'90 325i Project Log… continued

[jd_e30]

Being a bachelor until Saturday afternoon = Detailing, Home Depot, e30 and Cars & Coffee!

I want to get the e30 shined up for this Saturday’s Cars & Coffee. I am lucky enough to live 1 house down from Dylan@SurfCityGarage (formally from Adam’s Polishes), so I stopped by to pick up some of his new products - Surf City Garage’s new Pro Line (http://www.surfcitygarage.com/shop). What you see is non-diluted All purpose cleaner, car wash soap, detail spray, trim dressing and tire dressing. I look forward to the results! A full detail/write-up will happen sometime soon.



I then headed to HD for some miscellaneous crap and supplies I plan to use on the e30. I am going to seal the gaps on either side of the back seat frame, where wiring runs from the trunk into the cabin. The water that was leaking from behind the rear window into the trunk was traveling along this wire path into the cabin. I’ll post some pics of this tomorrow!



Also, I am really hoping that I can get you guys to help me diagnose this noise. I uploaded a few videos of the buzzing/whining/metallic noise I am hearing. If you listen in the video you can hear a very high pitched, almost inaudible circular saw/turbine jet, dragging kind of noise. This noise persists with engine off and does not change with RPM’s, but does change with engine speed and rear end load. What do you guys think?

Engine on

http://youtu.be/6eXDa2Tu63U

Engine off a few seconds into the video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1nwXg_VdcM

[jd_e30]

I really like the look of your car. I hope to get a similar height

I was thinking of taking my carpets out to clean them as well. How hard was it to reinstall? Thats what Im most worried about.

Thanks! And I will let you know on carpet install, tonight! Removing it wasn't too bad but it was heavy and soaking wet. Definitely worth removing it to clean and find leaks though!

diff noise would be my best guess.

My guess too but a low mile diff was used and all new bearings installed by CA Tuned.

[thatphysicsguy]

Most likely. I have the carpet and rear seats out right now, so everything is echoing through the cabin like crazy. However I am chasing down a buzzing/whining/metallic noise that is not RPM dependent and is present when car is rolling with engine off.

Any ideas?

diff noise would be my best guess.

[peter321]

I really like the look of your car. I hope to get a similar height

I was thinking of taking my carpets out to clean them as well. How hard was it to reinstall? Thats what Im most worried about.

[jd_e30]

Most likely. I have the carpet and rear seats out right now, so everything is echoing through the cabin like crazy. However I am chasing down a buzzing/whining/metallic noise that is not RPM dependent and is present when car is rolling with engine off.

Any ideas?

[thatphysicsguy]

is that a bit of fuel pump whine I hear in your vid?

[jd_e30]

Good news. Both the coolant and brake light check lights are gone!

The coolant level sensor was a straight forward swap. However, the brake switch was a little tricky...

In retrospect, the OE brake switch was probably fine and just needed adjusting. Basically, when the brake pedal is not depressed, the extending rod is pushed into the red collar/switch due to the pressure of the pedal. The red collar holds the rod at a certain distance. Over time the red collar gets pushed in, so the best thing to try before replacing the switch is to pull the red collar out. This brings the rod out as well. It's hard to explain but if you get under and look it is easy to figure out.

When I first installed the new switch tonight it didn't work. The brake check light was still coming on. Upon further inspection I realized that the red collar had gotten pushed in and the white rod was not making contact with the pedal. This part is definitely not as good quality as the OE Part.

I pulled the sleeve out (took some force) which allowed the rod to make contact with the brake pedal. This did the trick.

http://youtu.be/mL5B080y4Po

[HersheySquirts]

Nah Louisville KY, an e30 dead zone...

[jd_e30]

I'm assuming you are in Louisville, CO? I haven't seen too many e30's for sale locally actually. I occasionally see one on the road. I saw an e30 m3 a few months ago in Lafayette.

[HersheySquirts]

Awesome looking car, I have been wanting to find a late model coupe similar to yours for sale near Louisville, but it's been quite a challenge haha. Enjoy your e30!

[jd_e30]

I will!

My light was not coming on much at all, but then started to come on and stay on every time I drove. I will keep you updated.

[thatphysicsguy]

Let us know if the new brake switch takes care of your check light. I have the exact same problem (I think). Even replaced the diode pack and sprayed contact cleaner on all the connectors back there.

My check light will come on very often if I just lightly tap the brakes for a split second, does that happen on yours?

[tschultz]

Great color combo.

I work in Louisville, and will be moving up to Northglenn/Thronton probably in another couple of months.

Glad to see you are interested in D4C too :)

[lambo]

That is one pretty car...

[jd_e30]

mmmm new steering wheel roundel and engine ground