2001 M3 Journey: Laguna Seca Blue Edition

[bavarian3]

Thanks! liam821 and 0-60motorsports

[bavarian3]

On to the next big update.

So, with the topend/vanos/valves, rearend, and interior completely restored there was one final big restoration project to do...rod bearings! Of course, if you've read any of this journal you'll have an idea of how this will go.

The plan was to do rod bearings, full coolant system overhaul, front suspension overhaul (not strut yet), and fix any oil leaks.


On to it...I started draining fluids, and taking things apart. Oil grime was everywhere.









I made sure to straighten out the tilt in the bar after this pic.










Front subframe was a piece of cake to drop compared to the rear. Best believe it won't be going back in looking like this.






More grime, and the pre-lci oil return line which will be upgraded. Removal of all these parts starting exposing things much much more.






I was excited to access inside the oil pan and see what the rod bearings looked like. My car is an 01' with 95k miles and a clean oil report. I suspected it probably(no records or verbal claims from PO) had the recall done so I wasn't expecting it to be that bad, but you don't know until you know.

A first look. Access to this point was pretty easy.








My arsenal going into this. CDI 1/4" and 3/8", and an Icon 1/2" digital torque+angle wrench. Despite the leverage of this bar, I used help of a second person to safely complete the 70° sweeps. They hold the socket and extension in place, I focus on double handing the bar. It's really not practical at jackstand/quickjack height without ability to use your body as leverage.







After removing the first couple shells. I immediately knew this would be unnecessary, but hey we went this far...







and the rest of them.






Not much documentation on the re-install process. I used standard ACL bearings and re-used the M11 bolts. The process was straight forward once I figured out the best method. I'd lean towards ARP bolts and a stretch gauge next time.


As I started to button things back up, I hit my first blunder.

I couldn't find torque specs for the oil pump's return pipe as there's a blank space in TIS. I saw in the FCP video they recommended 10nm. This was obviously not correct, but of course I learned that the hard way.






I was fortunate that I only broke the bolt and did no other damage. A local shop was able to extract it, and thanks to @georgehill for helping out with some correct torque specs. I also discovered Slideways highlighted this here. TLDR, use 5nm for these M5 bolts.

So this halted the process of course. Isn't it the most fun having a big project wait on a couple little bolts to ship.

[bavarian3]

The oil pump hangup gave me a chance to work on other things.

With the trim panels and suspension parts not yet worthy to go back in, I went to work. Even a cheap pressure washer goes a long way. The steering rack cleaned up very well and required no paint.






I learned from all the rear suspension work a simple pressure wash and scotchbrite scuffing is enough to prep already painted parts.


Yuck.





More yuck.






VHT Rollbar paint for the metal parts. SEM for the trim pieces...fantastic stuff.





After some paint...

Even the brand new belly pan got a coat of SEM. I know these fade, so why not.





Much better






Moving back to the engine, I removed the engine suspension bracket to get a clearer view of the oil leak mess and tinker around. After doing this and realizing the pain everyone goes through installing headers, the straight forward access to them couldn't be unseen.







While not part of the original plan, dropping the existing headers this way was so easy. Just used a 1/4" flexhead and some extensions here n there.






I contacted a local FB marketplace listing at had my hands on a set of OE Euro headers. More on this later =)

[bavarian3]

Carrying on...

I received the new oil pump return line bolts and installed them to 5nm without issue, thankfully. That behind me I was able to finish the oil pan prep and install with new goodies.





The old pre-lci oil return line had to go, so on went an adapter. Torque specs are kind of weird/unclear for these AN fittings. Apparently AN fittings exist so torque specs matter less.






I made the mistake of installing the oil pan cone filter before installing. Outside of wasting time till I figured out I need to remove it the pan went on with ease.








With the pan back on I could move on to other things. With the headers out, this is about as open of a space you'll ever have on the exhaust side of the engine.







Logically I replaced the CPV o-ring with a viton ring from mpower22. Surprisingly there wasn't any leak, though the original ring was flattened out pretty good.






Let's get back to the fun stuff. Those Euro headers I got were nice and all, but weathered. I decided to improve em' a bit before installing.





Install was a breeeze. A simple flexhead ratchet with a couple extensions handled the job. I was then able to torque all nuts to spec.






Loving the new look, and lack of cats taking up a bunch of space.







I forgot I also had to run the new oil return line and vanos oil line. This was slightly more difficult than anticipated to route and avoid touching the header.










Though I couldn't find any obvious leak points in original vanos line I do believe it was the main culprit of the oil mess. This bimmerworld line fit without issues.






I'll cut it there as this was already a lengthy post.

Still to come:
cooling system refresh
front suspension overhaul
first start and drive!

[0-60motorsports]

Nice update. Those headers look awesome. Where did you get the AN fitting and oil return line from (link)?

[bavarian3]

Nice update. Those headers look awesome. Where did you get the AN fitting and oil return line from (link)?

TY.

Here you go on the oil return line: link

[kaiv]

Get yourself a pair of new body plugs for the holes on either side of the rear-most plates. Part number 07147140850.

Great work!!

[bavarian3]

Get yourself a pair of new body plugs for the holes on either side of the rear-most plates. Part number 07147140850.

Great work!!

Ahh thank you for this! and good eye.

I meant to replace them but put it off because I couldn't find the right part #.

[karter16]

Now, I have no idea how long this will last, but we can try.

For what it's worth, I did the same thing (restoring the exhaust) and this is what mine looked like 5 years later (and still looks the same today another couple of years on since this photo was taken).

The silver paint I used on the V brace on the other hand 🙄

[bavarian3]

For what it's worth, I did the same thing (restoring the exhaust) and this is what mine looked like 5 years later (and still looks the same today another couple of years on since this photo was taken).

The silver paint I used on the V brace on the other hand 🙄

Love to see it!! I have to say I'm surprised.

[bavarian3]

Next update on the path to having a running car, I completed overhauls of the cooling system, power steering, and drive belt system. Part of what you won't see here is the cleaning process. So. much. time spent cleaning. Between the oil grime and dirt buildup that's really what I spent most of my time on.



I was anxious to get the engine off the support bar, so first order was getting the subframe sorted and back in.


New control arms, FCAB's






Torqued the nuts to spec and left the FCAB's for later before grounding the car.







and a nice engine mount comparison. old vs new.





In we go






Cleaned the crap out of the wheel wells somewhere along the way. Everything looking good and sorta relieved to get the support brace off finally.






On to the cooling system. Pulling out the old stuff was funnn. Original radiator.






Exposing the water pump. It was replaced by the previous owner but I wasn't sure which till I got in there. Turned out to be a Geba, so that of course had to go.






RTV was used on the previous install. What a joy to remove.






A few of the components going in. Genuine water pump, expansion tank, wahler thermostat.






Viton o-rings were used everywhere I had access to.





A complete overhaul of the drivebelt system went in with INA and Continental components.






And the replacement radiator. Ordered an OE Modine from FCP, what I got was this "NRF" brand. I found that it didn't fit well on the upper driver side mounting bolt, but I made it work with a little effort.






I used Rein upper and lower rad hoses to replace the old ones, The upper one(show resting on top in the pic) fits like crap as you can see it's too long.






Luckily I'm the home chef of the house, so this was solved with some careful cutting.






New power steering goodies. As seen in earlier pics some of these hoses were a mess covered in grime. Probably engine oil, but out they go.







A shot of the tool that helped removal of the power steering lines. This made things easier. (don't mind the support bar, no this was not holding the engine up, lol).







Proper tools are nice to have.






Gave the oil cooler a full cleaning picking out years of bugs and debris and straightening all fins.







Finally getting somewhere. Don't mind my disaster of a shelf. Sometimes it's like that when you're knee deep in the project.






I couldn't wait to get the engine started before finishing off some of the other suspension parts. So I finally refilled some fluids.

Everyone gets their own funnel.









The time finally came to start the engine. It was a little nerve racking with all the work done. Crossed my fingers for no fluid leaks, exhaust leaks, etc.

Well other than the stink of the new ceramic coating(which freaked me out at first) on the headers, the engine ran beautifully. I let the engine get warm before cutting it and draining the oil again. Overkill I'm sure, but the oil pan was off for some time and a lot of work was done around there.



Next post I'll cover the front suspension completion and some exhaust related work.

[LSB FTW]

Very nice build. Keep up the good work!

[Acarv_426]

Great build! Love seeing threads like this. Keeps me motivated and wanting to hold onto my e46 even more.

[1bluemcm]

Great work. There was a LSB cabrio with hard top for sale near me a few months ago. Missed out, but someone will be happy no doubt.

[mpower22]

It was a good call replacing those power steering lines. Even though you thought it might have been motor oil, that assembly is or at least was known for commonly leaking at the metal coupling when the other forum was still live. It was definitely due. If it happens again, just go with the Burgaflex one next time. They are not known to have any leaking or seepage issues. I also noticed you cleaned up the steering rack as well - it is also known to seep around where the steering wheel shaft enters the assembly so you may want to keep an eye on it with as clean as you're keeping everything down there. 👍 Great looking cleanup. Engine looks great too.