318iS Daily Driver (In the UK!)

[MouseRat]

This is me changing the trans mounts for the second time. First ones I put in were 80A Poly but it was like driving around in a washing machine full of marbles so back to some fresh factory ones. (80A Poly would work really well for an track/aggressive street car but not a daily IMO).



Heard some clunking coming from the rear end and noticed the diff mount rubber looked in similar condition to the rubber that came out of the driveshaft support bearing (aka. shit).

So up on stands it went.

Changed the diff oil while I was in there too.






Jacking up a car on a gravel drive is not fun.

Unfortunately I don't take my pictures when I'm working as I tend to get into it and forget.

[MouseRat]

Car has been dubbed 'The White Elephant'. Now it's got a name there's no turning back..I'm in deep!

Took the old tensioner out (it was a new M44 style one) so I've less valvetrain noise now. I'm planning to drop the subframe soon too so I can get rid of a clunk coming from a badly worn diff mount. Also the muffler is really rusty so I've got an excuse to put a aftermarket exhaust on it now ;D;D

Still going strong at 135500 Miles!

[MouseRat]

Pulled the valve cover to check the condition of the guts and replaced the gaskets while I was in there. 135000-ish miles later and the teeth on the timing chain gears look in really good shape. Plenty of oil about in there too which I suppose is pretty good. Lobes on the cams have no grooves or scratches.

I have been noticing a bit of noise from the valvetrain under acceleration so theres a new chain tensioner on the way. I know M42 are a bit clacky/noisey anyway but I have no idea when it was last done.

Let's hope I find an updated M44 one in there and not the original M42 one. :devil:







mmmmmm...german engineering ;D

[MouseRat]

At some point, after I've sorted some more vital bits (like the whine thats coming from the tranny at low speed) I'd like to either spray paint or get the valvecover and intake manifold powder coated. There's a place near me that did an old Husqvarna frame of my Dad's and it turned out nice, so I'll use them!

Also, when that gets done I'll replace all the gaskets in that area, but hopefully not have to buy Helicoils

Gaskets;

[MouseRat]

Some more:

Fitted the fan shroud in the dying daylight of the British Winter.

The rocker cover got a bit of a clean too.



Begging for an iS Lip ;)

[MouseRat]

Bit of an update..

So I took it to a garage to reset the oil inspection light (I found out after that this can be done with a special tool or a paper clip - lesson learned). After that the belt was changed as it looked relatively worn. This seemed to resolve the temperature fluctuation issue - it still goes a little past half way on the initial warm up but after that it drops down below the half way mark and stays there :p

I bought a second hand ICV, gave it a clean and changed it out as the idle was getting a little rough when at traffic lights etc. That fixed that!

I used some oven cleaner to get the crap off the valve cover & upper intake manifold too, but ideally I'd like to paint them both and replace the gaskets at the same time - they don't need doing but I might as well while I'm there.

Other than that I've just been enjoying it really. It's easily the most fun I've had in a car on the road!

Thanks for the advice guys!

[Das Delfin]

From the photo, you're missing a fan shroud. That might have an effect. Check the receipts to see if the profile gasket has been replaced, also the water pump.
Very nice ride! Congrats!

+1 the fan shroud actually does a ton to help keep the car cool, so be sure to grab one

[MouseRat]

Check fan belt tension and replace the belt if it's old. If you are experiencing any slippage, the fan won't operate at full speed and you will get funky temperature fluctuations. That fixed the problem on my M42.

Belt seems relatively tight, but I don't really have a basis of comparison. Is there a definite way to tell?

[aintnothang]

I love that plaid.

[uturn]

From the photo, you're missing a fan shroud. That might have an effect. Check the receipts to see if the profile gasket has been replaced, also the water pump.
Very nice ride! Congrats!

[mikelat]

To get that yellow shit off the engine compartment use oven cleaner. Spray it on, wait 20 minutes and rub it off with a green scouring pad. DON'T get it on aluminum parts though just steel.

[SSE30]

Had something strange happen recently...

The temp gauge was showing the temperature to fluctuate quite a lot (not long after starting and driving from cold it would show past the half way mark and when stopped in traffic it would go a little bit higher than that!). There was also no heat coming from the vents.
Today I started to bleed the coolant system and quite a lot of bubbles came out...so then I gave the hose going to the heater matrix a squeeze and a lot more bubbles came out. I carried on just bleeding the system until straight coolant was coming out the bleed screw hole. This fixed the hot air problem - I can now be warm on the way to work! My guess is that air was trapped in the matrix, but I've no idea how that would have happened in the first place...

I shall see tomorrow if this has also fixed the temp fluctuation.

Check fan belt tension and replace the belt if it's old. If you are experiencing any slippage, the fan won't operate at full speed and you will get funky temperature fluctuations. That fixed the problem on my M42.

[MouseRat]

Had something strange happen recently...

The temp gauge was showing the temperature to fluctuate quite a lot (not long after starting and driving from cold it would show past the half way mark and when stopped in traffic it would go a little bit higher than that!). There was also no heat coming from the vents.
Today I started to bleed the coolant system and quite a lot of bubbles came out...so then I gave the hose going to the heater matrix a squeeze and a lot more bubbles came out. I carried on just bleeding the system until straight coolant was coming out the bleed screw hole. This fixed the hot air problem - I can now be warm on the way to work! My guess is that air was trapped in the matrix, but I've no idea how that would have happened in the first place...

I shall see tomorrow if this has also fixed the temp fluctuation.

[swboat12]

Really nice car!

[MouseRat]

So clean. Great find and a great first E30. "the most E30-ist of E30s"

Mr Regular

"Driving an E30 now, in 2014 is sort of like finally banging the prom queen except she's 41, 4 kids deep, twice divorced and out of options. But you're taking the plunge anyway just so you can say you did".

He's mean to be coming to the UK to review viewers cars next year..maybe he can revisit...

Looks exceptionally clean!

Love Mouse Rat's single "5000 candles in the wind" too.

Bye Bye Little Sebastian!