'91 318iS minor resto.. ;-)

[jonesy318]

Love This Thread, Gives Me Some Enthusiasm To Get My Arse In gear And Get Mine Sorted..

[milescook]

Heroic effort and great write up! Crack on sir
What's a charcoal filter though?
Ahh ignore me just found it in the wiki!

[Split_S]

Love This Thread, Gives Me Some Enthusiasm To Get My Arse In gear And Get Mine Sorted..

Heroic effort and great write up! Crack on sir
What's a charcoal filter though?
Ahh ignore me just found it in the wiki!

Thanks for the nice comments..jonesy318 did you get those pics? Hope they helped...


Well I got some work done on the car this weekend though I was a bit sick but I managed to keep the fever down with lots of aspirin... I guess this "minor resto" is becoming a wee bit more involved now....

I got my friend to buy an engine lift - mainly because Im cheap yet very persuasive...
With the engine lift paid for on buddy's credit card we assembled her up and introduced her to my car..



I was starting to get excited...

The engine mount bolts took some convincing but finally gave with a bit of leverage... Of course like everything Ive laid my hands on this car so far, they are scrap and will be binned... As a side note, I now have my pay check deposited directly to my local BMW stealership which is nice...







Best I could find was a herc strap to lift the engine...remember: yellow = cool.



The rest of the bolts mating the tranny to the engine were removed (of course there are a few really short ones which I didn't see until Id been yanking on the engine for a while...

Bolts out, a bit of lift, a flat screwdriver to "persuade" the engine off the tranny and, like most married couples eventually do, they separated...



One sticking point was the exhaust... Id cut it just before the cat but that wasn't short enough.. Just after the headers would've been good. I had to use the angle grinder but couldn't quite cut thru...



Jiggle jiggle..



Pretty tight fit...which is nice for some things, not so much for engine removal...



Almost there...



Almost...


Just a wee bit more...


Aahh f*ck $%@#$^....

[jonesy318]

top work Norm, keep it going bud.
Thanks for the pictures they were spot on, however looking at these pictures has made me notice something else ive got missing
Bloody car aaaarrrrrgggghhhhhh!!!

[Split_S]

Really glad the pics helped...that's great...
Its a mess of shite under the intake isn't it? Ive already decided to do the heater plate delete, that should clean things up... Of course that'll wont be till sometime late next year...

This project is great.....

[Jesus325iTouring]

And so it continues, great stuff.

PS the grass needs cutting

[Split_S]

And so it continues, great stuff.

PS the grass needs cutting

Grass is for hippies....

Well our little cliff hanger was ultimately resolved... Lowered her back down, shortened the arm, tightened up the herc straps and voila...





Just in time for supper....
I neglected to take some pics of her on the engine mount which is a shame... Before getting her on I had to remove the clutch pressure plate and then the 8 bolts which hold the flywheel.



Those were on f$%#@ass tight, pardon my french.
Lotsa leverage required! With those off I nestled the m42 gently onto the engine mount (read: cursed and swore at that piece of shite until I figured it out...) and called her a day...

I put the m42 on a trailer and then drove her over to my dads place so she could spend the winter...no time for her just yet....

Here she is without her beating heart...





Guess what's next???

Stay tuned..

[hillbilly30]

Nice work! Wish I had the patience to carry out a project of that size! Every job I start I need to finish in the day or I don't sleep until it's done...

[Split_S]

Nice work! Wish I had the patience to carry out a project of that size! Every job I start I need to finish in the day or I don't sleep until it's done...

There is so much to do with this rebuild patience is kinda imposed upon me...no choice in the matter...


Well, I picked up my dash yesterday, lovely 7 hr drive and that dash is MINT.. not a crack anywhere, honestly it looks new...
On the way back home I swung thru to the US to pick up my latest order.
For those of you considering a rebuild here is what 1500$ USD worth of parts looks like:



With this latest order, I got just about everything I need for the rear suspension rebuild:

Bilstein shocks and eibach springs for a 40mm drop (about 1/2 of the total cost right there...) New FAG wheel bearings (that'll be fun!). All new bushings: subframe, trailing arm, fancy poly one for the diff, even new ones for the sway bar. New sway bar brackets, spring pads upper and lower. I also got new front wheel bearing hubs (not shown), new 02 sensor and I also splurged and got new protection plates for all 4 brakes - no vacation this year, sorry kids!

Now before I can start on this lovely part of my project, can someone tell me how the hell I get those handbrake cables off the rear axle?????

[e30Passion]

I thought i was brave with my project but dude you got some serious balls of F1 grade carbon fiber tackling a resto job of this level when you say you got no mechanical experience. Absolutely AWESOME thread mate!! You got me subscribed.. can't wait for the next update!

I do hope you're gonna acid/primer dip the bare chassis cause it looks like it needs it!

Keep it going!
Cheers

[Split_S]

I thought i was brave with my project but dude you got some serious balls of F1 grade carbon fiber tackling a resto job of this level when you say you got no mechanical experience. Absolutely AWESOME thread mate!! You got me subscribed.. can't wait for the next update!

I do hope you're gonna acid/primer dip the bare chassis cause it looks like it needs it!

Keep it going!
Cheers

Thanks for the nice comments but I think those that know better on this site would just call me stupid.... But really, its the whole point of this project: to learn and have fun and hopefully not have to remortgage the house to pay for it all! So far Im 2 out of 3....
I would love to get it dipped and ecoated but that would mean a long treck to the USA and lotsa $$$ so sadly its just not going to happen. Ive already spent twice in parts what Ive paid for the car and Im only starting so I really have to prioritize.. The rust is not bad at all on the body or subframe, some spots need to be replaced but overall she is in good shape. I will be thorough and get rid of everything I can and spray for the rest (rust-stop and waxoil) but this car will never see winter or rain anymore so she will be well protected... Next update soon...

[Split_S]

I was so psyched to have pulled that engine out I pulled out my bucket list and crossed one off! Now I need to find a pair of 22 year old blond blue-eyed gorgeous Swedish twins for the next item on my bucket list...

But I digress...

With the engine out the next logical step was to yank the drivetrain. However, first Id have to deal with the rear suspension. I was psyched about this step because honestly I couldn't tell a subframe bushing from an axle thing-a-ma-bobber.. That was about to change...

Removing the wheels revealed this:



Not bad considering this car is 23 years old on Jan 7th... Mostly light surface rust rust... A few taps of a mallet and look what comes out?



A day at the beach apparently....

The rear shock, which will be binned..



And the cheap-o adjustable mount setup.... will be binned...



This, I believe, is what is left of what was once a rear subframe bushing..



And a rear shot of the diff: (yes its a diff and not a shot of something off the Titanic!)



So, looking at all this I figured Id get the shocks and springs out first then the driveshafts then start working on the drivetrain...

Excellent plan! Excellent....

[Split_S]

Good stuff! Subscribed.

Thanks..

Works a little stalled due to work and the holidays but updates coming soonish...


Happy Holidays to all...

[rix313]

Good effort mate keep it up

[jimbom30cab]

Great pics and a great read, keep it coming mate

[Split_S]

Well Happy New Year to all! I've been working non-stop for the last couple of weeks so sorry for the lack of updates but I've been busy....

First step to getting the underside of the car out was the exhaust. It looked good but Im binning it and going with stainless steel... Dont ask me how I'll be paying for that - I dont know!

Got out the grinder and a couple of quick cuts...



All out...



Im sure that will be around for a few years behind the shed!!!

With the exhaust out I started on the heat shields covering the driveshaft. This was fun...

Hardly rusted!






This one was in better shape being plated.. So I set it aside for a good cleaning and paint in the spring. A LOT of stuff is being set aside for the spring - damn winter!

Took off the transmission support bar...





Cleaned it off with a wheel grinder and a lick of paint:



I felt good about doing that - first thing Ive "fixed" on this project!

Now I could concentrate on the rear of the car... The wheels came off as well as the rotors.. They were rusted like hell... The new ones (already ordered) are supposed to be coated so they wont rust -we'll see....

I jacked up and supported the hub to remove the spring and damper bolt...



Then took an allen key to the halfshafts...



It helps to get some leverage on these bolts using a wrench if you're a bit of a pansy...
I remembered I had some allen kit socket bits... So I used them... I was impressed I'd remembered PRIOR to finishing up with the shitty allen keys...



This setup worked better honestly... The bolts were tight but finally did give...
First halfshaft off and 1 to go...



Closeup...





Second one off...Cool!! Always wanted to do that!



Those of you who've been following this thread will know that I will be binning these shafts... Binning stuff seems to be the theme of this rebuild! I've already ordered GKN shafts - not the cheaper Chinese shite you can get, stay away from those!

With the driveshafts out I had some space to start undoing the odds and ends. The goal here is to undo everything to be able to drop the whole rear subframe (awesome!) and then drop the fuel tank... (not so awesome!)Then the bottom portion of my rebuild can begin with the undercarriage/fuel lines/brake lines etc etc.... Keep in mind Ive never done any of this so if I sound like I know what Im talking about dont be fooled!!

Got the shock absorbers and springs out. Simply loosen the top bolt in the boot and the lower bolt near the hub and with a lift under the hub lower it down. It helps to have someone pressing down on the hub with a foot to break the shock absorber and spring free..

Spring removed and the bolt that hold the damper...


Damper removed with the whole setup...


With it all out: Already binned, of course...



With that done I disconnected the brake lines as seen in the middle of this next pic - this required quite a bit of loose nut and patience... I didn't even curse though!! What I will curse about is the DAMN parking brake lines (the thickest one in this next pic) - are these damn lines welded into the hub??? I CANNOT get them out....



All brake lines are being scrapped..all will be redone new...





A little ingenuity helped get the brake lines undone as they were hopelessly welded together...







Sway bar links undone...



Not too bad for a days work? More tomorrow....maybe....

[TPS]

Subscribed, what a brilliant thread, Those Driveshaft nuts are a nightmare, I know all about that! I also had to replace the coolant elbow thing, which attaches to the block, mine went brittle & cracked, its easily available from BMW.

[Split_S]

Subscribed, what a brilliant thread, Those Driveshaft nuts are a nightmare, I know all about that! I also had to replace the coolant elbow thing, which attaches to the block, mine went brittle & cracked, its easily available from BMW.

Thanks for the nice comments!! Already ordered the elbow coolant thing too!

Well, project-wise things are starting to get serious. Im not sure at which point I crossed the line of no return with this project but after today I think Im pretty buggered... Im kinda wishing Id bought a nice CLEAN e30, not one that needed this much TLC. Oh, for those of you who dont know, TLC stands for Til your Last Coin!! Ahhh man I love my e30...

Warmed up the garage and put on some tunes and got to work...
Ive been working on getting the subframe out but before I can continue on with that I kinda have to get the transmission/driveshaft and diff out. This is important for several reasons:

1) I may have the transmission rebuilt. However, as I am still in serious discussions with both my local bank manager and my therapist about this please stay tuned to see what happens...

2) I may have the diff rebuilt. See note one above.

3) Having the shaft and diff out of the way make getting the subframe out A LOT easier....

So, armed only with ignorance and blind faith I set to work...

With the shield folded back (hadnt quite removed it yet) I disconnected the fuel line connecting both sides of the fuel tank. Looks rusty but came apart no problem...





The two arms which hold the rear shield in place on held by bolts rusted to hell.. Those will have to wait til I can get the fuel tank out in order to access those bolts...

Driveshaft looking forward...



With a jack holding the center section of the driveshaft I began by carefully loosening the bolts in the guibo... All that was needed was a firm grip and some blasphemy....





I then loosened the center sleeve, not much, maybe 3-5 turns... I used a bar to lock the shaft. Thats the sleeve just before the spline:



I then removed the bolts securing the center bearing on the shaft but did not remove it. With the driveshaft well supported I moved to the rear and removed the bolts to the diff..





With that done I lowered the jack and the driveshaft gently came out!! Better than sex my friends!!

Here she is:



Of course Id marked the shaft so I can reassemble it properly after she's been scrubbed primed and repainted... (the markings in this pic were already there)



Ok.. removing a driveshaft is not quite as good as sex but I was pretty damn excited about it.... Kinda felt like a minor superhero actually... But that's nothing... There's still a diff and tranny to free!!

The tranny was fairly straightforward... I removed the reverse sensor wire and the hydraulic output cylinder clutch...





Loosened the bolts on the rear support and the bottom support:

Prayed...



and with the help of a buddy lowered her down, guiding the shift linkage out through the body...



Beautiful....









Alrighty then.. time for tea superman...

[Split_S]

Anyone have their tranny rebuilt or their differential? Im looking into this and would appreciate opinions!

Also, this diff is a 3.73 - anyone have one on a 318iS? Is it good, performance -wise?

[ross_jsy]

You mark up the two halves of the propshaft, not the universal joint.

Differential requires a lot of specialist tools and knowledge. Gareth on here does it. Not seen if you have an LSD or not, but I would upgrade to one if it isn't.

Diff will be fine. Could go to a 3.91 for a bit better acceleration (or even a 4.1), depends how much highway driving you will be doing.

[Split_S]

Thanks - the prop shaft is marked up properly, the pic is misleading as those were existing marks and the pic doesn't show my markings... but sharp eye!

I do have a LSD, I will have to look around for an idea on cost for a 3.91 or 4.1 - not planning on much highway driving at all... Only problem with a "new" old diff is not knowing what you're getting...

The transmission is the tricky one - thats going to be pretty costly I imagine and I don't even know if she needs a rebuild... I'd hate to throw her back in and then have to take her out again...not the end of the world but I would kick myself for not having her done while she was out....

[ross_jsy]

If the diff is an LSD I guarantee it will need a rebuild.

The gearbox probably won't. They are pretty bullet proof. The layshaft will rattle, but they all do. I wouldn't bother rebuilding one anyway with the abundance of "good" ones on the market at sub £100's.

[Split_S]

Interesting about the tranny - so I may have an extra 2500$ for the engine! Thats good news...
Not sure how many will be kicking around here (Canada) but a quick search stateside will no doubt uncover lots of them... I guess I will just throw her back in then...

I will be bringing the diff for a check probably next month, I will let you guys know...

Meanwhile, Im thinking of building a rotisserie for this project....

[ross_jsy]

Christ, spending $2500 on an iS gearbox would be bonkers! I would hazard a guess you could pretty much get a good condition dogleg shipped to you for not far off that price

[Split_S]

That's the price around here for a rebuild... And there are practically NO e30's around either.. I envy you UK guys and all the meets and the e30 community you have.. Im like a lone wolf out here!

A dogleg would be interesting but I think it truly belongs in an M3... Would have loved to buy one of those but THAT would've been endangered my marriage.... Old ratty ones here start at 20 000$...and they are rare as hell... 50 000$ USD + for a decent one...... My "poor man's M3" of a 318iS will do nicely for now.... if I ever get her back together!

[NoTurbo]

what an amazing thread. I love your style man!

Best of luck with it.

[Split_S]

what an amazing thread. I love your style man!

Best of luck with it.

Thanks, appreciate it!! More to come...

[Split_S]

Oh, had some fun today!!

With the engine out and now the tranny and driveshaft there was no stopping me.
One differential to go please!
I was supposed to get a little help on this one but my loser mate only showed up once it was all said and done with..

Kinda like the police... HA!

First things first was to support the diff. For this I used a jack and some wood. Then I sat and pondered how in our sweet lord jesus' name I would get that diff out. For those of you who have done this you know how little wiggle room there is... and my diff is more rust than diff... I wasn't sure those nuts would give but I set to her...



Above you see the diff support and the little wiggle room there is above... The front bolts are easier, but you see there's not much space for a spanner..

For these bastards, patience is a virtue... I sprayed some loose nut on all bolts, read the Bible front to back, sprayed some more, then tackled the Koran... get the idea? (ok, I didnt read either - too confusing...)



Only using one spanner all I managed was to humiliate myself and curse a little. Still I remained zen.

I decided to use two spanners, one on the bolt and the other for leverage...





Worked very nicely. Im impressed with the quality of steel BMW used. Looking at many of the bolts Ive loosened so far, I was sure so many of them would snap or refuse to budge. But with the exception of a few bastards, they've all come out...

Here is a great pic showing the miles of space available to the would be diff remover for the rear bolts...



Dont see anything? Exactly my point....
I used the same tactic - two spanners and loads of delusional self-confidence.. Guess what? It worked! yeah, I couldn't believe it either...

I tried to lower the diff gently but it shifted and fell the last few inches to my foot, then the floor....

Here she lay:



Front:


Side:


Back


Opened up:



I think she looks pretty good, but Im leaning towards a rebuild...

More soon enough....

[hennared323i]

Subscribed

[ross_jsy]

The LSD unit will need a rebuild. Working on friction plates they only have a finite lifespan and most LSD's are worn out now.

[Split_S]

Yeah, I wasn't planning on it, but your advice has convinced me its probably necessary at this point...

Thank-you sir...

[G-Bear]

Really enjoyed reading through this. Some sound work, keep on keeping on.

Looking forward to some updates...

[Split_S]

Well winter has its grip here. Bloody hell its cold and work has slowed down. But I am working...

A while ago I posted about a possible ABS delete. I was pretty sure I wanted to get rid of the ABS altogether as I am completely redoing the braking system A-Z and the ABS looked like it was going to be a real b*tch to deal with... The post generated some pretty heated debate. Strong opinions about ABS abounded!! Well I have no fear of drifting, errr I mean, driving without it, so I had at her...

Here you can see the corrosion on the mess of lines leading to the ABS unit...



Same view but with my pot-belly included... (no charge!)



Reminds me of my vasectomy....snip snip...



Top view. I had tried to loosen those nuts on the ABS unit but they would NOT budge. I took that as a signal from the gods I was doing the right thing...



The main bundle merging with the loom...



Ground straps...



Bolts loosened and forcefully "wiggled" out of its mounts...



This is were it gets scary... Look away if you fear multi-colored wires!!
That big red wire was the power to the unit. It was cut. Like, without fear too...



The rest of the signal wires were cut in one go. I assume I will be teasing them out of the loom soon enough...



The ABS sensor on the hub was removed. Torx for that one if I recall...











Its new resting place...



Would the ABS nazis be gentle on me please!

[Jozi]

I missed the ABS debate but I'm pretty sure it's its own separate loom, could have saved you sniping the wires.