Chaplian's Touring Build/Maintenance Log

[Chaplian]

First, I want to say thanks for having me!

So I originally joined this site to find a ZHP 6MT sedan. Instead, I found a ZSP Auto Touring which I couldn't turn down. I figured I might as well make a build thread for it and attempt to update reasonably often. Well, onto the wagon/touring itself: It's an 03 Hellrot Touring with a black interior. It has ZSP, ZCW, and ZPP, and even had factory nav! It's a one owner car from Clearwater Beach in Florida, and actually had some maintenance done to it according to Carfax. I picked it up with 113k miles, and had it shipped to lovely Chicago (don't worry, this will be a summer/weekend only car that is stored in winter) in an enclosed trailer. Fun fact, I found the car browsing CarGurus on a Friday morning, and by lunch at work, I had put a deposit down on it. (This may be the definition of an impulse purchase.)

Here it is at the dealer before it was loaded up:

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Had the car shipped in an enclosed trailer, where it was loaded up the next Friday. I actually used Chris from Supreme Auto Imports (great guy to deal with) and the car arrived way quicker than expected. I was actually in Dallas that weekend, and I only beat the car back home by about two and a half hours. I meant to grab pics of it coming off the trailer, but there were 45-60 mph winds and it was about 30 degrees, so I wanted to get home ASAP. The car was unloaded about a mile from my house, and it actually came off with the left rear tire flat. I had to run home, borrow my neighbor's battery powered Ryobi handheld compressor (damn you Ridgid for not having anything similar), and then run back. Luckily, the tire held air and the drive was fairly uneventful. Here it is happily tucked away in my garage next to my '95 Impala SS:

https://puu.sh/D08K1/1e18ffc1fd.png

The body of the car is a 8.5-9/10, it's actually better than pics they sent me, I don't think it's ever had any sort of bodywork done on it. Got all four keys with it, and the owner's manual! The NAV unit has been swapped out for a Dynavin N7 with a crappy rear camera install (only seems to work when you slam the tailgate shut a few times.) The backlit buttons don't turn on, so I need to pull it out and splice the wiring according to a doc I found online. Don't know what I'm going to do about the rear camera. The pillars are peeling, as is normal, and the rear trunk carpet panel that clips into the tailgate has broken clips so it falls off when you close it. Other than that, the interior is pretty mint.

Mechanically, the car needs a bit of work. When I got it, it was hunting at idle, and there was a delay/hesitation on acceleration. The intake boots have been replaced, so I rebuilt the DISA and cleaned out the ICV. Car seems to be running a lot better, but the idle still isn't as solid as my other E46. The CCV is definitely suspect, and I can't decide if I want to retrofit the SULEV valve cover onto it, or just bite the bullet and replace the CCV. I will explain my reasoning for this a bit later. The ET was supposedly replaced at 95k miles along with the hoses and the idler pulley, but I'm just going to redo all of it anyway. I also have a fuel pump on order. The engine mounts are shot, and I think I can occasionally hear the mechanical fan hit the shroud, so that has got to go/be fixed.

Suspension wise, the FCABs were replaced around 20-30k miles ago, and I have a feeling the control arms were also done, but I will eventually redo everything there too. The front struts are dead, so those are going to be changed very soon. I just can't decide if I want to do struts/shocks and springs and leave the control arms and tie rods alone for now, or just get it all out of the way at once. My bank account is already very unhappy with me, and my last minute decision to not sell my other E46 is definitely affect some of the fun money. The steering coupler is definitely shot, so that's on order also. Front brakes pulsate, so I have a set of 330i calipers and carriers with EBC red pads already sitting, just waiting for stainless steel brake lines and rotors to arrive. I'm also doing the front wheel bearings since I'll be in there anyway.

Now, you may be wondering what my goals are for the car. As of right now, there are the following: A nice, summer weekend car I can drive on long road trips, daily if I want to, and autocross/hit the occasional track day. Suspension wise, I have a pretty good idea of what I want to do. I just can't decide what I want to do drivetrain wise. There are three main options I am looking at:

1. Keep the 2.5, slap on a supercharger, and 6 speed manual swap.
2. Swap to a 3.0, eventually supercharge it, and 6 speed manual swap.
3. Go all in and build the wagon that BMW should have, and swap in a S54 and 6 speed.

Option 3 is probably the best, but I am a bit (read: very) hesitant about the wiring and coding since I have never really touched any wiring/coding beyond wiring repairs/coding with PA Soft. If anybody has some guidance on that, that will be greatly appreciated. I think engine swaps are at least 1-2 years out, but the manual swap is my radar for the end of this year or the beginning of next.

I welcome/love comments and discussion, and I will try to get some more pics of the car/some of the fixes I am going to do.

[dannyzabolotny]

I love it! I want to buy a Japan Red 325it so badly at this point, and as soon as I can, I will. My plan is to take my 330i/5's guts and just swap em right over into the 325it. Nice and cheap and it'll really give the touring the pep that it's always lacked from the factory.

Stoked to see what you do with it!

[Chaplian]

I love it! I want to buy a Japan Red 325it so badly at this point, and as soon as I can, I will. My plan is to take my 330i/5's guts and just swap em right over into the 325it. Nice and cheap and it'll really give the touring the pep that it's always lacked from the factory.

Stoked to see what you do with it!

Thanks! Your Oxford Green 330i is awesome, I'd be sad if you ripped the drivetrain out of it. I would understand completely, but still be sad haha.


As for what I did to the Touring for the past 2 days is:

Front wheel bearings. I slid the old ones off by hand, so they were definitely due.
Next was the 330i brake upgrade. Meyle Coated rotors with EBC Red pads, and rebuilt calipers.
Stainless steel brake lines since I was in there anyway.
Steering Coupler.
New external headlight gaskets/seals.
Replaced the missing antenna on the back.
Replaced the missing BMW logo on one of the center caps.

(Very exciting stuff, I know.)

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The steering is way better, and finally has road feel without an inch of play. However, while I was under there, I noticed the tie rod boots were torn pretty badly on both sides. Also took a pry bar to the control arms, and noticed an ever-so-slight amount of movement, so it looks like I'm overhauling the front end a bit sooner than I was hoping to. I was going to do engine mounts soon anyway, so I'll knock it all out at once.
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Once the gas tank gets down to a 1/4 tank, I'll replace the fuel pump and fuel regulator also. Speaking of which, I should order the fuel pump relay and swap that out just in case. (Being the owner of a SULEV whose fuel pump failed makes me very, very cautious about fuel systems.)

It's also really weird working on a Florida car. Everything is so rust-free and doesn't fight you tooth and nail. I had the coupler on and off in about... 15 minutes?

[johnrando]

Wow, great list of stuff.

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[fredo]

Oh, boy. How did I miss this one ? ... Congrats ! :roundel

[Oli77]

Ton of work! Welcome.

[Will]

Great work, keep us posted!

[Chaplian]

So, I am definitely a couple months worth of updates behind on this thread, I got caught up in my race to get the car 'ready' for summer 2019.

The first weekend of April, my buddy informed he planned on completely overhauling his Supra's suspension (it's a MKIV) over the course of Friday afternoon and Saturday. We thought it would be totally feasible to replace all the control arms in the front and rear of the car with adjustable and rebuild-able units, along with installing some coilovers. (Spoilers: we didn't make it.)

I drove home after work, grabbed a bunch of my tools (the trunk area of the wagon was full), and headed on over to start wrenching. This a New Jersey car with 165k miles, so we had our work cut out for us. The body's actually in amazing shape in terms of straightness and rust, but it has a crap paint job, which I am guessing was performed by the PO's high school aged kids. We fought with the front end for just about the whole afternoon and decently late into the night on Friday, and even had to whip out the propane torch. I don't care what anyone says, E46s are way easier to work on than Supras. Some of the design choices made by the design team at Toyota were just mind boggling. We were supposed to do sway bars also, but after taking a look at what the front would we require, we gave up and pushed that off until a later date.

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Here's a great picture of one of the many issues we ran into: you have to unbolt and move the washer fluid tank to get the upper control arm bolt out. Genius design move.

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The new suspension did look damn good, however. In the end, we got the front done, and only a part of the rear.

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The wagon was great, however. It ended up serving as a parts hauler for the weekend, and ferrying us to various locations, such as a machine shop, Dunkin Donuts, and various parts stores. It was even great driving it around on some of the twisty roads in the area, even on its completely blown suspension.

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Definitely more posts coming soon, I have at least a couple posts worth of backlog.

[johnrando]

LIKE

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[Chaplian]

Well, back to doing work on the actual wagon. After refreshing the brakes in the front and seeing the state of some of the items, I decided I should tackle two ticking time bombs: The mechanical fan, and the fuel pump.

First up was the mechanical fan. I actually forgot to take pictures of this, for which I apologize. Overall, this was a pretty simple job, the hardest part was seating the pulley holder tool onto the water pump pulley. I removed the air box and top intake piece to give myself some room, placed the fan clutch tools on, and gave it a push (remember, it's left handed thread.) The old fan clutch actually didn't look too bad, and the fan blades seemed to be in good shape, but I didn't want to chance it. Dropped the new fan, plugged it in, and left the old aux fan in place just in case. While I was in there, all of the pulleys and belts look new, and the alternator has been replaced with an remanufactured alternator from BMW. I may still replace the water pump, just for the peace of mind, even though I am fairly certain it has already been replaced.

Next piece of business was the fuel pump, also not hard. First piece of business was driving the car until the gas tank was nearly empty. I got it down to about a gallon left in the tank, I believe.

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After driving home from work on fumes, it was time to pull the pump. Overall, pretty easy job, just pop the rear seat off, peel back the insulation, unscrew the four bolts holding on the cover plate, and voila. I used the tried and true mallet and screwdriver method to take the lock ring off. I bought a new lock ring, new seal, and a new VDO/Siemens pump.

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The old pump was definitely the original, but seems to be in good shape. It has gone into my ever-growing pile of spare parts.

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I installed the pump, seal, and lock ring, and fired the car up to check for leaks. Before putting the seat back, I drove it to the gas station to fill up. Man, it's loud without the cover, sound deadening, and seat installed.

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And I believe this confirms my thought that I only had a gallon of fuel left, unless the tank is bigger than the 16.5 gallons I remember it being.

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After I put everything back together, the car seemed to be idling better, and seemed to run smoother. I don't know if the old fuel pump was in a soft-failure mode, or if I'm experiencing the placebo affect, but I'll take it. MPG seems to have improved a wee bit also, but that may be due to the new fuel filter I installed also.

I planned on covering the rear suspension rebuild in this post also, but I seem to have rambled a bit too much, so that will be in the next few days.

[slater]

this is awesome, and makes me miss my Touring. dropping this here for you to read. grab a 6-pack.

http://www.zhpmafia.com/forums/showthread.php?19240-peter-s-Touring-project

[Chaplian]

this is awesome, and makes me miss my Touring. dropping this here for you to read. grab a 6-pack.

http://www.zhpmafia.com/forums/showthread.php?19240-peter-s-Touring-project

This is awesome! I've gotten through about 20 or so pages and this is awesome. I'll probably leaf through it during lunch at work, haha.

[Chaplian]

So onto the next saga: The first part of lowering the car with Eibach Pro-kit springs and Koni Yellows: the rear suspension. Whoever designed the rear interior of this car must hate people, because it was a PAIN to tear apart and put back together. In total, it probably took me 4-5 hours over 2-3 days to do the rear suspension (I was going super slow and taking lots of breaks.) I also swapped the side markers, corner lights, and tail lights to clear pieces during this.

If you have a touring, buy Rogue RSMs, you will thank yourself later. It makes it so that you never have to take the rear interior apart to change the rear shocks.

Anyway, I started off on a Friday night by tearing apart the rear interior. After about two hours, I finally had enough of it torn apart to access the top of the rear shock mounts.

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So. Many. Pieces.

I broke both of the rear seatbelt shoulder covers. Luckily, the part that's broken is covered under the seat belts and will never be seen, but I still ordered two new ones from BMW just in case. I think I might have these 3d scanned for the future, if I can't ever find them again. Item 10 in the diagram below is what I broke:

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After that, it was the fun, easy part of unbolting the rear shocks. They were quite dead, just stayed in place wherever you put them. The bump stops were completely rotten also, just overall crap condition. I ordered new bump stops and dust boots also, along with new spring perches. One of the perches I ordered as 10mm thick instead of whatever OE is to accommodate the springs being designed for coupes/sedans instead of wagons. I believe this helped give me the level look I wanted.

Position 1:
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Position 2:
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Funnily enough, the ride wasn't absolutely horrible, unlike my other E46 when its rear shocks let go.

I actually had some trouble removing the rear springs, but only due to my own stupidity. I left the hand brake on. Once you release the handbrake, the rear suspension should have more than enough room to allow you pull the springs out. I also unbolted the headlight level sensor before I broke it. (I need to source some spares just in case.)

Here's a picture of the rear shocks in:

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I set the stiffness to 1 turn, which after a few hundred miles of break-in is the sweet spot in terms of ride comfort. I'm going to play with the settings more when I eventually take it to autocross.

Next post will be the front end, and then the thread should be current with the wagon!

[johnrando]

Good stuff

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[slater]

nice. the rear interior panels get easier... i can remove all rear panels now in about 20min. that first time, though - frig.

[ZHPizza]

Oh man you aren't kidding about getting to the RSM's in these things. Never again.

It's obviously too late for you, but for anyone else with a touring, this video is really dang helpful when it comes to shock/rsm replacements:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H0r8fyaSL_Q

[Chaplian]

nice. the rear interior panels get easier... i can remove all rear panels now in about 20min. that first time, though - frig.

I hope I never have to get that point, haha.

Oh crap, I forgot to mention I also installed the OEM alarm while I was back there, to really make sure I never have to take it apart.



Oh man you aren't kidding about getting to the RSM's in these things. Never again.

It's obviously too late for you, but for anyone else with a touring, this video is really dang helpful when it comes to shock/rsm replacements:



I actually watched that exact video! He made taking the seatbelt covers off look super easy, which is not what I found at all. I spent probably half an hour fiddling with them to avoid breaking their clips, and I still lost that battle.

I need to make the next post where I did the front suspension, (I think it's been almost a month since the car has been done honestly) but time is finite, and something I don't have enough of.


While I was back there, I noticed the headliner is starting to sag underneath the rear C pillars, so I'm looking at getting the headliner and pillars wrapped in Alcantara. Do any of you guys have any experience with dropping the headliners in tourings? I may just give up while I'm ahead and take it to an upholstery shop. I will gladly pay, just need to find a quality shop around here.

[fredo]

Any updates ?

[Chaplian]

Actually, yep! The front suspension was redone with new M3 engine mounts, brand new tie rod assemblies (inner and outer), Koni Yellows coupled with Eibach Prokit springs, Xi reinforcement plates, end links, and brand new ZHP control arms and FCABs. Let's get into the nitty-gritty now, shall we?

The passenger side came apart like butter, and went back together fairly easy also. This made me think the driver side was also going to be fairly easy, which was not the case at all. 35425

Now, most things on the driver's side came apart pretty easily, except for the outer ball joint. It broke a ball-joint separator (it was a Harbor Freight unit, so meh), bent a pickle fork pretty badly, and still wouldn't budge. The BFH came out, which still did nothing. Even called over my buddy who's an actual technician (and a pretty big guy, definitely stronger than me) and he took a whack at it. Nada.

Eventually, we decided the best method was to remove the whole knuckle with the control arm still attached to it. We then took it off the car, and got a large, solid rod of steel, sat that ontop of the stud, and started beating the everliving hell out of it with a BFH. Eventually, the balljoint popped lose. This was a pain, and you can see how marked up the strut got from having to get creative with the stupid balljoint.

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After all of this, I got the car aligned by the same buddy who came over to help out with the stud, and damn, does the car drive good now. It's about perfect as driver (well, as perfect as an automatic can be.) I've been mostly driving the car without messing with it too much, or at least trying not to mess with it.

I still need to take care of the very slow power steering fluid leak, and I'm pretty sure the driver's side rear sunroof drain has popped off the sunroof, as the carpet was wet in the rear driver floorboard after a very heavy rain. Normally, I would drop the headliner and fix it, but since I plan on getting everything redone in black Alcantara in the fall, and the car is garage kept, I'm holding off on it.

The next item to be done will be the headlinder and pillar swap, which I have been collecting parts for. I have just about everything I need, even have the paint figured out (Thanks, George!), just waiting for the upholstery shop to give me a call for when they have availability.

After that, I think I will start sourcing parts for the M3 trans and rear-end swap. George Hill has been helping me with that a lot, which I greatly appreciate.

Also, I have been going through the exterior and detailing it. So far, I have clay-barred the entire car, and compounded the front fenders, hood, and bumper. I then finished off the front end with a finishing polish (Chemical Guys V38). I did the roof and full passenger side with V36 (which is a more aggressive polish, but not compound-level aggressive.) Going to finish the driver's side and see how I feel about the finish and shine of the paint, and I may hit all of that with a finishing polish also.

My dual-action polisher has been amazing through all of this, if you do not have one yet, I HIGHLY recommend you get one if you want to correct your own paint.

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[GeorgeH]

Good stuff Paras!

[Will]

Looking good!

[Chaplian]

Thanks guys!

Finally got the wagon mostly finished in terms of buffing. Need to do one more layer of sealant, and then wax, but it's looking pretty damn good with just 1 coat of sealant.

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Now to start looking at parts cars for the manual/maybe engine swap. 330i/6s are so much cheaper than M3s....

[fredo]

Looks great, man. BTW, GeorgeH replaced the valve cover on my F30. He's a cool guy.

[johnrando]

Yup, nice werk.

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[704sw]

Amazing the difference you experienced between the left and right sides. I had something similar with my X3—replaced a front arm on the driver side last fall because the bushing fluid was leaking. It gave me zero issues, then I replaced the same arm on the passenger side this weekend because it finally leaked too and it took 4x as long to do. The ball joint would not separate from the knuckle. Southern car, no rust anywhere, left me scratching my head.

[GeorgeH]

Super common to have the ball joints stick in their bores (subframe, knuckle, etc) even down here in the south. What I do is remove the nut and the hit the knuckle (where shown in the pic) with a hammer. Sometimes it takes some hammering but eventually this while slightly oval the bore allowing the ball joint stud to pop loose. If I didn't have to re-use the ball joint component and it takes more than one or two hammer hits I get out the air hammer with a pickle fork attachment and that get's it done but usually tears the b/j boot.

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[Chaplian]

Thanks for all the encouraging words, guys!

And I agree, GeorgeH is definitely a cool guy.


Amazing the difference you experienced between the left and right sides. I had something similar with my X3—replaced a front arm on the driver side last fall because the bushing fluid was leaking. It gave me zero issues, then I replaced the same arm on the passenger side this weekend because it finally leaked too and it took 4x as long to do. The ball joint would not separate from the knuckle. Southern car, no rust anywhere, left me scratching my head.

Yep, your situations sounds exactly like mine! I was stunned at how long it took me, and how much effort. I hope the rear end comes apart easier.


Super common to have the ball joints stick in their bores (subframe, knuckle, etc) even down here in the south. What I do is remove the nut and the hit the knuckle (where shown in the pic) with a hammer. Sometimes it takes some hammering but eventually this while slightly oval the bore allowing the ball joint stud to pop loose. If I didn't have to re-use the ball joint component and it takes more than one or two hammer hits I get out the air hammer with a pickle fork attachment and that get's it done but usually tears the b/j boot.


I definitely need to invest in a heavier duty compressor. That's the go-to method I use also, smacking the knuckle itself, and it works great 75%ish of the time. This was one of those times that it wanted to fight me tooth and nail, however. Probably the worst ball joint I've separated on an E46. (I've had to do control arms more times than I care to admit to.)

As an update for the car, things are moving faster than I thought they would. A buddy of mine is willing to store a rear-end and transmission for me until spring, and I seem to have sourced a M3 rear-end and trans. I'm still in the process of acquiring everything, but I guess this is actually happening.

I also plan to have the headliner and everything done in Alcantara next month.

Who needs savings, right?

[johnrando]

Right?! :)

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[GeorgeH]

Alright Paras, I'm excited to see your interior project take shape. What did you decide on for Alcantara material?

[Chaplian]

Well, I'm long over-due for an update on this thread, and what better time than a Sunday night, where you're dreading going to work the next day?

I have sourced a M3 rear end and manual transmission for the wagon, and my aforementioned buddy is storing them for me. I've thought a lot about whether or not I want to tackle it myself, and I've came to the conclusion that I should really reinforce the rear-end while everything is apart. I ended talking to Ben Thongsai (local BMW guru, google his name), and with the price difference between welding in the reinforcement plates and doing the whole swap, it makes sense to have him do the whole thing. I have swapped rear-ends on an E46 before, but I lack a welder, so this is probably the best option.

I plan on doing the swap in about March-April, and am currently sourcing parts.

In the meantime, I focused on another project, which is the Alcantara headliner conversion. I bought a lot of pieces from a ZHP part-out (courtesy of Dave-squashman702), and a couple of pieces from BMW directly. Dropped the car off at a local upholstery shop that sourced genuine Alcantara, and had everything swapped over. Came out great, except for a couple of things in the back that the car has to go back to the shop again for. (Mildly bummed out, but it's all pretty easily fixed and just a matter of dropping the car off again.)

Also managed to source a set of resprayed black cube trim for the car from eBay, so that will be going in once the weather is nicer. I'll try to get some picture of the interior and how it came out tomorrow afternoon once I'm home from work, but I make no promises.

So progress is definitely being made, albeit a bit slowly.

Edit: Found a pic of the trans and diff all wrapped up. 36182

[johnrando]

Nice werk! Hope the upholstery rework goes well.

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[Chaplian]

Long overdue update, again. I hope everyone's staying safe with the current situation with the Coronavirus!

The interior shop fixed the issues in about an hour flat while I waited, and everything came out perfectly. Could not be happier with the Alcantara headliner.

Another new development is that the wagon has been dropped off for its M3 manual and rear end swap. I actually just delivered the rebuilt diff from diffsonline this past Monday, and if everything goes well with the current situation, I will hopefully have the car in 2-3 weeks. This means I should have a 6 speed manual wagon with a limited slip in the back soon!

I may have also gotten into Hot Rod Drag Week 2020 (along with a certain other member of this forum), and as of right now, the plan is to run the wagon, so a M54B30 may be in the wagon's future sooner than expected. This is going to be an interesting year, especially with the current state of events.

[johnrando]

Cool! Keep us posted.

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[GeorgeH]

This means I should have a 6 speed manual wagon with a limited slip in the back soon!

:headbang:headbang


I may have also gotten into Hot Rod Drag Week 2020 (along with a certain other member of this forum), and as of right now, the plan is to run the wagon, so a M54B30 may be in the wagon's future sooner than expected. This is going to be an interesting year, especially with the current state of events.

Can't Wait!!!!!

[Chaplian]

Well, it has been quite an eventful two months! The onset of COVID-19 really disrupted the world in a way that was previously unimaginable to me, but I have been pretty fortunate with being allowed to work from home and by still having a job (at least for the meantime, who knows what the future holds.) I wish the best to everyone.

The wagon was slightly delayed, but I got it back about 3 weeks ago and have put on about 400 miles on it so far. 120 of those miles were yesterday since I had a strange day where I was in the mood to just drive. Did a grocery run, and then hopped in later in the day to just drive aimlessly and practice some camera work. (I am a complete noob with the camera, so criticism/advice is welcome.)

Break-in period for the rear diff is 1200 miles, no real beating on the car until then. In summary, the following things were done to the car:

Getrag 420G from an E46 M3
Rebuilt M3 Driveshaft
E46 M3 Transmission Mounts
E46 M3 Rear End with all new bushings and balljoints
Spherical RTABs from Synchro Design Works
CMP Auto reinforcement plates welded in
Rebuilt M3 Calipers, and new parking brake hardware
ZHP 6 speed shift knob and Alcantara shift boot
Rebuilt E46 M3 diff from Diffsonline
LUK flywheel and clutch



I might be forgetting a couple of things, but I think I got the gist of it.

Now, as for the car itself, I think the only word that can accurately summarize it is, "Wow." This is everything the car needed. I love the trans; the somewhat heavy, but smooth clutch; the audible gear whine at low speeds. Did I mention the car is a lot faster now? A lot of that is thanks to the 3.62 rear end ratio.

The ZHP weighted knob is awesome, and it really helps with shifts. The trans is a bit notchy, second gear is a bit difficult to shift into if you're trying to drive quickly, or if the fluid is cold. I think I'm going to try Redline D4 ATF and see if that helps at all, I'll change it the same time as the rear diff fluid at 1200 miles.

The one thing that has become evident is that it needs a S54. M54, even boosted, will not do it. My pocket book is going to hate me.

I also need meatier tires. Ideally, I would like to run Apex FL5s in 18x9 ET42 with 255/35r18s, but they don't make FL5s in that offset, so I think I will have to settle for EC7s.

Overall, loving the wagon so far, and I plan on just driving it as-is for the time being and doing a bit more maintenance. Planning for the next stage has already begun, however.

Once again, can't give enough thanks to GeorgeH for all the help in making the parts list and overall guidance.

Also, pics! I need to detail the interior and wash the exterior, so forgive me.

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[t.er]

A red touring, M/T, LSD? That's already a great combo, S54 will make it even better. The only thing left is MT2 bumpers all around, and it's perfect IMO :thumbsup

[GeorgeH]

Can't wait to see thing in September!

[johnrando]

Nice werk!

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[Chaplian]

I somehow missed these posts! Normally my phone updates when someone posts an update.


A red touring, M/T, LSD? That's already a great combo, S54 will make it even better. The only thing left is MT2 bumpers all around, and
it's perfect IMO :thumbsup

Thanks dude! And yep, the MTech 2 bumpers and sideskirts are in the plan. I already have ducts and wheel liners bought haha. Next will be the rear bumper.


Can't wait to see thing in September!

Looks like that will no longer be the case, unfortunately, though we've already talked about this over text haha. Hopefully I can get the S54 in before drag week next year. I think I have a buyer lined up for my sedan, which will give me room for a parts car.


Nice werk!

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Thank you!



As for the wagon, I'm over 1000 miles on the manual swap and rebuilt diff, so I'll be swapping fluids. Diff will be getting a refill of the OEM fluid, SAF+XJ + FM booster since it's an OEM rebuild from Diffsonline.

The trans is a different story, second gear is a bit notchy, even for a 420g, so I will be trying Redline D4 ATF and seeing how it likes it.

If this doesn't help, I'll either take the trans from the parts car, or look out for other solution. Once again, George Hill came to the rescue and gave me lots of great ideas for alternatives.

He didn't like my idea of slapping in a T56, haha.

[dannyzabolotny]

That's kinda the sore spot of the 420g, as they get older they get notchier and harder to shift... a buddy of mine had an E34 540i/6 with 200k+ miles on the original 420g and man it felt bad no matter what fluid we used.

You've already done the swap so you may as well experiment with fluids or with swapping in a different 420g, but if I were to 6-speed swap an E46 nowadays it would be with the ZF unit from the 330i/6. They feel much better and they take loads of power without too many issues. Lots of supercharged ZHP guys have no issues with them, and I've seen a few behind S54's.

[Chaplian]

So update on the 420g, Red Line D4 ATF definitely helped, but I think this transmission just has been abused a decent amount. It's more manageable and tolerable, but honestly, still not what I am after for my touring. Also, rear diff broke in great, and is as silent as a church mouse now! Very happy with it.

I figured out a solution to the transmission, at least a partial solution. I have attached an image of it below:

37986

This is the logical solution, right?

I (once again, George was awesome, always sending me listings if he saw them) had been looking for a donor M3 for a while, but I was never happy with the cars I found (higher mileage than my wagon/pre-03/questionable drivetrain/etc.) Well, this lovely 2005 rebuilt title, 90k mile, SMG, 6 owner convertible popped up for sale 15 minutes from my house, in the Midwest, in December. I test drove the car, it drove great, shifted as well as a SMG can (I think.)

After some haggling with the dealership, I ended up as the 7th owner, questioning what I had just done to my finances.

So I think we can say the S54 touring build is officially underway.

[GeorgeH]

So I think we can say the S54 touring build is officially underway.

I'm just going to leave this right here.... :santa1

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51146513153_113f2c354d_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2kVDfrF)

[fredo]

Very cool, I see 4 tourings in there. :roundel

[GeorgeH]

Every single touring has a Motorsports engine or is getting one. This pick is for you Alfredo :biggrin:

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51147352244_9205e37f4f_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2kVHxSL)

[fredo]

:like

[Will]

Whoa, nice!!

What's that e30 touring have in it, S38?

[GeorgeH]

Euro S50

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51150860579_5cf77d2936_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2kW2wMi)