[Geo31]

Best thread in a long time. Really enjoying following this.

 

[Geo31]

Count me as someone who would be disappointed, but not worried. It does look awful.

 

[Geo31]

Looks good to go there. Not the best, but definitely in the game. GREAT thread. Really like the work you’re doing. Keep at it mate!

 

[Geo31]

Having had an engine build ruined in the past because of abrasives that weren’t cleaned out of the oil gullies, I’d probably take the block and head to another shop and have them tanked and cleaned again, given what I see there.

Are there plugs to the oil galleys that can be removed to gain access? If so, remove the and run a cleaning rod through them. The Nissan SR20 I built had screws that could be removed and the entire galley could be scrubbed with a rifle cleaning rod and a big scrubber screwed into the end that looks like a big tampon. I never looked closely enough at the M54 to know it this is possible.

 

[Geo31]

I have some pics of my recent head work. Let me know where you want me to share them.

Doctors looked at my head work and got the big butterfly nets....

 

[Geo31]

Marking the bolts with just a regular paint marker. Picked up the trick from the dude that built our Subaru rally engine. You reckon the paint might cause some issues?

Ended up getting a replacement viton O-ring for the oil pump pressure regulator.

On that topic, would anyone from the more abundant localities have a spare manual cluster laying around, or are heading to the junk yard sometime soon? Small detail but I'd really like one of those cluster backing plates that blanks out the automatic display. Don't rate my chances of ever finding one locally at all highly. Should be easy enough to chuck in the mail in just a regular envelope. Would pay for it of course. Please let me know if someone would be up for it, would be greatly appreciated.
View attachment 965688

(Picture from this brilliant thread)

Wow, I just checked RealOEM…. I would have expected this to be available from BMW, but no. The cluster apparently is only available as a complete unit. I had a Nissan I added cruise control to and needed to replace a couple of these “lenses” (Nissan’s term” and they were readily available and cheap. In fact, every component of the cluster was available.

Should be some folks here with a dead manual cluster around. Happens enough that it’s a thing (I’ve started calling it Clusterfuk). I replaced a cluster on my first E46. They can be kinda sensitive. You may want to post something in the WTB section.