preventative maintenance

[Mountain30]

Hi Everyone,
New member and new e30 owner here. Looked for the right car for 6 months and just purchased one here locally in Denver. Un-modified 1987 (June) 325is with 144k miles. Starts, idles, runs, shifts, handles and breaks great. Such a pleasure to drive. As I only have the sellers word that the timing belt has been replaced, I'm going to go ahead with the following preventative maintenance:

Pull radiator and have it flushed and flow tested - replace if necessary
New timing belt
New water pump
New themostat
New cam seal and flange o-ring
New BMW blue coolant
Check all hoses and replace if necessary

Ireland Engineering has a kit with all these parts and they seem like a good parts company.

Are there any other critical preventative maintenance issues that I should deal with right away? Fan clutch? Coolant sensors (temp gauge works and fan turns on as it should)? Any advice or link to a previous thread on this topic would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

[cheffy30]

check all hoses are fresh. all under carriage bushings and boots post some pics sent from hell using tapatalk

[MrBurgundy]

If we're just talking about the engine there's not too many failure points outside what you've said you're going to do.

There's only a few sensors that are critical to how the engine runs.

Blue coolant temp, throttle position switch and the CPS. Your temp gauge has a one pin brown sesnor that is independent of the one that talks to the ECU. That one is blue, located next to the brown one.

Also, the connector under the intake, also known as the C191 is usually the culprit for some odd thing that happen. You can undo it by rotating it and check to see if there is any corrosion in there and if there is, just get something to dissolve it.

You can also take off the idle control valve and run some carb cleaner through it to insure that the vane is moving freely

Check the rubber things on it like; intake boot, breather hose from the throttle to the valve cover, make sure the fittings for both vacuum hoses on the throttle aren't rotating (which means they can leak) and of course the back side of the intake to the fuel pressure regulator.

Also, make sure the valve adjustment is correct. Some people just never have them done. I usually do it 1 a year, but I find that they're usually within spec even with that time, which equates to about 5k miles.

Fan clutch would provide a piece of mind, but you can do a simple test and see how it's current condition.

Pretty simple engines.

[Mountain30]

Thanks MrBurgundy and cheffy30. I went ahead and ordered a new hose set and fan clutch just to be on the safe side. Thanks for the advice.

[Vincenze]

You'll need a thin 32mm wrench and a holder to unscrew the fan clutch.

Examine parts websites:

https://www.pelicanparts.com/BMW/index-SC.htm

https://www.ecstuning.com/

https://www.fcpeuro.com/

And compare them to https://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/select

Those websites show parts that may be needed for each job.

These How-Tos are useful for the type of job that you want to do: https://classicbimmerbits.com/e30-how-to/
and youtube videos, of course.

[e30austin]

here's what i do, as a baseline, for just about every e30 that comes through my shop... (in other words, if it's been sitting for a while or is otherwise neglected)

timing belt/water pump/cam seal
coolant flush
drive belts
oil service
fan clutch
cap/rotor/plugs
valve cover gasket + valve adjustment
air mass meter boot + valve cover breather hose
all fuel hoses + fuel filter (this is one that 99% of people overlook, most e30s still have their original fuel hoses and original fuel filter, EEK)
blue coolant temp switch

i also like to change all the cooling hoses (yes, every single one) - thermostat/overflow hose, upper/lower rad hoses, water pump hose, water pipe hose, throttle body heater hoses, cyl head/heater core hose, and reseal the throttle body heater (they always leak).

congrats on your new e30. i hope it's everything you thought it would be. '87 325is is the coolest e30, imho.

[varg]

You'll need a thin 32mm wrench and a holder to unscrew the fan clutch.

Or a suitably slim adjustable nut rounder and a mallet

[Aleman]

You'll need a thin 32mm wrench and a holder to unscrew the fan clutch.

This one from Park works perfectly:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[Vincenze]

This one from Park works perfectly:

You may just buy a kit.
The pulley holder is very useful.

[uturn]

Everyone else probably uses an excel spreadsheet, I still use a small notebook. I track the date, estimated cost of parts and mileage when work or maintenance was done. Helps me keep track of oil changes.

[cheffy30]

I have a 3 ring with every maintenance record in chronological order dating back 20 years I have had her including the bill of sale. it's fun to look back. she just moved into 297k over the weekend. I change the oil every 3k sent from hell using tapatalk

[TooTall90]

Im kinda in the same boat, shopping around for timing belt kits. does anyone have a preference or "things to look for" when it comes to those?

[cheffy30]

Im kinda in the same boat, shopping around for timing belt kits. does anyone have a preference or "things to look for" when it comes to those?

there's a few. I've been using Continental over the years. sent from hell using tapatalk

[roguetoaster]

Im kinda in the same boat, shopping around for timing belt kits. does anyone have a preference or "things to look for" when it comes to those?

You pretty much have Continental & Gates who probably get their tensioners from Febi, FAG/SKF, or INA. All of those are fine, with maybe the only one to use as a secondary choice being Febi.

[TooTall90]

You pretty much have Continental & Gates who probably get their tensioners from Febi, FAG/SKF, or INA. All of those are fine, with maybe the only one to use as a secondary choice being Febi.

yeah thats what i figured. however i didnt know Febi was second rate, i just got a coolant sensor from them. i feel like febi was respectable back in 2010 when i had my old e30, maybe i was wrong, im not stressing it though.