I titled this post
“The” Randy Forbes because Randy is so well known in the Z3 and M coupe
community. Randy has become famous for
his rear subframe reinforcement design and installations, as well as his
connecting rod bearing services. I have
been planning on taking my S54 to Randy for nearly 10 years. Finally the stars aligned, and I made that
happen in October of 2016. For the S54,
I had Randy perform 3 major services, none of which I am comfortable doing
myself.
The first is rear
subframe reinforcement. In addition to
the ~12 pounds of additional steel and numerous additional welds, I asked Randy
to replace the rear subframe bushings with Ireland Engineering units, replace the
differential cover bushing (with a new stock BMW unit), the rear trailing arm
bushings, and the rear sway bar links and rubber mounts.
The second service
Randy did for me was to replace the connecting rod bearings. Randy recommends the later bearings that were
designed and released as part of the E46 M3 service action. These are different dimensions than the
original M coupe / roadster S54 bearings.
Randy also applies a custom treatment on the bearings he installs for
additional protection and more performance.
The last service I
had Randy do was completely rebuild the VANOS unit on the car with all of the
Beisan upgrade parts. This includes the
oil pump disk, all new seals, and upgraded S62 sprocket hub diaphrams. All of the sprocket sleeve bolts were replaced
and Locktite’d in place. I don't think this service was necessary for the MZ3 S54 engine, but I didn't want to do this service myself so I "might as well". Failures are pretty common on MZ4 S54s, and we are doing the same service with Randy on Rachel's car. So, why not do 2 of them for twice the price? LOL.
I will add one story of coupe magic.
After I dropped off the car, Randy sent me a video - and he was quite worried - because the speedometer in the car was not working. "Worked fine when I left it" was my response. "$1100 part plus coding" was what I was thinking. Randy did some trouble shooting and eventually after a lot of trials and effort got it to work again with a diagnostic test. Upon re-delivery of the car, it didn't work the first time I drove it. I re-started the engine one time, and it worked fine. It worked fine all the way home and has been fine ever since. It is my perception that this is either (a) the car being pissed at me for having to go to Randy's and be in a foreign garage for ~8 weeks (highly likely) or (b) cracked solder somewhere inside the instrument panel which is apparently common in some E36s (no way it is that). Hint: there is some sarcasm here, but I'd like to believe (a).
I will include the
parts lists I used, and I am copying some of Randy’s pictures here so I have a record
of them. I did print every picture Randy took during the services (over 500 photos) and I made a photo album for the car's records. The complete album of photos is here.
When you add all the work up, not including the cost of the parts, this was over $4000 of investment in my S54 M coupe. Worth it, I think as I can retire a lot of risk and worry now. I already took Rachel's S54 MZ4 Coupe (yes, capital "C" since it is a Z4, I have already blogged about that) to Randy for work. My plan is to take the S52 coupenut car and also my E90 M3 to him as well, one after another.
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| Biesan anti-rattle. Also used S62 diaphrams based on Raj's recommendation and also all new upgraded seals and o-rings. |
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| Biesan oil pump disk |
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| New bearings from the last E46M3 service action fix, with coating |
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| Clean oil pan |
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| Doubling up the factory differential ear mount |
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| Factory steel removed |
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| Added I-beam in place |
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| All boxed in. |
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| I went with a single differential ear. |
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| Paint looks like the factory did it. |
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| All back together |
Rear Subframe Parts
Subframe bushings
|
Ireland
Engineering
|
1 set
|
Subframe nuts
|
33331126136
|
2
|
Diff ear sheet metal x2
|
41118398664
|
2
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Diff ear bushing
|
33172228425
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1
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Diff ear self locking nut
|
07129900047
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1
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Trailing Arm Bushing Set, Lemforder, FCP Euro
|
33329061945
|
2
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Trailing Arm Self Locking Hex Nut
|
07129900047
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4
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Driveshaft locknuts
|
26111227843
|
4
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Rear sway bar mounting bushings, set, BMW
|
|
2
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Rear sway bar link, Lemforder, FCP Euro, comes with nuts and
bolts,
|
33551131131
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2
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Rear sway bar mounting bushing self locking nuts
|
07119905374
|
4
|
Connecting Rod
Bearing Parts
Bearing shell blue (0)
|
11247835440
|
6
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Bearing shell red (0)
|
11247835439
|
6
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Oil pan gasket
|
11131437237
|
1
|
Oil dipstick o-ring
|
11431707164
|
1
|
Gasket
|
11137832023
|
1
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Motor mounts
|
|
2
|
Motor Mount Nuts
|
22116779973
|
4
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Subframe bolts
|
31116781023
|
4
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Oil pump o-ring
|
11411401769
|
1
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Castrol 10W60
|
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7
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New oil drain plug
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-769 Oil Filter Kit
|
|
1
|
VANOS Parts
Biesan S54 Vanos Seals Repair Kit BS021
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BS021
|
1
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Biesan S54 Vanos Rattle Repair Kit BS022
|
BS022
|
1
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Biesan S54 Vanos Oil Pump Disk BS025
|
BS025
|
1
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Biesan: Vanos gasket
|
11367831938
|
1
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Biesan: valve cover grommet
|
11121437395
|
2
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Biesan: oil drain hose crush washer
|
07119963129
|
2
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Biesan: vanos oil accumulator pipe crush washer
|
07119963072
|
2
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Biesan: vanos oil filter
|
11361401971
|
1
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Biesan: S62 sprocket hub diaphragm spring and pressure plate
|
11367833218
|
2
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Biesan: sprocket sleeve bolts
|
07129905536
|
12
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Biesan: exhaust upper chain tensioner guide
|
11317830159
|
1
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Biesan: Chain guide mounting bolt washer
|
07119963342
|
1
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Biesan: Crankshaft chain tensioner washer
|
07119963418
|
1
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Valve cover gasket
|
11127832034
|
1
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Valve cover bolt seal
|
11127830972
|
13
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Drei Bond
|
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