Mike's Alpine White 1991 318is

[mike.bmw]

Found the problem coil pack! I'll reach out to the retailer today to exchange/return for a replacement. Hopefully this was just a rare occurrence and all Bremi coil packs aren't garbage.

Good:



Bad:



UPDATE
Replacement coil pack being shipped today (free of charge)!

[mike.bmw]

I just read this entire thread. Great looking car man. Like a few others I have a twin. I shipped mine across the country to get it because I wanted a clean one too. got a 1 owner car :)

I've been battling the same thoughts you seem to be... keep it OEM or do some "improving". I'm so torn. Part of me wants it to be a pure OEM example (which is currently is) and part of me wants blutooth, a little bit of a suspension set up, and man do I like your aftermarket headliner!! The stock tan color is just not that appealing.

Either way, this thread has talked me into new sway bushings and spark system (coils, wires, plugs, etc). Keep it up!!

Thanks!

I may have spoken too soon regarding the coils. I went out for a drive tonight and it was running great... until suddenly the engine lost power and felt like it was misfiring. I assumed that it was a coil issue and tried to determine which coil was the culprit. I narrowed it down to either 1 or 4. I swapped the original coils back in and the car was fine after that. Tomorrow I'm going to take my multimeter and see if I can find the faulty coil and return it for a new one.

[Chrisw]

I just read this entire thread. Great looking car man. Like a few others I have a twin. I shipped mine across the country to get it because I wanted a clean one too. got a 1 owner car :)

I've been battling the same thoughts you seem to be... keep it OEM or do some "improving". I'm so torn. Part of me wants it to be a pure OEM example (which is currently is) and part of me wants blutooth, a little bit of a suspension set up, and man do I like your aftermarket headliner!! The stock tan color is just not that appealing.

Either way, this thread has talked me into new sway bushings and spark system (coils, wires, plugs, etc). Keep it up!!

[mike.bmw]

Just curious, why did you stick with this setup rather than going COP?

I've read mixed reviews for COP. Also my plug wires are fairly new. Just decided to go the easy route and use direct replacements.

[jpod999]

Just curious, why did you stick with this setup rather than going COP?

[mike.bmw]

Updates!

I've signed up for a BMW CCA HPDE (2 days!) in October. I'll be flushing the brake fluid in the next couple weeks to prepare for that.

This evening I swapped coil packs...

Swapping M42 Coil Packs

The coil packs in my car were the original 1991 BMW coil packs. I came across a good deal on new Bremis so I bought 4.

All replacement coil packs, including ones from BMW, have the retainer clips on upside down compared to the E30. Thankfully this is a super easy fix. You need to bend the retainer tabs straights, slide the retainer clip out, trim a piece of the retainer clip, and then reinsert in the proper E30 orientation. You can use them as-is, but it makes reinstalling the harness a pain.

Step 1 - Bend retainer clip tabs straight to remove retainer clip.





Step 2 - Trim tab (before and after)





Step 3 - Reinsert retainer clip in E30 orientation (the one on the left is correct)



Step 4 - All done!



Modifying the retainer clips is very easy and takes about a minute per clip. In fact it's so easy my 4.5 year old did 3 of them. She rocks.



Removing the coil pack assembly is easy. Unclip the wiring harness and remove 4 8mm nuts. The whole assembly comes out.



Take pictures for the next couple steps. There are a series of thin and thick washers, nuts, various length spaces and bolts. It seemed like a bit of a puzzle at first, but disassembly and reassembly only takes a few minutes. I had my daughter tighten all the bolts after I had the majority of it together.



Drop it back in the car. Clip in the harness. Tighten down the 4 8mm nuts.



Reinstall the plastic cover. Plug in the spark plug wires.



All done! I didn't get a chance to take it out for a spin, but the idle and throttle response seem improved!

[mike.bmw]

Very cool that your daughter was willing to get involved!

I need to change my brakes soon too, nothing really wrong with them, but I dont know the history, and I also need to adjust my e-brake. It engages pretty high up. I havent really dealt with the rear brakes much on the E30s Ive owned so it will be a "fun" afternoon of cursing ... at least thats what Im expecting right now. Curious what a good balanced street pad is that doesnt dust like crazy, mine right now are covered. I really need to go wash my car.

I was happy she stuck with it! If she continues to show interest I'll have her help more often.

Regarding pads, I was ready to pull the trigger on a set of Hawk HPS as I was happy with those for street duty on my Subarus and Volvo 240. I happened to come across one of your posts reviewing them for the E30 and decided to go with the Pagids, an OEM equivalent. If you find something with good bite and less dust, please share! ;)

Also, thanks for considering and selecting my car for August 2018 COTM! You have no idea how excited I am about that! ;D

[2mAn]

Very cool that your daughter was willing to get involved!

I need to change my brakes soon too, nothing really wrong with them, but I dont know the history, and I also need to adjust my e-brake. It engages pretty high up. I havent really dealt with the rear brakes much on the E30s Ive owned so it will be a "fun" afternoon of cursing ... at least thats what Im expecting right now. Curious what a good balanced street pad is that doesnt dust like crazy, mine right now are covered. I really need to go wash my car.

[mike.bmw]

Nice work [emoji1476]

Thanks!

Brake Refresh Part 2

Today I tackled the rear rotors and pads. I've had the rear apart before to inspect the parking brake. When I reassembled it I applied anti-seize to the bolts, so it all came apart without issue for the tasks today.

I floated the question to my 4 year old daughter, "Hey, do you want to help me work on the car today? I can show you how to use the real tools. (She has a plastic set for kids.)" She said yes and was excited to come out to the garage. I was expecting her to get bored after a few minutes, but she stuck with it the entire time. I broke the bolts loose, she ratcheted them off. I started threading the bolts on, she ratcheted them on. The whole thing took 3 times longer than normal, but it was fun.

The coating on the Zimmerman rotors comes off during the bedding procedure. Don't use brake clean on the coating, just normal soap and water to remove grease and oils. I did use brake clean on the calipers and caliper bracket prior to reinstallation.

Impressions so far: Engaging ABS has never been so easy, but the price is paid in brake dust. I'm very happy with the feel and performance of the Pagid pads (for the street), but they dust a considerable amount.

In the coming weeks I plan to flush the fluid (part 3). I don't remember who I lent my power bleeder to, so I may enlist the help of my wife to pump the brake pedal.

Taking out the rotor retaining bolt:



Driver's side before:



Driver's side after:



Passenger side apart:



Passenger side complete:

[getouth]

Nice work [emoji1476]


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[mike.bmw]

Brake Refresh Part 1

Last night I started the process of replacing my rotors and pads. Unfortunately I hit small snag with a rotor retaining screw, so I only had time to finish the fronts. I plan to tackle the rear rotors, pads, and a fluid flush later this weekend when I have a free hour.

The set includes Zimmerman coated rotors, Pagid pads, Motul 5.1 fluid, 4 new rotor retaining screw, front and rear sensors, and brake grease.

After installing the fronts, I took the car out to bed the pads. Once bedded the braking is MUCH improved over whatever was previously installed. The previous pads had terrible initial bite and required more-than normal pedal pressure to slow the car down. The Pagid pads have great initial bite and give excellent pedal feel.

New parts:



Ready to start work:



The rotors had plenty of meat left. The pads were getting a little low. The rotors are cheap enough that I opted to replace them anyway.



All apart:



First side done:



The rotor retaining screw head stripped on the driver's side. I had to drill off the head, remove the rotor, and use an extraction tool to get the retaining screw out:





Driver's side complete:

[Pootis]

I really like the look of that radio

[mike.bmw]

I need to change my roundels too... my rear isnt as bad as my front.

What did you do with the old rear one that was on the front? Also, where did you buy the front one from? Ive heard there are big variances in quality depending on where you get them from

I still have the extra rear roundel. Was considering using it for another project. ;D

I bought the front roundel from ECS. It's an official BMW part and came with new rubber nubs for installation. The quality seems to be good. All the front E30 OEM roundels run in the $35-45 range, which I thought was a bit expensive.

[2mAn]

I need to change my roundels too... my rear isnt as bad as my front.

What did you do with the old rear one that was on the front? Also, where did you buy the front one from? Ive heard there are big variances in quality depending on where you get them from

[D.Martijn]

Thanks! The covering panel is different for airbag cars, so maybe that's what you're seeing? Also, behind that panel there is some metal bracing which may be specific to US cars for safety and crash rating standards. I've seen the same panel on other US e30s with airbags.

Must be US specific then. My iX had originally an airbag steering wheel but has the regular flat panel.