'85 325e laundry list of issues. looking for help

[Rodiek]

It is about time I got back to fixing my car

Cluster issues: mph is 5 too high, fuel is off too, rpms dont work, not sure about the temp. This is on a cluster I bought when I first got the car and im pretty sure it is sensor issues, so any ideas on maybe replacing them would help.

Brake problems: the spring bolts that held the ebrake on bent and fell off, not sure where to get replacements but it looks as if where they were supposed to be mounted on is rusted out and too big for new ones to fit.

I also have a quarter inch of play in the steering wheel and when I get to roughly 55mph, the steering wheel starts to get wobbly, and if I turn to the left a little it gets worse, not sure if I just need an alignment or if it's a different steering problem?

Any help is greatly appreciated!

Almost forgot, I am idling really goofy as well, especially when it is wet out or after a big rainstorm. It doesn't die but it gets close to it, but after a while she runs just fine. Also when I accelerate too fast I get a strong smell of gas

[jlevie]

As to the cluster, the speedometer reading 5mph high at 60mph is normal. The allowable error is for the reading to be high by 2.4mph + 10%. The tach, econometer, and temp gauge depend on the SI board in the cluster. If it is bad one or more of those won't work. If the gas gauge reads full when you fill the tank but doesn't go much below half when the tank is empty, the gauge in cluster is for a late model car with the 63L tank and two fuel level sensors. The only fix for that is to change the gas gauge to the early variant. A new SI board should fix the tach.

As to the parking brakes, the hold downs are missing because the backing plate is rusted out. Those hold dows are available from BMW, but you will have to change the backing plates. You can get new parts or get the backing plates from a salvage yard. To change the backing plates the hub has to be removed. Which means new bearings.

As to the steering, the first things to check are the tie rods, control arms, and steering column guibo. Any wear there will result in play in the steering wheel. The fix is to replace the worn parts and then have the front end aligned.

As to the idle, there are probably intake leaks, the ICV is probably dirty, and since it gets worse in wet weather the distributor cap and ignition wires probably need to be replaced. The car probably has an aged O2 sensor (100k lifetime) also and the valves may need adjustment. On top of all that it may have the wrong plugs. Corrective actions are to remove and clean the ICV, replace the distributor cap, rotor, and ignition wires, install a fresh set of plugs, adjust the valves. Then have a smoke test run and fix the leaks it reveals.

[Rodiek]

thank you very much! took me forever to reply, trying to get a job to afford everything