MyE28.com

cek wrote:Score!

Was at Harbor Freight picking up Soda blasting media for the soda blaster I ordered via Amazon (that I thought would be here today). Noticed they had a blast cabinet sitting by the front door.

Asked the sales guy "That for sale?" He said "Yes, it's a display model. Missing some parts. Make me an offer. Normally $209, the tag currently says $105."

I checked on the price for a new set of gloves and the other missing parts. It'll cost me ~$50, but I won't need them for soda blasting.

I offered $55. He said he had to add a penny, so it was $55.01.

Already assembled too!

Every gearhead should have a blast cabinet!

That and what appears to be a parts washer to it's right are but two of the things I'd have if I had more room.

A little parts cleaning action. Just enough so I can start to strategize how to make them like new. For the alternator it's pretty clear it will clean up nice. I'll get the fan and pully re-plated and probably powder coat the rest. I wonder if I need to get it tested to ensure it's functioning tip-top-shape... ???



I bought a cheap little steam cleaner at Fry's and figured I'd give it a try on the PS pump. Works really well for getting stuff out of little crevices and so forth.

It will be interesting to see how soda blasting compares.

My parts washer needs to be cleaned out. The Purple Power cleaner I have in it has been over used and there's so muck that it's lost its effectiveness.

Do You plan to use the E32/34 oil pan? (I have chosen this way, and i am satisfied so far)

If you plan to use that pan, you will gain a little more ground clearance, but don't park too close to curb.

To the alternator: with some M20 parts you can make the alternator air cooling functional:

kzolee wrote:Do You plan to use the E32/34 oil pan? (I have chosen this way, and i am satisfied so far)

If you plan to use that pan, you will gain a little more ground clearance, but don't part too close to curb.

Yes, I plan on using the B35 oil pan.

To the alternator: with some M20 parts you can make the alternator air cooling functional:

Ooh, that's a useful pic! thanks.

The soda blaster arrived yesterday and I took it for a spin on a few parts. No doubt this is a high-speed-low-drag way to clean parts; totally worth the investment.

I looked at the units Harbor Freight sells and also online. I noticed that this unit on Amazon is identical to the HF unit except it has wheels. With a 40lb capacity I guessed having wheels would be important (I was right).



Nothing too surprising in the parts and other than the regulator/moisture trap the quality is solid (for the price). The regulator is serviceable, just nowhere near as nice as the others I have in my air system.



I decided to just do it outside versus in my blast cabinet; I have not yet had a chance to seal the seams in the cabinet and don't have a hose long enough for the soda blaster to reach.

I bought a bag of HF's medium grit soda and XL grit soda. For this test run I just used the medium grit seen here.



My first test subject, the upper timing chain cover.





Wow. 5 minutes later:





The plastic on the donor car, such as this distributor cover and the air filter assembly are covered in cosmoline. I was curious how good a job the soda would do at getting that damn cosmoline off (every other method I've tried is just hugely labor intensive).

Before:


After:


Not bad. Not bad at all! I would not do this on plastic parts where I needed to retain a shiny luster though as you end up with matte surface.

My next test was on the AC compressor which I had not cleaned at all. The test was to see if you could get away with just using the soda blaster to get deep grime off.





As you can see, the answer is no. I used quite a bit of soda and time/effort to just make this much progress. So using a combination of degreaser, steam cleaning, scrub brushes, and elbow grease to get most grime off is needed first. Then I'll use the soda blaster to make it purdy.

Finally, I wanted to see how a fairly corroded piece of aluminum would come out. I purchased a AFM from a member here since I only have one for two engines and I'm concerned the one on the car may be having issues. I should have asked the seller to send me more pics before I bought because he failed to show me pics of the top. I was pretty disappointed when it came to discover how crappy the top was.

Before:


After:


I'm no longer disappointed with my purchase . The soda blaster made it look way more than good enough.

Next I'll try the XL grit soda on a few pieces. I'm really curious how good I can make the intake manifold look...and whether I can get away without having to powder coat it to meet my standards.

I'm interested to see where you go with your intake manifold as well. I'm basically in the same stage as you with my swap, cleaning and prepping parts. I don't wanna end up just simply spray painting my manifold

I would make sure you clean ALL your parts before instalation after the "Wash"

While waiting for my son to get out of bed this morning to help me finish putting the 'new' exhaust in Vlad I cleaned up the water housing for the B35.

Lots of corrosion around the connectors.



After:





The corrosion is pretty bad; in one case there's an actual hole through the housing.





I may seek out a 'new' housing instead of using this one. Opinions?

On the downside, it'll leak. On the bright side, it'll be clean and you'll know where to look.

Get a new housing and have it ceramic coated. Make sure they tape up the holes so that you maintain good conductivity. It will stay nice for a very long time.

Ask me how I know.

OcCoupe wrote:Get a new housing and have it ceramic coated.

Ceramic or powder?

Don't blast anything associated with engine internals. Grit will find it's way into the engine. No complex shape will be entirely free of grit after blasting, no matter how much you wash it. Intake manifold, rocker arm cover, etc. all no no's.

Even with baking soda?

Just to calibrate this thread, if the build Alpinass posted below is a 9.5 then I will be happy with mine being an 8. Just to calibrate.



More pics here: http://www.mye28.com/viewtopic.php?p=1164494#1164494

cek wrote: It's not really part of the rebuild, but it is going to get done at the same time: A Pelican Parts Clutch Super Kit. A key component showed up today. I had a 10% off web coupon for PP and used it to order a whole bunch of stuff...

I found a 533/M5 flywheel. It is on it's way to me now. Thus I have, starting from the rear of the car:

- 5-Speed transmission from an '87 535is (in car now)
- New Selector Rod Seal
- New input shaft bearing seal
- Clutch hose
- Clutch slave cylinder
- Spring for Throw-out Bearing Release Lever
- Pivot Pin for Throw-out Bearing Release Lever
- Pressure plate from an '87 535is (in car now)
- Sachs clutch for an E28 M30 car (as seen above)
- New throw out bearing for above (part of kit)
- 533/M5 flywheel (not yet in possession of, but paid for)
- Rear Main Seal/Flywheel Seal (90 x 110 x 12)
- M30B35 motor

I was thinking through things and realized I may have bought the wrong clutch kit. I bought the PP kit for an E28 535. I assumed the important part of the clutch was what happened on the transmission side, not the engine side. And the B35 swap FAQ says I can use the E28 pressure plate & throwout bearing.

Will this clutch & pressure plate work well with the 533/M5 flywheel?

I need to be educated on this. Searching and reading other threads on the topic has really just made me more confused.

Help?

That 240mm clutch should work great as long as you don't have turbo torque.

You bought the right part. No need to worry.

Some more soda blasting. The intake manifold...

Before




After

This should work well for keeping the pistons organized.



My son going to town...

Crank looks muy beno. The bearing show almost no wear.







More shots of the bores. Now that the pistons are out and I can feel it completely, none of the vertical scoring is going to be a problem.

This cannot be felt at all with the finger/fingernail.



However the rust in #6 can.





#1 is in fine condition.

The bracket for the PS pump is shot.

Anyone got one (will a B34 bracket work?).



Got the valve cover and oil pan cleaned up with the soda blaster. Gawd that tool is fantastic.

I will leave the oil pan as-is, but we're powder coating the valve cover gasket (black crinkled) and intake manifold (aluminum).

I would get the crank polished and the bores deglazed.

Rav335uk wrote:I would get the crank polished and the bores deglazed.

Yep. That's the plan.

Are you replacing all new crank shells??
If so, make sure you measure the crank before ordering new ones.

cek wrote:

OcCoupe wrote:Get a new housing and have it ceramic coated.

Ceramic or powder?

Either will work.