88 IX Rescue/Roadtrip!

[calebchesh]

The year is 2002 (ish). I was already into cars a fair bit at this point and had 2 years of auto tech under my belt and thought I knew everything. My dad had a 91 MR2 turbo that was pretty mint that I loved riding in and that of course made me an instant boostaholic as well. Earlier in life a good friend of my dads had a 325is and I fell in love with it and always wanted one. Naturally, I was looking to see what my first car would be as i would get my license soon. I saw a 325ix on a local classifieds ad and asked if my dad would take me to look at it. I went and it was black on black 2 door and I knew it was AWD which would be nice in the mountains of NC for the winter. I had no money and my dad was not interested in loaning me the money. Fast forward to a couple weeks ago. My dad texts me and says "someone donated a 2 door 325ix to the church, do you want it?". I txt back, trying to mask my excitement, that I wanted more details. Below is what I know so far.

Good:
88 325ix
202k miles
black on black
Interior is in good shape, no tears
minor cancer shown in the pictures
engine runs good

Bad:
Brakes are leaking... hardline to the rear is rotted out
Some rust

My dad has driven the car up to 60mph and says it doesn't have any shakes or anything. Accelerates fine and the AC is even cold. Says the clutch feels a little weak.

TLDR childhood dream car comes available for supa cheap... like $500 cheap...

A buddy of mine and I have bought one way tickets from Longview to Charlotte. The plan is to come and fix the car and road trip back to TX. I need some advice on what all you guys think I should take care of before leaving?

1. What all should I replace on the brake system besides the obvious leaking lines and pads?
2. I cannot find the front rubber lines that are apparently IX specific. It looks like maybe I just get E36 front lines?
3. Anything else I should check/replace before leaving? I already plan on checking/changing all fluids and pulling the front drive shaft out and lubricating the splines.

Last but not least... My and this buddy and one other buddy have talked about filming a web show about some of adventures for years and we are going to use this trip as the pilot episode. Including some of the fixing, some of the road trip, and hopefully a trip to a friends shop with an AWD dyno if we have time to see what it makes now (after we change all fluids and make sure that is a a good idea)

Video of underhood and car running

https://youtu.be/tHhVj_HaHlM

PICSSSSS

[driftxsequence]

I'd flush the coolant system really well
And try to pull back the timing cover and inspect the belt.
Check your tires for dry rot. they get warm(er) during extended driving than a short trip to the store.
Make sure your temp gauge is working.
Take a peek at your CV boots. for a one way trip it sounds like a temp fix like duct tape would do..

[calebchesh]

Thanks for the tips! Any thoughts on the car overall?

I'd flush the coolant system really well
Good thought! Seems like cheap insurance that probably needs done anyways... I will definitely at least look at the fluid and see how it looks... The car was driven a couple months ago on a somewhat daily basis
And try to pull back the timing cover and inspect the belt.
That is also a great idea... I assume most local auto parts stores would carry the belt if I needed to replace it. My dad knows the PO so I could have him ask when that last one was done...
Check your tires for dry rot. they get warm(er) during extended driving than a short trip to the store.
The tires are actually new as is the battery which is awesome
Make sure your temp gauge is working.
I will have him check
Take a peek at your CV boots. for a one way trip it sounds like a temp fix like duct tape would do..

We will be under the car quite a bit for other stuff so I will for sure add this to the list...

[flyboyx]

a few years ago, my son and i bought a 91 ix in charleston, sc for 700 bucks. we flew over there, did some maintenance to it and drove it back to houston. i made a thread about it, but unfortunately it was on e30 tech which is tits up these days.

as driftxsequence alluded to, you really ought to change the timing belt before you leave.

we waited until we got back to texas to change our t belt. it worked out for us but was, in retrospect, a bad idea.

look under the car for leaks. if you find a diff or t case leaking, check the level. if its really low, drain and refill, but check it regularly on the drive.

our car had a slightly damaged t case and was leaking a fair amount. i stopped to check it every other fill up. we never had to add fluid, but it was good peace of mind.

[calebchesh]

Flyboy

Ahh so you are fairly familiar with this sort of trip... sounds like it was probably a good time for both of yall though! I can't wait to get see it. Yah if my dad cannot talk to the PO I will probably change it before we go...

[Kershaw]

You cannot drive a car with a leaking brake line, that is very dangerous. You never know the moment when you get on the brakes hard and it goes from a small seep to completely blown. You'll lose braking power everywhere. Driving even 10 mph without brakes is surprisingly scary, personal experience. I'm surprised your dad drove it.

Replace the brake line. It's a pain in the ass job to do. You have to lower the rear subframe or remove it. I lowered mine 4" and got the job done. It took me a long ass time. I think 10 hours. It's in a very inconvenient location. The T fitting will definitely be seized, so you need the 3 hard lines and the T fitting.

http://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/showparts?id=1293-USA-10-1987-E30-BMW-325ix&diagId=34_0153

#3, 10, 11, and 12

Flush the coolant, do an oil change, and do a timing belt job before you drive it back. And when you get back, flush the coolant again and do another oil change.

[driftxsequence]

The OP did say this car was driven fairly regularly. We may be going overboard by telling him to do all this work. It sounds like he will be limited by time. What if something breaks while disassembling? Now hes got a car in pieces, parts could be days away and not able to readily get back home.

[nando]

E36 lines do fit up front. I think I have a set of new ix front brake lines (stock) somewhere though.

[EyExR]

I'll also echo what kershaw said - replacing the rear brake lines is a huge PITA job.

[calebchesh]

Kershaw: He was not aware of a leak at the time that he drove it, the brakes were just a bit squishy. Thanks for the heads up though! Also yah hopefully we can get it done in time to leave Monday at the latest to get back to work Tuesday! Also also I love your profile pic!

Drift: Yah I am hoping that was the case, the PO is a doctor and apparently maintained it decently well. Hopefully nothing breaks irreparably in the small time we have... we shall see!

Nando: I actually found some new IX specific front lines from Dorman on rock auto. I cross referenced the part numbers to make sure they were not just sending me regular E30 lines and they indeed were not the same number. (although still crossing fingers that they will be correct.) So good to know on the e36 lines as I may be able to source those locally as a last resort.

EyEx: Yah I am not looking forward to it. I had a Galant VR4 that I bought back several years ago for like $300 that ran and drove but needed all the rear brake lines fixed... it sucked but was absolutely 100% worth it when done. That was an awesome car. I actually pulled a car up an icy hill with it after a 4x4 truck was incapable of doing so... makes yah kinda feel good haha


Well we fly out Thursday night at 630pm from Longview and get into Charlotte at midnight. My dad has agreed to pick us up and is taking Friday off to help out on the car as well. He even cleared out a spot in the garage for us, which will be awesome! The weather looks pretty good up in Boone for the weekend and we should be set. We got all our camera gear together last night and figured out how to transport roughly 40lbs of tools between 2 checked bags for the ride back. Thanks again so much for the help thus far guys. I will keep updating this thread as we go!

[driftxsequence]

Have him start hitting alllllll the nuts and bolts etc with pb blaster to start loosening junk up!

[calebchesh]

That's actually a really good idea... Maybe we should take a day to soak everything lol

[Kershaw]

Never hurts, but time is against you. So I'd soak everything you can when you first see it and then start on the timing belt first. Do the rear brake lines last.

[calebchesh]

Yah I believe we will have 3 people working on it at the same time. Me, my friend, and my dad, all car guys that have done all of these jobs on different vehicles at different times. We will be checking all fluids as well obviously, so could put one on timing belt, one on fluids, and one on keeping the brake lines wet with penetrating oil so that maybe eventually they will come out. I have ordered all the soft lines and the 3 way tee in the rear so... just the hardlines to bend up and roll...

[packratbimmer]

Check/lube the front shaft - if the front splines strip and the VC is bad, you will be calling a tow truck.

I would also make sure all of the tire diameters match for a road trip. It would be a bummer to fry a good VC.