Rebuild progress all in one thread

[Master Yota]

The crossmember is factory, it's been on every M37 I've seen...

Mine has two small flat plates that bolt in place above the fender mount that the hood rests on. I don't think that crossmember would be something to permanently remove; so perhaps its just a minor design change between the Cdn. and US models...

650 dosen't seem too painful when you consider any stock type rad (for any application) is usually 400 or more. Thats a nice piece. I might need to look into that if the one I'm using dosen't cut the mustard in the cooling dept....

[M37UK]

The crossmember is factory, it's been on every M37 I've seen...

Mine has two small flat plates that bolt in place above the fender mount that the hood rests on. I don't think that crossmember would be something to permanently remove; so perhaps its just a minor design change between the Cdn. and US models...

650 dosen't seem too painful when you consider any stock type rad (for any application) is usually 400 or more. Thats a nice piece. I might need to look into that if the one I'm using dosen't cut the mustard in the cooling dept....

I concur, mine has the two small flat plates also. Must be a CDN thing.

Stu

[Brett]

The 251 is longer than the 230 isn't it? Maybe the rad is mounted different in the Cdn M37 to account for this.

Brett

[Master Yota]

I think that Brett has hit-upon the answer. The CDN 251 is longer, and the rad is moved ahead to accomodate the extra length...

[Josh]

been a while since I posted, been tied up with otehr stuff, but, got the brake lines bent up and semi-mounted, as well as the fuel lines. I used Copper-Nickel-Iron brake line, made in Michigan. It's used by high end car companies like Audi, Saab, Porsche, M-B, etc as it does not rust, does not corrode, and is very workable. I could bend it easily by hand without kinking, and you can bend it 2-3 times before it starts to work harden.














Took me a while to figure out where to stick the stupid fuel pressure regulators. Wouldn't go on the frame because they were too tall, couldn't mount them outboard on the firewall because of where the exhaust pipes will be... finally settled on the Vee between the blowers. VERY tight fit there, but if I get the tubes formed right for the blower inlets it should be alright.

[k8icu]

Stupid Question.... is the brake line DOT approved? I know you said it was used in Audi etc. but that doesn't always mean DOT approved it for your or my use.

[Josh]

I would assume so. I didnt look explicity at the package to see, but, it was sold over the counter at a major auto parts chain, so, I'm guessing it is. Good thing to look for in the future though.

[SOTVEN]

OH BOY, I CAN NOT WAIT TO SEE THIS MONSTER FIRED UP, AND MOVING UNDER ITS OWN POWER... KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK:D

[Josh]

finalized the belt routing. Just need to finish the brackets. I had the excellent idea of driving the water pump with the cog belt which does several things for me:

1. Solid driven water pump. Gotta love that.

2. Alows me to hard mount the PS pump, and then make my adjustments at the alternator. Can run dual belts around both, and end up with one V belt adjustment, instead of two.

3. Alows me to lean the jackshaft off to the drivers side, which makes getting to the water neck a heck of a lot easier, and also alows me to get significantly more wrap on the serpentine belts.

4. Serp idler pulley in the middle will be hard mounted, while the tensioner will be on the bottom where there is no chance of inducing slip in the belt on the blowers from idler fluctuations.

5. Uses a standard goodyear belt, number 4080455.

[Josh]

Finished the cog belt drive, and the serpentine belt is on order. The idler is on a bracket mounted to the water pump bolts and is sloted on the drivers side bolts to make tension adjustments. To tension it, you put a wrench on the bolt head in them middle of the idler, pull it tight, and then cinch the water pump bolts down. I plan on replacing the bolts with double ended hex studs, so that I can make adjustments to the belt tension without risking blowing the gasket on the water pump. Once I get the serp belt I can finish the rest of the drive. Was plesantly surprised at the cost, the belt was only 28 bucks. Also got the rear blower tie plate done. This is the plate that will weld to the the charge piping and carry the air from the turbos to the blower inlets. I need to make a front one as well that will tie the two blowers together at the front to keep them from flexing. Originally, the blowers were held down by 3 large bolts, but I could not get that system to work correctly, so they are held to the manifolds by the 4 bolts that originally held the discharge caps on, and I don't believe that they were designed to hold the blower's weight, so the plates will help tie them together and take some of the load off the 4 original bolts.

[Josh]

finished tacking and basic assembly of the blower drive bracket. Got the idler installed, as well as the tensioner for the serpentine belt. that thing travels all over!





















And, A video of the blowers/jackshaft being spun with the drill. WARNING: The drill makes a god aweful noise since it is right beside the camera mic. The fluttering sound in the background that sounds like helecopter blades is the blowers:

[monkeymissile]

Josh,
your fabrication skills with seemingly limited tools is impressive. You'd be a terror in a full machine shop!

[k8icu]

Is your middle name Rube? Wow what a set up.... I'd be afraid of all those moving parts...

[Josh]

Thanks Monkey! I'd love to have a lathe, mill, and plasma cutter. I have solidworks, and it can export CNC code... would make my life a lot easier. As it is, I just have to come up with more elaborate, or more novel solutions, which, are usually cheaper and easier anyways! They just take longer to think up!

Tonight I went back through and made a bunch of small adjustments, including the location of the tensioner(was too close to the jackshaft pulley), then welded her up. Within a 1/16" of an inch alignment axially, and a few degrees radially all around now. Even if something is off, and it were to wear the bely extremely fast, say, every 10K miles, that would be 2-3 years worth of driving, so, Im not too concerned.

[monkeymissile]

my truck is in NH and I have full access to the shop I used to work at 3 miles away. It's dangerous though since I think if I entered, I might never leave! I am learning CNC programming now, there's a CNC lathe and (3) VMCs at my disposal, plus a full welding area. It's heavenly