New(ish) owner, 1988 325ic rehab-storation

[bmwtool]

Would the oil return tube be hard to do without the intake off?? I'm pretty sure that's where mines leaking the most oil from besides the valve cover.

I don't think it can be removed with the intake still on. Even with the spring collapsed all the way, there's not enough clearance. It sucks to have to pull the intake, but it's a great opportunity to replace the hard-to-access coolant hoses while your at it.

[Bggdnssnguy]

Well FML. Guess I need to get my truck running then.

Do you have a part number or where you got the seals for the oil return tube?

[bmwtool]

I got mine from Pelican parts as they're local-ish to me. Their website is pretty easy to use.

[Das Delfin]

bggd guy,

You can't replace the tube with the intake on, but you can replace the upper o-ring, which is usually the cause of the leaks. Just get your hand in there, clean off the tube, hold it down with one hand and fish out the o-ring with the other. realoem has the part numbers

OP, that second picture of connectors you found under the shock tower/fuse box area is normal. I believe it connects to an alarm system, which most e30s didn't use.

[Das Delfin]

..forgot to say, it's refreshing seeing maintenance done on these cars. Right there with you OP

[bmwtool]

..OP, that second picture of connectors you found under the shock tower/fuse box area is normal. I believe it connects to an alarm system, which most e30s didn't use.

Just to be clear, you're referring to the two wire connector, correct? Thanks for the info…. I'll keep searching for the six-wire connector. :up:

..forgot to say, it's refreshing seeing maintenance done on these cars. Right there with you OP

Thanks! I have to admit that after dealing with the Exxon Valdez mess around the intake manifold, it's really nice to see it, as we used to say in the military, Clean, dry and serviceable. :) I'm not aiming for "perfect" but I do appreciate things being tidy and functional!

This makes me happy:

[Das Delfin]

Yep the two wire. I haven't seen your 6 wire connector before. And that picture is amazing

[bmwtool]

All 8 coolant hoses replaced; new fuel line installed; new CPS and water temp senders; new intake boot, vacuum hoses; new water pump, timing belt and tensioner, new cam, crank and intermediate seals; new Bosch cap, rotor, plugs and IE plug wires; rebuilt fuel injectors, rebuilt starter and alternator; all gaskets replaced; tap and die used to chase all threads.

Still a lot of work to do, but it feels good to get some basic maintenance squared away! She idles at a steady 750rpm, now, and sounds great!



Also sourced some good quality wiring repair from Amazon: Ancor marine grade ring terminals and shrink tubing, butane soldering iron for in-car work, and Tesa cloth wiring loom tape to replace the disintegrated cloth tape under the hood.

[getouth]

You are doing it right! awesome addition to the site.....WELCOME.

[bmwtool]

You are doing it right! awesome addition to the site.....WELCOME.

Thanks for the encouraging words!

Today I made my first real performance mod. I needed new engine and tranny mounts, and I decided to go with something firmer than stock parts. It has been my experience that motor and tranny mounts are a very under-rated element of a tuning a car's handling. My goal with this convertible is, if I had to pick a term, 'sporty-lux'. I want to improve the performance of the car, but not to the point where the noise and vibration are constantly intrusive.

To that end, I picked 635 CSI motor mounts, and UUC black urethane tranny mounts from Turner Motorsport. I like to feel what the car is doing, even if I get a 'bit' more NVH in the cabin.

One pointer I would offer on removing the motor mounts that I didn't read elsewhere is to disconnect the air box from the chassis. I was surprised how high I had to jack the motor up to get the studs to clear, and I should have done that prior to starting and ramming the alternator into the airbox. Apart from that, the only other issue was getting wrenches on the top nuts, but a decent assortment of hand tools takes care of that. The tranny mounts are super easy, apart from access to the passenger side cross brace nut. My motor mounts weren't horrible, and looked like they were replaced at some point, but the tranny mounts looked original, and they were, in a word, weird. So gummy and spongy, I was surprised they could hold the tranny up.

Here's a pic of the new tranny mounts on the crossmember:




Once I got it all buttoned up, I took it for a test drive on Foothill Road (CA 192) At idle, I noticed no difference in cabin noise, but underway, I could feel more vibration, mostly through the shifter, but a little through the steering wheel, too. Nothing obtrusive, IMO, but enough to let me know what the car was doing. The difference in the switchbacks was phenomenal, though. Even with bad CAB's and sway bar mounts, the control was much improved. The weight of the engine and tranny were kept in control, and the car was much more FUN and controllable in the corners.

I can't wait to get my new control arms and CAB's in the car. :devil:

[bmwtool]

Catching up on a bunch of small repairs: Replaced the broken passenger side low beam; replaced the ripped shifter boot and missing emblem; rebuilt the Hirschmann antenna from two units, plus a new mast; got the radio code from the dealer, finally, and….the radio sounds like crap.

I had an issue with vibration after doing the motor and tranny mounts. Finally got a set of e21 tranny mounts and the cleared it up. I had to drill out the mount and grind the tranny tabs a bit, but they went right in and feel great. The e21 Febi mount is on the left, the UUC is on the right:



…and I replaced the fuse box cover because the latch was broke on the old one. Got the Uro part, and it feels well made, just missing the BMW logo in the middle.

Old:



New:

[Court M3]

Nice progress! Like the approach you are taking on this one.

[squidmaster]

Great progress! Looking forward to the future updates

[bmwtool]

Thanks, guys. I'm old and slow, but I'm persistent. These cars are such a pleasure to drive, and they're well-built, too, so they seem worth the effort. :up:

[bmwtool]

Sorry to bring this back from the dead, but I thought maybe an update could be of interest.

I sold the car when we left California. Last time I saw it, it was on the 101 near Ventura with a fresh set of coil overs, poor little bottle caps wondering what the hell they were doing way up in the wheel wells.

We're on the east coast now, and I couldn't live without a convertible, so I picked up another e30 and I'll start a thread on that soon. :-)