Another One....and Another One....

[Anri]

Hi Gents,


Another S54 in the pipe line is on the go. This S54 it came out of
convertible E46M3 with 180k miles on the chassis...The original engine was
replaced with this specific and the milage is absolutely unknown. Engine ran
great pulled hard and no issues at all. I did quick compression check test before
the engine was removed from the car and all 6 it showed 175psi perfect healthy
engine with unknown miles...

This engine is going to E30M3 and I decided to tare the engine apart perform
inspection and do refresh.

The concept with this S54 is what most customers aim for. Healthy engine,
Schrick 288/280, Karbonius air box, tuned on pump 91octane.


At present the engine is all apart and the single issue I found is a broken
tab on the Vanos hub. Up on close inspection on all the parts I can safely say
this engine has never been open nor received any Vanos service nor bearing
service.

Starting with the block. The typical Electrolysis surface damage which is normal
considering people do not service the Coolant every 2 years....so the block needed
clean up.

The material removed from the block was +/- 3-4 thou with finish under 50rA. The
"0" mark is aaaaalmost gone so it will need thicker gasket for sure.

The bore edges are all kissed to avoid absolute any ring damages during installation,
it's must to do. (I know of at lest 3 people who chipped a ring during installation after
the block is decked)

Regards,
Anri

[eacmen]

Another Anri engine build? Subscribed.

[PSUEng]

Love these threads. I know where to send my motor some day if needed!

[Anri]

Water jackets, oil return, block edge all around etc are all deburr.

[Anri]

Scanning the S54 block. I am making some tooling around the block.
Will share more details later ones they are all laser cut.

Regards,
Anri






(39) Scanning S54 block - YouTube

[Anri]

The main block/crank caps are all vapor blasted. It is important to clean
the surface from previous usage so that the bearings to have a perfect
and clean surface to sit. Note left and right is cleaned as well the block half
(this does not take material its only cleaning the surface).
Ones all clean then all bolted to the block torqued and then quick line bore
check for straightness

The cast iron block it shows its absolute rigidity and normal range run out.
BMW have been using the same oil clearance from 1980s..which is 0.051mm
so there is plenty of clearance when the crank gets into Second Order Harmonics
which results twisting.

During disassembly the original bearings were like Brand New without any wear,
this gives me additional feedback on the parts condition during those un-known
miles and the clearance from 1-7 and this is a good sign of straight geometry.


Regards,
Anri

[sapote]

Starting with the block. The typical Electrolysis surface damage which is normal
considering people do not service the Coolant every 2 years....so the block needed
clean up.

The material removed from the block was +/- 3-4 thou with finish under 50rA. The
"0" mark is aaaaalmost gone so it will need thicker gasket for sure.

Anri,
Why cut the block deck and need thicker gasket when it's perfect healthy? The old coolant caused corrosion doesn't affect the block top.

[Anri]

Anri,
Why cut the block deck and need thicker gasket when it's perfect healthy? The old coolant caused corrosion doesn't affect the block top.

Hi Sapote,

It had way too much corrosion all over the place. I should have
taken a picture to post.

I also confirm this replaced engine came from East coast because
it had so much rust on both sides of the block.. blisters of rust were
chipping off....(and the reason why I am making tooling to for this
rust issue will share later)

The old coolant caused corrosion doesn't affect the block top

It did Sapote, around the water jackets and the deck surface, pitting.

Cast Iron Block with Aluminum head the heat expantion rates are
not matching, in addition the block runs hotter towards the back and that
adds to the rates (alu on alu works way better).

When the cases move in this natural physical properties the multi
layer gasket does not like massive pitting in the surface as this had
around the water jackets, Sapote.

It also had Electrolysis damage around the fire rings area...was not
happy with that either.

If this was an older BMW were the gasket is traditional they are very
forgiving and they don't care because they form.

East coast+block bad ground+coolant never replaced equals to very poor
maintenance resulting this unwanted damages.

2 S54s before this one I did re-fresh with 200k miles but all California
car. It had very little electrolysis damage were the gasket does not
have the coating and nothing to worry about and I never decked the
block on that one.

Remember these S54s are already 24 years old and counting...

Regards,
Anri

[enjoy_m3]

Looks like a nice proper build. Are you in SoCal? Just curious to see if you had any recommendations on good machine shops. I'm looking to rebuild a spare s54 for future and was looking at options on machine shops. Hoping to find one that can measure cyl wall surface finish. Will the stock valve springs hold up with the 288/280? (the schricks on FS section are tempting)

[Anri]

Looks like a nice proper build. Are you in SoCal? Just curious to see if you had any recommendations on good machine shops. I'm looking to rebuild a spare s54 for future and was looking at options on machine shops. Hoping to find one that can measure cyl wall surface finish. Will the stock valve springs hold up with the 288/280? (the schricks on FS section are tempting)

Hi,

Yes I am in SoCal. FYI all of the Machining on the
engine/s I put together is done by me as well..
so if something goes wrong we don't blame the
machine shop as most will...LOL..If you get to chose
my service then reach out via PM. I have 2 years
and unlimited miles warranty no question ask..

Regards,
Anri

[Anri]

The standards stuff is worked on.

Crankshaft snout had some typical
seal grove/wear. One may say
push the seal further but the issue
is that the grove/s falls right in the middle
of the actual seal lip contact patch.

I have done it before but in a short
term it leaks again and Anri hate leaks..
Since moons ago I kiss the surface 1'
thou and the seal spring has plenty of
tension to seal even at 3thou..

From i'd say 3-4 months Corteco offers
seals without the spring....so called low
tension but I would not use that one for
sure.


Moving ahead.

Regards,
Anri

[Anri]

Attention to details:

In this build I am installing light weight Rods.
In the S54 market of choosing connecting rods
the Win-Win choice is Molnar. Great price for
the weight of 500gr. They were on backorder
and I had to wait a bit but it was worth it.

Now, to anybody who wants to know how is this
rod business work...Each company (at least most..)
will order Blanks from none US manufacturer. Ones
the rods arrive they are being finished-machined
in-house via good machine to name one Sunnen.
When they are finished here in US they are considered
Made in USA.

I know of LS people with China rods making over 600rwhp
with boost...and there is not a prob at all.

Any of those rods will take any violent severe
abuse from any NA engine whiteout any problems.

If one wants to sleep well using quality big name rods
I can assist making one off design using Pankl from
Austria which are/were making rods for F1.

Some NASCAR rods are made by Pankl. Price for a
set of 6 starts at $2500 and up American Benjies. Pankl
rods have some very nice options I can add but getting
close to 3k...

Back to Molnar.

Most Rods sold on the market does
not have the BE notch for oiling nor the small SE
top were the oil needs to get stuck instead they
drilled 2 holes under neath the SE but I am not
happy with that. To my surprise the MaxSpeed
rods do have all of those mods on the SE but the
issue is that they are significantly heavier!

The SE bronze bushing also does not have a grove
so oil will not go around the pin like all OEM BMW
rods. In this set I am going to leave them alone, this
engine will be only Sunday funday even 3 times track
a year..(Yes I know S54 track engines with rods which does
not have those small mods.)
There is additional cost involved in this modification
such as my labor, cutting New bushing perhaps I
can find something I can start with etc...Not having
the grove is not critical at all but I like the grove to
be there ehh...It all comes down to benijies...

I know the squirters are underneath the pistons but
those small BE notches do splash oil on the cyl wall
which is a good thing.

The modification/notch of the BE both sides and the SE
are complementary. It will bother me to put them as is.
Yes I have seen a loooot of people put them as is...it
works but not my cup of tea.


Moving forward.


Regards,
Anri

[Anri]

Between building other engines finding a gap to clean some
parts...Vapor hi pressure process for the win.

Regards,
Anri

[Anri]

Street vs Race balance:

Race balance will require SE and BE to be
balanced but that falls into "race engine"
build Program not street as this one is.
I still balance the parts individually, pistons,
rods, pins. Then I do together because each
part may vary with +/-0.2gr-+/-0.3gr and when
put the 3 all together it will go off by +/-0.5gr-1gr
at maximum and then the final correction is very
little just by a touch...

Moving forward.

Regards,
Anri

[9kracing]

Why not use CP for the rods?

They are under 500g and CP is made in house.

https://rcagarage.com/shop/engine-components/connecting-rods-6cyl/carrillo-bmw-s54b32-pro-h-3-8-wmc-bolt-connecting-rods-set-of-6-bm-s54-65472h-06/