316i to 328i converstion

[Rich]

Rear Trailing Arms

At the weekend we installed the new rear trailing arms.

Below are the new trailing arms fully assembled with callipers and Goodridge brake hoses. One of the drive shafts needed to be replaced as it had a damaged CV joint.





First stage was to remove the old trailing arms, to do this the anti roll bar links, dampers, springs, brakehoses, ABS sensors needed to be removed. Next the drive shafts were removed from the differential. To loosen the drive shaft bolts the handbrake was engaged, this stopped the drive shafts from spinning while trying to undo the bolts. Once the driveshafts were removed the hand brake cables were removed. To unclip the handbrake cables from chassis the heat shield under the tank had to be removed.
With all that removed the main bolts that hold the trailing arms to the sub frame could be remove, this was no easy task as there is very limited space to work in, but with a bit hard work and plenty of wd40 we managed it.

Old trailing.

[Rich]

Big hole... something is missing….




On the left side the back box had to be removed to give a bit more accessibility to the bolts.

Next the new trailing arms were installed, same as removal just in reverse.

[Rich]

With everything reassembled and connected the brakes needed to be bled. I had planned to replace the brake fluid with some new however the time ran out and it was dark, so we just using some standard fluid.
The brake fluid will be switched soon, at the moment the brakes feel a little spongy so I believe there is still air in the system.

All done



Exhaust Bracket

With everything reassembled and connected the brakes needed to be bled. I had planned to replace the brake fluid with some new however the time ran out and it was dark, so we just using some standard fluid.
The brake fluid will be switched soon, at the moment the brakes feel a little spongy so I believe there is still air in the system.

All done



Exhaust Bracket

Until now I have not had a bracket from the gearbox to the exhaust. The first bracket I ordered was supposed to be for a Z3 however it turned out to be for a 328i. This did not fit as the pipes on the Z3 exhaust have a larger diameter so the bracket would not go over. The bracket I ordered was OEM z3. This turned out to be correct and fit perfectly. The bracket has helped to reduce the about of resonance a little. However the resonance is still noticeable between 2500-2950 rpm once the engine is warm.

[316i compact]

I want to get the Goodridge lines as well, and i wanted to ask you: whick part number did you get?
For E36 318-325 or for Z3?

[Rich]

I ordered them from another forum, I asked for a six line kit for an e36 Compact. If you have drums on the back like I used to have you'll need a 4 line kit.

Talk to Sal (username: m5pilot) on www.e30zone.co.uk

[316i compact]

Originally Posted by Rich

I ordered them from another forum, I asked for a six line kit for an e36 Compact. If you have drums on the back like I used to have you'll need a 4 line kit.

Talk to Sal (username: m5pilot) on www.e30zone.co.uk

I just bought a set of rear trailing arm off a Z3, to convert to discs! Could you tell me what else did you change to go to disc brakes? What about the parking brake? thanks a lot for the info m8!
I asked you because goodridge doesnt list a set for the E36 compact, only for E36 and Z3, but none of them has exactly the same lines as the ti. Two front are the same for E36/compact/Z3, two of the rears too, but the other two of the rear axle are different part number in realoem.
How much did they cost you?

[Rich]

Originally Posted by 316i compact

I just bought a set of rear trailing arm off a Z3, to convert to discs! Could you tell me what else did you change to go to disc brakes? What about the parking brake? thanks a lot for the info m8!
I asked you because goodridge doesnt list a set for the E36 compact, only for E36 and Z3, but none of them has exactly the same lines as the ti. Two front are the same for E36/compact/Z3, two of the rears too, but the other two of the rear axle are different part number in realoem.
How much did they cost you?

The new trailing arms had hand brake cables attached (see earlier pictures) So I decided to remove the old and use the new.

Firstly the bolts were take off ends of the hand brake cable. But after the drive shafts were removed! (hand brake is need to lock them so they don't spin while unbolting)
Once free the hand brake cables just slide out. They are clipped to the chassis just over the rear subframe and a bit further along. (cables pull out easily)

Once the new trailing arms were on, the hand brake cables were feed through, this was quite easy as there are tubes for the cables to slide through to the hand brake.

I'm not sure about part numbers for the brake hoses, I can have a look tonight after work, they cost about £80 - 122 Euro.

[Rich]

New Interior

Last week I won a new interior from ebay. They are half leather sports seats. Here are some pictures, the blue colour is not accurate it’s actually a little darker and less vibrant.

The old interior


All Stripped out

[Rich]

New interior

The drivers seats tilt function did not work. It was found that a clip was missing from the pulley; I took a clip of one of my old seats, now it works fine.

[andrei]

Nice!!!! I hope to get my TI a new leather interior. There are somme nice shops here in romania that can do a full leather interior for less then 800 euros.

[windnsea00]

Coming along very nicely, I like that blue cloth. I have the same seats but black cloth.

[Rich]

Originally Posted by andrei

Nice!!!! I hope to get my TI a new leather interior. There are somme nice shops here in romania that can do a full leather interior for less then 800 euros.

Thats a good price! is that for re-trimming or a completely new interior?

Originally Posted by windnsea00

Coming along very nicely, I like that blue cloth. I have the same seats but black cloth.

They are very comfy, especially the knee support, if I push it in it feels like something is missing. Still trying to setup a good driving position.

[andrei]

Originally Posted by Rich

Thats a good price! is that for re-trimming or a completely new interior?



They are very comfy, especially the knee support, if I push it in it feels like something is missing. Still trying to setup a good driving position.

The price is for a retrim.

[Rich]

Is a good price. Before I got the seats I thought about getting them re-trimmed. Now I see them for real I like the look so I will leave them as they are.

The leather is slightly worn, but with a little leather care they have come up really nice. I may consider have them re-trimmed in the future.

[318iS]

very nice interior mate... im surprised i looks so good...


did you remove the sound deadening ?