Jump to content
WI BIMMERS - Wisconsin's BMW Community

Recommended Posts

Coolant leak confirmed

IMG_20180218_144939

I already bought the heater core so now it's just a matter of swapping it. 


Pulled out the fuel injectors and removed the fuel hardlines running to them. I had soaked them for a few days in PB so pulling them wasn't too scary, it certainly wasn't that fun though! 

IMG_20180218_145001


Worked on pulling the fuel pump out, took the pulley off the front, disconnected the throttle, fuel line, thermostat, and the bolts that hold the rotation of the pump. It didn't want to move so I called it a day and looked at the manual to see how it comes out. There are 3 bolts hiding that I need to take out and it should be free!


I finished up the cab lights as well.

IMG_20180218_144957

 

IMG_20180218_144945

Completely hidden, and come on with the key. I'm pleased with the way they turned out!


"New" injectors will be here tomorrow, and will be taken to a local shop to be tested/cleaned. Fuel pump seal kit should be here this week, and will tear the pump down a bit to get the new seals in and then back together it goes! I want to get the heater core swapped out while the motor is down. 

I ordered some couplers to get the intercooler in there as well. 

I'm quite excited to see how it feels with clean injectors and an intercooler. Should start scooting pretty well!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hmm. What is missing from this photo?

IMG_20180219_155316




Oh! Found it!

IMG_20180219_153006


I removed all the accessory stuff and was left with this.

IMG_20180219_154455

 

IMG_20180219_154447


It looks interesting, and I think I can see where fuel was leaking which is relieving. This lower sensor (timing advance) seemed to be quite soaked, so either the o ring seal there went or something above it did, but that area is easy enough to take apart.

IMG_20180219_154459



My "new" injectors also came in! These look 1000x better than what I took out of the car. I will be taking them in to have them checked and cleaned if needed.

IMG_20180219_172855



Now just waiting on the pump seal kit so I can get that taken care of!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

dsc05301.jpg

When taken apart it looks a bit like this. (Not my pic, 4cyl VW stuff)



Also, I would like to take this moment to laugh at the fact that my leaking heater core is likely the reason I struggled with temp issues for so  long. It was allowing air into the system and was always getting stuck in the thermostat housing. That's the next thing to get taken out!

New radiator ordered (was using a friends) 

Thanks to @dealindave I have $50 of sealing washers on the way! 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 2/20/2018 at 9:08 AM, GunMetalGrey said:

dsc05301.jpg

Where do you plug the laptop in?

Glad this isn't your pump.  Mechanical things are a whole different ball game. It's like tuning with megasquirt, except you have to disassemble and reassemble things every time you want to make a change...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

53 minutes ago, HipMF said:

Where do you plug the laptop in?

Glad this isn't your pump.  Mechanical things are a whole different ball game. It's like tuning with megasquirt, except you have to disassemble and reassemble things every time you want to make a change...

Right? It's been amusing going from MS3X to..... a fuel pump.
Luckily with this pump most adjustments can be done externally, short of swapping rotor heads (moar powwaaaa) so I shouldn't really ever need to get this far into it. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well the shop called on friday and asked to call them about the injectors, not a great start.
Guy threw them on the bench and tried testing them, he said they didn't hold any pressure, just "hosed" (stuck open). This is impressive as hell considering it takes them 2200psi to open with fuel. Not sure how that happens, but it sucks. He sent me some pics of the injectors after telling me about how rusty they were internally. 

IMG_0852

 

IMG_0850IMG950849

 

So the bad news is that they are shot, but the good news is that the bodies are still in good shape and they can be fixed. 
The downside to rebuilding them is that they require new nozzles, shimming, cleaning, new internals, and to be tested again.
The cost for that is just shy of $500 (nozzles included), and I had paid just shy of $200 for the new injectors. That puts me $750 into injectors (with the seals).
I bit the bullet and bought new nozzles today (Monark Units, highly rated) and I am in communication with the guy I bought the injectors from, I'm hoping to get half of the cost back on the injectors. 



I put the fuel pump on the bench last night and started taking it apart. I got the "easiest" piece out and realized I was out of my comfort zone already. There was buildup in odd places, I didn't have the right seals for that area, there was a clogged filter element that I didn't have a new one of, and I put it back together. I think I'm going to not mess around and take it to the shop where the injectors are and have things done properly, and when they rebuild it they test the unit to make sure everything works before I get it back. The thought of resealing it myself, putting it back in, and not having it work is rough because it is not a simple task to reinstall/remove. 


In better news I got the heater core swapped out! 

IMG_20180224_111208


I could tell I wasn't the first one in this location as one of the screws that you  need to take out to get the vent out of the way was already out. 
I didn't take a picture of the new one in place, as it just looks like a heater core...

I also put a new window switch plug in (thanks Sam!) so now my windows work! 
I'm trying to fix up all the little crap that I keep not doing while I've got the down time of the motor being inoperable. 

New nozzles are about 2 weeks out, and I'll drop the pump off this week. Hoping to have it running again in a month.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've had to rebuild 3 pumps in my life and it is very tedious. It isn't a common thing, usually get a new pump or reman but if there is none available and it's a "they need the truck thing" then the rebuild kit it is. 

First time I went in thinking I'll be able to pull this sucker apart and have it back together in a hour. Miserable fail, it took hours. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

28 minutes ago, Daggerty said:

I've had to rebuild 3 pumps in my life and it is very tedious. It isn't a common thing, usually get a new pump or reman but if there is none available and it's a "they need the truck thing" then the rebuild kit it is. 

First time I went in thinking I'll be able to pull this sucker apart and have it back together in a hour. Miserable fail, it took hours. 

Thank you for making me feel better about myself! 
They seem pretty serious, so I'll let the guys that know what they're doing take care of it. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Got a call from the diesel shop on Friday, once again he asked me to call back about the fuel pump; anyone see a common trend here?

Turns out the pump is all internally pitted and rusted, and the guy was impressed the car even ran. He said rebuilding it is pointless and he cant find an obsolete pump. Nifty. 

Turned to the E28 forum as I recalled a guy saying he had fuel pumps in stock, sent him a message and turns out it is @dealindave's euro contact! He recognized me somehow, and said he didn't have a pump anymore but can get one and have it remand. then ship it. So I'm assuming that will take a handful of weeks, which seems to be how this project goes! 

Nozzles shipped on Friday from Germany, will be interesting to see how long those take. 

The waiting game is in full swing!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Moar updates!

My excessively expensive crush washers came in! They came in a nice small plastic bag inside of a paper envelope! All the way from The Netherlands! 
Take a look at the quality! 

IMG_20180311_110934

They are super soft and hammered flat pretty quick, but they are oblong, but it looks like they are normally a "press fit" application so hopefully the diesel shop can get them on.
They have an interesting chamfer on the inside as well, ruining the thought that they are just a normal washer in a crazy specific size.

I hadn't heard back from Ivo in a week or so about the fuel pump, so I started getting concerned that this thing would never work again. I emailed a few people on the E28 page that said they had TD fuel pumps but all of them were pretty much trying to tell me the pumps are the same between the US and the Euro motor, but they have never actually worked with them. Buncha smart guys eh? So I politely told them that they were completely different and had no chance of working with a euro motor that hadn't been adapted to run US spec things.

I reached out to @dealindave because Ivo is a contact of his as well, hoping he could extract some info, and he got a response today that they are searching for a pump. So now  I'll be able to sleep at night knowing something is still happening. 

While I play the eternal wait game I figured I might as well continue on chassis modifications!

Drew up some subframe spacers and had strut top spacers from before.

IMG_20180225_174806

Alignment dowels and everything in the new subframe spacers, fancy shit eh'?

Hooked the motor up to a support bar and loosened up the motor mounts, and lowered the subframe down gently with the longest pry bar I had.
Passenger side was a breeze and the alignment dowels pressed in smoothly.

IMG_20180310_190033


Drivers side was a bit trickier, as the steering coupler didn't want to move all that far. I moved the knuckle up the spline a bit and got the subframe down just far enough to sneak the spacer in.

IMG_20180310_190041

Threw the longer bolts I bought in there and was pleased at how quickly that part went. 
Next step of the steering coupler is to see if I can sneak it back down far enough on the steering rack shaft to put the bolt back through it. If not I will be getting a poly steering coupler and adding a few washers to it for spacing. 

As you can see in the first picture, the motor mount is now fairly far away, and I'm not quite sure how I want to tackle that yet. Gotta play with angles and alignment to see what kind of arrangement I can make. But the motor will be staying at its original height in relation to the body. 
I am literally body lifting a uni-body car right now...

So the subframe spacers cleared up some of my more extreme control arm angles, but what fun is having non extreme angles? Time to make more of a mess of the geometry! 
My subframe is now lower than my oil pan as well, which is sweet. 

IMG_20180310_190728




Now onto the strut top spacers!
I needed longer studs through the strut tops, so I found some random hardware in my bucket o' hardware and tacked them in while the strut top was in the chassis (strindle/struckle had been removed at this point)

IMG_20180311_133141

Looks funny right??


Install spacer

IMG_20180311_133313



Reinstall strut top to strut and marvel at your creation!

IMG_20180311_133654



Took the assembly and put it back in the chassis, which looks kind of funny from the top.
The extra stud length is for shimming later to even out the ride height both sides, or push for a bit more overall.

IMG_20180311_133921



So there ya have it! More lift! 
Until the next update!








Just kidding.
Side with subframe spacer, no strut spacer

IMG_20180310_192211


Side with strut and subframe spacer ( I kinda botched the angle due to the garage door)

IMG_20180310_192224



This gives a bit better perspective ;)
Left (passenger side) has no strut spacer, drivers side does and is at full droop (obviously)

IMG_20180311_123518

 

IMG_20180310_190714


I'm digging the more level ride height, as the rockers sit just about level at 11.75" on the front corner.

So after doing all of this I was pleased, but not all that much. Sure I got more ground clearance but I didn't change the suspension travel or make it any "better". 
I'm trying to find weld on (non eyed) coilovers that I could use (with custom spring rates) to increase the front suspension travel from the stock (6" or less if I recall correctly) and bring that up to about 12-15 inches while using a dual spring (dual rates) setup to keep it from harsh bottom outs. 

All in all I'm happy to see the chassis more level, but am still seeking for more! 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.