1991 318i sedan project - Saving a sedan!

[SiGmA_X]

Shittttty. That'd be my guess frankly tho. I would have thrown a pressure gauge on the bitch before spending many hours tearing it down, only to have to do it again to replace the pump. Pan off, front covers off, fun times!

[s_ribs]

Hindsight is always 20/20. Agreed, it would have made sense.

But-
Rattle from timing case on M42's -pretty much always timing components. And it was, mostly.

Lifter tick on a 193k mile engine... yeah, duh. Haha! The fact that it seems to actually be a pressure issue is more surprising than anything.

And, I wouldn't have known that there was so much gunk in the engine if I hadn't pulled everything. Potentially would have replaced the oil pump for no reason (if blockage is the issue).


Will be changing the oil today after running some MMO in it the last few days. Considering putting fresh oil/filter with some seafoam in the crankcase for a bit (idling not driving), then dump it again. Still possible the pump is going bad, but worth trying to clean it out a bit first.

Clearly the oil pressure gauge is quickly making it's way off the want list and onto the need now list.

Gotta love car problems to sort out on the day you're supposed to be leaving...

[SiGmA_X]

I've always driven with MMO or Seafoam without any issues. Max of around 25mi of course.

HF OPG = $12.99? Has metric adapters.

[Victorymike18]

I just breezed through this thread, and just wanted to say that you've come a long way with the car. Great work, and good thinking of hanging on to it. Keep it up.

[MR E30 325is]

You check your oil level? I had mad ticking in my S52, and i was low about a quart. Filled her up and it promptly went away.

[s_ribs]

Few bits-
First, my car is a little happier after replacing the oil pressure relief valve. It did seem to be not draining properly before and now it is. I don't even need to test the oil pressure to know that the pump needs to be replaced. With the relief valve working properly now, I get a second or two of noise until pressure builds.

Second, this is the first time I've seen an E30 run at the middle of the temp gauge! It weirds me out. I guess my thermostat needs to get replaced.

Third, re-timed the cams on Friday and wow is it more fun to drive! I definitely messed up timing when in there - but it was clearly off the entire time I've owned it.


Ok, 2000 miles were safe and successful! Here's a few pictures from the drive-

Somewhere past the gorge


Sunrise in Eastern Washington


They don't call Montana big sky for nothin


Nice thing about 10' uhaul's is you can actually see an e30 behind you!


Pictures can't possibly show how big these are.


Somewhere in North Dakota, car's still in one piece.


Welcome to the plains states!



In Madison now and adjusting to the new climate. It's a bit different than the dry PNW during summer! Hopefully I'll find a place to live that lets me work on my car once and a while - but I'm not holding my breath.

[Matt-B]

is that a UFO in montana pic?

[s_ribs]

What else would you expect to see there??

[s_ribs]

Ok, a couple of pictures from the last weeks projects-

Electric fan is in and working well. Shroud didn't turn out as pretty as I had hoped, oh well. Turns out the factory shroud isn't ABS, so it didn't bond to my ABS sheet. Ended up using silicon glue and some nuts/bolts to join them.

The fan wiring is in it's rough stage right now so I can test it. Once I decide if I like the set up I will re-do the wiring and make it prettier.

Start of the new color scheme up top:


Crinkle paint is cool. But if you have any oil leaks it stains it. I dig the gloss paint right now. Can't wait to get some blue manifolds in there.


Relay and fuses:


Power is from the power distribution block so the fan can be on anytime. This seems pretty safe to tap into constant power and was easiest.


If you dig through your bucket of random bolts, etc. you just may find something that works perfectly to secure wiring:



Fan ground:


All grounds are using factory ground points. Fan is here on the frame rail, switch etc. are grounded on the strut housing with the coil wires.


Fan power wire is run through the radiator support to stay tidy/protected:



Fan off = no indicator light:



Fan on = indicator light:


I had hoped that the LED indicator would turn on only when the fan was functioning. It can be hard to hear it when the car is running, so I wanted it to not light up if the fan didn't actually turn on - no such luck. I may need to use a different relay to do that.

[s_ribs]

Fan/relay wiring diagram-



I had a SPST relay so that's what I used. A SPDT relay will work with minor changes.

Relay pin out:
30- constant power (to battery/power source)
85- ground
86- switched power
87- to fan


If using an aftermarket switch (I got mine at Radio Shack) make sure to add a fuse in before it! Check the specs and use the appropriate rating to protect the fuse. Mine was a 3 amp rating. The 30 amp fan fuse is on a separate wire/pin.


One consideration for the future is adding a full control unit. Flex-a-lite makes one that will allow multiple speeds, independent temp control while still allowing manual control, and factory a/c integration. Spendy but would be nice.

[s_ribs]

Had a little phone convo with Curt and think we figured out a solution for the LED indicator. Initially I thought about moving the power source to tap in after the fan fuse - but that will only tell me if the fuse is blown, not if the fuse if good and the fan is dead.

Here's Curt's idea:


His thought that with the diode (only allows current to flow in one direction) will keep it from pulling ground unless the fan is on. I'm feeling a bit lost on technical knowledge and working through the logic of it, so I will just try in and see what happens!

During the drive East, we came up with a cool idea for a windshield washer system! It will stay clean looking and won't require drilling holes in the hood again. Stay tuned...

[hoseklamp]

Hey Seth, in my head, you should be able to wire the LED to pins 85 and 87 and be done with it. And with the wipers, I know there are plenty of cars (at least some Chevy's) that had the washer nozzles attached to the wiper arm itself. Gave great coverage and you shouldn't have to drill any holes in the hood, just figure out how to run the tubes.

[SiGmA_X]

Uh Seth, you said you want to have the LED indicate if the fan is dead or not? That won't do it. I'd do 85-87 as well. That will even show if the relay is dead. I can't think of a simple way to show that the fan is dead or not tho...

[Van Westervelt]

Thats not quite how I had it worked out in my head the other day. Dangit, why didnt I just write it down! lol

[SiGmA_X]

What were you going to use to show if the fan was functional or not?