1985 BMW 318 Stage Rally Build - 1988 Porsche 924S Street Build - Sequoia Build

today's update, not much different from yesterday's.....but doing the second side was easier. Even though the subframe balljoint nut is pretty tough to access, I managed to get to it with 3 wobbly extensions and 3 straight extensions and it came off pretty easily....no spinning balljoint, no cutting needed! Everything else came apart pretty nicely as well, so it turned out being 10x easier than the passenger side, surprisingly.

Also had a pretty easy time getting the balljoints out of this arm with the press and getting the new ones in. And the new M3 offset bushing in the lollipop.

The balljoints in the arm were COMPLETELY and entirely shot....no wonder the front end was super-sloppy driving this car home....

Tomorrow's plan is to put the whole front end together and "within 30 minutes of assembly" (for the sake of the offset bushings) get it down on the front wheels (and will drop the jackstands in the back to make the back sit stock-ish height for even weight).

Still waiting on a new CV axle for the rear, and an ebrake acutator. Then I can finish up with the rear end as well. Car still won't be able to drive until after Christmas, since the wife is getting me a Z3 shifter kit, so I'm keeping the driveshaft and exhaust out until that's done.

Out with the old, in with the new!

I'm actually pretty pleased with myself after tonight's project. THe last step to getting the front suspension back together was getting the new M3 offset bushings/lollipops onto the LCA. After reading horror stories about this I wasn't looking forward to it, especially having to do both quickly and get the car on the ground to set the bushings.

After a few attempts at doing it by hand, then with a BFH, neither of those made any kind of progress at all....the fit is damn tight, especially with the solid rubber bushing.

So....the next step was to rig up some kind of ghetto-fabulous tool to pull it on there. the parts: a really long threaded rod, cut in half, some nuts and washers, a drilled-out L-bracket sitting around in a parts drawer, and.....

a 1970 Triumph GT6 hub, still with the bearing still on it :)

The hub happened to have a perfect inner diameter for pressing the bushing/lollipop on - and of course already has a really strong/stiff flange with perfectly spaced holes in it :)

It was slightly cumbersome, but actually worked like a charm and I got both of them on in about 5 minutes each. Would have been faster, but can't use the impact while the kid is asleep!

Then I quickly got the car back on the ground to set the bushings. Since I"m still missing a rear axle and the hub isn't all put together yet, I couldn't put on the right rear tire. But I wanted the car to sit as level and near-stock as possible, so...

I just used windex and slipped them on by hand

Taiden wrote: I just used windex and slipped them on by hand

the M3 offset bushings, or the non-offset?

there was no way, no how these were going on "by hand"

I just read the whole thread, and I have to say that you are making me feel really, really lazy!!

The M3 offset bushings

But no, I didn't slip them on. I wrestled them on by hand.

First I cleaned up the end of the control arm with a hand file. Mine looked like a mushroom from rust, but it's supposed to be straight.

I definitely made a hard attempt by hand, but lying on the ground I can't get much leverage, especially with a partially-torn rotator cuff (too many volleyball tournaments!). Same reason I can't swing my BFH very well sideways

Did you give em a good lubin' with dish detergent or windex?

Why the need to get the suspension back on the ground within 30 minutes of install?

Taiden wrote: Did you give em a good lubin' with dish detergent or windex?

yeah, Joy

pigeon wrote: Why the need to get the suspension back on the ground within 30 minutes of install?

On these radial bushings, the rubber ones like to be "set" in a loaded position before the lubricant (dish soap) dries, because otherwise they may set in the wrong position and not give appropriate radial play and could bind up and tear the rubber. 30 minutes is the "time frame" I've seen on most of the e30 forums for the M3 offsets, and most people seem to be pretty adament about it.

It was that way with the Maxima as well - with rubber bushings. No need to do it with poly bushings, since they'll still rotate ok.

The 30 minutes might be an old wives' tale or might be legit - but it gave me motivation to "git'r done" and not spend the whole evening out there, lol.

One of my bushings was all twisted and dried and not pushed all the way in when I forced it to be bolted in place.

The other one was fine.

I'll let you know if one fails before the other. :)

irish44j wrote: Car still won't be able to drive until after Christmas, since the wife is getting me a Z3 shifter kit, so I'm keeping the driveshaft and exhaust out until that's done.

I just bought a UUC set-up (Black Friday w/e special on e30tech) and thus will be yanking my Z3 set-up if interested. It has maybe 500 miles on it. The only downside is the car is tucked away in the back yard for the winter and I doubt I'll touch it again until March or so.

Ian F wrote:

irish44j wrote: Car still won't be able to drive until after Christmas, since the wife is getting me a Z3 shifter kit, so I'm keeping the driveshaft and exhaust out until that's done.

I just bought a UUC set-up (Black Friday w/e special on e30tech) and thus will be yanking my Z3 set-up if interested. It has maybe 500 miles on it. The only downside is the car is tucked away in the back yard for the winter and I doubt I'll touch it again until March or so.

thanks, but I know she already got it, since the package already came in. That, and I want to do all the shifter stuff around new year's so I can put the exhaust and DS back together and get the car on the road!

No worries. The UUC deal came up rather suddenly on Monday. They were basically adding a DSSR and shipping for free. Still not cheap, but since I am really unhappy with the z3 set up (still way too much play for my tastes), I decided to go for it.

Ian F wrote: No worries. The UUC deal came up rather suddenly on Monday. They were basically adding a DSSR and shipping for free. Still not cheap, but since I am really unhappy with the z3 set up (still way too much play for my tastes), I decided to go for it.

unfortunately I can't use a DSSR since I have the sheetmetal shift console (unless I switch to an aluminum), so the Z3 is the stopgap. ANything beats the trucker-length throw it has right now, lol.

Great thread. I just bought a '90 325I so it's inspiring to see you stick to your budget and not get into the "oh well, this needs replacing, might as well upgrade with $$$". Good stuff.

I don't have extra wheels, so the verdict is still out on 5 lug (hating the front strut made to the spindle design) but have no deadline so I have some time to research it out.

Thanks for posting all the details. Looking great!

I hated that design too until I realized that it was also a cheap strut cartridge inside an expensive and really long spindle.

not much new to report this week. Have had to stay late in the office recently and everything a bit hectic with Christmas coming up, shopping, etc.

Still trying to round up a few minor parts on the cheap to finish up putting the suspension/brakes all together. Made a bit of progress today with a full set of FREE brake pads (only paid for shipping) from a Grassroots Motorsports member. They're Jurids, so basically OEM stuff, but will work fine for the time being to get the car on the road. Eventually will put something more performance-oriented on the car, but right now that's one less thing I have to actually buy!

They're used, but as you can see they're near full thickness. Not bad for free!

nothing wrong with .. FREE!

Hey Irish, do you have some stock 318i springs (or any e30 spring for that matter) laying around? I'm hoping to get some detailed measurements of their natural length

In reply to Taiden:

dammit, if you had asked me a couple weeks ago. But they're on the car and fully assembled, so I'm not takin' them back off!

haha fair enough! I'm planning on shopping ebay for used afco springs to make myself a budget coilover setup. I'm trying to find the natural length of the springs so i can do some mathymath to try to figure out what I need.

I know a guy who has some e30 springs he was going to give me for free - he doesn't know if they're stock or aftermarket but I can find out or at least get some measurements if you're not in a rush.

r3v is coming through on measurements for the 325e springs, but I figure they are likely slightly different than the 318i springs.

Are you planning on any power adders? I kind of want to make this thing scream on a budget.