[bshambam]

I think I'm getting a bit ahead of myself.
I need to continue to focus on maintenance parts prior to modifications...

on that note lol Definitely looking forward to this upgrade

[bkwld]

Originally Posted by bshambam

I think I'm getting a bit ahead of myself.
I need to continue to focus on maintenance parts prior to modifications...

on that note lol Definitely looking forward to this upgrade

That is a definite upgrade. Curious why you wouldn’t upgrade to E9X M3 steering wheel. Its more period correct and looks the best in the interior and straight bolt on.

[bshambam]

I have the car up on jackstands again...

It was time to remove the exhaust system so that I could replace the Clutch & Flywheel. I had the entire exhaust system held up by bungee cords and I was removing the last hanger when one of the cords snapped off. The muffler swung down and punched me in the face... lol smh

Blood & Sweat so far. Tears might come at a later date.

[bshambam]

Posting the photo above... looks like a damn cold sore lol

As per a prior post - it is difficult to remove the shifter linkage on an X-drive - Manual transmission as the transfer case is in the way. There is not much visibility and some long tools need to be used such as a long screwdriver, long pliers, long pry bar and lots of lighting to see between the transmission & tunnel.

The Transfer box


The two upper clipping points for the shifter linkage


I noticed a lot of people with RWD tend to update their shifter linkage to a stiffer bracket in addition to a short shifter. I'm considering that... but I believe the bracket is plenty rigid... updating from the oem shifter may not be necessary.

[bshambam]

the two passenger side jacking points were totally messed up and i was not happy having to worry about the car sitting with a left weight bias when I was underneath it.

Picked up two jack pads from amazon. Not the best quality but I do not believe it is worth the expense for an OEM replacement

[bshambam]

Onwards with the transmission refresh.

I started to replace the Clutch Fork Ball pin as well as the Clutch Fork Sleeve.



I tried using a punch and mallot from the opposing side but it wouldn't budge... so it was time to drill it out



I used a plastic faced hammer to hammer the new one into place.


C'est Fini

[bshambam]

I managed to strip one of the bolts that held the Clutch Fork Sleeve onto the Transmission bell housing...



I had to drill it out and then use a reverse - left handed tap to get the rest of the bolt out





Fair amount of wear and tear, as with the nature of a 200k km 10 year old car.

[squaredphoto]

Keep the updates coming!

[bshambam]

I'm a little frustrated by bmw....
the whole point of the shifter fork sleeve is to provide a smooth surface for the fork to slide....



Then the staff go ahead and leave stickers all over it, and the adhesive isn't an easy-peel solution.

Cleaning the damn thing....



The sleeve isn't a high torque application so i went ahead and replaced the hardware with allen key stainless steel cap bolts



And that's C'est Fini for this damn thing...

[bshambam]

On the Short block side, I wanted to install a new rear main seal but I did not want to purchase a Seal installer.

I took several dimensions of the rear hub of the Crankshaft.




And then off to prototyping.

[bshambam]

So here is what we have so far. I made my own N52 Rear Main Seal Installation tool.

[M-technik-3]

3D printed or cnc?

[bshambam]

Originally Posted by M-technik-3

3D printed or cnc?

It is 3d printed.

[M-technik-3]

Nice, I have not played with 3d printing, It's cool what you can make with it.

[bshambam]

Yeah, I agree. There are a lot of options available!
So here is the way that I applied the Seal Tool.

Flipped over, I use the original Flywheel bolts to position the rear seal into its proper seating. By using the tool, the rear seal is perfectly aligned per my previous measurements.



Once the seal was properly positioned, I went ahead and flipped it back to the other side with the proper depth configuration.



All of the flywheel bolts are tightened to get the position and fit perfect.

And the finished product.

[bshambam]

Originally Posted by bkwld

That is a definite upgrade. Curious why you wouldn’t upgrade to E9X M3 steering wheel. Its more period correct and looks the best in the interior and straight bolt on.

Thanks for the suggestion!

[bshambam]

I waited 3 weeks for that clutch fork sleeve...
Now I am waiting 3 weeks for the Clutch to Pressure Plate Bolts...

unbelievable...

[bshambam]

It has been a very busy holidays but happy new years!

I haven't done much to the car since I got the bolts I needed but here we go again!

I realized soon after pulling out the transmission that it never sits flat on the floor *it was never intended to* so putting it back on the car at a level position would take some finesse. What I planned to do is to create an adapter to allow the transmission to install level to its final position, thereby making it easier for me to put it back in *theory*.

auditing the underside of the trans


printing the levelling adapter



Levelling Adapter Test-fit

[eljay]

Loving the progress! Good stuff.

[bshambam]

So I got the old Clutch & Flywheel out. They don't look too bad though... so I guess it's just the dual mass flywheel getting old & causing the slack in the shifting.




And finally after a tough 2020... the replacement's have been installed w/ ARP hardware.

[Bizzlesmit]

Looks great with the roof rack!

[bshambam]

well.... fuck.

The basement garage of my building got broken into. They broke into 5 cars, including mine. They broke through the rear passenger side window.... which is so sad because the car doors were unlocked.

They stole about 2-3 hundred dollars worth of tools, cordless ratchet, picks etc...
Felt pretty sad when I was vacuuming up all the broken glass and watching the fairly new tint job hold all the shards of glass in place.

Time to order a new pane of glass and I'm going to try to do preventative maintenance and also replace the regulator @ that door.

Sad way to continue 2021... but we shall recover!