Overhead Support to Pull the Engine

At the chemical company where I work, we use steel pallet racks and since I do not have an engine hoist, I decided to straddle the car in my garage with two 8 foot tall, 48” deep pallet rack uprights, and four 8 foot steel crossbars.  The racks (McMaster Carr 4940T552) are rated for 8260 pounds per shelf and I also purchased a heavy-duty drop in pallet support  (McMaster Carr 5217T66) with 2400 pound rated capacity.  This support will allow me to easily slide the lifting point on the crossbars from left to right.  Two crossbars are located at the top and two at floor level with one in front of the car and the second behind the front wheels.  This setup should be very strong and stable and I will borrow a 1 Ton chain hoist from work when I am ready to pull the engine.

I also found that after I removed the bolts that secure the hood supports on the underside of the hood, that the supports then lie flat into the engine compartment.  This then allows the hood to be opened to a full vertical position that is actually over the windshield !!  I am hoping to not be forced to remove and then later replace the hood.  So far, so good.

Safety Note: The crossbars attach to each upright with three mushroom shaped pins. I know from experience that the crossbars, if twisted, can suddenly pop out from the uprights, so I added a bolt at each support point that prevents the crossbars from disengaging the uprights. 

Warp 11 Change of Plan

Spoke at length with George Hamstra of Netgain Motors about my project and interest in his Warp 9 and Warp 11 DC motors.  Specifically, I wanted to know why the 9 would be selected rather than the 11.  George was extraordinarily generous with his time on the phone and I came away with a sense that not only are his motors the right choice for my project, but that I needed to change my selection from that of the Warp 9, and instead use the somewhat more expensive Warp 11.  George indicated that the Warp 9 is typically used with cars closer to 3000-3500 pound rolling weight, and the Warp 11 is typically used with cars in the 4000+ pound range (my car is 4056 pounds).  A second point was that although the Warp 9 can attain a higher road speed (estimated based upon car type and weight at 110-120 mph) when compared to a Warp 11 (80 to 85 mph), the Warp 11 has twice the torque and it will be faster off the line and it will mimic the performance of an ICE better.  He indicated that the Warp 9 typically runs in 2^nd and 3^rd gear while the Warp 11 will more likely run at higher RPM and it will typically run in either 3^rd or 4^th gear.   George also indicated that I should have a good experience using the 5 speed manual transmission and I am feeling better with my decision to keep the tranny that I have.

Drive Shaft Removal

Worked on the EV for 2 hours tonight. 

Used a red paint marker to mark the orientation of the drive shaft:  relative to the transmission (3 bolts), and the differential (4 bolts), and the center spline.  This will facilitate the reinstallation of the drive shaft in the same orientation as it began, and if the center spline comes apart, then I will have better luck in proper reassembly.

View of red paint markings on the rubber flange that connects the drive shaft to the transmission.

DSC01233  View from the differential looking forward showing the pair of mounting points at the rear of the transmission.   Edited 12/21/2021

Removed the brace next to the rubber gasket at the rear of the transmission to allow easy access to the three nuts that secure the rubber coupling to the transmission.  Without the support, the transmission and drive shaft assembly dropped about one inch.  Used the hydraulic jack under the body of the transmission to raise the drive train back into its original position.  Removed the four nuts that secure the drive shaft to the differential.  Although there is a little play, the entire drive shaft will need to move forward about 2 inches to be separated completely from the differential flange.  Removed the bracing posterior to the center bearing and then I loosened the two nuts that hold the bearing to the frame.  At this point the entire drive train was left hanging from the differential and the transmission.  While supporting the drive shaft with one hand, I rotated out the three bolts at the transmission coupling and with a little wiggling, the rubber coupling released from the transmission.  Using both hands I was able to wiggle the drive train back and forth while pulling forward until I was holding the entire drive train in my hands !!

             Rear view showing differential in the center, and the "saddle bag" plastic gas tanks after the drive shaft has been removed.

I will work on the removal of the transmission next.  I keep saying that.

Warp 9 Motor Adapter

I ordered my first EV required part today.  It is a shaft adapter that should work well with the 1.125 inch diameter shaft of a Warp 9 motor.   

It is my understanding that the steel flywheel that comes with the stock clutch from the factory is quite heavy.  Further, I understand that by reducing the weight of the flywheel, I will greatly increase the performance of the 325i.  Since my 325i has 220+K miles on it and I am not sure when I last replaced the clutch, I have decided to get a complete replacement clutch kit and replace all of the active parts.  An Aluminum racing clutch is offered by F1Racing in California.  F1Racing indicates that although I can buy the flywheel separately, the original stock clutch parts that I currently have will not fit it properly.  I have selected the clutch disk with internal springs as I understand that without them I may have a tendency to squeal the tires each time I begin driving.

 I am getting the tools together so that this next weekend I can attempt to cut out the gas tank.  Time is my enemy and since I want to move ahead rapidly with this project, I have decided not to attempt to remove it in one piece.  I doubt that the Ebay market is very hot for a used 1992 325i gas tank.

Continued Destruction

I only have an hour to work today, so I decided to remove the left rear muffler supports and most of the Aluminum reflective insulation on the undercarriage.  Including some parts that were initially secured to the top of the engine, a total of 42.2 Kg (93 pounds) of ICE parts have been removed that will not be replaced in the final EV build.

I had a fantasy that I would loosen the drive shaft.  It turns out that I will need to get a socket wrench handle with much greater length as the bolts are fossilized in place !!  I lathered with penetrating oil, the 4 bolts that connect the drive shaft to the flexible coupling at the rear of the transmission and the 4 bolts at the differential.  I will cross my fingers that on next visit, the bolts will yield.

Creative Destruction

I finally have begun the project in earnest, and after 11 hours of effort, this is the report.

Today I drained the radiator fluid and removed the radiator.  Drained the transmission fluid.  Drained the oil from the oil pan.  Disconnected and tagged all of the electircal connections to the engine.  Removed the back seat to reveal the access panels to the left and right side gas tanks.  I never knew that the fuel pumps could be so easily accessed under the seat !!  I siphoned out most of the residual gas (4 gallons) and recycled it into my work car.  Only a trace of gas is still present in the driver's side tank, but at least 1/4" of  gas is still present in the passenger side tank.  Ugh.  I will need to bring a vacuum pump home from work and along with an aspirator jar, remove all of the remaining gas and then vacuum the tank to dryness.

I removed the four metal straps that support the underside of the fuel tanks to the car.  The gas tank is molded like saddlebags, and the absent center portion allows for the drive shaft and some plumbing to pass thru the area.

I was unable to loosen the bolts that secured the exhaust system to the engine manifold, soooo, I cut the system loose with a 4.5" abrasive cutting wheel, with the assist of a portable band saw, and the finishing touches of a sawzal.  Scrap metal at this point.

Thinking about Connecting the Motor to the Transmission

I decided to try and call Carl Clark on the phone as I have not yet received a reply back from my message to his email address (cclark@energetech.com).  Even though it is Saturday, as luck would have it, he was driving thru Colorado on his way back to his home in Utah, and the cell phone connected !!!  He was very gracious to pull over and talk with me at length about the EV project.  Carl offers both adaper plates and motor shaft adapters that will allow a Warp 9 motor to mate with a series of different car transmissions.  I am hopeful that his shop can help me with my 1992 BMW 325i.  I found that Carl is a very enthusiastic fellow and I hope to learn much from him.  He will call me back on Monday.

Beginning the Project

Placed car in garage and raised it onto 4 jacks stands (AC Delco, 3 Ton, 6000 pounds, #34124). The bottom edge of car is now elevated 19 inches from the ground.

I think that I need to make a sturdy template that can be mounted on the undercarriage as a reference point for the elevation of the drive shaft and the base of the transmission.

Next time I will drain all fluids from radiator, gas tank, transmission, and oil pan.

I would like to weigh all of the parts as they are removed from the donor to track the weight reduction as the ICE (Internal Combustion Engine) changes into an EV.

I have decided to place this project on The Electric Vehicle Photo Album  ( http://www.evalbum.com ) so that others can see all the mistakes that I make and see that you do not need to be a "car guy" to have fun doing a conversion.  My EV address on the Photo Album is: http://www.evalbum.com/4226  .