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    E30 318i issues...Please help!

    Well,I have some issues with my E30 85 3.18i lately...

    1.The Brake pad warning light came on (flickering when braking medium/hard) a week ago.The weird thing is I had installed BMW original brake pads when I bought the car and since then I ve covered almost 6.oooKm (around 3.600m).Its mostly city driving with a spirited drive 2-3 times per week,so its quite early,isnt it ?!? I ve never had brake fading at that times,too.
    Anyway,I checked Brake fluid levels and it was a lil above MIN,so i did add some Shell DOT3 brake fluid and now its halfway between MIN and MAX,but the warning light still flickers during hard braking.Braking effort/performance is the same as always was and there s no squealing or anything to make me worry.MAybe its a bad sensor or something? Should I replace it? Next week i ll take it to a dealer to check this out and also change brake fluid and bleed the brakes.

    2.The passenger chair is driving me nuts,cos its the only thing in the car that makes noticable noise all the time (creaking and all that).I have to add that when I push the back towards the passenger door,it goes up-its like it stays there only cos of the other backrest "link".Weird,but its been this way since i bought the car,only with far less noise.Can i Fix this myself ?

    3.There s a heavy vibration under full load in 3rd and 4rth gear which starts at less 1500rpm and stops (getting less and less as rpm goes up) at 2500rpm.I suspect exhaust mounts (especially the fist one just after the engine).I cant seem to find the orginal BMW part to replace it (all dealers in my area dont have this).What could I do to fix this ? Alternatives other than the original mount ? Any chance something else causes this ?!?

    4.At around 150km/h there s a noticable viration of the steerning wheel and the dashboard,mostly by me and not the passenger.What could cause this? Is it dangerous/expensive to fix ? It stays there till my Vmax (Damn 4-speed manual) of 185km/h! FYI,185km/h=4rth@6800rpm!!!

    5.I replaced my clutch at 120.000km with a brand new Sachs (The same as the original BMW),but after spirited driving,with the car stationary,i can hear a little chattering,which goes away as i step on the clutch pedal.Its bearily noticable and only at zero environment noise but WTF is this ? The original clutch was totally quiet! MAybe its the gearbox mounts that cause this noise ? I ve already replaced engine mounts as soon as i got the car,but never checked the gearbox ones.

    6.An idiot reversed while parking into the front of my car,causing no damage other than my headlights to go out of place a bit(!).How can i adjust them myself? I know the lighting pattern and the procedure,i just dont know how to operate the screws (?) to make all these adjustments.Any help ?

    7.A week ago the car started surging a bit under 1/5 steady load at around 2000rpm (2000+ was totally ok).It did that only 3-4 times during the last week.Maybe this is a clogged fuel filter? I ve last replaced it some 7000km ago,but i suspect the quality of the petrol here is questionable.
    Maybe i should adjust my injection as well ?!? I *think* that there s a slight power drop,but maybe its my idea only...

    Well,i know i tired you,but I d like to slove these problems ASAP and enjoy my first beemer!!!
    N.
    Your signature picture has been removed since it contained the Photobucket "upgrade your account" image.

    Originally Posted by aaron_silva
    It is always frustrating having a harsh ride when
    you arent in the right mind set.

    #2
    Brake sensor

    ela re,
    If the sensor light is flickering that means the contact wire is touching something metal. Just take a look down there are try and tidy that sensor wire up. And in reguards to the creeking and squeeking my does a little too, my car is 14 years old so i dont know what i can do to stop it.

    Comment


      #3
      hehe.ela ki esy! :-D

      Well,let me understand something!
      Since these pads have only 5-6000km on them and braking performance is (inaduaquate) as ussual,the problem maybe the sensor itself ?
      The prabe pad warning light isnt suppose to flicker but is either ON or OFF ?!?
      Thx for the info though...
      N.
      Your signature picture has been removed since it contained the Photobucket "upgrade your account" image.

      Originally Posted by aaron_silva
      It is always frustrating having a harsh ride when
      you arent in the right mind set.

      Comment


        #4
        BTW,the car makes no noise whatsoever exept from that damn passenger seat...
        It has only 127.000km on the clock!
        N.
        Your signature picture has been removed since it contained the Photobucket "upgrade your account" image.

        Originally Posted by aaron_silva
        It is always frustrating having a harsh ride when
        you arent in the right mind set.

        Comment


          #5
          did you replace the throw out bearing when you replaced the cltuch?

          or maybe your cltuch slave is loose.

          Comment


            #6
            I ve talked about the noise issue on another forum and they keep telling me thats its gearbox related ?!? How can this be ?!? When i step on my clutch the noise stops...
            BTW,i changed my throw out bearing ( i m not sure about the term though,so a photo could help!),but not my clutch slave...any more info please ?
            N.
            Your signature picture has been removed since it contained the Photobucket "upgrade your account" image.

            Originally Posted by aaron_silva
            It is always frustrating having a harsh ride when
            you arent in the right mind set.

            Comment


              #7
              What I ment about the slave is that the two bolts that hold it on maybe loose, unlikely but possible.

              Comment


                #8
                1) The brake pad sensor is a loop of wire. If the circuit is broken or the wire grounded, the light comes on. An intermittent false warning is usually because the wire was not routed properly (causing the tire to rub through the wire), or the plug connection is not making good contact. Properly routed, the wire should be captured by the rubber plug on the bleeder screw.
                2) The seat back is held on the recliner mechanism by two large phillips screws behind the back cover. They frequently come loose, causing the seat back to be wobbly.
                3) I just replaced the rubber exhaust mounts at the transmission on my 1984 318i. The new mounts (bushings) are a big improvement over the original design. I had my dealer order them.
                4) Control arm bushings and tire balance.
                5) The input shaft of the transmission. It does not turn when the car is stationary and the clutch pedal is depressed. You can use heavier oil in the transmission to quiet the noise, but it will be harder to shift when cold.
                6) The side screws adjust the headlights side to side. The top screws adjust them up and down.
                7) Not sure, but I wouldn't suspect a fuel delivery problem. A fuel delivery problem would be worse at higher RPM's. I would check O2 sensor, if you have one.
                John
                88 ///M3 Cinnabar
                84 318i Black

                Comment


                  #9
                  Originally posted by arnoldgtr
                  2) The seat back is held on the recliner mechanism by two large phillips screws behind the back cover. They frequently come loose, causing the seat back to be wobbly.
                  6) The side screws adjust the headlights side to side. The top screws adjust them up and down.
                  I cant thank you enough for this kind of info! It was exactly what I wanted to find out!


                  Originally posted by arnoldgtr
                  5) The input shaft of the transmission. It does not turn when the car is stationary and the clutch pedal is depressed. You can use heavier oil in the transmission to quiet the noise, but it will be harder to shift when cold.
                  Hmmm,i recently found out its the gearbox,but i dont know anything about what trasmission oil to use and to be honest i have no clue when it was last changed,so maybe i ll do it next week.What kind of oil you recommend ?

                  N.
                  Your signature picture has been removed since it contained the Photobucket "upgrade your account" image.

                  Originally Posted by aaron_silva
                  It is always frustrating having a harsh ride when
                  you arent in the right mind set.

                  Comment


                    #10
                    The vibration is caused by a worn flange (Output flange,but i m not sure if its the right term,maybe someone can helo me!)...ITs in the photo...

                    N.
                    Your signature picture has been removed since it contained the Photobucket "upgrade your account" image.

                    Originally Posted by aaron_silva
                    It is always frustrating having a harsh ride when
                    you arent in the right mind set.

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Originally posted by a3ternus
                      I ve talked about the noise issue on another forum and they keep telling me thats its gearbox related ?!? How can this be ?!? When i step on my clutch the noise stops...
                      BTW,i changed my throw out bearing ( i m not sure about the term though,so a photo could help!),but not my clutch slave...any more info please ?
                      N.
                      I got the same symptom, consulted a few mechanics and all said the same thing, it's the freeplay between the gearsets causing the noise.
                      what u can do is to change to a thicker viscocity gearbox oil to lessen the noise.
                      have heard that OMEGA oil is good but it's darn blardy expensive.

                      At the moment, I'm using 75W80 RedLine MTL.
                      Would be trying 75W90 Q8 oil...

                      By the way, what's the effect of mixing thicker oil to a thinner one??? for instance, mixing 75W80 oil with 80W140... Just a thot.
                      BMWClub Malaysia
                      www.bmwclubmalaysia.com

                      Comment


                        #12
                        I have no idea,buti m sure someone here can help us,cos I m gonna change the transm.oil too,if thats gonna reduce the noise...
                        N.
                        Your signature picture has been removed since it contained the Photobucket "upgrade your account" image.

                        Originally Posted by aaron_silva
                        It is always frustrating having a harsh ride when
                        you arent in the right mind set.

                        Comment


                          #13
                          You wont believe this!!!
                          I found what was causing the terrible vibrations at low rpms!
                          It was a damn Air condition rubber hose which was shakin like a mother whenever the rpms were around 3000!!!
                          A BMW mechanic spotted it in like 5min and just replaced some clips to hold it steady and the problem was gone! You cant imagine how different the car feels now!

                          :shock: :shock: :shock:
                          :D
                          N.
                          Your signature picture has been removed since it contained the Photobucket "upgrade your account" image.

                          Originally Posted by aaron_silva
                          It is always frustrating having a harsh ride when
                          you arent in the right mind set.

                          Comment


                            #14
                            Got my front wheels balanced,but now I fel more road vibrations coming from the back! Maybe its my idea or something...dont know...Also,its like the car cannot slide as smoothly as before and is less tail happy.Maybe i didnt secure my wheels 100% ? Then again its prob my imagination...
                            The car is rock stable at 160km/h though!
                            Your signature picture has been removed since it contained the Photobucket "upgrade your account" image.

                            Originally Posted by aaron_silva
                            It is always frustrating having a harsh ride when
                            you arent in the right mind set.

                            Comment

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