E30 reliability

[socalife]

Ever since i did my m50 swap, ive been constantly spending money on maintenance and i cant enjoy the car without the fact that their is something that needs to be fixed. Will i reach a point where all i have to change is fluids and the regular stuff? Or are the constant problems gunna keep on comming.

[jalopi]

our cars are money pits bro, you'll never stop spending money on it. unfortunately we're not dealing with toyotas here. i've been working on my car for 3 years and i'm nowhere near finished fixing stuff that breaks. i finally got to the point of being burned out and am tired of spending money & fixing it. take a 3-6 month break from the car, that's what i'm doing - i think it'll really help in getting your motivation back... that's what i'm banking on anyway.

[frolf]

Each component has its own individual service life. That service life assumes that the component is installed/used in a manner that it was designed and engineered for.

Short answer: If you did a shitty job on the swap or installed shitty parts, you will have to spend your shitty money replacing stuff.

[Batz]

Well, it sounds like its the engine... Did you rebuild your m50 before putting it in? If not then yeah, problems will most likely keep poping up just like with most of others bimmers out there with newer engines. I had my e30 with m20 running for about half a year without any problems.

[blunttech]

Each component has its own individual service life. That service life assumes that the component is installed/used in a manner that it was designed and engineered for.

Short answer: If you did a shitty job on the swap or installed shitty parts, you will have to spend your shitty money replacing stuff.

I agree with Handsome Dan. Maybe Ive been fortunate but once a car is brought up to snuff they are reliable as any car Ive ever owned

[N2MYE30]

I DD'ed mine with not one issue. Not sure what your issues are but I know a lot of people say is dead reliable after swap.

[walktheboard]

There really aren't many parts to be replaced to have a nice driving car I feel like..
what issues are you having?

If your swap was done correctly and meticulously, you shouldn't have problems.

[LJ851]

E30 is the bank vault of automobiles when properly maintained.

[keefy6]

Depends; for me I haven't really spent money on a 'need to fix' for my car in a little over a year now. The things that I have bought or replaced were of a personal choice and that includes the dogleg trans, 3.91 diff and subsequently 3.46 diff. Not familiar w/ins and outs of those swaps so others can comment on that.

what ^ said.

[TimKninja]

I really havnt had to do shit to my S50 Swapped car. I drive it 100 Miles a day and have put 30,000 miles on it since doing the swap a year and a half ago.

If you tried to do your swap "Cheap" this is the price your paying.

But it wasnt even that big of a money pit, just did basic shit when swapping it over.and I havnt had to do anything. Ive just been changing the oil and Ocassionaly tinkering with it. Like its gonna need Engine mounts because the Hamburger Technique Ones failed after 30,000 miles, but whatever.

[Nick_S]

Did you do much maintenance to the engine before the swap? I drove my M50 swap across the country and have put around 15K miles on it and the only issue I have had was the mechanical tension pulley broke and the TPS went bad. I didn't do a full rebuild but I replaced nearly every gasket, cleaned and serviced what I could and replaced a few things and mine runs like a champ. I didn't spend all that much either, probably $1500 total for my swap.

[rcsoundn1]

I have had my m20 for a few years and have not spent to much on it, and I drive it every time I get. Hell I drove it 13hrs straight this year. Yes mine leaks/uses a little oil, and it did require a slave cyl, and now a master cyl, but other than that I just drove it. Im at 185k. My be the way your swap was done, or the motor itself. Or are we talking suspensions as well? Because for me I did do some work there as well, but it was not a lot of $$

[Blackout]

From my 10 year experience: I spent more $ in maintaining the E36 i had than the e30 i have with stock M20. Go back to M20 or start over. Sell the swapped car and find another 325i with strong motor. Again, this advice is just from my experience over the years.

But like others said, you were supposed to start with a good swap motor(doesn't matter which one) otherwise it gonna be a money pit.

[McGyver]

As most people have said, it really depends on your car. E30s are old and most of their parts are nearing the end of their service life. Since most people are too cheap to fix stuff properly or refuse to do preventative maintenance, shit will keep breaking and keep bleeding you for money.

The only thing you can do is properly refresh stuff all at once. i.e., don't just replace one control arm bushing. replace the control arms, bushings, tie rods (ends at least), sway bar bushings, sway bar end links, strut mounts all at once. or if your clutch slave goes out, change the master too instead of waiting for it to crap out and leave you stranded.

It's much more expensive to replace everything an do it correct than to replace one part, but now everything is good for several years, the car drives/feels better, and i'm only in there taking shit apart once.

The same approach goes for swapped cars. either do it correctly the first time and spend the extra cash for all the little clips, springs, and plastic that wears out, or constantly have to fiddle with it because you refused to make it reliable.

from 6 or 7 years of owning an e30, i have NEVER been let down by the car when it wasn't something that i either forgot to finish (battery cable clamps) or refused to do correctly (zip tying exhaust hanger in place).

tl;dr, they're are reliable as you choose to make them and are on par with any other car's reliability.

[Nisse Järnet]

Hell i built by M50 turbo in 2011 and all i have done since is oil changes and a spark plug change!