Maytag: The Alpine '87 529i

[tig]

I'm loving your touch up of the 528e. The ultimate commuting machine

It really is a nice car. A bit of a slug with a somewhat tired (and stock M20B27) and 2.93 diff. I live in fear that the tranny is going to esplode at any moment (when I got it, it was basically dry...who knows for how long). But besides that it looks and drives fantastic. I scored.

I'm now constantly on the lookout for a cheap 2.64 LSD and a cheap chip. I have fantasies about a 5-speed swap someday in the future, but that just seems like a lot of un-fun work. :-)

[tig]

FML.

I spent an hour yesterday afternoon driving from store to store trying to find a 46mm or 1 7/8" socket for the wheel bearing.

Nobody had one. Not Sears. Not Harbor Freight. Not Napa. Not Ace. No Lowes. I even went to an independent BMW shop and begged them to loan me one. Andrew at Strictly BMW was going to loan me his, but it wasn't in his tool box.

I got on Amazon and found one that could be here today via Prime shipping (I had to order it w/in 6 minutes of when I checked!).

Woohoo. It came today.



Fudge! It's flange is too frakking wide to fit.





At least I know Amazon has a good return policy, but I'll be out the expedited shipping and I still need to find one that will work.

[tig]

Vlad's old Style 8s on Maytag. Looks nice. I like the BBS RX's better, but those are really Vlad's snow tires.

[Mike in Seattle]

Charlie,

I could grab a 1 7/8" 3/4" drive socket and ratchet from my dad's tomorrow, although looking up 46mm on a metric conversion chart shows 1 13/16".

http://www.metric-conversions.org/lengt ... -table.htm

You could borrow it for a week or 2 if you like. I am heading up there tomorrow morning.

Let me know if your interested.

Mike

[tig]

Thanks for the very generous offer, mike. However I already ordered one that has reviews that say it works for BMW hubs on amazon. It will be here Tues, and its unlikely I'll be able to get to it before then.

however, in your vast supply of parts, you don't happen to have a few LHS door trim (with felt?). Both glad and Maytags are shot.

[Mike in Seattle]

however, in your vast supply of parts, you don't happen to have a few LHS door trim (with felt?). Both glad and Maytags are shot.

Unfortunately I do not. The ones on my parts car are also shot.

[tig]

The Conti DWs on Style 8's are more pronounced than the Nokains on the RXs so I was getting a little fender rubbing.

I figured I could find someone with a fender roller on Craigslist and sure enough:

http://seattle.craigslist.org/est/pts/4387771817.html

Nice kid who just happened to be a work near where I live, with the roller in his trunk.

$40 later:

[tig]

Since I got this last week



I was finally able to replace the front right wheel bearing.



The old bearing slid right off. I didn't have to use a puller at all. The only tough thing to get off was the old back-side dust shield. A few whacks of a rubber hammer was all it took.



Getting the new assembly on involved using a 36mm socket (which is just the right side to fit on the strong part of the bearing) and careful taps with a rubber mallet. I used this technique just enough to expose the threads and I used a ratchet on the nut to get it on the rest of the way.

Then I used my 250lb torque wrench to torque it to the requisite 290lbs torque :-).



With the right tools, it is a 45 minute job. Without it it takes about 3 weeks. Just FYI.

I went for a little test drive and there was no crazy noises, the ABS works, and the car doesn't pull to the side, so I must have done it correctly.

[tig]

Maytag tends to leave quite a mark wherever she parks. It's a nice combination of oil, transmission, and power steering fluid.

The transmission fluid is (mostly) coming from all of the soft parts of the cooling hoses; they are seeping ATF like oldskool seeps tequila the morning after. Hard to fix.

The PS fluid is coming from both ends of the hose connecting the reservoir to the pump. Easy to fix, just haven't gotten to it.

The oil is leaking, primarily here, I think:



I put some Lucas Oil Stop Leak in hoping it might help. It sure made the engine quieter for a bit, but didn't have a material impact on the amount of oil on the ground.

Can this sort of leak, which to my untrained eye is obviously coming from the exhaust side of the head gasket be fixed by just tightening down the head bolts a little? I want to give adjusting the valves another try so I've gotta pull the valve cover off anyway...

[unt0uchable]

...Can this sort of leak, which to my untrained eye is obviously coming from the exhaust side of the head gasket be fixed by just tightening down the head bolts a little? I want to give adjusting the valves another try so I've gotta pull the valve cover off anyway...

I've often wondered this myself. Maybe a re-torque of the head bolts in the specified steps and pattern as if it were coming off for a gasket overhaul...I'll stick around for the answer as well.

[und28mpg/hwy]

Nice write up , good job. After reading this I want to try something.

[tig]

Yes I am sick. But the damn Style 8s are bent and not worth repairing. Plus I love, love, love deep dish.



The seller didn't care to clean them and so I was taking some risk in their condition. But the price was right, even without center caps.

I had a little time this evening and did a light cleaning of one. They would work fine as-is. But my plan all along if I ever found a set on the cheap was to polish the rims and powder coat the centers black. So that's what I'm going to do (once I acquire center caps).



Oh, yea, I'm taking a 250 mile (each way) trip tomorrow. Cross your fingers that Maytag holds up for the drive. Should be fun.

[cddallara]

Don't need no stinking center caps.
Glwdrive!

[tig]

The drive to Eastern Washington was uneventful. It was almost exactly 250 miles each way. I averaged 71mph and got 24.3mpg (via OBC). On the return trip I had to use the AC the entire way as it was 90+ degrees over there.

The AC worked great (but it makes noises like pipes in the wall of a house when someone's left a tap on).

The car really needs a 3.64 diff and the transmission shift points adjusted.

Great car.

[waynet1]

As far as the shift points, make sure the transmission accelerator cable is adjusted as per the book, it makes all the difference.
After that, you can adjust the shift points quite a bit by changing that adjustment. Adjust it very little at a time, maybe a turn to a turn and a half on the locking nuts at a time. It's been so long since I had to fool with it, I can't remember which way to advise you to start, just see for yourself.

[tig]

As far as the shift points, make sure the transmission accelerator cable is adjusted as per the book, it makes all the difference.
After that, you can adjust the shift points quite a bit by changing that adjustment. Adjust it very little at a time, maybe a turn to a turn and a half on the locking nuts at a time. It's been so long since I had to fool with it, I can't remember which way to advise you to start, just see for yourself.

Thanks. I've been planning on doing this. Do you recall if I need to access the cable rod from below or can I do it all from above?

All clean:

[waynet1]

As far as the shift points, make sure the transmission accelerator cable is adjusted as per the book, it makes all the difference.
After that, you can adjust the shift points quite a bit by changing that adjustment. Adjust it very little at a time, maybe a turn to a turn and a half on the locking nuts at a time. It's been so long since I had to fool with it, I can't remember which way to advise you to start, just see for yourself.

Thanks. I've been planning on doing this. Do you recall if I need to access the cable rod from below or can I do it all from above?

All up top at the throttle body.
Maybe I need to fly out there, show you how, then, give you "x" amount of cash for the car and drive it back to Lauderdale where I will give it a loving new home.

[tig]

As far as the shift points, make sure the transmission accelerator cable is adjusted as per the book, it makes all the difference.
After that, you can adjust the shift points quite a bit by changing that adjustment. Adjust it very little at a time, maybe a turn to a turn and a half on the locking nuts at a time. It's been so long since I had to fool with it, I can't remember which way to advise you to start, just see for yourself.

Thanks. I've been planning on doing this. Do you recall if I need to access the cable rod from below or can I do it all from above?

All up top at the throttle body.
Maybe I need to fly out there, show you how, then, give you "x" amount of cash for the car and drive it back to Lauderdale where I will give it a loving new home.

That's the downshift adjustment. I probably need to adjust that too, but i was thinking of the shift point adjustment.

[waynet1]

As far as the shift points, make sure the transmission accelerator cable is adjusted as per the book, it makes all the difference.
After that, you can adjust the shift points quite a bit by changing that adjustment. Adjust it very little at a time, maybe a turn to a turn and a half on the locking nuts at a time. It's been so long since I had to fool with it, I can't remember which way to advise you to start, just see for yourself.

Thanks. I've been planning on doing this. Do you recall if I need to access the cable rod from below or can I do it all from above?

All up top at the throttle body.
Maybe I need to fly out there, show you how, then, give you "x" amount of cash for the car and drive it back to Lauderdale where I will give it a loving new home.

That's the downshift adjustment. I probably need to adjust that too, but i was thinking of the shift point adjustment.

That cable affects both up and down shifting. Trust me. It's in the book as to the proper adjustment. Then, as I said, adjust it maybe a turn at a time, drive it for a while to see if that's where you like it or not, and readjust it slightly to make it the way you like it.
You're not going to be able to make it feel like a high tech paddle shifting beast, but you should be able to make it acceptable to you.

PS
I'm posting this from 1000 miles out in the Atlantic on my way to Palma de Mallorca, and I didn't think I would need my Bentley manual with me.

[tig]

Knowing Maytag's 4HP22 is likely to disintegrate at 70mph at any moment (or it might go another 205K miles, who really knows), I started putting feelers out for a 5-speed conversion kit locally. In other words, I texted Spence.

As I expected, he knew a guy. Came from an '86 528e with, supposedly, 160k.

This morning I put the 5-speed in Maytag.













(If you thought that meant I *installed* it in Maytag, just know that I simply meant I put it in the trunk. Installation will come when Vlad is done or Maytag's 4HP22 dies, whichever comes first.)



I think it came with all the right parts. I can't stand the thought of not doing it right, so I'm going to get a rebuilt driveshaft using this one as a core. I'll replace the seals on the tranny. Probably get a new clutch kit while I'm at it (I will peek at this one to see how worn it is... i'm not even sure if it's possible to tell by looking at one... Bentley's doesn't say). Maybe lighten the flywheel.

And now I'm def in the market for a 3.25 LSD for this car.

[tig]

I found an 3.25 LSD. So the tranny plans are sorted...

My son said to me this weekend: "Dad, you have a problem." He then said "I thought you were just buying this car to drive while Vlad was off the road!?!?"

Here's the deal: The M20B27 in Maytag is aged. Even after a valve adjustment it sounds like a diesel and there's a real oil leak coming from between the head and block on the exhaust side. It's also a low-revving slug with the Eta 027 Motronic brain. But Maytag is a solid car. Lots of life left in the chassis and interior. With the 5-speed she'll be sweet, but still anemic. I have NO plans to change up the suspension.

I want to learn about FI. With my M30B35 project I'm now pretty confident in my basic engine mechanics understandings, at least for fuel-injected N/A engines. I want to raise my game to the next level and building a turbo engine is on my list.

I came across a guy selling an M20B27 "200" head that he had machined. He apparently thought it was a "731" or "885" head and paid to have the valves ground, new valve guides, deck ground, new exhaust valves, etc... before he realized it wouldn't fit is E30 325i. I can get it for far less than what it would cost to have all this done to a head.

Assuming the bottom end is actually OK (I've never compression tested it...that's on my list to do), would this engine, with a "200" head nicely prepped, be a good turbo candidate? I'm guessing probably NOT because the "200" head is what restricts the M20B27 to 5000rpm, right?

[Coldswede]

No one here really thought Maytag was really just a temporary thing. The addiction does not work like that.

Ask TurboDan how well a FI m20 works.

[kzolee]

I'm guessing probably NOT because the "200" head is what restricts the M20B27 to 5000rpm, right?

Not the head. The camshaft and the ECU limits the ETA.

The "200" head was used on E21 320/323 K-jet engines also. The 323 pumped out 143 BHP.

[tig]

I'm guessing probably NOT because the "200" head is what restricts the M20B27 to 5000rpm, right?

Not the head. The camshaft and the ECU limits the ETA.

The "200" head was used on E21 320/323 K-jet engines also. The 323 pumped out 143 BHP.

Oh. Well the camshaft is the one thing the seller DIDN'T get done (and the rockers). So I could do a more aggressive cam?

What is it that actually, really, limits the RPM. I assumed the rev-limiter was there to keep the head from esploding. Are you saying with the stock camshaft an ECU that raises the revlimiter will allow the engine to freely spin to the higher RPM?

[kzolee]

Yes, you can use a more aggresive cam.

Search the net for M20 Stroker builds, you will find a lot of info on how to do it. If your goal is a "budget" turbo build, then go with the 200 head.
For a more power oriented build, the 885 head is better to start with.

With the stock camshaft, the engine can spin freely to higher rev, but you won't have more power, the ETA is by design a low RPM engine.
If you want a NA stroker, with M20B25 injectors, ECU and cam you will have a happy, higher revving engine. Obviously with low compression.

[tig]

I ended up buying the 200 head. It'll sit on a shelf for a while and when I get a chance I'll either have the camshaft ground to be more aggressive or find one that already is. I'm also now on the lookout for a used turbo kit and assorted parts. I figure I'll do the head first just to quiet the motor down and get rid of the leaking oil. Then later, as I get motivated, I'll do the turbo.

Or maybe I'll follow through with my original plan and after Vlad's done just sell the damn thing with all the parts (including the 5-speed) and let someone ELSE build on what I've started.

For now we're driving the heck out of it and enjoying it.

[a]

Heh heh I have a 5spd kit from a 150K mile 82 . Had it for 14 yrs.

[leadphut]

you should get another "bench player" while you work on Maytag.

[tig]

you should get another "bench player" while you work on Maytag.

Stop. I do not need any encouragement.

[leadphut]

you should get another "bench player" while you work on Maytag.

Stop. I do not need any encouragement.

i feel dirty now, like i've offered an alcoholic a drink.