My 1988 e30 325ix - Garage'd

[Kershaw]

Your head gasket is leaking. You can see the oil on the block above the oil filter. That's not cam seal oil.

[jeenyus]

And a side shot.

[jeenyus]

This weekend I removed my 'IS' spoiler. I like the trunk without it and I was never able to get it to fit right because it was missing some studs that have rusted off. It caused water to get into my trunk when I washed the car and was a point of rust. Since it provides nothing beyond aesthetics, I decided to get rid of it.

This was the worst spot.


Some weren't terrible.


Then I used POR15 and fiberglass cloth to create a solid backing.

Then POR15'd some other spots.

Then put filler in the holes the next day.

Hand sanded that shit down.

Used some self etching primer.

Sanded the high spots. Put high build #5 primer on the self etching primer.

Then I sanded that down to even out the surface.

And this is where I am now at the end of the day.


I also painted this thing.

Before.

After.


Next weekend I'll paint it white. It will look great at that point. Till then, I'll just keep driving it, cause this car is my daily. Good weekend.

[jeenyus]

I have a quick question. Can anyone tell me what the grounding point for the fuel pump is? I get some voltage drop on cold starts and it's annoying af. It's not a large drop so I'm thinking it might be the grounding point.

[jeenyus]

Mandatory, "My car was towed" flatbed picture.

Connector on my fuel pump didn't connect properly when I put it back in. Removed the clip housing and just plugged the wires in directly to my fuel pump. Problem fixed.

[jeenyus]

I would try the cam seal & valve cover plugs before the head gasket.

Thank you.

[nando]

I would try the cam seal & valve cover plugs before the head gasket.

[jeenyus]

I think I may have a leaky head gasket... I'm wondering if I can get a more experienced eye to give me some advice though.

This is how it looked before I leaked it.



Then I cleaned it and drove it and this is how it looked.


To me, it's either the cam seal or the head gasket. So I checked the other side of the exhaust manifold cause I saw oil there too.



Is this the head gasket? I'd like to not have to replace that... but if it has to be done it will be a new experience for me.

[jeenyus]

That does look very nice and great price aswell.

+ I told ya so ;)

Haha! You sure did! The shop did a great job. I'm really happy with the work and to be honest, I've had so many bad experiences with independent shops, it's really really nice to have a good experience for a change.

[D.Martijn]

That does look very nice and great price aswell.

+ I told ya so ;)

[jeenyus]

Let's try this again...

Before:


After:


Rebuilt by a local guy at a shop called "Snap Rebuilders". It was a great experience. He gave me a discount so the rebuild only cost me 80$ out the door. It looks great! It runs great! And it was same day turn around!

[jeenyus]

I'm pretty sure the repair shop will clean the alternator when they disassemble is.
At least that's what my local one did when I gave them one that needed a refresh.

Oh, isn't that great! Haha [emoji28]

[D.Martijn]

I'm pretty sure the repair shop will clean the alternator when they disassemble is.
At least that's what my local one did when I gave them one that needed a refresh.

[jeenyus]

So shortly after replacing the voltage regulator, the placebo effect wore off and I realized it's my alternator that is due for a fixing.

I gotta take it to a shop and have them rebuild it. They said I could get it back same day, so I'm hopeful that will work out tomorrow.

I did get the chance to clean it too; which is something I've been meaning to do cause it's so ugly.

Before:


After:


I know probably everyone on this forum would do the same thing. I actually think I'm going to go back and clean it up even more before taking it to the repair shop.

[jeenyus]

You mean voltage regulator
Love the project!

Good catch! Fixed it.