Beardymats S50 into E30 M3

[UweM3]

damn, i would never have thought that , buckets and shims on a S50 ?

Yep, maximum valve lift at high revs, I want some to fit my M52B30

I believe all BMW S** (M power engines) use solid lifters.

Ian

S54 has finger followers!

[ian332isport]

Yep, maximum valve lift at high revs, I want some to fit my M52B30

I believe all BMW S** (M power engines) use solid lifters.

Ian

S54 has finger followers!

Indeed it does. My piont was that they're adjusted by shims as opposed to hydraulic adjustment.

Ian.

[beardymat]

well i have a clutch now, used a pressure bleeder and whilst the bleed nipple was open we pushed the clutch fork back to compress the slave and get the last bit of air out that causes the poor pedal, as luck would have it someone has drilled a hole in the bellhousing already to enable this to be done. I tried taking out the slave before i spotted this but there is no way that is coming out of there with the pipe and bleed nipple attatched, sorted now though.

Another pleasing development is that i didnt mix up the cam followers, at least i dont think i did, my mechanic friend has been round tonight to check the clearances and we found six were too slack but none too tight, after removing the shims to check sizes we found two could be used elsewhere leaving me only short of four which ill order tomorrow in the hope ill get them friday, turns out they can be done with the cams in which makes sense i guess but i had managed to convince myself they needed to come out. If i had checked earlier instead of putting it off i could have the shims now

Left work at eleven tonight after getting these sorted amongst a couple of other jobs but the list is getting smaller and she should be good for the MOT tomorrow, couple of wires to sort and stick the bonnet back on and off she goes.

[E30BeemerLad]

Awesome!

Reminds me of this time last year with the touring, MOT, VIC check, change diff the day before.....

[beardymat]

adds to the excitement, looking forward to getting really messed up on saturday so appologies in advance for my behaviour

[The_Diddler]

looking forward to getting really messed up on saturday so appologies in advance for my behaviour

Sounds like a plan

[DanThe]

Nearly a runner then

[beardymat]

just sorting the last of the wiring this morning, boring stuff like tacho and road speed signal then try and get the new fuel pump fitted before the test at 1. Replacement shims will be here tomorrow so its strip the rocker off again and swap em and it should no longer drown out the exhaust note

[UweM3]

If the weather is not too bad I might come along. I have a remapped S50B32 ECU without EWS if anybody want to try it out.

[scott180gtb]

Just caught up on your progress Matt. Looking very cool. I was going to be sensible and not bring any wife beater but I'm not being left out.

See you Saturday for a massive smash up!

[E30BeemerLad]

It's gonna get messy on Saturday

Has it got an MOT now then?

[beardymat]

well it passed the test no problems kinda figured it would, you dont spend that much time in/under/around a car when youre in the motor trade and not know whats what with it, that said when i took it up for the test it had a suspicious sounding knocking which i quickly diagnosed as a loose prop centre bearing, quickly sorted. Didnt want to tighten it up until i was happy that the engine was seated as i wanted but did too much in between and forgot to check before i refitted the heat shield and exhaust. Another small problem appeared on the way home after i missjudged a speed bump in the road due to the LHD and hit it with the O/S which resulted in a knock from the rear which ive found to be a problem with the shocker top mount, ive got some new ones at work so they are on the list of things to get sorted tomorrow which comprises of

Shocker top mounts on rear
Find a better coolant hose for header tank from a boxfull at quarry motors
Coding plug to fit once ive soldered the replacement chip in tonight
high pressure fuel pump to fit
replace cam follower shims to quieten that damn rattle
check all fluid levels
good clean
fill boot with beer
refit undershields to front

[StuBeeDoo]

Glad you got it finished in time for Santa Pod Matt.

[M3Jimbo]

what fuel pump you running? im having trouble finding one!

[beardymat]

The M3 has an external pump mounted under the car and a lift pump in the tank so I've replaced the one under the car with one I found on eBay, think its a sytec or something like that, more or less a direct fit too which was nice. I've still got the in tank one in busters old shell which is an e36 M3 pump in the e30 cage.

[glenn]

what fuel pump you running? im having trouble finding one!

i have several e36 m3 evo fuel pumps here.
pm me if you need one

cheers

[M3Jimbo]

Thanks guys, can I use the e36 evo one in the e30 then? I've got a tank either side of the prop and then the one in the boot, someone told me this was a surge tank? Am I right in thinking that the one under the rear seat is the lift pump, and the high pressure one under the car takes its feed from the top tank? Can the e36 one be stripped down and fitted under the car? Oh yeah lol can either of you remember which way round the 3 fuel pipes are in the engine bay?

Thanks for ya help fellas, I'm desperate to get this thing running next weekend and I want all the plumbing sorted so I can try an get my head round the wiring lol

[raj1vad]

loving the clean build, very nice car, and stance is nice, looks very drivable as a daily, without having issues like some of the more hardcore slammed e30's on the scene.

nice 1 mate

[beardymat]

Thanks guys, can I use the e36 evo one in the e30 then? I've got a tank either side of the prop and then the one in the boot, someone told me this was a surge tank? Am I right in thinking that the one under the rear seat is the lift pump, and the high pressure one under the car takes its feed from the top tank? Can the e36 one be stripped down and fitted under the car? Oh yeah . can either of you remember which way round the 3 fuel pipes are in the engine bay?

Thanks for ya help fellas, I'm desperate to get this thing running next weekend and I want all the plumbing sorted so I can try an get my head round the wiring .

There are a few different tank setups on e30`s but it sounds like yours is the same as mine with a lift pump in the tank and a long range tank fitted to the rear bulkhead, i dont yet understand how the long range tank is filled as it appears to go above the level of the fuel filler neck so the liquid finding its own level principal is out but its not important for our application. If you have the pump under the car then this is the one to replace as that is the one that does all the work. I used the one in the link below

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... K:MEWNX:IT

The inlet and wiring is direct fit but you will need some rubber to go round the pump so it fits in the cradle as its fatter so the standard rubber wont fit but i just used an old cut down radiator hose, i also used a slightly different outlet setup but to the same end as the banjo they recomend.

I have heard of people upgrading the lift pump using the e36 evo parts but it requires a little bodgery and some have had problems with failures of one sort or another.

As for the three pipes, my car being an 87 it only had two so im probably not much use there but its easy enough to trace them back.

[turk]

Is 3 bar enough for the s50? The s54 needs 5 bar I might be wrong (usually am)

[beardymat]

The S50 will run at 3 bar but not at high revs, it also needs 5 bar which is why i have just noticed i may have bought the wrong pump could have sworn i bought one with a higher output, I was however extremely tired by the time i ordered it so may have made an error.

hey ho, another job on the snagging list.

[turk]

I just bought this one, A bit over kill but perfect for m3s..
similar price too, Seems quite well made... Ill let u know how I get on!

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... K:MEWNX:IT

[beardymat]

Please do, it does look more suitable and may explain the odd hiccup ive had from the car since the weekend, still havnt driven the nuts off it yet as there are a couple of other issues not least being me getting used to LHD but if it isnt getting the right fuel pressure it aint going to perform.

Must stop going on ebay late at night, having said that im glad i posted the link or i might never have sussed that

[turk]

no worries Will let u know when i get the bastard going... could be a while

[ian332isport]

You only need 5bar on the S50B32. 3bar is fine for the S50B30.

Running the wrong pump is potentially fatal to the B32 engine, as the mixture could get dangerously weak at the top end.

Ian

[M3Jimbo]

I've had a look on eBay and found a couple of pumps under "protec 044 series" they do the standard and a pro pro series version through eBay, I've been in contact with them and they are a UK manufacture which is nice and they supply to the like of British touring cars and le mans series! They also do a couple of other versions, a carbon one and they have a billet ally, brushless one in development which is probably over kill unless your full race or a tackle tart lol! They seem good value, I'm gonna go for the pro series one at £99, should have it by next Thursday so will let ya know bout the quality of the kit!

Thanks again for ya help an advice, its been a while since I've been on here as the cars been off the road but hope to be more involved soon!

[beardymat]

looks like I`ll have a spare b30 pump then with low milage if anyone is interested, certainly dont want to kill the engine.

Does anyone know the flow rate of the standard S50B32 pump, just for comparison purposes really.

[ian332isport]

Does anyone know the flow rate of the standard S50B32 pump, just for comparison purposes really.

I was never able to find the flow spec of the B32 pump. All I was able to confirm was that it needs to provide 5 bar at the fuel rail.

I guess you could find the CC rating of the injectors and calculate how much flow is required to maintain 5 bar pressure when pumping against 5 fully open injectors.

I've personally never had a single problem with my B32 pump. It's mounted in a similar way to Buster's one.

Ian.

[beardymat]

Well after running this car for nearly a month i can say im thoroughly enjoying it but its still a way from being what id call finished. So far ive had time to get the windscreen bonded in correctly after i found a water leak which was due to only half the screen being bonded in which was nice and i also drained and refilled the power steering to try and get rid of the whine but it wont go so after a chat with Danthe and an exploration of a pipe which needed to be custom made we have come to the conclusion that the pump is fubar so thats on the list. I have managed to make a little progress with the airbox as it only had one mount when i took it to the pod and just rested on a piece of foam tape on the inner wing.





I always wanted to use a proper airbox for asthetic reasons as well as keeping the engine supplied properly with cold air as BMW intended. The S50 airbox has two mounting tabs on it which Danthe has used to good effect on his M52 swaps but on the S50 the box has to sit at a different angle so the bracket would be complex and ugly which isnt for me so i decided to remove the mounts and re-use one further down to mount the box to one of the old abs mounts, It took a little thought to get it done and make it strong and its still not quite finished but im satisfied with how its looking.





next on the list is to take another look at the mystery tappets, When i first ran the engine it was incredibly noisy on the top end and i first thought id mixed up a couple of the followers but after measuring them i found six loose followers so i set about measuring the shims and found two were big enough to use in other positions leaving four loose for which i ordered new shims, the shims arrived and i planned to fit them on the Friday before the pod but when i pulled the car into my unit to fit them i found the engine was quiet and it has been ever since. It was deffinately noisy due to the loose tappets as the noise changed when i swapped the two around but i cant for the life of me think what has happened. Im going to check them again as im concerned that the ones i swapped may now be too tight causing the valve not to close fully.

I also have an air leak on the inlet somewhere near cylinder six which may or may not be the cause of a rough idle which comes on when warm and the engine has been left to idle for a length of time so that will get looked at as well along with the front brakes which rattle quite badly over bumps which i hope is down to the retainer on the back of the pad which clips into the cylinder on the caliper. Also planned is the fitting of a more suitable fuel pump which i have finally ordered as long as it turns up in time for the weekend which will finally give me the confidence to give it a full bootfull without wrecking the motor and it might iron out the hesitance i get when accelerating hard from a part throttle although this may also be connected with the air leak.

Fingers crossed with all that done it should be an even better beast to drive, as it is its an impressive car and i dont feel at all bad about bastardising an M3 as i now have a great looking car with the correct amount of cylinders which still revs like a beatch, glad i didnt RHD it in the end as ive found no need for it up to now and it adds to the fun when driving it especially when ive got my little one year old lad sat at the side of me in the front and people do double takes thinking he is driving.

[crossie]

, glad i didnt RHD it in the end as ive found no need for it up to now and it adds to the fun when driving it especially when ive got my little one year old lad sat at the side of me in the front and people do double takes thinking he is driving.

Sound quite funny that!

My mate that works in your street /estate keeps telling me your car sound lush!
and is very smart!

[M3Jimbo]

get a vid up mine been put on hold because of work but really wanna get it done before christmas!

[beardymat]

my mate that works in your street /estate keeps telling me your car sound lush!
and is very smart!

Im intrigued now, will i know him?

Ive managed to sort a few jobs including fitting the correct fuel pump, curing the air leak on the inlet and re-doing the ever stranger valve clearances which i was sure were responsible for the rough idle when warm as i suspected a couple were too tight leading to valves being held ever so slightly open. As it happened two were out but they were loose so i put a couple of the shims i bought to use and now they are sorted hopefully for good or as good as. My mechanic asked me if i had gapped the plugs before i fitted them to which i gave him the blank stare of a man who knows he should have done something but cant think of a good excuse for not doing it so out came the feeler guages again and the plug gaps were set to the prescribed 0.7mm as they were a little on the tight side. The engine now seems to be behaving properly but another small problem i have had since fitting the engine refused to be cured, I have had a whine from the power steering as if the rack hasnt bled despite being bled and re-bled and also whilst doing the other work i fitted a new pump only for it to be just as noisy as the original, it seems to be frothing up the PAS fluid excessively but i think i have had a breakthrough tonight after taking a good long stare at it and comparing with another e30, it seems that i have mixed up the lines coming from the PAS bottle so that the thicker pipe which should supply the pump is going straight to the rack instead which means i suspect the pump is being starved of fluid, hopefully an easy fix and cheaper than ordering the reck rebuild kit i thought i needed. Ill keep you posted on that one as i have read similar reports of this problem but no-one ever seems to post the cure.

One other thing i need to look at is the bottom radiator hose is rubbing on the engine and no amount of re-positioning is curing it and it now has a nice shallow groove in it so failure is imminent so i need a new one which i hope i can cut down to allow for the radiator being closer to the engine.

[ian332isport]

One other thing i need to look at is the bottom radiator hose is rubbing on the engine and no amount of re-positioning is curing it and it now has a nice shallow groove in it so failure is imminent so i need a new one which i hope i can cut down to allow for the radiator being closer to the engine.

I used an M20 lower hose (possibly cut down) for the nice tight 90 degree bend, in combination with a cut down S50 lower hose from the engine. I used an alloy hose joiner and a couple of jubilee clips to join it together.

Cheers,

Ian.

[buster]

Hi matt,
Glad to see your well on the way with this.I was very shocked to see the condition of the shell as you know i knew it was rough hence the cheap price but i didn't realise there were holes in it like that.
I hadn't noticed the oil leak but did notice a small amount of condensation on the oil filler cap when i hadn't used it for a while.I assumed it was condensation from little use and not a potential problem.
The exhaust manifold was done by a friend and cost me £400, so i'm not supprised it was chopped up although i didn't think it was that bad.
In conclusion the whole conversion could have been better but working outside on my drive for 2 years wasn't ideal and i really could have done a better job of it. Now i've got a unit of my own i was thinking of doing a v8 conversion.
That shell bearing that looked scorched, which end of the engine was it from ? I'm wondering because i wonder if its something to do with the 5 series sump, as the original s50 sump had a twin pick up oil pump and double hump sump, maybe a little oil starvation has occurred,maybe at croft circuit !
I fitted the spark plugs not long before you bought it and they were the mega expensive mo fo's from bmw so don't bin them ! The fuel pump was the correct evo pump also.

cheers,
andy

[Jhonno]

I believe it's common for No.6 shells to go.. Can't remember for the life of me why though. Nothing to do with oil starvation.