Winston's E46 M3 Build and Garage Build

[Fresh1179]

"I'd rather argue against one hundred idiots, than have one agree with me."

In this instance I am the idiot. If you have read this far, consider this the section that comes before recipe. You know, you look up a recipe for braised ribs and you have to scroll through endless musings of a random blogger about how their dog likes pork which led to the inspiration for this new recipe. That being said, this section will contain the travel and travails of an idiot winding his way through the world of cars, and you may get some laughs along the journey. Feel free to skip down to where you see more pictures.

[Fresh1179]

PICKING OUT THE CAR

I knew I wanted an E46 M3. The cool neighborhood kid had one when I was younger, and I always chose it in video games when I could. Sounds like a good reason to buy a car, right? I did minimal research and found one in Florida with around $100,000 miles and a manual transmission. I knew that SMG was "bad", even though I've since reconsidered this general concept. I knew I wanted a manual, I knew I like black cars, and I knew that this was the last model year of the car so I pulled the trigger. The car had one owner, what could go wrong?

Tips
-Do your research
-Know the differences in value of a Competition package car
-Know that certain modifications will save you a ton of money, and a modded car can be valuable purchase if it has the correct maintenance mods
-Don't be set on starting from scratch

[Fresh1179]

PICKING UP THE CAR
There was one issue with picking up the car. I have no f**king idea how to drive a manual other than the "Crusin' USA" game that used to be at the movie theatre. I crushed on that game. My initials are ASS because that was hilarious at that point in my life. There was a local "school" that offered lessons on driving a manual in my area so I signed up. If a school was one middle aged guy in 20 year old Nissan I guess you could say I graduated. At the end of my 1 hour lesson I could start, stop, and upshift the car. Barely.

Like an idiot, I decided to book a one way flight down to Orlando where the car was located. After a plane ride and some awkward Uber rides, I arrived to purchase the vehicle. I negotiated the price down because of some wear and tear items and was suddenly left with the keys to a new car. I didn't know how to drive it. I limped out onto the highway, with probably 4-5 stalls. When I got on the highway I forgot to account for one thing. DisneyWorld. The traffic was apocalyptic. I kept stalling about ever 2 minutes and I didn't know the ire that could fly from minivans. A middle-aged Dad got out of his car to try to fight me. Things were starting well.

[Zack]

Waiting for more! Subscribed

[D-O]

PICKING UP THE CAR
There was one issue with picking up the car. I have no f**king idea how to drive a manual other than the "Crusin' USA" game that used to be at the movie theatre. I crushed on that game. My initials are ASS because that was hilarious at that point in my life. There was a local "school" that offered lessons on driving a manual in my area so I signed up. If a school was one middle aged guy in 20 year old Nissan I guess you could say I graduated. At the end of my 1 hour lesson I could start, stop, and upshift the car. Barely.

Like an idiot, I decided to book a one way flight down to Orlando where the car was located. After a plane ride and some awkward Uber rides, I arrived to purchase the vehicle. I negotiated the price down because of some wear and tear items and was suddenly left with the keys to a new car. I didn't know how to drive it. I limped out onto the highway, with probably 4-5 stalls. When I got on the highway I forgot to account for one thing. DisneyWorld. The traffic was apocalyptic. I kept stalling about ever 2 minutes and I didn't know the ire that could fly from minivans. A middle-aged Dad got out of his car to try to fight me. Things were starting well.

You've certainly got a pair.

Jesse

[Fresh1179]

Initial Maintenance
My goal with this car was to be methodical in my maintenance. I wanted to get the list of things included on Obioban's 100k mile list completed first, before I focused on any cool mods of performance upgrades.Here was the thing, I had never even changed my oil in my life, but, I wanted to gain some automotive knowledge on this journey. I bought the biggest Dewalt Automotive Tools set (yep) and went to work. 8 minutes into working on the car I had the hood struts fail on me and conveniently lodged a 3/8 ratchet in a way that made it impossible to open the hood. So, I shelled out $$ (I will be using the $-$$$$$) method during this journey to get the damn hood to open again. I made up some story to the shop and ran away with my tail tucked between my legs.

Here is the best thing about this car. There was, and still is a glut of information on how to perform tasks. You don't quite need to be an automotive wunderkind to follow instructions on a Youtube Video or forum. Thank god.

List of Things Performed Initially
-Trans Fluid
-I initially used the OE fluid. Since I have continued to track the car, I have switched to Redline MTL which is a tad bit cheaper but I have had positive results with it. Be careful, people will blast you for using a non-OE fluid so prepare for the backlash.

-Oil Change
-I use OE oil. I have flirted with Redline but never used it. You can check on Amazon for great prices on the oil as it goes on sale sometimes. Usually a member will post on the forum if this sale is ongoing.

-Diff Fluid
-I initially used the OE fluid. I switched over to Redline as I change my fluids after every track weekend.

-Fuel Filter (Least favorite operation at that point)
-You will be inundated with gasoline and gasoline fumes. No real way to get around it even after pulling the pump fuse.

-Replacement of center console
-More on interior upgrades later

-Replacement of miscellaneous interior trim and exterior trim that was missing/damaged
-More on this later

[Fresh1179]

The Lockdown
I got more and more equated with the tools of the trade, and was flying high off my deft skills from that recent oil change. Time to do some more complex work. At this point I knew of two major failure points, the VANOS and the subframe issues. I cannot weld so I figured that was going to be farmed out to a third party, but I could get a valve adjustment and VANOS ("bulletproofing") done at the same time. What could go wrong?

Valve Adjustment
I was shocked at how surprisingly simple this task was. Tedious for sure, but fairly simple. I purchased two set of feeler gauges to make certain I was in the "go" range and just ran on down the line. At some point I should have taken the time to shine a light down on the hub tabs....

Tips
-The Schwaben tool is just as effective as the BMW. It is a magnet.
-Warmer weather would be nice for this task. The oil becomes very viscous and it is sometimes hard to get the shims out the colder it gets
-Members on this forum rent some of the tools. I would advise to always check to save some $. Pay it forward and throw in another necessary tool when you return it. (If applicable)
-I ended up using a lot of the same shims. YMMV. I used up so many of the same shim I had to order some extras to finish the adjustment.
-Err on the tighter side of tolerance
-Use lint free towels to block over the the oil return holes. CAUTION. IF YOU HAVE THE GRATE COVERINGS THEY ARE BRITTLE AND DELICATE. DO NOT PRESS ON THEM WITH ANY STRENGTH WHEN SETTING UP YOUR TOWELS



Beisan Systems Lockdown
Nightmare. The process is so perfectly laid out in writing that you should not go wrong. You should, however, check your hub with a flashlight first.





This photo is about your worst nightmare. One hub tab in clearly absent, and the other is hanging on (right side in picture) for dear life, about to be sheared off and end my belief in mankind's ability to create the perfect machine.

Alright, so what do I do. I need a new hub right? In the grand scheme of things it was only $ and it's not like I could go without a hub. I did my research and ended up going with an OE hub in good shape from a reputable seller. I know there are different hubs available, but from my research it sounded like an OE hub with Beisan upgrades was the smartest idea. This was the first of my troubles.

[melvinjoe]

Lint-free towels are the best option !! You have explained well. Microfiber towels are the best lint-free towels I think !!

[cbean]

Never changed oil before . . . so why not do the VANOS. I sir, am in awe.

100% subscribed.

[timmo]

Ha! I had a similar (albeit not as dramatic) experience in my car. Had a half hour lesson with some dude off Kijiji, then about a year later I drove my car home on the highway in rush hour traffic. Surprisingly, I didn't even stall

[Fresh1179]

VANOS Troubles Part 2

At this point I am humming along, feeling good about myself. Keep in mind that http://www.beisansystems.com/ has a very detailed walkthrough of exactly what you need to do in each step, so if you are capable of following directions, and have the right tools, I would argue that this is a procedure that you are capable of. Hey you, guy trying to figure out if you can do it...you can do it. Now let's get to my stupidity and or continued hilarious bad luck. I will let you decide which one it was....

Tips
-You will need a thin 24 (22?) box wrench to adjust the cams. Hopefully past members have all migrated to offer the "kit" for VANOS.
-Use the OE bridge, not Shwaben
-Read the directions.
-Read the directions.
-You should read the directions.
-Reading the directions is important.
-Make sure you have a strong clamp available (see below)
-The "interior" VANOS seals are the hardest to get into place. Take your time.
-Make sure you have A LOT of brake cleaner on hand
-Be certain to purchase ALL OF THE RECOMMENDED UPGRADED BOLTS. Do your research.
-Purchase a 1/4" torque wrench for peace of mind.
-IMHO I would not mess with the rattle kit unless you are experiencing significant rattle.

Okay, so I had gotten through about everything, and had the exhaust side sprocket removed. This was at about 11:00 PM after 9 hours of work. I was just about done and planned on buttoning things up the next day. Since the sprocket was removed, I needed to attach the timing chain "up" so that the slack did not fall onto the crankshaft, down into never never land. I used a clamp pictured in one of the videos I had watched and it was attached solidly. I covered the cams and everything up with trash bags and made sure to tape around the edges to be cautious in keeping out particulates etc.

During the night, a storm rolled through Raleigh which is not uncommon. It is, however, uncommon for the rain to blow at almost a 90 degree angle through the side slots of my carport (old house), and douse the engine bay in water. Now, I had meticulously covered everything up so there was no water intrusion anywhere. Freak occurrence, but we are all good. Wrong. The weight of the water on top of the trash bags apparently put pressure on my clamp, which, when applied to oiled surfaces, can apparently slip. I pick up the clamp, and retrieve the chain. No harm, no foul right? Wrong again my friend. Whether through the manner in which I retrieved the chain, or the manner in which the chain fell, it became snagged or wrapped around the crank.

I work for days trying to get the thing loose. I have an endoscope down there, I am shaking, I am jangling and the damn thing isn't loosening. It is still snagged. Because it is snagged/wrapped I don't have enough slack to put on the exhaust sprocket. I remove both sprockets to try to get some more purchase on the chain to manipulate it. Shit.

No dice.






Okay. Here comes the happy ending...........I jangle the chain around for a a while and manna from heaven descends upon my car and opens up slack. I don't want to know why it happened, but it happened.



God Bless America.

[Fresh1179]

Let's Start Doing Something "Cool"

After my mechanical brilliance had settled down and my Midas touch had abated, I needed to get some more things done to the car, that at the time, I didn't think I could do.

Prior to sending the car to the shop I installed:
Stainless steel clutch line (RE-Recommended)
High Pressure Vanos Line (Bimmerworld-Recommended)
Turner Stainless Steel Brake Lines (Recommended)
"Short" European Console (Recommended---I just didn't like the look and feel of the creaky middle armrest, but that is a personal thing)
New Shift Boot-In retrospect I would have just gone with the ZHP knob and an alcantara boot. I am not quite sure why I bought a $220 boot for a lit up shift knob....Mistake
Replaced all interior trim-In retrospect I should have paid a few more bucks and purchased the CF kit from Karbonius. Mistake
New OE Floor Mats-Recommended if you are refreshing the interior

I took the car to the shop and had them install:
FCABS-Powerflex (Should have purchased Turner Monoballs, which I do later)
RTABS-Powerflex (Should have purchased sealed Turner RTABS, which I do later)
Subframe Bushings (Should have purchased solid mounts, which I do later)
Redish Motorsports RACP Reinforcements Welded-In (This is a subject of contention. I know a shop that has built many Spec E46 Race Cars where the welded-in plates have never popped-failed. The current view liens toward the CMP Topside Reinforcement. If I did it over again, I would do the CMP Topside Reinforcement, which I do later)
Diff Mounts-RE (Recommended)
Rod Bearings (Do this is you are capable, also do research on which bolts you want to use w/ respect to clamping force)
Turner Rear Camber Arms (Recommended)
UUC SSK with DSSR (Recommended. People also swear by Autosolutions)
Powerflex Engine Mounts (People hate on Poly but these are AMAZING. Fine on the street, but you can install stiffening pins (based on how stiff you want to go) when you want to. Big fan.

I got raked over the coals on the charges by the shop. Lesson learned. If you can do it yourself, do it. It is cheaper, and you will likely do a good job because it is your car.

[M3logik]

Truer words have never been spoken!!!! " If you can do it yourself, do it. It is cheaper, and you will likely do a good job because it is your car."

Great journal so far. Subscribed!

[Casa de Mesa]

Just stumbled on this build journal. I read the initial part about the braised ribs inspiration and you had me at hello. But the glam and gram worthy photos of the finished entree seem to be taking a while to make it onto your blog. I'm really just here for the photos.

Any updates?! More please!