New owner, BMW 325iX Touring

[D.Martijn]

This week I received the oil temp sensor. I had also ordered a few parts at my local dealer which showed up just in time.
On Saturday, I went back to work so I could use one of the manual milling machines to drill and tap the hollow oil filter housing bolt.




I then went ahead and disassembled the console. I noticed the previous owner spliced power from the radio for the Mtech map light rear view mirror with some cheap clamps.
I decied to clean up his wiring and add the wires for the display.


Didn't have shrink tube at the workshop so some electrical tape will do for now.


Also checked and turned the key to test the wiring before fitting it back together.


When the car is off it's barely noticable that there is a oil temp sensor there. I still need to find a nice console frame as mine is cracked in the left upper corner


And with the power on. While I had the console apart, I also replaced the bulb for the OBC buttons.


I routed the wires for the sensor itself over the steering column and through an existing hole in the wiring harness grommet.


And that's where I pretty much had to quit.. Turns out the cable it way too long. Although I contacted the seller and asked it it was long enough.
This is when I route it against the firewall. Although I would like to route it under the intake manifold and then via the crank position sensor

[D.Martijn]

Those red cable clips are horrible, i once bought a car that was full of these and was so much work to clean up, because they start to get faulty quick.

Yeah, I know. I'm planning on soldering the connections instead of using those :)

[Ludwig]

Those red cable clips are horrible, i once bought a car that was full of these and was so much work to clean up, because they start to get faulty quick.

[D.Martijn]

Hmm, yeah. Could be those. However I did replace the little bungs & cam seal when I did the cylinder head not that long ago. I've ordered some new ones at the local dealer.

I also got myself an oil temp sensor which is cased in an original button so it looks pretty OEM. Still waiting for it to arrive. Along with the little U bungs, I also ordered a new hollow bolt that mounts the oil filter housing to the block. I've read on here that it's possible to drill and tap a hole for the sensor. So there is no need for a sandwich plate between the filter and the original housing.

When I put the sensor in I'll also replace the oil with some high zinc content oil. I've reached out to Mobil1 and they told me that the Mobil Super 2000 x1 10w40 has a content of 1900ppm zddp.
(This is for the European market as it might differ from region to region).

Couple of pictures from the seller.

[jeenyus]

I had a similar leak on the front of my engine. It wasn't the head gasket that was leaking, it was leaking from above. Either the cam seal or those little rubber U shaped inserts. It was really hard to see exactly where it was coming from too, but it look almost exactly like that.

[D.Martijn]

Not a whole lot has happened over the last couple of weeks.
I'm still having an issue with condensation in my oil now that the holidays are over and I'm doing short distances again for my daily commute.

I'm also having trouble getting my valves adjusted, they clatter like crazy at 2000rpm, can't seem to get them any better when adjusting them.. Anyone that has some tips?
I've tried using the spring adjusting tool but doesn't change a whole lot.

And at last, I seem to have a small oil leak coming from the front of my head gasket...


Also received a E36 M3 swaybar, only paid 40€ with end links and bushings.
It should fit with some modification, I'll have to mock it up and go from there.

Picture of it sitting with some Winter dirt :)

[D.Martijn]

Enjoyed reading the entire thread just now. I'm especially impressed with the rust repairs. Your touring seems to be highly optioned compared to the few I've seen imported here in the U.S.

Congrats on COTM!

Thanks man! Yeah, that was quite the undertaking lol.
Only thing that's missing it electric windows though..

[connorb850]

Enjoyed reading the entire thread just now. I'm especially impressed with the rust repairs. Your touring seems to be highly optioned compared to the few I've seen imported here in the U.S.

Congrats on COTM!

[Massive Lee]

Yes. It is only condensation. You need to drive that car a bit more for once in a while to remove moisture from your oil. That same problem affects all e36 and e46 which have been known to hydro-lock engines in very cold climate because of the air plenum oil separator design.

[D.Martijn]

Last week I checked my oil level and the filler cap and noticed some white milky stuff.
I checked my coolant level and it was still the same although I have to admit that the coolant level light has been on a while now, I'm pretty sure it has a bad connection.

I've started researching a bit more on google and I think it might be condensation inside my engine block. My commute is only 3km (1.8ish miles) so it never fully warms up. I do however take it for a longer drive each Friday.

Today I got some new oil just to start fresh, tomorrow I'll do some highway driving and see if that clears it up. I also decided to reset the valves while I was busy

Milky residue on the filler cap


Some water came out of the air breather hose


Inside of the valve cover and cylinder head looks great




As do the sparkplugs, they look all the same so I don't think it's consuming any coolant either.

[D.Martijn]

There was a guy selling a few parts on a Belgian craigslist.
I decided to get these parts from him for a pretty good price :)

I've been looking for a while now for some gummi floor mats for the E30 and finally found a complete set. This will be perfect for this winter!


The front drivers side mat is a little bit worn but nothing too bad. I've seen worse


He also had these for sale, mine are getting faded. I though about painting them with some SEM black trim paint but why not replace them.. :)


And finally, these :) Brand new in the box
Some of you might recall that I already have some fitted on my car but a one of the clips broke while installing them + I think one of the tweeters themselves might be broken..

[D.Martijn]

I need one of those OBC screen repairs too! I wonder if they can be bought here or at least shipped here

The seller ships worldwide. He also sells OBC2 displays
Shipping was free for me, not sure if this is also the case if you're in the US.

[2mAn]

I need one of those OBC screen repairs too! I wonder if they can be bought here or at least shipped here

[D.Martijn]

great work. The light on mine just took a shit, but lucky me, Garagistic has the LED replacement 50% off.

Thanks. I also noticed when putting it back into the dash and turning on my lights, the buttons don't light up. I can't seem to remember if they actually worked before lol. Might have to take it out again to replace the little bulb.

The photos turned out great! The locations/backdrops were a good choice.

Congrats on COTM! Your touring and attention to detail is truly an inspiration.

Good to know there are replacement screens available. Mine acts oddly on hot days.

Thanks Mike! The backdrops don't really show much of the Flemish country side but it's more about the car anyways ;)

Yeah, I'm glad I stumbled upon the Instagram post. However, a few months ago there was a guy on Ebay-Kleinanzeigen (German craigslist) selling OBCs with a new, replaced screen. When I asked him where he got them. He told me 'whoever looks for them will find them" and a few messages later, he told me on the darkweb.. wtf?..

I also have/had (I don't know yet) that the screen would flicker/ the numbers act up. A little tap on the side of the dashboard and it would function normal again..

[mike.bmw]

I got selected for car of the month, I asked a friend to take a couple of rolling shots of my Touring. The 'regular' pictures, I took & edited myself.

I decided to also post these pictures here on my build/update thread as I think that they turned out pretty good. :)

...

here's a link to the COTM article;
https://www.r3vlimited.com/board/sho...d.php?t=426639

The photos turned out great! The locations/backdrops were a good choice.

Congrats on COTM! Your touring and attention to detail is truly an inspiration.

Good to know there are replacement screens available. Mine acts oddly on hot days.