian kit. With that installed I finished it off by checking the spark plugs and reinstalling the valve cover (with new gaskets) and coils. I cleaned and re-installed the oil filter housing with a new gasket and filter as well. The bores for the two plastic coolant pipes didn't look the best, so I hit them lightly with some 600 grit sandpaper to smooth them out. There is one scratch on the heater feed bore that might be a problem, not sure if it was there from before or I did it, but I applied a really thin coat of RTV so hopefully between that and new o-rings it doesn't leak. With those installed I zip-tied the knock sensor wires back into position and reinstalled the intake manifold that I rebuilt with new gaskets on the throttle body and head flange, repainted brackets, capped vacuum ports for the exhaust flapper valve and SAP valve, and the newly rebuilt DISA. 

With all that done I zipped off the oil pan bolts, expected it to stick with the gasket (it didn't), and spilled all the residual oil in it all over the garage floor. Like the head, it's a little dirty but it isn't covered in sludge or anything.

I didn't get any pictures of this, but I took the lower power steering mounting bracket off the M54 oil pan, and luckily for me, the boss on the e34 m50 pan appears to be in the exact same spot. I had to make some minor modifications to the bracket to fit the pan, but other than that it should be a direct swap. As my e30 does not have a check panel, I replaced the oil level sensor with the BMW delete plate and a new o-ring. Once I finish some tasks on the bottom end it should be ready to seal back up.

I also started some work on the fuel system. The M54's fuel pressure regulator is part of the fuel filter assembly underneath the car, and since I want to keep the original e30 fuel filter setup and not have a huge fuel filter strapped to the frame rail under the hood, I will be using an s54 fpr housing. I removed the 5.0 bar S54 fpr (left), and replaced it with a new 3.5 bar part from an e39 530i (right). 

I just need to order a fitting to adapt the threads for the e46 m3 fuel filter to a barb for the inlet and figure out a place to mount it.

[B C]

What about the oil pump nut and shaft? is this still a concern on the X54?

the little bit of grime in the corner of one of the block casting features is the stuff thats going to ignite on a hot day.  Murphy's Law said so.

[m42b32]

El Snapo said:

What about the oil pump nut and shaft? is this still a concern on the X54?

the little bit of grime in the corner of one of the block casting features is the stuff thats going to ignite on a hot day.  Murphy's Law said so. 

Yeah they have the same problem. I have a drilled oil pump nut with safety wire that I was planning on installing (with loctite too) and calling it good. If I do that, there is always the possibility that the shaft itself could shear, but that is much less likely than the nut coming off. I'm just having an internal debate on whether the added insurance of the Achilles pump shaft/bolt combo is worth $200... 

Based on what I've read, most of the problems come from spending extended periods of time at high rpm's/raising the redline without upgrading the damper to compensate for the M54's bad crank harmonics above 6k. I'll be keeping the 6500rpm redline for now (I'd only raise it if I got my hands on an ATI super damper) which will help.

[m42b32]

I did some more research and found that the M54B30 is probably the most likely of any m/s5x to throw the oil pump nut or shear the shaft. It experiences really bad crank harmonics above 6k rpm, likely due to the aluminum block. I figure $200 for the hardened pump shaft is cheap insurance compared to blowing up a motor and ruining all this work I've done. 

Decided to pull the oil pump apart to inspect it before I order anything. Oil pump nut was 'tight', but didn't take that much force to remove. It definitely took more force to remove the one on my M3 by comparison. The internals don't look bad, but I don't really know what I'm looking at so I figured I'd post some pictures and get your opinions:

There was some minor scoring on the bore and the outside of the outer rotor. I can barely feel it when running my fingernail over it on both parts. There is some discoloration/wear where in places on the inner rotor, but it isn't rough to the touch or anything like that. Not much scoring on the inside of the cover or back of the housing. Are these in usable condition or should I replace them with new ones?
 

Another note, when I pulled them apart I noticed dimples stamped into each rotor. Are these supposed to line up for assembly or do they not really matter as long as it spins smoothly? The outer rotor had the dimple facing the cover, while the inner had it on the inside. Didn't seem to be any correlation between the two.

[B C]

the dimples didnt seem to have any sort of reasoning when I was dealing with mine. The rotor and that outer rotor piece are both readily available individually. I bought a new outer piece because it had a little bit of grooving, but most of all I replaced it because it had a notch in it

[KaiserRolls]

Run it

[straight6pwr]

upon scanning your photo with an electron microscope, i've found they've used steel with too much carbon content. better replace it.

read: this seems nit picky.

[jc43089]

Most important thing to check is end clearance right?  That is usually the spec listed in service manuals.  Check it with plastigage I would think.

[m42b32]

I google'd the sh!t out of it and there really wasn't much information on what is considered good and junk, thanks for the feedback! I'll be installing an oil pressure gauge to keep an eye on things anyway, so I'm just going to put these back in along with an Achilles pump shaft and call it good to go.

[Daggerty]

​

[m42b32]

Stopped by the garage again last night and got a few more things done. 

Modified the windage tray and got it bolted back onto the block. All that needed to be done was cut off the rear mount for the pickup tube. Some sources online stated that you need to add a stud to mount the 728i front sump pickup tube, but that is not the case on mine. There is a threaded feature on the oil pump body itself that lines up perfectly! The stud must be needed on the early m54 or m52tu that uses a slightly different pump, but I'm not sure. 

I also cleaned up the power steering pump, alternator, and belt tensioner/pulleys. The alternator took a bath in ATF during the donor car's accident, so I flushed out the body with a bit of brake cleaner. I also disassembled it as far as it would go and cleaned the regulator and it's contacts, as well as all the electrical connections under the cover. The part of the rear cover that connects to the duct was broken off and isn't repairable, so I trimmed the plastic back so that it would look a little nicer until I can find a replacement cover. It is the typical Bosch 120A unit that is used on a lot of different cars, so once the engine is in and running, I'd like to find a back cover that allows me to cleanly attach a duct setup that fits the e30 chassis. 

Got the alternator and accessory belt parts bolted back onto the engine, but I left off the power steering pump off till I have the oil pan sealed up. 

[KaiserRolls]

I had to cut that entire cover off my alternator to make room for things. We’ll see how long it takes to cook one

[m42b32]

Started working on cleaning up the e39 530i engine wire harnesses. Everything is sleeved in the ribbed plastic tubing and it has worn through or cracked in a lot of places so I am redoing  the entire harness in this braided harness wrap. Looks much nicer, but it is super tedious. Just waiting on the vanos oil feed line and the oil pump parts and I should be able to seal it up and start wiring. 

[Earl]

Are you using split loom or are you depinning all of the connectors and sliding in normal loom?

[m42b32]

Earl said:

Are you using split loom or are you depinning all of the connectors and sliding in normal loom?

Split loom, I got the amazon link from KaiserRolls' thread, I'm pretty pleased with it so far.

[B C]

They also have it at Pegasus Racing if you don't mind waiting a half hour while they ring up the 2 customers ahead of you.

[Jdesign]

m42b32 said:

Split loom, I got the amazon link from KaiserRolls' thread, I'm pretty pleased with it so far.

I didn't realize they made that stuff in split loom!

[m42b32]

Moving along slowly, but progress is progress. Installed a new VANOS oil feed line, bolted the front sump oil pickup tube to the pump, and started working on fitting the e46 oil level sensor to the e34 oil pan. I scraped the old seal out and replaced it with a new o-ring, but it turns out the studs on the pan are too short so I'll have to replace them with longer ones. Cleaned up and painted a few more brackets as well, but didn't get any pictures. 

I also got the m42 ready to pull. Everything is drained and disconnected, motor mounts unbolted, only thing left is to unbolt the trans mounts and hoist it out. Hoping to get it out by mid-week so I can start on the ABS delete/booster swap/etc.