1979 320i Daily Build

[Somjuan]

Hi! First actual thread in the forums, so bear with me if I miss something important. So here's the deal, I picked up a non running and straight but terribly painted fjord-blue 1979 320i with the intent of making it a long term project, motor swap, etc.

I fixed the CIS system and got it running within a week and took a shine to the M10 currently in it with 200k miles. However, my other daily car kicked the bucket in a bad way, so this was actually more economical to throw a set of tires and some basic maintenance on it, so in a fun twist of fate it became my daily, despite being the second car I've ever wrenched on. Following a lot of old threads here I got it running well and passed smog in California with flying colors on a reactor, but with one recent caveat after around two months use;

I quite literally just fixed my air conditioning last week, and converted to r-134a with the old york brick compressor on mineral oil which works like a charm. Pulled vacuum, checked pressure, checked the pulley for excessive movement, etc. The current question is what is causing my car to stumble and sometimes stall in neutral when the ac is running. Instinct says that it's either the alternator failing or a vacuum leak somewhere, but electrical work is basically magic to me. First question is whether it's just my idle set too low? I hesitate to adjust because it hovers around the stock 900-950. Otherwise, open to wisdom from the more experienced, as it doesn't seem to me like the car would adjust the idle to compensate for ac due to the age of the car.

Otherwise, here's what I've done so far:
Oil change
Cooling system rebuild
Valve adjustment
Coolant flush
Transmission flush (scary metallic fluid and a porcupine magnetic plug, looking for a 5spd after that)
New tires
Brake light mod to quad lights
Suspension inspection (remarkably clean, essentially rust free with decent rubber bushings)

Overall pretty proud because it didn't run for twelve years before I got it. The interior is flawless except for the usual cracked dash. Thanks for your help!

-John

http://imgur.com/1dmPmIG

[Bimmerknut]

Welcome to the family!!.....As most of us old-timers will tell you whenever you're chasing electrical issues, clean your main grounds. Particularly the one to the battery tray and the one to the block. Clean all the connection hardware and replace if their worn and frayed. If the main ground strap to the block is oily, dirty, worn, replace it with a new flat cable or even a short battery cable, and again make sure the mating surfaces are all clean. Start with that and then see where you are.

[Somjuan]

I think the one on the block is the only one I haven't touched! Sneaky little bugger next to the warm up regulator, yeah? I'll do that now

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No dice, both the grounds are clean on the driver side block/engine mount. I should mention that I ran through every ground I could find getting it started, brand new battery with higher cold cranking amps too.

[Tom D]

.....what is causing my car to stumble and sometimes stall in neutral when the ac is running.....

that old york compressor takes a few ponies to spin and when in neutral the M10 with its puny piston count and small single mass flywheel there's just not enough inertia to keep things turning. there is also no idle speed step up for the ac and if the electric fan kicks in then theres even more drag from the alternator. i wouldn't be concerned, just get it running in top form and the problem won't be as bad, but it will never go away.

if you can find an early E30 318i with a M10 you can take the ac bracket and switch to a rotary pump.

[tribri]

As I had used A/C almost everyday when driving this car, I just bumped the idle up with the A/C on. A little annoying idling at 1000 off A/C, but no stalling. I adjust it back down when the temperature cools off for the season. Agree w/Tom as to the reason. Vacuum leaks certainty don't help either.

[Somjuan]

Shame! Ended up testing the alt and fresh battery, and sure enough the alternator was failing. Since I was going to have to replace it to put in a sub later, I picked one up. About halfway through installing an 80 amp now, so I'll just do that and then up the idling speed. The york compressor is truly awful though. Hopefully the 80 amp doesn't make too much resistance itself

[Somjuan]

Replaced the alternator without incident to a 80 amp 1985 318 alternator, now I have room for a subwoofer to shake the rust off...if it had any! On a side note, while I was looking at the belt to make sure the tension was right, I saw a puff of smoke come from the number three cylinder. No milky coolant, no overheating, but I think a head job is in my future. Probably why the car was put on blocks for so long. Anyone have any good experience with that? Spare heads? Tips and tricks? I was gonna go with the plate glass and sandpaper method if it's not too retro

If you can find an early E30 318i with a M10 you can take the ac bracket and switch to a rotary pump

Just saw that faq from Ski, thanks for the tip! Anyone have any spares? I will happily buy them off of you over a junkyard special

[Thecatmilton]

Do your a/c compressor a favor and change its oil. This mineral oil is very old, and mine looked nasty when I drained it. I have started an a/c repair thread that has information about this and places to buy the necessary stuff to overhaul the a/c system. HC12 also performs much better than r134a in the e21 system as it is more like r12.

[Somjuan]

Do your a/c compressor a favor and change its oil. This mineral oil is very old, and mine looked nasty when I drained it. I have started an a/c repair thread that has information about this and places to buy the necessary stuff to overhaul the a/c system. HC12 also performs much better than r134a in the e21 system as it is more like r12.

Funny you should mention that, it just seized. I'll be following your thread with glee applying to the new one. Anyone want a brick?

[jaredmac11]

Transmission flush (scary metallic fluid and a porcupine magnetic plug, looking for a 5spd after that)


http://imgur.com/1dmPmIG

Are transmission flushes still recommended at this life of the transmission? Ive always wondered myself...

Nice e21! Welcome to the community, you have a strong group of guys who are a wealth of knowledge. Good place to be.

[Somjuan]

Working so far, no slippage and shifting is smoother. The way I heard it, they recommend every 100k now. The analogy I got was your 91 year old grandpa going to the doc for the first time in his life for a physical, then dying at 95, and then you blame the doc. Worst worry was that I'd have to pull the tranny and rebuild, but so far so good. Shifts like butter! But your mileage may definitely vary hahahah

[epmedia]

Are transmission flushes still recommended at this life of the transmission? Ive always wondered myself...

Yes, especially if not been serviced regularly as recommended.

Somjuan - aside from normal tune up items and checking for vacuum leaks; only use plain copper or silver spark plugs, gapped no bigger that .028" for the points ignition system. I only mention this in case you've deviated from OE specs.

[Somjuan]

I think I'm gapped at .30, so I'll redo that. Otherwise, new ignition wires and coil, new battery, and a new stereo just for kicks. Valve cover gasket is also new, as is most of the rubber under the hood. Only two of the old hoses passed muster

[Somjuan]

that old york compressor takes a few ponies to spin ... if you can find an early E30 318i with a M10 you can take the ac bracket and switch to a rotary pump.

After a solid week of searching, found one! The pump and bracket started black with oil, the bracket is soaking in degreaser now, and the pump is shiny!! Is there a good way to test the clutch without having it on? I can spin it freely, but I hear a spun bearing or some serious accumulation of old crap in there. Cracking it open tomorrow to see what's what but already ordered a new bearing and picked up PAG 100 oil. Tips and tricks?

[Somjuan]

The air conditioning rebuild is going smoothly, ordering the bits and pieces like the new receiver drier, expansion valve, etc. I have yet to pull off the brick, but I'm excited to get cold air blowing in the cabin. The compressor ended up being a Behr from the 318, the bracket cleaned nicely and will be easy to tension for the belt, but I still have some questions:

1. Do I still use the recommended volume of oil when converting to 134a? Oil seems likely incompressible compared to the gas, so to increase system volume of gas and decrease pressure it seems like running with slightly less oil could be a solution to the refrigerant differences
2. This car seems to be related to a greenhouse in design, the first hint being the heat on my feet from the engine driving. Has anyone insulated their car and had noticable effects on lowering temperature? I was thinking the roof is likely to be completely uninsulated based off the temperature and noise.
3. Completely unrelated, but my right control arm is shot. Should I replace both of the front control arms at the same time?
4. How in bad taste would it be to make the rear windows lightly reflective? It gets really hot here during the summer, just trying to make my polar bear self happy.

Pictures will be incoming over the next month or so as soon as the bits and pieces are painted properly and all parts are being installed. Might take me a bit because school is winding down.

Cheers!

[Somjuan]

This weekend I replaced the right control arm with a buddy and I'm pleased to say that the creaking is gone after an alignment! No more sounding like a box spring on a bump. While we were at it we took out the old york compressor and tested the fittings for the rebuilt bosch from the '84 m10. Sadly, the hose fittings don't match, so I'm going to be requesting a new barrier hose for my birthday. Other than that, I replaced the expamsion valve and receiver drier, so air conditioning is in my near future. Can't wait to chill myself out of the car! Slight fuel leak from the old breather hoses, that'll be tackled after finals alng with the bad seal on the pump.

Cheers!

[Tom D]

....Can't wait to chill myself out of the car! ....

now that's funny. with the face lifted cars bmw made an attempt to build in an operable AC system, before that the AC was only to keep you from crying during the hot months.

[Somjuan]

Depending on how bad it is, I have a pick and pull nearby and a lot of fiberglass. Might have to fabricate something because the airflow is laughable. But my other idea is actually insulating the roof, doors, and floor properly then tinting the rear windows. Just buying as much of an advantage as I can get for the lot of it.

[Somjuan]

I'm trying to reupholster the rear parcel deck while I rewire the speakers, is there any trick to removing the old, brittle carpet from the flimsy plastic stuff? I'm half tempted to fiberglass the bottom and make a separate one, then carpet that. Anyone have a good experience with that?

[MortyCrock]

I'm trying to reupholster the rear parcel deck while I rewire the speakers, is there any trick to removing the old, brittle carpet from the flimsy plastic stuff? I'm half tempted to fiberglass the bottom and make a separate one, then carpet that. Anyone have a good experience with that?

This!

http://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/sh...9#post16463019

[Somjuan]

Wow, I don't know how I missed that yesterday in the FAQ. Ah well, here was my experience with it for anyone else that doesn't find it. What I ended up doing for the reupholstery was finding some suede at a local fabric shop and using headliner spray adhesive ($24 total) and a staple gun to attach it.

IMG_0383.jpgIMG_0382.JPG

Here's what I started out with yesterday following that guide. The carpet had seen ay better days, it was actually crumbling to the touch. Which, least to say, bugged me a bit. Especially since other than the cracked dash, the rest of the interior is immaculate. From a distance it wasn't that bad, but the damage was pretty apparent after pulling off the seats and seeing that at one point it matched the color of the floor carpet!

So I pulled it off carefully, separating the staples first and then going over the edge, which came off in multiple pieces. Eep.

IMG_0384.jpgIMG_0385.jpg

Wasn't all that bad, I expected worse because of the sound deadening that was crumbling below the speakers. There's the replacement cloth, and here's the final product! Still need to make some spacers for the speakers and refinish the tweeter covers, but it's a grand improvement.

IMG_0391.JPG

...Which is beautifully upside down for you Australian folks

[Somjuan]

And one better shot of the finished product on the bench

IMG_0388.JPG

The little chihuahua is going to love his updated seating

[MortyCrock]

Looks good! I'm glad the link helped out. I have a lot of the DIYs and FAQs bookmarked for when I dive into my project this summer sometime.

[Somjuan]

Alright, I'm stuck. I have a metallic rattling noise coming from the front right end after the control arm and brakes were replaced that may have been there the whole time (but was inaudible before). Had the car aligned, new tires balanced and rotated, and the lower end and brakes inspected by a trustworthy mechanic while it was up. The left tie rod was the only offender with a lot of play, but could that cause the rattling? Either way I'll pull the tie rod and replace it. Only other thought I have is the shock mount, but it looks good. Flumoxed here

[dups]

First guess...heat shield on the manifold. If you have the original that is. I just realized that you have an early model (although '79 is a mix of both), you should have the 2 liter engine and the cover can come loose often making a terrible racket.

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Oh...and you should post pictures here, on this page of the engine bay, wheels etc. The one pic on imgur is too big to center on a regular webpage. That way, ppl here can see what's been changed, added, or missing.