E30, S50B32 321BHP Rightness

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Das_BMW_E30
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Tue Jun 19, 2012 1:59 am

The E30 was designed to have a straight six, and apparently this is the most popular conversion.

I've been reading lots sourcing bits, learning along the way...

I have gone about my conversion arse about face, buying the diff first, box and prop next, a rear axle from a E36 1.8ti Compact, (yep it'll be five stud eventually) and then the 3.2 Evo engine with Vanos 'issues'.

I'm in no hurry, and hope to get it all together by summer next year.

Progress so far...

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E30 M3 Evo SPORT Diff, 3.15/1, i've heard they are rare..

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M3 5 Speed E36 Gearbox, bought this as it is the stronger unit than the Six Speed, which has no serviceable parts, and is big £££ from BMW

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No spun shells on this unit, new set of big end bearings and a set of ARP conrod bolts to deal with the 7000+ redline.

The S50B32 unit is on the back of my Recovery Truck, put it on a pallet, as the 18ft Aluminium Bed seemed a bit hard.

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The next pic is something special, aparently the vanos solenoids like to jump around when advancing the cam timing, this plays havoc with the vanos seals, which are under pressure, from the high oil pressue lubrication system.

http://www.mrvanos.com/

Has a solution to that problem..

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A couple of 10mm holes are drilled into the Vanos covers, the holes are then tapped, and a couple of grub screws with dry loctite are fitted.

Apparntly, the covers are fitted with the new bolts, then the 10mm grub screws are wound in to the back of the solenoids (even pressue, not to tight)..this then holds the solenoids in place, and prevents vanos seal kit wear..

Will keep you posted on how this works out...
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Das_BMW_E30
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Wed Jun 20, 2012 12:31 am

Looking forward to some of this....

jaistanley
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Wed Jun 20, 2012 2:18 am

Any questions mate, drop me a PM. I will try and answer.

My engine was a near mint unit. I replaced the VANOS seals and it since hasn't bee quite right. I now have a slight growl on over-run that needs to get fixed ASAP. I have a feeling that I may have put the solenoids back in at a very slightly different angle, though with the care I did it, it seems unlikely. I might check out Mr.Vanos to see what he recommends.

Good luck.. I LOVE the S50B32 in mine!

Kind regards,

Jai Stanley

:D
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Das_BMW_E30
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Wed Jun 20, 2012 8:48 pm

Much appreciated Jai, no doubt you'll get a PM or two, cheers
DanThe
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Thu Jun 21, 2012 7:50 pm

Make sure you oil the seals before fitting, rather than using the paper gaskets I just use gasket sealant which gets the covers that little bit closer to the housing. Ive seen lots of covers with imprints of the solenoids on them but never thought the gap is big enough to need screws to hold the solenoids down
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Das_BMW_E30
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Fri Jun 22, 2012 7:54 pm

Thanks for the tip Dan, much appreciated.

The grub screws in the housing covers are Mr Vanos' latest apparently.
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