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Another option would be to tack weld it together. Bring it to a fab shop and have someone lay a good bead on it for cheap if not free. I only trust my 110V welder for exhaust pipe and minor things. Nothing heavy gauge that bears a load.
I got a chance to put the passenger side mount together. I tried the advice that I was given on turning the wire feed down and also beveled the edges to bring the gauge of the metal down enough so that my welder could penetrate better. Here are the results. First off, it's hard to see, but the frame mount is on a weird forward angle, so my mounts have to be angled to match it.
Here you can see the beveled edges of my pieces during the mock-up process.
Here are how the welds turned out. I'm no welding guru, but these look much better than the driver's side.
still as spattery as ever. But I guess that's what I get for flux welding.
The only bummer is that while this is nowhere near perfect, it makes my driver's side mount look bad enough that I want to redo it.
....
The only bummer is that while this is nowhere near perfect, it makes my driver's side mount look bad enough that I want to redo it.
Call it a day and move on. This project is complicated enough that you don't need to be dragged down by vanity. Nobody will see that mount once everything is assembled.
Two updates in one day. I'm going as fast as I can to try and at least get the exhaust done before it's time to go back and work on school related things. I have a conference all next week so I'm gonna be using this weekend to try and get the exhaust buttoned up.
First up. I went ahead and revised the driver's side mount.
Driver's side installed.
Passenger side installed.
The drive train is being supported by its own mounting system. The hooker manifolds also came in today. Passenger side.
Driver's side.
DOH
It's really not that bad (just trying to be dramatic). I guess I'll either slide the engine over about 3/8 of an inch or shave a little off of the manifold. Is there anything wrong with going a little off center? Also, is there anything wrong with getting my driveline modified from a 3 bolt yoke to a slip yoke where it goes into the transmission? Thanks for any info you can give me.
hey those welds look pretty good for flux core really. if you want to avoid that spatter, use some spatter spray. it's cheap and works good.
nothing wrong with offsetting the engine 3/8" but it's probably easier to grind the flange down. the clean fix would be to have some v-bands put on there.
neither is there anything wrong with having a driveline shop modify your shaft. Expect to pay ~$150
I'd grind that or consider MAYBE having the head flange angle milled to tuck it in some? If it's good,iron V-bands also seem a good idea, honestly the interference doesn't look awful to fix.
CAN stuff is indeed interesting and when you understand it a little you can understand the dangers of having hotspots in cars or Bluetooth AV systems that ride on the same bus... It's a network, every device has an address, devices spit data and others accept it if the codes are right. I'd like to understand it more myself and will try to make that lecture at DEFCON. Hackaday has had a bunch of articles on it too and the discussion section or contacting one of the folks working with it mig also be useful. Sometimes you can get an ECU to spit different codes than factory, sometimes you can create a converter box, wish I could be more help
I ended up having to grind roughly 3/16 off of the manifold at the flange and moving the engine over roughly 1/2 an inch. Once the manifold was tightened all the way down it moved over even more so I only ended up with about 1/4 in of clearance between the flange and the steering shaft. I also got the driver's side attached to the stock 545i exhaust. Pictures will come later today after I get the passenger side done. The 545i was rated at 325 hp and 330 ft/lbs (dual 2 inch exhaust flowing into single 3 inch) so I'm hoping that the stock exhaust will be adequate for the stock 5.3. It will be exhaling through the stock Silverado cats, which are 2 and 1/4 inch at the openings, so hopefully that will help out a bit. When I switch over to the 6.0 then the exhaust will eventually be revised. This will be a daily driver and not so much a race car, but it sure is nice to be the king of the road and surprise people on the freeway and at stoplight drags.
I'd grind that or consider MAYBE having the head flange angle milled to tuck it in some? If it's good,iron V-bands also seem a good idea, honestly the interference doesn't look awful to fix.
CAN stuff is indeed interesting and when you understand it a little you can understand the dangers of having hotspots in cars or Bluetooth AV systems that ride on the same bus... It's a network, every device has an address, devices spit data and others accept it if the codes are right. I'd like to understand it more myself and will try to make that lecture at DEFCON. Hackaday has had a bunch of articles on it too and the discussion section or contacting one of the folks working with it mig also be useful. Sometimes you can get an ECU to spit different codes than factory, sometimes you can create a converter box, wish I could be more help
If you do make it then maybe you could keep an eye out for a BMW specific plug and play CAN hacking device that just happens to work for the 545i
I'm afraid that things are about to slow down since my summer break has effectively come to an end. I got the exhaust buttoned up. The pictures won't be too exciting though since everything after the manifolds is stock. But this also means that with the exception of the driveshaft, the mockup phase is done. Once the driveshaft is shortened and swapped over to a slip yoke, it will be time to pull everything back out and prepare for final assembly. Here are those pictures I promised.
Here is the clearance that I now have between the manifold and the steering shaft.
Stock exhaust pieces...exciting stuff.
This may be a little more interesting.
The intake is just sitting on top of the engine. Still have to mod the coolant line enough so the intake fits on. And just for fun I laid one of the Corvette ls3 covers over the engine. The other one wouldn't fit due to the alternator placement.
Alright, not much of a mechanical progress update, but here are some things that may be helpful to anyone else attempting a swap similar to this. The two BMW's that I have in my possession right now are literally the first and second BMW's I have ever really had any dealings with so some of this may be obvious to people who are familiar with these cars. But I'm a total newb when it comes to BMW. Anyway, here is a list of things that still function when you're under-hood control module center looks like this.
-Idrive system still functions, although I did not try to navigate through it too much.
-Radio still functions normally.
-climate control still responds (though tying it in with the gm ecm could be a challenge) but obviously I have no idea whether it will heat or cool yet. The variable speed fan works nicely and the ac button responds with a green light.
-Windows, including sunroof.
-Blinkers, hazards, headlights.
-Information center still tells me to put my foot on the brake before starting the car.
-Windshield Wipers and washers.
-Alarm
-Power locks
-That weird thing where you push a button on the key fob and the windows roll halfway down.
-Trunk solenoid still works.
Okay, I didn't plan to be posting carnage pictures today, but I bought this TBSS LS2 off ebay a few days ago and it just got here today. The first thing I always check is whether or not the motor can be turned by hand. Well this one could not be turned with a breaker bar, so I immediately opened up a paypal case to start the process of getting at least a partial refund, and then opened up the engine to survey the damage. I already know that the crank is probably not salvageable. I'm not experienced enough to know if the block is salvageable. Opinions please.
These are just cell phone shots, but I was trying to get a shot of the scoring.
Let me know what your thoughts are. I would like to get a few opinions from those who have more experience so I can get an idea of where to go from here. For now I'm planning to get the car up and running with the 5.3. I was hoping to just install the LS2 and have it running right off the bat, but no such luck.
07-29-2016, 09:02 AM
