E30 M52
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Warning: another long winded snap post
Something that is simultaneously great and horrible is the fact that no two 24V swaps are quite the same. Some have clearance issues with something while others do not. Someone will post on a forum the radiator hoses they used and another person will say they didnt fit well.
Adding to the unique creature that a 24V E30 is: I am using am E39 sourced engine. The E39 M52.
I chose to use the E39 M52 coolant neck because it was already aluminum instead of plastic, so no need to replace it, and I hear of occasional difficulty bleeding the cooling system and this coolant neck has a bleeder screw unlike the X50/S52 and is, for whatever reason, about 4 inches longer.
The typical E36 coolant hoses are said to work for the 24V swap, but the top hose would need to be shortened because of the longer coolant neck
“Then get a stock E36 hose and a pair of scissors, idiot”
Well BMW hoses are not constant diameter and flare up at the connections so trimming them eliminates the flare and tada! it no longer fits.
I had this issue with the M20 on the rear coolant hose from the head to the bottom heater hose pipe. The heater hose pipe is just about 11/16” while the connection on the back of the head is approximately 15/16”. After receiving a new hose that didnt have the flared end that i needed, i figured i received the wrong part. I ordered that stupid part a total of 3 different times (those little guys are NOT cheap!) and even a genuine BMW hose and a new aluminum coolant neck for the back of the head JUST IN CASE for some reason I owned some rare Antarctican Domestic Market cylinder head or something. I even had one of the guys at Pelican Parts parts baffled as well. Not a single one of them had the required flared end.
Ever since this I prefer to use Gates/Napa hoses of my own choosing. They are constant diameter, can be trimmed for a perfect fit, and inexpensive.
I used a NAPA #8484 hose for both the top hose and the bottom hose. Fits great after some trimming. The original application for this hose is for an AMC the parts guy told me.
The hose from the back of the head to the heater core is NAPA #11605 (from a Camaro) which fits with no trimming. It is about 3/4” diameter. To account for the larger diameter required, I heat the one end with a heat gun and install it with some coolant/water to help slide it on.
So I have the cooling system together, radiator in, and coolant added.
Back to the power steering pump situation. i need to replace the $$$ high pressure line with one from a 328i/528i and hope the rack side fits, machine down the mounting bracket 12mm for the M50/S50/S52 pump I have, or make an M14 to M16 banjo adapter.
I started with an M16x1.5 drain plug which fits the PS pump, drilled it so I could tap an M14x1.5 which fits the original E30 banjo bolt. It would have ended up working just great but my M14x1.5 tap isnt a bottoming tap and I was able to get about half a thread cut.
I will go to the Parker store this week or else buy some round stock that will give me more meat to work with and make another one.
The shifter is now welded correctly and installed. I am NOT thrilled with the weak detents on this transmission I have. i replaced the detent springs but i believe those are for fore/aft motion, not left/right.
Here’s to avoiding money $hifts in 2018 [emoji482]
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-I realized I need a plate between the M52 throttle body and M50 manifold for them to seal properly. Right now its two rubber seals up against eachother.
You probably already have a solution, but If you draw something up in CAD, I can cut an adapter out of phenolic on the CNC router. I wouldn't be able to do it until next weekend though.
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Snap said:
-I realized I need a plate between the M52 throttle body and M50 manifold for them to seal properly. Right now its two rubber seals up against eachother.
You probably already have a solution, but If you draw something up in CAD, I can cut an adapter out of phenolic on the CNC router. I wouldn't be able to do it until next weekend though.
Awesome, I will take you up on that! I will PM you
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Sourcing an E36 PS pump seems like it would be less complicated compared to making panjo bolts.
I don't recall if you can just throw the pulley from an E36 on the E30 PS pump and bolt it into the e36/9 bracket or not.
Which manifold and throttle body are you using?
Edit: I'm a fool.
Reasoning for sticking with the OBD2 throttle body? -
I think I will go with the StopTech Street Performance Brake Pads this time around (good riddance Metalmasters)
https://www.turnermotorsport.com/c-278-stoptech-street-performance-brake-pads
I just saw this, I have the Stoptech Sport on my e30 (slightly more aggressive but more dust, they didn't have any of the street pads available for my brakes) and they're fantastic. The braking is WAY better than my E36 with Bosch quietcast pads.
In case you haven't ordered them yet, Rockauto has them for half the price of Turner!!
http://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/bmw,1991,318is,1.8l+l4,1011373,brake+&+wheel+hub,brake+pad,1684
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Sourcing an E36 PS pump seems like it would be less complicated compared to making panjo bolts.
I have an E36 pump too. It doesnt fit. ~12mm needs to be removed from the mounting bracket to make it fit, even with a stepped pulleyI don't recall if you can just throw the pulley from an E36 on the E30 PS pump and bolt it into the e36/9 bracket or not.
That is definitely something to look at. I know I compared the E30 to the E36 and it wouldnt work, but didnt consider that combo you posted. I have an M16 to M14 adapter arriving in the mail today which will allow me to use the E39 pump with the E30/E36 lines.Which manifold and throttle body are you using?
Edit: I'm a fool.
Reasoning for sticking with the OBD2 throttle body?Mostly just because I ended up with 2 of them and didn't realize there was a difference in the sealing arrangement when I ordered all my seals so. The M50 manifold I bought ( $75 shipped, very good deal) didnt come with a throttle body. it doesnt make a big enough difference to me between adding a plate between the OBD2 throttle and buying an M50 throttle. I am mostly just using what I have bought
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Did you stick with the e39 oil filter housing? Sounds like you have things sorted out, but just curious as to why the e36 stuff didn't work, and that's the only thing I can think of.
The end is closer by the day!
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I had a busy day outside of the garage but i was able to finish up the last items that I needed to do before putting the intake manifold on. This mostly consisted of getting all the power steering limes situated. The adapter i bought for the pump worked out, i had to shorten both low pressure lines for the new PS reservoir location.
The low pressure line that connects to the rack was not going to allow the hose to connect to the reservoir. I pulled this banjo fitting (left) off the spare e36 pump i had and am using it instead of the E30 line (right). It works much better and im happy with my hydraulic line situation, although i dont want to touch them ever again. Hate those things.
The manifold is torqued down. I just have to connect the icv hose, evap hose, intake/maf, and coilpack ground straps and i will be ready to fire it up. I am at a christmas party now so i will have to finish it up tomorrow around 4p
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I cannot believe I see 24 valves in that car...
It’s been a long road to recovery, but we’ve finally worn him out
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It started, its running.... poorly.
The positive: everything is connected properly, no leaks or strange noises that I can tell, lifters are much quieter than expected.
The negative: cylinders 2 and 4 seem to be dead.
Cylinders 2 and 4 have spark so I pulled out the compression tester 🤭 (horrible idea, I know) but to my relief they were both 190 psi. I removed and replaced the injector harness to ensure everything was clipped in correctly and ran it again with no improvement.
Possible issues:
-injectors are bad (they were cleaned and tested, but who knows)
-injector wiring harness is bad
-injector drivers (ECU) are bad
Overall, for all the screwing around involved with the engine swap, cam swap/timing, and obd1 conversion, im happy to at least see that it fires up and runs.
The next time I work on the car I will swap injectors around and see if the problem follows the injectors as well as checking continuity with the injector harness and ecu pins
I will win this
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You could use a screwdriver or stethoscope to see if those injectors are clicking like the others while running.
Another thought is bad spark plug boots causing the spark to be shorted out when actually installed. I assume you had the coil pack pulled out and laid on top to test?
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You could use a screwdriver or stethoscope to see if those injectors are clicking like the others while running.
I tried a screwdriver and also a piece of hose and I wasn't able to really hear any real contrast.
If you need a noid light tester let me know I'm off the next three days.
I'm a bit in the doghouse for wrenching so much this weekend (ha!), Is this a tool you'd be willing to let me borrow for a week while i find the right opportunity to get back into the garage?
I also wonder how much the mixture and old gas has to do with things. I dont have the O2 sensor connected because the exhaust isnt finished and the fuel in the tank is probably a year and a half old.
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Bad gas could be a significant problem. Especially if it was not ethanol free. I would disconnect a feed line and jumper the pump relay to pump it out into a jug. Then hook the line back up and put fresh gas in and then run the pump with the jumper again for a minute to circulate it. Then run it again.
o2 sensor isn't a problem for a cold start.
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