2.2 engine replacement project

[mrscalex]

Small correction and expansion on my earlier message about the perished vacuum connector.

It was connected to the fuel supply as I thought (well the pressure regulator) but it's to the black hard plastic pipe as it comes up off the chassis and not the blue one which it's tied to. As it comes off the chassis it goes into a flexible section which had literally started to crumble away. At the other end this goes into the lower connection on the F-piece which taps into the air intake boot beyond the MAF sensor.

I checked a 3rd 2.2 and this is also afflicted. So 3 out of 3 cars affected. An important check for anyone.

A few photos to make sure we all know where I'm referring to. This is the nasty crumbling section - much worse up close than it looks here.

Here's the lower end going into the black hard plastic chassis line.

And the other end where it goes into the F-Connector (lower hose).

 

[mrscalex]

The part number for that section of hose is 11727545323 and it's about 4"-6" long. If you put that number into ebay you will see people selling a 100mm section - for about £4. However the accurate description for this should be '100mm section cut from 11727545323 (which is 1m long) and which has no separate part number itself'.

In other words BMW sell you a 1m long hose (about £11) and you need to cut a section from it. The ebay seller is presumably buying the 1m length and cutting it up. So even if they are paying retail price it's costing them £1 and they're selling for £4. A nice 75% margin.

Arguably if you really only ever want a 100mm section once it's still a cheaper way of buying. But that would stick in my throat and I'd rather have the rest of the 1m section in my spares.

 

[Dickymint]

I did replace mine with silicone hose as its much more durable and resistant to the heat... and I just so happened to have some

 

[mrscalex]

I couldn't find anything other than the BMW part in the correct size.

Where did you get yours from?

 

[the Nefyn cat]

BMW want how much? Got 2m of silicone hose from our local motor factor bloke for £6.99 to try on the CCVV I was asking about a while ago, looks like I've found somewhere to use the rest of it. Happy days.

 

[the Nefyn cat]

Finally got round to changing that bit of hose to the F connector. The old hose was indeed starting to crumble and had perished a bit at the lower end. And while I'm in there I find the big bit of air pipe that goes to the throttle body has developed a split in the smaller end. Fix one thing, find another thing to fix. Z3, the car that keeps on giving. Another phone call to Sopers tomorrow, then.

 

[mrscalex]

We were back in action on Saturday with connecting the engine up.

I had an utter nightmare replacing the selector rod oil seal on the gearbox. Compounded by the fact I should have done it before I put the engine/box back in.

Suffice to say, don't bother trying to remove the old one unless you have a proper screw in seal extractor. In the end I put the new one on over the top which is what I think most people do anyway as there is plenty of room.

Also make sure you have a suitable drift. A 15mm deep socket apparently works well but I didn't have one. The important thing is it's an exact fit to the diameter of the opening which I measured at 20mm. I didn't have a suitable drift either. So I have to put it in with a screwdriver and hammer.

It's in okay (I think) but it's easily the most disappointing aspect of the whole project so far. The old one was leaking so I felt I had to do it. But on reflection I wouldn't bother again without the correct tools.

The selector rod bearing also caused issues as I couldn't work out what the gungy thing inside was.

It turns out it's a sponge (literally) pad best described as being the same size and in fact looking (new) like a yellow jelly tot. The installed one was rotted, a new one was not a stock item at the dealer, I couldn't find anything to improvise (spent 20 mins looking at women's cosmetic accessories in Asda) so I used a reasonable and serviceable secondhand spare.

I also had a nightmare torqueing up the new Meyle gearbox rubber mounts. It should be 31lb/ft, I thought it was funny I was tightening so much and then ping, threaded stem broken on brand new mount. I can only assume torque wrenches don't work properly when mounting something rubber that presumably keeps compressing. So it ended up with the old (perfectly serviceable) mounts tightened by feel.

Anyway, gearbox now remounted and carrier rod back in place with new hinge pin. Selector rod and propshaft still to go back but then turned our attentions to the engine bay...

 

[mrscalex]

I felt the first thing to reconnect ought to be the engine wiring harness/control centre. It looked like it was going to be the longest single job and I wanted the wiring out of the way.

Probably took me about 2 hours in the end. It's not completely obvious which way cables are routed inside the box but that wasn't the real time consumer. We'd forgotten to thread the washer tubing back through which was a fiddly job with everything else back in place. But the real time consumer was getting the rubber grommets around the brake pipes, especially the 2-pipe grommet as one of the brake pipes had got slightly mis-aligned where the engine nudge it and positioning is vital to get through the grommet.

The metal partition had a respray.

We had to get this lot back in.

To this space.

All done after much swearing.

Technician puts the lid on.

Back in Swansea now. Can't see how we're going to get it finished and MOT'd for Santa Pod on Sunday. But we shall plod on when I'm back Tuesday.

Next up will be reinstating remaining electrical connections (very few as they stay intact on the engine by leaving the harness on). Reinstating wet connections, so cooling system (not radiator yet) and fuel. Then bolting the steering rack up and reconnecting hydraulic system. Then the radiator. Then propshaft and exhaust.

Temptation will get the better of me and I'll probably have to try and start the engine before reinstating the suspension. Although apart from the fact I have to clean and respray the suspension that should be a reasonably quick job.

So I think all the tricky stuff is done now, certainly the stuff I've never done before. The rest I've done previously so have more idea of what to expect.

80 hours spent to get this far (plus 20 hours removing old installation). Approx 20 hours remaining to get it moving out of the garage under its own steam. Then more time I'm not even thinking about yet snagging it and finishing off 1 or 2 jobs like putting seats in to make it properly driveable.

Then more time tidying up the rest of the car, main work there repainting the otherwise solid sill covers and swapping the roof over. Well to be honest I haven't looked over the ar*e end of the car properly yet so might be some jobs there, bushes, springs etc.

Phew...

 

[the Nefyn cat]

Don't worry, it'll never end. Are there no DSC solenoid things on your master cylinder? Had to change one on mine, absolute bu55er of a job with everything in the way.

 

[mrscalex]

Don't worry, it'll never end. Are there no DSC solenoid things on your master cylinder? Had to change one on mine, absolute bu55er of a job with everything in the way.

No DSC. The donor car had it but not this one.

 

[the Nefyn cat]

Learn something every day, I guess. And that's todays out of the way.

 

[mrscalex]

Learn something every day, I guess. And that's todays out of the way.

I don't know which builds of car had DSC and which didn't. From the ones I've seen it seems to be the earlier facelifts and not the later ones. My project car is 2002.

 

[the Nefyn cat]

Mine's 2002, February if I remember rightly. Strange. BMW must have their reasons, I suppose.

 

[mrscalex]

I think the DSC is a much more sophisticated system compared to ASC. So perhaps it was an expensive build option?

It's a pain in the backside finding secondhand and new 3rd party DSC wheel sensors which suggests to me relatively few cars were made with it.

 

[Ianmc]

No DSC or ASC on my 1997 1.9, happy days, less to go wrong. No EML/check engine light either. Just need to balance the carburettors when I can find them!

 

[Cooper]

I reviewed this entire thread and I must confess I am impressed. The photos that showed how much work had to be done made me shake with fear! I would love to help someone else out doing this but would never attempt it on my own. Great work!

 

[mrscalex]

I reviewed this entire thread and I must confess I am impressed. The photos that showed how much work had to be done made me shake with fear! I would love to help someone else out doing this but would never attempt it on my own. Great work!

That's very kind. But I'm no expert. It comes down to 1) being methodical 2) being prepared to learn both in preparation and on the fly (like come here for help) 3) time and I guess having a good set of tools.

Anyway, I haven't finished it yet. It might never start!

 

[mrscalex]

Well we've come a long way in a week.

We put the left side of the engine bay back together so air filter box & MAF, expansion tank and remount diagnostics connector.

Noticing along the way that the alternator air duct was blocked with leaves!

So we're looking like this now.

Then we turned our attention to cleaning up and painting the struts, control arms, steering arms, outer track rods and splash guards. Here's Jimmy cleaning up the power steering cooling loop.

Steering rack and radiator back on. The radiator will sit there quite happily without the front panel.

Attention then turned to separating the spare exhaust from the manifolds. I did this by cutting a relief slot through the flange. It works and I believe the slot does not significantly weaken the flange.

Fast forward and the struts, control arms and sway bar are all bolted back on with fresh paint. The steering loop is also connected back up with the help of a new appendage in the absence of the front panel

And then it was back on the ground.

 

[t-tony]

Nice work Rob, looking good mate.

Tony.

 

[Althulas]

Nice update slowly getting there and looking good. I hope your going to give the wee lad a driving lesson in it as a reward on some deserted car park. Great stuff to work with your dad on a project.