the one and only e30 s52 engine swap

[Jdesign]

jc43089 said:

Weld an "extension" onto a tap or thread chaser.  A thread chaser would probably be better because aluminum cuts so easy.

This!^

I would suggest using a bolt.

[AsparagusMike]

Lame update. Just to keep the thread alive.

Moved old motor out of the shop into storage, where it will continue to leak its oil everywhere.

Focused on the engine bay today:

Pulled Front valence off.

pulled master cylinder and booster as well as the throttle cable. Does the M42 throttle cable long enough for the swap or am I still gonna need an e34 one?

Moved all the wiring over by the fuse box out of the engine bay.

Vacuumed.

\

Had a good time figuring out how to press the wheel bearings out of the trailing arms. Only got the hubs out today. Misplaced my snap ring pliers somewhere and after about an hour of searching the entire shop I called her a night.

Got a new bolt for the motor. Also in the process of getting the shit bolt and tap welded together, thank you for that idea by the way! Will have that done tomorrow. Just hoping I manage to save the threads enough for them to be effective.

[B C]

I have read that the M42 cable works fine

[GunMetalGrey]

AsparagusMike said:

So I went over to the shop this afternoon to mess around with the motor for a few hours and maybe get the thing timed. Everything was going smooth as can be, everything smooth as can.....

Its the longest of the 2 bolts that hold the upper chain guide in place. 

So this bolt runs down and fastens to the timing cover (aluminum). These are quite common to strip and are certainly a pain to deal with. 
I don't think you will get the threads to take with a new bolt, though it's an easy thing to try. 
I've had this happen a couple times (don't go by the book spec, it's too much) and I started putting inserts in them before assembly to cover my ass. 

Pulling the timing cover off is my advice if you want to be proper. 
Loosen up the head, pull the jesus bolt, loosen the pan, and you can slide the cover out and use inserts.

[AsparagusMike]

Trialing arm bearings out as well as everything else that was still on them. Taking everything in to get blasted tomorrow and then reinforcement time.

Rear firewall soundproofing rubberish thingy removed as well as the heat shield underneath it revealing some glorious surprises.

Got an angle grinder with a wire wheel sitting on the bench, yets see where that gets me tomorrow.

On another note...

I completely forgot to mention it but I did end up getting the e36 m3 steering rack.

Yes the rack is in pretty rough shape right now but after a reseal kit and a little TLC I think it'll turnout alright.

Didn't mention this yet but I am planning on repainting the engine bay. Still deciding on what color to go with though.

[KaiserRolls]

I’m sure you will, but check the front subframe closely for cracks. I found a couple in my old one before I replaced it

[AsparagusMike]

GunMetalGrey said:

So this bolt runs down and fastens to the timing cover (aluminum). These are quite common to strip and are certainly a pain to deal with. 
I don't think you will get the threads to take with a new bolt, though it's an easy thing to try. 
I've had this happen a couple times (don't go by the book spec, it's too much) and I started putting inserts in them before assembly to cover my ass. 

Pulling the timing cover off is my advice if you want to be proper. 
Loosen up the head, pull the jesus bolt, loosen the pan, and you can slide the cover out and use inserts. 

Welp, the tap and die failed. I guess you were right Ben.

Although the tap and bolt welded together was a really good idea that did work by cleaning up the threads, It was at a point where they were no longer really savable.

So Saturday I pulled the timing cover on the motor.

This morning I ordered new timing cover gaskets, steering rack reseal kit, rear wheel bearings, last of the gaskets I need for the motor as well as a few other things to keep me busy.

Gonna head in to auto zone this morning and find myself a helicoil kit and then I'll be on my way.

On another note...

I haves a question.

What I want is to get rid of that charcoal canister and with it the fuel line that runs to it from the gas tank. The canister itself is pretty much shot and the fuel line running to it is rusty as can be. I honestly don't want to pay to order another line and canister when the only purpose for it is to lower emissions.

Can I just delete the system back to the tank, run a tube with the purge valve attached to it off of that piece, tuck it away and let it vent to atmosphere? Not sure how it would but will that cause a vacuum build up in the tank?

I also know of the other method people chose to do which is simply deleting the canister leaving the purge valve between the two lines running to the the throttle body. Other people also commented that this will cause a vacuum build up in the tank.

What have you guys done for this part of the car?

Thx!

[AsparagusMike]

Ya, so things have been a happenin...

By the way, thx for the tip on that bolt extractor kit for getting the last bolt out on the gas tank. Worked like a charm.

As well as the rest of the aluminum subframe sleeve... To get it out I used a tig torch set on AC (usually used for welding aluminum) and it pretty much just heated up really fast and blasted it out all at the same time.

After getting that done, I was able to pull all the rest of the brake and fuel lines which I should say were very crusty and in dyer need of replacement.

In fact once I started to pop the fuel lines out of the brackets they immediately started to leak in 3 different spots. Gonna be replacing all the lines with copper nickel line 5/16 for the fuel and 3/16 for the brake.  Ordered a bubble flaring kit from Matco the other day. Hoping to see it here Monday or Tuesday.

For the interior, as you've seen above I got the dash and carpet pulled. Carpet is a nasty mess ,  Gonna try cleaning it today back at home and see how she looks. Not really sure about dying the carpet as I am a little leery about how it may hold up over time. Also came upon a website while researching carpets for bmw's called stockinteriors.com. They will make a molded carpet with the foam for an e30 for about 170 bucks, only thing I would have to do is cut in the necessary holes for it to fit, something I may have to consider if the original carpet doesn't work out.

As for the dash, Got it completely dissembled last, dremeled out all of the cracks with a grinding stone. Will begin body filling the cracks tonight and sand it down. Order dash flocking kit, check.

Also started to clean all the foam for sealing the duck work. Anyone know where I can get a good replacement for that kind of stuff?

And onto the rust repair...

So far this is all that I was able to get done for repair so far. Tough thing I learned my lesson from is the fact I decided to use 12 gauge steel instead of something a bit liter like 16 or 18. It still ended up turning out alright and welded up nicely with just a few issues where the amperage was to high and burned holes in the original body metal because of how much thinner it was. Will clean it up a bit more with a paddle wheel and paint on the por-15.

There are about three more spots that need to be cut and welded up with new metal on the passenger side floor panel. After that, on to the driver side which I have began cutting out where the rust has ate through.

After learning my lesson, gonna be using something a bit liter on this side like 18 gauge. Gonna weld much better to the original metal and bend nicer.

A couple other things done... removed the entire airbag system and got the hole drilled, tapped, and helicoiled on the timing cover.

Still waiting on new gaskets to reinstall it as well as hand full of other parts including all new 95a poly bushings, motor mounts, and trans mounts from revshift! Still waiting on my frames to get blasted which were suppose to be done this last Friday but it seems everyone I have been getting work done by recently have been telling me they would get it done by this time and end up not having it done when I call them on that date, some people's kids I tell ya.

[KaiserRolls]

Awesome progress!
As far as the purge valve stuff goes, I let that line vent to atmosphere & have the purge valve still connected to the harness, just let that hang out wherever

[Earl]

You can buy those HVAC gaskets new from the dealer. Check realoem.com for the part number

[Daggerty]

@straight6pwr bought a carpet from stockinteriors.com or a similar site. 

He could tell you what the pros cons are of it.

[stealthbimmer]

Told ya, those extractors are a life saver. Lookin good

[Jdesign]

So many pictars. Keep it up man this thread is great.

[GunMetalGrey]

You're really digging into this thing! 

You are going to love the feel of the brake pedal after swapping all of the lines. While you are at it make sure to replace the soft brake lines, and may as well replace all of the hardlines (trailing arm lines etc.)

Keep up the good work! 

I'll dig for the vanos tools sometime this week, should be able to get out to the shop.

[straight6pwr]

Daggerty said:

@straight6pwr bought a carpet from stockinteriors.com or a similar site. 

He could tell you what the pros cons are of it.

pros:

• color choices
• lightweight
• synthetic material so better stain resistance
• cheap, relative to new OEM carpet

cons:

• fit is not great
• takes a bit of effort to install
• more cabin noise than stock

basically, if your carpet could be R&R'd back to good condition, I wouldnt bother with an aftermarket replacement. mine was ripped and smelled awful from water intrusion.

[AsparagusMike]

straight6pwr said:

pros:

• color choices
• lightweight
• synthetic material so better stain resistance
• cheap, relative to new OEM carpet

cons:

• fit is not great
• takes a bit of effort to install
• more cabin noise than stock

basically, if your carpet could be R&R'd back to good condition, I wouldnt bother with an aftermarket replacement. mine was ripped and smelled awful from water intrusion.

Thx for the info! Hopefully the original cleans up well.

Earl said:

You can buy those HVAC gaskets new from the dealer. Check realoem.com for the part number

Got the part number. Called up the dealer, 35 dollars for a piece of foam. Ya, no.

KaiserRolls said:

Awesome progress!
As far as the purge valve stuff goes, I let that line vent to atmosphere & have the purge valve still connected to the harness, just let that hang out wherever

That's exactly what I want to do. Thanks for confirming it.

[Earl]

I mean $34 sounds more than fair for what it is lol. I replaced the one in my compact new and it was painless. I think being such a funky shape, it'd take a while to try and get a piece of strip to apply nicely.

[B C]

For the charcoal canister, I will see if I can cut the line back closer to the fuel tank then install an inline fuel filter just to allow it to breathe but not allow dirt in. I will post more once I get there

[jc43089]

Snap said:

For the charcoal canister, I will see if I can cut the line back closer to the fuel tank then install an inline fuel filter just to allow it to breathe but not allow dirt in. I will post more once I get there

That will stink, literally, anytime the car is parked and the temperature increases you will smell gas.  Maybe I missed something?  Why are we not connecting charcoal canisters?  There are aftermarket universal ones for cheap if the original is broken.

[B C]

jc43089 said:

That will stink, literally, anytime the car is parked and the temperature increases you will smell gas.  Maybe I missed something?  Why are we not connecting charcoal canisters?  There are aftermarket universal ones for cheap if the original is broken. 

I wanted to keep it but I already had to relocate it 2 "above the stock E30 location in order to clear the E36 engine mount arms. Now the top of it hits the master cylinder. I will proceed with removing it as planned but if I can find a suitable smaller replacement then I will consider it.