Help a noob

[nickle94]

I just bought a '87 325, which turned out to be a lemon. I haven't gotten the diagnostic report yet but I do have a good idea of what needs done so far. Please help on what I need to take care of right now to not lead to other problems and what could wait. And what friends and I could do ourselves(As I am a college student)

-Dashboard wiring
-New blinker lights (When I break the left blinker doesn't work)
-Coolant light came on once but I have enough
-Dashboard problems;
Speedometer doesn't work sometimes
Gas gauge says half a tank when its empty
Car is apparently always cold even when left on and driven for awhile
-Automatic locks don't work, can on unlock car from passenger, can only lock driver if door is closed
-Antenna won't move(it stuck in a half way up)

Please and thank you!

[E30_Pare]

you listed everything but how the car runs

[Gary Yogurt]

Do you know where your fuses are and how to check them?

Before anything else... Do you know when the timing belt was changed? Do you have proof? (i.e. Physical receipt/records.) If you can't find out, change it or all of your hard work fixing everything else might be for nothing.

Also, it's not really a lemon if you bought the car and didn't notice most of these problems before or bought it even after noticing. It's an old car with needs. Aside from basic tools, you're going to need a Bentley manual and a multi-meter. (You can find PDFs of the manual, which is great if you want to get your laptop greasy as hell.)

[nickle94]

you listed everything but how the car runs

It actually doesn't run bad, the mechanic didn't have anything to say about that when he looked at it

[nickle94]

Do you know where your fuses are and how to check them?

Before anything else... Do you know when the timing belt was changed? Do you have proof? (i.e. Physical receipt/records.) If you can't find out, change it or all of your hard work fixing everything else might be for nothing.

I didn't get anything, I bought it from a friend who works at BMW and he told me everything was good beside the locks. Obviously not.

But that is something I will get checked right away! Thank you

[Gary Yogurt]

I bought it from a friend who works at BMW and he told me everything was good beside the locks.

Before anything else, get in your car and run your friend over. Gently, if this person is a good friend.

[nickle94]

Before anything else, get in your car and run your friend over. Gently, if this person is a good friend.

Honestly have thought about that, especially since I've been trying to contact him with questions and he seems to not be able to reply anymore

[ELVA164]

See bold:

-Dashboard wiring Need more info
-New blinker lights (When I break the left blinker doesn't work) Check bulbs to make sure they all have silver bases, but it sounds like some sort of crossed wires with the brake light switch and the flasher relay
-Coolant light came on once but I have enough Maybe a coolant level sensor
-Dashboard problems;
Speedometer doesn't work sometimes Could be a bad diff sensor or issues with the SI board in the gauge cluster
Gas gauge says half a tank when its empty Maybe a bad level sensor, maybe a loose ground screw on the back of the gauge
Car is apparently always cold even when left on and driven for awhile Sounds like the thermostat was removed; be aware that people do that sometimes when the car overheats and they don't want to take the time to fix it
-Automatic locks don't work, can on unlock car from passenger, can only lock driver if door is closed As far as I know, the system is set up to work only with the door closed. Also possible the lock tumblers are worn; you can buy a cylinder rebuild kit which is basically a new cylinder
-Antenna won't move(it stuck in a half way up) You can take the antenna out and replace the mast, or try lubricating the mast itself as it might be corroded in place