1JZ E30 Vert Build Thread with Pastry filled wheels

[Jdesign]

KaiserRolls said:

What diff did you take out of the car?

An open 3:73.

[Jdesign]

So I got the pins out, and took out all of the interior. I should have snapped a pic, but I will tonight. I cannot for the life of me remove the subframe. Pulling, twisting, and tugging like a vintage porno, the damn thing is stuck. I used a plethora of various tools too; Air chisel, hammer, bigger hammer, prybars of all shapes and sizes. I finally found a thread on R3V of a guy using a  custom bent 1/2" x 3' rod, sledge hammer, and a lagbolt that got his out. I will be attempting this tonight.

that thread is here: http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=136816

[nick.e46.330i.]

When I took mine out I didn't take out those studs. I jumped on the trailing arms to break it loose. On mine the aluminum part for the stock mount corroded and was stuck to the body.

[YoungCR]

A little heat wouldn't hurt either.

[B C]

I also had your same scenario with mine. i tapped the aluminum sleeve of the subframe mount, installed a screw, and did the hammer of death procedure as you are about to undertake.

I had my best success when gradually getting each side down a little at a time

[m42b32]

All this talk about everything getting stuck and breaking makes me reallllllly not looking forward to dropping my rear subframe....

[Earl]

I put a 5 foot two by four in between the body and subframe. I then proceeded to go side to side and work it down by jumping on it=)

[KaiserRolls]

What happened to said diff?

[ClassE]

I pulled on mine.... And it came out. Literally required almost no effort to break free once everything was unbolted.

Good luck - get it loose!!!

[DrLeadFoot]

Mine snapped off the top of the aluminum bushing and left it in the car. Had to drill and hammer it out.

[Jdesign]

Well I got it out. Used a 3 foot rod and a 5/8ths lag bolt. I had to bend the rod to get it in there, but after a few quick smacks, the casting snapped right where I drilled the holes. 
 

And after I got it out, I still had the other half of the casting stuck in the car. So I just repeated the process. Thread in lag bolt, insert rod from the top, HAMMER TIME.

Out it came.

[Jdesign]

The electric impact I use is so helpful. The torque of the electric motor really helped drive that lag bolt into the aluminum. 

Next I just need to toss all the hardware in the tumbler, replace all the bushings, and clean everything up and paint it! :sigh:

old diff is for sale BTW.. http://www.wibimmers.com/board/index.php?/topic/3579-e30-373-open-differential-for-sale/

here you can see how dried out the swing arm bushings are

This sucks too, the axle boots are cracked and about to tear from just looking at them. Anyone have suggestions on new axles? (Brand, where to buy, HP amount etc?) I figure I will need better ones once I swap the car anyways.

[jc43089]

Just replace the boots and repack the cv joints with grease. There is no need to replace the whole thing.

Sent from my potato phone

[Jdesign]

jc43089 said:

Just replace the boots and repack the cv joints with grease. There is no need to replace the whole thing. Sent from my potato phone

I might go that route for now to save some cash. I wont be seeing big HP numbers till next year anyways. I have seen a few guys that run stock M coupe Axles and they are pushing 600+.

[Jdesign]

So I have been trying to find a complete set of boots for these axles and I can only find the inners.

This is what I was looking at:  http://www.ebay.com/itm/231058828736?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

I know the Meyle ones are nice, but I cant find the other ends. Anyone have any pointers?

On a side note, I took my buddies drift car to work the other day and it developed a slight vibration. upon return to my shop, I found the culprit.......

Also, 18's on an E30?   :PUKE:

[ClassE]

Depending on offsets and tire size, 18's in back almost look "presentable"... Everytime someone posts pics of 18's on E30's tho, it's always the rear..... Because 18's in front looks like utter and complete rubbish.

[Jdesign]

ClassE said:

Depending on offsets and tire size, 18's in back almost look "presentable"... Everytime someone posts pics of 18's on E30's tho, it's always the rear..... Because 18's in front looks like utter and complete rubbish.

Double stagger might be possible, but why.

[jc43089]

http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?model=BB13&mospid=47326&btnr=33_0470&hg=33&fg=25

Item 5 is the inner, 6 is the outer.  Pelican has a full kit with all 4 boots, the bolts, grease etc for $115.50

[Jdesign]

jc43089 said:

http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?model=BB13&mospid=47326&btnr=33_0470&hg=33&fg=25

Item 5 is the inner, 6 is the outer.  Pelican has a full kit with all 4 boots, the bolts, grease etc for $115.50

Awesome!!! thank you so much. Placing my order today!

[Jdesign]

So it been awhile since I updated, So here are some pics of my latest struggles and successes with my E30 . It seemed like the more I started to take things apart, the more I found things that needed to be fixed. Typical money pit as expected.

So I can start here, I removed the old subframe bushings with a two jaw press. It was a little annoying but it worked pretty good.

Once that was done, I got out the wire wheel and sandpaper, and took the pleasure of grinding and sanding all that nasty ruberized coating off of the subframe to prep it for paint. I had a good friend of mine machine some camber plates(which look amazing) and I planned on welding those on. But due to the deadline of Sowo closing in, I decided that they will have to wait until I get back to be installed.  

This is what the kit basically looks like.

So skipping that, which im not to thrilled about, I Painted my Subframe. Needless to say I am stoked how it turned out. Its a shame I will need to grind it down again to weld on the camber plates.

Here's a close up. I used this metallic spray after a nice coat of black, and it really gave it some POP!

Also prior to tackling my rear subframe, I installed new wheel bearings up front, only to realize that my balljoints were starting to get really weak. So I took everything apart, cleaned and painted everything. I  ordered new control arms, sway bar endlinks, and sway bar bushings for the front end.