The center support bearing will die quickly if not preloaded. We usually shove it as far forward as it'll go on the slots, the CSB rubber is so soft that a little extra preload won't hurt anything. Happily holding my breath till you guys get the ITB's synced up. The larger community needs to hear what a proper S38 sounds like!
I had a BMW field engineer explain the rubber and plastics on older Bmw’s to me. He said at one time German car manufacturers were encouraged by the government to try and make the them more environmentally friendly. And that included having the rubber and plastics degrade faster in the land fill. So longevity wasn’t a priority.No idea if it’s true but that was over 10 years ago
The other issue with the vegetable based plastic coatings on the wires and such was that rodents loved chewing on them. So a lot of BMWs have electrical issues because of it.
This is a fact. The e36 for example was so full of cheap plastics it would decompose on the owner and fall apart. Mercedes' wiring in the w124 days was the same way.
80s Volvos had engine wiring harnesses that would biodegrade while the cars were still on the road. There are actually aftermarket harnesses still being made for those tanks.
A dual action sander ( DA ) is best for smoothing off the paint on the valve covers and leaving the lettering exposed and smooth. Grits available from 80 to 2000
The bit with DP had me dying, you guys are such a mess😂 absolutely loving the M5 series. As an E36 fanatic the E34 M5 is naturally one my all time dream cars. Living vicariously through you guys with this series has been awesome.
Also, definitely preload the carrier bearing. I did 6mm towards the front of the car according to the manual on my E36. It’s pretty common to hear of premature failure when people don’t. It’s one of those things that isn’t definitive yes or no, but my Bentley manual said to do it so I did.
Before I swapped to a solid carrier on my e46 drift car I went through multiple oem bushings and tested different preloads. Lasts almost twice as long if you preload it.
That valve cover came out amazing, and look great with the refreshed intake. Been a great series so far, can't wait to see it fully done up and on it's first drive.
Pete/Dave - of all the great content creators I follow mcm/cleetus/Throttle house/BiFB/etc I am the most excited for your new content. Your background as journalists, passion and what I feel are proper builds feel akin to the Sport Compact Car rag days and I absolutely love it. Keep building, I'll keep watching and recommending to anyone I can!
The bushing on the gearbox makes a differeence, though I'm amazed you didn't swap out the shifter itself for something from the Z3 1.9 flavour, would give you a factory part short shift upgrade. Plus you go the shifter in backwards! it should be lent back towards the rear of the car, not forwards like that if i recall correctly. though depends on the E34, might be the other way round. Does sound like it needs the lifters reshimming some.
The valve shims can be hard to find, but they're interchangeable with Volvo B230 engines, which grow on trees by comparison. I bought up WorldPacs stock of them (Continental branded kit that fits Volvo and BMW engines) when they went obsolete.
Loving this series so far guys! Always like the way you approach these older BMW's and their issues - I love them but I can certainly relate to some of the struggles!
A couple comments - surprised you didn’t check valve lash while you had the valve cover off. It’s regular maintenance on the S38 unless you know when it was last done. Curious if the actuator did it’s self test when you fired it up. It’s what wakes the engine up after 4,000rpm otherwise it will feel off in power. Also cool to see you adjust the ITBs. It’s called the resonance flap test. This is so awesome and makes me miss my M5 every time I watch
Checked lash off camera. Its a bit tight on a few so I suspect it was done not super long ago. The actuator wasnt working so I thought it was the vacuum system but all signs are pointing to a bad diagram on it.
@@speedacademy They tend to be tighter as the mileage gets higher. Too tight is never good. I would rather have them on the bigger end of the scale than tighter. If i remember correctly you adjust them every 40k miles
For the valve covers, I've seen people use a block of wood and some sandpaper around it. Quite rudimentary but it gives straight lines and even pressure
i got my trade certificate (auto mechanic) at a small bmw workshop here in West Australia. i was taught to always preload centre bearings. though haven't personally seen any issues with not preloading them either from general road use, it is still something i continue to do to this day
Depending on the age and temperature-cycles of that engine you might try using steam to remove that cosmoline. If it doesn't work steam is very gentle and won't harm anything.
So far you guys have done very good to the car. Please, Please continue to do right by this Classic example of BMW M in their prime. The S38 Engine is just glorious, but I hope you guys did remember to check the valve clearances while that valve cover was off. Once the ITBs are synced it will probably be purring. S38s are known to have a little bit of valvetrain noise. Are you going to sell it once you finish with it? If so , Let me know.
Was there a reason why you did not tape off the valve cover grilly parts instead of painting it black only to take off the paint back again? Would it not have been worth the time to "precision" tape it!? The episode before with that paint remover thingy was pretty cool though! Kinda reminds me of using Elmer's glue all over the hand and trying to peel it off like a glove for some weird reason.
They make a kit to get rid of the “barn door” mass air flow sensor and go to modern style. I’ve seen the for the e30 but it’s that same style as the one you have. It makes a WORLD of a difference on the e30. Something to look into.
this car has a hot wire MAFS, not the barn door flap AFM already. It's bolted to the air filter housing, you can see it in the reassembly. The older engines had the old barn door.
Looks like this poor M5 was driven by a cluth slipper....or burnout fan. Either way I am glad that you guys are saving it from what otherwise would have been an unquestionable painful death.
About the carrier bearing - can't say I know for sure. But I will say that I am a mechanic and have always just run them up and attempt to put the slots in the center and I've absolutely never had an issue with vibration or one wearing out abnormally quickly.
Loving the build but was hoping to see some engine mods, maybe a stand alone ecu, or at least a short shifter, can’t believe you put the stock shifter back in, who does that lol, an E60 shifter at least.
Yes having done a lot of work on e34's the center bearing needs to get preload....also you should have ditched ALL of the OEM suspension bushings and went with Polyurethane. World of difference! Also should have went to a CAI for the intake
Cosmoline is normally used on firearms stored for long periods of time. Whenever someone gets one they typically put the firearm in the oven to soften it up then you can wipe it off. Other than that it’s a pain to get off
@@earnestbunbury2103 did I say loaded gun any point? It’s obviously cleared, fresh out of an old crate, and needs to be cleaned of all gunk before use.
If you take it to a dry ice blasting shop, you can probably do the most visible parts of the intake without taking it off the car, if you just want it to look better.
At 15:18 do I see a DOT-R sticker on the head? That would mean that the head (or whole engine) would have been replaced with a 0 mile one at some point, that could be an interesting thing to look more into.
@@speedacademy There should also be a vin sticker on the block. Inside the head looks like similar mileage to the chassis, so whatever happened, probably happened when the car was nearly new. I don't think numbers matching affects old M car values as much as maybe vintage Porsches or muscle cars.
Liquid Wrench or wd-40 (or other solvents) can get rid of that cosmoline. Maybe you can remove some of the more obvious orange chunks with a shop towel dabbed in liquid Wrench...just make sure you give it a chance to "work"
It should have been removed at the dealership when the damn car got there when new. Stupid American car dealers ruin another well engineered process by absolute laziness.
I read about preloading the carrier bearing recently while researching a repair. I asked several of the techs at my BMW dealer, they all gave me the WTF look...
I see you guys have bend pak 4 post lifts used as car storage in the back. When using them for storage and not for service. How far do you put the posts from the wall?
hi guys would like to known if there's a big difference between a diagnostic scanner tool and using a laptop with obd software with connecter kit. should I buy the scanner machine for my car or would it be the same if I just bought the USB to obd kit and use obd software on my laptop?
Can't speak for BMW but in a much heavier Ford Transit van making substantially more torque, the installation instructions for the 3 piece driveshaft doesn't say anything about preloading the 2 different bearing brackets.
@@earnestbunbury2103 they design their shit to last just long enough to survive warranty and then biodegrade into the earth immediately afterwards. Just like BMW...
Feel like a kid on Saturday morning when Speed Academy, M539 Restorations, and LegitStreetCars upload videos! My morning is set 😎
2 out of three ain't bad ~ Meatloaf
It's a shame that no one makes engines looking this good anymore :-(
I know it’s a shame eveything is hidden by plastic and wires....
I reckon, lost art - Taz.
The center support bearing will die quickly if not preloaded. We usually shove it as far forward as it'll go on the slots, the CSB rubber is so soft that a little extra preload won't hurt anything. Happily holding my breath till you guys get the ITB's synced up. The larger community needs to hear what a proper S38 sounds like!
Oh wow! That's a DOT-R engine. It's been replaced by BMW at some point. Pretty cool.
How can you tell?
hot tip, use clear nail polish on the exposed metal on the valve cover to keep them from getting oxidized
the E34 m5 is a rare beast these days, good to see another one be saved
For sure
It's always nice to see a car just get refreshed and looking good. Not going down the rabbit whole like most projects.
I had a BMW field engineer explain the rubber and plastics on older Bmw’s to me. He said at one time German car manufacturers were encouraged by the government to try and make the them more environmentally friendly. And that included having the rubber and plastics degrade faster in the land fill. So longevity wasn’t a priority.No idea if it’s true but that was over 10 years ago
The other issue with the vegetable based plastic coatings on the wires and such was that rodents loved chewing on them. So a lot of BMWs have electrical issues because of it.
Mercedes from around 2000 have the same problem.
This is a fact. The e36 for example was so full of cheap plastics it would decompose on the owner and fall apart. Mercedes' wiring in the w124 days was the same way.
i would say this is true, my dads 2005 x5 engine bay plastics just crumbled away.
80s Volvos had engine wiring harnesses that would biodegrade while the cars were still on the road. There are actually aftermarket harnesses still being made for those tanks.
A dual action sander ( DA ) is best for smoothing off the paint on the valve covers and leaving the lettering exposed and smooth. Grits available from 80 to 2000
3M makes grits up to 8k now... 🙂
You’re thinking of a rotary. No need for a DA in this case since it’s only sanding
The bently manual for my E46 M3 says to preload the driveshaft center support by 5mm to the front. I did preload it and haven't had any issues.
That clutch set is begging to be replaced! Great episode, as always!
The bit with DP had me dying, you guys are such a mess😂 absolutely loving the M5 series. As an E36 fanatic the E34 M5 is naturally one my all time dream cars. Living vicariously through you guys with this series has been awesome.
Also, definitely preload the carrier bearing. I did 6mm towards the front of the car according to the manual on my E36. It’s pretty common to hear of premature failure when people don’t. It’s one of those things that isn’t definitive yes or no, but my Bentley manual said to do it so I did.
The slotted mounting holes are a clue...
Before I swapped to a solid carrier on my e46 drift car I went through multiple oem bushings and tested different preloads. Lasts almost twice as long if you preload it.
No idea why but this series has quickly become the car I look forward to seeing.
Judging by the clutch, I’d say the engine mount issues were more than just age. 😂
That valve cover came out amazing, and look great with the refreshed intake. Been a great series so far, can't wait to see it fully done up and on it's first drive.
Pete/Dave - of all the great content creators I follow mcm/cleetus/Throttle house/BiFB/etc I am the most excited for your new content. Your background as journalists, passion and what I feel are proper builds feel akin to the Sport Compact Car rag days and I absolutely love it. Keep building, I'll keep watching and recommending to anyone I can!
The bushing on the gearbox makes a differeence, though I'm amazed you didn't swap out the shifter itself for something from the Z3 1.9 flavour, would give you a factory part short shift upgrade.
Plus you go the shifter in backwards! it should be lent back towards the rear of the car, not forwards like that if i recall correctly. though depends on the E34, might be the other way round.
Does sound like it needs the lifters reshimming some.
The valve shims can be hard to find, but they're interchangeable with Volvo B230 engines, which grow on trees by comparison. I bought up WorldPacs stock of them (Continental branded kit that fits Volvo and BMW engines) when they went obsolete.
Loving this series so far guys! Always like the way you approach these older BMW's and their issues - I love them but I can certainly relate to some of the struggles!
Hans Frans - winning. Best story time ever.
That bushing replacent montage really makes me want to dig in and do it on the ZF in my E46
A couple comments - surprised you didn’t check valve lash while you had the valve cover off. It’s regular maintenance on the S38 unless you know when it was last done. Curious if the actuator did it’s self test when you fired it up. It’s what wakes the engine up after 4,000rpm otherwise it will feel off in power. Also cool to see you adjust the ITBs. It’s called the resonance flap test. This is so awesome and makes me miss my M5 every time I watch
Checked lash off camera. Its a bit tight on a few so I suspect it was done not super long ago. The actuator wasnt working so I thought it was the vacuum system but all signs are pointing to a bad diagram on it.
@@speedacademy angry ass solutions is likely your best bet. Though they are sold out right now.
@@speedacademy They tend to be tighter as the mileage gets higher. Too tight is never good. I would rather have them on the bigger end of the scale than tighter. If i remember correctly you adjust them every 40k miles
For the valve covers, I've seen people use a block of wood and some sandpaper around it. Quite rudimentary but it gives straight lines and even pressure
That's right and it's what I've done on mine.
2:26 Looks like a good old fashioned sanding block would be the best/simplest solution here.
4:31 Lol. Looks like I should have watched until the end before commenting. 👍
Yep, get the inlet dry ice blasted stead and a new header tank… that will be a very fresh and OE looking engine bays.
New coolant reservoir could class up the engine bay a bit
that's one awesome E34!
Now I wish I hadn't sold my 530i V8 Wagon but restored it.
You can get 3M red brite belts for your belt sander. Works well for aluminum 👌
i got my trade certificate (auto mechanic) at a small bmw workshop here in West Australia. i was taught to always preload centre bearings. though haven't personally seen any issues with not preloading them either from general road use, it is still something i continue to do to this day
there should be a story time with DP segment in every video going forward
Yea I always preload the carrier bearing. It’s a factory step and in Bentley so I do it on every vehicle when I’m in that area
I personally could watch an entire video with Captain Dp esquire I feel that old sailor has some stories to tell!
This was, again, amazing to watch. Awesome job, and I love the valvecover!
Love the old BMW,s, loving this build. Would be nice to have the budget to do something sexier with those ITB's.
That engine bay is looking tasty with the fresh valvecover
Depending on the age and temperature-cycles of that engine you might try using steam to remove that cosmoline. If it doesn't work steam is very gentle and won't harm anything.
Love this series so much, the e34 is just a stunning car! 😍 Keep up the great work guys!
A light layer of chapstick on the raised letters make clean up easy. After the paint is dry take a razor blade and scrap it off.
soda and vinigar can bring that coffee tank(coolant reservior) back to life
So far you guys have done very good to the car. Please, Please continue to do right by this Classic example of BMW M in their prime. The S38 Engine is just glorious, but I hope you guys did remember to check the valve clearances while that valve cover was off. Once the ITBs are synced it will probably be purring. S38s are known to have a little bit of valvetrain noise. Are you going to sell it once you finish with it? If so , Let me know.
Was there a reason why you did not tape off the valve cover grilly parts instead of painting it black only to take off the paint back again? Would it not have been worth the time to "precision" tape it!? The episode before with that paint remover thingy was pretty cool though! Kinda reminds me of using Elmer's glue all over the hand and trying to peel it off like a glove for some weird reason.
to have a car like that I wouldn't worry about the yellowing....it's a neat ride.
Belt sander for the valve cover works well.
They make a kit to get rid of the “barn door” mass air flow sensor and go to modern style. I’ve seen the for the e30 but it’s that same style as the one you have. It makes a WORLD of a difference on the e30. Something to look into.
this car has a hot wire MAFS, not the barn door flap AFM already. It's bolted to the air filter housing, you can see it in the reassembly. The older engines had the old barn door.
@@MikeOttati yea i dont know for sure. the video looked like the barn door in my e30. but i can very easily be wrong.
K.I.S.S.. wins again! i've done this exact thing on a handful of turbo buick valvecovers... sanding block is the best and most simple.
I'm stoked, this is another great build from you guys. Speed academy just doesn't miss!! 👍
Please more !
Is cool to See that Older Cars become Love !
Looks like this poor M5 was driven by a cluth slipper....or burnout fan.
Either way I am glad that you guys are saving it from what otherwise would have been an unquestionable painful death.
The exotic shores of Canada!
Icebergs galore!!
About the carrier bearing - can't say I know for sure. But I will say that I am a mechanic and have always just run them up and attempt to put the slots in the center and I've absolutely never had an issue with vibration or one wearing out abnormally quickly.
Loving the build but was hoping to see some engine mods, maybe a stand alone ecu, or at least a short shifter, can’t believe you put the stock shifter back in, who does that lol, an E60 shifter at least.
Old soviet rifles come packed in cosmo. Best and easiest way I found to remove in that case was with a heat gun and lots of rags.
In Soviet Russia everything removed with heat gun and rags...
@@earnestbunbury2103 One thing that I wish could be removed with a heat gun and rags.
Amazing work guys !! Love every bit of it. Aye matey
Yes having done a lot of work on e34's the center bearing needs to get preload....also you should have ditched ALL of the OEM suspension bushings and went with Polyurethane. World of difference!
Also should have went to a CAI for the intake
So happy to see it running!!
Cosmoline is normally used on firearms stored for long periods of time. Whenever someone gets one they typically put the firearm in the oven to soften it up then you can wipe it off. Other than that it’s a pain to get off
I put my loaded gun in the oven ...
@@earnestbunbury2103 did I say loaded gun any point? It’s obviously cleared, fresh out of an old crate, and needs to be cleaned of all gunk before use.
So satisfying to get a project engine running well for the first time. Shout outs to you guys from Toronto beaches ⛱
Классный прибор, для настройки дросселей 👍
Such a sweeeet sweet ride
Coz-moh-lean: a greasy substance used as a protective agent against corrosion, commonly used by the military on stored weaponry.
Can't wait to see what it will look like.
Love watching this project. So satisfying to see the progress. Will you do a full pricing recap and hours spent?
No chance, that will just make us feel depressed haha
@@speedacademy understood. You gotta dry ice that engine!
The block was your best idea. 100, 300, 600, wet 1000, wet 2000.
That’s coolant Reservoir tank looks like it’s going to fail any moment.
Would have been a good time to put a z3 1.9 shifter in. Drop in oem short shift.
Can’t wait for the first drive !
Yes awesome and on the weekend 🤌
If you take it to a dry ice blasting shop, you can probably do the most visible parts of the intake without taking it off the car, if you just want it to look better.
RE valve cover- I’ve just used a sanding block and done this by hand
Preload is in the Bentley manual for e36 M3s
Can we have another story from Capt Dave please? I don't wanna go to bed, I'm not tired
curious to hear if you get any info from digi-sync. I had same issues on my s38s and used an old school manometer to sync the tb's instead.
At 15:18 do I see a DOT-R sticker on the head? That would mean that the head (or whole engine) would have been replaced with a 0 mile one at some point, that could be an interesting thing to look more into.
You do unfortunately I’m not sure how to find any more information on that as this car had no records
@@speedacademy There should also be a vin sticker on the block. Inside the head looks like similar mileage to the chassis, so whatever happened, probably happened when the car was nearly new. I don't think numbers matching affects old M car values as much as maybe vintage Porsches or muscle cars.
Long time BMW mechanic here. We never preload the carrier bearing. Just bolt it up and go.
Long time BMW mechanic need further study...
Ahhhh cosmoline, a staple on old military rifles. They used it on all sorts of things as well. Still in use. You have to boil it off.
Loving the build guys!
A sanding beam used on guitar frets would be good for taking down that valve cover.
Orbital Palm sander workers wonders when exposing letters on valve covers
Looking mint!
Liquid Wrench or wd-40 (or other solvents) can get rid of that cosmoline. Maybe you can remove some of the more obvious orange chunks with a shop towel dabbed in liquid Wrench...just make sure you give it a chance to "work"
It should have been removed at the dealership when the damn car got there when new. Stupid American car dealers ruin another well engineered process by absolute laziness.
Will you be balancing the ITB’s?
FCP Euro should sponsee a build for you guys next
I read about preloading the carrier bearing recently while researching a repair. I asked several of the techs at my BMW dealer, they all gave me the WTF look...
Because BMW hires graduates that make far less than experienced techs...
Good sounds too
cool progress
Dry ice clean?? 🤔🤔 what do you think?
Really liking the music on this episode, anyone know the song name?
Did you also renew the fuel filter and clean out the tank bottom, seeing as how your injectors were pretty contaminated?
Fuel filter yes, tank no.
@@speedacademy ah well, the filter is probably what matters most. Man, I love this build. The E34 M5 was my teenage fantasy (that and Cameron Diaz).
You need a Mobile dry ice blaster service
I see you guys have bend pak 4 post lifts used as car storage in the back. When using them for storage and not for service. How far do you put the posts from the wall?
As close as they get, no issues having them close to the wall
I think a flat 5" DA sander would make quick work of that cover
Canadian Club...check, Canada Dry...check...Canadian guy....check!
Use a old school method a block of wood with sand paper
Sounds awesome! But is the fan clutch engaged the whole time?
Did you check the valve clearances?
Made a big difference to the idle and general running on ours, the exhaust valves sink into the seats over time reducing the clearance!
Why didn‘t you take a sanding block which is completely flat and you can do it by hand?
Because kickbacks from tool manufacturers...
hi guys would like to known if there's a big difference between a diagnostic scanner tool and using a laptop with obd software with connecter kit. should I buy the scanner machine for my car or would it be the same if I just bought the USB to obd kit and use obd software on my laptop?
I always get a scanner. Laptop software can sometimes be problematic with connections.
Sounds pretty dang loud! Exhaust not back on?
Can't speak for BMW but in a much heavier Ford Transit van making substantially more torque, the installation instructions for the 3 piece driveshaft doesn't say anything about preloading the 2 different bearing brackets.
Cause it's a Ford...
@@earnestbunbury2103 they design their shit to last just long enough to survive warranty and then biodegrade into the earth immediately afterwards. Just like BMW...
Man do I miss the old formula.