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Awesome, Ed. I’m in the middle of trying to decide whether to "detune" my E30 to meet SpecE30 rules (because SpecE30 appears to be slowly growing in our area), or to leave it as-is so I might have a fighting chance in KP at some BMWCCA races… ugg.
Good luck with the build-up.
Head gasket set, head bolts - on the shelf
Teflon crank scraper - ordered
I think I’m going to throw in throw rings, rod bearings, and an oil pump while the head is off. Scratch another $300 from the vacation budget.
The rad, hoses, coolant tank, valance, stubborn fan clutch, and assorted plastic junk came out last night but progress screeched to a halt when a friend stopped by with his E39 M5. There is enough alcantara in that car for two E30s.
mrussell wrote:
[quote]Awesome, Ed. I’m in the middle of trying to decide whether to "detune" my E30 to meet SpecE30 rules (because SpecE30 appears to be slowly growing in our area), or to leave it as-is so I might have a fighting chance in KP at some BMWCCA races… ugg.
Good luck with the build-up.[/quote]
I will have fun running my "KP" SpecE30 car regardless of finishing position. Join us. Come over to the dark side.
More work today. The cylinder head is off and almost ready for the machine shop. The bores look good but I’m still leaning towards new rings/rod bearings/oil pump only because the car has over 200k miles.
http://teamdfl.com/spece30/gallery/cyl_head
The view the neighbors must hate:
You would think that with two garage bays, I’d do the work inside. Unfortunately, the lack of outdoor storage (for now) forces me to store the snowblower, lawn mower, yard stuff, and bikes inside. The other bay is reserved for the sig-other’s car and occasionally maintenance on any of the vehicles. I need to order a shed.
Post edited by: edw, at: 2006/08/05 20:34
I guess this will be my build log. On with the boring details…
Not much progress today. The day started poorly during a morning run for gas, dog food, and tools. At the gas station, the 528e refused to turn over. This was not exactly a surprise since I’ve had to drag out the extension cord and charger a half dozen times in the past 3 months. The only guy willing to give me a jump at the gas station was the starving college student who coasted in behind the wheel of his mid 80s Oldsmobuick who offered me a jump after his friend showed up with cash to pay for gas. I threw a fiver at him, told him to put it in neutral, and pushed him up to a pump. Six minutes later, my 528e was running and I was on my way home empty handed.
After swapping cars and pulling the battery on my eta, I was on my way again, only with an extra stop in my itinerary. Two+ hours later, I finally had 40lbs of dog food, sawzall blades, grinding wheels, cutoff wheels, a fresh propane tank for the torch, and a group 48 battery. Somehow, a lunch stop made its way into the day’s errands.
Once back home, I swapped batteries and attacked the exhaust system. The cat-back was a new factory muffler (Eberspacher?) about 4 years ago and is still serviceable but I had to remove the now rusted in cat flange hardware. An hour of torch, hammer, and pliers work netted me a hardware free muffler, which will mate nicely to my new cat and oxygen sensor. When time and funds permit, I’ll fab up some sort of high flow cat replacement as you guys seem to get some horsepower with your homebrew cat-free exhausts.
If all goes well, I’m dropping the head off at the machine shop on Tuesday. After that, the short block gets the in-car poor man’s rebuild.
I went to a local place recommended by a buddy at a dealership.
disassembly
cleaning
resurface head
grind valves and seats
replace 12 guides
reassembly
$675
I actually felt the guys hand reaching around my liver in search of a kidney. This is a $250-$300 job in most of the country. The NJ factor does not bring that up to $675. I guess I’ll have to do a little more leg work.
Post edited by: edw, at: 2006/08/09 11:55
The bad news is that every shop I visited tried to convince me my BMW cylinder head was special or required gazillions of dollars worth of work. I’m sorry but an M20 is not that difficult to work on. The good news is that my buddy in Chicago offered to take the head to his local place which has done lots of M10/M20/M30 work. The machine work should be under $300. Including shipping both ways, I’ll be out less than $350.
I guess oil changes every 3k miles paid off because there was almost no wear on the rockers or shafts. The shafts had less than .0002" wear and the rockers/cam/eccentrics looked smooth and polished so I’m reusing everything.
The oil pan comes off tomorrow so I can start pulling pistons.
EdW wrote:
[quote]The bad news is that every shop I visited tried to convince me my BMW cylinder head was special or required gazillions of dollars worth of work. I’m sorry but an M20 is not that difficult to work on. The good news is that my buddy in Chicago offered to take the head to his local place which has done lots of M10/M20/M30 work. The machine work should be under $300. Including shipping both ways, I’ll be out less than $350.
I guess oil changes every 3k miles paid off because there was almost no wear on the rockers or shafts. The shafts had less than .0002" wear and the rockers/cam/eccentrics looked smooth and polished so I’m reusing everything.
The oil pan comes off tomorrow so I can start pulling pistons.[/quote]
Im not sure if you have the original rocker arms or not but you should upgrade those while your in there. The factory replacement parts made by Febi are a little thicker where the main stress raisers are. This will save you a headache down the road.
mrussell wrote:
Don’t just sit there. Be part of the action. You are welcome to stop by the DFL Speed Shop in assist with oil pan and piston/rod removal. Pizza and beer will be supplied.
Jones wrote:
Trust Brian on this – I know from experience that blowing a rocker arm at 25 mph and damaging the head is no fun.
I know the rockers are a weak point in M20s and am still considering replacing all 12. I didn’t know that the Febi arms are stronger than OE. I’ve heard nightmare stories from "tuners" about rockers including having to buy a hundred at time, having them x-rayed, and returning the ones with defects.
FWIW, my cost is $12/rocker. If the new Febi ones are stronger, I’ll probably get a set.
Post edited by: edw, at: 2006/08/15 12:43
What’s that gonna cost you? Curious, and hoping my wet p/s system is just the hoses. :unsure:
ddavidv wrote:
Not as bad as you would thing~~150.00 or so If I remember correctly
EdW wrote:
This is from an old note-to-self:
Item: RACK & PINION BMW M3 SERIES 87-91 #733 (8029960882)
This message was sent while the listing was active.
hope29554 is the seller.
you would need to call rich at 1-800-868-0057 for assistance.
This place apparently has been in this buisness for years and quoted ne a good price.
leggwork wrote:
[quote]but you wouldn’t put an M3 rack in a spec e30 car, right?
bruce[/quote]
The thought never crossed my mind. That and the fact that I don’t have an M3 core to exchange.
I like the positive peer pressure that encourages people to not cheat. Carter’s threat of tar and feathering cheaters will certainly help as well.
leggwork wrote:
[quote]but you wouldn’t put an M3 rack in a spec e30 car, right?
bruce[/quote]
At the time this was for a street car. They have both available. I just posted the note to provide the contact info.