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#1. RE: S52 motor swap and which pulleys? - from Burgess, Kim L
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Date: Tue, 29 Jun 2004 16:23:58 -0700 From: "Burgess, Kim L" <kim.l.burgess@boeing.com> Subject: RE: S52 motor swap and which pulleys? Juan Bruce wrote: Subject: < SNIP > Now its seems like there are several different options for underdrive pulleys < SNIP > What's the difference between the various different pulleys? I believe some of the kits include an alternator replacement pulley. It will be sized the same as stock but will be of alloy construction - lighter weight, said to help 'spin up' faster due to the reduced mass of the pulley. Ref: http://www.rogueengineering.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store _Code=RE&Category_Code=PP Some change the diameter of the alternator pulley as well. Ref: http://vacmotors.phpwebhosting.com/cgi-bin/view_item.pl?item_id=365 http://uucmotorwerks.com/ http://www.victoryproductdesign.com/underdrive_pulleys.htm KLBurgess
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#2.E36 325i - from Marc Plante
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Date: Tue, 29 Jun 2004 21:31:18 -0400 From: "Marc Plante" <marc@plante.com> Subject: <FS> E36 325i For those of you that don't want to trash your M3s on the track, I have a solid, affordable 325i for sale, nicely modified for track play. I have a 1993 325i that I was going to keep as a third car since I inherited my wife's 1997 M3/4 when she got an Audi Allroad. We're doing major work on the house, so I'm going to consolidate my automotive holdings for now. Specifics: 1993 325i (the good, second year with Vanos). 5 Spd. White with tan interior. Folding seats Front airdam from an M3 Factory LSD - 220k - Conforti chip - H&R OE Sport springs/Koni SA suspension. "M" Cap bearings - BLSS Short Shift kit with ERK - B&B Exhaust. Items replaced recently - trailing arm bushings (<3k miles) - Front Control Arms (<5k miles) - Front Wheel bearings (<200 miles) - All rotors - Rear main seal and transmission selector seal (<10k miles) - Plugs and valve cover gasket - Radiator (think about 20k miles) Paint is in very good shape, SLIGHT rusting at the bottom of the front wheel wells. I was going to touch up, but figured I'd leave the paint stock until I sold the car to show the extent of the "damage." I have 16x7.5 BBS RZs for street tires and 15x7.5" Borbet type Ts in great shape with snows on them. I will likely be pulling part of the stereo since I have invested in an aftermarket system including Stealth boxes, a/d/s front components and an Eclipse amp. Negotiable to leave in car. I'd probably pull the stealthboxes and leave the fronts and amp. Pics available at http://marcplante.com. 8 megs of detailed pics available via FTP Looking for $4000 obo, not including the extra set of wheels. Marc Plante marc@plante.com 703-675-2212
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#3. Re: [E36M3] '95 Diff. Gearing suggestions? - from Steve Klein
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Date: Tue, 29 Jun 2004 21:06:46 -0500 From: Steve Klein <klein@robinsonad.com> Subject: Re: [E36M3] '95 Diff. Gearing suggestions? Lee- Thanks. That's the info I was curious about. If you check out his site, you can see that he fabricates his own parts (including the flange that was broken in mine) with chromolly, including custom ramps that are asymmetrical to be effective on acceleration, but not decel. Is this what you were refering to? I have yet to get the exact mechanism duplicated in my head, so I'm still learning. Sounds like 3.38 and 70-75% is the way to go. Thanks again! Steve On Jun 29, 2004, at 4:02 PM, Lee Piccione wrote: > Steve, > As far as autocrossing, You're limited to your gear > choice. The '95 5-sp is a 3.15 (auto is 3.23). If > you put a 3.23 in, you won't notice much difference. > If you run a 3.38 ('96+ auto) you'll be better off > and legal for B Street Prepared (not Stock). Any > ratio is legal for Street Mod but more than 3.38 way > shortens 2nd gear, and makes 1st useless. > If the lockup percentage is being changed by > changing > the ramp angles, get it 70-75%. Works awesome, and > feels like a stock diff when you're off throttle. If > all that is being done is shimming, you'll only get > about 50% and the car will pick up a push in a corner. > Not the best choice... > Lee > '95 M3 (w/ 3.38, 75% re-ramp)
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#4. M3 head gasket failures - from AVUSM3@aol.com
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Date: Tue, 29 Jun 2004 22:17:36 EDT From: AVUSM3@aol.com Subject: M3 head gasket failures Hi Walter - I had the same exact symptoms on my' 95 M3 last year, and I can confirm that the head gasket was definitely the problem. I replaced mine with the OEM although I wonder if I would have been better off going with the BMP. This seems to be happening more and more to E36 M3s with high track miles. Can you let us know what year your car is? Also, are you running aftermarket software? Thanks, John Cloutier Date: Tue, 29 Jun 2004 10:01:05 -0700 From: "Walter Conley" <wconley9@hotmail.com> Subject: Re: Head gasket to use? (long) <div style='background-color:'><DIV class=RTE> I've been asked "Why the BMP gasket?" so I thought I would add a little more info all around. My car had traces of coolant escaping out of the expansion tank cap after a day at ThunderHill last year. This included a two-hour romp, thinking about preparing for the enduro later that year. The ambient temp was in the 105-110 degree range and it never did it again so I put it down to the hot weather. Several DEs later but always in cooler NW weather showed no problem until instructing at a Porsche day a few weeks ago with temperatures in the 80 degree range. After my fourth on track session I came in to find I had lost about 3 pints of coolant out the expansion tank cap. The car showed no overheating or other symptoms while on the track. It did, however overheat on the way home due to the resulting trapped air in the system. I'm pretty sure (in hindsight) that if I had bled the system, it wouldn't have overheated. After burping the system, the car ran perfect, with no more coolant loss. I took the car to a local shop that tried to replicate the problem with negative results. They replaced the expansion tank cap, T-stat and fan clutch and back I went to the track the next day. After less than 10 minutes on the track, I again had coolant escaping from the expansion tank cap. Definitely a sign that exhaust gas is overpressurizing the cooling system. The car still runs perfect on the street but it's only a matter of time before something more serious happens so it is retired from track service until the gasket is replaced. I've sought advice from several people that have extensive track experience AND engine build experience. From what they tell me (and forgive me if I'm more correct about the idea, rather than the technical details), the BMP gasket has better reinforcing and is grooved, or has "teeth" that keep it seated better. Usually BMP recommends their gaskets only for supercharged or turbo cars but my car would have seen roughly 20 track days this year alone so a sturdier gasket seems to be good insurance. For a car that gets tracked only a few times a year this may not be an issue. My car has seen plenty of track days since I bought it four years ago so I have to ask myself if going with OEM and planning on this being a maintenance item is the way. BMP tells me that they have gaskets in two different thicknesses, 1.8 and 2.0 mm, depending on if you have your head milled. The thicker one will reduce your compression and performance if applied to a head that hasn't been milled so buy accordingly. This does make ordering hard since I won't know if the head needs milling until I have a gasket and the shop tears into the engine. At this point, my shop hasn't been able to talk directly to BMP to even put my name on the waiting list for a gasket.
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#5. Anyone driving to O'fest from SF Bay Area on Monday? - from David Crum
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Date: Tue, 29 Jun 2004 20:21:33 -0700 From: "David Crum" <dgcrum@jps.net> Subject: Anyone driving to O'fest from SF Bay Area on Monday? Bay Area Folks, I'm heading down to O'fest on Monday from Santa Cruz. If any one is interested in caravaning, or there is an existing group established, shoot me an email off line. Thanks, David 96 M3
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#6. Re: [E36M3] Re: Head gasket R&R help needed - from Neil Maller
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Date: Tue, 29 Jun 2004 23:13:12 -0500 From: Neil Maller <neil.maller@gte.net> Subject: Re: [E36M3] Re: Head gasket R&R help needed on 6/29/04 9:35 AM, Robert Liu at bob_a_liu@yahoo.com wrote: > --- Neil Maller <neil.maller@gte.net> wrote: >> I've often wondered about the light weight titanium valve retainers offered >> by several vendors. I've heard that they're only suited for racing >> applications because they wear faster than stock and may require earlier >> replacement, but don't know if that's true. I think I recall that there's at >> least one Lister who has these - anyone? > > Here is a picture of a titanium retainer we took out > of a honda type r, that only had ~20k miles. The edge > is razor thin from wear. I have never seen that type > of wear on stock retainers. > > http://www.p1auto.com/jack/pictures/tiretainerv2.JPG Wow - that's ugly. I'm not familiar with the Honda's valve train design, but I do know it doesn't have hydraulic tappets. I wonder if the E36 is subject to the same wear factors, since the cams don't bear directly on the valve stem or retainer. And no, I don't want to be the one to find out... Titanium, although light and strong, isn't very hard unless surface treated - e.g. titanium nitride, as seen on some drill bits, noticeable by their gold colour. Neil 96 M3
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#7. Re: [E36M3] Re: 'Bearing Ledges' - from Chester Wong
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Date: Tue, 29 Jun 2004 21:40:17 -0700 (PDT) From: Chester Wong <chester_p_wong@yahoo.com> Subject: Re: [E36M3] Re: 'Bearing Ledges' The only reference to bearing ledges I see in the ETK are: 11 12 1 436 224 11 12 1 740 428 These appear to be the big aluminum structures that hold the cams... Chester --- Steve Klein <klein@robinsonad.com> wrote: > Date: Tue, 29 Jun 2004 15:02:46 -0500 > From: Steve Klein <klein@robinsonad.com> > Subject: Re: 'Bearing Ledges' > > Can anyone recommend a source for these? Any idea on the price? I was > wondering if these were a 'wear item', being softer aluminum holding > steel lifters. =====
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#8. Re: [E36M3] Re: Head gasket R&R help needed - from Chester Wong
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Date: Tue, 29 Jun 2004 21:46:13 -0700 (PDT) From: Chester Wong <chester_p_wong@yahoo.com> Subject: Re: [E36M3] Re: Head gasket R&R help needed I recall that Skip Bogard had blueprinted titanium retainers under his hood and has had zero problems....go figure. Chester --- Neil Maller <neil.maller@gte.net> wrote: => > http://www.p1auto.com/jack/pictures/tiretainerv2.JPG > > Wow - that's ugly. I'm not familiar with the Honda's valve train design, but > I do know it doesn't have hydraulic tappets. I wonder if the E36 is subject > to the same wear factors, since the cams don't bear directly on the valve > stem or retainer. And no, I don't want to be the one to find out... > =====
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#9. OT: diesel trucks - from Andy Radin
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Date: Wed, 30 Jun 2004 00:17:39 -0700 From: "Andy Radin" <fourfa@fourfa.com> Subject: OT: diesel trucks Hi folks, sorry for the off-topic, but I thought I might be able to get some good info from the racers/towers here. Please email me privately to spare the others. I'm doing some research on diesel pickups - gotta be diesel, it's a biodiesel/veggie oil project. The options are 3/4 ton 4WD trucks from the domestic makes. Budget includes roughly 1995-2000 model years. I don't know anything about domestics - I'm looking for info to recommend one over the others with regard to motors, chassis, etc. Priorities are mileage, reliability, and off-road ability, in that order (all have enough towing capacity for my needs). I'm not interested in a diesel transplant at this time. Any info would be appreciated, andy r fourfa@fourfa.com 98 m3/2
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#10. FIXED - Dead 1995 E36 M3 - from Tom Melton
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Date: Wed, 30 Jun 2004 07:05:54 -0400 From: "Tom Melton" <Tom_Melton@emoryhealthcare.org> Subject: FIXED - Dead 1995 E36 M3 Saturday night/Sunday morning I described a problem with my 95 M3. The full text is below. Also, note that when I disconnected the battery during tests, I was disconnecting the negative cable, not the positive. The problem wound up being that the previous owner had modified the POSITIVE battery cable (remember, I removed the negative from the battery during testing) to have a different clamp for the battery post. The modification was done to have a connection point for an amplifier in the trunk. There is the large power cable for the starter, and a smaller wire that is also connected to the positive clamp. The smaller wire was the culprit. It had gotten bounced loose/making poor contact due to the railroad tracks being rough. I reconnected the wire, magic, the check engine light is functional again. The engine cranked and ran! I walked to the trunk area, and disconnected the little wire, and, of course, the engine died. So that truly was the issue. Nice easy fix. Tuck the information away, in case you ever need it. My thanks go out to all that had suggestions, even though none were the culprit. The ultimate thanks/credit goes out to Bobby Thrash of Strictly German Motorsports near Road Atlanta. I called him, discussed the problem with him, and that was his number one item to check. I hate being in-debted, but I owe Bobby big time. -Tom I had a problem last night that continues on into today. I was driving my 95 M3, build 7/95, and after crossing some railroad tracks that cross the road, the engine stumbled once. Went about another 0.1 mile and it stumbles again. That makes me start to worry. About a mile later, approaching a stoplight, it dies. The engine will turn over, it just will not fire off. I push the car (when traffic clears) to the gas station nearby, pull out a Peake reader, and read the codes. The reader displays a x'1A' (decimal 26). The table with the reader says that is a Control Unit Supply code, and later when I check the Bentley manual, it is not listed. Actually only 4 digit codes are listed. Ugh. I had the car towed home (it was 11:30pm). Now it appears to be worse. The Peake reader will power up when connected to the test port, but if I try to read the failure codes, it just flashes 'E'. Also, I am now not getting the 'check engine' light during key on bulb test. Next I disconnected the battery for a minute and then re-connected. Cool, have check engine light during bulb test. Try to start the engine, and it fires to life for about 30 seconds, then dies again. Once more, check engine light is non-functional. Disconnect the battery again, wait, reconnect...no check engine light. Ok, so where do I start? Find someone with a similar build date M3 and start swapping parts? DME failure? Any clues? Thanks in advance.. -Tom