Previously had a journal going on M3Forums.com ultimately made some progress with making the car road worthy, had a few mechanical setbacks and lost interest for a bit and never really updated the build there.
The car at this point is largely dedicated to HPDE.
My other vehicle at the start of this was an 03 330i which doubled for a long time as a daily and track vehicle.
Current Build List;
Engine;
S52
87mm JE 11.5:1 forged pistons/pro seal rings
Eagle H Beam rods
ARP head studs
ARP main studs
VAC coated main bearings
VAC coated rod bearings
Fidanza 13lb flywheel
Clutch masters sprung clutch
Stock pressure plate
VAC ATI OBD2 damper/AC pulley
BW oil pan baffle
Achilles upgraded oil pump shaft and safety wired
Cometic .080 MLS HG
Riot Racing Camshafts
Supertech single groove valves/keepers
Supertech springs/retainers
SLR oil pump tensioner
Race land euro headers (V-banded)
Dr Vanos rebuilt vanos unit
M50 manifold
BW 3.5” TB Hose
803 MAF
AFE magnum intake
Tune;
Stage Fabrication and Performance
Cooling;
Stewart Racing water pump
CX Racing radiator
BW silicone coolant hoses
Single Spal 14” fan
Motion Motorsport panel and radiator duct
Suspension/chassis;
Fortune Auto coilovers revalved
96+ appropriate plates
H&R strut bars 28mm front 24mm rear
Reinforced RTAB pockets
Rev shift 95A green
-Fcab bushings
-rtab bushings
-subframe bushings
-diff bushings
-motor mounts
-trans mounts
Megan Racing adjustable camber arms
H&R 28mm front bar 27mm rear bar
Proflex front and rear poly sway bar bushings
Drive;
Stock 3.23 diff/housing/cover
Rebuilt lsd with addition of 3rd clutch (Porsche parts ) 40%/40%
Detents renewed on zf 5 speed
Kinematic Speed chassis mount shifter
Garagistic DSSR
Braking;
Stock calipers resealed with new pistons
Garagistic brass guides
Garagistic stainless brake lines and clutch line
Interior;
NRG quick release
Sparco wheel
Kinematic Speed half cage
OMP WC-R seats
Schroth 2" harnesses
Garagistic adapters
Passenger Motion Motorsports seat brackets
Driver Garagistic seat bracket
VAC anti sub mount on both sides
Original Thread;
I have worked with the previous owner (second owner) since starting at the dealership in 2014.
He has taken pretty good care of the M3 being that it was driven over 160 miles 5 days a week.
last year he spent a few days chasing down a vibration, which resulted in him replacing just about every bushing under the car save the motor mounts and trans mounts. It ended up being a combo of the differential bushings and drive shaft.
The P.O. purchased a 335D and decided the car would take up to much of his time if he kept it. I have always joked with him that I wanted to buy it so he tried to call my bluff when he found out that our Sales department was going to send it to auction if traded in. Ultimately a deal was made and I had to explain to my Wife where some $'s had gone.
Known issues:
500k+ miles.
Smokes a lot! currently using 1-2 litres per week with mostly interstate driving.
Rear bumper/trunk appears stained with oil.
Windshield is split in multiple areas.
Alternator whines. (i think its the alternator)
Front bumper and hood are riddled with rock chips.
radio display is dead.
IHKA temp control adjustment only available from driver side button, the passenger stays above 80 but temps out of the vent do not reflect this.
Seats creak a bit, but then again its a 20 year old car with 500k+
Rear brake pads are at 3mm.
Fuel pump is original!
I have tried a few snake oil tricks to get the smoking to subside, though it has gotten much better, I think a tear down is in order. I suspect the oil rings to be stuck/coated in carbon. I also suspect the valve guides are worn heavily. The P.O. had recently replaced the valve seals and oil separator in attempt to stop the smoking.
Not exactly sure when I will get around to removing/disassembling the motor....
END original, will just recap from here.
Photos before any work began
It didn’t take long to start on the motor. Less than a year after purchase I was pulling the motor to see what I was dealing with.
I found some heavy scoring in cylinder 6 and I believe 3
I also found that the cylinder head vin did not match the block/vehicle. DCS and Carfax search leads me to believe the donor car for the cylinder head was totaled around 70k miles. DCS falls off around 70k and total loss reported.
The previous owner purchased the car ~80k with no knowledge of the head replacement, no information that I could locate as to why either.
Parts started showing up. Engine shop got things back to me in short order.
The build consisted of the following;
87mm 11.5:1 JE pistons
Eagle rods
Cometic .070 Hg
ARP hardware head/main
Glyco bearings
Raceland euro headers
Riot racing s52 cams
Supertech valve springs/keepers
Fidanza flywheel
Stock clutch/pressure plate
M50 manifold
RK tune
And install went smoothly. After I realized that motor mount arm was upside down ^
I soon discovered that after reaching operating temp the oil lamp would illuminate when coming to a stop. A mechanical gauge showed 5psi when coming to a stop. then would go to about 7 and maxed at 15 when driving. I realized I had not installed the oil jets (BLUNDER) , so I spent the night pulling the motor back out, removing the crank and reinstalling with new jets.
The car did great after this. I got it tuned by Jordan at RK and began driving fairly frequently, had him revise the tune for 24lb injectors and a 803 maf, the car felt great.
I began renewing various wear items on the chassis. installing new suspension, rebuilding brake calipers after the left front blew fluid everywhere after a track day and many other things.
However I noticed over the course of a few thousand miles and a few track days post break in that the oil was showing metallic it appeared to be responding to a magnet. I put up the mental defenses and convinced myself it was just prolonged break in metals.
I attended a local Dyno Day and got the car on the rollers, numbers were to me impressive, 260hp and 266tq (dynojet) on decel though the car smoked, this was new to me.
A few people over the next weeks informed me that under heavy decel I was smoking. I began to monitor this and just assumed that my lack of oil jets at start up were probably going to cause me to have to rebuild again. I put the car to the side for about a year at this point.
I had put about 9k miles on the engine/car leading up to the realization that something was wrong.
The car at this point is largely dedicated to HPDE.
My other vehicle at the start of this was an 03 330i which doubled for a long time as a daily and track vehicle.
Current Build List;
Engine;
S52
87mm JE 11.5:1 forged pistons/pro seal rings
Eagle H Beam rods
ARP head studs
ARP main studs
VAC coated main bearings
VAC coated rod bearings
Fidanza 13lb flywheel
Clutch masters sprung clutch
Stock pressure plate
VAC ATI OBD2 damper/AC pulley
BW oil pan baffle
Achilles upgraded oil pump shaft and safety wired
Cometic .080 MLS HG
Riot Racing Camshafts
Supertech single groove valves/keepers
Supertech springs/retainers
SLR oil pump tensioner
Race land euro headers (V-banded)
Dr Vanos rebuilt vanos unit
M50 manifold
BW 3.5” TB Hose
803 MAF
AFE magnum intake
Tune;
Stage Fabrication and Performance
Cooling;
Stewart Racing water pump
CX Racing radiator
BW silicone coolant hoses
Single Spal 14” fan
Motion Motorsport panel and radiator duct
Suspension/chassis;
Fortune Auto coilovers revalved
96+ appropriate plates
H&R strut bars 28mm front 24mm rear
Reinforced RTAB pockets
Rev shift 95A green
-Fcab bushings
-rtab bushings
-subframe bushings
-diff bushings
-motor mounts
-trans mounts
Megan Racing adjustable camber arms
H&R 28mm front bar 27mm rear bar
Proflex front and rear poly sway bar bushings
Drive;
Stock 3.23 diff/housing/cover
Rebuilt lsd with addition of 3rd clutch (Porsche parts ) 40%/40%
Detents renewed on zf 5 speed
Kinematic Speed chassis mount shifter
Garagistic DSSR
Braking;
Stock calipers resealed with new pistons
Garagistic brass guides
Garagistic stainless brake lines and clutch line
Interior;
NRG quick release
Sparco wheel
Kinematic Speed half cage
OMP WC-R seats
Schroth 2" harnesses
Garagistic adapters
Passenger Motion Motorsports seat brackets
Driver Garagistic seat bracket
VAC anti sub mount on both sides
Original Thread;
I have worked with the previous owner (second owner) since starting at the dealership in 2014.
He has taken pretty good care of the M3 being that it was driven over 160 miles 5 days a week.
last year he spent a few days chasing down a vibration, which resulted in him replacing just about every bushing under the car save the motor mounts and trans mounts. It ended up being a combo of the differential bushings and drive shaft.
The P.O. purchased a 335D and decided the car would take up to much of his time if he kept it. I have always joked with him that I wanted to buy it so he tried to call my bluff when he found out that our Sales department was going to send it to auction if traded in. Ultimately a deal was made and I had to explain to my Wife where some $'s had gone.
Known issues:
500k+ miles.
Smokes a lot! currently using 1-2 litres per week with mostly interstate driving.
Rear bumper/trunk appears stained with oil.
Windshield is split in multiple areas.
Alternator whines. (i think its the alternator)
Front bumper and hood are riddled with rock chips.
radio display is dead.
IHKA temp control adjustment only available from driver side button, the passenger stays above 80 but temps out of the vent do not reflect this.
Seats creak a bit, but then again its a 20 year old car with 500k+
Rear brake pads are at 3mm.
Fuel pump is original!
I have tried a few snake oil tricks to get the smoking to subside, though it has gotten much better, I think a tear down is in order. I suspect the oil rings to be stuck/coated in carbon. I also suspect the valve guides are worn heavily. The P.O. had recently replaced the valve seals and oil separator in attempt to stop the smoking.
Not exactly sure when I will get around to removing/disassembling the motor....
END original, will just recap from here.
Photos before any work began
It didn’t take long to start on the motor. Less than a year after purchase I was pulling the motor to see what I was dealing with.
I found some heavy scoring in cylinder 6 and I believe 3
I also found that the cylinder head vin did not match the block/vehicle. DCS and Carfax search leads me to believe the donor car for the cylinder head was totaled around 70k miles. DCS falls off around 70k and total loss reported.
The previous owner purchased the car ~80k with no knowledge of the head replacement, no information that I could locate as to why either.
Parts started showing up. Engine shop got things back to me in short order.
The build consisted of the following;
87mm 11.5:1 JE pistons
Eagle rods
Cometic .070 Hg
ARP hardware head/main
Glyco bearings
Raceland euro headers
Riot racing s52 cams
Supertech valve springs/keepers
Fidanza flywheel
Stock clutch/pressure plate
M50 manifold
RK tune
And install went smoothly. After I realized that motor mount arm was upside down ^
I soon discovered that after reaching operating temp the oil lamp would illuminate when coming to a stop. A mechanical gauge showed 5psi when coming to a stop. then would go to about 7 and maxed at 15 when driving. I realized I had not installed the oil jets (BLUNDER) , so I spent the night pulling the motor back out, removing the crank and reinstalling with new jets.
The car did great after this. I got it tuned by Jordan at RK and began driving fairly frequently, had him revise the tune for 24lb injectors and a 803 maf, the car felt great.
I began renewing various wear items on the chassis. installing new suspension, rebuilding brake calipers after the left front blew fluid everywhere after a track day and many other things.
However I noticed over the course of a few thousand miles and a few track days post break in that the oil was showing metallic it appeared to be responding to a magnet. I put up the mental defenses and convinced myself it was just prolonged break in metals.
I attended a local Dyno Day and got the car on the rollers, numbers were to me impressive, 260hp and 266tq (dynojet) on decel though the car smoked, this was new to me.
A few people over the next weeks informed me that under heavy decel I was smoking. I began to monitor this and just assumed that my lack of oil jets at start up were probably going to cause me to have to rebuild again. I put the car to the side for about a year at this point.
I had put about 9k miles on the engine/car leading up to the realization that something was wrong.
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