1987 325is Engine Bay: Take a look at mine please!

[KHTRNAK]

I tried to take a detailed look at my engine bay today after purchasing this car exactly a week ago.

I replaced all the fuses in the fusebox to start with and then looked for anything that might be out of place. Found a few things and was hoping someone would be able to help me identify whether or not something is a problem.

Start with the coolant temperature sensors located in what looked to me like the thermostat housing. Reading up on this site I realized that one of them is supposed to always be replaced when dealing with a used e30. My temp gauge sometimes heats up past half, and is somewhat "jumpy" ie, it shakes up and down past the half way point sometimes. I've tried to limit my driving when that happens but for some reason I just don't trust the gauge since the Tachometer never works (along with mpg gauge). Also the speedometer sometimes works if I smack it.





The rest of these pictures are basically of anything that I thought looked out of place or funny. I know some of you are probably guru's with this engine so please if you notice anything let me know!


This I assume to have been some sort of cruise control module? It looks like it was disconnected and I can't see how it would go back on.

I found it here:


It looks to have gone here:



I checked all these fuses:



I was told my suspension was replaced about 15k miles ago; anyone know anything good/bad about these?



ABS module? The light for ABS is on in my dash.


Found this wired fuse going to what might be the headlight?


By the headlight I see these splices:



Does this look right for the radiator line?


Weird way to have the washer fluid hoses runing to the hood??



Is something missing? (Pass. side of the engine bay behind strut tower)

[MattAvino]

This thread is extremely original.

[MattAvino]

"Lets take a tour of my engine bay"

[camip]

Picture 3 and 4 is the cruise control line. The rad hose is correct as in it works and the the last picture is a place for the battery some models had it up front.

[KHTRNAK]

Picture 3 and 4 is the cruise control line. The rad hose is correct as in it works and the the last picture is a place for the battery some models had it up front.

Thanks for the helpful post! I figured that was for the cruise, I just didn't notice any buttons for it inside and couldn't see where that wire might attach.

I am taking it to a BMW E30 specialist whose shop is not too far from me. I believe he is on this site as well. I just wanted to get an idea of how many/what parts I would need to get the engine mostly back to stock. I don't like random wiring and hoses hanging around; I'd like to get as much of it functional and OEM as possible as long as it makes sense to spend the $.


Also, does anyone know which of those two sensors in the thermostat housing needs to be replaced as regular maintenance? If its either one or both, I'd appreciate a link to a well known/good quality one. I'm seeing a few different brands for each of those sensors between $19-$30 each on advanced auto's site. I chose two of the same brand because I'm anal like that.

BWD/Intermotor Engine Coolant Temperature Switch
Part No: TFS541 18$

BWD/Intermotor Engine Coolant Temperature Sender
Part No: WT624 19$


I can get both after coupon codes for under 40$ Shipped. I figure I'll probably just replace both with those two unless anyone has experience with other brands/models.



THANKS!

[camip]

Don't use advanced auto. Support the community and use blunttech.com or just email him.

[KHTRNAK]

Looking on Blunttech.com I found three different types of "sensors:"

http://www.blunttech.com/ShopByVehicle.epc?q=1987-BMW-325is&yearid=1987%40%401987&makeid=31%40%40BMW&modelid=987%3AMBC%7C168%3AED%7C66%40%40325is&catid=240621@@Fuel%20Injection&subcatid=240675@@Water%20Temp.%20Sensor&mode=PA

Not sure which one I need?

As for the "sender" There was only one and I think I found what goes onto my car:

http://www.blunttech.com/ShopByVehicle.epc?q=1987-BMW-325is&yearid=1987%40%401987&makeid=31%40%40BMW&modelid=987%3AMBC%7C168%3AED%7C66%40%40325is&catid=241959@@Body%20Electrical&subcatid=242071@@Water%20Temperature%20Sender&mode=PA

[KHTRNAK]

Any info?

[SmokeE30]

If you email Steve at blunttech with your VIN he can get you exactly what you need. I like to get part numbers and such for whatever im ordering usualy but i actualy trust bluntech to know what i need, something i cant say for advancedauto or many other parts vendors really. RealOEM.com will also help with part numbers and such but sometimes they are superseded with other numbers over the years and the prices are not always accurate.

[karmatose]

Start with the coolant temperature sensors located in what looked to me like the thermostat housing. Reading up on this site I realized that one of them is supposed to always be replaced when dealing with a used e30. My temp gauge sometimes heats up past half, and is somewhat "jumpy" ie, it shakes up and down past the half way point sometimes. I've tried to limit my driving when that happens but for some reason I just don't trust the gauge since the Tachometer never works (along with mpg gauge). Also the speedometer sometimes works if I smack it.

Dead SI board batteries in the cluster. Replace them and all should be fine with your tach/dancing fuel and temp gauges. They are CR14250SET-FT batteries and require soldering to remove/replace. Also, there should be a three wire connector coming off your dme harness in the glovebox. ensure that is plugged in.

[Earendil]

Welcome to owning an E30!!

Looks like people have you covered and most everything else, so I'll tackle the cruise control: yes, that's the cruise control cable :)
The great thing about owning an E30 is that its likely someone has been there before, and almost as likely that they had a camera. You can google image search just about anything and stick "e30" in there and you'll find it. I went looking for pictures of the cruise control and found a helpful thread for. The thread isn't about the cable, but the included images have some great angles showing where the cable attaches.

http://www.e30performance.info/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=890

It could be that you are missing some parts for the cable attachment, which might be why the PO didn't have it attached. Use realoem.com to get an awesome part and part number breakdown for it.

[uturn]

The cruise control cable is missing the rectangular plastic piece at the end, compare it to your throttle cable to see what's missing. Do you have a cruise control stalk on your steering column? They tend to break if you jam your knee on them. That's why you don't see a button. It doesn't have one.
For ABS light, check that relay under the steering column. The fuse shorts if someone tries to jump start the car wrong or you might just have bad ABS components.
The small line from the radiator can be trimmed to your liking, as for the washer fluid line, it's usually along the bottom and up against the frame until it peeks out at the top of the headlight grill.

[uturn]

If you have aftermarket Hella headlights, Hella calls out for up-rated fuses. Strange they would install them inline also....

[EatsHondas]

Don't use advanced auto. Support the community and use blunttech.com or just email him.

So much this. I work for Advance Auto and I would never recommend our shit to anyone who cares about their car (it's all China crap). BMW's are finicky about non-OEM parts anyway, so don't take the risk.

[101]

On your first pictures of the coolant temperature sensors ... the brown one is the one that operates the temperature gauge on the dash. Check that the connector is tight but like the guys said erratic things going on in your cluster are usually due to loose solder joints in the cluster or bad SI board batteries. The blue one is the one that tells the DME (engine computer) the temperature of the engine. I would recommend a fresh sensor here as this one can cause all kinds of issues if it goes bad.

Your picture of the ABS is the ABS hydraulic pump. The issue with the ABS light on the dash is usually caused by a bad ABS relay (mounted on the ABS computer under the dash) or a bad ABS wheel sensor.

The headlight wiring is definitely not stock. Different headlight styles (sealed beam, ellipsiod, euro ellipsoid) take different wiring connectors. Trace it down, but if the headlights are working OK I wouldn't worry too much about it.

Radiator overflow tank hose and washer fluid hose - yep - those are OK.

The open space behind the right strut was for the optional drug storage box that was installed on cars sent to certain markets. The police quickly caught on so it was only on some of the early model cars. **

The rest of the items the guys nailed correctly. And stay away from Advanced Auto unless its just for brake cleaner.

** not really, of course. Certain models (I believe the convertibles and maybe the 318) had their batteries in that spot.

Welcome!

Get a Bentley manual and start reading up. Best money you will ever spend on these cars.

And unless you have the service history - job #1 on these cars is ALWAYS the timing belt / water pump.