[F87source]

Originally Posted by Tes

Yea I think your idea makes a lot more sense then trying to buy the perfect length E10. Yea I was about to say yo boi Frtiz skipped the most important part how he torque it hahah. I was studying the lay out a bit today I think for the actual bolts that secure the guard might need to get at it from underneath. I guess it will be a lot easier once the balancer is off.

Yeah using the 1" extension is more optimal imo.

Yeah idk I personally don't like how fritz does some of his work but I won't hate on him.


You can get to those bolts on the bed plate from either under the car or not.

[2020M2Competition]

I'm thinking about getting the Malo guard, but I'm curious to know if anyone has any thoughts on how the VTT guard compares

https://vargasturbo.com/product/vtt-...nk-seal-guard/

Potential pros

A bit less expensive
Also uses billet construction
Also does not have the alignment ridge
12.9 hardware

Potential cons

Tab design does not look as robust to me
Not sure where it's made

[F87source]

Originally Posted by 2020M2Competition

I'm thinking about getting the Malo guard, but I'm curious to know if anyone has any thoughts on how the VTT guard compares

https://vargasturbo.com/product/vtt-...nk-seal-guard/

Potential pros

A bit less expensive
Also uses billet construction
Also does not have the alignment ridge
12.9 hardware

Potential cons

Tab design does not look as robust to me
Not sure where it's made

Exactly how I feel. The cons with the vtt plate is the tabs definitely don't look as strong. It's likely made on China where they produce all their other products, is that a problem? No if qc is good, but I have no idea about that.


Grade 12.9 hardware doesn't matter, the aluminum threads in the bed plate will fail long before a grade 12.9 bolt of even a stainless bolt fails.

[Tes]

Wanted to post a quick update. I'm currently working on installing the crank guard. So far so good using the top down method. I'll provide a detailed write up with pictures and what tools I used when I'm done but from what I see so far it is definitely fine using the top down method (At this point I have all the bolts off).

The only minor hiccup I ran into is that unlike the video, I'm not sure if the M2 fans are a bit different or what but the harmonic balancer won't clear the crank hub centre bolt and the fan. So it has to be left in sort of hanging there on the side. I thought this was a mission critical issue but it's not. You can still sneak the crank guard in between and get it on.

Fingers crossed, but I don't foresee any issues coming up. Will report back!

[F87source]

Originally Posted by Tes

Wanted to post a quick update. I'm currently working on installing the crank guard. So far so good using the top down method. I'll provide a detailed write up with pictures and what tools I used when I'm done but from what I see so far it is definitely fine using the top down method (At this point I have all the bolts off).

The only minor hiccup I ran into is that unlike the video, I'm not sure if the M2 fans are a bit different or what but the harmonic balancer won't clear the crank hub centre bolt and the fan. So it has to be left in sort of hanging there on the side. I thought this was a mission critical issue but it's not. You can still sneak the crank guard in between and get it on.

Fingers crossed, but I don't foresee any issues coming up. Will report back!

Thanks for the update.

Yeah that radiator fan is a huge PITA on the m2. I know you can partially lift the radiator fan - I wonder if that will help clearance and removal of the dampener?


I do look forward to your install images though.

[Tes]

Originally Posted by F87source

Thanks for the update.

Yeah that radiator fan is a huge PITA on the m2. I know you can partially lift the radiator fan - I wonder if that will help clearance and removal of the dampener?


I do look forward to your install images though.

Work still proceeding the guard is essentially installed. The only thing I needed to go run and pick up was a 6mm hex with a 1/4" drive for the malo provided bolts. I had a 6mm hex 3/8" drive and the bit is too thick at the end and interfered with the engine. My passenger side is torqued with a 1/4" drive torque wrench, of course I choked and dropped the hex onto the belly pan before I could torque the driver side lol... Going to jack up the car and fish it out after dinner.

But essentially F87source your strategy works perfectly. I already checked the clearance with a E10 socket 1/4" and use a 1/4" to 3/8" adapter and the 3/8" princess auto torque wrench fits just fine lots of clearance on both sides for putting it back together.

As an aside, is it normal for my engine block to look like that? LOLOL I think it's just casting imperfections but dam it looks like a junk yard motor with all those gouges XD

[F87source]

Originally Posted by Tes

Work still proceeding the guard is essentially installed. The only thing I needed to go run and pick up was a 6mm hex with a 1/4" drive for the malo provided bolts. I had a 6mm hex 3/8" drive and the bit is too thick at the end and interfered with the engine. My passenger side is torqued with a 1/4" drive torque wrench, of course I choked and dropped the hex onto the belly pan before I could torque the driver side lol... Going to jack up the car and fish it out after dinner.

But essentially F87source your strategy works perfectly. I already checked the clearance with a E10 socket 1/4" and use a 1/4" to 3/8" adapter and the 3/8" princess auto torque wrench fits just fine lots of clearance on both sides for putting it back together.

As an aside, is it normal for my engine block to look like that? LOLOL I think it's just casting imperfections but dam it looks like a junk yard motor with all those gouges XD

Do you think a 6mm 1/4" drive with a 3/8" adapter with a 3/8" torque wrench will fit on the passenger side? I really don't want to buy a 1/4" torque wrench.


Also wow those are deep gouges, iirc my m2 didn't look that bad. I'll see when I pull the damper for myself.

[Tes]

Originally Posted by F87source

Do you think a 6mm 1/4" drive with a 3/8" adapter with a 3/8" torque wrench will fit on the passenger side? I really don't want to buy a 1/4" torque wrench.


Also wow those are deep gouges, iirc my m2 didn't look that bad. I'll see when I pull the damper for myself.

You might have clearance issues the 3/8" socket might come in contact with the engine.

I'm under the car now and I've got a better solution for you! Don't try to torque the 2 seal guard bolts from above, take off the belly pan and it's a straight shot at the bolts haha. So right now I have a huge apparatus set up, I have my (6mm 1/4" drive hex, 1/4" to 3/8" adapter, 3/8" extender, 3/8" to 1/2" adapter, 1/2" extender, and I'm using my 1/2" torque wrench to torque. Definitely more elegant solutions out there using longer extenders but lemme tell you it's a straight shot at the bolts, it's beautiful so easy to torque from underneath once you drop the belly pan

[F87source]

Originally Posted by Tes

You might have clearance issues the 3/8" socket might come in contact with the engine.

I'm under the car now and I've got a better solution for you! Don't try to torque the 2 seal guard bolts from above, take off the belly pan and it's a straight shot at the bolts haha. So right now I have a huge apparatus set up, I have my (6mm 1/4" drive hex, 1/4" to 3/8" adapter, 3/8" extender, 3/8" to 1/2" adapter, 1/2" extender, and I'm using my 1/2" torque wrench to torque. Definitely more elegant solutions out there using longer extenders but lemme tell you it's a straight shot at the bolts, it's beautiful so easy to torque from underneath once you drop the belly pan

Yeah I knew about the underbody torque method I was worried about socket clearance.

But thanks for confirming!

[Tes]

Originally Posted by F87source

Yeah I knew about the underbody torque method I was worried about socket clearance.

But thanks for confirming!

Another quick observation. So I tried torquing it 3 times now (And once with my girl friend above the car holding the plate down). The plate does belly a bit in the most upper section, I don't think it is possible to not make it absolutely flush. But from feeling the back to the balancer, I think it just needs to be lower than the plane where the balancer bolts onto. I don't think this is an issue I still have about 1mm clearance from that plane.

[F87source]

Originally Posted by Tes

Another quick observation. So I tried torquing it 3 times now (And once with my girl friend above the car holding the plate down). The plate does belly a bit in the most upper section, I don't think it is possible to not make it absolutely flush. But from feeling the back to the balancer, I think it just needs to be lower than the plane where the balancer bolts onto. I don't think this is an issue I still have about 1mm clearance from that plane.

Interesting, a guy who installed it on his 435i had it perfectly flush.

1) Did you use the washers?

2) Did you torque both sides evenly? This means tighten the left side a tiny bit, then tighten the right side a tiny bit, back and forth until you essentially reach torque specs consecutively. So you will tighten both sides by the same amount each time. Of course while holding the plate down.

[Tes]

Originally Posted by F87source

Interesting, a guy who installed it on his 435i had it perfectly flush.

1) Did you use the washers?

2) Did you torque both sides evenly? This means tighten the left side a tiny bit, then tighten the right side a tiny bit, back and forth until you essentially reach torque specs consecutively. So you will tighten both sides by the same amount each time. Of course while holding the plate down.

yep and yep! it is flush at first when I have the guard locked down, and as I torque each side slowly, the guard would belly more and more. To be honest the belly isn’t bad I’m brain storming if I should glue it down or something, doesn’t take much force. But yea I think the clearance wise it is still fine.

[F87source]

Originally Posted by Tes

yep and yep! it is flush at first when I have the guard locked down, and as I torque each side slowly, the guard would belly more and more. To be honest the belly isn’t bad I’m brain storming if I should glue it down or something, doesn’t take much force. But yea I think the clearance wise it is still fine.

Weird. So you mean it budlges outwards near the top?

Did you have any burs on the bed plate? That could be the culprit, seeing how bad your block is in terms of casting I wouldn't be surprised if you had some small burs.


But otherwise I'm not sure why it's form a belly the 435i guy had no problems. Maybe duct tape it down whole torquing.


Btw what torque value are you using? And do you have new stiffening plate bolts? Those are single use.

[Tes]

Originally Posted by F87source

Weird. So you mean it budlges outwards near the top?

Did you have any burs on the bed plate? That could be the culprit, seeing how bad your block is in terms of casting I wouldn't be surprised if you had some small burs.


But otherwise I'm not sure why it's form a belly the 435i guy had no problems. Maybe duct tape it down whole torquing.


Btw what torque value are you using? And do you have new stiffening plate bolts? Those are single use.

Yea I wiped around the whole circumference and it was smooth, I didn’t see anything abnormal. I guess worth a try but I probably will just leave it cause I had my girlfriend hold it down flush while torquing slowly on both sides and it was still bellying slight. And I torqued as per the paper work 15 ft/lbs.

Ah the stiffening plate. no… lol hahaha so I meant to get those bolts a long time ago but it is kinda expensive in canada. I been torquing it to spec but didn’t add in the 90 degree rotation. Improper I know, after I get my down pipe I’ll replace the bolts and torque it up for good. with CP, down pipe, intercooler I shouldn’t be taking that plate out for awhile.

[Tes]

Got the balancer back on the car and all the bolts are back in Just need to torque them in order now. Honestly it was a lot easier than I thought. I budgeted for 5 hours to frustration took me 20 minutes lol. I lined up the balancer to where it is supposed to sit and jammed a microfibre towel to hold it against the engine and jammed garbage bag underneath to hold it up (And also catch my bolts if I butter finger it). After it is in place, I used my phone camera to line up the bolt holes. And then with my fingers threaded it in 1 by 1 (Use 2 fingers, once you feel a hole, stand up the bolt and thread in).

As an aside, while I was certain that the balancer was seated. I turned it back and forth and didn't feel it rubbing against the guard. Fingers crossed so far so good

[F87source]

Originally Posted by Tes

Got the balancer back on the car and all the bolts are back in Just need to torque them in order now. Honestly it was a lot easier than I thought. I budgeted for 5 hours to frustration took me 20 minutes lol. I lined up the balancer to where it is supposed to sit and jammed a microfibre towel to hold it against the engine and jammed garbage bag underneath to hold it up (And also catch my bolts if I butter finger it). After it is in place, I used my phone camera to line up the bolt holes. And then with my fingers threaded it in 1 by 1 (Use 2 fingers, once you feel a hole, stand up the bolt and thread in).

As an aside, while I was certain that the balancer was seated. I turned it back and forth and didn't feel it rubbing against the guard. Fingers crossed so far so good

Good stuff!

[Tes]

Complete now. Car runs, belt didn't fly off the car and no rubbing.

The only issue I ran into torquing the balancer back was I had a lot of trouble on of course my number 8 bolt the last bolt... I don't know if the bolt was imperfect or it was just the angle and orientation but the socket kept on sliding off. I probably did the first 7 bolts within 20 minutes and struggled for an hour with the last one. I got it to about 95% there it was just about to click judging from the feel when the other 7 clicked but I just couldn't get there it kept on slipping and I didn't want to risk damaging the bolt (That would be a KMS moment). Decided to risk it for the biscuit and skipped it given my other 7 are to spec and that one is almost there... Anyways I'm done now will be taking the car out for a drive later. Pray for me I don't get a balancer flying through the night sky....

[Tes]

Here is my detail write up before I forget!

In terms of installation steps, there really isn't much to it. The video F87Source included outlines the steps really well. The more important part of this installation are the tools used due to clearances. To be clear, I doubt you need to get the exact tools I used since there were still plenty of room for deviations. But I'll list what I used if you want to do the exact same.

Like I mentioned I used the top down method. 3 hiccups I ran into was first like I mentioned before the harmonic balancer can't be fully removed from our cars. Granted I didn't try very hard to squeeze it past the fan and I didn't want to have to go through the same thing putting it back. I left it hanging beside the hub and it is not mission critical. You can still sneak the guard past. The other hiccup is probably just a personal issue. I had issues bolting up my #5 and #8 bolts, honestly it is probably just the orientation and the particular bolt & socket variations not jiving. #8 is still not fully torqued to spec will be trying later this week with a different socket when it arrives. More details below. My crank guard also didn't sit perfectly flush despite multiple attempts of slowly torquing it while holding it down, it belly'd up slight on the top portion. But as long as the guard sits underneath the plane where the balancer bolt up to, it won't rub. I had about 1mm clearance to that plane and mine did not rub.

I won't mentioned the previous prep steps (intake and belt removal), they are easy just follow the video. I'll list all the tools by task first. After I'll put where I got them from.

Removing harmonic balancer:
1. 3/8" Drive E10 Socket.
2. 3/8" to 1/4" Drive Adapter.
3. 1/4" Ratchet.

Removing the 2 existing bolts where the crank guard bolts up to:
1. 3/8" Drive E12 Socket. (1/4" drive will work better, it'll have more clearance with the engine block)
2. 3/8" to 1/4" Drive adapter.
3. 1/4" Ratchet.
4. 1/4" extender. (I used the extender for the passenger side bolt without going underneath the car)

Installing the crank guard:
1 trick I used was that I used electrical tape and taped it around the crank hub. Then I placed on the guard. I did this to ensure it doesn't contact the Hub and I can just focus on getting the guard flush. After it is bolted up, you can rip the tape off and because electrical tape is very stretchy, it won't break while sliding past the guard. Of course I inspected the tape to confirm that no piece came off.
1. 1/4" drive 6mm hex.
2. 1/4" extender, 1/4" to 3/8" adapter, 3/8" extender, 3/8" to 1/2" adapter, 1/2" extender, 1/2" torque wrench. This is used to torque the hex bolts for the crank guard from underneath the car. You can definitely find a more elegant solution just get some longer extensions, I just used whatever I got and made it work lol. I highly recommend you torque these 2 bolts from underneath. I did manage to torque the passenger side with a 1/4" torque wrench but the driver side there is not enough clearance to torque. It is 10000% easier underneath the car it is a straight shot at the 2 bolts very straight forward and beautiful.

Installing back the harmonic balancer.
Like my previous comment. start off by seating the balancer in its final position and use whatever you have to support it in place (I used garbage bags and towels). From there, use your phone camera to look at the bolt holes and slowly rotate the balancer to get it to line up. Once it is lined up, just use your fingers to thread the bolts in. This task is not difficult, it would be a pain if you tried to hold the balancer in place yourself and blindly trying to get the bolts in. Do what I did get the balancer seated and secured. Line it up with your phone camera, and thread in the bolt. This is super easy and took me less than 30 min.
1. 1/4" drive E10 socket.
2. 1/4" drive to 3/8" drive adapter.
3. 3/8" torque wrench.

After the bolts are torqued in order. Rest is easy.

Below is where I got my tools.

Canadian tire Stanley Socket set (Image also attached):
1. 3/8" drive E10 socket.
2. The T60 used for the tensioner.
3. 3/8" drive E12 socket.

Canadian tire master craft socket set (Image also attached):
1. 1/4" ratchet.
2. 1/4" drive to 3/8" drive adapter.
3. 1/4" extender.
4. 3/8" extender.
5. 3/8" to 1/2" drive adapter.
6. 1/2" extender.

1/4" drive E10 socket. (https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B07...?ie=UTF8&psc=1)
Like I mentioned. I ordered another socket to try out to torque my #8 bolt. (https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B07...?ie=UTF8&psc=1)
Again you probably don't need to do this.

Powerfist adapter set from princess auto: (https://www.princessauto.com/en/7-pc...t/PA0008616914)
1. 3/8" to 1/4" drive adapter

Pro Point stubby hex socket set from princess auto: (https://www.princessauto.com/en/9-pc...t/PA0008842262)
1. 1/4" drive 6mm hex.

Tekton 1/2" torque wrench from Amazon. (https://www.amazon.ca/TEKTON-24340-2...33&s=hi&sr=1-5)

Powerfist 3/8" torque wrench from Princess Auto. (https://www.princessauto.com/en/3-8-...t/PA0002920935)

Tekton 1/4" torque wrench from Amazon. (https://www.amazon.ca/TEKTON-24320-4...64&s=hi&sr=1-5)
Again the 1/4" torque wrench is not required.

[MONSTAR]

How wet do the harmonics get with a dampener?

[F87source]

Originally Posted by MONSTAR

How wet do the harmonics get with a dampener?

I'm sorry but what does this even mean?

[MONSTAR]

Originally Posted by F87source

I'm sorry but what does this even mean?

Its a joke. Try googling dampener vs. damper.

Its OK...it happens a lot in discussions about suspension as well.

[F87source]

Originally Posted by MONSTAR

Its a joke. Try googling dampener vs. damper.

Its OK...it happens a lot in discussions about suspension as well.

Well dampen has 2 meanings: to make wet or to lessen a force... So the term still applies.


Damper is also austrialian soda bread so yeah