E46 Clubsport: Nay's new wing! Paint, polishing... fail.

It's good to get the purple 330ci Clubsport on the pages of BeemerLab and a bit of bodywork, no less. The driver's side wing was a bit bubbly when he got the car and has worsened somewhat over winter - front wings are the classic rusting spot on E36 / E46 after all and no matter how well you patch it up, it always comes back before long, so Nathan went the whole hog and bought a new patterned wing for just under £100. Despite offers to have it sprayed professionally for next to nothing, he opted to do the work himself with a rattle can of Holt's Colour-Match, mixed at Halfords.

He started with U-Pol Hi-build filler primer to deal with imperfections in the etch-primer, moved on to a single can of Holt's 'BMW 576 Velvet Blue Metallic' and finished off with 2.5 cans of Halford's own clear-lacquer. A spray guy at work gave us a tip - apply the first coat of lacquer and wait a couple of minutes for it to go tacky but not start to dry, then apply a good thick second coat. This enables you to get a proper coat on that can then be layered on without causing crazing in the base lacquer. Nay tried this out and, after 4 more coats, some flatting back with 1800 Wet/Dry and a bit of machine-polishing, the finish is glass-like and the colour-depth superb. What a shame that, after a week spent carefully spraying one wing, the colour-match is terrible. I guess this is a lesson not to have complex paint codes mixed up at Halfords. A local painting firm is on the case, watch this space...

Only 330 M Clubsport models were built in the original three colours. Only about 40 were made in Velvet Blue. This is one of the 40 and it has seen better days. 

E60 Diesel: Replacing the Front Turbo Housing/Volute

**The turbo needs to be removed. Reaching the 8mm nuts at the back of the volute is impossible               with it in situ.

1. Mark a line on the original volute / front-casing where each 8mm screw is located before removing it. It is adjustable and the new one needs to be in the exact same place as the original for correct waste-gate location.
2. Remove the 3 screws holding the waste-gate bracket to the turbo front-casing / volute using a 10mm wrench.
3. Remove the 6 screws holding the front-casing / volute to the turbo and wiggle it free.
4. Hold the new volute up to the original and mark lines in the corresponding places. This is best done with them on a flat surface and holding a straight-edge across both.
5. Slide the new volute on to the turbo and replace the six 8mm screws, ensuring the lines are correctly located before tightening them up. It is alloy-to-steel, so no high-heat gasket-paste is required.
6. Press the waste-gate into the right position for the bracket to meet the holes on the volute and replace the three 10mm screws holding it in place.

Why I replaced mine:

With re-con turbos starting at £350, I went for a used one from a crash damaged 7-Series. Mine is an early E60 and has the vacuum-actuated turbo, so it was handy that the 7er did too as they are hard to source - eBay is full of the electronic-actuated type and I couldn't see a vacuum one, but it may be that they are inter-changeable.

The overall condition of the turbo looked worse than the one I was removing, but there is a bit less play in the spindle-shaft so worth a shot at £200 delivered, let's hope the saving pays off. The only drawback is the front-casing was slightly damaged at the point where the pipe to the intercooler fits, but swapping the original one in was not a difficult job.

E60 Diesel: Remove/Replace Turbocharger

Removing and refitting the turbo itself is not a difficult task, but the mass of other parts that need removing to access it makes this a reasonable amount of effort.

You will first need to remove:

Engine covers. [5mm Allen]

Air inlet ducting and air-filter. [5mm Allen]

Inlet manifold. [10mm + 11mm Hex]

Injector pipes. [17mm open-end wrench]

Injectors. [8mm Hex]

Rocker cover. [10mm deep-Hex]

Turbo to intercooler pipe. [10mm Hex + T30-Torx]

Airbox to turbo pipe. [5mm Allen]

EGR to exh.-manifold pipe. [T45-Torx + 7mm Hex]

Exhaust-manifold. [10mm deep-Hex + 12mm deep-Double-Hex]

Front engine-undertray. [8mm Hex]

Engine reinforcement-plate. [16mm Hex]

Exhaust vibration-damping rods. [13mm Hex]

REMOVAL:

1. Remove the two nuts holding the down-pipe/cat to the back of the turbo using a 17mm wrench and work the down-pipe back off the studs.

2. Remove the banjo-bolt that attaches the turbo oil-feed to the block using a 14mm wrench, remove that end of the oil-feed pipe and loosely screw the banjo-bolt back in a few turns to stop any oil leaking from the block. Put some cloth against the block under the pipe to catch any drips and remove and retain the 2 copper washer-seals as they are easily misplaced.

3. Reach under the turbo, locate where the lower oil-return pipe enters the rubber-hose to the sump and loosen off the upper jubilee-clip using a 6mm-Hex socket or flat screwdriver if you can get access. Let the jubilee-clip slide down the rubber hose.

4. Slide off the rubber-hose that runs to the waste-gate on the turbo.

5. Make sure the turbo's weight is supported, remove the two bolts holding the turbo-bracket to the block using a 13mm wrench and lift the turbo out, carefully sliding the lower oil-return pipe out of the rubber-hose.

FITTING:

6. **Ensure all oil-feed pipes etc. are swapped over to the new turbo**. Lower the new turbo into position, sliding the lower oil-return pipe back into the rubber-hose and loosely refit the two bolts.
7. Tighten the jubilee-clip on the oil-return hose and refit the oil-feed hose back on to the banjo-bolt, making sure the copper-washers are in place either side.
8. Place the exhaust vibration-damping rods back in place to locate the down-pipe and loosely refit the 13mm nuts.
9. Refit the neck of the down-pipe to the back of the turbo and tighten the 17mm nuts.
10. Place the exhaust-manifold over the studs on the cylinder-head and manoeuvre the turbo into a position where the bolts holding it to the manifold can be fitted. It can be trick to do while keeping the gasket aligned. Turn the three manifold-to-turbo bolts using a 12mm deep-Double-Hex (12-sided) socket until the manifold is seated, but do not fully tighten them.
11.  Lift the turbo to take the weight off the manifold and fully tighten the two bolts holding it to the block using a 13mm wrench. They are a pain to get to but it is doable, also a lot easier with someone else lifting the turbo.
12. Replace the twelve copper-nuts that hold the exhaust-manifold to the cyl.-head and tighten them using a 10mm deep 6-sided socket, as the strip easily with 12-sided ones.
13. Tighten the three bolts holding the manifold to the turbo.
14. Re-connect the rubber vacuum-hose to the waste-gate.
15. Refit the other things on the above list.

http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-replace-Turbocharger-on-BMW-30L-Diesel-E60E/

The Compact is up for sale!

With the E60 alive again and a new house project costing the earth, I can't justify keeping two Beemers on the road so the stalwart E36 Comp will have to go. It's been a great car for me while the 5er has ben off the road, so if the practicality doesn't draw buyers in, then the E46 Coupe arm-rest / centre-console sure will...

I've paid £15 to list it as a classified on eBay here - http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/181669438132?ss

And also stuck it on Gumtree here - http://www.gumtree.com/p/bmw/2000-x-bmw-316i-compact-e36-/1100726371

It's your for £450 or near offer!

Advert text (being as honest as I can):

BMW 316i Compact. Titan silver, 164k miles. MOT until end of may, tax until end of April. Good solid reliable little car.
Blow from exhaust, nothing some putty can't fix and the passenger window does not open, but the glass just needs remounting to the regulator frame as it still works and can be heard going up and down without the glass. 
Brakes, chassis, suspension all good, as are all tyres. Bit tatty inside and out, but no major dents or damage at all, there are no rips or tears in the seats. It has the larger, later 1.9 engine from the E46 and is the later spec with front fog-lamps, traction-control and air-conditioning. It features the twin front arm-rest and centre-console from an E46 coupe.

If I had the money...

Classic & Sports Car Magazine is full of things you'd give your right arm for, but this ex Spa prepared E12 530i touring car caught my eye. I've been hankering after an E12 for a good while now, but the engine swap / new turbo on my E60 means I don't have the 45k odd Euros lying around. Shame, as it has the M1 developed straight-six engine (M30) that made it into the M535i and would sure give a modern M5 a run for its money...

If you fancy it yourself and have deep pockets, here is the link to it on French auto-salon HistoricCars.fr - http://www.historiccars.fr/bmw-530-juma-bastos-24h-spa-francorchamp-1981.html.

E60: Update + New Turbo!

Right, now the E60 is back on the road and all legit it's time I fine fettled the engine-vacuum and rattling exhaust issues left from the engine swap. The exhaust needs realigning at the back of the turbo so it doesn't contact the bracket and the vibration-dampers can be set correctly. The only way to do this is to first remove the rocker-cover and injectors and after my injector-seal problems with the new engine I haven't been able to justify doing that unless it's really essential and that time is now.
The culmination of all my messing around with the vacuum-lines [from this post] is a partly-boosting turbo that sounds like a police-siren. From the word go I was told this is the key sign of a broken turbo, but just couldn't believe it as the turbo seemed to be working ok after the initial engine rebuild (or was it?!) and the other vacuum niggles gave me false hope that it could be a cheap, easy fix. I should have learned by now that this is never the case and have now come to the conclusion of a glaringly obvious broken turbo. I guess that swirl-flap destroyed every part of the motor that it passed through, so lets hope and pray, seriously, that I don't have catalytic-converter issues in future.

So here is my replacement turbo. It's from an E65 730d and was the only used turbo I could find that fits my 'vacuum-actuated' setup, rather than the later and far more common 'electronic-actutor' type. I got it for the spiffing price of just £200, including delivery, but alas there is another catch - the front casing is dented at the outlet-port to the intercooler and the alloy has cracked, maybe during transit, but probably in the crash that wrote-off the 7-Series. This isn't a major setback though, as the front casing just bolts on and is a dry fit, so should not be much drama to swap the cleaner casing from my turbo onto this one. It also plays no part in the functionality of the blower, so if the mechanism works then it works. I'm no turbo expert but there is less play in the spindle than my current blower so if it cures the problem it will have definitely been worth the extra effort for the knock-down price.

E60: Replacing the Rear Trailing-arm / Bushes

REMOVAL:

1. Jack car, remove wheel.
2. Remove anti-roll bar link [14] by undoing both the upper and lower nut. Upper nut is 16mm and you need to hold the threaded-bolt by inserting a T30-Torx socket down the end of bolt itself. Lower nut is 18mm and the bolt-end is held by a T40-Torx. Use an open-ended spanner or place a ring-spanner over the Torx-socket before inserting it.
3. Loosen the eccentric-bolt [11] that aligns the rear suspension, making a note of its position. This is the bolt connecting the trailing-arm to the subframe lowest to the rear of the car. The bolt-head is 18mm and the nut, to the rear, is 21mm.
4. Loosen off the front bolt [9] connecting the trailing-arm to the subframe using an 18mm socket and spanner. You do not need to remove the hard plastic cover next to it, there is just enough room to hold the obscured bolt with a spanner.
5. Loosen off the long bolt [5] connecting the trailing-arm to the wheel-hub. The bolt-head is 18mm again and the nut, to the front, is 24mm.
6. Fully remove the 3 bolts and wiggle the trailing arm out, usually from the subframe end first. The bolts may need helping out with a drift and hammer.

REPLACING BUSHES:

Replacing the rubber-bushes and refitting your existing trailing-arm is the cheapest option. The bushes are really tight in the arm and the old ones can be removed by any means necessary - cutting, burning, whatever gets them out. The new bushes however, are nigh on impossible to fit and will likely need shoving in with a hydraulic-press. Your local garage or mechanic mate will do this for buttons. If your on your own at home, as I was, then replacing the whole arm with bushes already in will save a lot of hassle.

REFITTING:

1. Offer the trailing-arm up, wheel-hub first, and reinsert the long bolt [5] through the hub, loosely screwing the nut [6] on a few turns.
2. Manoeuvre the arm up to slide the foremost bush back into the subframe mount and reinsert the bolt [9], screwing the nut [10] on a few turns. The arm may need a bit of twisting and jimmying to get in due to the geometry of the raised suspension.
3. Manoeuvre the trailing-arm up to fit the rearmost bush back into the subframe mount. This will be difficult and you will likely need a second car-jack and a fair bit of working to get it in so the eccentric-bolt will slide through. Reinsert the eccentric-bolt [11] and tighten it up so it is reasonably tight.
4. Tighten up the other two bolts s they are reasonably tight.
5. Replace the wheel and lower the car off the jack to rest the weight back on the axles and reset the suspension geometry.
6. Fully tighten all the bolts while the car is not raised off the wheels. The correct torques are [5] - 240Nm, [9] - 100Nm, [11] - 165Nm.  [BMW recommend tightening the bolts while the car is under 'normal load'. This involved placing 50kg weights on each of the seats. ** on ** used multiple bags of cement to properly set his, but if you consider this going too far then just tighten them with the car sat on its wheels as I did. You will need to back the car onto ramps to get access to the bolts without removing the wheel, so if you absolutely can't do that then just tighten them as much as possible with the car raised.]