The "BAD" List on my New to Me E30

[Bullhead]

Thanks again ELVA.

[ELVA164]

Roger that on both posts. I have a aluminum bumper car so I will only look at the 86 for the motor.

Dunno how much work you're looking to do, but the late-model regulator design is much better than the early one, with less likelihood of getting "sticky" and slowing the window down/burning the motor out. Up to you though, lubricating the early regular should keep it working fine. All four of mine do so far.

[Bullhead]

Roger that on both posts. I have a aluminum bumper car so I will only look at the 86 for the motor.

[Navarone]

Not sure about other 4x100 wheels fitting, BMW uses flat lug bolts and Hondas use acorn/rounded lug nuts. Also not sure about the hubcentric size.

[ELVA164]

If you get a window motor, make sure it's from the same "series" as your car. If you have plastic bumpers, you need the motor from a plastic-bumper car. If not, you have to grab the motor, regulator, and the window itself because the window attachment points are different between early and late models.

[Bullhead]

The stock air box is just fine, it pulls in cold air, if you just did k&n filter that's ok, but putting on a shorter intake in place of the box will pull in hot engine compartment air.

The popular choice is the z3 1.9 shifter, it's a good choice for ease of use and length, but you have to get under the car to take it out. My local pick n pull is paved in mud and broken glass. Also, the ball on that one is plastic so it may be just as worn out as yours. Your 87 might be metal or plastic, not sure. Look at the easy to remove bushings, if they're not worn out then snag em too. The only one I can't seem to find is the rear shift arm bushing that mounts to the chassis, most everything else is available aftermarket, but more costly than pick n pull.

Most broken stuff is plastic clips and other old brittle stuff, like every clip that holds down the wiring harness, or door card clips, dome lights, shift boot frame, hvac radio bezel, stuff inside the gauge cluster, so if you plan on taking anything apart make sure you grab replacement clips and plugs and stuff.

Also grab premium speakers and tweeters, they're a pretty great upgrade and go for about $50 a set.

Also try and grab oem stuff that gets lost or worn out, tool kit, jack, floor mats, exterior lights/lenses, ect. You might even want to look for the molded rubber intake parts that cause vacuum leaks.

You want new wheels too right?

Roger that, I am about to tear into some goodness this weekend lol. I definitely am getting a jack and the tool kit, and a spare (will Honda or VW spares get a man home without spacers?) I am also after another window motor (pass side) my pulla part doesn't have the wheels on the cars they sell them to scrap right off the get go, something about insurance I think. I may snag the wiper relay too because Bav Recycle has them on ebay so ima try a used one, relays at pap are just $2.50.

[Navarone]

The stock air box is just fine, it pulls in cold air, if you just did k&n filter that's ok, but putting on a shorter intake in place of the box will pull in hot engine compartment air.

The popular choice is the z3 1.9 shifter, it's a good choice for ease of use and length, but you have to get under the car to take it out. My local pick n pull is paved in mud and broken glass. Also, the ball on that one is plastic so it may be just as worn out as yours. Your 87 might be metal or plastic, not sure. Look at the easy to remove bushings, if they're not worn out then snag em too. The only one I can't seem to find is the rear shift arm bushing that mounts to the chassis, most everything else is available aftermarket, but more costly than pick n pull.

Most broken stuff is plastic clips and other old brittle stuff, like every clip that holds down the wiring harness, or door card clips, dome lights, shift boot frame, hvac radio bezel, stuff inside the gauge cluster, so if you plan on taking anything apart make sure you grab replacement clips and plugs and stuff.

Also grab premium speakers and tweeters, they're a pretty great upgrade and go for about $50 a set.

Also try and grab oem stuff that gets lost or worn out, tool kit, jack, floor mats, exterior lights/lenses, ect. You might even want to look for the molded rubber intake parts that cause vacuum leaks.

You want new wheels too right?

[Bullhead]

One more question, I am going to the pulla part this weekend and have a few cars to look at. 86, 90, 93 325's and there's a couple of 90 model Z3's. I was told I can use the shifter from the Z3 and it's a factory short throw. I am going for just a couple small items is there anything in particular I should nab for the future or just to have on hand if the car has it?
And are the factory air boxes on these cars good? They look well built with the snorkel facing the drivers side headlight housing, should I just throw a K&N in and be done with it?.

[Bullhead]

Stick a 4mm hex key in the hole and crank as if it was a manual window.

Thanks.

Cleaned the switches and now my windows work :) I would have thought they were bad if you all hadn't said anything because if a window switch quits working in an American car it's usually crap lol. Funny thing is the tops were very clean but the bottoms had like a sticky like fur ball appearance.

[Liquidity]

Window Switches don't work at all, I can't figure out the manual roll down thingy

Stick a 4mm hex key in the hole and crank as if it was a manual window.

[ELVA164]

Yep, and it is not worth my time to track that break down.

Yeah, forget that. Just start hoping for the day where it's the only thing you have left to do on the car! ;D

[dnguyen1963]

Just means there's a break in the circuit somewhere. Maybe you're unlucky enough to have that break farther inside the car somewhere...

Yep, and it is not worth my time to track that break down.

[ELVA164]

Don't worry about brake lining light. I have replaced all components related to this thing and my light is still on. Good luck.

Just means there's a break in the circuit somewhere. Maybe you're unlucky enough to have that break farther inside the car somewhere...

[dnguyen1963]

A suggestion to save you a lot of headache down the road...Have a shop perform a smoke test and fix all vacuum leaks. For the window switches, take them apart and clean them well. There is nothing wrong with them except grimes and dirt prevent a good connection. Don't worry about brake lining light. I have replaced all components related to this thing and my light is still on. Good luck.

[Bullhead]

In my opinion, you'll be hard-pressed to find a car as easy to work on as your E30. Don't fear it, just learn as you go.

I have to say it took me longer to jack the car up then to replace the slave cylinder today. And so far it has been a pleasure to work on, everything is well thought out and the lay out of bolt locations is easily accessible if you have decent tools. It's going to be a driving project, I will prob fill and block the car this fall/winter then paint it in the spring.