Starkfu's E9XTC build thread - JB E90 M3

[starkfu]

That's Jet black, even though I wanted Jerez and that is what the dealer advertised it as....

Such is life!

Here is a link to the original thread where I purchased the car leading up to my first purchase of parts.

http://www.m3post.com/forums/showthr...hlight=starkfu

Since then, I have put a lot of miles on it - DDing it about 100 miles a day. Currently, it is getting the day spa treatment in my garage next to my E46. While parts are cheaper and I find the maintenance schedule easier on the checkbook as well.... I decided it was time to baseline it.

So - picking up where I left off - I buy most of my stuff from ECS as I have had great experiences with them from both E46's I have owned.

Black out grills really change the look of the JB E90 - I took it a step further and painted the M colors on the splines of the driver side grill. I had the paint specially made from a place in NJ off of the pantone process colors and only painted the thin face of the spline - not the sides. It's subtle and only barely noticeable which is what I was going for.

Macht Schnell intake and Pulleys were a bargain buy - noticeable difference in response with the pulleys and the intake seems just a little louder than stock.... but I had an issue with the aftermarket intake boot tearing between the elbow and ITB box. The gladly sold me a replacement, but mentioned that motor mounts are usually the cause.... so I took the plunge and did what I am calling - baseline maintenance.


So I will resume the build here -

Late October - from purchase following mods were made:

Blackout grills
MS stage II intake
MS pulleys
New thermostat and coolant flush
high pressure fuel sensor replaced
New rear tires
Dealer wouldn't reset codes and tried to tell me car had more issues - purchased carly for iphone and corresponding device and reset myself - been running beautifully for 12k miles since.

Intake boot issue occured leading to me looking at motor mounts - discovered driver side had blown out and leaked fluid everywhere. Took the plungs and ordered parts

Water pump and temp sending unit (phase II of my coolant system rebuild)
Group N motor mounts
factory Transmission mounts
Turner Aluminum / Derlin subfram and Diff mounts
Oil change kit
DCT fluid change kit - fluid - o rings - suction filter - pressure filter - DCT pan
Diff fluid
Baffled PS resevoir and PS fluid
Hawk Track/street pads front and rear with new sensors
BMW coolant and water wetter

During DCT pressure filter change, I had to remove the X pipe - decided since it was already off - might as well replace it:

Ordered Borla X pipe and ATAK exhaust for E90 M3

Found all the DIY's I needed here in the forum - great community as I would expect!! Been a member on m3forum with the E46 guys for quite some time.

Car is still up in the air at the time of writing and I have sinced picked up a 98 accord to drive through the winter and to relieve some of the DD duties of the E90. The car lived up to my expectations and I step out of it from driving with a smile every time!!

I am waiting for the exhuast and the DCT pan to arrive and still have to do the rear subframe and diff bushings. Everything else is completed. I will probably need a new set of front tires soon as well - P zeros are what was on it so I stuck with them for now.

Once completed I'll be giving TTFS a call for a tune and to remove the O2 code that is sure to appear from going catless.

Pics coming soon!

[starkfu]

I found a great DIY for rod bearings on here too, and since I am about to hit 95k miles - I will be doing this in spring!

Not much else planned for it - some cosmetic changes I'd like to make - rear diffuser - carbon side skirt extensions and a front lip, but otherwise I love the way it looks.

[starkfu]

Took longer than I thought - but without further ado - some pics of the progress!

Here are some pics from right before work began:











Obligatory "parts list" shot



New bushings:





Started with engine bay work and worked my way back..



This bar was the best 88 dollars I ever spent on Amazon!!





And I think that is a broken motor mount



I'll try to take some more when I have more time - wrestling the rear subframe out currently, bushings and brake pads are all I have left to do - then its ensuring fluid levels are correct and a break in run!!

Borla exhaust parts finally arrived too.

[roastbeef]

got anymore info on that bar that supports the engine? elim11 has been thinking about a DIY motor mount job and i told him i would help.

[starkfu]

Absolutely!

I bought this unit here:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Was able to position it on the front engine hoist point without any of the linkages. worked well and since there isn't any hydraulic failure points, I felt very safe using this.

Once the engine is lifted up, I jacked up the center point on the front K brace subframe. Then loosen all 8 bolts. In fact, I took the rear 2 on both sides out completely. Then I would remove the bolts on the side I want to work on and support it with the jack to lower it enough to let the mount come out.

Torque specs were all easily searchable here on the forum. Was actually a lot easier than I expected.

Suggest doing trans mounts at the same time - those were insanely easy to do.

[elim11]

Originally Posted by roastbeef

got anymore info on that bar that supports the engine? elim11 has been thinking about a DIY motor mount job and i told him i would help.

Lol I actually got motor mounts done already. Sorry I forgot to hit u up but one of my bmw tech friends came last minute. It was an easy job. 2-3 hrs max.

[Coach]

Wow great refresh and good luck. I just did all that along with the rod bearings and power flex purple diff bushings. I hope you have a press for the subframe bushings because they were very tough to install.

[starkfu]

Thanks!

I do have a press, but I doubt it could do those 4 bushings - I should be able to get the diff bushings with it... but I'm just going to have them all done once I get the subframe out - remaining piece is the parking brake cable and then it can come out.

Luckily we have a farm equipment maintenance guy in our small town - he has a press that can do heavy machinery bushings without breaking a sweat and agreed to work with me on them.

I'd like to get it down soon, but shit keeps popping up - today it was an over the range microwave and of course none of the old mounting hardware or holes worked and I think I am done for the day - maybe tomorrow!

[starkfu]

Been a while since I updated.... Dealing with a kidney stone for the last 3 months, haven't been out to work on it... but sure did decide to cram a lot more into the winter down time.

Recent purchases:

PSS10 Coilovers
Vorshlag camber plates
Had the Turner bushings pressed in at RRT in Sterling
Also had the lower arm bushings pushed out and bought powerflex to replace them & rear sway bar bushings
Bought rear arms refresh kit from ECS
Guibo and center shaft bearing with guibo bolts and nuts
G2 caliper paint for calipers (red)

Hoping to start reassembly this weekend. Will try to take some pictures when I am back out.... super excited to have this back together!

Will need alignment and TTFS tuning - then ready for nice weather!

[starkfu]

Picture time - been working hard to get this done as I have an appt on the 21st of March to have an alignment done with camber plates as well as ride height adjustment and leveling - and re-torque service at load to the suspension.

Here is where I am at:



A quick peek at the Borla X pipe next to my e46 which is a much longer project


Rear subframe when I got it out.... what a pain to do alone!


Rear subframe after stripping and taking to RRT to have the turner bushings pressed in - I had them press out the lower control arm bushings too and put the new ones in myself - they did a great job on it and the price was right!


Bilstein PSS10's - I wanted the B16 EDC version, but they were on international backorder.... so bye bye EDC - pictured here with the Vorshlag camber plates installed


The Vorshlag camber plates pre-install - beautiful and sturdy



General shot of my work space - this small winter project got out of control really quick!!



G2 red caliper paint - after staring at the black coated factory front calipers - I knew they had to be red..... Not a perfect paint job, but good enough for behind the wheel





Started reassembly of the rear subframe with new arms



Front reassembly completed - so many pretty colors!! I found some M caliper stickers on Amazon and decided to try them out, I almost prefer it without them though... we will see how it looks when the wheel is on.



Camber plates

[starkfu]

rear subframe is mounted and installed the driveshaft back in the car today too. Spent a lot of time tracking down torque values and checking them all twice.

No pics today as I have an alignment appt to keep and I still have a fair amount of work to do.

What's left:

- both rear carriers
- both rear brakes
- bleed entire brake system
- install borla exhaust
- reinstall back seat and trim panels
- fill procedure for DCT fluid
- bleed air from coolant
- top off PS fluid
- change Diff fluid
- check torque values one final time before putting car back on the ground and taking for a test drive!

Alignment at RRT
TTFS will also be hearing from me soon regarding tune and coding out some stuff.

Excited to get this done!!


Time to save up for Rims, speaker upgrade, and that beautiful Harrop S/C - might do rod bearings first depending on the blackstone analysis.

[starkfu]

Today's work log:

Both rear wheel carriers installed
Rear brakes installed
started to torque things down
First section of exhaust installed - had an issue with the right side O2 bung and lining up right - left side was perfect
Prepped section 2 and 3 for installation, but need to torque down the diff to axle bolts first

I'm actually hoping to complete this tomorrow and start it up and get all the fluids done. That would have me putting the car back down on the ground early or mid week in preparation to go to RRT for alignment.

Bad news is that we are supposed to get snowed on here in the DC area in the next few days.

But this has been good therapy for me!!

Painted rears look so tiny, but hoping it will give the look I am seeking.

Will try to snap some more pics tomorrow.

[starkfu]

Car is back on the ground - but I hear grinding from the rear left and I don't like it.... so looks like it is going back up in the air.

Otherwise I love the sound from the exhaust and the ride height is beautiful!!

[starkfu]

Thinking I'm going to have to have some HFC's welded in between the O2 sensors - catless smell is a little much...

[kerrit]

Originally Posted by starkfu

Thinking I'm going to have to have some HFC's welded in between the O2 sensors - catless smell is a little much...

yeah it's pretty bad.. even worse when you have a blower with the rich tune

[starkfu]

I don't see many options for 200 CEL 2.5" HFC though - flowmaster at $70 /ea - do you have any recommendations?

[Evolve Automotive]

great work! Subscribed for more updates

[starkfu]

Originally Posted by Evolve-US

great work! Subscribed for more updates

Much appreciated! Looking forward to finishing this up so I can turn my attention back to the E46 M3!

[starkfu]

Source of noise found - the brake dust shield had bent when I dropped the rear subframe - it was rubbing on the inside of the rotor - I very barbarically corrected it and adjusted the ebrake and we are good to go.

Ordered a 14mm hex bit to do the rear diff fluid which is the last item. If weather is decent Saturday and roads are clear, I may take it out for a longer test.

[Luca114]

nice!

[starkfu]

Diff fluid swap completed - shakedown run #2 was successful and only revealed that ride height leveling was needed as well as an alignment.

Car was dropped off at RRT for ride height leveling, alignment, camber plate adjustment, and torquing the suspension at load. I also asked if they could look at my rear brake sensor as I wasn't able to get it to reset.

Current to do - 200 cell race cat research - I have ruled out the Kooks greencat as it is 300 cell according to them. I am looking at the vibrant and the HJS - I am hesitant to drop a flowmaster in the car as I have read about them blowing out quickly.

RRT said they would assess and give me a recommendation and they do in house fabrication for exhaust, so if the price is right - I may have them do it.

Then I will do Tune research and my long term list for this car shortens dramatically!!

- Rims - BBS FI style
- Front end refresh (arms, bushings, and bearings if needed based on blackstone analysis)
- Front lip, side lips, trunk lid, and diffuser
- Harrop Supercharger

Then it is done. I am looking for an e36 M3 and may pick up an F80 M3 later this year too.

[starkfu]

Appears my tires were shot - had Pirelli P-zero's on the car.... they didn't last long at all!

I decided to go with some RE11 Potenza's as I have had good luck with them on other cars in the past.