My Christmas gift has arrived. Â I have the best wife ever! Well I went to get them mounted on my 16×8 wheels this morning kinda fearing they’d be too wide for a 215 width. Â To my relief, they look pretty good; without any major stretching. Â Can’t wait to have these on the M.
Tire specs: 215/45/16 Kumho XS
Wheels: Â $125 BMW e38 16×8 (2 made by BBS, 2 by Fundo)
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We’re having Christmas at my house and there’s tons of work to do! Â Plus, I’ll wait till our 2 weeks of winter roll on by here in SoCal. Â 🙂
I’ll be tough, but I’m setting a soft goal of October 2009, Â my M’s 20th birthday, the month it see’s it’s first track event. Â It’ll probably still be ugly and noisy, but it’ll be there.
Oooh! My new DSSR (double shear selector rod) from UUC. Â Nice heft and shiny! Can’t wait to put this one on.
And more parts. Â Mainly shifter and fuel hose accessories from pelicanparts.com.
Last week I removed the tranny-this week the bellhousing. Â I was hoping to have the flywheel out today to have it machined this week. Â But, it didn’t happen. Â Baby showers and stripped hex bolts put a wrench in the plans. Â I’m hoping to have the flywheel out either this week, or next weekend.
What’s the orange crud over the pressure plate bolts and throw out bearing?
I was a little tired and the honey-do list was scheduled soon, so I quit for the day. Â A bolt remover is needed anyway.
I didn’t realize I used the “exhaust” pictures for the “clutch” section. Â Al fixed now!
After removing the tranny and shifter components I ordered additional shifter components, mostly OEM wear items. The most expensive piece was the UUC DSSR. Maybe the wife won’t notice…
Oh, and the “while I’m there” bug bit me, but I’m really trying to fight it off! As the clutch gets replaced, I’ll at least be changing the rear main seal out…then, what about the flywheel? A quick search at Bimmerworld yielded nice shiny lightweight flywheels. They’re really, really out of my budget; I’m in the red already.  A post on s14.net gave me an idea - I’ll have my current flywheel professionally machined for a fraction of the cost of an EVO or aftermarket piece. Top End performance in North Hollywood, CA was the obvious choice for me. It won’t be exotic but it’ll do the trick for now. I’ll be removing the flywheel next saturday if everything goes to plan.
Hmmm, since my last post I have bought a used set of Ireland sway bars.  I’ll need order new links for the front though. Update I order a pair from rs4pro3 from s14.net for $65. The Ireland Engineering versions cost $85 plus shipping. Hopefully they are good. (UPDATE: sway bar links pics below)
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Today I had some time to spare on the M. Â I decided to tackle the drivetrain, mainly the clutch, clutch slave cylinder, shifter components, guibo, center support bearing, and the tranny itself. Â Most of these components are in dire need of replacement. Â Moving the exhaust was the first step, so off it went from the header flange. Â Then the heat shields and driveshaft center support bearing were next. Â Since I’m working from under the car, removing the tranny with the bellhousing would be tough. Â Removing just the tranny would be the way to go. Â The four 19 mm nuts that hold the tranny to the bellhousing was a moderate ordeal. Â The two right, and one lower left nut were a breeze to remove with some creative socketry (?), the upper left one was a little more diffcult. Â There is no room to insert a socket or even a good wrench; so, I got creative. Â The only tool that fit was a cheapo 19mm that I keep in the emergency kit. Â It’s thin walled and expendible…just what I needed!
Here are some pics of phase one:
Removal of Exhaust. Presoak those nuts first.
I’m planning on reinforcing the weakness of the alternator mount with simple and cheap methods. Check back soon!
I’ll be using this part from Summit Racing to make my reinforcing piece.
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Now I need some longer bolts.
Here’s a little write-up on replacing the alternator bushings on a e30 M3. There’s not much to it, but if you’re like me you just need a little push. Obviously, first you need to buy some new bushings. I shopped around a bit and decided on AKG Motorsport’s delrin version. They’re a little pricey, $30 a set, but I’m willing to support a smaller business…and anyone that still carries e30 performance parts!
First, remember to disconnect the battery from the negative terminal. Personally, I always do this out of habit ever since my dad arced the hot and ground terminals in my old 79 528i…with his wedding band! The thing practically melted onto his finger. You can image the pain and smell of burnt flesh.
Second, remove the alternator from it’s two mounting points. The top is a hinge; and the bottom is the belt tightening arm. Both have a long ~4 inch bolt that needs to be removed.
Now that the alternator is free, you can see the rubber bushings fitted at those mounting points. If they’re like mine, the exposed parts have become gummy from heat exposure. Go ahead and remove the circlips holding the inner steel sleeves.  Once those are out, pound out the sleeves with 10mm socket and a hammer. The rubber bushings can now be removed.
Reinstallation is just the reverse, easy. The only issue I had was the stiffness of the new bushings. I wasn’t able to reuse both washers under the circlips. Stock bushings have enough give to squeeze them in. UPDATE: I’ll need to put both washers in to diminish the possibility of straining the lower bracket.