MPW3RLee

Its been a while since ive seen a red E36 M3 and its very appealing
Thats a great car you have there!

Well it’s about that time for me to start on another time consuming adventure and something to actually post about, so here it is.
I will try my best to take pictures of progress in case anyone is interested. Should be a pretty fun car all said and done!

Here is a late "Welcome" from me!! Nice history (current?) list of vehicles!!

Live and learn lol
I've already got a pair of assemblies in the cart, so not a big deal, but would have preferred to use the ones already there.
Got the driveshaft out today with the help of @ChrisO. Propane torch was very helpful in getting the nuts to loosen. Was in the process of pulling the diff, but we couldn't cut the ebrake cable. Also, the control arm bolts broke at the bottom of the knuckles on the rear. We had enough blade in the sawzall to cut the one of the control arms, but not enough for the second one. Was able to pull the axle out of the diff a little bit on the side we were able to cut, but the ebrake line is preventing it from coming all the way out.
I was able to start breaking down the motor a little bit today as well. @MPW3RLee was able to lend me the clutch fan tool to remove it. Allowed me to pull the thermostat and water pump pulley off. Water pump seems to be seized onto the block a little bit, I removed all 4 corner bolts so it might need some convincing unless there is something I am missing. EDIT: I see you have to use two bolts to back it off. Started removing some off the VCG stuff while I was there as well.
Any recommendations for removing O2 sensors from exhaust manifolds? Would like to use the existing ones and save myself some money, but they seem to be really on there. Can't get a ton of leverage because I can't slip a pipe over the end of the wrench. Maybe just need a bigger pipe.
Motor mount arms and exhaust manifold studs and nuts are getting a CLR bath later.
@MPW3RLee also hooked it up and got my tires mounted on the wheels today. Lookin 乇乂ㄒ尺卂 ㄒ卄丨匚匚

Will probably go a slimmer side wall in the future, but @GunMetalGrey was selling these for cheap.

But if we all have BMW’s, haven’t we all made poor financial choices already? [emoji848]


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Well, stumbled across this page thanks to [mention=3693]SteelBlue[/mention] and [mention=2832]suspenceful[/mention], and quite honestly don’t know how I haven’t found it sooner! Currently have a 2009 M3 family hauler/grocery getter/autoX machine and 2017 i3 with range extender (weird car, right?) Been wrenching on BMW’s for 9 years now in a couple different dealerships between AL and WI. Grew up here in the 920 and hope to stick around for a while! A couple people on here may know me if I’ve worked on your cars, and if I haven’t then maybe some day! Hope to see some of you fellow BMW drivers on the road!
 
Here’s a couple pics of some of my current and previous BMWs
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
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Hey it was me 👋

Looking good, your first two mods are the same first two things I did to mine! Good taste! I didn’t even make it back from my 30 hour trip and I had to make a quick stop at work to throw my grilles in, in the middle of a snow storm 😬

My lifes been a little nuts lately between work and trying to find a new house while getting ours ready to sell but i've had time to drive the car and fall even more in love with it!  Being able to drive with the windows open makes the driving experience so much better.  I have never owned a car that gets so much attention from random people.  I have had to explain to my wife that an M3 isn't really something seen every day, especially in our area.  I did have a chance to order a few minor mods and install two!  I have a set of led angel eyes just waiting for me to install them.  Without further ado here is the most boring upadate ever.  I installed the BMW Performance black grille and painted side markers.  Done.
 

@patsbimmer1 has gotten out his crystal ball and predicted that in 6 months time I will be going single turbo on this. 
The clock has started. 

Anyone wanna place bets?

Just let me know when your ready to go single turbo, that’ll take care of that problem [emoji23]


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You aren't the only one.... 
I too was walking back to it after class and was pleased with it, maybe it'll stay off for a bit. 
 
Current status: Trying not to go down the rabbit hole.

Car is up and running. 
TJ did stop by and confirm I did not fuck it up. I needed a witness. I'm not used to superchargers *at all* so I was freaking out about all the noises. Then I learned some things. 
200 mile break-in period for the supercharger gears/bearing/seals and to allow the ECU to adapt to the tune. Luckily I have a 93 mile one-way drive on Sunday to get my rod bearings replaced !

Nice work, looks good in there! Almost like these cars should’ve came with it....[emoji848]It was certainly pretty cool when they made the Alpina E65 with a SC, minus the fact that it was still on the E65 chassis.


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Started on the install process on Saturday and by Sunday I was ready to mount the supercharger, then I noticed that I had received the wrong belt from ESS. They shipped me a belt for a 650 kit with 7 ribs instead of 6. I sourced a comparable belt from Napa on Sunday at 2120mm which is just 5mm shorter than what the normal 625 kit includes. They are overnighting me the correct belt so whatever I'll swap it tomorrow. 
What's more troubling is that ESS also gave me the wrong tune file. It is fortunate that I am DIYing this install because I don't think even a reputable BMW shop would have recognized that the tune file name ended in "124" which is what ESS uses to identify tunes intended for their black fuel injectors, as 124 is the last 3 of the part number. They shipped my kit with white injectors which have different flow rates and has a different tune. DOn't ask me why ESS has changed injectors over the years - the power is the same regardless, the tune just needs to be calibrated for the right flow rate. I'm sure if I had a shop install this, I'd be driving around wondering why the fuck my car is running like dog shit and potentially leaning out. 
Turnaround was quick and I got my updated tune file from them today for the white injectors that I have in my kit. So now I think all is well. 
I'm 98% done. Should be driving the car tomorrow - the only things left to do is hook up the air filter, put the radiator fan shroud back in, top the coolant off, and start the car. 

I'm glad I saved this...
 

I honestly wish I could say that because it would actually make me feel better about my purchase LOL - as it turns out, it's moreso that I am just completely incapable of leaving well enough alone. 
Yeah I have digital torque wrenches so doing this with proper accuracy shouldn't be hard, but at $700 it was a no-brainer. I figured I can justify the cost after all the thousands upon thousands I saved by DIYing my E46 manual swap   
My stance on the supercharger is that if you want the car to be a drag car, then just buy an N54 instead - but if you like everything else you get with an S65, then a supercharger makes the car "competitive and relevant" in the modern age to essentially give it a new lease on life. FIrst you say "someday" which is exactly what I did....then before you know it barely a year later you're installing a 625 kit LOL. To quote Family Guy - "it's like sex with Kobe - you can fight it all you want but, it's gonna happen" 

Haha, so it was you! The 328 went to a friend, and I decided to live the twin turbo life. It's been a good life so far. 
Well I sure hope it was the other one! If it keeps chewing them up (jake mentioned it was typical) I may make the poor decision of putting a VSRF system on it..... 
That or MLS exhaust gaskets if I can find them. 
Thank you for using proper hardware on the downpipes btw

So you’re the mysterious 335 buyer!? That’s awesome! So now this makes sense, that was me following you in the i3 the other day. I saw a silver e90 (with wheels that looked just like yours) and figured it was you in your 328, but then I saw it was a 335 and got all sorts of confused.

*delayed light bulb turning on over here [emoji362]


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So you’re the mysterious 335 buyer!? That’s awesome! So now this makes sense, that was me following you in the i3 the other day. I saw a silver e90 (with wheels that looked just like yours) and figured it was you in your 328, but then I saw it was a 335 and got all sorts of confused.

*delayed light bulb turning on over here [emoji362]


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For whatever reason the retention isn’t great for new members - Basically the ones that end up staying are pretty good folks

Don’t fuck this up!

Super late response on my part, but also super accurate response on your part!

But if we all have BMW’s, haven’t we all made poor financial choices already? [emoji848]


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right? we must be something like 2/10 for newcomers actually sticking around. I'll take part of the blame because I attack people about their poor financial decisions. 
OP Welcome to the group. 

Joining the forum with some burns