maint. stuff and questions

[mcr_driver]

Heya all just recently picked up a 87 325is and have been loving it soo far, just have to do some minor maint. stuff.

couple of issue's i need to address are a lot of play in the shifter while in gear and how to do a valve cover gasket...i seem to be leaking oil from there as i checked the oil pan and it looks fine. any idea's or tips? any idea's as to what else it could be? i have a check engine and inspection light but no obd1 to check to see what codes i'm getting

i am debating on sourcing a Z3 shifter but not sure which one to go with as this car is mainly for DD duties, thanks in advance for the help :D

[HiTheNameIsBJ]

Shift play is normal.

Valve cover is straight forward. Remove vacuum hose, remove manifold mount bolts, remove cover. Replace gasket. Reverse.

[mcr_driver]

yea i've done it on a couple of e46's but i was curious if there are any huge differences besides the obvious...as far as the play in the shifter i guess i am comparing to the E46's which have hardly any play while in gear... any ssk suggestions? so far is seems the z3m seems to be the best choice...

[HiTheNameIsBJ]

Yea I mean if you can do it on an e46, you can do it on an e30, it's pretty straight forward.

There is actually a thread floating around here, pretty sure it's stickied, comparing oem short shifters. That would be the place to go. As far as I know, the slop comes from the selector rod, not the actual shifter. UUS sells DSSR's (double shear selector rods) that seem to solve the problem. These are off their site, explaining the problem/solution.

[mcr_driver]

thanks, giving me something to look at...god can't wait to dump my e46 so i can starting modding the hell outta my e30 :rofl:

[HiTheNameIsBJ]

$16,500 should get you one hell of an e30. I have some m50 swap parts for when you start to miss those 340 horses.

[Bishop]

What's the balance on the 330? You can buy an already swapped car for under like7-8k

[HiTheNameIsBJ]

Balance Schmalance, the responsible thing to do is to take all that money and dump it directly into a 22 year old beater. Really though I wish I had anywhere near that much to dump into either of my cars.

[Bishop]

LOL..... After I sold my STi i had ~11k to play with.... I've bought the e30, did some maintenance, ordered parts, and am amazed at how fast the $$ runs out.... lol... I'm not empty, but its hard to believe

[HiTheNameIsBJ]

Tell me about it, I have a work in progress turbo e36. I started with about 8 grand, now I have a bunch of shinny pieces of metal, and a spare block in my shed.

[Bishop]

Damn

[MR 325]

Z3 1.9 is my favorite for a DD. Replace ALL of the bushings, and the selector rod joint with pin and you'll love it.

[Jean]

Shifter play comes from more than just the selector rod joint, trust me on this. Having done an early and late model shifters now, you want to replace all the bushings. The stock e30 shifters if they are original present more than enough play on their own, also play comes from the front rubber mount at the top of the tranny for the carrier. Rear mount also could be worn out.

[mcr_driver]

I owe close to 14k so i'd basically be breaking even just to stop a financial money pit (interest) i am offering a finder's fee fyi :eeps:

But yea since this e30 is the daily i just want it be in great condition as it already has 186k on the clock and i want it to at least last to 250k mark.

i eventually want an e30m before they become even more of a collector's car though...

See that was something i was looking to avoid atm where i live i don't have the luxury of being able to take my car apart to do all the bushings...which would mean finding a indy mechanic but that's gonna be rape in of itself...

Thanks for the input guys keep it coming got a lot to learn about the m20 e30's

[mcr_driver]

aside from the probably valve cover gasket what else could leaking oil from on top of the engine bay?