1989 325i sedan build thread!

[JrCamacho]

Whats up brothas!
So you guys have already met me and my "new to me" ride, the 325i! i definitely have a LOT of work to do on her, but thank goodness she wasnt beat to shit when i got her. I am a technician for lexus/toyota and am very handy with the mechaincs and electrical of a vehicle, this car seems like a ton of fun to work on.

anyways lets get to it it!

When i first got her:
Picked it up from the PO which was a 50 something Marine, he wasnt mechanically inclined and said that he bought her from a BMW mechanic that had too many cars. For $1000, i can't really go wrong on the car, it runs, doesnt mis-fire, and actually has good interior, and its painted.... mehh, best of all 138K on the odometer! Only lights on the cluster that are on are the Anti-lock and brake lining, even my check panel is Good to go!

I have a lot of plans for this car, making it a great DD with some spirited driving! my plan is for a new lease on life for her, im not really on a tight budget, but i would like to keep the budget low because to my life needs things too!

Engine overhaul:
Timing belt and Waterpump
valve adjustment
head work (honed cylinder walls, etc)
Head Gasket
Thermostat housing and Thermostat
New Dizzy Cap & Rotor, new plugs & Wires
New Cooling system hoses and clamps with a flush!
new Fuel Filter
new gaskets
Clean injectors
clean and paint intake manifold
clean throttle body
clean ICV


Driveline overhaul:
new CSB (its clunking outta control right now)
rebuild my Axles
Getrag 260 5speed Swap (soon!)

Brakes overhaul:
Replace lines with SS lines
New Rotors and pads
replace broken pad wear sensors
Flush system & rebleed
replace broken ABS sensor (wheel speed sensor? light is currently illuminated)

Suspension:
Looking at the JOM group buy for coilovers!
Replace all CABS, LTABS, sway bar links/bushings
replace front and rear subframe bushings
install strut bars
new wheels & Tires (suggestions on wheels? Offset?, etc?)

Electrical:
Fix fog lights (currently inop)
Fix turn signals (right ones are going haywire, maybe the stalk is bad?)
Fix Reverse lights (currently inop)
Fix Dome light (currently Inop) And im missing the driver side one
Fix Instrument cluster illumination (currently inop)
replace OBC (its cracked, and i want to see the time!
Replace one window switch that is inop
re-wire headunit and speakers
replace various fuses/relays


Misc:
Need a front valance
Need a new paintjob
remove old ass tint/retint
i need a new knob on the handle for my sunroof
need a new headliner, its ripped where the dome light was
need a new dash, or recover this one
Either the gas gauge or the fuel sender is out
AC needs a recharge
Blower vents are loose, i have an interior noise kit from work that will fix these right up
new toolkit
add a second trunk light




here are some pictures!






Interior:



Things that need work:
Muffler is shot


Trunk lock is not installed (came with one, but key doesnt turn it!)


Dash is 4 separate dashes! (lol j/k its cracked to shit though)


Engine bay needs some spiffing up! And a new oil cap!


Termostat housing has some residue, probably a new thermostat as well:



more pics to come as this is my build thread, you can check my progress and comment!

[Butler]

Lots of work to be done. Enjoy the transformation.

[kingston]

JrCamacho,

Welcome aboard!

The right turn signal going crazy is frequently caused by corosion in the turn signal plug behind the front bumper. Pull the bumper, scrape out the connections and spray some electrical cleaner in there, and you'll most likely be good to go.

I'm doing a lot of similar stuff to my sedan. I look forward to seeing your progress!

[Dozyproductions]

make this hella euro.

[Danny]

The last Natalie we had here was a real bitch.

[Dozyproductions]

The last Natalie we had here was a real bitch.

was she hella euro?

[JrCamacho]

Update: 3/8/2011

Just replaced the CSB, found out that the PO had welded the entire exhaust up to the manifolds.... ugh.. was such a PITA, but i finally got it replaced, and now no more clunk! yay!! also noticed the guibo flex disc was in good shape, so i'll replace that when i do the swap.

[JrCamacho]

So im going to go ahead and start keeping this updated here, since i have one on Socale30 doing the same thing, i'll just start pasting my updates from there to here

[JrCamacho]

Update 3/17/11

okay so here we go:


obliterated csb, replaced with a Febi one!! :-D

I was checking the cooling system to find this:


and...




Electrolysis? Another nipple on the T-stat housing actually had deteriorated away, as in theres a HOLE in it, i didnt have any hoses and parts to replace it yet, so i put it all back together, let it drain, and flushed the system until it all came out clear. i definitely have a leak now, around the t-stat housing, but im waiting for parts to come in, and a day off from work. (if im not working at on cars at work.. its at home)

I might need a new block if its all like this internally.. Also the fluid was all rusty water, and several hoses are swollen. the coolant level unit on the tank is broken, and the entire tank is orange now..

So anyways, this is what i have put together as a parts list to re-do my cooling system. (which im doing t-belt/water pump/tensioner at the same time)

1.Timing belt kit:
-Timing Belt
-Tensioner
-water pump
2.Head Gasket kit
3.Thermostat parts:
-Thermostat
-Housing pieces
-seals/gaskets
4.Cooling system silicon Hose kit
-all hoses/clamps
5.Coolant temp sensor
6.New radiator
7.new fan clutch? or switch to electric fan
8.Throttle body gaskets/seals
9.Miscellaneous extra hoses, etc.



I know there are more things that i need, please help me out and add to that list! also where ever is the cheapest/best place to buy parts would be great! Right now im leaning towards pelican/ebay/bmw2002.com SEARchING for the right parts.


more to come!

[JrCamacho]

kay, so a little bit of an update since my last check-up on here....


Wednesday, 3/23/11

I get to work all fine and dandy. till about 1:30 when i go to lunch, i try to start the car, and the tumbler gets locked up! like seriously! it AT LEAST allows me to unlock the steering wheel to steer, but it won't go any further than that. good thing im a technician, and my tools were there at work. I ended up:

Removing steering wheel and column covers, remove ignition switch. Right now im using a screwdriver + ignition switch to start and run the car, STILL need the keys to unlock the steering wheel though, which i thought was rather amusing.. within the last two days, i have already left the keys in the ignition 4 times... (AHHHHH)

Good news is, i had previously bought a complete set of cylinders (1 ignition, 2front doors, 1 trunk) and a key for $70 which i was stoked about, (Thanks Danny!) so i just now how to wait for that to come in and replace! At least now i can have 1 KEY to open doors and start the car, haha.



On another note:

Went to Oceanside Ecology and picked up the following:
-T-stat housing, cover, and t-stat (with sensors)
-new water pipe
-new OEM BMW flasher relay
-manual pedal assembly
-windshield washer reservoir tank
-4-door trim pieces (from a older model, had chrome + black on them) pretty niece pieces that i plan to add to the car

Was hanging out at my friends shop (Oceanside Motorsport) and ordered some parts:
-All Coolant/cooling system hoses + Clamps
-Timing Belt/Tensioner
-water pump
-Various gaskets and things
-Genuine BMW BLUE Coolant


Ordered some parts online:
-Head gasket kit
-Front lower control arms
-m3 offset Control arm bushings
-tie rod ends


That all happened this week, so hopefully i can get to wrenching (Finally) and actually doing some repairs done!

Still in the future:
-Replacing bottlecaps and tires
-replacing front valence
-hella ellipsoid smoked look mod
-wetsand + polish all lenses
-paint all trim pieces black (even the ones that MAACO decided to paint, i.e. vents in front of windshield)
-replacing wheel bearings
-5-speed swap
-replace/re-wrap dash (best option)
-Front and rear brakes (pads and rotors)
-Stainless Steel Brake lines

[JrCamacho]

okay guys new update! April is the month!! plus its my birthday on the 15th.. so go ahead and send over your gifts!

Got some parts delivered!






Also my new Radiator came in! yay!!! i'd say its almost time to slap these bitches in here!

Just waiting on the t-belt and waterpump parts.. seriously... its taking a while.

Also slapped on some new tires onto the bottlecaps.. probably going to paint them in the meantime so i can rock some kind of wheels.

[JrCamacho]

UPDATE! Long and Overdue

while i started with the repairs, i decided to take the wheels off and give them a little make-over "flat black"


While i had the wheels off i noticed that my rear rotors were getting a little bit thin:


definitely have these ordered and on their way!

This came in earlier this week:

new radiator!

dismantling, noticed throttle body heater valve was pretty.... corroded i guess


Old busted steering end links:



busted muffler:



intake manifold removed, thermostat housing removed, checked gaskets and hoses, etc.






Old vs new to me thermostat housings and thermostats.

removed waterpump:




comparing water-pipes!


new waterpump and t-belt going in!



a frayed sensor wire.. i ended up electrical taping it and securing it to the timing cover better.



All back together!


and a nice shot right here:


also.. was hanging out at Oceanside Motorsports the other day and this was towed in: (because the owner did not want to drive it there, it ran totally awesome too!!)





thats all for now! i hope you enjoy!

[JrCamacho]

Update!

Went to ecology up in oceanside, found a couple e30's.. a 535, 325es.. etc.

picked up:

-washer reservoir tank with cap! yay!
-trunk tool carrier
-ICV
-kidney grills
-hood strut
-13 button OBC with harness!
-window switches
-interior door latch surround
-two horns

the 325es had an m-tech wheel, but since it was locked.. i couldnt pull it out. shucks!

anyways, will be posting the installation of the OBC, along with finding out why my mpgmeter doesnt work on the cluster.

I still have this surging idle that is random.. and if it isnt surging, its idling at 500rpms, and when surging its like 600-900 rpms.. i swapped ICV's to no avail, i do noticed that my brake booster has a slight leak that goes away after pressing down on the brake pedal... but i don't think it affects the idle due to my idle will be steady for a while.

surging idle noticed more consistently after adding in the dinan chip, i might remove it so i can smog the car.

coming up soon:

fan clutch (yeah... i still need this)
front and rear brakes!/ss brake lines omg i need them!!
suspension - lowering and replacing worn components
alignment
replace front valence
replace rear bumper trim

[JrCamacho]

Update! 5/8/2011

Got a new fan clutch FINALLY, found out that the PO had put two screws through the old one to try and make it "work"... unfortunately it didnt! the new one has so much resistance, im glad that its finally replaced!

Got a new catalytic converter and new exhaust, had Warner Muffler in Oceanside fabricate a new exhaust for me, it goes 2.25" piping from the o2 sensor back through the cat, to a single 2.25 inlet muffler with dual tips, sounds deep and awesome! no raspyness, and its not droning, or noticeable at cruising speed, i should have went with a flowmaster 40series, which would have set it off nicely, but the high price tag... wasnt appealing to me, especially since i had to pickup a tip as well to make it "flow" with the car.


Finally got the car aligned, went to a local Goodyear shop and purchased a 3-year alignment for $117, not bad, since i figured ill be messing with suspension for a while, it would be nice to keep coming back for the next 3 years.

the main reason for those two items was to get my car to pass smog, it failed horribly on NO(x), and i need to get it registered... so smog is coming up this tuesday.


Oh yeah, got the 13-button OBC installed to figure out that i pulled it out of a 325es, soo i only had a couple plugs hooked up on the harness, and i can't get it lit up, or to function properly.. so i think i need one with a harness from a 325i/is... any thoughts on this?


trying to get pictures up, asap!

simple things:
front kidney's were broken when i tried to put the hood back on by myself (dumbass) so i got that replaced from a donor from the yard
fan shroud was broken and flapping onto the fan, so i re-secured it better with zip-ties.
installed 5mm wheel spacers in the rear.. not very noticeable.


Still in the works:
front and rear brakes (pads and rotors)
lowering springs
HID low-beams
fix odometer (second to last row has jumped a tooth, still works, just not aligned right)
replace SI board, or SI board batteries (MPGmeter is inop, and Si indicator lights work for like 15 mins, then turn off)
5-speed swap, super-ETA bottom end swap, re-surface head/headgasket ->

[JrCamacho]

your a few months late on your post? why say its April when its July 10th

im actually re-posting this from socale30, im more involved in that community, but i do alot of research on here, and would love to share my conquest for my E30 with you guys here !!
andi decided to leave the dates on there so i can check on how far along i've had this car for with the progress done to it.