Elias’ E30 project

[Eagle 1708]

Interesting. BMW sure created confusion making multiple different configurations, not sure why they switched they spline count etc for the 5 speeds.

Are you going for a 228mm or 240mm clutch? Appears you could have to use a 6 speed 22 spline clutch kit on a 5 speed flywheel to if you want a 240mm. 

[elias 306]

Made a start this weekend. Got the car inside and up on jackstands, started getting it ready to pull the engine and gearbox.
 

Removed the loom completely and any hoses, lines wires etc that join the engine to the car. Exhaust and drive shaft removed as well, as well as the auto shifter. Only thing holding it in now are engine mounts and the gearbox cross member, plan is to try and remove engine and gearbox in one go. 
 

i have unfortunately discovered a bit of rust under the cowl panel so not sure what to do about that just yet. Will see how much more I find once the engine is out and I can have a better look at the firewall. Any reccomendations for rust repair or even a panelbeater to do said rust repairs and repaint the engine pay for reasonable $ would be appreciated. 

the m52 has been stripped down partially, in order to give it a good clean. Parts have started showing up, have also ordered vanos rebuild kit, engine mounts (24v swap specific), 2002 brake reservoir for e90 booster swap and a whole bunch of other gaskets and bits for the m52. 

So next up is pull out the engine, rust repairs, figure out which brackets I can cut out of the engine bay, then get the engine bay painted and start reassembling the m52 in the meantime. 

 

Edited Saturday at 11:30 PM by elias

[elias 306]

On 3/7/2025 at 7:44 PM, Eagle said:

Interesting. BMW sure created confusion making multiple different configurations, not sure why they switched they spline count etc for the 5 speeds.

Are you going for a 228mm or 240mm clutch? Appears you could have to use a 6 speed 22 spline clutch kit on a 5 speed flywheel to if you want a 240mm. 

Not too sure yet, found a guy who may be able to sell me a complete z4 clutch kit to suit 22 spline 5 speed, with dmf, but not sure what size that clutch is. 

[Eagle 1708]

Likely the 228mm. The DMF flywheels are all 240mm so you can go bigger in the unlikely event you need to.

9 hours ago, elias said:

i have unfortunately discovered a bit of rust under the cowl panel so not sure what to do about that just yet.

Bit hard to tell from the photos but has gone right thru?

[elias 306]

12 minutes ago, Eagle said:

Likely the 228mm. The DMF flywheels are all 240mm so you can go bigger in the unlikely event you need to.

Bit hard to tell from the photos but has gone right thru?

No no holes yet, just in the lower left corner of the photo, a bit of lip has disappeared but no holes from what I can see, majority appears to be surface rust apart from where the lip has crumbled away. plan is to get the whole engine bay repainted once the engine is out, to adress any potential rust in the firewall as well which I’m sure I’ll find. 
also need to get the area around the boot seal repainted as rust has started to form there too, but again no holes yet. 

[e30ftw 423]

Pull the sound deadening off the firewall. Prefacelifts are notoriously rusty on the firewalls and down to the footwell on the inside. I can see a hint of it in your photo in the circle cut out next to where the steering column comes out. I'd lift the carpet at the front too.

[elias 306]

33 minutes ago, e30ftw said:

Pull the sound deadening off the firewall. Prefacelifts are notoriously rusty on the firewalls and down to the footwell on the inside. I can see a hint of it in your photo in the circle cut out next to where the steering column comes out. I'd lift the carpet at the front too.

Yeah will do, planning on removing all that sound deadening once the engine is out to have a proper look. Good to know about the footwells will lift the front half of the carpet and have a look. 

[Neil McCauley 412]

That's from a blocked elephant drain, water and leaves can pool up in the scuttle if it's blocked and create havoc - definitely pull both sides apart to expose the firewall on both sides to see what you're dealing with.

You can get a double whammy where the water seeps in from the blower motor area and pools around the accelerator pedal, and then if the car is jacked incorrectly (ie: all of them) it can crack the underseal away from the shell and water will work its way to the underside of the accelerator pedal mounting point.

[elias 306]

35 minutes ago, Neil McCauley said:

That's from a blocked elephant drain, water and leaves can pool up in the scuttle if it's blocked and create havoc - definitely pull both sides apart to expose the firewall on both sides to see what you're dealing with.

You can get a double whammy where the water seeps in from the blower motor area and pools around the accelerator pedal, and then if the car is jacked incorrectly (ie: all of them) it can crack the underseal away from the shell and water will work its way to the underside of the accelerator pedal mounting point.

Sounds lovely. Joys of old cars. I will take a closer look once I have the engine and gearbox out. Any recommendations on how to go about sorting out the rust?

[e30ftw 423]

To get the best repair done you will need to remove the carpet, dash, heaterbox etc to get to the backside of it make sure it hasn't gone all the way through. I'd wire wheel it all and treat it with rust converter or POR15 to seal it. If it's made holes you will need to cut and weld. 

Check behind the brake booster / fuse box harness grommet and from the inside, drop the glovebox out and look there too. 

[Eagle 1708]

7 hours ago, elias said:

Any recommendations on how to go about sorting out the rust?

If you can remove all the rust down to shiny clean metal then a 2k epoxy and top coat(brush on) is going to give the best long term results. You'd probably need a die grinder etc for those tight spots though.   

[elias 306]

All right thanks for the advice! Wasted no time and made a start on looking for rust this evening. Pulled seats, glovebox, under dash trims, carpet, sound reading out. Dash I still in, didn’t have that much time. Firewall looks perfect from the inside. Some minor spots in the floor, mostly around the accelerator pedal mount, there was some water in the sound deading foam so must have a leak somewhere which is mostly likely what caused the rust by the accelerator pedal. Only wet on drivers side and only on the door side, thinking maybe sunroof drain as it’s pretty near by.
 

passenger side:

drivers side:

 
not too bad overall from the inside. Will see what it’s like from the outside. Will most likely need to remove the dash to get the blower motor out to fix the rust near there.