4 months.  That's how long I've had this 2002.  And it has been sitting in the garage on jack stands for nearly 3!  The problem I've had is the same problem many of us have had this winter: It's just too damn cold in the garage to work!  Especially with the wife coming and going in her car.    Well, today was a really bad day, weather-wise.  So bad that my wife did not try to go anywhere all day so the garage was relatively warm.  So I took the day and worked on the car a little.  I've been doing a little here and there for the past few months, but today I feel like I accomplished something.  The last of the emissions controls are gone!   

 

Back in November, I discovered that I needed to remove the A/C compressor to get access to the lower exhaust manifold nuts.   

In December, I discovered that the A/C compressor support bracket was held in place by two bolts that could only be accessed if you removed the fan. 

Of course, removing the fan involved draining and removing much of the cooling system.  

Since I also need to replace the water pump, All of the A/C equipment in front of the radiator needed to be removed as well.  

And part of the plan has always been to replace a lot of the tired and worn ancillary components, like the alternator, starter, coolant diverter, thermostat, all the hoses, etc.  

 

So out it all came.  That left me with a lot more room to work and a much clearer picture of how much sludge was covering the engine. 

Here's an image of the A/C parts I removed, along with the fan, shroud and radiator:

 

 

What a boat anchor that A/C compressor is!  No way that's going back in!  New units are 1/2 he size and weight. 

 

 

 

  Here's an image of the engine bay with those parts removed: 

 

And here is an image through the grill that shows just how much sludge has built up on the engine:

 

And the sludge isn't just on the front of the engine or even just the engine. It is all over the front end of the car.  

 

In January, I was able to take a day to continue working on removing the emissions control stuff.   I removed the alternator, the air pump (Which I was able to drop through the bottom of the engine bay after removing one of the support brackets), and finally, the reactor.  Funny thing about the reactor, though.  As I disconnected the downpipe from the reactor, I noticed that some coolant leaked out of the engine.  Wouldn't have noticed except that it leaked onto me.  The angle of the engine had changed a little.  Then when I disconnected the downpipe from the chassis, there was more coolant.  And finally, when I was pulling the reactor, I could not get it to clear the studs so I could remove it from the engine bay.  So I put a wooden block on my floor jack and went under the car to loosen the passenger side engine mount.  That's when I discovered.....the motor mount was not attached to the engine!   It was completely loose!   The only thing holding the engine up on the passenger side was the exhaust system!  I didn't have the necessary M10 bolts, so I had to leave the engine jacked up until I could get some.  Here's what it looked like with the engine jacked up slightly.  Note the missing motor mount bolts. More sludge, too.   I replaced the bolts, washers and wave washers supporting the mount today.  I have new mounts, but will wait until the engine is clean to install them.  

 

Oh.  Part of the article I will eventually write about emissions control removal will include that you can safely remove the bracket below.  What a massive, stupid piece of metal just to support an air pump! 

 

 

That brings us pretty much up to today.  Today, I removed the emissions control wiring harness and remaining relays, disconnecting the harness from underneath fuse number 12 on the fuse box.  The collection of removed parts is impressive.

  

All that is left to do that is associated with the emissions control removal is to wire a lead from the fusebox under fuse 12 over to the condenser coil.  That should conclude the emissions control removal portion of the program...well...except for the intake manifold.....    

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My original goal with the emissions control removal was to do JUST THAT and then put everything back together so I can run the engine again.  That was before I discovered all of the other systems I had to remove to get the reactor and air pump and now the intake manifold out.  Somewhere along the line, I came to the realization that it made no sense to put the engine back together and make necessary adjustments to run it until I had it cleaned the engine, and identified and fixed the leaks.  So I've been removing parts and cleaning a little as I go.  I also decided to replace the bulky, swiss cheese intake manifold with one of the more compact and less perforated versions from Ireland Engineering.  I really need to remove the old one anyway so I can clean under it.  Here is where I am now. 

 

I pulled a lot of cooling, vacuum and breather hoses today, too.  Some of these lines, like that gold braided brake booster vacuum hose line, are original to the car!  I had to break a lot of original BMW crimps and clamps today.  And almost every hose except the fuel line was brittle and broke as I was removing it.  If ever there was a car that could demonstrate how important it is to maintain and replace hoses, this car was it.  

 

Notice that you can actually see the engine now with most of the sludge gone, but only on top.....here's an image of under the intake manifold from the front.  See all that sludge?  And those nuts are a pain.....

 

 

And finally here is an image of the shiny new manifold that arrived from Ireland Engineering (Well...except for the grease marks that somebody put on it before I got it....)   

 

 

So today I secured the passenger side engine mount to the engine, finished removing the emissions control stuff, continued cleaning everything, removed the flow diverter on the block and pulled the carburetor.  

 

I stopped today because I need a 1/4 inch universal joint for my socket to get the intake manifold off.  I'll get one of those in the next couple of days and get the manifold off so I can continue cleaning and, hopefully, isolate the oil leaks.  I suspect they are just coming from the valve and timing chain covers, but I won't know for sure for a while.  

 

Next I'll finish removing the intake manifold and will probably remove other components from the engine and engine bay in order to clean it all up.  Then I'll pull the valve and timing chain covers to replace the gaskets.  

 

Oh, and the master cylinder is leaking, that is on the list, too.  In fact, I have replacement parts or rebuilds planned for almost the entire brake system.  That will be another chapter.