89 325IX noobie w/ questions!

[FREEFLOW]

I have a couple of issues I'd like to address sooner than later... I'm new to E30 world and bought my E30 IX as a winter beater while my E46 M3 sleeps for the winter months.

1st. When in gear and w/ load especially, I hear a whining noise coming from the dash center of the car. Around the back of the engine & under the shifter area. What could this be? I noticed Fluid residue all around the front VC area... Although I've been told these were recently flushed/filled.

2nd. Shifter has up and down play, about a 1/4 of inch of up & down play. Makes me scared its going to fly out one day shifting into second... Anyway to narrow what could be causing this down?

3rd. will search the thread more thoroughly... but i'm sure i'll be posting very soon!

[FREEFLOW]

Also, cat back & rear muffler is rotted and disconnected at the resonator I think it is? first joint when moving towards the engine... could this cause any power loss or issues? I have an ANSA in the car right now... hoping for better idle and reving... more e30 325 like.

[FREEFLOW]

man, does this forum really suck this bad?

[325ix]

^ no theres only about 50 guys with ix's. For your first question I have no idea. The 2nd one get a shifter rebuild kit from pelican parts and the exhaust wont get much better as far as performance. The sound is really the only benefit

[stumble_t]

#1 could be transfer case noise from the chain.
read this: http://www.garlington.biz/Ray/BMW/xfercase.htm

#2 rebuild your shifter (this is very well doc'd) IX is specific but others can be bent to fit sounds like all you need here is bushings/cup.

[supernaughtIX]

if you want help with your ix, try e30tech.

[smcdermott326]

ok yeah, agreed #1 no idea. Noises are hard to diagnose over the internet. Is the tranny topped up? But some advice: Don't trust others words, trust yourself. Change all fluids with correct kind and amount, front diff, xfer case, rear diff...consider doing the tranny fluid too. That way at least if you are diagnosing something in a driveline component, you are at least starting off with knowledge that the fluids are correct and new and topped up. Make sure you clean-up good and then monitor every area for signs of leakage so that you know exactly what is leaking and needs monitoring at oil change intervals or more often. Then go from there to diagnosis more mechanical issues like the aforementioned chain noise.

#2 - Start dismantling the shifter to see if the cup is the culprit. Shifter rebuild is standard for me during a clutch job. how strong is the clutch? Its a lot of work to get access to all the bushings for renewal, but refreshing it makes it feel like new again. You can suffer with it or R & R it and have peace of mind. Consider doing clutch if doing all bushings. If bringing it somewhere to have the clutch done (I paid 800) see if you can bring them all the bushings it needs for the job.

#3 spend a couple of hundred and get a stock cat back exhaust or spend more for performance. If the rest of car is stock, keep with stock. Renew the hangers too. you'll gain noise reduction, not power. power difference between ix and i is negligible and due to AWD components and related weight.

[packratbimmer]

Awesome advice above! I just started driving my 325iX and it took me a few days to get used to the slight additional mechanical noise that the 325iX makes. I notice this in my girlfriend's too. I think it is a slightly different sound coming from the transfer case. So, if you are not hearing gut wrenching-horrible noises maybe you will be OK for the moment.
As far as the leakage of fluid goes, make sure that the transfer case is not overfilled. I would like to hear other's opinions on this, but it seems that a half quart does not come all the way to the filler hole. The specs call for a half quart. I try to measure just the right amount when I change transfer case fluid.