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Thread: New to BMW, E30 Help Requested.

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jul 2008
    Location
    MPLS, MN
    Posts
    2
    My Cars
    VW GTI, VW Cabrio, 325is

    New to BMW, E30 Help Requested.

    Hi guys, this is my first post in here and I will try to not sound like to much of an idiot. My brother bought this car in Minnesota, where I live. He plans to come out and drive it back to Rhode Island in a month or so, but asked if I could help get it cross-country road ready for him in the mean time.

    1987 325is w/ 230,000 miles. It has Ireland springs and exhaust with SportMax wheels. He paid $1500.00 and that is about all I know.

    Here are some picture I took of it last weekend:

    [edit: removed pics, I guess n00bs don't get to do that]

    Here is the project portion of this - I/We need to get this car ready for the cross country road trip and to top it off I know nothing, read NOTHING, about BMWs or E30s.

    My usual stomping ground is eurowerks.org and I have a 2001 VW GTI and a 1998 VW Cabrio. I am pretty familiar with these cars and not affraid of a good DIY, but at this point I don't even know what I don't know.

    Known issues that would effect a road trip:

    -Burns oil: probably the head, but might be rings? Needs a compression test. This is likely not high on the list as is... if he is good about his fluid checks it will likely be fine and can be addressed after the trip.

    -Overheats??? The temp gauge appears to be working and on the highway it drifts back to the normal range. Not sure why this is and the blower for the cabin is MIA so that is little help. Could it be as simple as a thermostat? I will be checking fluids this weekend to eliminate the headgasket. I am sure it could also be a bad water pump???

    -Starting Issues: Previous owner says he had the system checked out and it was fine. Also the battery is supposed to be from a known good running car. Testing will need to be done. All I know is it would not start for me today and I had to pop start it on flat ground by myself... fun. Also he mentioned that it would not jump-start either, when he tried. This leads me to think it might be an issue with the solenoid, relay or ignition switch. The car has no issues running accessories even when it does not start. Where do I find the starter relay? Is it in the fuse block? Which number?

    Other Annoyances:

    -HVAC Fan does not blow, but I hear fan spinning and it does change pitch depending on he speed dialed in, so not the resistor.

    -No Power Steering, which is fine for highway driving.

    -Needs a brake job in the worst way, needs a good bleeding too.

    -Passenger window (power) does not go down.

    -Leak in fuel return line.

    I apologize if I am too vague or don't have a lot of knowledge or light to shed on these items anymore. I will be spending some time with the car this weekend to become a bit more familiar.

    Anyway, I am sure I will need to technical expertise of you local E30 fanatics to sort out some of this stuff.

    I really appreciate any help, tips or tricks you guys can shed on these or other things to look for, THANKS!

    Pete

  2. #2
    Join Date
    May 2007
    Location
    Charleston, SC
    Posts
    1,330
    My Cars
    '15 I01Rex , '11F25
    Try jumping the car by the positive post up front on the passenger side of the engine compartment by the fire wall. If that works, then your problem is probably the fusable link back by the battery. Change oil for a high mileage formula to see if that helps, but with that amount of mileage... Does the aux fan come on when the temp rises? Is the P/S belt on? Fix the fuel return line.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Dec 2004
    Location
    Huntsville, AL
    Posts
    25,923
    My Cars
    87 325is
    At that mileage, worn valve guides and seals are likely. A clue as to that being the case will be a significant amount of oil in the intake.

    The overheating at idle or in low speed traffic could well be a bad fan clutch or a sticking thermostat. Replacement of those would be a good idea. And unless recently changed, replace the timing belt and water pump at the same time.
    The car makes it possible, but the driver makes it happen.
    Jim Levie, Huntsville, AL

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Sep 2006
    Location
    Michigan
    Posts
    13,674
    My Cars
    2005 325Xi
    i wouldn't recommend a cross-country trip any time real soon for this vehicle. At least get the starting and overheating issues dealt with.
    Quote Originally Posted by B4SH View Post
    If anyone knows, it's this guy who knows literally nothing about everything.
    Quote Originally Posted by fcvapor05 View Post
    Do you even OT? The mean 401k around here is probably about $6, what with all the shiny cars and $1,000 watches and donations to get other members' Volvos running.


  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jul 2008
    Location
    MPLS, MN
    Posts
    2
    My Cars
    VW GTI, VW Cabrio, 325is
    I agree, I have 6 weeks to get this sorted...

    Is there a way to test the fusable link? The starting issues happen about 15-20% of the time, so I cannot reliable duplicate the failure. If it is the link, would the Acc. still work?

    Also is the a starter relay?

    I will have to look into the aux fan. I assume this is the one in front of the radiator? As far as the clutch goes, when the engine is running, the fan spins... or is there some other way that this clutch fails? How can I test that? The TB and W/P will be a last resort if all other measures fail.

    The p/s belt is on. The reservoir cracked and the PO let it run out of fluid. So now it likely needs more than just a new tank.

    I will look into the intake for oil, but I am pretty sure it is the valves as well.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Sep 2006
    Location
    Michigan
    Posts
    13,674
    My Cars
    2005 325Xi
    The way to test the fan clutch is to get a rolled up newspaper or magazine and - while the engine is running and fully warmed up - attempt to stop the fan from spinning with the paper. Depending on the ease at which the fan stops spinning, you'll know whether the fan clutch is bad or not.

    Yes, there's a starter relay...sort of... it's under the little box next to the fuse panel. There's a main relay and a fuel pump relay. The main relay controls the starter.
    Quote Originally Posted by B4SH View Post
    If anyone knows, it's this guy who knows literally nothing about everything.
    Quote Originally Posted by fcvapor05 View Post
    Do you even OT? The mean 401k around here is probably about $6, what with all the shiny cars and $1,000 watches and donations to get other members' Volvos running.


  7. #7
    Join Date
    Oct 2006
    Location
    PR
    Posts
    473
    My Cars
    1990 535i
    The Bentley manual is your friend, buy one and read a bit every night it has every thing you need for procedures and troubleshooting. Verify if the Previous owner changed the timing belt recently. Good luck!

  8. #8
    Join Date
    May 2007
    Location
    Charleston, SC
    Posts
    1,330
    My Cars
    '15 I01Rex , '11F25
    Its been awhile since I had this problem with my daughter's e30(may that care Rust In Pieces). But an earlier response mentioned some relays, like starter and fuel pump, there might also be a cold start relay. I had a problem on warm restarts and it was a relay to the left of the steering column under the dash. It was approx 3/4 x 2 x 3- 1/2. (thanks for the memory jog, Critter7r). That seemed to solve the problem. My other daughter's e30es had a P/S problem, seals on the P/S rack were gone and I got a used rack from Bavarian Auto Rec that came with new tie-rod ends, As God is my witness I bolted that rack on in my back yard and it drove straight for 4 years before the car met its timely demise(she now has the e36/5) and was never put on an alignment rack. These are the cars BMW should have followed the 2002 with. (e21 people don't get mad but the k-jet that they were saddled with was horrible at best.)In fact on a day like today 93F you would have had a lot of trouble restarting them, until they came up with the auxillary fuel pump and a clever tech would adjust the warm-up regulator with the Bosch fuel pressure gauge and a long drift, but I digress.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Jul 2009
    Location
    Chitown///M
    Posts
    16
    My Cars
    fast 1s
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