Adapter Plate Reply

Received a reply from Steve Messerschmidt at Rebirth Auto in Florida regarding the adapter plate.  They have a supplier that can offer a very nice adapter plate that appears to be machined from a single piece of Aluminum in about 10 days.  Steve sent two pictures showing an example of a Kostov11 EV motor assembled on a Saturn, and he indicates that the BMW adapter would be the same setup with a slightly different shape.

Rebirth Auto EV2 009

It appears that Rebirth Auto is using a key way and setscrew for attachment of the shaft hub.  This compares to some other suppliers who are alternatively using a tapered clamp to secure the hub adapter.

Rebirth Auto EV2 010

AC Lines and Rack-and-Pinion

Made some progress this week regarding adapter plates, etc.   Received a return call from Mike Brown in California late in the week, and upon inquiry, he indicated that he had not yet received the drawing that I sent by certified mail to his post office box the previous week, so hopefully, he will be able to recover it sometime soon and see if my bell housing looks familiar to him.

Another EV company located in Florida was brought to my attention by a fellow EVer this last week.  The web page is rebirthauto.com, and they list EV supplies as well as BMW adapter plates!!  They list a telephone number (727.821.9736 ), but the “contact us” button on their web page was what resulted in a quick reply.  Pictures and drawings were sent to Steve Messerschmidt (steve@rebirthauto.com) and Steve indicated by email that he would try and reply to our inquiry early next week. 

We also received a very polite reply to the inquiry that we sent to Canadian Electric Vehicles Ltd. ( www.canev.com )  in which  Randy Holmquist (randy@canev.com)  informed us that they do not offer any BMW adapters.

Tonight the project focused on the removal of the AC lines.  The second phase of the build will hopefully include a functioning Air Conditioner, but for now, the hoses, mounting brackets etc. are in the way and might be damaged while the project is underway.  Previously, before disconnecting the AC compressor, I confirmed (using the AC Schroeder valve and a pressure gauge) that there was no residual Freon pressure.  Note: One must always recover the Freon to avoid fines, protect the Earth, and stay out of the Gulag.

Removal of the pair of lines stalled when one of the 6 mm cap head bolts could not be removed.  It would have been helpful to have noticed that I was using non metric hex wrenches.  Correcting that, finally used Plan B, which should have been the original plan, and removed the single 6 mm cap head bolt located on the firewall (12 " extension a must), followed by easing out the 3" x 3” pass thru rubber  grommet on interior sheet metal, and both lines came out smoothly. 

Picture 4660 – shows bulkhead, upper right is entry into cabin, lower left is after removal of the pass thru rubber grommet

Removed one cap bolt on top of the Receiver/Dryer and the pipes were free at last. 

Picture 4654 – shows disconnected AC lines after disconnecting from bulkhead and prior to removal

Placed duct tape over the inlet on the Receiver/Dryer for dirt exclusion and reinstalled the cap head bolts at each fixture so that they can be found in the future.

Labeling is a total pain, but I am confident that each five minutes spent labeling, will eventually save me an hour, and a lot of hair, which is in short supply.  What is needed is some type of plastic/metal tie-off label that has legible numbers embossed directly into the label.  Cleaning water or oil would not be able to destroy the markings, and a master list could then correlate the tag to the function/location.  I must find these.

I cleaned the rack and pinion assembly using a wire brush and putty knife.  Don’t ask.  I will power wash the whole engine compartment after I solve the label problem and after I tie off each electrical fixture with plastic bags.  To the driver side engine mount was attached a metal extension that spanned the steering column and then bolted to the ICE.  Multiple applications of penetrating oil and whacking with a hammer did not release the extension from the mount, so, I had to get Medieval on it and used enough twist and pull, that the top portion of the rubber tore free.  Need to add this part to the need to replace list. 

Picture 4662 – shows partially cleaned rack and pinion. Note the intact engine mount on the left, and the decapitated mount on the right.

Builders Note: Two pairs of wires attach to the sensor on top of the receiver/dryer.  White plug, Brown to Brown, Black to Black.  Black plug: Blue to Red/Black (receiver side), and Yellow/Blue to Black (receiver side).  Must remove the metal “C” clip from each plug to allow removal of the long connector wire.

After 4 hr 45 min, finally went to be at 1:45 am.

Fuel Gauge Experiment

Replaced several of the burned out light bulbs.  The right turn indicator sometimes will stay on without permission, so something in that circuit will need further attention in the future.

Sunroof does not open.  At least it is closed so I can roll the 325i outside.

After reconnecting the white left and right fuel level sensors plugs it was possible to reach behind me into the back seat and manually raise and lower the floats to see the dashboard fuel gauge increase or decrease.  I have been warned not to reconnect the black plug (to the fuel pump) or a “thermal event” (i.e. FIRE) may occur as it burns out.  The fuel pump can draw 5 amps and it is normally cooled by the flow of the gas thru the pump itself.

When the floats were positioned in what the mechanism would have considered to be nearly “empty”, the warning fuel empty light illuminated on the fuel gauge.  The service manual indicates that the sensors are in series, and when both tank floats were positioned as “empty”, the circuit resistance is about 20 ohms, and when both tank floats were positioned as “full”, the resistance is about 500 ohms.  Check out the picture of the wiper resistor in the fuel float sensor.

The picture shows the potentiometer wiper arm of the fuel pump.  The  fuel pump assembly is on its side and when the float is raised in service, the brown plastic arm rotates upward and to the right.

After the EV mileage range is determined it would be great to add a small circuit that would cause the existing dashboard fuel gauge to output useful data about the batteries.  The circuit should allow the fuel warning light to illuminate as the discharge of the batteries approaches the usable limit and at the point that the gauge is solid on “Empty”, then further battery discharge might be expected to cause degradation of the battery pack.

Builders Note:  The engine weighed in at 188.6 kg and the fuel expansion tank weighed in at 10.4 kg.

Kinkos was able to scan the outline drawing of the transmission and put the file on a USB.  If I can figure out (or get some help from a blog reader?) how to post the drawing on the blog, I will do so.  This last weekend a metric transfer punch set was purchased from McMaster Carr (8962A41) to help refine the traced outline drawing and locate the center of each transmission bolt hole.  It turns out that each of the bolt holes actually has two diameters depending upon which direction it is approached, with a step hidden within the casting.  This makes the determination of the exact center of the hole more sporty. 

More Adapter Plate Searching

After speaking with Mike Brown ( http://www.electroauto.com/catalog/adaptors.shtml ) last Wednesday, a traced outline of the 325i Getrag 5 speed transmission housing was sent to him in California.  He agreed to compare the tracing to the BMW housings that he has worked with before, and if they match, there is a possibility that his shop can then produce the adapters and hub.  The link above gives a good technical overview of adapters, hubs, and a chart showing the many adapters that his shop may be able to offer.  If luck is against us, plan B may involve finding a machine shop locally.

While I wait for the adapter source to settle out, I have begun analysis of the electrical systems.  The illuminated dashboard warning lamp “check engine”, now has a different meaning to me !!  It will be a goal to get as many systems to operate with the new 12 Volt systems battery as I can, and if possible, use as many of the dashboard indicators (rpm, speed, temperature, etc.) as possible.  My asphalt driveway slopes down to the street and my parking brake has quit in protest.  When the 325i needs to come out of the garage another vehicle must currently be pressed into service.  I would like to have a winch mounted inside the garage on the wall in front of the 325i, to permit easy handling while it is both “Warp-Less” and “brake-less”. 

Requiem for ICE

It is raining, the front passenger window is partially open, and the 325i now needs to be rolled out to the street to allow the engine to be removed from the garage. So, the fossilized 12 volt battery in the trunk was replaced with new blood.

OEM BMW 12V, 65 ah, 540 a/540 cca
S:61217567182 (Exide)

Even with a new battery, the window refused to budge, so the door panel was removed. All went well until the plastic knob that is screwed onto the door lock refused to let go. A wrench successfully unscrewed the knob, in several pieces. This will be on the "replace list". With the knob now removed, the door panel was placed aside, and the two wire plugs removed from the actuator motor. Two alligator clips and jumper cables to the battery allowed the window to move smoothly full up and full down. Reversing the polarity of the clips, reversed the direction of movement. Apparently the window switch on the console (or the connecting cables) needs repairs. In the time required to have the adapter plate and shaft hub manufactured, each electrical system will need to be tested.

It turned out that a pick up truck was not available for me to use, so instead a Chevy 2500 cargo van was brought home from work for use as a hearse for the ICE. Although an engine hoist would have been sweet, the “home made overhead crane" worked quite well.  After lowering the engine’s heavy end onto a pallet located in the van, continued lowering and rotation of the body of the engine around the initial contact point, allowed the whole engine to swing into the van.  For any nonbelievers out there, I include the following pictures.

Engine lowered to the pallet.

Lowered further and swung into the van.

Tomorrow the weight of the engine, the gas tanks, and the overflow tank will be determined.  The rubber boot/gasket that fits behind the gas fill door has a  bottom drain tube.  It will be retained for the EV, as it will allow any trapped rain water to drain from the future recharging portal.

Transmission Adapter Plate Drawing

Today I made a tracing of the exterior contour of the transmission bell housing.  After placing a white sheet of paper over several sheets of cardboard on a smooth floor, I inserted the two hollow alignment tubes into the transmission face and then placed the transmission face down so that the dowel tubes pierced the paper.  With a sharp pencil the outline was traced and the centers of each bolthole was estimated with a dot. I will send the drawing to Mike Brown in California since he lists 1991-1995 318i BMW Getrag transmission adapters that might be equivalent to the transmission that I am using.  His contact information in California is: (831)  429  1907 and his internet address is www.electroauto.com/contact.shtml.  I spoke with Mike on the phone Friday, and he was pleased that I was retaining the 5-speed transmission in the build.  Mike indicates that he can machine both the adapter plate and the hub.

Gas Tank Removal

I have been concerned over the last few weeks as to how to remove the gas tank.  I previously vacuumed out the last traces of gas, and used the vacuum pump to pull fresh air thru the tanks until they were completely dry.  But how I should cut out the tanks was uncertain until I spotted at Home Depot a 12-inch sawzall blade manufactured by the “Diablo" Tool Company.  It was described as “Carbide Tipped, Nail-Embedded Wood”.   I felt, that I had found, the right tool.  The blades length allowed me to easily penetrate to full depth and it also allowed me to lay the blade at a gentle angle (blade teeth aiming upright) and gradually saw all the way thru the plastic in nearly a single pass.  Within minutes the task was complete, and the saddle bags were hanging at a 30-degree angle.  I then dislodged two plastic lines that were clipped to the tanks, but the tanks did not fall down, instead now teasing me with a 45-degree angle.  After twisting the tanks I then saw that there were 2 small plastic lines and a much larger black rectangular plastic structure that all appeared to be holding the tank in mid air.  I severed the tubing using the gas tank access point in the back seat, and then after returning to beneath the car, I then carefully sawed thru the previously hidden structural plastic.  The driver's side tank immediately fell to the floor, but the passenger side was still held firmly at its outboard leading edge.  By bending and twisting I realized that several tubing lines were held with clips to the tank, and after cutting, the tank then fell to the floor!  Finally.

 Complete gas tank assembly after removal.

Cross section of saddle bag gas tank showing rectangular secondary structure that had to be cut prior to removal of the gas tank.

Further demolition after removing the plastic cover in the distal aspect of the passenger rear tire wheel well, allowed for the removal of the gas fill assembly and the fuel expansion tank.  The remaining hoses from these systems penetrated the chassis thru a welded metal tube that terminated adjacent to the old gas tank.  Twisting and pulling eventually removed from the metal tube a 36-inch section of braided rubber hose and tubing !!

I should note that I have been concerned about the age and possible brittleness of the plastic parts of the 325i.  Since it is easier to replace plastic clips than it is to source replacement plastic structures, I have routinely cut off the heads of the retention clips as a way to allow easy and safe removal of important plastic parts that I intend to include in my final build.

The future site of the electric charger port.

Preparing the Transmission for the Adapter Plate

Today I continued working on cleaning the 20 years of encrusted dirt and oil on the transmission housing.  It was very convenient to remove the two shift mechanisms prior to starting the cleaning process.  To complete the cleaning required 2 cans of Gunk Cleaner Gel applied in four applications.  Between each application the aluminum was scrubbed with a plastic brush and toothbrush as required, followed by power washing and finally air drying with compressed air prior to the application of the next “treatment”.  Since I have a chemistry background, other agents were tried after the Gunk cleanings.  Brasso, and in a separate trial, a 45% Potassium hydroxide solution in water were tried to see if the metal surface could be improved.  The Brasso had a very mild effect as demonstrated by the blackened shop rag that resulted.  The 45% Potassium hydroxide solution did not seem to have any effect, but when the housing was rinsed, the water rinse was a dark gray and cloudy, so something was happening after all.  Sadly, the surface of the housing was not improved enough to warrant additional effort with either of these agents.   Four hours was probably too much time to have spent on this, but the result was very pleasing to behold.

In the bottom picture the two bolts at about 12:00 and 1:00 normally secure the starter.  Except for the two bolts at the top left (in the square portion of the housing), all of the housing bolts fall in a perfect circle.   The unit weighed in at 29.0 kg (63.87 pounds).  My next task will be to remove the flywheel from the engine and make the measurements needed for the machine shop to fabricate the adapter plate and shaft hub.

Looking at the bottom picture, the OEM bolts that originally held the transmission to the engine, were located at  

12:00        Torx M12-50 mm 

12:30        Torx M10-65  (starter bolt)

01:30        M8

02:00        Torx M10-65 (starter bolt)

02:45        Dowell 14.5mm (10.69 mm length), Torx M12-90 mm

03:30        Torx  M8-50

05:30        Torx   M8-50

07:00        Torx   M8-50

07:30        Dowell 14.5mm (10.69 mm length), Torx M12-90 mm

09:00        6 mm hex bolt ?

10:00        Torx M12-50 mm

Total OEM bolt count is 3 x M8-50, 2 x M12-50, 2 x M12-90, and 2 x M10-65. 

  

Transmission Data

Since it has been apparent that the specific transmission on the car has never been certain, yet the internet suggests that the same transmission has been used by BMW for many different models and years, I am including all of the markings that were noted on the bell housing and the rear of the transmission. Gunk Cleaner, a plastic scrub brush, and paper towels, finally revealed the following information imbedded numbers into the Aluminum case:

Right side bell housing: GETRAG 220.0.0225.95 (might be 96 instead of 95)

                                               051
                                          225
    Left side bell housing: BMW 1222.223.9
    Left side bell housing adjacent to clutch slave cylinder: 13 150792 0465     
    Left side bottom bell housing: WBACB3315NFE09631 (this is the VIN)
    Rear of transmission housing (facing the differential):
   Top right side: 1.221.993.9
                             051
                             226
    Top left side:  220.0.022.3.94
    Bottom of Bell Housing: 0060680 AKZ

The Engine is Out

Today I began cleaning the transmission.  I used a scrub brush to rub down all the surfaces after spraying liberally with Gunk Foam Cleaner.  I will next take it to work to power wash the housing.

My son and I raised the engine out of the compartment with a chain hoist.  The Service manual was accurate, I had to remove the fan to allow the engine to clear the frame in front.  But, the fan was easy to unbolt (x3) once it was partially airborn.

The car will now need to be lowered and rolled out of the garage.  I will next back a pickup into the garage and then lower the engine onto a pallet in the truck bed.  I will need to get a careful measurement of the distance from the flywheel to the face of the engine before I salvage out the engine.

The engine compartment is now empty !!  Wow, a milestone has been reached.

On the Floor to Admire

When I woke up, I conferred with my “engineering spiritual leader” (David Fischer, in Boston) and then I went into the garage to study the situation.  I raised and lowered the engine several times, and then I noticed that the transmission was no longer moving with the engine at all !!  The crocodile apparently died when I was asleep!!  Within 10 minutes I had the transmission out from under the car to admire. 

 
                                                       Transmission finally on the floor.

Although the outside is grimy, the internals look very clean.  I will next clean the Aluminum housing with a scrub brush and Gunk Engine Degreaser.  The BMW transmission housing has the following part number information:

(See May 7, 2012, entry for All Gertag Transmission Identification information.)

Sadly, I did not find an identification plate with the model/serial number attached to the housing as I had read about in the service manual, perhaps it fell off within the last 20 years.

The Alligator Wins

Finally the weekend is here.  My goal this weekend was to remove the transmission and possibly pull the engine out of the engine compartment.   Initially I supported the engine with my chain hoist, and then lowered it back down onto the engine mounts.  Knowing that it was secure, I then began the removal of the nine E12/E14 Torx bolts that held the housing to the motor.  The trick for me was to understand that the starter is held onto the engine with two nuts that share the same Torx bolts that holds the transmission to the engine.  Thus, you can turn the nuts from underneath the car all you want, but without a backing wrench holding the nut in the engine compartment, the Torx nut will never come out.  I should have removed the starter before going under the car.

                    Picture shows top right aspect of engine where starter was finally removed.

The job would not have been possible without a 20” extension on my 3/8 socket wrench.   I was also concerned that the transmission might suddenly disengage and fall to the floor, so I adjusted the crossbar on the pallet rack so that it was about an inch below the transmission. I then raised my floor jack under the tail of the transmission with the wheels aligned parallel to the car so that I could pull on the transmission and have the wheels travel along with the movement.   It was like wrestling with an alligator, with me on my back with my feet pushing against the car frame.   It would not come off!! I tried raising and lowering both the engine and the transmission to support the weight and adjust the angle between the engine and the transmission.  I inserted a screwdriver(s) to pry it loose, and although there was eventually about an inch clearance separating the transmission from the engine, it would not come off!!  I assumed that the splines of the transmission were binding and I needed to have the correct orientation to slide the transmission out.  I started working at 9:00 pm and finally threw in the towel at 4:30 am!!   The alligator won tonight.

The Racing Clutch Arrived

The racing aluminum flywheel (blue left side), clutch plate (black center) and pressure plate (right side blue) arrived today from F1 Racing in California (888-988-4747). I am now working with the local EV company (Pioneer Electronics, the same company that sold me the Warp 11) to find a machine shop that can fabricate the adapter plate that I need to connect these pieces to the 5-speed transmission and the Warp 11 motor.  There is apparently much concern about the exact transmission model that I have, and the only way to prove which one I have, is to remove it and read the numbers stamped on the housing.

Pioneer Conversions

Drove out to Pioneer Conversions in Lemont Illinois today.  Talked with Rich Carroll and John Jeide and John Emde.  They were all very helpful and enthusiastic about the 325i project and they have agreed to help me with the project and the sourcing of the adapter plate and shaft hub.  I was hoping to find EV enthusists that I could work with locally and these guys have a tremendous amount of experience, so today was a good day.  I feel that the assembly of the drive train is exceedingly important and their experience and counsel will help me to put together a vibration free assembly.  In terms of immediate gratification, I was very lucky that they had a Warp 11 in stock, and luckier still that we were able to load the 239 pounds of copper and steel into the trunk of my Honda work car.