E30 from Ukraine - "Shadow of Intelligence"

[The_Glory]

Assembly_188. ETK_34_Front wheel brake disc

I recently said that the work on the brakes was planned to be completed a long time ago, but something went wrong, and it so happened that I only now got to the installation of the brake calipers.
So, back to the ETK section
Brake mechanisms

The front suspension was installed at the very beginning of the car's assembly, and the brake discs were installed at the same time. Therefore, this entry will be "archive".
Front wheel brake disc




Part #1 - brake disc. In my case, it is not used, since I have ventilated front brakes installed.
Part #2 - ventilated brake disc (34 11 1 160 915) - 2 pcs. I use TRW ventilated discs. Although, I replaced them a long time ago, their thickness is still within tolerances with a large margin. Therefore, I left them.
Part No. 3 - bolt with internal hexagon M8X12 (34 11 1 123 072) - 2 pcs. Fastening the brake disc to the hub.
Part No. 4 - left protective cover (34 11 1 154 241) and right (34 11 1 154 242) - 2 pcs.
Part No. 5, 6 - bolt with washer M6X8 (34 11 1 156 427) - 6 pcs. Fastening the protective covers to the rack. Since I did not change the hub either, the protective covers remained installed on the racks.


The front suspension struts were installed together with the protective covers.


The brake discs were also installed at the same time.


So, this was done quite a while ago, and now I'm continuing to install the brake calipers.

[The_Glory]

Assembly_189. ETK_34_Girling front wheel brake lining wear sensor (part 1)

For BMW E30, the front brakes could be with conventional brake discs or with ventilated brake discs. They were also from two manufacturers - ATE or Girling. They have different designs. In my case, these are Girling calipers with ventilated brake discs.
Front brake pad wear sensor Girling




Part #1 - brake caliper housing left (34 11 1 154 379) and right (34 11 1 154 380) - 2 pcs. Complete with piston.
Part No. 2 - brake pad bracket (34 11 1 158 451) - 2 pcs. The bracket is the same on both sides. Complete with guides.


Part No. 3 - bolt M12X1.5X32 (34 11 1 118 948) - 4 pcs. Caliper bracket mount.
Part No. 4 - bleed fitting (34 11 1 121 206) - 2 pcs. I use Quick Brake 0088 fittings.
Part No. 5 - protective cap (34 11 1 153 198) - 2 pcs. I use Quick Brake 0126 caps.

Part No. 6 - bolt (34 11 1 154 445) - 4 pcs. Guide mounting.
Part No. 7 - brake pad wear sensor (34 35 9 058 889) - 1 pc. Installed only on the left caliper. I use the TRW sensor.
Part No. 8 - bracket (34 35 1 153 966) - 1 pc. Bracket for fixing the brake pad wear sensor connector.

Part No. 9 - caliper seal kit (34 11 1 154 440) - 2 pcs. The original kit includes a rubber seal and a boot. I use Frenkit 248918 repair kits. The kit includes all the necessary parts. But looking ahead, I will say that from this repair kit I used only pistons and guide boot boots.



Part No. 10 - repair kit for guide bushings (34 11 1 161 936) - 2 pcs. I use dust boots from the Frenkit 248918 repair kit.
Part No. 11 - set of brake pads TEXTAR T 444 (34 11 1 161 347) - 1 pc. I use TRW GDB820 brake pads. I replaced them literally a few weeks before I took the car apart, so they are practically in new condition. I left them.
Part #12 - brake caliper kit (34 11 9 058 982) - 1 pc. Calipers assembled.
Part #13 - 3G brake pad paste (83 19 2 158 851) - 1 pc. Anti-squeak grease for brake pads. I used one package for each caliper.

In the previous post about calipers, I already wrote in detail about all types of grease for brake calipers. I use them.


As you can see in the photo, I completely assembled the calipers, but my club colleagues criticized my choice of repair kits, arguing that Frenkit, like other Chinese analogues, is not of very good quality. So, I ordered the original repair kit TRW (Girling/Lucas) SP8543.


I thought that this repair kit was for one caliper, so I ordered two of them. But it turned out that the kit includes seals for both calipers. So there will be a spare one. The kit includes unnecessary instructions in many languages )


So, I disassembled the calipers again and am now assembling them on TRW parts.
Lubricate the cylinder and seal with ATE hydraulic assembly paste.


Insert the seal into the cylinder groove.


Then lubricate the piston and boot with the same paste. Put the boot on the piston like this.


Insert the edge of the boot into the caliper groove, align it around the circumference.


Press the piston into the cylinder and put the boot on the piston groove.


Press the piston into the cylinder, wipe off excess paste.



We lubricate the fitting with copper grease, put a rubber cap on it and screw it into the caliper.




The calipers are assembled, let's move on to assembling the guide brackets.
We lubricate the guides and their dust boots with special TRW grease for guides. I couldn't find TRW boot liners, so I'm leaving Frenkit for now. I'll replace them when I replace the brake pads next time.


Insert the guides into the bracket, put the dust caps on them, remove the remaining grease.


Screw the brackets to the calipers - ready for installation.


I will write about the installation in the second part.

[The_Glory]

Assembly_189. ETK_34_Girling front wheel brake pad wear sensor (part 2)

Finally, you can install the front calipers. To do this, I unscrewed the brake hoses from the tubes and screwed them to the calipers, having previously lubricated them with copper grease. The brackets also need to be unscrewed from the calipers (or you could not screw them).


Apply blue thread lock to the bolts and screw the brackets with guides to the front suspension struts.


Two bolts each.




We lubricate the contact surfaces of the brake pads with anti-squeak paste. By the way, it is more convenient to do this before installing the caliper so as not to smear the brake disc.


The upper and lower pads on both sides are lubricated.


Apply anti-squeak paste to the contact surfaces of the brake pads and caliper.


Also to the contact surface of the piston. I lubricated the piston inside as well so that it rusts less. A 3g package was enough for one caliper.


Install the outer pad with the wear sensor into the bracket.


Install the inner block into the bracket.


Apply blue thread lock to the bolts, insert and screw the caliper to the bracket with the guides.


Put the sensor connector through the hole in the caliper.


Fix the loop of the plastic bracket on the body wiring connector.


We treat the contacts with a special spray, connect the sensor and fix the connector in the bracket.


We put the bracket on a special hook on the brake disc protective casing. It is better to pass the sensor wire under the guide so that it does not rub against the wheel disc.






Screw the brake hose to the tube, having previously lubricated it with copper grease.


The front left caliper is installed.






Looks nice, and doesn't really stand out visually ;) If you paint the wheels, it will be even better! :)


On the right side, everything is similar. The only difference is the lack of a brake pad wear sensor.












One nuance - I forgot to move the rubber protective sleeve on the brake hoses - it should be on top of the hose so that it does not rub against the body. I fixed it on both sides.


So, the front brake calipers are installed.
Next time I will write about the rear ones.

[The_Glory]

Assembly_190. ETK_34_Rear wheel brake lining wear sensor ATE (part 1)

For BMW E30, rear brakes could be with brake drums (4-cylinder engines), with conventional brake discs, or with ventilated brake discs (only all-wheel drive 325ix Touring). On conventional Touring, the rear calipers differ from sedans - their piston diameter is 2 mm larger (35 mm instead of 33 mm). Manufacturer - ATE.
Calipers from Touring can be installed on a sedan - a kind of "upgrade" of the brakes, but I don't know how effective it will be... Calipers from all-wheel drive 325ix Touring can be installed on a sedan only in assembly together with brake discs and hubs. It will also be necessary to install wheel rims with a larger offset (ET). Therefore, there are also doubts about the feasibility of this "upgrade". Moreover, such calipers are not so easy to find. I have only seen them on sale once in all my time. At first I wanted to buy one, but I changed my mind.
The M3 has its own calipers, similar to the E32, but I don't know if they are interchangeable with the regular ones.

So, in my case, these are ATE calipers for a sedan with regular brake discs.
Rear wheel brake pad wear sensor ATE




Part #1 - brake caliper housing left (34 21 1 153 243) and right (34 21 1 153 244) - 2 pcs. Fully assembled.
Part No. 2 - brake caliper housing left (34 21 1 160 397) and right (34 21 1 160 398) - 2 pcs. Complete with piston.
Part No. 3 - brake pad bracket (34 21 1 160 396) - 2 pcs. The bracket is the same on both sides.


Part No. 4 - bolt M10X30 (34 21 1 153 937) - 4 pcs. Caliper bracket mounting.
Part #5 - Bleed fitting (34 11 1 153 197) - 2 pcs. I use Quick Brake 0088 fittings.
Part #6 - Protective cap (34 11 1 153 198) - 2 pcs. I use Quick Brake 0126 caps.
Part #7 - Retaining spring (34 21 1 153 199) - 2 pcs. I use BOSCH 1 987474 032 spring set.

Part #8 - Guide pin (34 11 1 157 041) - 4 pcs. They are in good condition, so I left them.
Part No. 9 - brake pad wear sensor (34 35 1 179 819) - 1 pc. Installed only on the right caliper. I use a TRW sensor.
Part No. 10 - terminal (61 13 1 361 897) - 1 pc. This is an error in the ETK - this terminal is for earlier BMW models to fix the brake pad wear sensor connector. It is not used in the E30. Part No. 18 is used instead.

Part No. 11 - brake disc 258X10 (34 21 6 755 407) - 2 pcs. I use TRW discs. Although, I replaced them a long time ago, their thickness is still within tolerances with a large margin. Therefore, I left them.
Part No. 12 - bolt with internal hexagon M8X12 (34 11 1 123 072) - 2 pcs. Fastening the brake disc to the hub.
Part No. 13 - protective cover left (34 21 1 162 061) and right (34 21 1 162 062) - 2 pcs. I use KLOKKERHOLM covers.
Part No. 14 - bolt M6X8 (34 11 1 156 427) - 4 pcs. Fastening the protective covers to the lever.
Part No. 15 - spring washer B6 (07 11 9 932 099) - 4 pcs. Attaching the protective covers to the lever.

Part No. 16 - plug (34 11 1 154 979) - 3 pcs. Rubber bushing plug. I use plugs from the Frenkit 233003 repair kit.
Part No. 17 - plug (34 11 1 154 978) - 1 pc. Plug for the lower rubber bushing of the right caliper with a clip for fixing the brake pad wear sensor wire.

ATE number 11.8190-0157.1

Part No. 18 - bracket (34 35 1 153 966) - 1 pc. Bracket for fixing the brake pad wear sensor connector.

Part No. 19 - not used.
Part No. 20 - caliper seal kit (34 21 1 153 194) - 2 pcs. The original kit includes a rubber seal, a dust boot, and a retaining ring. I use Frenkit 233003 repair kits. The kit includes all the necessary parts.


Even unnecessary parts, they are probably used for other car models.

But looking ahead, I will say that from this repair kit I used only a rubber seal, a piston dust boot, and a retaining ring.
Part No. 21 - repair kit for guide bushings (34 11 1 157 038) - 2 pcs. I use ATE bushings 11.8171-0022.1.
Part No. 22 - JURID 508 brake pad set (34 21 1 158 912) - 1 pc. I use TRW GDB299 brake pads. I replaced them just a few weeks before I disassembled the car, so they are practically in new condition. I left them.
Part No. 23 - 3G brake pad paste (83 19 2 158 851) - 1 pc. Anti-squeak grease for brake pads. I used one package for each caliper.

In the previous post about calipers, I already wrote in detail about all types of grease for brake calipers. I use them.


As I said earlier, my club colleagues criticized my choice of repair kits, arguing that Frenkit, like other Chinese analogues, is not of very good quality. Moreover, after trying on the seal from the Frenkit 233003 kit, it seemed to me that it was too big. I thought it was 35 mm in diameter, for Touring.


It did not want to fit into the cylinder groove. Looking ahead, I will say that I was wrong, and it does fit in place, although not easily.


So, I decided to order both original ATE repair kits, since the BMW kits are no longer available, and their price was not low. But, unfortunately, the ATE 11.0441-3302.2 caliper seal repair kit. is also no longer available. Therefore, the rubber seal, piston dust cap, and circlip will remain from the Frenkit 233003 repair kit.

The ATE 11.0101-5402.2 repair kit is available for order. It includes two bushings and three plugs (two regular ones and one with a clip for fixing the brake pad wear sensor wire). Its price is 11 Euros per caliper. But using the old ATE bushing number 11.8171-0022.1, you can order bushings separately, one by one and much cheaper - 1 Euro per piece.


Since I already have three plugs from the Frenkit 233003 kit, and one plug with a clip is original ATE, I decided to order four bushings separately.




And here is an interesting nuance.
In the diagram in ETK there is some part without a number, which is included in the original repair kit BMW 34 11 1 157 038 - circled with a blue line.


I was curious what it was... I found a lot of photos of this old original repair kit on the Internet, but there was no such part there. Photo from the Internet.


But it was found in a photo of old, still factory, bushings from a teammate.


There is a plastic insert in the middle of the rubber bushing!






I compared my old and new ATE bushings and Frenkit bushings.


There are no plastic inserts in any of them!


That's why I'm really curious - what kind of inserts are those? What are they for? Why aren't they in the new bushings? Maybe they were only installed on the factory assembly line? How critical is their absence? If anyone knows, I'd be very grateful for the information.

Now, finally, we start assembling the calipers.
We lubricate the cylinder and seal with ATE hydraulic assembly paste. We insert the seal into the cylinder groove. It fits very tightly.


Then we lubricate the piston and the boot with the same paste. We put the boot on the piston in this way and insert the piston into the cylinder.


We press the piston into the cylinder and put the boot on the caliper.


We wipe off the excess paste and fix the boot with a retaining ring.


We lubricate the fitting with copper grease, put a rubber cap on it and screw it into the caliper.


Now we need to install the rubber bushings.


To make the bushing easier to enter the caliper, we lubricate its OUTER part with silicone grease. We insert the bushings in this way.


We insert the guide fingers into the rubber bushings. An important nuance - the guide fingers are NOT LUBRICATED with any lubricants!


We screw the caliper to the bracket with the guide fingers. The bushings are closed with plugs. The caliper is assembled.


The calipers are ready for installation.
The metal clip in the photo above is an extra detail. As I said above, it is used for earlier models E12, E21, E23, E28.

I will write about the installation in the second part.

[The_Glory]

Assembly_190. ETK_34_Rear wheel brake lining wear sensor ATE (part 2)

The rear suspension was installed at the very beginning of the car assembly, and together with it, brake discs and protective covers were installed.
The cover must be screwed before installing the hub, otherwise it will not fit. Two bolts on each side.


After that, you can install the bearing, hub, handbrake mechanism and brake disc.


Finally, you can install the rear calipers. To do this, I unscrewed the brake hoses from the tubes and screwed them to the calipers, having previously lubricated them with copper grease. The brackets also need to be unscrewed from the calipers (or you could not screw them).


We lubricate the contact surfaces of the brake pads with anti-squeak paste. By the way, it is more convenient to do this before installing the bracket so as not to smear the brake disc. The upper and lower pads are lubricated on both sides.


We apply blue thread lock to the bolts and screw the brackets to the rear suspension arms. Two bolts each.




Apply anti-squeak paste to the contact surfaces of the brake pads and caliper.




Also to the contact surface of the piston. I lubricated the piston inside as well so that it rusts less. The 3g package was quite enough for one caliper.


Install the inner pad holder into the piston.


Install the outer pad with the wear sensor into the bracket.


Apply blue thread lock to the guide pins.


We insert them into the rubber bushings and screw the caliper to the bracket. The guide fingers DO NOT GREASE with anything!


We close the rubber bushings with plugs. The upper plug is ordinary, and the lower one with a clip for the brake pad wear sensor wire is only for the right caliper.


We insert the locking spring. We thread the sensor connector through the hole in the caliper.


Fix the loop of the plastic bracket on the body wiring connector.


We treat the contacts with a special spray, connect the sensor and fix the connector in the bracket.


We put the bracket on a special hook on the brake disc protective casing. We fix the sensor wire in the clip on the lower plug so that it does not rub against the wheel disc.






Screw the brake hose to the tube, having previously lubricated it with copper grease.


The rear right caliper is installed.










On the left side, everything is similar. The only difference is the lack of a brake pad wear sensor, and the same plugs for both bushings.




Looks nice, and doesn't really stand out visually ;) If you paint the wheels, it will be even better! :)


So, the rear brake calipers are installed.
Next time I'll write about bleeding the brake system and clutch.

[The_Glory]

Bleeding the brake system and clutch

So, the brakes are installed, they need to be bled. It would seem that everything is simple, but the situation was complicated by the lack of an inspection pit or a lift in the garage (as usual). I will have to crawl on the floor under the car again... Therefore, I really wanted to ease my suffering, at least a little! )) After looking at these Internet sites, I initially wanted to buy a special Chinese device for vacuum pumping. But after reading its technical specifications, for some reason I had some doubts about its effectiveness... maybe in vain, but I gave up on this idea.
I decided to do something by analogy with the original device used at official BMW car services - pressure pumping. It seems that everything is quite simple - a plug with a valve and a pressure gauge that is screwed onto the expansion tank of the master cylinder instead of a regular cover.
The plugs from all the canisters were either too small or too big. So I remembered that I had an old vacuum booster with a cylinder and a tank left. I took the cover off, took out the sensor from it. To close its hole, I took a plug from a HEPU antifreeze bottle, it was a perfect size.


I cut off the threaded part of the plug, leaving only the upper part.


I bought a regular valve for wheel disks, and drilled a hole for the valve in the plug.


The valve is tight, but just in case, I put it on glue.


We insert the valve into the tank lid. The gasket is standard, which was in the lid.


We screw the lid with the valve onto the tank.


The "special tool" is ready! :)


Again, for convenience, to ease my suffering, I decided to make a special bottle for pumping from improvised means.
To do this, you need a glass bottle with a rubber stopper from a medical dropper, a thin rubber hose, a shoelace, a large paper clip, and an empty ballpoint pen rod.


The "special tool" has a simple design - we make a hole in the rubber cap, insert a thin hose into it and a piece of rod for air removal. We make a hook from the paper clip and tie it to the bottle with a string.


The rubber hose should reach almost to the bottom of the bottle. And the rod tube should go into the bottle a few centimeters so that if the bottle is turned over, the brake fluid does not leak through it.


The cord with the hook is also to prevent the bottle from falling or tipping over.


Here are two not tricky, homemade "special tools" :)


Now you can start pumping.


We pour brake fluid into the reservoir. Instead of the standard cap, we screw on a similar cap with a valve.


We connect the compressor to the valve.


According to TIS, you need to pump 2 atmospheres. But I was a little afraid for my "special tool" )), so I pumped 1.5 atmospheres. I think this is also enough...


I start, of course, with the rear right caliper. I hung my second "special tool" on a loop on the body - I don't know what it is for, but in this case, it is very appropriate. We put the hose on the caliper fitting.


I unscrew the fitting, and...... nothing happens..... ))) I expected that I would now unscrew 4 fittings in turn, a fountain of brake fluid would spray from each one, - and the system would be pumped in 5 minutes! ))) But, for some reason it doesn't work.
I tried it on the front calipers - there was at least some effect there, but there were no fountains there either! ) I don't understand what I did wrong... So, the trick didn't work! ))
So I had to call a friend for help, and pump the brakes in the old proven way - with the pedal.
And this is an original "special tool" for this method - like in a reputable car service! )))


So, I couldn't ease my suffering, and I climbed under the car. By the way, it turned out that it's not that difficult to do, even without a viewing hole. With the front wheels turned to the side as much as possible, there is more or less normal access to the fittings. It's a little harder on the rear ones, but only on the left side, because the right wheel was already removed.
But the rear circuit still didn't want to be pumped. The front calipers were pumped first - everything was OK. And the rear ones, in general, nothing! Not a drop of brake fluid comes out of them! I'm already starting to think that something got into the tubes and clogged them. Although they are all new. And then my friend gets the idea to try pumping with the engine running. I was quite skeptical about this idea, but we tried it anyway. And what do you think? Brake fluid immediately came out of both rear fittings! It's probably not the engine itself, but maybe the ABS hydraulic unit.... Maybe the rear circuit was closed by some valve in the hydraulic unit? And when the hydraulic unit was powered up, that valve opened? I have no other explanation for this phenomenon.... Except maybe it's just a coincidence! ))
But, whatever it was, we went around the circle again - rear right, rear left, front right, front left. The brake system was bled.

All that remained to be bled was the clutch. And that's where the real "pain and suffering" was! ))
First, I had to raise the left front wheel as high as possible on a jack to somehow get to the clutch slave cylinder.
Secondly, the specialists who installed the gearbox said that I had not installed the clutch slave cylinder correctly - with the fitting facing down (as the book says). They argued that since the fittings on the brake calipers are on top, it should be on top here too.
I don't know why (probably out of stupidity) I agreed with them, and they moved the clutch slave cylinder with the fitting facing up.
And now I'm "reaping the fruits" of my stupidity. It doesn't affect the clutch operation in any way, but the system is pumped very hard. After all, the brake fluid now enters the cylinder not from top to bottom, but from bottom to top. And most importantly, the fitting almost rests against the gearbox and access to it is very difficult. Even on a lift, pumping will be very inconvenient. And even more so, lying under the car, and reaching for the fitting with one left hand.... I had to pump brake fluid through a hose with a syringe into the cylinder fitting, and only then did it start pumping. I even wanted to try pumping using the brakes, connecting the fitting of the front left caliper with the fitting of the clutch slave cylinder, but it didn't come to that. In the end, the clutch was pumped! I didn't take a photo, because it was very inconvenient, and not before!
Never install the clutch slave cylinder with the fitting facing up! )

Another nuance that I don't understand. All the tubes and hoses are new, the cylinders are new, the calipers are clean. But the brake fluid at the outlet is very dirty!


Why?? Is this some kind of "preservative" in the new tubes or something? I don't like it... I'll drive a little and replace the brake fluid again.
By the way, I read somewhere that 1.2 liters of brake fluid are needed to fill the system. So I bought two bottles of one liter each. I used exactly one bottle. After pumping, about 150-200 grams of fluid drained, that is, 800-850 grams entered the system. Maybe I'll have to add more... I'll see...

So, despite all the difficulties, pain and suffering, the brake system and clutch are pumped!
Finally, I can try to drive! )

[roguetoaster]

I think ABS equipped cars might take more, but 800ml seems within reason. Really like those special tools, they seem easier to use, and frankly easier to store than the usual Motul or similar pressure bleeders. Granted you have to keep filling the reservoir, but no big deal.

There probably is a manufacturing oil on the insides of all of the brake lines or hoses, so icky fluid is to be expected. There's also release agent on rubber seals which blackens fluid quickly.

[The_Glory]

Something is not very clear with the brakes yet - they are practically gone! Maybe they need to be pumped again, or maybe it's because of this dirt.... I guess I need to change the brake fluid again.

[The_Glory]

Went out!

So, right after the clutch was pumped, the first short test drive was done! I couldn't wait! )

https://youtube.com/shorts/Snlxo0Vcfy0

Went out, finally! ))
But it was already late and it was raining outside, so the first drive had to be postponed for a while.

And so, this day came! )
Although, it snowed in April, I still managed to "catch" literally an hour of dry sunny weather, between rain and snowfall! I really wanted to drive a little! ))
First drive!




Let's go! Wow! ))

https://youtube.com/shorts/jbDAd-0sUf8

After the E53, it's just a rocket!! ))) I've already managed to get used to it! ) I really missed it - emotions, like a small child from a favorite toy! )))))
After the third pass, the neighbors started coming out to see what kind of idiot was flying back and forth! ))
I couldn't resist! ))

https://youtube.com/shorts/VnVzHj4--8Y

https://youtube.com/shorts/_Nk17mB5DBE

Looks good, even in dust and without bumpers )) The photo doesn't do it justice, but in the sun the color looks very nice! After polishing it will be even better!








I also really like the look without "tinting" - all the green polished glass looks very harmonious with the blue color, in my opinion.







I'm happy!
Everything would be great if it weren't for two nuances.
Firstly, oil is dripping from the power steering somewhere. I thought the reason was the new Chinese pump, which buzzes like crazy, but it's dripping from somewhere from the steering rack... Maybe the hose is just not tightened, or maybe something worse...
Secondly, the brakes are very bad. I still don't understand why. Either it needs to be pumped again, or it's because of the dirt in the brake fluid... I guess I need to replace the brake fluid, I hope it helps.
But I'll solve these two problems at a car service, on a normal lift.
For now, I'm dealing with all sorts of small "jambs" in the electrical system, I'll write about it later.

P.S.
It's probably time to write that the car already has a new owner.


Or rather, the owner. First time behind the wheel :)


P.P.S.
But the logbook doesn't end there! ))
I still need to paint and install bumpers, polish the body, paint at least one of the four sets of wheels, fill and run the air conditioner, and add some additional options.
And I think there are a lot of other little things that will "come out"...

[The_Glory]

Painting bumpers part 1 plastic

So, I decided to paint the bumpers myself - not to waste the paint that I had previously ordered for the "shadow line"! )
Of course, the plastic on the bumpers was not painted at the factory, but in my case it was painted before me. It had scuffs and deep scratches in places. So later I painted it a few more times. So I had to remove all the old paint, right down to the plastic.




As you can see, I decided to paint all the trims that I had, so that I could then choose the best ones. I collected more than two sets of them. Some were in poor condition, so I had to glue them and putty them. I will install them on my garage "E30 nightstand".
Some of them had a lot of layers of old paint on them. It was not very easy to remove it.


Then I puttyed all the scratches, irregularities, and holes from the screws with plastic putty. I prepared smooth surfaces for painting. Quite a laborious process that took a lot of time and effort.


Then I thoroughly washed everything, degreased it, and applied a primer for plastic.




And finally, I painted it matte black, like the "shadow line".




But for some reason the surface turned out matte "textured", and not just matte smooth... Either it's the paint, or the spray gun, or I'm such a painter! ))) But, in principle, it looks good for plastic too! ;)

After painting, I had to assemble the front turn signals, which are also part of the front bumper trim.
I already wrote about them in the corresponding topic about lighting, so now I will briefly write about their types and assembly.
So, I have four left and two right lights.


Three of them were broken and glued together.


Although, from the outside they all look normal now.


Now about their differences. There are three manufacturers of headlights for early E30s - ZKW, ULO and Sidler. They are all interchangeable.
ZKW and ULO are practically the same.
Sidler has a different connector design. It has a separate plastic housing with two contacts. In my opinion, this design is better.


The reflectors differ in the diameter of the cutout for the connector. Sidler has the largest, and ZKW has the smallest.


So, I chose the two best, whole Sidler headlights from them.


Accordingly, the glass comes from these three manufacturers, but is interchangeable, including the left and right, although some have an R mark. I have a pair of Sidler, a pair of ULO and one FIFFT analogue, - it is also of quite good quality.


There is also original ZKW glass - transparent and smoky.


It is strange that ZKW glass, regardless of its color (orange, transparent, smoky), has the same ETK number. It is not entirely clear how to choose its color when ordering.
I will compare them already on the car, and most likely, I will install clear glass. Or smoky. And the orange ones will be in reserve. By the way, as well as the original orange side repeaters.


So, we insert the reflector, the orange lamp (for clear glass), the seal and screw the glass with two screws.


The front turn signal lights are ready for installation.




The rest of the lights are also assembled - a pair of ULO for my "E30 bedside table", and Sidler and ZKW will be in reserve.


So, the plastic bumper covers are ready for installation.
Now I'm preparing to paint the metal parts of the bumpers.
I'll write about it next time.