Alpine e30 progress/build thread
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More done after work yesterday, forgot pictures again.
- Pulled and re-installed the center console without the spacer that was under the rear mount point on the original console, it fits way better now with no huge gap between the bottom edges and the carpet. Reinstalled the rear console as well.
- Installed a 91C temperature switch (BMW part number 61311364272) in the radiator and completed the fan wiring. The M54 operates around 96F based on what I have found so this should offer good protection if the radiator starts getting heat soaked while idling/etc. I can also manually override from a switch in the console if I am at an autocross/stuck in traffic on a hot day/etc. Eventually I'd like to add a 'fan on' indicator light somewhere, but that can happen after the picnic.
- Pulled the headers to lengthen the O2 sensor harnesses. I've got a pair of junk e36 sensors with much longer wires that I can steal the wire/plug/sheathing from so I only have to make one splice in each wire. Hoping to get that done this weekend so I can reinstall and start on the exhaust.
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Set up the Help Plz! party already! Next Saturday
i'll work on the trans oil, interior, and intake support
I'm thinking the first weekend in June to button everything up if needed! I'm going to see what I get done in the next two weeks, that way if I'm behind it'll be a stressful scramble and I won't want to work on cars for a few months
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Headers pulled, O2 sensor wires lengthened, and everything reinstalled with the wires routed much more cleanly. Upon closer inspection m52 o2 sensor plugs are not the same, though the wire gauge is the same so I used the wire (much higher temp rating for the insulation than anything you can get a a consumer store) and sheathing from those junk sensors to complete the extension.
I also completed the coolant tank internal hose that prevents the radiator from sucking air during cool down. I used a section of 5/16" hose from an e36 radiator expansion tank hose that had the perfect shape and modified a 5/16" barb bulkhead fitting to attach the hose. The hose end sits about 1" from the bottom of the tank, but due to the shape is right against the wall and away from the heater hose return so no air should transfer between the two. Only one company made a 5/16" barb bulkhead fitting with 3/8" NPT threads and the minimum purchase quantity was 25 pieces, so I ordered a generic one from ebay and an aluminum 3/8" NPT plug. I drilled and tapped the plug to the correct thread and then JB welded the bulkhead fitting into the plug.
I put a little bit of silicone grease on the barb so that the hose could spin slightly on it, attached the fitting to the hose, fed the hose through the female port on the expansion tank, and threaded the fitting into place. It fits perfectly! The hose shouldn't see any pressure differential so I'm not worried about it blowing off inside the tank, and if it does it won't cause any problems beyond being annoying.
Updated to-do list for making it to the picnic (17 days remaining):
- Bleed clutch
- Fabricate exhaust
- Weld skid plate mounts to chassis and install skid plate
- Bleed cooling system
- Fabricate catch can mount, route hoses
- Fabricate intake/filter support
- Reinstall interior pieces
- Reinstall hood/grilles
- Change trans fluid
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Updated to-do list for making it to the picnic (17 days remaining):
- Bleed clutch
- Fabricate exhaust
- Weld skid plate mounts to chassis and install skid plate
- Bleed cooling system
- Fabricate catch can mount, route hoses
- Fabricate intake/filter support
- Reinstall interior pieces
- Reinstall hood/grilles
- Change trans fluid
What's your clutch bleeding process?
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What's your clutch bleeding process?
I would imagine it’s identical to bleeding brakes.
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What's your clutch bleeding process?
I have no idea... never done it before. Hopefully something that works
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I would imagine it’s identical to bleeding brakes.
I think it can be done similarly, but the struggle comes from BMW putting the slave bleed valve on the bottom where air doesn't like to go... people try everything from pressure/vacuum bleeding, reverse bleeding, gravity bleeding, removing the slave and compressing it by hand with the bleeder pointed upwards, etc. etc. There are probably as many threads on clutch bleeding as there are for "what oil should I use?"...
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I think it can be done similarly, but the struggle comes from BMW putting the slave bleed valve on the bottom where air doesn't like to go... people try everything from pressure/vacuum bleeding, reverse bleeding, gravity bleeding, removing the slave and compressing it by hand with the bleeder pointed upwards, etc. etc. There are probably as many threads on clutch bleeding as there are for "what oil should I use?"...
I’ve done it a few times and I’ve always just done it like brakes
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I think it can be done similarly, but the struggle comes from BMW putting the slave bleed valve on the bottom where air doesn't like to go... people try everything from pressure/vacuum bleeding, reverse bleeding, gravity bleeding, removing the slave and compressing it by hand with the bleeder pointed upwards, etc. etc. There are probably as many threads on clutch bleeding as there are for "what oil should I use?"...
I got one of those reverse bleeders because the last time I tried bleeding it didn't go so well.
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If you are patient the clutch will usually bleed itself. Fill with fluid and work on other things. Walk past and pump the pedal a few times every 15 minutes. You will see the bubbles rising into the reservoir. Before you get everything else done your clutch will be air free and work perfect. Sounds crazy but I have done it that way on everything from an e24 to e36 including when master, slave, and lines are all brand new.
Good info on the hose to the bottom of the tank. What tank part number did you use?
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This^
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 -
If you are patient the clutch will usually bleed itself. Fill with fluid and work on other things. Walk past and pump the pedal a few times every 15 minutes. You will see the bubbles rising into the reservoir. Before you get everything else done your clutch will be air free and work perfect. Sounds crazy but I have done it that way on everything from an e24 to e36 including when master, slave, and lines are all brand new.
Good info on the hose to the bottom of the tank. What tank part number did you use?
So do you open the bleed screw at all? Or basically just pump the pedal a bunch of times over a day or two?
For the tank, I used a Canton 80-202. It has a 2 quart capacity so should be more than big enough for the M54 and other BMW I6's based on their sizing guidelines.
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Nope, I don't open the bleed screw at all. I suppose you could open it until fluid comes out which might speed up the process.
Excellent I will pick one of those tanks up. I overhauled everything in my cooling system except the tank itself. Thanks for the info.
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I spent some nights after work last week (flickr was down for maintenance, no pics is no fun) and the long weekend getting things done on the car.
Intake support and hot air intake built! I used a K&N filter, 3.5" 45 degree silicone elbow, a piece of 3.5" exhaust tube, and some flat bar to secure the filter in place. I have since painted the mount black and reinstalled. It will need a heat shield eventually but for now this will work perfectly.
I also finished the oil catch can setup and mounting. The catch can is one from Turner with a Radium Engineering PCV valve on the output. It uses a 1/2" hose from the valve cover and then a 3/8" hose as a return back to the vacuum distribution manifold on the intake. The catch can came with a few universal mounts that I used to mount it near the strut tower on the passenger side with a bit of tweaking. Access to drain the can is great as well.
I also painted and re-installed the passenger side headlight cover I made recently and got the coolant expansion tank mounted. I put some thin foam material between the tank and headlight panel to prevent any rattling as well. With it all bolted down tight it is super secure. I finished routing the hoses as well, lots of zip ties but it looks nice. I might try and find something better than a million zip ties in the future, but for now it works perfectly.
I got the skid plate mounts welded to the chassis too. Mocked everything up and used a wire wheel to take the surfaces to be welded down to bare metal. I didn't love how the mounts covered some of the holes in the frame rail so I notched them out to allow proper drainage. One hole is completely covered so I closed it off with seam sealer before fitting up the mounts for final welding. I'm hoping to avoid any water getting trapped between the mounts and the frame and causing rust issues down the road.
Broke out the really hot glue gun and got them welded up for good. Started the car on fire a few times, but other than that it went fairly smoothly. Some angles (not to mention being upside down) made it a bit difficult, but overall it went well. I'm definitely improving with this welding stuff but still have a long ways to go.
Once they cooled off and I could confirm the car wasn't going to start on fire anymore, I got them masked up and primed followed by a coat of seam sealer over the welds and around the drain holes to close everything off. Once that is dry I'll hit it with a coat or two of rubberized undercoating and it will be good to go!
Other things accomplished but don't have pics:
- Changed the transmission fluid with a fresh fill of Redline D4 ATF (and a little bit of Redline 75w90ns because I ran out of ATF, they're ok to mix).
- Worked on bleeding the clutch with @jc43089's method over the last few days. I am starting to get a half decent pedal feel but the first inch or two of travel still feels super light. I will keep at it for the next few days.
- Driver's side of the interior reassembled, just need to tidy up the ECU wiring a bit and reinstall the glovebox.
- Grilles are reinstalled (removed the Hella horns for now, will finish the wiring later).
- I started working on the exhaust. I will be running dual 2.25" pipes from the headers back to a Y merge under the center of the car, then a single 3" pipe with a narrow-body glasspack/resonator right after the merge and a magnaflow-style muffler in the usual location at the rear. I had to dent and trim one of the lower pipes on the headers to clear the transmission but it fits decently now. I also started working on muffler placement and routing the header outlets to the merge under the center of the car, planning hanger locations, etc. I am trying to keep the exhaust as tight as possible to the underside of the car so hopefully I don't have any additional ground clearance issues.
Updated to-do list for making it to the picnic (11 days remaining):
- Finish bleeding clutch
- Finish exhaust
- Undercoat skid plate mounts and reinstall plate
- Bleed cooling system
- Reinstall glovebox
- Reinstall hood
- If I have time, swap in the new diff
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What psi cap did you go with for your overflow? Also the “lev-r-vent” caps make bleeding nice.
If you want max respect at car shows:
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What psi cap did you go with for your overflow? Also the “lev-r-vent” caps make bleeding nice.
If you want max respect at car shows:
I put an 18PSI cap on (stock for an M54 is a 29psi), which is what German Auto Solutions sells as a "tested improvement", https://germanautosolutions.com/bmw_solutions/cooling_system/12_bar_coolant_cap/product_bmw_12_bar_cap.php. They seem to take their time engineering things instead of just selling random crap as an upgrade so I figured I would give it a shot. I figure worst case scenario it prematurely releases some pressure and I get another cap with a slightly higher rating. The lev-r-vent caps are great, cheap too!
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Skid-plate is in for good!
With that in I was able to get the cooling system completely plumbed (and secured better than in the pic)and ready to be filled. I also continued to pump the clutch pedal through the evening and all the sudden got a really good pedal feel towards the end of the night. Not sure if it is completely bled yet but the dead spot at the top of the travel is gone and it feels pretty decent. I will just continue to pump it every once in a while until it's time for the first drive.
Updated to-do list for making it to the picnic (8 days remaining):
- Finish exhaust
- Bleed cooling system
- Reinstall glovebox
- Reinstall hood
- If I have time, swap in the new diff
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Skid-plate is in for good!
With that in I was able to get the cooling system completely plumbed (and secured better than in the pic)and ready to be filled. I also continued to pump the clutch pedal through the evening and all the sudden got a really good pedal feel towards the end of the night. Not sure if it is completely bled yet but the dead spot at the top of the travel is gone and it feels pretty decent. I will just continue to pump it every once in a while until it's time for the first drive.
Updated to-do list for making it to the picnic (8 days remaining):
- Finish exhaust
- Bleed cooling system
- Reinstall glovebox
- Reinstall hood
- If I have time, swap in the new diff
MUST BE NICE
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