Suffering from "whileyou'reinthereanyway" with used motor

glhs837

Power with Control
So, got a used engine for the Red Devil, while waiting for the time to yank the old bad motor, got to looking at what I should reasonably do to the "new" motor, which I only expect to be in service for a year or while I take my time turning the old 2.8 motor into a 3.0 liter stroker. Love that BMW modularity and resistance to change fro changes sake, basically take the rotating assembly and intake cam out of a 2002-2006 3.0 motor from the newer 3 series, install into my good block, bam, instant +20 to 30 hp.

So now I bounce between what really needs done to the used motor while it's on a stand, and what's only nice to do. Plugs, rear crank seal, other seals known to be leakers. For sure. Oil pan gasket? Maybe, why not, really. Oil pump nut? Meh....... Is a known failure item, but this motors been in service since 1998, if it was going, it woulda gone already, I'm thinking. Front crank seal, which means removing what BMW guys call the God Bolt, which is torqued to +300 foot pounds.

Darn, while the trans and motor are apart, makes sense to replace the clutch, maybe the flywheel, both throwout and release bearings......... hmmmm, what about the water pump? might make sense to at least pull that and if it's the original plastic impeller, change that over to one with a metal impeller.

None of this stuff is expensive, but it does add up, and so does the time to do them :) This isn't a complaint, just a bemused observation.
 

DEEKAYPEE8569

Well-Known Member
So, got a used engine for the Red Devil, while waiting for the time to yank the old bad motor, got to looking at what I should reasonably do to the "new" motor, which I only expect to be in service for a year or while I take my time turning the old 2.8 motor into a 3.0 liter stroker. Love that BMW modularity and resistance to change fro changes sake, basically take the rotating assembly and intake cam out of a 2002-2006 3.0 motor from the newer 3 series, install into my good block, bam, instant +20 to 30 hp.

So now I bounce between what really needs done to the used motor while it's on a stand, and what's only nice to do. Plugs, rear crank seal, other seals known to be leakers. For sure. Oil pan gasket? Maybe, why not, really. Oil pump nut? Meh....... Is a known failure item, but this motors been in service since 1998, if it was going, it woulda gone already, I'm thinking. Front crank seal, which means removing what BMW guys call the God Bolt, which is torqued to +300 foot pounds.

Darn, while the trans and motor are apart, makes sense to replace the clutch, maybe the flywheel, both throwout and release bearings......... hmmmm, what about the water pump? might make sense to at least pull that and if it's the original plastic impeller, change that over to one with a metal impeller.

None of this stuff is expensive, but it does add up, and so does the time to do them :) This isn't a complaint, just a bemused observation.

Oh WTH.....rebuild the motor/trans., safety loop the drive shaft and send 'er up the 1/4 mile a few times.....or is this going to be a daily-driver?
 

glhs837

Power with Control
Daily driver, as much as anything owned by a year round motorcycle commuter can be said to be a daily driver. 98 328i convertible. For those odd days when it's slightly easier to drive than ride. When I'll need to make multiple short runs around base and suiting up is a pain, cruising out to eat with the wife on nice days. Don't think I'll ever be a 1/4 mile guy again after getting exposure to a road course with the SRT Track Experience years back.
 

Gilligan

#*! boat!
PREMO Member
None of this stuff is expensive, but it does add up, and so does the time to do them :) This isn't a complaint, just a bemused observation.

Well..speaking as a guy who's rebuilt maybe 50 boats, bikes, cars and trucks and still does that kind of thing...I can't recall but a few that didn't suffer from a major case of "well, while I'm in here I might as well do that too".
 

glhs837

Power with Control
Trying to walk the line, minimizing risk of badness while its in there, while preserving as much financial and human capital and goodwill from the funding entity to not endanger the stroker build. While I know I'll enjoy driving this car immensly even at stock power levels, since I love driving the boys 323 2.3 liter version, I really think about 280 at the wheels is gods own chosen power level for a car in this size and weight class. Stroker wont get there, but a small blower at 7ish psi would nail that down. Which blower can be added a few years later after the stroker. Like any good communist, I have a 5 Year Plan...
 

GURPS

INGSOC
PREMO Member
guy with Jeeps start doing this, the entire thing ends up on the floor of the Garage, next thing you know its a frame off resto .... down for the next 3 yrs
 

glhs837

Power with Control
guy with Jeeps start doing this, the entire thing ends up on the floor of the Garage, next thing you know its a frame off resto .... down for the next 3 yrs


Muuusssst Reeeesssiissstttt!!!!!!

But then, I look up short shifters, because I loved the one I had in the 320hp Neon. Simple, really, seems the one in my 98 328i is the same shifter as that years M3, and a 30% reduction in throw over the one in the boys 99 323. So I already have one. But then I read that the one in the M roadster for that year was another 20% less than even that...... so I could get one for me, and bolt mine into the sons for a twofer deal........ A short shifter for me, and one for you, and one for you, and you get a short shifter, short shifters for EVERYONE!!! :)

This of course, is how these things end up taking years :)

Oh, and the M3s mechanical LSD, that's a simple bolt in, and since I'll have the driveshaft out......... see, this way lies madness :)
 

glhs837

Power with Control
Go with it....to resist is futile; to succumb is sublime. And expensive. Once you are looking for that big brown truck on a daily basis with great expectation....


But I do hope to drive this thing farther than the end of private road (that's how far I got before diagnosing that the overheating was more than just a bad aux fan) before say Thanksgiving.......
 

GURPS

INGSOC
PREMO Member
Muuusssst Reeeesssiissstttt!!!!!! ..... see, this way lies madness :)


But I do hope to drive this thing farther ......

I just need to fix this one little rust spot ...........

:cds:

.... oh no the Rockers are gone, and the Body Mounts do not look very good
.... well I might as well take the tub off
.... when did the rear floor rot out
.... yikes, that frame is rusty
.... hmm it would look better with a new paint job, I should have it dipped or sand blasted
.... oh I might as well do the axles
.... oh I might as well do a Spring Over and New Springs .... Hmm maybe a 4 link setup
.... well now I can put on Taller Tires
.... oh now 3.50 gears aren't good enough I need more HP
.... well a 4.3 will replace that 255 Buick and I can put in an SM 465 instead of the T-14 3 spd or maybe an NV 4500
.... what I really need are 4.11's for Rock Crawling Ooo and Trak Lock or Detroit Lockers
.... 3 yrs and 15 - 25,000 dollars later ... your pristine vehicle roll out to its 1st Jeepster jam in 4 yrs

[I saw several guys with Jeepsters end up like this .... oh I'll fix X over the winter .... next thing you see the tum is hanging in the air and the rolling frame is off in the corner with the engine on a stand]


:buddies:


good luck at any rate
 

Larry Gude

Strung Out
This is like me trying to claim to 'suffer' from too much music gear. 7 (or is it 8?) electrics, a bass, various tuners, pedals, recorders, controllers, a slide, drum machines, mics, stands, cords, strings, 4 (or 5?) 4/12 cabs, 4 (or 5?) different heads, a Pro Junior, an old Peavy combo a line 6 combo. Hell, I have a banjo for crying out loud. Only instrument I ever picked up where you could have NO idea how to fret a note and sound magical right away. Well, that and drums...

"Well, while I'm in the store, that banjo could really use a home..."

Suffering. Victimized, I tell y'ah! It's awful! :larry:
 
I'm known to be one of the "as long as I'm in there" kind of guys, but if it were a car and I got to the floor rotted and frame overly rusty, I'd ditch it and find something a little less work.

My brother is in the middle of a Triumph restoration, but he had already decided to do a full teardown before he got into it. Been a few years with a house move in between but it's still progressing! Had the head rebuilt, block worked over...
20140521_100025.jpg
 

glhs837

Power with Control
This isn't a complaint, just a bemused observation.

This is like me trying to claim to 'suffer' from too much music gear. 7 (or is it 8?) electrics, a bass, various tuners, pedals, recorders, controllers, a slide, drum machines, mics, stands, cords, strings, 4 (or 5?) 4/12 cabs, 4 (or 5?) different heads, a Pro Junior, an old Peavy combo a line 6 combo. Hell, I have a banjo for crying out loud. Only instrument I ever picked up where you could have NO idea how to fret a note and sound magical right away. Well, that and drums...

"Well, while I'm in the store, that banjo could really use a home..."

Suffering. Victimized, I tell y'ah! It's awful! :larry:


In my defense, I quote myself from the last line of the first post :)


I'm known to be one of the "as long as I'm in there" kind of guys, but if it were a car and I got to the floor rotted and frame overly rusty, I'd ditch it and find something a little less work.

Agreed, over the years I have gotten rid of two cars that ended up with that being the cae, one of them, sadly the GLHS that I took my name from. It had been "rustproofed" in Michigan where it was originally bought in 88. Said rustproofing consisting of a thick layer of something not unlike bedliner, but without any flexibility. Once it got pierced, and that salty slush built up it was all over. I went to replace the emergency brake cable and when I rotated the nut attaching a bracket, and 10 square inches of floor came out with it. Started poking the firewall and literally found more bad metal than good. The other was the 68 cougar I toted around for years. Finally had to face the fact that there ws simply no way I was going to be able to devote the time and money it's body would need.

Luckily for me, the Red Devils body is in pretty good shape save for some peeling clearcoat on the trunk and rear bumper. Convertible top appears new, rear window on good shape, picked up some nice wheels and tires for $125 for the set. Red Devil.jpg
 
I'm known to be one of the "as long as I'm in there" kind of guys, but if it were a car and I got to the floor rotted and frame overly rusty, I'd ditch it and find something a little less work.

My brother is in the middle of a Triumph restoration, but he had already decided to do a full teardown before he got into it. Been a few years with a house move in between but it's still progressing! Had the head rebuilt, block worked over...
View attachment 115455

My uncle bought a 1929 Model A in 1962 (or so) for $75.00. He pulled it apart, grandfather took all the small parts to work and sandblasted them to bare metal, uncle primered them. Then my grandparents moved to a new house in 1964 (or so) and trucked the car over in pieces. Body sat in 1 spot, rolling frame sat in front of it, drivetrain the the shop 50 yards away from then until my grandmother's house was sold in 2012. Same uncle also has a 1964 convertible 'Vette. Same deal. Bought it in 1974, body & interior on a rack, drivetrain sitting next to the '29 drivetrain. He sold the '29 and moved the 'Vette into a different storage location. Doubt it will ever hit the road again while he owns it.
 

Gilligan

#*! boat!
PREMO Member
I have three "frame off" vehicle builds going at the moment. I think I have some form of attention deficit disorder when it comes to projects like that. ;-)
 

DEEKAYPEE8569

Well-Known Member
I have three "frame off" vehicle builds going at the moment. I think I have some form of attention deficit disorder when it comes to projects like that. ;-)

If all of your projects are all Chevy, you're safe. If all of your projects are all Ford, you're safe. The reason I say that is, you might wind up with something you don't recognize; a "Chord."
First thing to come to mind.....
 

Gilligan

#*! boat!
PREMO Member
If all of your projects are all Chevy, you're safe. If all of your projects are all Ford, you're safe. The reason I say that is, you might wind up with something you don't recognize; a "Chord."
First thing to come to mind.....
one of the projects is a 59 Triumph TR3......another involves a 49 flathead v8 ...and I want to get in to my Pantera build something bad...
 

glhs837

Power with Control
Saw a 928 on the side of 235 for sale...... I didnt go back for a week, now it's gone.......
 
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