First e30, problems!

[e30omar]

Hi R3V limited! I am 17 and I just bought my first e30 last week! It's a 91 325ci 5 speed, previously I owned an e39 540i/6. Has around 100k miles not exactly sure odometer stopped at 58k a few years ago but got an autocheck of the cars history and it is somewhere in the lower 100k's. The car is beautiful inside and out, but has its fair share of problems. The car when I bought it had an aftermarket oil cap and from that oil was leaking out, the previous owner told me to fill it with oil and it burns a lot of oil, and in the car I found some castrol 5w-30 in the trunk and then mobil 1 10w-50, and it seems like he mixed the oils, and when I checked the oil it was topped off. The car smokes from the exhaust a bit of blue and mostly black. Car smells like a lot of gas and is running really weak right now, also needs a new exhaust from the manifold to the cat. I can provide more pics tomorrow, but what should I do with the smoke!?! And the cars coolant is also brown looks like sewer water, and yes the coolant light is on. Thanks and looking forward to help and advice!

[UlrichFennec]

10w30 is waaaay too thin for the M20. 20w50 and zinc additive all day every day. Or at least Rotella.

Secondly, for the smoke, blue is oil. White/light gray could be either condensation or coolant. Black is fuel. If your coolant looks like a McDonald's milkshake, that means oil is getting in the coolant.

Could be a blown head gasket or worst case scenario, a warped head, which isn't foreign to the M20.

Pictures would help, but from first impressions, it sounds like it's crap mechanically.

[mr.vang]

Good luck passing smog with that thing. I would pulled the motor and rebuild the motor. Sometime the coolant light is on because the sensor goes bad or the plug isn't secure enough. As for the brown coolant, it may just be the old coolant tank. If it is creamy like milkshake, its your headgasket.

[Das Delfin]

if your coolant or oil looks like a chocolate milkshake, like a light brown color, you have a headgasket problem, but if it's just a murky brown color, your coolant is probably just old. If it looks like you don't have a head gasket issue, try changing your oil and filter (I use a mobil 1 filter and Castrol 20w50 in the warm months, 10w40 in the cold), flush your coolant (I use a GM-type Peak coolant which is better than the other chemical base but you HAVE to flush it every 2-3 years), and change your spark plugs. Our cars like the traditional old Bosch copper plugs. I don't remember offhand but you can look it up. Also..fix your exhaust!

[JeLani]

I pulled my head for that same reason above ^ also try flushing the system with flush compound then drain the block ( do this a few times ) and see if it comes back up.. Before coming to that conclusion of pulling the head


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[e30omar]

update guys, today I changed the oil and filter, used mobil 1 15w-50 (live in california) and used a bosch filter, and used some lucas oil stabalizer. Also did a coolant change and on the car prior to the change it was very dirty and old. To top all of this off today I ran some seafoam through my crankcase and the car is running A LOT better and has brought back a lottt more power. Prior to the seafoam and after the oil change the car at high rpms puffed blue smoke but that's all gone. Have new spark plugs and a fuel filter waiting to be installed soon! Will post some pics and videos soon.

[DeadCannon]

I've always heard you should change your oil after running Seafoam through the engine. Something about it breaking down the oil. When I've done Seafoam in the past I've always done it just before an oil change. Not sure if that true or not but it's just how I've done it.

[Stanley Rockafella]

I've always heard you should change your oil after running Seafoam through the engine. Something about it breaking down the oil. When I've done Seafoam in the past I've always done it just before an oil change. Not sure if that true or not but it's just how I've done it.

approved!

oil changes should be done AFTER running these fuel system treatments to get the crud out of the oil (where it all ends up).

[e30omar]

MAJOR UPDATE!
Today I was cruising my e30 on some back roads very easy driving in 4th gear, on a uphill my car was losing a lot of power so I downshifted into 3rd and then the car shut off. Pulled over and it was smoking everywhere from around the exhaust manifold and spark plugs. Had my brother and a friend come help me and we were able to get it jump started, my brother insisted on driving the car home and he claimed on every shift the car kept losing rpms and almost shut off. Few minutes from my home the car shut off again and wouldn't start, got AAA to tow it back and it is sitting outside. Checked the oil and it is completely dry! I changed the oil, oil filter, and coolant all less than a week ago and this happens :( we also believe the alternator is kaput but when I did change the oil the washer and oil plug were aftermarket so it looks like it leaked out all of its oil! What should I do, she isn't running rn help!

[mr.vang]

Are you sure you didn't bust your oil pan? Crank your engine by hand and see if it spin freely. If not, your engine is seize because it ran without oil.

[e30omar]

Are you sure you didn't bust your oil pan? Crank your engine by hand and see if it spin freely. If not, your engine is seize because it ran without oil.

Oil pan could also be bad, car sits very low lol. I'll try to crank it tomorrow by hand, should I add oil before that or try it as it sits right now?

[mr.vang]

It'll be fine without oil if you're just hand cranking it. Good luck tomorrow.

[e30omar]

Well sad to say my e30 is no more, had it towed to the shop to find out my bearings were gone, had the oil changed and on the way back home it killed its self. When I got to the car today it sounded like a ticking time bomb, mad lifter tick beyond words, was about a mile or two away from home on a uphill driving in front of my dad and the engine was struggling hard and it killed its self. Had a huge thump felt like the engine fell out or something car shut off instantly pulled over and the oil plug looked to blow out and it was leaking everywhere. Going to look for a new m20 replacement then debating keeping it from there on or selling it parents don't like the idea of an m50 or 52 swap. Wish me luck guys, and anyone in the bay area know where I could find some good replacement engines on a budget.