#ZedShed Bella the 2.8 Polished Queen (Subframe & Gearbox)

[t-tony]

It's like that twisted anti-roll bar link bush being the way it is, I've been banging on about bushes being tightened only when the suspension is in the correct "plane" for years on here. Otherwise this is what eventually happens to the bushes.

Tony.

 

[Lee]

It's like that twisted anti-roll bar link bush being the way it is, I've been banging on about bushes being tightened only when the suspension is in the correction "plane" for years on here. Otherwise this is what eventually happens to the bushes.

Tony.

You can lead a horse to water.

 

[Althulas]

@Lee is the passenger rear beam pin bent or is it just the angle of the photo? Andys diff casing looks in great shape compared to when I pulled mine out.

 

[Lee]

@Lee is the passenger rear beam pin bent or is it just the angle of the photo? Andys diff casing looks in great shape compared to when I pulled mine out.

Camera trickery. If it was that bent it wouldn’t lower.

 

[Lee]

So today was a nice chilled day and I got to test out my new toy. We removed the gearbox and made a very large deposit to the powder coaters

One subframe and set for Andy’s car the rest will all be up for grabs, I’m currently compiling a monster collection of powder coated parts.

Once back in the garage we got straight to removing the gearbox.

slave out the way, soon to be replaced with a braided line.

And the new toy in action. Was getting tired of hauling a gearbox off my chest.

A shot from above.

Now the gearbox is out the way we can see the pressure plate clearly.

Now the plate is off it shows a slightly tired flywheel.

If you look closer it looks like it’s due for a change.

Looking back at the gearbox it’s all looking a bit tired so everything’s being replaced, even the seals front and back of the gearbox. The selector seal looks to be weeping quite badly.

The release bearing makes a nice dry growling noise when you spin it.

Nice worn clutch fork.

We also noticed a very sloppy gear linkage bush.

Luckily all these seals and rubber bits are pence from BMW, all will be with me in the next 48h.

We gave the gearbox a 5 min clean and it scrubbed up well.

Tomorrow’s update will be about the shift pins.

Strange view, don’t think I’ve taken this many bits off before.

 

[andyglym]

So today was a nice chilled day and I got to test out my new toy. We removed the gearbox and made a very large deposit to the powder coaters

View attachment 161513

One subframe and set for Andy’s car the rest will all be up for grabs, I’m currently compiling a monster collection of powder coated parts.

Once back in the garage we got straight to removing the gearbox.

slave out the way, soon to be replaced with a braided line.
View attachment 161517
And the new toy in action. Was getting tired of hauling a gearbox off my chest.
View attachment 161515
A shot from above.
View attachment 161519

Now the gearbox is out the way we can see the pressure plate clearly.
View attachment 161523
Now the plate is off it shows a slightly tired flywheel.
View attachment 161521
If you look closer it looks like it’s due for a change.
View attachment 161525
Looking back at the gearbox it’s all looking a bit tired so everything’s being replaced, even the seals front and back of the gearbox. The selector seal looks to be weeping quite badly.
View attachment 161527
View attachment 161531
The release bearing makes a nice dry growling noise when you spin it.
View attachment 161533
Nice worn clutch fork.
View attachment 161535
We also noticed a very sloppy gear linkage bush.
View attachment 161529
Luckily all these seals and rubber bits are pence from BMW, all will be with me in the next 48h.

We gave the gearbox a 5 min clean and it scrubbed up well.
View attachment 161537
Tomorrow’s update will be about the shift pins.

Top work Lee, the nik of time springs to mind. Had my monies worth then

 

[Jjim]

Great work and now compiling my list

 

[Lee]

So today we tackled lots of little jobs while we wait for the powder coated bits to return and the clutch to arrive.

First job was to remove the old diff bush and give the diff a coat of hammered black paint finished off with a powerflex bush.

Next we moved onto the main reason why Bella has made it to us, the gearbox shift pins. The first pin I fitted were the 1-4th gears. First photo shows the 3 caps to remove.

Old pin (larger) next to new pin

new bush installed and pin with new spring dropped in.

and then fit the new cap

moving onto the next shift pin, my tool of choice for removing the old pins, it’s actually older than me...

These 3 shift pins take minutes to do so no sweat doing these.

The more difficult pins are 5th and reverse. Both have some areas you really need to pay attention to.

Reverse being the top shift pin and 5th the lower they both have a rotation to watch and both have slightly different angles on the pin. Reverse has a straight edge while the 5th gear is curved, very subtle but you can tell the difference.

reverse done at this stage and I just finished breaking out the old liner. It’s this liner that grabs the shift pin causing it to stick and lean.

New liner in and spring.

Full house of extracted old pins. Note the two larger pins, hard to tell they’re actually different in the picture.

finito

Moving onto another really satisfying job, the fuel tank straps, such a nice design. Old straps very much past it.

Whilst the gearbox is waiting for new seals and oil I removed the selector seal, this is causing the rear of the box to get very wet. Very common at this age.

We also gave the under side some serious elbow grease and a nice coating of treatment and rust prevention. Also nice to see the new tank straps in shot.

Rust treatment product

wide angle lens

Normal lens

We got the call late today saying the powder coated parts are ready for collection tomorrow.

Watch this space

 

[andyglym]

So today we tackled lots of little jobs while we wait for the powder coated bits to return and the clutch to arrive.

First job was to remove the old diff bush and give the diff a coat of hammered black paint finished off with a powerflex bush.
View attachment 161611
View attachment 161613

Next we moved onto the main reason why Bella has made it to us, the gearbox shift pins. The first pin I fitted were the 1-4th gears. First photo shows the 3 caps to remove.
View attachment 161615
Old pin (larger) next to new pin
View attachment 161619
new bush installed and pin with new spring dropped in.

and then fit the new cap
View attachment 161623
moving onto the next shift pin, my tool of choice for removing the old pins, it’s actually older than me...
View attachment 161625
View attachment 161617
These 3 shift pins take minutes to do so no sweat doing these.
View attachment 161627
The more difficult pins are 5th and reverse. Both have some areas you really need to pay attention to.

Reverse being the top shift pin and 5th the lower they both have a rotation to watch and both have slightly different angles on the pin. Reverse has a straight edge while the 5th gear is curved, very subtle but you can tell the difference.

reverse done at this stage and I just finished breaking out the old liner. It’s this liner that grabs the shift pin causing it to stick and lean.
View attachment 161629
New liner in and spring.
View attachment 161631
Full house of extracted old pins. Note the two larger pins, hard to tell they’re actually different in the picture.
View attachment 161633
finito
View attachment 161635
Moving onto another really satisfying job, the fuel tank straps, such a nice design. Old straps very much past it.
View attachment 161637
View attachment 161639
Whilst the gearbox is waiting for new seals and oil I removed the selector seal, this is causing the rear of the box to get very wet. Very common at this age.
View attachment 161641
We also gave the under side some serious elbow grease and a nice coating of treatment and rust prevention. Also nice to see the new tank straps in shot.

Rust treatment product
View attachment 161647
wide angle lens
View attachment 161643
Normal lens
View attachment 161645

We got the call late today saying the powder coated parts are ready for collection tomorrow.

Watch this space

Loving it mate

 

[Paul Rice]

Great work Lee, thanks for sharing.

 

[Jjim]

Great work

 

[Lee]

Great work

Ive ordered double with the gearbox bits ready for you in December

 

[Jjim]

Ive ordered double with the gearbox bits ready for you in December

Great. Many thanks. Are you also able to supply and fit a braided clutch hose?

 

[Lee]

Great. Many thanks. Are you also able to supply and fit a braided clutch hose?

Totally mate.

 

[Fender2004]

Keep up the good work, and the updates.

 

[Lee]

Today was a mega productive day. We started off fitting the new seals the the gearbox, the selector seal and shaft seal, this just future proofs the gearbox. We then fitted some new hardware up front. Then the big job of re building the rear subframe.

So first off was the gearbox seals.

We then fitted the new flywheel and clutch along with braided clutch line. This really makes the clutch feel lighter on the pedal.

Braided line routing test fitted

New flywheel on and torqued with new Bolts loctite.

Clutch alignment tool in ready to fit the clutch and pressure plate.

now all buttoned shut

finally it was time to fit the new pivot arm, release bearing. Then get the gearbox back in.

hour later and it’s all back in. Brackets back on and sensors plugged in. Looking a lot cleaner now.

Next we moved up front to fit the shinny new roll bar with Meyle Hd drop links. All looking much tidier now it’s aligned.

this brought us to about lunch time, so it was cups of tea and fish finger sand wedges

after lunch it was time to rebuild the swing arms and get it’s all torqued up with the diff and beam.

Then the final masterpiece

We got to this point today and thought let’s get it back in the car!

All now looking very pretty again. We’ve even had time to undo the Heath Robinson fixes.

Here’s the proof, this is how your beam bushes should look, pull the arch liner back and check.

Very little to do now. Few smaller items to fit. Brake lines to make, roll bar and front brake shields all nice little jobs.

Test drive in the coming days.

 

[Jjim]

Bet @andyglym is dying to give Bella a wash!

 

[andyglym]

Today was a mega productive day. We started off fitting the new seals the the gearbox, the selector seal and shaft seal, this just future proofs the gearbox. We then fitted some new hardware up front. Then the big job of re building the rear subframe.

So first off was the gearbox seals.
View attachment 161927
View attachment 161931
View attachment 161929
We then fitted the new flywheel and clutch along with braided clutch line. This really makes the clutch feel lighter on the pedal.

Braided line routing test fitted
View attachment 161933
New flywheel on and torqued with new Bolts loctite.
View attachment 161935
Clutch alignment tool in ready to fit the clutch and pressure plate.
View attachment 161937
now all buttoned shut
View attachment 161939
finally it was time to fit the new pivot arm, release bearing. Then get the gearbox back in.
View attachment 161941
hour later and it’s all back in. Brackets back on and sensors plugged in. Looking a lot cleaner now.
View attachment 161943
Next we moved up front to fit the shinny new roll bar with Meyle Hd drop links. All looking much tidier now it’s aligned.
View attachment 161945
this brought us to about lunch time, so it was cups of tea and fish finger sand wedges

after lunch it was time to rebuild the swing arms and get it’s all torqued up with the diff and beam.
View attachment 161947
View attachment 161949
View attachment 161951
Then the final masterpiece
View attachment 161953
View attachment 161955
We got to this point today and thought let’s get it back in the car!
View attachment 161957
View attachment 161961
View attachment 161959
All now looking very pretty again. We’ve even had time to undo the Heath Robinson fixes.

Here’s the proof, this is how your beam bushes should look, pull the arch liner back and check.
View attachment 161963
Very little to do now. Few smaller items to fit. Brake lines to make, roll bar and front brake shields all nice little jobs.
View attachment 161965
Test drive in the coming days.

Stunning job mate, just stunning. I'll need to polish underneath now

 

[andyglym]

Bet @andyglym is dying to give Bella a wash!

A 340 mile BMW Lane test first mate, she'll be due a wash by then

 

[DavidM]

Excellent skill set - excellent work!!