After TMR delivered the freshly rebuild engine just a week ago (see this thread about the engine rebuild), I can prepare myself for the reinstallation of the heart of #231. I have scheduled this task for Saturday September the 26th, but before that can take place I have to replace some parts.
Since the water-pump has been replaced by a main dealer in 2002 and since then, only 3000km have been added to #231, I expected the old water pump to be in excellent condition. But when I removed the existing pump prior to pulling-out the engine block in December 2008, I was surprised (and shocked) by the condition of the rotor, hence why I had to by a new one. The following picture shows the old-and new water pumps. Suffice to say which one is which!
The rotor itself is not made from a very high quality material; it’s cast from some sort of steel-alloy that is prone to minerals. I suspect that in 2002, the main dealer just added the common 50/50 mix of plain water with glycol-based anti-freeze. The problem with glycol is that its cooling-capacity is roughly 70%, hence why it is mixed with plain water. Although this is a factory approved filling the quality of crane-water differs from source to source. After a mere 1000km and 2.5years, I drained the coolant system entirely and filled it with a low mineral coolant which although more expensive gives a much better protection to corrosion. This was either too late or not sufficient.
Judging from the date code on the old clutch-plate, it was installed in 1986. If one compares the abrasive material on both sides (red arrows), one can clearly see that the thickness on both sides is different. Based on this fact, I estimated that its remaining service life at roughly 10000km.
Given the low annual mileage of #231, 10000km equates to two to three years, but with the upcoming break-in phase in 2010, I have to drive at least 5000km. Chances are that I have to replace the clutch one way or the other so I decided to install a new OEM clutch whilst the engine is out of the car. The following picture shows the new clutch-plate in the box. Clearly visible is the thickness of the abrasive material.
A side-note: Given the fact that many of our E28 M5’s have been manufactured in the eighties, I do not know for sure weather or not the original clutch is asbestos free. Therefore, use extreme caution when removing the old clutch.
I managed to install some auxiliary parts to the engine this evening. I started with the water pump and its seal. The six M6 bolts are bolted with a torque of 10Nm. Please note that the engine-shackle has been removed to gain the required clearance.
The next part is the engine-shackle. There are two bolts. One M6x65 (10Nm) and one M8x65 (22Nm).
Since the old heat-shield was cracked, I bought a new one. Its fitting is straightforward.
Last but not least the new Sachs clutch. I aligned the clutch-plate visually, but will check this with the alignment tool that is confirmed for delivery on Tuesday. When that is done, I can tighten the pressure group with the six inside-hexagon bolts.
I decided to wait with the exhaust manifolds until the engine is in the car to have a better maneuverability of the engine and gearbox combo.
Based on this fact, I estimated that its remaining service life at roughly 10000km.
Given the low annual mileage of #231, 1000km equates to two to three years, but with the upcoming break-in phase in 2010, I have to drive at least 5000km.
For the purpose of clarity Ray , should this figure be 10,000km ?
The water pump pictures are just one indication of the effects that minimal use result in with relation to these cars , which I believe benefit far more from regular driving !
Great pics as usual Ray , thanks for sharing and good luck with the installation .........the exhaust manifolds should be fun !
D
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Better a day as a tiger than a lifetime as a sheep !
My clutch-plate alignment tool arrived yesterday, a day earlier as planned. It’s a rather simple device that allows the centering of the plate to the pressure group before assembly on the flywheel. The centering is required as oherwise the gearbox prise-shaft won't fit.
After the alignment, I fastened the (8.8 classed) six fillister-head screws with 24Nm (Note that the S38 uses 10.9 class that have to be torqued with 37Nm).
The next item on my agenda is the replacement of the prise-shaft-seal. The old part leaked causing a small spill in the bell house and on my floor.
The old seal popped out without much hassle. I cleaned and sanded the mating area of the seal to remove the surface rust before press-fitting the new seal.
The price shaft cover with seal in situ with new bolts and washers. Note the small plastic ball-pin to the right. This is the stop for the release-bearing lever and should be replaced when replacing the clutch.
The release bearing, the release-bearing lever and the spring-clip installed. The prise-shaft needs to be greased, but when that is done, the gearbox is ready for its marriage to the engine.
Last but not least; the new shifter-lever with bearing. The new part is a few centimeters shorter then the old one, but matches the one from the later E28S M5’s. This should be an improvement.
After last weeks preparations, a small team consisting myself and members Billie_S38, RobertK and Javier installed the freshly rebuild original engine in #231. I hoped to make some more pictures of the entire proces, but as it was a labour-intensive job I a only managed to shoot four pictures today so the detailed pictures will follow later.
We started with the assembly of the gearbox to the engine, which was not really difficult, but we had to make sure the crankshaft wasn't moved. Prior to the assembly, the prise-shaft and the relevant surfaces of the fork-lever were greased with molycote. All new torx bolts have been used. There are eleven of them with different sizes, but you'll need sockets E10 and E12. The M8 bolts are fastened with 22Nm, the M10 bolts with 43Nm.
With the gearbox installed, the engine crane needed to lift ~300kg. This exceeds the only usable capacity of the crane to lift the engine high enough. It took us some puzzling to figure out the best way to proceed and here member Javier provided very valuable insight with his hands-on experience. Member Billie_S38 was underneath the car to properly allign the propellorshaft to the gearbox. Member Javier positioned the engine with help of member RobertK whilst I operated the engine crane and supplied the required material.
After about an hour, the engine was at its final place after which we took some time for a coffee break and to take a look at Javi82's E34S M5 and some petrol talk. As said, more detailed pistures will follow later.
Last but not least: Many thanks to members Javier, Billie_S38 and RobertK for the valuable help and assistance.
In a previous post, I reported about the reuniting of the original M88/3 engine with the chassis of #231. In an offline exchange of thoughts with member Javier, we discussed about the best approach to install the engine.
Javier preferred to install the engine with the exhaust manifolds preinstalled whilst I preferred to install the engine with the gearbox installed. Both gearbox and manifolds preinstalled won’t fit from above so I had to make a choice. Although I have to agree with him that it the gearbox imposes less constraints for installing afterwards compared to the exhaust manifolds, I decided against that as I am not accustomed to lifting a +50kg gearbox above my head, nor do I want to ask that from other people as well.
The exhaust manifolds are extremely light by comparison, but are not a serviceable part. The constraints are the limited amount of space between the front wheel arches, the tubing for the AC system and the engine itself. This constraint can be waived by lifting the engine from underneath. I found it convenient to keep lift at roughly 1.5mtr so I could reach the exhaust manifolds from underneath. I lifted the engine with the engine-crane and a wooden block to prevent damage.
The second constraint is the limited amount of space to tighten the 9mm copper nuts. It’s a time-consuming and PITA job, but by installing the manifolds one at the time, only two nuts are difficult to reach. The other nuts on the bottom can be reached from underneath which is possible with the car lifted.
Although the existing engine mounts were in pretty good shape, I didn’t bother and replaced them nonetheless.
Please note that it appears as if the parts catalogue does not list the left engine mount as available, but these share the same position with a drop-down handle in the explosion view after which two separate part numbers are listed.
By installing the exhaust manifolds one at a time, I hoped to simplify the fastening of at least two of the difficult 9mm nuts. This didn’t really work out as the manifold of cylinders #4, #5 and #6 imposes significant constraints to the correct installation of the other exhaust manifold. It can be done, but it requires the removal of the right engine mount and its support, heat shield and the alloy frame for the distributor.
The engine then needs to be lifted high enough to gain the required clearance for a correct feed-through of the long exhaust manifold for cylinders #1, #2 and #3. I used the AC-pump bracket as lifting point.
After some puzzling, the bugger was ready for the final installation. However the header from the fourth cylinder is a few millimeters too thick for maneuvering the header from the third cylinder onto the exhaust ports with the bolt-ends installed.
Having said that, I am happy to have replaced all the bolt-ends as well as I had only one option left; unbolting the already installed manifold to waive the constraints for the other manifold. This cost me about half an hour after which both manifolds were pre-fitted to the cylinder head..
Fastening the twenty-four nuts required another 1.5hour and various tools including half-open and closed 9mm wrenches and small ¼” ratchet with the proper extension tools. Fastening these nuts is more easily with the engine lifted as far as possible, so I kept the engine-lift underneath the bracket for the AC-pump. At half-past eleven yesterday evening, the job was done.
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