Maytag: The Alpine '87 529i

[tig]

You owe it to yourself to turbo that car. . .

Goddamn right I do.

[leadphut]

Now it's ready for shadowlining, window tinting, euro bumper conversion, staggered headlights, euro M5 spoiler, rear trunk spoiler, M-Tech flares, and better rims.


looks great Man!

Thanks.

I plan to keep this car mostly original cosmetically. I'm still fantasizing about a turbo. And what the f**k do you mean "better rims"? :-)

(These are my snow rims; they have Nokains on them... I just sent my RZs off to be re-finished; they will go on this car).

couldn't help but throw a zinger in for good measure. i think the car looks great as she sits.

[tig]

Heater Control Valve Pro Tip: If your HCV assembly's magnet does not allow the insert to slide inside of it easily then JUNK the assembly and find another one. Do NOT try to force the insert in, and UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES try to tap it in with a hammer. You will ruin it. As I've ruined two.

Also, when you put the insert, with magnet into the plastic bottom part, there should be tension for the last 1mm or so (that you'll compress when you tighten the four flat head screws). If there is not, then you are either missing a washer (see 2nd from left below) or your bottom part is worn. It WILL leak. This has happened to me twice as well.



Next: the big white stopper/ball inside the bottom part can wear. This is what a brand new one looks like:


This is what an aged one looks like; hard to tell in this pic, but it's very rough:


I did not put the E46 valve in yet because I haven't had time to make a bracket for it.

[tig]

New topic: Doing an e2i conversion:

Recall these facts:

• Maytag is an 87 528e with 207K. The head gasket is leaking oil and the valves are darn noisy. I’m assuming the bottom end is fine.
• Maytag is my “I’m on a budget” car, so no extravagance like the M30B35 build I did for Vlad.
• If I were REALLY cheap, I’d just replace the headgasket. But I already bought a Super ETA wiring harness (I actually have 2), front pully, trigger wheel, cps, 153 ECU.
• I also now have an 885 head, but it has bent valves.
• I'm on the hunt for a 325i intake/tb/tps.
• I have decided to NOT go with a 731 head because I still want the option of FI in the future.

I’m confused about:

• Camshaft: I need a 325i camshaft, right? (and the dual valve springs)
• Will the 153 ECU work, or do I need 173 as some forum posts suggest?

I think I’m going to build the head myself (after getting it decked by a machine shop); how hard can it be?

[davintosh]

davintosh heartily approves of this new direction. Not that you need anyone's approval, but...
Carry on.

[joel323]

Charlie, on your E to I swap you will be better off finding an 885 head that is from an I motor. On the super eta 885 head, the cam journals were not always drilled for all 7 cam bearing oiling ports. A machine shop could do this but by the time you find a 325i cam , have all the valves fixed and other machine work, you may be way behind spending a couple hundred on a good 2.5 I head.

Also something else you could think about is you have a super eta bottom end and a standard eta bottom end.

If you put an 2.5 I head on your standard eta you will wind up with around 8.35:1 compression.
The super eta compression would be 8.5:1

The supereta with 2.5i Head will produce a little more horsepower and still have low enough compression to turbocharge in the future. I also favor this set up because you have a piston and combustion chamber that were designed to go together.

I have built many combinations of stroker m20 and the Super eta seamed to be the best in terms of low end power and still pull hard up top.

and whatever you do , never use a victor reinz m20 head gasket.

[tig]

Charlie, on your E to I swap you will be better off finding an 885 head that is from an I motor. On the super eta 885 head, the cam journals were not always drilled for all 7 cam bearing oiling ports. A machine shop could do this but by the time you find a 325i cam , have all the valves fixed and other machine work, you may be way behind spending a couple hundred on a good 2.5 I head.

Also something else you could think about is you have a super eta bottom end and a standard eta bottom end.

If you put an 2.5 I head on your standard eta you will wind up with around 8.35:1 compression.
The super eta compression would be 8.5:1

The supereta with 2.5i Head will produce a little more horsepower and still have low enough compression to turbocharge in the future. I also favor this set up because you have a piston and combustion chamber that were designed to go together.

I have built many combinations of stroker m20 and the Super eta seamed to be the best in terms of low end power and still pull hard up top.

and whatever you do , never use a victor reinz m20 head gasket.

Thanks Sir!

I do believe the 885 head I pulled has all 7 journals drilled. I'll double check.

So the Super-ETA pistons are THAT different?

[joel323]

Eta Pistons are dished,
Super eta pistons have a asymmetrical dome shape.
I do have a 325i cam that needs some cleanup but you could have it for FREE.99

[tig]

Now, shit, look what you made me do: Wipe out the cylinder bores on the donor car and look closely at their condition.



I guess what they say about these M20s is true. At 340k miles and the factory hone marks still there. I think I've conned AJ into coming to my house Saturday... I might just put him to work pulling this short block.

[davintosh]

[*]I'm on the hunt for a 325i intake/tb/tps.

FYI, the '89 525i used the same engine & intake as the 325i. That fact doesn't broaden your prospects a lot, but it may have escaped some of the e30 crowd. Any little advantage...
http://realoem.com/bmw/partxref.do?part=11611289210

BTW, did your 885 head come out of the car that the 340k block is in? What model is that?

One other question; does Maytag have the stock single pipe exhaust? The cars with the 885 heads had the two-pipe systems. From what I've been told, the single pipe will work, but it's not ideal.

I did some research on a similar project before ultimately bailing on it; I had the engine from an '89 525i and contemplated doing an e2i swap, but decided to just swap the entire M20B25 engine into the e28, using the e34 wiring harness and some of the cooling system bits to tidy up the engine bay a bit. It turned out great, in my head.

Here are a few links with helpful info on the subject I had stashed away:
http://www.e30zone.net/e30zonewiki/index.php/M20
http://strictlyeta.net/technical/328i_1.html
http://www.mye28.com/viewtopic.php?t=104631
http://www.mye28.com/viewtopic.php?t=29193
http://www.mye28.com/viewtopic.php?p=971661
http://www.mye28.com/viewtopic.php?t=99670
http://www.mye28.com/viewtopic.php?p=964585
http://www.mye28.com/viewtopic.php?t=63095

[tig]

FYI, the '89 525i used the same engine & intake as the 325i. That fact doesn't broaden your prospects a lot, but it may have escaped some of the e30 crowd. Any little advantage...
http://realoem.com/bmw/partxref.do?part=11611289210

Actually have a line on one like that!

BTW, did your 885 head come out of the car that the 340k block is in? What model is that?

Yes. 1988 528e. 1987-09-30 build date. It is my understanding that 9/87 and on had all 7 journals drilled out.

Here it is:

One other question; does Maytag have the stock single pipe exhaust? The cars with the 885 heads had the two-pipe systems. From what I've been told, the single pipe will work, but it's not ideal.

Yes, has the single pipe. It's also not in great shape. My plan was to leave it as is until it falls apart, which likely will be before I complete this project

I did some research on a similar project before ultimately bailing on it; I had the engine from an '89 525i and contemplated doing an e2i swap, but decided to just swap the entire M20B25 engine into the e28, using the e34 wiring harness and some of the cooling system bits to tidy up the engine bay a bit. It turned out great, in my head.

Here are a few links with helpful info on the subject I had stashed away:
http://www.e30zone.net/e30zonewiki/index.php/M20
http://strictlyeta.net/technical/328i_1.html
http://www.mye28.com/viewtopic.php?t=104631
http://www.mye28.com/viewtopic.php?t=29193
http://www.mye28.com/viewtopic.php?p=971661
http://www.mye28.com/viewtopic.php?t=99670
http://www.mye28.com/viewtopic.php?p=964585
http://www.mye28.com/viewtopic.php?t=63095

[/quote]

Super helpful. Thanks!

[tig]

The job for today was to fix Maytag's rear windows which barely worked.

In the end I got one of them done. I now know, intimately, how these doors/windows go together. The other side will go much, much faster. I may do it tonight.

The rubber/felt window guide was tearing, so I pulled apart the doors on my parts car (I love saying that!) and found that the guides there were in much better shape. I cleaned them up nice.

I'll post pics of the actual window/regulator work on this thread, so that there's one go-to place for people trying to do this job.

I decided to use this door as a sample to see how different black/beige parts look together. I don't have a spare black door handle surround (I do, but I can't find it) so try to ignore the beige one in the pic. I also don't have a left rear door pull handle in black (the interior set I bought didn't come with one).




I think it looks just OK. I think it will look great with a black door pull and opener surround.

Oh, and I know the door card is not in right. I just fixed that after noticing it in the photos.

[davintosh]

On my eta I went with the opposite combination; PB center portion with black lower part, handle surround, and armrest. I think it works better with the black top section. On my e32 however, I kept the beige surround and armrest and replaced the center with black. That combo works great on that car.

BTW, those pull handle surrounds get kinda brittle with age, and new replacements aren't terribly expensive. I bought four new ones for mine after breaking a few too many tabs. I've been inside my doors a few times as well.

[kzolee]

I think also, that the inverse of the current configuration will look better...

[leadphut]

I think it looks just OK. I think it will look great with a black door pull and opener surround.

[davintosh]

Pardon the crappy iPhone flash shot, and the more than slightly grungy seat. Gives you an idea of what it looks like anyway. I've got some anthracite carpet to go in there, and am saving pennies to get the seats redone in black leather.
And oh crap; that flap came loose at the top again. I'd like to replace that center section with the later perforated material anyway. Someday...

e28


This is what I did with some run-o-the-mill vinyl from a fabric store; mostly to cover up a hole I had to cut in the driver's side door panel (long story. ) I'd like to put black in the lower section too, but that's a glued-on pad with the cover molded into it, whereas the top is just cardboard with a vinyl covering. I'd also like to redo them someday with the stitched pleats, like some of the e38s had. Someday.
e32

[tig]

When etapower was over yesterday we compared how his 528e and mine sounded. His makes no sound. Mine is all buzzy, deisely, and clicky. This is one of the reasons I'm motivated to do a new motor or something (see my new M20B27 build thread: http://www.mye28.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=131610).

Today I decided to try adjusting the valves again just to make sure. I've only adjusted valves 4-5 times in my life and AJ said he always did it measuring on the camshaft. I had done it on the valves before. So I pulled the valve cover off and dove in. I made sure every clearance was precisely 0.008". I double checked. A few were slightly off (0.009 in two cases, and 0.007 in another), but I didn't have to touch any but those three.



I also gapped my plugs to 0.030".

[url=https://flic.kr/p/qnJU8i]

Here's what it sounds like after. Exactly the same as it did before.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dtzkmtkyj4

[tig]

Tried the reverse two-tone setup on the passenger rear door. Definitely better.





When I pulled the trim off I found the original vapor seal was still complete. This window moves fairly well so I just used some silicon spray on the guides to loosen it up more instead of tearing it apart.



Sam (Sam 84, 533i) had found a nice 533 in the Linwood PnP and he dropped off some more black interior bits and... a black carpet set!!! It's dirty but has no tears. It is the older style without the foam. Someday if I ever have reason to tear Maytag's interior apart I may transplant this in. For now it will just sit on a shelf... Thanks Sam!

[tig]

Meh. If the anthracite carpet wasn't in the door panels it would look great. But it just looks off.

[wkohler]

https://picasaweb.google.com/1155675056 ... /1987535is

There should be photos in there of how to do it.

[tig]

https://picasaweb.google.com/1155675056 ... /1987535is

There should be photos in there of how to do it.

Hmmm.... I didn't look closely at how hard/easy it is to remove & replace the carpet prices. That looks nice. Thanks for sharing, Chris.

[leadphut]

i'm not a fan of the shift-surround, but the doors look great. interesting how dark on light works nicely and not the opposite.

[davintosh]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dtzkmtkyj4

That's pretty much what mine sounds like too. I've had a couple people ask if it's a diesel.

The door cards look good, but still need some black armrest. Replacing the carpet insert with PB is a nice idea too, but I think the anthracite carpet would work better with the black seats in your car. Just my 2 cents.

[2 5's and a 7]

Wow my Eta is quiet as a mouse.......sounds like something in top end. Can you isolate which cylinder? Or is it numerous?

[tig]

Wow my Eta is quiet as a mouse.......sounds like something in top end. Can you isolate which cylinder? Or is it numerous?

I've tried isolating it. I'd cal it "numerous".

[LeiseyJr]

What oil do you use? I use O'Reilly's Straight 30W oil and mine is fairly quiet. I have also never done a valve adjustment just did the redneck good 'nough check with my hand.
Here's a Vid:
That knocking was caused by a major vacuum leak that's been fixed.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMRvyhGlVjI
(Thanks Sherman for posting this)

[tig]

What oil do you use? I use O'Reilly's Straight 30W oil and mine is fairly quiet. I have also never done a valve adjustment just did the redneck good 'nough check with my hand.
Here's a Vid:
That knocking was caused by a major vacuum leak that's been fixed.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMRvyhGlVjI
(Thanks Sherman for posting this)

I use Brad Penn 20W-50. I'm quite sure oil won't quiet this down.... A previous owner likely used cheap oil like O'Reilly's without enough ZDDP and that might be the root cause though .

[LeiseyJr]

What oil do you use? I use O'Reilly's Straight 30W oil and mine is fairly quiet. I have also never done a valve adjustment just did the redneck good 'nough check with my hand.
Here's a Vid:
That knocking was caused by a major vacuum leak that's been fixed.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMRvyhGlVjI
(Thanks Sherman for posting this)

I use Brad Penn 20W-50. I'm quite sure oil won't quiet this down.... A previous owner likely used cheap oil like O'Reilly's without enough ZDDP and that might be the root cause though .

I knew a guy who had a 540i which had a terrible VANOS noise that resembled yours and he just put 30W Castrol and it improved significantly. Yeah... cheap O'Reilly's oil is probably lacking on keeping the engine good for long term. Leaks so much Anyway it always has fresh oil . It should be out by summer for the fresh B34. That's the swap you should do IMO, but E2i's are neato too.

[Dub-Nub]

cek, do you have a list of the part numbers for the replacement parts you bought from Blunt when you did the install? such as master repair kit, slave repair kit, etc.

I am in the process of doing a 5 speed swap on mine and i have the parts car, but will be replacing several things.

[tig]

Yes, I do. I posted them in another thread... I can't find it right now, but will look later.