BMW E46 Compact 330Ti Build

[Harper 559]

34 minutes ago, Vass said:

Not sure if the subframe bushes are the same on a ti but I've got a full set of OE subframe bushes as well as RTAB ones + limiters that I haven't gotten round to throwing up for sale yet if you want them. Bought this whole set before deciding to go with solid subframe bushes and monoball RTABs. Not a sales pitch but every bushing in my old subframe had cracks through them to a greater or lesser degree so you'll be glad you've done them. 

Eesh, that's pretty tempting. You might get a message from me tomorrow haha

[Harper 559]

3 hours ago, Eagle said:

Ive got some loose Meyle HD front control arm bushings floating around, near new, bought a set to use the brackets for Z4M ones. $20 + shipping you you want them. I think these along with the ones you mention above are the ones that give the best results + sway bar bushings\links.

I was looking at grabbing Z4M ones as well and just pressing them into my existing brackets. Surprising cheap to just buy the bushing on it's own

[Eagle 1677]

Yeah i did them to get my castor reading back to spec as it was reading low. Never felt any difference otherwise.

[Harper 559]

Way behind on updates on here. Main development is the engine is out.

Because I'd already done all the prepwork in the weeks prior, the actual pulling the engine out part took maybe 15 minutes. So easy pulling it out the front.

Started stripping things off. Going to be replacing just about everything. Quite a lot of perished rubber/vacuum lines/o-rings. 90% of these are probably driving around with pretty significant vacuum leaks.

I wish there was a decent RHD catless header option for these that wasn't $3500. Every time I see them it hurts and these are the EU2 version which is probably the best iteration. Compared to the S54 headers these just look so lame.

Took a look at the bottom end bearings since I will be replacing the rod bearings.

Most of them looked about the same. 

Had a look at the top end. Surprisingly clean. Vanos will get rebuilt and valve seals replaced.

Cleaned up the block and sump a bit.

Modified the auto trans harness by chopping the connectors off and stealing two of the wires for the manual reverse switch. Spliced the other end into the relevant connectors so the reverse switch is all wired inline with the factory harness. I haven't spliced in the gearbox connector yet since I don't know what length it will need to be, I'll have to do that underneath he car.

Loads of parts on order and lots of cleaning to do. I was probably hopeful with the before Christmas goal but I think early next year the engine should be in and running.

 

Edited November 26, 2023 by Harper

[Harper 559]

Also swapped over the rear hatch. Absolutely miserable job. The wiring harness and rear wiper fluid feed tube is probably routed through the hatch before the rear glass is bonded on from factory. Feeding all that through the tiny passage took an entire weekend. I wish I was joking. But I did eventually get everything through. I wired in a new loom at the same time for the FZV module that runs to the GM5 so I can convert it to use a radio frequency key.

Some cleaning:

And all back together.

Old one for comparison, very subtle difference but I prefer it:

Wiper deleted at the same time. But went through the trouble of routing the wiring and feed tube through just incase I ever change my mind, its a simple bolt it back on exercise. The hole is temporarily plugged with a hideous black generic one while I wait for the factory delete plug which will be colour matched. A lot of work for something only I would ever notice, but now that it's done I'm glad I did it.

Edited November 26, 2023 by Harper

[Eagle 1677]

22 minutes ago, Harper said:

90% of these are probably driving around with pretty significant vacuum leaks

Haha yep. Amazing what EFI can compensate for. Carburetors just sh*t the bed if anything is off.

22 minutes ago, Harper said:

I wish there was a decent RHD catless header option for these that wasn't $3500. Every time I see them it hurts and these are the EU2 version which is probably the best iteration. Compared to the S54 headers these just look so lame

Not sure if he is still in business but Bertz customs in the UK appears to be the best price vs quality ones i ever saw They were about ~1500NZD for memory + shipping.

22 minutes ago, Harper said:

Had a look at the top end. Surprisingly clean.

Every NZ new or UK import BMW ive owned looked like this, asian ones werent bad per se but generally never as good (much darker). 

[Vass 866]

Looking good! Hope you'll snap out of the 91 octane habit once the new engine is in though

[Eagle 1677]

Must really hate the N42 eh. I remember having to put 91 in a M54B30 once because no premium, turned it into a B25.

[Cement 892]

18 hours ago, Harper said:

, I'll have to do that underneath he car.

May be a he / him car at the moment but definitely well on his way to a they / them with the engine swap 🤣

Enjoying the updates and I'm a +1 for it looking good 👍

[Harper 559]

18 hours ago, Vass said:

Looking good! Hope you'll snap out of the 91 octane habit once the new engine is in though

I'm enjoying the slightly smaller fuel bill while it lasts which is about all the n42 has going for it atm. I think the extra $10 a tank is worth it for an m54.

17 hours ago, Eagle said:

Must really hate the N42 eh. I remember having to put 91 in a M54B30 once because no premium, turned it into a B25.

It doesn't deserve anything other than the cheap stuff. Throws an oil light every 1000km and the auto box sometimes refuses to change out of first gear, so the rational solution is to rip it all out and put a b30 in right?

[Eagle 1677]

Funnily enough that what my initial thought was but i had to poke fun at the N42 instead. I wouldnt run 98 either but if its anything like my compact then you need 95 min to get performance, may not even be relevant with Auckland traffic though.

[Harper 559]

Some pretty good progress over the holidays, most of it in the last few days as parts showed up. 

Got the crank bolt out with a 6ft bar on my breaker bar.

All timing gear removed and cams out, then cam buckets out

Front timing cover removed

I started doing the rod bearings, but was stopped when 4 of the 12 in my pack were damaged. They had rotated and gouged each other in their packaging so I had to order another set.

While waiting for the second rod bearing set to arrived replaced all the valve seals. Created a basic tool to compress the valve springs with the head in place.

Finished replacing the rod bearings once the replacements arrived, and put the oil pump together with all new parts and new chain. I opted not to wire tie the oil pump nut and just use red loctite. Maybe I'll regret that.

Front timing cover and oil filter housing back on with new guides, seals, water hoses etc.

Cams back in and timed up, new top tensioner and guide and the main timing chain replaced

Sump on

Intake manifold on, all new ccv parts, pretty much everything rubber replaced, new waterpump/thermostat, pulleys

Pretty much up to date here with all the remaining new and refreshed parts fitted and main engine harness hooked up.

Last thing I'm waiting on is the Beisan vanos seals along with the DISA rebuild kit which should arrive next week, and then I can seal up the top end with a new valve cover. I have a new crank hub bolt to go on but I'll do that once its off the stand and can lock the the flywheel properly.

Not pictured but the ZF 5 speed got all new detents, guide tube and other parts. And rear trailing arms rebuilt with new wheel bearings and bushings everywhere. Getting very close to swap time, I'm sick of having boxes of parts everywhere in my garage. 

Edited January 13 by Harper

[Eagle 1677]

Surprised you didnt put in updated oil control rings after tearing it down to that extent  

[Harper 559]

11 minutes ago, Eagle said:

Surprised you didnt put in updated oil control rings after tearing it down to that extent  

I didn't really want to separate the head. Would mean time-serting the block most likely, along with adding a lot of machining cost. Went through all that with my S54 and had to wait months for the bores to get honed and block and head surfaced. My goal was refresh as much as possible without having to outsource any machining work to avoid that. Still a pretty low mileage engine so oil consumption should hopefully be fairly low.

Edited January 13 by Harper

[Olaf 3341]

No need to pull the head, surely?  If you've removed the crank to do your big ends, drop the piston&rod assy out the bottom and presto.

[Vass 866]

3 minutes ago, Olaf said:

No need to pull the head, surely?  If you've removed the crank to do your big ends, drop the piston&rod assy out the bottom and presto.

It's getting the pistons back in through the underside that'd be the issue. No even surface to seat the piston ring compressor onto so you'd likely end up doing damage to the rings. Easy enough to mess it up even seating them from the topside.

[Olaf 3341]

good point, cheers.

[Harper 559]

I might regret not going that extra step if I put it back in and it starts the typical M54 oil burning but ultimately it becomes a full rebuild once you take the pistons out and this project is already way over budget.

Motor wasn't burning oil when removed so I'm hopeful given its low mileage, O2 pilot mod, new ccv parts, should be alright.

[Olaf 3341]

it's certainly going to go like a cut cat!  I hope you'll leave the 318 badge on the tailgate! 😀

[Eagle 1677]

16 hours ago, Harper said:

I didn't really want to separate the head. Would mean time-serting the block most likely, along with adding a lot of machining cost. Went through all that with my S54 and had to wait months for the bores to get honed and block and head surfaced. My goal was refresh as much as possible without having to outsource any machining work to avoid that. Still a pretty low mileage engine so oil consumption should hopefully be fairly low.

Understandable. I think much of that doesn't necessarily need to be done but certainly an added risk when removing and re-torqueing the head. 

Id say its quite rare at this point in time to have a non rebuilt M54 that doesn't use any. I though my current M54 used none or very little under typical driving, but like my previous one it soon changed under high vacuum\declaration expressway driving. If didnt have to top oil between ~10,000km changes then id consider that a non issue, but you don't really know until you start putting some milage in my experience.

[Harper 559]

17 hours ago, Eagle said:

I think much of that doesn't necessarily need to be done but certainly an added risk when removing and re-torqueing the head. 

Probably, from what I hear from others that rebuild M54s often it's pretty much a given that the block will need to be time-serted but maybe it's different in the states where the advice is coming from. And I don't like the idea of going that deep and not machining all the surfaces, I know some people slap it back together but it feels wrong to me.

17 hours ago, Eagle said:

If didnt have to top oil between ~10,000km changes then id consider that a non issue

Agreed I tend to change oil 7.5-10k km, I don't do that much mileage and almost none of it motorway driving so if it gets that far I'm happy. I'll report back on it's oil usage once it's on the road, I'm hoping in the next couple months. 

[Vass 866]

1 hour ago, Harper said:

Probably, from what I hear from others that rebuild M54s often it's pretty much a given that the block will need to be time-serted but maybe it's different in the states where the advice is coming from. And I don't like the idea of going that deep and not machining all the surfaces, I know some people slap it back together but it feels wrong to me.

Yeah I got all paranoid about threads pulling out of the block reading all the forum posts on the topic but from personal, anecdotal experience, the issue might be a bit overblown. The engine I rebuilt turned out to be overheated at some point, to the extent that the head had gone too soft to use. Even still, the replacement head torqued down just fine and all seems to be ticking over alright a year or so on.

I even asked the machine shop whether it's worth timeserting the block preventatively just to play it safe, to which the machinist told me to stop being silly.

From what I gather, the safer and less involved preventative solution to the issue would be to use head studs instead of timeserting anyway, but there aren't any budget options out there on that front, M54-specific kits seem to be $400+ US.

I guess when the threads pull then the person is more likely to go on a forum to talk about it and look for a solution, whereas for every one time that happens there's 10 that torque down fine and go unreported so you end up with a skewed perception going by the number of forum posts alone.

There's always a risk though so I do get your logic, these sorts of projects do have a tendency of snowballing out of control as it is.

To add to the anecdotes, I pulled the pistons out of the old B25 block the other week out of curiosity. The engine had 227k km's on it and was known to burn oil with the yellow oil light popping up every few months. Wasn't a pretty sight.

[Eagle 1677]

7 minutes ago, Vass said:

Yeah I got all paranoid about threads pulling out of the block

Not BMW's but i still get paranoid about this happening on other brands even though ive never had an issue yet. Complete agree about the rest though, not many people removing the head for preventative reasons.

[Harper 559]

2 hours ago, Vass said:

these sorts of projects do have a tendency of snowballing out of control as it is.

Basically this, never intended on going as deep as I have. Started as a budget daily build but I got carried away with 'while the engines out' jobs. Before you know it I'm replacing all the suspension and bushings etc. Taking the head off seemed a nice place to stop since doing it properly adds another ~$1500 at least. Photos like that piston make me second guess my decision though. 

[Vass 866]

I wouldn't worry about it. It'll take you a good few hundred years to get anywhere close to $1,500 worth of oil topups.