Tina the '88 325ix

[6A LDY]

thanks for all the help bob!

[stonea]

+1 on the ZHP knob, I've heard good things about condor, but I'd rather rock a ZHP

[6A LDY]

I'm moving to upstate NY on saturday and the car is staying in north central MA about 3 hours away. Tomorrow is my last day working on the car for a little bit so I'm going to try to get it back on her wheels.

I re-installed the rear subframe today pretty easily and connected the brake lines and the abs sensor. Now all I have to do are put together the parking brakes and re install the calipers. Also swapped out the front rubber lines for stainless steel lines. Once I bleed the brakes and reinstall the exhaust, she should be god to go for a quick drive!

Hopefully I can wrap it up tomorrow and get everything packed for NY

[6A LDY]

Subframe is back in with the new springs and koni single adjustables, it went in surprisingly easy



Here's more or less how it sits for now until it settles out



I was going to take it for a spin, but I undid the collar nut on the driveshaft too far and now its stuck in the u-joint side spline housing. Next mission will be fixing that or replacing the drive shaft and then the front suspension. Already have the struts and springs, but I need to buy some new strut mounts and maybe some CABs while im at it.

[6A LDY]

Haven't updated this in a long time, but I've been busy

Installed:

m3 solid offset CABs,
H&R front springs
Koni sport SA struts
Gates racing belt
New water pump and thermostat
New FPR and fuel vacuum line

The right front strut housing threads were completely gone so I cut off the threaded section from a non-ix strut and welded it onto mine and its good as new.

Bled the brakes, and got her running again. I didn't try to drive it, just gave it some throttle from the throttle body

She's running a little rough right now, wandering idle and the throttle takes about a second to respond when I blip it. I think part of it is the fact that I've had the battery unplugged for so long, but I think there's something else up. Next up is checking fuel pressure and looking for vacuum leaks

[FreedomM3]

When you get that idle fixed let me know what you did. I currently have the same situation, maybe not as bad. I replaced the cap, rotor and plugs. I need to adjust the valves.

Love the ix, wish I had the budget to do one now too. Maybe once I get my current bronzit where I want it.

There's a coupe for sale locally that seems like a good project. Keep up the good work!

[audiquattrot]

Wandering idle for my ix was icv and afm. Had to replace icv w a new one bc cleaning it made no difference. Couple months later the afm went haywire, and replaced it w a known used good one. Idles perfectly now. Check for vac leaks too

[stonea]

Mine was afm too

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

[6A LDY]

Yeah I have cleaned the ICV out and tested it and it seems like it's working. Im betting it's a combo of fuel pressure, vacuum leaks, and the am being on the way out based on the way the throttle responds.

I also spent last night rebuilding my drivers side door lock so the key actually works and I was surprised how easy it was to just figure out which tumblers to use without having the right ones already

The real problem for me is that the car is located 3 hours away from me so I really only get to work on every 2 weeks for a few days. It makes it hard to stay with one thing.

[6A LDY]

So this week I was able to come home and spend my birthday working on sorting out the rough idle. I found the culprit, it was a couple of loose aluminum elbows that connect the ICV and brake booster to the intake manifold. Sealed them up with some gasket maker and presto good as almost new. Car runs pretty smooth now and after letting it run for 30+ minutes the idle has settled out. I even took it for a little test drive and its running pretty well.

Also got the drivers door adjusted and seated properly. It's obviously not the door that came with the car, but it fits properly now and closes without having to jimmy it around. It's in good shape too, so I'm going to repaint it.

Next on the docket:

Rust repair in the battery box, rear floor pan, and drivers rear wheel well, a couple of touch ups

Cleaning and painting the rear lip spoiler, door, bumpers, and front lip

Plastic bumper swap

Freshening up and fixing the sunroof situation and blowing out the drains

Installing the mudflaps I got, went with the XL basic rally armor flaps

Figuring out why the tach and speedo dont work

I'm pretty confident in the drivetrain and engine now, it's time to start doing the cosmetic work and little touches to make this beast ready just in time for winter to be over

[6A LDY]

Here she is as of today