SO I'm a NOOB here.

[dariel1013]

I agree that the lack of regulation on stainless brake lines makes me nervous. I'll be going OEM when I do mine.

OP, just put the transmission in neutral and turn the crank with a large wrench or socket. Pretty sure it's 22mm. Also, do not let the car run with the gearbox in neutral for very long. There's a quirk in the oiling that doesn't sufficiently oil the gears in neutral.

As for changing the timing belt and water pump... from what I see, I'm gonna need to take apart the entire top half of everything in the engine bay, AND get the hood off in order to reach comfortably


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[ELVA164]

I agree that the lack of regulation on stainless brake lines makes me nervous. I'll be going OEM when I do mine.

OP, just put the transmission in neutral and turn the crank with a large wrench or socket. Pretty sure it's 22mm. Also, do not let the car run with the gearbox in neutral for very long. There's a quirk in the oiling that doesn't sufficiently oil the gears in neutral.

[Project535]

That's the rocker shaft seals, the cam seal is a bit different.

My bad! Got a little mixed up.

Just tried to download the bentley (idk what the hell that is) but I keep getting an error. Saying wrong password.
In that thread it says that the password is bmw, and I've tried it w/ caps and w/ no caps.. Nothing

Strange. . . I was able to open it with no issues, all lower case bmw. Hmmm. :/ Let me see if I can upload it to google drive for you. It's nice to have when you want to read up without carrying the book everywhere.

I've heard mixed reviews of SS braided lines. Since they're not regulated and tested like OEM rubber stuff, they can and do fail.

If you stick with a well known brand you'll probably be fine.

Personally, I'm replacing all my lines with rubber when I get to that stage. I actually already have the parts from when I was going to build an '86 325e. I bought Meyle for the front, and ATE for the rear. I may sell the ATE stuff and go Meyle all around.

If OEM rubber lines lasted 30 years without issue, I'm inclined to replace with OEM quality again.

My car won't see regular track use, so IMO the performance benefits of stainless lines aren't worth it for me.

I see where you're coming from, but I haven't heard anything but good things about them, personally. YMMV. You are right about the OEM quality though, they obviously lasted a while, and should do so again. To each their own. If OP doesn't plan on driving hard, there's probably no need for SS lines. But I imagine once he drives it for a while he's gonna want to have some fun with it :up:

Thank you! I'll start reading up on that. I heard its a bitch to actually reach the timing belt and water pump.

It's not too bad, like another has said. A few hours if it's your first time. Just take your time, check and double check the timing and it shouldn't be an issue.

Also, if you're on Facebook, there's a R3vlimited group on there. It has saved my ass a couple of times when I got stuck on something, there's usually someone on that knows what's what. Great resource to have on top of the forum.

[estoguy]

What panda said. It's really not that tough of a job. DIY or die, OP! ;)

I was relatively new when I started with my E30. I had help with my first timing belt, did the second one solo. No problems.

Oh, and when you get the feeler gauges for your valve adjustment check, get the angled ones. Makes the job considerably easier!

[pandaiswong]

Thank you! I'll start reading up on that. I heard its a bitch to actually reach the timing belt and water pump.


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It's not too bad. Just a few hours of work.

[dariel1013]

Here's the thread with info for changing the timing belt. It also has info on changing the cam seal on page 4.
http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=158446

Thank you! I'll start reading up on that. I heard its a bitch to actually reach the timing belt and water pump.


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[dariel1013]

I found a downloadable bentley from some thread a while ago about some newb introducing his car, and a vet offering his link to the bentley. I don't have the link so I guess what I'm saying there IS another out there, that didn't require a password. But I rarely use the bentley as the internet is enough of a resource to get things done

As far as brake lines, what I've heard about SS is that they're great, but at least with rubber lines, you can see them degrade. SS lines do all their degrading on the lining inside the steel surround, so you can't see what condition they're in. If you replace the lines on a regular schedule, they're okay, but then so are rubber lines. So it doesn't really matter.

While you have your timing belt off is a good time to do the cam and aux shaft (the other gear that drives the oil pump) seals. You wanna pick up a torx set for the main cam bolt. But yes, if you replace your valve cover gasket after adjusting the valves, be sure to replace the 4 rocker plugs.

On that note, the valve job isn't hard. You can pick up an $8 feeler gauge set. I forget which size you use, but you want to get them just tight enough so you feel just a bit of resistance when pulling the feeler gauge out. Triple check your readings. And place the car in 5th gear and push it forward to get the valves in their proper places for adjustment.


But what I really wanted to say is check your fuel lines and replace any that are dry rotted. And while you're at it throw in a new fuel filter because it's quick and easy.

Well I got the Bentley and I've been reading it at work all day. It's actually pretty informative. As for getting the valves in their correct place: I have an auto. There no was to put it in 5th. So I'm assuming just drop it into neutral or drive??
Fuel lines are on my list as well as the fuel filter.

One thing I wanna change ASAP is the carpeting inside the car and in the trunk. So if any body has any leads on where I can get that, it'd be greatly appreciated.


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[pandaiswong]

Here's the thread with info for changing the timing belt. It also has info on changing the cam seal on page 4.

http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=158446

[Das Delfin]

I found a downloadable bentley from some thread a while ago about some newb introducing his car, and a vet offering his link to the bentley. I don't have the link so I guess what I'm saying there IS another out there, that didn't require a password. But I rarely use the bentley as the internet is enough of a resource to get things done

As far as brake lines, what I've heard about SS is that they're great, but at least with rubber lines, you can see them degrade. SS lines do all their degrading on the lining inside the steel surround, so you can't see what condition they're in. If you replace the lines on a regular schedule, they're okay, but then so are rubber lines. So it doesn't really matter.

While you have your timing belt off is a good time to do the cam and aux shaft (the other gear that drives the oil pump) seals. You wanna pick up a torx set for the main cam bolt. But yes, if you replace your valve cover gasket after adjusting the valves, be sure to replace the 4 rocker plugs.

On that note, the valve job isn't hard. You can pick up an $8 feeler gauge set. I forget which size you use, but you want to get them just tight enough so you feel just a bit of resistance when pulling the feeler gauge out. Triple check your readings. And place the car in 5th gear and push it forward to get the valves in their proper places for adjustment.


But what I really wanted to say is check your fuel lines and replace any that are dry rotted. And while you're at it throw in a new fuel filter because it's quick and easy.

[dariel1013]

+1.
I actually removed the aftermarket headunit and drive the car without a radio (for now) so that I can hear any new noises that may come up.
Also gave me a nice place for aftermarket gauges.






I've heard mixed reviews of SS braided lines. Since they're not regulated and tested like OEM rubber stuff, they can and do fail.

If you stick with a well known brand you'll probably be fine.

Personally, I'm replacing all my lines with rubber when I get to that stage. I actually already have the parts from when I was going to build an '86 325e. I bought Meyle for the front, and ATE for the rear. I may sell the ATE stuff and go Meyle all around.

If OEM rubber lines lasted 30 years without issue, I'm inclined to replace with OEM quality again.

My car won't see regular track use, so IMO the performance benefits of stainless lines aren't worth it for me.

I honestly dont know *shrug* Im looking for something that that'll last me, Im not building it as a track car, I wanna build it as a nice little cruiser. Looking sharp, but not tooooooo worried about performance.

[Panici]

Keep your ear wide open for any interesting noises.

+1.
I actually removed the aftermarket headunit and drive the car without a radio (for now) so that I can hear any new noises that may come up.
Also gave me a nice place for aftermarket gauges.

And just my $0.02, if you need to replace the brake lines, might as well go with SS Braided lines. Can be had for ~$90 and will last a lot longer than rubber, it's a nice little upgrade.

I've heard mixed reviews of SS braided lines. Since they're not regulated and tested like OEM rubber stuff, they can and do fail.

If you stick with a well known brand you'll probably be fine.

Personally, I'm replacing all my lines with rubber when I get to that stage. I actually already have the parts from when I was going to build an '86 325e. I bought Meyle for the front, and ATE for the rear. I may sell the ATE stuff and go Meyle all around.

If OEM rubber lines lasted 30 years without issue, I'm inclined to replace with OEM quality again.

My car won't see regular track use, so IMO the performance benefits of stainless lines aren't worth it for me.

[dariel1013]

Congrats on the purchase! I also have an automatic vert, and it's definitely still fun to drive! Make sure you pick up a bentley manual, or download the PDF version from here

And just my $0.02, if you need to replace the brake lines, might as well go with SS Braided lines. Can be had for ~$90 and will last a lot longer than rubber, it's a nice little upgrade.

Enjoy!!

Just tried to download the bentley (idk what the hell that is) but I keep getting an error. Saying wrong password.
In that thread it says that the password is bmw, and I've tried it w/ caps and w/ no caps.. Nothing

[dariel1013]

^This. Cam seals take a bit more doing, but could be addressed when the front covers are off for the timing belt and water pump.

Heated seats were an option in '88.

OP, don't be scared of doing a valve adjustment. It's very straightforward and requires only a couple tools. There are a number of writeups on here and other sites, and if you're still lost when doing it I or someone else on here can help you along. The read thing about these cars is if you're so inclined, they're a great place to learn how to work on cars.

I know a bit about working on them. I just don't have the right tools to do any valve adjustments. I'm pretty sure the only thing I need that I don't have is a feeler gauge, but I haven't done them in years (since Went to school for cars)
But who knows. My #1 goal right now is to do enough to get it running smoothly. After that, we can work on everything else


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[ELVA164]

^This. Cam seals take a bit more doing, but could be addressed when the front covers are off for the timing belt and water pump.

Heated seats were an option in '88.

OP, don't be scared of doing a valve adjustment. It's very straightforward and requires only a couple tools. There are a number of writeups on here and other sites, and if you're still lost when doing it I or someone else on here can help you along. The read thing about these cars is if you're so inclined, they're a great place to learn how to work on cars.

[JasonC]

The cam seals are super easy. Pull the valve cover, pop out the 4 rubber seals on either side on the cam, put new ones in with a tiny dab of RTV and press. Super simple.

That's the rocker shaft seals, the cam seal is a bit different.