New to me 1990 325i

[zippityDu]

Can anyone confirm I have the wiring correct on the starter? When I attempted to start it, it didn’t turn over...

Red wire is on large post on the right side. Black wire on top and black and yellow wire on bottom.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[zippityDu]

make sure to not over tighten the smaller wires on the starter studs

i have had them snap

also make sure the small studs are tight before you start tightening the nuts.
if they aren't, when you tighten the nuts the nut will get tight but the stud will be loose and not make a good connection. this happened to me after a lightweight flywheel swap.
also add a little dot of blue loctite.
and make sure you use lock washers

bavarian restoration sells an upgraded cable between the starter and alternator.
and an auxiliary ground between the starter and chassis ground.

Thanks for the tips.

[iwantspeed]

make sure to not over tighten the smaller wires on the starter studs

i have had them snap

also make sure the small studs are tight before you start tightening the nuts.
if they aren't, when you tighten the nuts the nut will get tight but the stud will be loose and not make a good connection. this happened to me after a lightweight flywheel swap.
also add a little dot of blue loctite.
and make sure you use lock washers

bavarian restoration sells an upgraded cable between the starter and alternator.
and an auxiliary ground between the starter and chassis ground.

[zippityDu]

I’ve been chasing down a starting issue ever since getting the car. I thought I was suffering a battery drain issue. I disconnected the aftermarket amp, issue wasn’t fixed. I bought a new battery, issue wasn’t fixed. I bought a new alternator, issue wasn’t fixed.

After going on a long road trip and stopping for fuel and the car wouldn’t start, this made me believe it was the starter. I’ve taken this job on at home. It’s pretty much as awful as everyone has described. New starter should be here Tuesday. I’m hoping the install is a lot easier than the removal.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[zippityDu]

are those needles painted or actual red plastic? Looks great btw.

I believe they are painted.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[jeenyus]

are those needles painted or actual red plastic? Looks great btw.

[zippityDu]

And installed. Everything is working great. Makes me want the manual swap even more.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[zippityDu]

Got my cluster back from e30dad. Hope to install it this weekend.












Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[mike.bmw]

[QUOTE=zippityDu;4979998]

There's an E36 version (won't work on E30 spines) and there's an E30 version (works on E30 splines). Based on the photo, it looks like you have the E36 version. The E30 version looks nearly the same:

Thanks for that. How about the m tech 1 wheels? Do all of those fit the e30? How about the m sport wheels?

I don't know much about the MT1 wheels, but I believe they fit all e30s. If you have an airbag car (like mine), you'll need an additional spacer to make either the MT1 or MT2 wheel work correctly, but there are a bunch of threads on that already.

[zippityDu]

[QUOTE=mike.bmw;4979992]There's an E36 version (won't work on E30 spines) and there's an E30 version (works on E30 splines). Based on the photo, it looks like you have the E36 version. The E30 version looks nearly the same:

Thanks for that. How about the m tech 1 wheels? Do all of those fit the e30? How about the m sport wheels?

[mike.bmw]

So this wheel won't work on any e30s?

It's the only wheel that looks right at home to me. So, I'm thinking about buying one in rough shape and having it recovered.

There's an E36 version (won't work on E30 spines) and there's an E30 version (works on E30 splines). Based on the photo, it looks like you have the E36 version. The E30 version looks nearly the same:

E30:



E36:

[zippityDu]

Sorry to hear that. Good luck on you search! I'm having to find/buy another one too (had to return the first one via ebay because it was quite bent).

So this wheel won't work on any e30s?

It's the only wheel that looks right at home to me. So, I'm thinking about buying one in rough shape and having it recovered.

[mike.bmw]

Damn, you're right. I guess I will be selling this and continuing my search for an e30 specific m tech 2 wheel.

Sorry to hear that. Good luck on you search! I'm having to find/buy another one too (had to return the first one via ebay because it was quite bent).

[zippityDu]

Can you post a frontal shot or that wheel? Or the part number behind the horn pad? I hope I'm wrong, but the angles of the 3:00 and 9:00 spokes make it look like an E36 MT2 wheel (which won't work on an E30). Could just be the angle of the photo playing tricks on my eyes though.

Damn, you're right. I guess I will be selling this and continuing my search for an e30 specific m tech 2 wheel.

[mike.bmw]

Can you post a frontal shot of that wheel? Or the part number behind the horn pad? I hope I'm wrong, but the angles of the 3:00 and 9:00 spokes make it look like an E36 MT2 wheel (which won't work on an E30). Could just be the angle of the photo playing tricks on my eyes though.