I figure I should start a thread, if for nothing else to fill my time. 

 

 

Per my other post I picked up a 2000 BMW 323IT.  From the factory it came with a M52b25.  stock 168 hp and 181 ft/lb torque, AKA slow.

 

the PO had the insight to swap in a M54B30 + 6 speed from a BMW 330i ZHP.  Those put out 235hp with 222 ft/lb torque.  needless to say it is a good bit quicker than it was stock.

 

Car has some issues that need to be addressed, but it is rust free and in pretty good shape considering the age.

 

   

 

 

 

First thing first was the rims, they were from a 5 Series BMW so the offset was incorrect resulting a rubbing with too many people in the car.    Bought a cheap set of 3 Series rims off craigs list and threw them on.

 

 

 

 

Next the PO swapped in some Xenon headlights from a later model 325it, but he did not swap in the aiming function so they pointed down to the ground all the time.   I am not a fan of everything that would need to be retrofitted to make them work so I ordered some stock halogen housings + morimoto D2s 5.0's projectors to swap into place.   I will be using the OEM ballast and bulbs so it is a "cheap" swap.  

 

 

Other things to address

 

1. front suspension needs to be replaced

2. clunk in the rear on shift makes me think the rear bushings are aging so I will do those.

3. paint needs to be cleaned up and clear coat fixed

4. oil level sensor is on the fritz

5. OEM radio needs to be put back in so steering wheel functions work again

6. headliner needs to be fixed. 

 

 

Once that is all sorted I wil move onto stage 2. which is a few more ponies 

 

A low boost turbo setup ( 5-8 psi using a hx35 sized turbo ) should get me in the 300 WHP range, which is more than enough for me.  

 

 

Not a bad looking ride. 

 

I'm curious about turbo charging a naturally aspirated gasoline engine. I'd love to see more on this.  

ordered so far.

 

New headlight housing

New turn signal housing

Morimoto D2S 5.0

new control arm bushings

New trans mount bushings

 

Hopefulyl the last 2 will solve my shift clunk and my steering wobble on brake.

What kind of child car seat did you order?

^^^^Thats what I was thinking 

one iwth a 6 point harness.... lol

On 9/23/2019 at 1:33 PM, Me78569 said:

5. OEM radio needs to be put back in so steering wheel functions work again

 

Depending on your aftermarket head unit, some have the capability, either natively or by an extra adapter, to use the factory steering wheel controls. Might be beneficial.

Housings came in today

 

 

 

Opened up the h7 bulb hole to 35mm for the d2s shaft to fit 

 

Easy trick to getting a nice hole drilled, get the right sized hole saw then use a socket as a guide that matches the inner hole.  Used a bit of masking tape to make the socket fit nicely inside the hole saw.

 

 

D2s 5.0 tomorrow

 

Cant wait to see how much better the d2s are compared to mini h1 and the mleds

 

 

Car now has D2S 5.0's I am alittle underwhelmed honestly, but the bulbs are pretty old.  

 

I forgot how much work it is to build a set lol.

It's kinda nice working on a car that is documented and hacked so much.   

 

The e46 platform made use of system similar in purpose to the ccd bus in the 2nd gen, however it was a standard protocol.  Each module in the car knows the vin, and mileage and you get issues if you swap used parts around.  

 

since my wagon is a drivetrain swapped car it makes sense that things would not be matching.   The PO doesn't appear to be computer savy so he just let it be.   Minor issues, like high beams not working / check control always on / dsc light on dash/ srs light on. 

 

$8 later I bought a obd tool to connect to the computer then downloaded PA Soft 1.4 ( bmw tool) for free.  I am able to read module status and errors and reprogram them to know what car they are in.

 

Another 8 dollar for another cable and I am able to read and write to the ecm to update  my own ecm flash.  I can even read -> adjust -> upload changes 

 

So far I have fixed

1. light control module now knows it did not come with bi-xenon lights so bulb check works and high beams work with my retrofitted d2s 5.0's

2. check control now works to tell me bulb out messages and door open messages

3. sunroof module has been resynced to work

4. srs light has been turned off and srs module knows the vehicle

5. all modules now agree on a mileage and a vin ( except abs) 

 

things I have changed

1. windows now roll down and up via the unlock and lock buttons on the key fob

2. clutch safety has been disabled on start so you can crank without the clutch being in.

3. key now unlocks all doors on 1st button press rather than having to double press unlock

4. the temp gauge now reads exact temps in the center position rather than a dummy gauge.  

 

 

still left to reprogram

1.  abs needs to be programmed using another program.  That will enable the dsc to work again

2. dme / ecm needs to be flashed with an updated version

 

 

Today the mail man is bringing me some suspension bits to cure my wobble on brake and trans bushings.  

I found time last night and this morning to replace the front control arm bushings.   

 

 

pretty easy to do and now the shimmy on break is much less.  I think I still need tie rods, but it is coming along.

I finally got around to getting the ABS/DSC computer programmed to know it is a manual transmission.  

 

Took a few hoops as there are 2 types of modules in the E46 platform, Pre facelift and post Facelift.   They use a different method to store the vehicle order / options list.  

 

Since my car is swapped some of the modules are pre and some are post.  The DSC computer was a Pre the cluster was a post, so there was no automatic way to get the coding and index info without manually telling the program what was what.  

 

Anyways I swapped in the old cluster, read the vehicle order codes, wrote them down, then manually told the program what the codes were and reprogrammed the dsc.  

 

I now have traction control on and off

 

enabled E-LSD ( dunno if it works or not, but I will find out)

 

 

Tomorrow I am replacing the tie rods.

Turning into quite the project.

tie rods are in.  

 

I also fixed the issue of the cluster and light module having the VO rather than the cluster and ews having the zcs.

Got rid of 2nd gen so needed something to replace it

yep, the ford focus was too reliable.  

If you get bored you could come work on my 2nd gen

Finally got a new Light module coded,  which allows me to do things like 5 blink blinker on single touch.  Brake force break lights etc etc.

 

I have new lower control arms waiting to go in, but it is winter and I don't wanna lay on my back in the cold

25 minutes ago, Me78569 said:

 

 

I have new lower control arms waiting to go in, but it is winter and I don't wanna lay on my back in the cold

I feel your coldness.

On 11/22/2019 at 1:47 PM, Me78569 said:

Finally got a new Light module coded,  which allows me to do things like 5 blink blinker on single touch.  Brake force break lights etc etc.

Not sure if it's same, I did do 5 blinks for convenience turn signal, rear middle brake light flash fast if you slam breaks, key fob will roll down/up windows if you hold unlock/lock Etc.

yep all of those are programmed now.