'89 325i maintenance list?

[Arpegius]

I have changed the water pump, thermostat, spark plugs, timing belt and oil changes every 3 months (1500-2500 miles). The engine has 137k miles on it and I am curious what else I should be worried about soon. I checked compression a little over a year ago and it was around 170 on all but the 6th cyl. which was 145 or 150. I'm not sure what proper compression should be at, and the compression tester I used might have been a crappy one but it was all I had. I know these engine can last 250k miles +. I just want this baby to last me a long time.

- in the next month or so I will replace the alternator because the bearing is going out.
- I also need to replace the oil pan gasket soon.

any suggestions? or common problems you all have noticed? thanks.

[Knockenwelle]

Set valves lately?

[StereoInstaller1]

PS fluid flush is apparently a really good idea.

I change my brake fluid every year.

[Arpegius]

oh I also replaced the clutch master and slave a few months ago. I had the valves set about a year and half ago or roughly 8k miles ago. The brake fluid was just replaced. How do I go about having a power steering flush? I thought it was a closed system that has no drain plug.

[E30_fiend]

It doesn't have a drain plug, just fallow the low pressure line from the reservoir to the pump and pull it off the pump. Drain as much as possible then refill

[jlevie]

I had the valves set about a year and half ago or roughly 8k miles ago. The brake fluid was just replaced. How do I go about having a power steering flush? I thought it was a closed system that has no drain plug.

Valves should be adjusted every 10k, so that's in your immediate future.

The easy, if slow, method of flushing the PS fluid is to suck the reservoir dry (turkey baster or suction gun), refill with fresh, drive the car for a day, and repeat until you've gone through 1-2qt of fluid. Thereafter, suck the fluid out of the reservoir and refill each time you change the oil for a continuous mini-flush.

[robspeed325i]

brake fluid you can ignore for two years at a time, unless you boil it (brakes get SPONGY after hard canyon run), then you need immediate flush/fill. how are the fuel and air filters? K&Ns are hyped a lot but you canNOT pass additional air without passing additional dirt, and dirt is poison to an engine. (I use OEM paper.) next coolant flush (every 2 years just like brake fluid) consider a new set of coolant hoses ($135 from autohausaz.com) while you have the system open. thats mostly prophylactic so you dont end up with $250 tow bill some time when one hose lets go. change the diff and trans fluid (manual trans) every 100k. auto box every 50k. if your auto box hasnt had a change yet, just let it go. a late auto box change can be worse than no change atall because sludge gets loose and can ruin the box that otherwise mighta gone another 50-100k.

[Arpegius]

brake fluid you can ignore for two years at a time, unless you boil it (brakes get SPONGY after hard canyon run), then you need immediate flush/fill. how are the fuel and air filters? K&Ns are hyped a lot but you canNOT pass additional air without passing additional dirt, and dirt is poison to an engine. (I use OEM paper.) next coolant flush (every 2 years just like brake fluid) consider a new set of coolant hoses ($135 from autohausaz.com) while you have the system open. thats mostly prophylactic so you dont end up with $250 tow bill some time when one hose lets go. change the diff and trans fluid (manual trans) every 100k. auto box every 50k. if your auto box hasnt had a change yet, just let it go. a late auto box change can be worse than no change atall because sludge gets loose and can ruin the box that otherwise mighta gone another 50-100k.

hey that was quite helpful. I replaced the manual tranny and diff fluid probably 3k miles ago, so I would say I am good on that. Coolant I had to flush since I did the water pump and timing belt about 7k miles ago. I am going to go ahead and do the power steering fluid next. Brakes were flushed roughly 6k miles ago. However I do have a k&n airfilter in my stock box, and I have been running that for about 10k miles. Thanks a bunch for the tips!


ALSO I didn't think valves on these engines had to be adjusted so often. I thought it was at least 25-30k miles.

[smonkbmw]

plug wires, cap, rotor, valve cover gasket, cam seal, radiator hoses, then start looking at suspension bits. strut mounts, control arm bushings, tie rods, shifter linkage.

[SpecM]

ALSO I didn't think valves on these engines had to be adjusted so often. I thought it was at least 25-30k miles.

I do mine about every 15k