6branch fitting advice

[dazleeds]

ok just done the deal on beemerlads
fritzbitz 6 branch

just wondering is this a straight fit??
or are there any clearance issues i should know about??

would rather know now so i can sort it before fitting day
dnt wanna get all excited then halfway thru fitting find i need to make mods

cheers in advance

Daz

[liam012]

not sure if its exactly relevant to your question daz but if the manifold you are ripping out hasn't been removed in a long time then do yourself a favour and buy a new set of manifold bolts and use the double nut trick of getting the old ones out - it will save you about an hour and a half of mucking about - also when putting new manifold in do not fully squeeze up the manifold nuts until all the rest of downpipe and exhaust is in the correct place
good luck
long live yer knuckles (its that sort of job)
liam

[bootyman]

Forget all that larking about and buy my car Daz

[dazleeds]

cheers liam
yeah will deff fit new studs

Booty no chance mate
im holding out for you winning lottery
but if i win first i,ll be on your case

as the engine will be out on a stand
would it be easier to fit manifold then drop engine back in or fit after engine????

[Simon]

I'm pretty sure these 6 branches only mate upto 3 piece system, iirc Daz your car is an early E30 so should have a 3 piece anyway.

I've heard lots of nightmare stories about fitting/removing exhaust manifolds, so much so that I put doing this job off on my touring for just over a year, when I finally got around to it, it literally took me about 15 mins to change the exhaust gaskets!! That's not to say all will be this easy though!!

[dazleeds]

simon

mines an f reg facelift mate

but the manifold is coming with the centre pipes to match and i have a stainless backbox already

done plenty of standard manifolds but never a 6br
but have been told it will be straight fit

[Simon]

simon

mines an f reg facelift mate

but the manifold is coming with the centre pipes to match and i have a stainless backbox already

done plenty of standard manifolds but never a 6br
but have been told it will be straight fit

Hi Daz, that is what I meant, early facelift's usually come with the 3 piece, usually only later facelifts came with the 2 piece as they were preparing for cats.

[Jimbob]

Plenty of lubricant and leave it to settle, be very gentle removing the original manifold as it can snap the studs which is then a nightmare

[dazleeds]

so it should be fine then si??

im all confuzzled now

any idea if it would be easier before or after the engine goes back in??

cheers fella

D

[Simon]

As long as the system complete is all 3 piece then it will fit fine.

Because the 6 branch has a fair bit of downpipe connected, I would have said it would be easier to fit when the engine is in place, standard manifold would be easier to fit when the engine is out, due to there being hardly any downpipe.

[dazleeds]

cheers si
that makes sense deffo and yeah the downpipes def look long

heres an odd one for ya
as i cant do the engine yet

what do you think a 320i auto would go like with the full stainless incl 6 br
with a 325tb and chip??

could put it on there for now but would it be worth the time etc??

or am i being silly now?

[Simon]

i'm being silly now

Concentrate on getting whatever else you have planned done!

[dazleeds]

nuff said

this is the plan

323i bottom with 731 320 head with schrick cam 272

3 angle grinds on the valve seals ?? im a bit lost there but hav on gd authority lol

what else?? oh yeah running motronic not ljet
325ecu +afm (poss m30afm?)
323 injectors with 325 pressure reg

and a chip to make it all behave properly
with the 6branch etc fitted too should be quite an animal

have been told to expect 180+bhp

but am still looking at affordable ways to increase this if poss

[E30BeemerLad]

daz - can i interest you in the 731 head I have with 325 valves already cut and ports opened? would compliment that little package well

[keith52]

Daz , i fitted a 6 branch from Sal with the engine fitted, no real issues except that i had to completely remove the two rear exhaust studs to gain clearance when fitting the manifold and make sure you don't tighten it completely until it';s fitted to the rest of the system

[garyp_E30_325i]

Hello Daz,

I've got a fritzbitz full system on my car, it was fitted with the engine in. The clearance is fine, close to the steering rack but fine (well engineered I say ). The only thing was the old manifold is "larger" than the 6 branch so the studs had to be shortened - and a couple did snap!

Looks good, sounds good and goes well - though I can't say how much is down to the exhaust 'cause I also done the cam and other bits at the same time.

Best of luck with it, hope you're pleased with the end results.

[dazleeds]

daz - can i interest you in the 731 head I have with 325 valves already cut and ports opened? would compliment that little package well

hmmm will have to take advice on that one mate as engines baffle me
i dnt have a clue how to add this to that to make wow if ya know what i mean lol

can strip and rebuild to a point but my technical knowledge is crap

chat soon mate
krith cheers fella
gary nice 1 mate just what i wanted to here

mite have to do a run on rollers before and after the 6branch when engines put together

[Simon13]

take the old one off with the engine at operating temp, did my gaskets like this and broke none. But found 2 were broke with loads of stud hagning out the head. So getting them off was not too bad. Bit of luck

WD40 loads days/months/years before hand!!!

[E30BeemerLad]

sorry Daz, the modded 731 head may be sold, geezer is getting back to me after speaking to a welder

[garyp_E30_325i]

Daz, I forgot to say, if you're thinking about sticking a cam in your car then you should be aware that Schrick make their cams under licence to CatCams and you can buy the CatCam equivalent directly from the importers QEP (http://www.qep.uk.com/) for half the price of the Schrick!

I've got a Cat 273 in my 325 and it's certainly made a difference to the top end - you lose a little at the bottom , she's a little lumpy at tickover but needs setup right and the new cam should rev to 7300-7500 whereas the rev limiter is cutting in at 6500 when she's still pulling strongly, so I need to get her chipped / re-mapped (lack of time & cash holding me back right now, hopefully after Xmas). Overall a good investment thou'

Oh, and if you do replace the cam then replace the followers too, no point having a higher lift if you lose some of that through worn followers... QEP gave me a decent deal on 'em too.