sirius815

Quick question - What's the size of the engine coolant drain plug? I pulled mine and over half was completely corroded, so badly in fact that half the bolt sheared when I removed it. Not enough to get a good pitch reading on the plug. I could try fitting my taps in, but I don't trust my cheapo set. Ben K.

Anybody have an alternator support bracket (the top one) that they wouldn't mind letting go?

Oh my!! When I first saw the pile of rust sitting in front of the crossmember - I thought yeah - mine's that bad. But then I saw where the rust had completely eaten through it. WOW! On a side note, 2002haus is powdercoating my one for a very good price and it will more than likely be shipped over to Korman - I'll be calling Carl tomorrow to confirm this and also to schedule the stud axle swap on the trailing/control arms. Ben K.

I'm looking for a great condition rear subframe/axle carrier. My had way too much rust falling out of it over the weekend for me to want to put it back. Thanks, Ben K.

Good point. I just contacted 2002Haus as well. They have good ones for about $225 and are willing to get it powdercoated and seal up the ends for me. I'll get a quote on that when I call back tomorrow.

I talked to Korman this morning - they will more than likely install the stub axles for me and take care of the shims. As far as the subframe goes - a new one (genuine BMW) might no longer be an option. I called around today and BMW in Germany is expecting new ones around 20 June, but was told not to hold my breath on that one. The dealer said he more than likely can't even put an order in for one without it getting kicked back by BMW in Germany. I will call BMW Germany tomorrow morning/late tonight and see what they say. The subframe is already pulled and cleaned off on the exterior - bead blasting the crud out of it is an option, however I wonder how good of a job it'll do towards the center of the square tubing. In addition, what about the boxed off section in the back with only the tiny hole. So I thought about getting a competent metal shop to jig the subframe, then cut it in thirds, clean it up that way and inspect everything - if it too far gone, no loss per say. Then place back in jig and reweld. I'm not 100% sure if the jig can keep the subframe in alignment after the reweld. I've also thought about getting just a few sections taken out of the subframe to do the inspection (towards the center). That should prove worth while and I can probably do myself. This also won't requite a jig. Alignment should still be fine if care is taken with rewelding - a small section *shouldn't* cause any warping. Last option would be send it off to a shop for a complete overhaul and convert it to house a different diff altogether, opening up options for LSDs.... Thanks for the reply's thus far. Ben K.

Right - that'd be why I'd have a shop do it. If I can't torque it correctly and not sure where/what to measure I think I'd rather have someone with the proper tools do it for me. Unless there's a DIY somewhere hidden with in the FAQ.

That's good news about the diff - not so much about the subframe. The trailing arms are bare - so I'll move all the stuff over - well actually, I'm more than likely going to get a shop to do that one for me.

So my I had a field day this weekend. It all started with the *simple* desire to replace the bushings with poly units, and found that both spring perches on the trailing arms/control arms were rusted through! And on top of that, there's a crud ton of rust chunks that poured out of the subframe/rear axle carrier itself. Oh and did I mention - both output shaft seals on the diff and the diff cover gasket are leaking like they don't exist. So - here are my questions. What to do about the subframe/axle carrier? The outside looks okay - minimal surface rust, but I'm worried about the inside. New one runs in excess of $900. What about the diff? Rebuild it myself (never done it before), send it off to get fixed, or buy a new unit - maybe an LSD? I just bought some NOS trailing/control arms - so those are taken care of. Thoughts? Ben K.

I use a 12" in my roundie - it's a 73 which may make a difference? Are the cutouts for the radiators not the same between roundies and square tails?

I'm 90% certain that all the 12" fans have the same measurements - double check their spec sheets that they have available. I went for the medium profile fan, not the slim in favor of extra cfm. I think there's an even deeper fan aswell, but wasn't sure if clearance was going to be an issue. EDIT: I bought this one: 30101505

The wheels should fit fine, however I'd probably go with 195/50s for the tires instead. I'm fairly certain 205 won't fit under stock fenders, but maybe with some pulling.

So I took an old Momo shift knob that I had, repolished it and put a 4 speed emblem in from BavAuto. What do you guys think? Anybody else have any sweet shift knobs? Ben K.

Got it and man do I feel dumb. I didn't realize that the bolt was an allen one - I thought the bushing holder/mount was attached with a conventional hex bolt at the top. With all the grime I couldn't see shite. A little convincing with the wrench and a hammer broke it loose. Thanks guys!

Any interest in a Stahl 1 5/8" header?

I'll put more effort in today - yesterday was spend disassembling the struts and cleaning years of build up off parts and pieces. The PO decided to just keep refilling fluids instead of fixing leaks !!!

So...how in the heck are you supposed to get the two bolts out that hold the swaybar bushing mount down?? I can't seem to get a socket in there at all!!

I'll have to search for that one - I didn't see another metal piece in there, besides the metal sleeve inside the rubber.

Interesting - I'm pretty sure my '73 originally only had one wire going to the pressure sender. I've since replaced 100% of the front wiring with my own custom loom, but I don't see a need for an additional wire there.

Ordered! Thanks a lot guys! I'm not worried about removing the old bushing - it fell out!!

Hi guys - I was working on replacing the shifter and linkage in the '02 this weekend and noticed that when I pulled of the support rod (BMW part number 25111201238) the bushing at the bottom was complete disintegrated. I can't seem to find the a new bushing by itself - does the new rod come with it installed? Thanks, Ben K.

No updates since January? Come on