Sunday, April 24, 2011

320i mud flaps

i saw these for sale on eBay and thought that i would archive the pics...very interesting parts...NOS...

Brand new, old-stock set of front mud flaps for the BMW 320i series sedan (E21 M10). Part number 72 60 1 871 597.  







Friday, April 22, 2011

output shaft

What you'll need:
CV Joint Boot Kit(s)
Roll of paper towels
Box of latex gloves
2x flathead screwdrivers, 1 small, 1 large.
Hammer
Snap-ring pliers
Large Nut
Large Bolt
Throttle body cleaner or some form of degreaser
High temp gasket goo i.e. Curil or Permatex Red.



Bavauto Boot Kit
One boot, two hose clamps, a C-clip and a 3 Oz. packet of "Schmierfett für Gleichlaufgelenke"


Dust Cap removal:
I held the body of the CV joint in the vice with the cap free below.
With the Axle supported against my shoulder I firmly-yet-gently tapped down on the cap working evenly around it's circumference.
Be careful to NOT place any undue stress on the joint itself!


What they don't tell you in the Blue Book: Only work on one end at a time. Don't remove the 2nd dust cap until you've finished the boot on the 1st end or else you will quickly have old CV grease EVERYWHERE.


There's a C-clip where?


Blue Book says to seal sealing cover with Curil but there was no trace of it on disassembly?


C-clip is gone but that sleeve would't just slide off the shaft. This is where the large nut or bolt comes in. (See nut in front.)


Stand the end of the shaft on the nut or bolt and gently tap down on the inner sleeve to slide it from the shaft. DO NOT attempt to remove joint by placing a puller or exerting other force on the outside of the joint as this will pull the joint apart and destroy it. (Can you see the condition of the upper boot? Looks like old elephant skin.)


Free at last. Free at last.


Repacking: I cut a small tip of the grease pack, stuck it down into the bearings and squeezed. This forced out the old grease with the new.


What was left, I glopped onto the end of the shaft.


Assembly: (no pics as I was pretty much up to my elbows in grease)
Slide the small C-clamp onto the shaft then the small end of the boot.
Slide the CV joint down onto the splined end of the shaft and tap down if necessary.
Install the C-clip on the end of the shaft.

Getting the large end of the boot over the collar of the CV joint:
The new boot is stiffer and smaller than the old and now pretty much everything is covered in grease.
To get it on I slipped the back of the boot over the collar, grabbed the front lip with a wide pair of pliers and firmly-yet-gently pulled the boot up over the collar.

I then cleaned the inside of the dust cap and the outer edge of the CV joint with Throttle body cleaner and applied a thin film of Permatex Red.


I slipped the dust cover on, dropped three bolts in the holes to maintain alignment and then with the body of the CV joint resting on the edge of the bench to avoid stressing the joint, tapped the cover into place.

Sunday, April 17, 2011

Petrol Flap Lid with Plastic Resting Place for Fuel Cap


BMW Genuine OEM E21 Fuel Petrol Tank Flap Lid Cover notice the Resting Place for the cap

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Cutting Stock Springs for a lower ride

this is an example of 2.5 coils cut in the front and 3.5 cut in the rear:


don't use an OXY welder to cut the springs, use a 1mm cut off wheel on an angle grinder, if you want a 2" drop cut about 1 coil off your spring...notice the effect of wheel size on the overall stance and profile...13" vs. 16" wheels..



323i VIN number

WBAAH3105B7794840

this is a VIN from a 1982 BMW 3-Series 323i



Thursday, April 7, 2011

joey79 over at bimmerforums made this entire thread on exchanging the e36 lsd rear differentials into an e21 rear differential case:

"I finally got around to tearing into my 168mm e36 lsd. Upon attempting to simply swap the e36 internals into the e21 case, it was obvious that it just wasn't going to fit without modification to either the case or the lsd unit. The opening of the e21 case isn't as wide as the e36 case. I didn't want to modify any of the moving parts, so I figured the only way to accomplish the goal was to grind away the portion of the case that was preventing entry of the lsd unit and ring gear. Here are some pictures.


Left: e36 Right: e21

I cut off the speedo sensor wheel on the e36 unit.

The opening on the e21 diff (right) is smaller than the e36. On the e36, the lsd/ring gear unit can be inserted straight in. With the e21 case, the unit must be inserted non ring gear side first, then rotated. A small amount of the case needed to be removed to allow the ring gear to clear.


The opening on the e21 diff (right) is smaller than the e36. On the e36, the lsd/ring gear unit can be inserted straight in. With the e21 case, the unit must be inserted non ring gear side first, then rotated. A small amount of the case needed to be removed to allow the ring gear to clear.





I was concerned that the large o-ring on the side cover wouldn't make a good enough seal with this amount of material removed, but I test fitted the side cover, and it seems to be fine.



LSD unit with ring gear installed with both side covers on.


Now that I know it can physically fit, the rest should be easy enough. I'll have to swap pinion gears. I'll be getting all new bearings, seals and o-rings. If I have problems with gear mesh, I'll take it to a diff builder to shim it properly, but I have all winter to pick at it.

***********************
Update:

I pulled the pinions from the e36 and e21 diffs. I measured them with a digital micrometer, and all measurements were within .002" They are interchangeable.

 E36 is on the left, E21 on the right. The diff is a 3.45 (I believe 25% lock) from an e36 318is.  3.45 LSD would be great for cruising at highway speeds."


i will assume the half shaft will need to be cut and shorten like an inch or 2. or no ?



BMW M1 Concept Car


BMW M1 Concept Car

Fuel Line, Gas Tank, and Gas Tank Connects

this is a visual reminder to me of the things that need to be done on my fuel system...







center console...e28



this is the center console for an e28 e brake console without the power window switches

BMW Batteries 61.216.920.804

these are m3 batteries...stock, and the csl 'upgrade'



a guy over on the bimmerforums posted these pics of his suspension work...for my tastes, my usage, and my interests this particular car is far from ideal...however, i do like looking at possibilities...