Saying Hello/Progress Thread

[thebutterson]

Check your carpet? I've heard of master cylinders going out and leaking all over the carpet before.

Why are 318's determined not to drive?

[Hey_You]

Like thebutterson said, check your carpet under the master, or, fill your reservoir, and have a friend pump the pedal while you are watching (you could actually pump it yourself and get out and look if you aren't too lazy). Not sure why, but my 318 eats masters/slaves for breakfast, been through 3 of each so far in the past 2 years. Febi parts too. Right now, my master leaks a tiny bit, but it's from the feed hose. I have the new hose to install, but my clutch is still working, and that hose is a bitch to replace, so I have been rocking it that way for awhile.

[ruizl300]

So I looked at my carpet and i thinks its been too long for me to notice anything. The clutch just goes in with no resistance when pushed down. I put some brake fluid in the reservoir and nothing happened. I pumped the clutch and nothing happened with the liquid. I was feeling around and there was an oily substance under the reservoir. I dont know what this means. I will be looking up on how to test things to try to narrow it down.

[Hey_You]

Try to gravity bleed your clutch system if you can, sometimes an air bubble can develop if it didn't get bled completely the first time. Top off your reservoir, and barely crack the bleeder on the slave until you get a tiny drip every so often. Leave it like this for a awhile just keep an eye on your fluid level. Then after an hour (I like to do other shit and drink some beer when I do this at home) close up the bleeder and check your pedal.

[ruizl300]

Got it working again... There was air in the clutch system. I dont know where all the brake fluid leaked out of but I figures i just bleed it and see how fast it leaked out and if it didnt bleed out too quickly id wait to replace parts till i pick up some extra cash and make my trip to the junk yard worth while.

I did not gravity bleed. I got an oil can with a trigger and pumped brake fluid through the slave cylinder bleed screw with the help of a small hose. This pushed all the air up into the reservoir.

Works fine for now.

[ruizl300]

Today I also Plasti-dipped my basket weavers... I also plasti dipped one of the trims around the windows just to see how it looked. Thats drying at the moment and if I like it I will do the other side. pics will come up soon.

[ruizl300]

I have been picking up parts for a suspension/brake upgrade... yesterday my car died out. The battery died out, but after a jump would start bu not stay on slowly shutting down. I checked the battery and it was low in battery fluid some of the cylinders were dried... but my real concern is that the alternator isnt working properly. Shouldnt the car stay running after jump?

[E30_Pare]

If your alternators toast then your car wont stay running. Dead battery/wont run is just a sign of bad alternator.

[E30_Pare]

If u have a multimeter I'd check your voltage on your batt. If you charge it & stays below 12volt (11.7) your batt is done too.

[Hey_You]

Charge battery, start engine, check voltage at alternator. If voltage is under 13.something volts, then you know your alternator is bad. (Careful on this as there is a circuit that goes through your dash that can give you false symptoms for the alternator. Example, I replaced my battery with a brand new interstate as my car would not start. Got it started and my new battery died 2 days later. I replaced my alternator and 2 days later again after I charged my battery, my car died on me.) Later found out the bulb in the dash that shows when your alternator fails...had failed, and wasn't completing the circuit to kick the alternator on.

[ruizl300]

OK so I replaced the battery and alternator... and still wouldnt get 13+ volts so I started checking cables and noticed that the cable at the alternator had came off the terminal... got a new terminal... and runs.

Unfortunately, on my way home I caused a short when my lighter plug ground touched the light switch positive and now my power windows, speedometer, and radio are only getting 0.69V so i need to find out where the issue is.

I checked all the fuses and they were fine... I also temporarily ran 12v from the lighter plug to the light switch and windows work and radio turned on.

Any help is always appreciated.

[ruizl300]

Update: So im still running 12v from the lighter plug to the window switches cable, wich also power the radio and speedometer. Still dont know exactly what to look at.

I am picking up the last pieces for the brake/suspension upgrade this week and I am feeling excited.

I was reading some more and thought maybe now is also the time to upgrade the diff. I have no idea if the one I have is the stock one or not. But if it is what are good options for an LSD upgrade?

[thebutterson]

Stick with a small case lsd and the axles you have now. The most common will probably come from the later 318's. You could also browse around 318ti forums. Most of those came with 3.45's in them, but lsd's with other gearsets pop up here and there.

[E30_Pare]

You'd want a 3.73 lsd

[ruizl300]

So due to budget the diff is going to have to wait. I just picked up all the parts I needed yesterday and have been disassembling my car for the past week. So I will be putting in new-to-me parts in. Hopefully I can document as much as possible for future use by someone else.