Finally part of the Club!!

[Split_S]

Welcome!

Congratulaions for saving this one, give it some TLC and I suggest you have the brackets freshly galvanized like factory instead of resprayed.

Thanks for the advice!

Im in the process of removing the subframe and fuel tank. I've decided to leave the rear beam in as I had a terrible time trying to get the same one out on my 318iS a couple of years ago. The subframe bushings wound up being hopelessly seized and I had to break them off and drill out the rest. Seeing as I don't want to do that again, I will leave the rear beam in place, remove the trailing arms and once the fuel tank is out I will grind it clean. Then I will use POR-15 and put atleast three coats on. Nothing gets through that stuff and it will be jet black. Same for the trailing arms - they are in very good shape with almost no rust. I dont have access to a lift so its all very hard work.. but here is how my 318iS subframe turned out:

Before:



After:





I'll get some pics posted as I go along and post the progress but I wont get much more done till the 17th as Im swamped with work....

[kiko]

Again, if you're going through the trouble of taking the car apart, save yourself part of the hassle and have it done right, sandblasted and then powdercoated in semi-gloss black finish as factory parts. It's done right and lasts a another 20 years and won't get chipped by stones/gravel

[Split_S]

Honestly, POR 15 is better than powder coating imho. Much more durable. This stuff isnt paint - its synthetic and doesn't chip. I was originally going to powder coat the 318iS subframe but after looking into both options I finally chose POR 15. That stuff is just bulletproof. Im sure I'll have to change the bushings before I ever have to worry about rust on the subframe..
But I agree with the sandblasting. ;-)

I HATE rust, having been knee-deep in it restoring the iS for the last 2 years... There will not be a SPOT of rust on this car once I am done with her... Glad to see you share the same desire to keep 'em like new!

[Amg463]

How many km's and what'd it cost?

[Split_S]

She has 164500kms and I paid 22500cdn or 17800usd. Very clean car. Considering the market, she is a steal honestly..

[Amg463]

Yea a Nice steal!

[Split_S]

Well Ive had the M3 for about 6 weeks now.. Drove it home and didnt waste any time...





































Im insane i know....


Below all this stuff, in a spot you cant really reach is a brake line connected to a brake balancer that I need to remove... Ive had a 10% success rate getting brake lines free without breaking them so Im not optimistic. The brake line is 3 meters long with many bends and somehow I have to copy these perfectly and reattach the whole thing... Its giving me ulcers thinking about it!!

.

[Split_S]

Managed to get all rear brake lines completed: even the 9 foot long one that goes to the brake balancer beneath the MC. That one was my big worry but I removed the power steering reservoir and the charcoal filter and loosened the brake line from the top. Then I spent the better part of 2 hours bending the new brake line only to discover that the BMW OEM brake line was 3 inches longer than the original. Which completely screwed me as I couldn't get the extra 3" to fit. I had to go out and buy a bubble flaring kit and some new line. Came to the same price as a replacement BMW brake line : 50$. That worked great.



Yes I know the kink in the line below is too much... Ive already replaced it!!


New fuel tank and lines in place: Looks sooo much better than a rusty old one...



New fuel pump and filter. Bracket completely "de-rusted" and repainted..





Test fitted the subframe: nice and shiny black, no more rust...





Completely ground clean the diff and POR-15'd it and had it inspected. Also got the half-shafts rebuilt..



Brake lines on the trailing arms done as well as completely new parking brake assemblies...





Also managed to remove the rear shocks..new Bilsteins installed... Believe it or not but this car still had the ORIGINAL Boge shocks....unbelieveable...totally stock!!



Mounting holes were spotless, no rust...





Can also see the new sway bar setup...



New everything including a reinforcement plate...



Work continues....

[Split_S]

Well back at it today but frankly its been an exercise in frustration...

Decided it was time to start preparing the subframe for reassembly so I started setting it up beneath the car with the idea of assembling it all together and raising it in situ...



I had ordered two new plugs for the diff and unlike the old ones they needed a 14mm hex bit to torque them up...



Also needed a 22mm socket for the flange nut that came with the rebuilt half-shafts... So a trip to the autoparts store... 40$ later I had both...

With that done, filled the diff with 1.7 litres of 75W40 diff oil as per BMW's wise counsel and setup a little wood frame for the subframe.. Got the diff in position and then the beam. bolted that up and then set up the half-shafts with the intention of sliding them into the hub of the trailing arm and then bolt up the trailing arms to the beam...



For those of you now LAUGHING at me - you know better only cause you've done this yourself!!

Well needless to say the shafts didn't "slide" into the hub at all. They went in exactly 1mm and no more. I tried oil, grease, strong language, nothing worked.



I would like to say I was surprised but honestly I wasn't. Murphy's law is alive and well in my garage!

This is what Im left with right now...



After that setback I needed some quiet time so I decided to polish the exhaust - Im sure most of you do this from time to time too...



Stymied, I figured I would tackle the front suspension as I want to change out the springs and shocks...

Got the brakes off, even the brake line without breaking it and had to put heat to the tie rod end nut to get her loose... then I loosened the top nuts in the engine bay and...

nothing...

The bolt from the control arm will NOT come out from the hub assembly....which leaves me UNABLE to lower the whole assembly...





I'm sure tomorrow I will figure something out..

[Split_S]

After this..



a bunch of this..


this...


this..


this too...


and of course two of these to grind and paint...


Ive gotten to this...


Got to stuff them in here...


Not sure how to tighten the nuts on these bilstein without doing any damage and its been a long day...

[Split_S]

Big day yesterday -

Got my half shafts back and they finally fit into their respective hubs!! I wasted no time and laid out the rear subframe assembly under the car. I lightly bolted the half shafts to the diffand slid them into their hubs and put the nuts on loosely... The whole setup was on a sheet of wood. I placed the jack in the center and with the help of a friend slowly raised the whole setup, gently guiding the rear beam into the frame bolts.

It wasn't easy and I learned a few things.

1) One high lift jack was enough but you need a second one to get the rear beam to sit flush with the frame.

2) Connect your sway bar as you lift up the assembly because guess what? You will forget and your sway bar will not be up and over the half shafts like it should be but behind them, which means you will have to lower the whole thing and start again... Dont ask me why I knolw this..

3) Bolt up and torque your trailing arms before you start. I did not tighten them up and they are a bitch to get to once the rear beam is in place..

4) Dont forget to seat your springs before you connect the rear shock... I know - I was surprised Id forgotten that too!! :o

5) The beam must lift equally in order not to bind on the bolts - this was a LOT of fun to get right...

Anyways, here is the final result...

















Spent today tightening and torquing and ground the rust off the disks. Ordered new brake pads even though the ones I have are like new but they dust like crazy.. So I ordered ceramic pads, no dust... Amazingly the whole new parking brake setup I did works great too - no adjustment needed whatsoever... I thought that would be a PITA....

Tomorrow morning I will see to getting the front end squared away...

Now Im off to get the front sway bar back in....

[Dave @nz]

You sure are cracking on with the repairs looks real good and quite a transformation underneath, I had the same problem with the genuine brake pipe so put a zig zag in it similar place to yours.

[Split_S]

Thanks- its great to see rust replaced with new paint and all new parts. Its been a hell of a lot of work but Im almost done. The car hasn't moved since the day I bought it almost 2 months ago!! Im dying to drive this thing - especially with the new bilstein/eibach setup and a 30mm drop. Ive also had the original wheels redone and they look wicked... pics later this week...

BTW..
I also noticed Id installed the subframe bushing plates @ss backwards. Its since been corrected....

[lsupcar]

So why would the half shafts not slide into the hubs?

[Split_S]

The repair shop switched the splines... had to resend them and looks like they machined them to spec... went in no problem after that - tight but easy...