¯\_(ツ)_/¯ wrote: The price is a little steep but it otherwise sounds like what you need, unless you need to move the pockets out rather than just in plane with the mounting surface.
Yeah, but they're built from scratch, and will save me a lot of headaches, so I think they would be well worth it if they indeed work. Apparently they can get cars with more toe in than mine back into spec, so I'm hopeful.
Sounds like a win win!
hard to tell thickness of the metal he used.
Might it be too thin and flex while rallcrossing?
Mad_Ratel wrote: hard to tell thickness of the metal he used. Might it be too thin and flex while rallcrossing?
He said it's 12 gauge. How that will hold up, I don't know. But my trailing arm pockets are already reinforced, so hopefully it won't be an issue.
get em. do it. For $150 the worst that can happen is that it doesn't solve the problem all the way, right? It's a lot cheaper than any of your other options, really. Tell him to express ship so you can get this E36 M3 done!
Looks like an ideal solution. Good luck, I hope it works!!
Ok, alignment question time. I ordered the adjustable brackets last night and they will arrive next week. I'm going to try and get the car ready for a race next weekend, and I'm going to be very limited on time to get an alignment before I leave. I'm wondering if I can just set the toe myself after installing these, or if I'll need to re-do everything after setting toe. I'm fine with the rest of my alignment specs as they currently are, but I'm not sure how much they're going to change when I get back to factory toe in the rear. Can anyone guide me on what's I'm going to be dealing with?
Are you installing both or just the one offending side? If you're just going to do the one side, you can do a string alignment now to get the "good" side in spec and only have to use tape measures to get the other side straight- assuming you don't have to worry about camber.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯ wrote: Are you installing both or just the one offending side? If you're just going to do the one side, you can do a string alignment now to get the "good" side in spec and only have to use tape measures to get the other side straight- assuming you don't have to worry about camber.
Probably both sides since I'm not positive that the driver's side won't also need extra adjustment to get back in spec. I'm fine with my camber as it currently sits, but I'm not sure how it will change once I mess with the toe.
Then I'd get your leveling plates and camber gauge setup worked out now so you're ready to get everything knocked out when you get the parts. You could also make some sort of fancy thing for easier string alignments, but I typically just tie off to some jackstands and make my rectangle from scratch.
Ok guys, I've got another question. The entire time I've owned the car I've noticed that the power steering feels a little "uneven". It doesn't matter if the car is moving or parked, but the response just doesn't seem normal. It seems like the assist comes and goes. The fluid level is fine and the tie rods are new, so I'm pretty sure it's something inside the PS system.
But then I did a little digging and I came across a thread that had some good info: http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?t=159559
That guy's problem sounds worse than mine, but one potential solution given was to lubricate the u-joint on the steering column just in front of the firewall, and it looks like a bunch of people reported that solved their problems, so I think I'm going to give it a try. Probably PB Blaster first, then white lithium grease instead of WD40. Or maybe graphite spray? What do you guys think, am I overlooking anything? There are no weird noises coming from the pump or rack.
Been lurking on your thread for a little bit. I am also setting up an e36 m3 for rallyx . I was wondering where you ordered the jvab suspension from. I've been looking for a while and cant seem to get any solid info, and with cash in hand im dangerous.
I switched over from subarus ( rwd more fun ) and was bummed when I couldnt find DMS's for the e36 platform.
Sorry to hear about the frame issues , but its a race car and as long as it sets up strait and stays that way it should be good. Hell you'll be sideways half the time anyway!
GL with the rest of the build!
And when you call John, make sure you have plenty of time to talk.
You have been warned.
Before getting into the serious stuff, here's some small stuff.
The outside temperature has always read -35 since the car came without a sensor. I finally got tired of looking at -35 and decided to just buy the damn thing and install it.
Unfortunately, it had no effect and it still reads -35*. WTF.
Oh well, at least I still have a pretty engine bay since this thing hasn't seen dirt yet!
Moving on the more successful ventures, I had to fix a little issue with the cheap $25 yellow fogs I ordered for the car. They went in without a hitch, but the PS one didn't light up. Hmm, the bulb still looks good, and the other one works when plugged in on that side, must be something with the wiring. Yup! The little ground thingy was loose and had come off, so I tightened it up.
Hooray!
Next up was something that again had been a problem since I bought the car, but only now realized I needed to really fix. Ever since I bought the car, I noticed that the steering was pretty heavy, and the PS assist seemed to kind of come and go. At first, I thought it was just a neglected car, and the problem would go away when I fixed everything. After I did all the work and got the car aligned, it still had the same problem. After finding out about the bent frame, I thought it could be related to the awful alignment, but then realized it happened when the car was stationary, so it couldn't be the frame/alignment. Hmm, pump or rack? Maybe. But I better search first, which is when I came across the thread I posted above, which mentioned lubricating the u-joint in the steering column right near the firewall.
It's down there:
So I sprayed the hell out of the joint with brake cleaner to get the gunk off, then decided to go with the graphite lock spray lube instead of white lithium, since I think it's more prone to attract and retain dirt. I worked the wheel back and forth a few times to work it in and sprayed a few times after that. As soon as I pulled out of the driveway and turned the steering wheel I knew it worked. HOLY CRAP, SOMETHING ACTUALLY WORKED! Not only that, but it cost nothing and made one of the most noticeable changes to the car yet. I was and still am completely boggled by how effective, noticeable, and fantastic this one simple repair is! I'm going to do this to every u-joint I come across, and you better believe I'm doing it to the old steering columns in my other cars! The steering in now completely linear and is butter smooth. Effort is obviously way down now too. Everybody needs to do this now! My u-joint may have been especially sticky, so your results may vary, but I'm sure it will do something!
Then I got the new Style 27 15x7 rally wheels installed. A big thanks goes out to Shawn and Katie who mounted the tires a few days before!
Unfortunately, there was another problem. Both front and rear wheels required 12mm spacers, which I have. Well, er, most of them. You see, between the E28 getting wrecked, moving into a house with my new wife, and the clusterberkeley that was this build, I lost one of my 12mm spacers. No, I'm not going to stack my 5mm spacers. So I called up Motorsport Hardware the next morning and had them ship me one to the hotel I'll be staying at this weekend for the rally-x event. I needed them for Friday since I was planning on shaking the M3 down, and I'm planning on leaving Friday morning early, so they would have to arrive on Thursday. Well, that would apparently cost $40, so nope. Shipping for Friday only cost $6, so I'll pick them up at the hotel.
We'll put them on the trailer for the drive home, just to make you feel better about shipping them there and then not needing them 
I had really wanted to install my old Recaro Speed seats in the M3, but I needed new bases. The E28 brackets were the same width as the E36 brackets, but were too short. That led me to buy a cheap set of manual E36 seats, since mine are power, and I figured too complicated and heavy. Unfortunately, their design is incredibly complicated, and if I disassembled them enough to be able to mount the Recaros, I would lose all movement in the seat, and I really would like to be able to raise and lower the seat easily. Thankfully, my E28 bases do that! After talking it over with Patrick and Josh we decided that I should trash the E36 seats and just modify the E28 bases. Josh offered to do the cutting and welding, so I brought the seat over to his house and he got to work!
Boom, done! Thanks Josh!
One of the rods that connect the sliders had come out and lost its plastic clip thingy, so we drilled a hole in it and stuck in a cotter pin to keep it together. Awesome!
That seemed too easy! Goodbye junk seats taking up room in my garage!
First up was smoothing out the edges and painting the new pieces. I also cleaned up the old seat adapter since it too was pretty damn sharp.
First up was getting the seat belt receptacle on the base. I took one look at the one that came in the M3 and just knew it wasn't meant to be.
Apparently these are pyrotechnic receptacles, and there doesn't appear to be an easy way of transferring them to the new seats without also kind of ruining the M3 seats. Fantastic. Hmm, well I did have one old school receptacle on the passenger seat of the E28, since only the driver had a harness. That meant I could only install one seat until I found another old receptacle. Then, I would have to figure out all of the resistor stuff to not set the airbag light off. My $25 BMW airbag code reader thing arrived today.....
Next problem was just getting the seat in the car. The Speed seats have recliner adjusters on both sides, and the one on the drivers side was having all sorts of problems with the b pillar trim. So I took off the plastic trim to see if that would get me enough room. Um, not even close.
Off came the b pillar trim!
Then I tried to get the end of the seat belt to bolt to the outside of the seat. Well, as I should have expected, the E36 seat belt bracket did not fit into the E28 seat.
Out came the dremel
But of course, the angles are slightly off too, and the bracket on the seat is all the way out against the carpet, so the E36 part needed to be smashed.
Then it turned out I had to smash the bracket on the E28 base since it was too wide and causing problems with the carpet, which required further smashing of the E36 part.
After I was able to physically fit the seat down, the two front bolts went in fine. The rears were a bit off though.
So I opened up the holes a bit...
Finally! It's not perfect, but it's in!
There are some pretty bad clearance issues though
And I'm now somehow offset to the left. WTF is this?
The steering in my e36 M was making horrible noises and had hugely varying degrees of effort needed to make a turn. I found the same thread you did and the results were a dream come true! I've never experienced a simpler and more effective "fix". Weird that the engineers couldn't foresee and prevent the issue.
Time for some quick updates!
I replaced the e-brake lines when I rebuilt the rear end and everything seemed fine, but a few weeks ago I pulled up the e-brake handle and it seemed to slip a bit and didn't grab like it was doing before, so I knew I had to get in there and adjust it. According to the 101 Projects book, I first needed to check the brake fluid level. I'm glad I did, because it was overfilled.
Much better now
I had to remove one of my Motorsport Hardware studs to gain access to the adjusting wheel:
The book said it adjusts in opposite directions on the DS/PS of the car, but mine seemed to get tighter when I turned both wheels towards the back of the car, which threw me for a loop. After some time I got the shoes adjusted and moved into the cabin to adjust the e-brake handle.
This whole process would have been much easier with a second set of hands, but I didn't have any, so I had to keep going back and forth until both sides were even and seemed to match what the book said.
Next up was the ambient temperature sensor. You may recall that I bought a new sensor since the car didn't come with one, but that didn't fix the problem, nor did unplugging the battery, so I started inspecting things a little more closely. Right off the bat I noticed what appeared to be non-OEM electrical tape around one of the wires going to the sensor. I peeled back the tape and found the problem!
And I'm not surprised it wasn't fixed. The wire broke right at the end of the rubber protective elbow, and there was nothing to grab on to. With nothing to lose, I disassembled the connector:
And cut off the rubber protective elbow:
And proceeded to do very stupid things with my butt connectors. Had I thought about what I was doing before I did it, this would have turned out much prettier, but I didn't.
Yeah, that new wire is probably going to break in five years, but for now, I have ambient temperature! This is now the fanciest car I've ever owned!
I then drained the trans fluid. It was not pretty:
It's tough to see, but there is a fair amount of metal bits in there. Not a good sign. When I took the drain and fill plugs out, I noticed there was a fair amount of teflon tape on them, which made me worry about the plugs leaking. Thankfully, I had bought this nifty stuff for my wife's Escape:
What I didn't realize was that the stuff takes 72 hours to fully cure! WTF kind of product is this? Who has 72 hours? Crap. Oh well, I'm only going to replace the trans fluid every couple years, and if this is what I need to do to keep it from leaking, then so be it. I'm going to be putting in Redline ATF tonight after this goo is supposed to be cured.
I also swapped out some of the nasty power steering fluid for some new stuff.
Now I just need to do that like 10 more times and the system will be clean!
More coming later!
Time for another quick update!
After no more than 2 hours of use, one of the bulbs that came with my $25 fog lights burned out, so I replaced both with new Sylvania units. Let's hope these last a little bit longer.
I also chased the threads for the passenger seat rear bolt holes, as the bolts would not even get started. Thank god for my tap and die kit!
I had to remove the b pillar to get proper access to the outboard hole, which gave me a good opportunity to take another picture of the frame damage that extends all the way up to the roof:
Hooray, nice clean threads! Now I can get start installing the Recaro on the passenger side....
But first, I need to start test fitting wheels. You might remember that the front coilovers are rather modified, as JVAB dropped the lower perch down an inch or two to allow for a longer spring. Well, this just happens to put the lower perch right around the area of the wheel and tire, which means I pretty much need to run a 12mm spacer for every wheel in order to not rub. I have been running two of my 12mm spacers up front so far with no issue with my 16x7 style 30 wheels, but I hadn't tried the 12mm spacers in the back yet. When I went to put the new one on the driver's side, it wasn't even close to fitting over the hub:
After some work with a hand file and a wire wheel, I was able to get it closer to fitting, but it still wasn't perfect. I ended up compromising and just marking which spacer fit which side.
Check out that droop!
So I don't think I've mentioned that I picked up a used set of 17x8.5 +40 Apex ARC 8 wheels from my buddy who had them on his E46 330 before he sold it. I've always loved those wheels, so when he told me he was getting rid of them, I had to snatch them up. They of course needed a 12mm spacer up front, which pushes them just outside the fender. Time will tell how bad they rub. However I ran into a problem when I went to install them on the rear wheels. You may remember that I have brand new front hubs on the car, so everything fits great on them. However, the rear hubs are close to 20 years old and proved to be a much tighter fit with wheels and spacers. Sure enough, when I went to try a wheel on that bad driver's side hub, it wasn't even close to going on. Crap! I thought I had that hub cleaned up well enough, what happened? After swapping wheels around, it turned out the problem was with the one wheel that I had tried to install on the DS rear and not so much the hub. I then spent the next hour or two test fitting every single spacer in every single wheel I have (4 sets of wheels....) and using some sand paper where necessary until every spacer fit smoothly into each wheel, and each wheel fit smoothly onto each hub.
When I got around to working with my new rally wheels, I was greeted by a surprise:
My missing 12mm spacer had been stuck in one of them this whole time! That's what happens when spacers fit too tight!
Anyways, I did all of this for a few reasons. The first is that I don't like having to use my impact gun just to get a wheel to fit over a hub or spacer. I've found that when a wheel doesn't fit smoothly, I have to keep going back and check that the lugs are torqued and stay torqued. After a few rounds they seem to hold the torque spec, but it makes me uneasy. The other reason is because I can't afford to have problems with this car like I did with the E28. On that car, the rear hubs were so jacked up that if you were somehow able to get the 12mm spacers on, they would NOT come off without a lot of fighting and smashing. With this E36 and all my different wheel fitments, I need to be able to quickly remove spacers at the race without having to spend 20 minutes chiseling them off just to get my other set of wheels to fit. So, when it's all said and done, all wheels and spacers fit smoothly on any hub, which will make life much easier when I'm swapping wheels on a frequent basis.
And now, behold the glory of my new summer wheels!
Lookin good! How's that rear toe correction coming?
Looking good man! What springs did you end up going with in the rear. I have John making me a gravel set, but he wasnt sure what to do about the rears and springs.
What region do you run rallyx?
Great progress cant wait to see some videos of it out there. I used to follow your e28 before.
Lof8 wrote: Lookin good! How's that rear toe correction coming?
Good enough, but not perfect. Detailed update coming soon!
jim5 wrote: Looking good man! What springs did you end up going with in the rear. I have John making me a gravel set, but he wasnt sure what to do about the rears and springs. What region do you run rallyx? Great progress cant wait to see some videos of it out there. I used to follow your e28 before.
I made a post about the rear spring setup earlier in the thread, check it out. I run with the DC region. You?
not sure how I missed the spring post. Its pretty much the same setup I was thinking aside from hyperco I was thinking swift springs. I like the rogue stuff a lot.
As far as region I just moved to Illinois so I think my options are like 2 southern illinois events a decent amount of scca iowa events and some michigan here and there.
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