Joined the Club Today

[jc43089]

That will do it

[SteelBlue]

An actual update:

As I had posted earlier, the M3 shell was removed from the storage unit allowing me to get the motor home. I'm still in awe at how easy that guy pulled the shell out without scratching the floor and given the tight space. Brought the motor home that night and got to work right away. Trans had that broken off bolt that put up a fight, but after getting enough clearance I just cut it off with the grinder. Struggled for the remainder of the night to get the trans off, called it quits. Watched a video about a trans removal and heard that tiny bolt holding that gasket has to removed. Sure enough came our right away.

Does anyone have the part number for that metal gasket between the trans and the block? I can't find it.

Started motor tear down right away after getting the trans off in the morning. Tried my best to label all of the wire ends for reassembly. This block was nasty.

Shit was disgusting.

Cleaned up before paint.

Intake side painted.

Exhaust side currently drying.

Didn't mask the pan since it's getting replaced.

Need to order a few gaskets(oil filter housing, intake manifold, throttle body).

@snap is this a banable offense?

[ChrisO]

SteelBlue said:

Shit was disgusting.

️

[SteelBlue]

Third stall is slightly deeper than the other part of the garage which allows for this nice little bit of area in front of the car where I will be doing the rest of the motor prep.

Never posted about it, but just to the left of the tires in the above picture is my new Milwaukee toolbox that I picked up about a month ago. It is the same model that @YoungCR was selling awhile back and I love it. Size is perfect for my tool collection with some room to grow into. Love the look of the box and the hutch top is super convenient.

I feel like a light should have come standard with this, but I added one with a home depot LED under cabinet light and a harbor freight magnetic tool bar. Painted the light housing black and wrapped the cable in red to be more discrete.

I love it, was definitely worth the money and was a necessary upgrade. Plus I got an 11% rebate on it, so that will be going to some more power tools in the future.

Back to tonight:

New thermostat, thermostat housing, and water pump installed.

[YoungCR]

The light is a great idea!

[straight6pwr]

i bought that URO fuse box cover as well, about a year ago. i was thinking "its an aesthetic plastic piece, they can't fuck it up."

the clips broke already.

[GunMetalGrey]

straight6pwr said:

i bought that URO fuse box cover as well, about a year ago. i was thinking "its an aesthetic plastic piece, they can't fuck it up."

the clips broke already.

So it is identical to OEM quality!

[SteelBlue]

GunMetalGrey said:

So it is identical to OEM quality! 

So, URO = OEM???

[SteelBlue]

Got the carpets dyed last night. Think it came out pretty good. Honestly, anything was better than the current carpet situation.

[straight6pwr]

Aww damn I would have traded you for my oem black carpet

[SteelBlue]

straight6pwr said:

Aww damn I would have traded you for my oem black carpet

Well shit. 

Carpet was pretty stained and beat up in some spots. I think after further inspection you might have changed your mind. I'll still trade if you want 

Finally got the clevis modified and welded. Got the booster bolted up at the fire wall and to the pedal. Got the MC on and the hard lines attached. Just need to fill and bleed the system.

I know this way of modifying the clevis was supposed to work, but I was still surprised when it worked. Fits just like stock.

Got the interior put back together. Really like how it came out, especially for how little I spent to get it done.

Lots of work done on the motor. Go.t the front sump oil pan swapped on. Got the new pick up tube on with the new gasket. Removed the mounting bracket for the old pick up tube(bent off). Did the oil pump nut while I was in there. Pulled off the original one and replaced it with a TMS nut with the safety wire through it and added some thread locker as well. Oil pan installed and torqued with some Permatex Black RTV gasket maker.

New valve cover gasket and Bosch spark plugs installed, VCG torqued down.

[Rekpoint]

That interior looks REALLY good for dye. Only time will tell how it will hold up!

[SteelBlue]

Rekpoint said:

That interior looks REALLY good for dye. Only time will tell how it will hold up!

Only thing I can see wearing is the handles. Otherwise I don’t think the cards themselves will get that much wear and tear. Maybe from the sun? We will see.

[SteelBlue]

Current problems:

I knicked the passenger front hard brake line with the angle grinder awhile back like a moron and just realized it today when I was trying to bleed the brakes. Fortunately, I believe this is the replacement. Comes pre flared with fittings, just needs to be bent.

Second, the remaining bolt in the bell housing of the trans. I should have just drilled right through it, but thought using an easy out for would help. It didn't. Now I cant really drill through the bolt because theres like a forged piece of metal in the center of it. Not sure if theres a strong bit head for getting through that, but I've started to kind of contact the housing portion of the hole and really don't want to cut into the trans housing anymore.

[Jdesign]

SteelBlue said:

Current problems:

I knicked the passenger front hard brake line with the angle grinder awhile back like a moron and just realized it today when I was trying to bleed the brakes. Fortunately, I believe this is the replacement. Comes pre flared with fittings, just needs to be bent.

Second, the remaining bolt in the bell housing of the trans. I should have just drilled right through it, but thought using an easy out for would help. It didn't. Now I cant really drill through the bolt because theres like a forged piece of metal in the center of it. Not sure if theres a strong bit head for getting through that, but I've started to kind of contact the housing portion of the hole and really don't want to cut into the trans housing anymore.

Post a picture of this.

Also did you spray the carpet black too?

[SteelBlue]

Jdesign said:

Post a picture of this.

Also did you spray the carpet black too?

I will post one when I get home from work and yes I did spray the carpet black. I am planning on getting floor mats to try to reduce the amount of interaction with shoes.

[SteelBlue]

Jdesign said:

Post a picture of this.

Also did you spray the carpet black too?

I'm assuming you were talking about the transmission bolt issue. I have ordered the replacement hardline as the brakes are not something I am trying to cut corners with.

The bolt in the trans. While fighting with this stuck bolt and getting the bit lost in the shavings on the surface on the housing, I made some 1/4" impressions on the surface. Nothing serious but it is upsetting, I think I'm going to run a washer with this bolt just for the even surface area. The back side you can see has had a good amount drilled out but now I'm hitting the broken off easy out. I would like to do this myself, but I don't want to damage the surface anymore. 

I guess really the next step would be to bring it to a machine shop or something where they might have a more able drill press? I'm open to suggestions.

Top side:

Side mated to block:

[Earl]

You could just leave it and run it as is too. Most people in the drifting world don't even run the top half of the transmission bolts on their car in the event that they need to do a trans swap at the track. If you think about the size and quantity of the fasteners, it's overkill for how much clamping force there is holding it to the engine with all of the bolts in place.

[SteelBlue]

Earl said:

You could just leave it and run it as is too. Most people in the drifting world don't even run the top half of the transmission bolts on their car in the event that they need to do a trans swap at the track. If you think about the size and quantity of the fasteners, it's overkill for how much clamping force there is holding it to the engine with all of the bolts in place. 

I’ve thought about this as there are 9 other bolts that hold it on. This is one of the large bolts at 9 and 3 o’clock on the trans. Would it be bad to not run one of these in particular? It would make like a lot easier if I didn’t need to worry about it. This car will be mainly street driven and a little bit of auto x at most so nothing that would put a significant amount of stress on it.

[Jdesign]

Earls right, you dont need to really worry about it.

If I really wanted it out, I would use some really small drill bits (#50 to #10 or so) and drill a hole or two between the easy-out and the trans wall. You started doing this but 1/4" is way too big. Then drill a hole from the back side(mated to block side) as you have already done but further until you hit the easy-out. then get a small punch and hit the easy-out from that same direction opposite from which you inserted it. Now you should have a hole, continue to step up your drill sizes until you are almost touching the threads on the housing. Use a torch and heat the area, use an easy-out and try again.

I've been there more times than I can count. Good luck!