Non-BMW Stuff on a BMW Forum

[jc43089]

Is there a dowel in the starter to position it precisely?  I thought there is, you would have to remove that to be able to push it to the outer tolerance of the bolt holes.

[HipMF]

jc43089 said:

Is there a dowel in the starter to position it precisely?  I thought there is, you would have to remove that to be able to push it to the outer tolerance of the bolt holes.

There is a dowel on my G240, but the M20 starter that I have does not have a hole for it. Don't know about other transmissions...

[Jdesign]

gilber33 said:

 Okay. At least I know what it most likely is. I'll see if there is any wiggle room in the starter bolt holes to pull it a little further away from the flywheel. I put in the RHD Engineering lightweight flywheel.

Let's say I use all the gap in the existing bolt holes to pull it out of the flywheel a bit and it still binds. WHAT IF I sliiiiightly enlarge the bolt holes on the starter to give it some more room to pull it away from the ring gear on the flywheel?

Not sure if that will help. It could be not reaching the teeth completely as well. I know that its common for those flywheels to be loud, but that video makes it really loud.

[gilber33]

jc43089 said:

Is there a dowel in the starter to position it precisely?  I thought there is, you would have to remove that to be able to push it to the outer tolerance of the bolt holes.

That's a good point, I'm not sure if there is. I'll have to look through old pictures.

edit: I don't think there is a dowl, but I think it's the gear housing on the starter that centers it in in the correct location.

I think I'll just live with it for a little while, and maybe it's a noise that will go away as the car is started more times and it "wears" in.

Jdesign said:

Not sure if that will help. It could be not reaching the teeth completely as well. I know that its common for those flywheels to be loud, but that video makes it really loud.

To be fair, the video emphasizes certain sounds, too. Like the video of it running makes it sound way more chattery than it is in person.

What would be the best way to see if it's reaching the gear all the way?

[rampelsauce]

gilber33 said:

To be fair

[Jdesign]

gilber33 said:

What would be the best way to see if it's reaching the gear all the way?

lil grease or nondrying paint on the gears to measure the lash?

[gilber33]

Taking it for a test spin this weekend when my wife is home and the kids aren't napping juuuuuust in case. But super excited. The wagon has some overdue maintenance, but in the meantime I had the windows tinted. 

And did a little cleaning up. 

[Jdesign]

That M20 swap in that volvo looks mighty clean.

[B C]

LOVE a clean engine bay. Excellent work!

[gilber33]

Drove it to work with no issue! With the trunk hole patched and the HD rubber bushings in place of the solid bushings it was a very enjoyable drive. Once I got to work the flywheel chatter with the lightweight flywheel is definitely noticeable when your outside the car. Goes away when the clutch pedal is pressed. 

[straight6pwr]

the car looks amazing, i'm jealous you've got it on the road!

[gilber33]

straight6pwr said:

the car looks amazing, i'm jealous you've got it on the road!

Thank you! It's on the road, but I didn't really do that much to it compared to most projects here.

[m42b32]

Looks fantastic!! Are you planning to bring it to the E30 picnic in June?

[B C]

great job dude!

The gear rattle is somewhat of a fact of life.

[straight6pwr]

if you don't drive this in cold weather much, you can opt to thicken the gear oil a bit to reduce the sound.

http://store.uucmotorwerks.com/articles/reduce_rattle.htm

[gilber33]

m42b32 said:

Looks fantastic!! Are you planning to bring it to the E30 picnic in June?

Thank you! And I forgot that was happening. I think I'm going to try to bring it.

B C said:

great job dude!

The gear rattle is somewhat of a fact of life.  

Thanks!

straight6pwr said:

if you don't drive this in cold weather much, you can opt to thicken the gear oil a bit to reduce the sound.

http://store.uucmotorwerks.com/articles/reduce_rattle.htm

Today is probably as cool of weather I'll be driving it in. Definitely will not be driven during winters. That is a very interesting read, thank you for sharing that.

[jc43089]

I have a UUC flywheel which is very light at 8.5 lbs and I use the mix of Redline fluids that they recommend.  There is still a little rattle but not much.  It is good advice.

[gilber33]

jc43089 said:

I have a UUC flywheel which is very light at 8.5 lbs and I use the mix of Redline fluids that they recommend.  There is still a little rattle but not much.  It is good advice.

That's good to hear. I will definitely try that. 

Car is back home. Drive home was just as magnificent. Car is so much smoother without the should mounts. I cam actually hear the exhaust and m20 now. I couldn't hear anything but vibrations with the solid mounts. 

And with the combination of the chip, lightweight flywheel, and new tires it is so enjoyable. I was smiling the whole way home. 

I put on new auxiliary belts and one of them is squealing a bit. Need to try tightening it but the brackets were just about stripped.

[gilber33]

Just a random picture of it at work. But so far so good! 

[gilber33]

Well, all has been going well until my drive this morning developed a pretty loud tick. As suggested I'm hoping it's just a rocker that came out of adjustment. I still have the spare block in case it's not that.

I also need to replace the driveline mounts - CSB, diff mount, and guibo. I'm getting a pretty significant knock when shifting. I can feel it coming from the back under the car. 

Sooooo, back up on jackstands for a bit! Hoping the engine can stay in. I'm also considering putting the stock flywheel back in. I'm not sure I noticed a significant enough difference when driving the car to warrant the awful starting sound and gear rattle to keep the RHD flywheel in.