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      12-13-2021, 07:52 AM   #1
apexwerks
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Budget N52 track/daily refresh build

Here goes with my latest project... Goal here is to put together a low-cost, high fun driver to replace my E46 M3 as my primary driver and serve occasional track duty. I'm trying to maximize fun, cost and reliability in a livable package for daily driving. The e46 isn't going away- it's just not particularly practical as a daily right now, and because it's convertible I can't run it at VIR. I've wrenched on and help build a pretty big-power N54, and came out of that experience very certain I only wanted an N52.

A 6MT 128i turned up locally earlier this year and I jumped on it. The only option on the car was the comfort package (leather, heated seats, automatic HVAC and rain sensing wipers) and that's it. No iDrive, which was a huge plus for me coming from multiple E46's. Car had 109k miles on it and it was in need of lots of attention. It had been bumped and bruised in parking lots, the suspension and steering were all untouched from factory and the car was tired all around. It looked like the PO got a look at the bill to replace oil pan, valve cover and oil filter housing gaskets and decided to sell the car. It leaked like a sieve and looked rough.

So basically it was perfect.

I've included a few pics from the PO's listing just so you can see the starting place. I'll periodically catalog what I'm doing to the car, not as a DIY but just to share what's being done.



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      12-13-2021, 08:00 AM   #2
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Nice car! looks a lot like the one I just picked up. Good luck developing it, will follow!
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      12-13-2021, 08:13 AM   #3
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Originally Posted by fotontom View Post
Nice car! looks a lot like the one I just picked up. Good luck developing it, will follow!
Thanks! Looks you got a better one... half the job will be getting the car as if it were an M-Sport.
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      12-13-2021, 08:18 AM   #4
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Here's the LOOSE project plan:

1. Get a good stable base- no leaks, no codes, everything refreshed that needs it.
2. Get the suspension squared away - Bilstein B12 kit, new control arms, tie rod ends and other consumables.
3. Get the brakes where I want them - 335i brakes on all 4 corners.
4. Modest power bump - 3 stage intake and 130i tune.
5. Fix bumper scrapes, teach myself how to blend paint.
6. Seats! The base E82 seats leave much to be desired, especially coming from E46 M3 seats.
7. Minor annoyances... repair worn interior trim, retrofit Homelink mirror, etc.
8. 3.73 diff swap + finned E60 diff cover
9. Rear subframe bushings, diff bushings and retrofit rear sway bar (while I'm in there...)

+ whatever else comes up

*EDIT* plus headlights... see, there's already stuff to do that I am forgetting. The halogens on this car are about as bright the ones on my old '88 Celica.

Last edited by apexwerks; 12-13-2021 at 08:21 AM.. Reason: whoops
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      12-13-2021, 10:15 AM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by apexwerks View Post
Here's the LOOSE project plan:

1. Get a good stable base- no leaks, no codes, everything refreshed that needs it.
2. Get the suspension squared away - Bilstein B12 kit, new control arms, tie rod ends and other consumables.
3. Get the brakes where I want them - 335i brakes on all 4 corners.
4. Modest power bump - 3 stage intake and 130i tune.
5. Fix bumper scrapes, teach myself how to blend paint.
6. Seats! The base E82 seats leave much to be desired, especially coming from E46 M3 seats.
7. Minor annoyances... repair worn interior trim, retrofit Homelink mirror, etc.
8. 3.73 diff swap + finned E60 diff cover
9. Rear subframe bushings, diff bushings and retrofit rear sway bar (while I'm in there...)

+ whatever else comes up

*EDIT* plus headlights... see, there's already stuff to do that I am forgetting. The halogens on this car are about as bright the ones on my old '88 Celica.
Super interesting list I'll be excited to watch where this goes

The headlights is the biggest thing in my option that's makes this car just a touch scary lol.

I don't know how we survived without projectors! XD
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      12-13-2021, 11:58 AM   #6
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Let's get started!

The PO had a few records that came with the car, and he had couple of reputable local indys handle the plugs, coils and belts/tensioners in the last 15k miles. So the first order of business was to stop the oil leaks before my wife nicknamed the car "Puddles."

Engine support bar goes in, front subframe comes out. I understand from some of the DIYs that there's a way to do this with just lowering the subframe, but I needed to replace tie rods and control arms anyway.










Last edited by apexwerks; 12-13-2021 at 12:12 PM.. Reason: broken photo links
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      12-13-2021, 12:36 PM   #7
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...and here's where I got my first surprise. Found a bolt head in the oil pan.





Figured it was an infamous N52 head bolt, so I went ahead and pulled the oil filter housing and valve cover gasket and went hunting. I hoped it was the easily accessible bolt near the oil filter housing, but no such luck for me. Finally found the little rascal under the exhaust VANOS adjuster.


Last edited by apexwerks; 12-13-2021 at 12:44 PM..
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      12-13-2021, 12:45 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by djacinto View Post
Super interesting list I'll be excited to watch where this goes

The headlights is the biggest thing in my option that's makes this car just a touch scary lol.

I don't know how we survived without projectors! XD
Absolutely... I've gotten spoiled with good projector headlights. Now that we have kids, it's a safety issue for me, not just looks.
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      12-13-2021, 04:01 PM   #9
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I did a bunch of research on the N52 head bolt issues, and made the decision that for me, with the location of the bolt and the age/mileage on the motor, it made sense to leave it alone.

Here's my logic:
  • That's not REALLY a head bolt. The bolts that secure the head over the combustion chamber are bigger and differently made, and they all look to be fine.
  • The function of that bolt is to secure the part of the head that acts as a timing chain cover, and the primary risks are that it will cause leaks or that it will come loose and do major internal damage.
  • Based on the smoothness of the bolt head it's been tumbling around in the sump for a long time. If it was going to do damage, it would have done it. If it was going to leak, it would be leaking.
  • As best as I can tell, there's no damage to the internals nor are there any leaks from the front of the motor.
  • Finally, there's not enough clearance for the bolt shaft to work its way out.

So, I'm leaving it in place. The car has 109k on it, the bolt has been broken for a long while, and the tools/parts to proactively replace the bolt will cost as much as a used long block. Plus it looks like an engine swap will be an easier job. I'll keep an eye out for oil leaks and watch for VANOS codes, and in the meantime drive it hard.

I powerwashed the under trays, the subframe and the oil pan and buttoned everything back up with new bolts; new oil pan, oil filter housing, valve cover, valvetronic, eccentric shaft sensor and oil level sensor gaskets; new engine mounts and new tie rods and control arms.



Tip on replacing the valve cover- I don't see how you can do it without removing the windshield wipers and the windshield cowl. There are a couple of videos on YouTube of people wrestling the cover back into place without removing it, but I ruined a gasket that way and had to re-do it. With the windshield cowl removed, the cover slid right on.



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      12-13-2021, 09:21 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by apexwerks View Post
Here goes with my latest project... Goal here is to put together a low-cost, high fun driver to replace my E46 M3 as my primary driver and serve occasional track duty. I'm trying to maximize fun, cost and reliability in a livable package for daily driving. The e46 isn't going away- it's just not particularly practical as a daily right now, and because it's convertible I can't run it at VIR. I've wrenched on and help build a pretty big-power N54, and came out of that experience very certain I only wanted an N52.

A 6MT 128i turned up locally earlier this year and I jumped on it. The only option on the car was the comfort package (leather, heated seats, automatic HVAC and rain sensing wipers) and that's it. No iDrive, which was a huge plus for me coming from multiple E46's. Car had 109k miles on it and it was in need of lots of attention. It had been bumped and bruised in parking lots, the suspension and steering were all untouched from factory and the car was tired all around. It looked like the PO got a look at the bill to replace oil pan, valve cover and oil filter housing gaskets and decided to sell the car. It leaked like a sieve and looked rough.

So basically it was perfect.

I've included a few pics from the PO's listing just so you can see the starting place. I'll periodically catalog what I'm doing to the car, not as a DIY but just to share what's being done.
Your story sounds much like mine. I was looking for a project car, ostensibly for when I retire in June but I have been unable to not work on it since bringing it home a few weeks ago. It is a 2011 6MT 128i with leather seats and seat heaters as the only options. I wanted something as simple as possible - no sun roof, no i-Drive/infotainment, no electric seat motors to stop working. Body is generally good, although front bumper and hood pretty much stone-chipped up. Bumper appears to have been resprayed, not particularly well. Paint overall is not bad but needs correction.

College kid I bought it from was unloading it as the ABS/DTC lights were on and it couldn't be driven without turning off the traction control and he didn't have the time or funds to deal with whatever the problem was, so I got it super cheap. Oil pan is leaking, struts/shocks appear original and are tired (right front is blown). The kid bought it a few months ago from a mechanic/flipper and I got all of the FCPEuro parts receipts so I know the VCG and OFHG were done as well as a bunch of other things. The kid also mentioned that the guy he got it from (the flipper) threw in an extra intake manifold ("from a 330i") but he was unaware of the significance so that was included in the deal.

I've done the brakes and tires and cleaned it up a bunch. ABS/DTC issue turned out to be corrosion on the reluctor ring on the axle shaft. I sanded down the high spot and shimmed the sensor out and it is good for now but the axles will need to be done to properly resolve the issue. I need to do the oil pan gasket soon, except winter has arrived and I only have a QuckJack to lift it and that garage floor is cold so I may have that done by my indy shop. In the Summer I will do the suspension, the axles, Apex ARC-8 wheels and summer tires, the 3IM and tune, maybe a coolant system refresh and all the other things that come up.

Even with the worn suspension I am having a blast with this car. Hope you enjoy yours as well.

Oh, also, if you are looking for a mirror with HomeLink, I have a couple to sell off. One of them was installed on my car when I got it - I suspect the flipper pulled it off of a parts car he had. But I needed a true manual dimming mirror so I replaced it. (I have two of them because the first manual dimming mirror I ordered turned out to be auto-dimming with Homelink and the supplier admitted the mistake, gave me a refund, and didn't want it back). Part numbers on the two I have are:

5116915185201 - Auto-dimming, compass, Homelink - has a red clown nose so I assume it works with alarm system

51169192335-01 - Auto-dimming, compass, HomeLink - has a clearish clown nose instead of red - not sure what that means for alarm or not.
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      12-14-2021, 07:31 AM   #11
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Originally Posted by K9Leader View Post
Your story sounds much like mine. I was looking for a project car, ostensibly for when I retire in June but I have been unable to not work on it since bringing it home a few weeks ago. It is a 2011 6MT 128i with leather seats and seat heaters as the only options. I wanted something as simple as possible - no sun roof, no i-Drive/infotainment, no electric seat motors to stop working. Body is generally good, although front bumper and hood pretty much stone-chipped up. Bumper appears to have been resprayed, not particularly well. Paint overall is not bad but needs correction.

College kid I bought it from was unloading it as the ABS/DTC lights were on and it couldn't be driven without turning off the traction control and he didn't have the time or funds to deal with whatever the problem was, so I got it super cheap. Oil pan is leaking, struts/shocks appear original and are tired (right front is blown). The kid bought it a few months ago from a mechanic/flipper and I got all of the FCPEuro parts receipts so I know the VCG and OFHG were done as well as a bunch of other things. The kid also mentioned that the guy he got it from (the flipper) threw in an extra intake manifold ("from a 330i") but he was unaware of the significance so that was included in the deal.

I've done the brakes and tires and cleaned it up a bunch. ABS/DTC issue turned out to be corrosion on the reluctor ring on the axle shaft. I sanded down the high spot and shimmed the sensor out and it is good for now but the axles will need to be done to properly resolve the issue. I need to do the oil pan gasket soon, except winter has arrived and I only have a QuckJack to lift it and that garage floor is cold so I may have that done by my indy shop. In the Summer I will do the suspension, the axles, Apex ARC-8 wheels and summer tires, the 3IM and tune, maybe a coolant system refresh and all the other things that come up.

Even with the worn suspension I am having a blast with this car. Hope you enjoy yours as well.

Oh, also, if you are looking for a mirror with HomeLink, I have a couple to sell off. One of them was installed on my car when I got it - I suspect the flipper pulled it off of a parts car he had. But I needed a true manual dimming mirror so I replaced it. (I have two of them because the first manual dimming mirror I ordered turned out to be auto-dimming with Homelink and the supplier admitted the mistake, gave me a refund, and didn't want it back). Part numbers on the two I have are:

5116915185201 - Auto-dimming, compass, Homelink - has a red clown nose so I assume it works with alarm system

51169192335-01 - Auto-dimming, compass, HomeLink - has a clearish clown nose instead of red - not sure what that means for alarm or not.
Thanks for the offer! I have a couple in the garage from other projects I'm going to try first, but if they don't work I'll check in with you. Agree that it's surprising how well these drive even with worn/blown components. I'm excited to see how it handles with everything refreshed.

Also see the same trend you do- seems like the 135i's are really being treated as collector cars and the 128i's are still treated as used cars. I remember when an E46 coupe was a used car that someone was sick of replacing window regulators on, not a future collectible. Those days were fun.
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      12-14-2021, 09:20 AM   #12
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Up next was the 3-stage intake swap. I didn't take as many pictures of this one... I was honestly surprised by how easy it was, and how inexpensive (at least if you do it the way I did).

Parts/cost:

1. 3 stage manifold. I pulled mine from a E60 530i at the junkyard. An intake manifold costs $29 there, and based on a quick perusal of their inventory the yard had at least 5 vehicles that had the intake. The E60 was the first one I found and the intake was there and intact. The other benefit of a junkyard pull was I got all the bolts and brackets along with the intake.
2. New DISA valves. I went with the VAICO models from FCP Euro, parts # 11617579114 & 11617560538. They seem to be the best of the aftermarket DISAs, and FCP will lifetime warranty them. $265.98
3. New gaskets. Elring manifold gasket set 11617547242 and throttle body gasket 13547582931. $21.68
4. Crankcase breather hose. Went genuine BMW on this one - 11157559528. $64.49

Total parts cost: $381.15, or about $11/hp. That's a bargain anywhere.

All the parts and the junkyard intake:



I used the Bimmerlab scripts and my existing WinKFP install + Bimmmergeeks cable. The coding went off without a hitch.

Butt dyno, the car feels torquier down low, and has notably more urgency above 3500 RPM. The pedal responsiveness is up as well, and it makes the car feel much more ready and willing where the N52 felt a little laconic before. I'm not sure how else to describe it- it's still not a powerhouse and there's a big difference between the N52 and the S54 in my M3, but the car is much livelier and pulls harder now.
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      12-15-2021, 09:47 AM   #13
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Next on the list is lights... (You'll see I'm doing a lot of these out of order, but that's just the way time and resources worked out).

Goals for this piece of the project were to
  1. Maximize light output and quality
  2. Minimize wiring changes to stock harness
  3. Look as stock as possible, not leak or fog
  4. Keep costs reasonable

...and I might be the outlier here, but I don't like aftermarket angel eyes on the 1 Series... I think they emphasize the already narrow look of the front end and make it look more like a squished E90. Also, having just completed an OEM BiXenon retrofit on an E46 I wasn't eager to do that again... the costs look really high for the E82 and the wiring (to do it right anyway) looks like a huge project.

So I went with a kit from The Retrofit Labin the Netherlands. They do pretty complete kits for reasonable prices. I got the LED projector units, and they include all the shrouds, wiring connectors and butyl to complete the retrofit- plus they have actually tested on the E82 and confirm that everything fits.

Pulled the headlights, tossed 'em in the oven at 250 F and used a panel tool to pop them open. The permaseal was a PITA. Each headlight took 3 rounds of heating to get them all the way open without damaging anything.





The hard part was getting the headlight lenses off. Once that was done, it was easy. You pull the halogens, the projectors fit right in their place and the kit comes with all the wiring pre-done. Warm them back up in the oven, soften the butyl and reassemble.





The light output is fabulous, I love the instant-on of LEDs and not having to deal with ballasts, igniters or bulbs is pretty nice.

Last edited by apexwerks; 12-15-2021 at 12:00 PM..
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      12-20-2021, 01:47 PM   #14
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Up next, brakes.

I have a good friend that I've helped with several projects on his former E93, and he gave me a bin full of takeoff parts when he sold the car. So I came into this project with a set of 335i front calipers, and F/R ECS 2-piece rotors for a 335i. The calipers had 50k miles on them, and the rotors less than 5k. The fronts are a direct swap, but as has been published here the rears are a lot more complex. Plus I needed to get a set of rear calipers, so we'll start with fronts first.

The first step was to overhaul the calipers- media blast, powder coat, and rebuild with new seals, pistons and bleeders.

Before and after media blasting:


Disassembled and ready for powder:


Powder on and in the oven:




Cured and ready for rebuild:


Reassembled, tested and on the car:


Rears are where things get complicated... I have a set of rear calipers that need to be put through the same media blast/PC/rebuild process, and then the fun starts. I've decided to swap over to the "narrow" rear end from a 335i and get a set of 335i wheel carriers, axles and hubs. That'll give me the larger parking brake setup for the 335i brakes without resorting to welding brake shoes, and I can run spacers with my existing wheels or have the option of grabbing E90 wheels if the mood strikes.

Last edited by apexwerks; 12-20-2021 at 01:54 PM..
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      12-23-2021, 05:40 PM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by apexwerks View Post
Up next, brakes.

I have a good friend that I've helped with several projects on his former E93, and he gave me a bin full of takeoff parts when he sold the car. So I came into this project with a set of 335i front calipers, and F/R ECS 2-piece rotors for a 335i. The calipers had 50k miles on them, and the rotors less than 5k. The fronts are a direct swap, but as has been published here the rears are a lot more complex. Plus I needed to get a set of rear calipers, so we'll start with fronts first.

The first step was to overhaul the calipers- media blast, powder coat, and rebuild with new seals, pistons and bleeders.

Before and after media blasting:


Disassembled and ready for powder:


Powder on and in the oven:




Cured and ready for rebuild:


Reassembled, tested and on the car:


Rears are where things get complicated... I have a set of rear calipers that need to be put through the same media blast/PC/rebuild process, and then the fun starts. I've decided to swap over to the "narrow" rear end from a 335i and get a set of 335i wheel carriers, axles and hubs. That'll give me the larger parking brake setup for the 335i brakes without resorting to welding brake shoes, and I can run spacers with my existing wheels or have the option of grabbing E90 wheels if the mood strikes.
Great work

I did the same to mine and what a difference, I took the advantage of doing the rear axle change and also installed the M3 arms in the rear.
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      12-25-2021, 07:13 PM   #16
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Great work

I did the same to mine and what a difference, I took the advantage of doing the rear axle change and also installed the M3 arms in the rear.
Thanks! Any recommendations or lessons learned from the rear end swap?
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      12-29-2021, 03:38 PM   #17
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Nice project and great info in this thread! [Saved]
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      01-04-2022, 02:13 PM   #18
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File this one under "while I'm in there" gone wrong...

The decision path for the rear end started with the front 335i brake swap. That was easy-peasy, but threw off the brake bias and needed to be corrected. It's been documented extensively that the 128i's smaller handbrake is the biggest obstacle in a rear brake retrofit. I already had a set of two-piece 335i rear rotors, so the project started to coalesce around making them fit. So, after doing some research it looked like the best path was to swap to 335i wheel carriers and axles.

Now, "while I'm in there." Might as well do rear subframe bushings if I'm pulling the axles and wheel carriers. And if I'm doing subframe bushings, I probably ought to do diff bushings as well. And if I'm doing diff bushings, might as well do a 3.73 diff swap as well. And if I'm changing the wheel carriers, might as well do the upper control arms as well. And if I'm pulling the subframe, I might as well retrofit a rear sway bar.

In retrospect, that was just too much to do at once. All told, the car was off the road for 3 weeks but it felt a lot longer. Anyway, let's dive in....

Started with some junkyard 335i calipers and carriers. Sandblasted, powder coated to match the fronts and rebuilt with new pistons, bleeders and seals. This was the nastiest starting point yet...





Yanked a set of carriers, axles and parking brakes from a 335i at the junkyard. Degreased and pressure washed them. Ended up needing new ABS sensors- the setup between the 128i and the 335i was different, and I needed two new Bosch sensors to fit.



The two threaded holes for the upper control arm bolts are the easiest things to strip I've seen on this car. The metal is soft and the bolts are M12x1.5, and I managed to cross thread one badly enough to helicoil it.

Out with the subframe! I had been debating whether it was worth it to pull the whole subframe, or if I should use some of the tricks on here to lower it enough to do the work with it still on the car. Glad I bit the bullet and just removed it- it made all the other tasks simple. The only really challenging part was managing the subframe off the car... even with a high-lift tranny jack it's a cumbersome and heavy assembly, and I had a hard time handling it by myself.




Last edited by apexwerks; 01-05-2022 at 10:14 AM..
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      01-04-2022, 02:24 PM   #19
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I used Forsvara Engineering's bushing press to remove the subframe bushings, and can't speak highly enough about it. It worked perfectly. The fit was exact and the materials robust. For $85 it's a no brainer if you're going to do this job.



ECS had their 95A subframe and diff bushings on sale, so I went with them. Time will tell but the quality appears to be good and the fit was great. My car did not have the sport package, so there was no rear sway bar when I got it. Went ahead and yanked one off the 335i in the junkyard when I got the axles and carriers, and installed it with new Meyle end links.



Found a 3.73 from a 325i auto with under 100k miles on it for $100 locally. Degreased and power washed it, replaced the axle seals and the circlips, and used Permatex gray to re-seal the cover after checking out the gears.





And that's it for the rear end of the car... everything is back in, buttoned up and bled and she drives great. I have a few things to tweak, but all in all I'm really pleased with the results from the combination of bushings, shorter rear end and the sway bar.

Last edited by apexwerks; 01-05-2022 at 10:13 AM..
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      01-04-2022, 02:32 PM   #20
tracer bullet
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Can't believe I didn't see this thread until now. Nice job on the car so far, obviously, and thanks for the write-up and pictures along the way! Looking forward to the next ones.
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      01-04-2022, 03:22 PM   #21
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tracer bullet View Post
Can't believe I didn't see this thread until now. Nice job on the car so far, obviously, and thanks for the write-up and pictures along the way! Looking forward to the next ones.
Thank you! It's been a lot of fun to work on, and more so to drive.
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      01-04-2022, 09:20 PM   #22
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Nice writeup so far! As a fellow E46 M3 convertible + E82 128i owner who must live just down the road from you (western Cary) I'll wave hello if I ever see you out and about. My 128i (6mt) is a similar bruised and battered fixer-upper that I will be giving to my daughter when she turns 16

FWIW I completely agree that the cowl needs to be removed to do the valve cover gasket. And in retrospect I probably should have dropped the subframe for the oil pan, but I did make it work.

Hit me up if you ever need tools or anything -- I also have a tire changer in my shed that I rent out for IPAs
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