Your most hated BMW engineering

[ST1G]

-starter bolts
-those two bolts on the bottom side of the hvac panel
-having to separate the ball joints to replace shocks/springs
-the adjusters for a/c, ps, alternator that are ALWAYS STRIPPED :-/

I agree with this 100%

[TobyB]

the quality of plastic

And I agree, the M42 magnifies this, and it only gets worse when the E36 shows up.

But then, the fucking 2002 has shitty plastic, too- heater boxes that fall apart by themselves,
door panels that fall off on their own, seats that rot into the floorpan.

It seems to go in cycles- Try something new (2002, E36) then progressively
(E21, E46) work out the bugs and finally (E30) get it almost right.
Then screw it up again (E36)...

hee

t

[LounsRacingInc]

I'd rather remove 50 bitch clips than to have to remove the transmission. Just buy a new one and smack the old one out.

The upper bolts aren't THAT bad but the last time I removed a transmission, the starter actually gave me the most trouble. The small dowel pin was very difficult to align upon reinstallation, and cinching up the starter bolts didn't get the dowel to pop in.

The hands down easiest way to do this is to pull the motor and trans as a unit, swap them and then reinstall, I have done two trans replacements and a auto to manual swap, you can pull a m20 on a hour or so

[Das Delfin]

I thought the wiper linkage was easy. I did it through the cowl opening, it took maybe half an hour once I had the intake manifold removed. I replaced the blower motor and fixed the flaps on the HVAC unit while I was in there. the linkage wasn't anywhere near as difficult as I thought it would be. I was like, that's it?

That certainly makes me feel better about my linkage issues

[modernist]

Door sill clips.

[Todd Black 88]

The fact the central locking modual runs through the drivers door pins, then back to the rest of the car, so if that pin is shit, the whole thing is dead.

[BillBrasky]

how has no one complained about the wiper arm linkages? i had to remove the dash and hvac unit to remove it and replace it.

No, you do not have to remove any of that to replace the wiper linkage. Someone posted that misinformation on here when I did my first one in 2004 and I'm still pissed about it. I stopped halfway as I was pulling the dash and realized it could all be done from the outside. I wanted to reach through my 56k modem and strangle that SOB.

[rturbo 930]

how has no one complained about the wiper arm linkages? i had to remove the dash and hvac unit to remove it and replace it.

I did that job. I don't know how exactly I managed to get it back in (or out for that matter), and it was bad enough that I think I would pass on any E30 that needed the linkages or motor replaced. I didn't remove the dash though. I did it through the blower fan access panel and the DS vent cover on the cowl.

Blower motor was difficult the first time I did it, but once you figure it out, it's pretty easy.

[ELVA164]

The e30 was one of the easiest cars I've worked on, in all manners.

This, very much. You guys have no idea what an actually tough job is until you've worked on British cars.

[TobyB]

I dunno. The original Honda Accord was unrepairable if you wore a glove
that had an M or an L on it... XL and you couldn't even change the oil.

Wonderful car. Fantastically engineered. For people with tiny hands...

t

[varg]

I dunno. The original Honda Accord was unrepairable if you wore a glove
that had an M or an L on it... XL and you couldn't even change the oil.

Solution: don't wear gloves. Seems to work for the grease monkeys at the local hoist-em-up and rip-em-off.

[b*saint]

Solution: don't wear gloves. Seems to work for the grease monkeys at the local hoist-em-up and rip-em-off.

Wtf are you talking about? You should visit Boston Sports Car when they are working on Ferraris.

[varg]

Wtf are you talking about? You should visit Boston Sports Car when they are working on Ferraris.

(the joke)----->


(your head)

[E30SPDFRK]

You guys have no idea what an actually tough job is until you've worked on British cars.

MGB clutch master comes to mind... and oil cooler lines on a V8 Esprit



Anyone ever done a heater core on a B5 Passat? Or a TDi turbo on a mk5? Or a fuel pump on an evo 9?

[lukeADE335i]

I'd say on an A/C M20, the oil filter is in a pretty crap spot.

The M30 & M50 are much easier to service.

Might be harder because your car is RHD? On a LHD E30, it's not that difficult.

\

Yes - RHD is a factor I'd say... it's pretty congested on the exhaust side with the steering linkage, engine mount, exhaust manifold, AC Compressor and the oil filter!

Viva la M30 and it's oil filter well away from all that :D