Meet Carmela! she is a low mile 325ix

[F34R]

~Specs~

-325ix
-1989
-auto
-109,749 miles
-Two owners(first was her grandfather then gifted to her)

Back story:

Summer of 2014 I met a new friend and invited her to Cars and Coffee in Rochester, NY. I jokingly told her I would buy it if she ever parted ways...she contacted me saying she is moving last week and it no longer ran. So we struck a deal and I paid a buddy to flat bed it home for me. I recharged the battery, swapped a CPS and it fired right up...charge was WEAK so I pulled the alternator and installed a good unit I had laying around, cranking out nearly 14 now! It came with BRAND new rotors, pads and Goodyear winter tires!

~Plans~

-Replace rear bumper
-Put lip back on(in trunk)
-Timing belt, WP, Tensioner
-Auto flush and new filter
-Sport seats
-Adjust valves
-Buff paint
-H&R sports
-Billstein HD

~Issue~

I drove around the yard and it got stuck, I think the front axles are bad...hoping that is all! The rear wheels spun in the grass but no marks from the front, being my first AWD e30 I am unsure of how they react to 'offroading' aka a steep grassy hill.

But yeah, those that know who I am and what I build, this one will just be a daily. It is rust free and needs a buffing, besides that just going to drive it to keep Polly off the road. I might sell it to my sister before I move to Colorado in 3-4 months.

[ST1G]

Hell yeah! Good work mate. Looks like a good looking car. I

[F34R]

Hell yeah! Good work mate. Looks like a good looking car. I

Thanks! I'm pleased with it! It will be cleaner and nice looking once I'm done with it.

[stonea]

Seems like a pretty good plan except for that last part. Pack her up and take her to Colorado with you!

[F34R]

Seems like a pretty good plan except for that last part. Pack her up and take her to Colorado with you!

I REALLY want an FJ62, it's my dream SUV...I don't know if I will be happy with the ix in Colorado.

[rzerob]

Found it. Subscribed.

[Kershaw]

Nice.

Either one of your front halfshafts popped out of the diff or your transfercase is toast. Three wheels should spin at all times. Automatic transfercases seem to be around in plentiful supply and fairly cheap too, so that's good.

[F34R]

Nice.

Either one of your front halfshafts popped out of the diff or your transfercase is toast. Three wheels should spin at all times. Automatic transfercases seem to be around in plentiful supply and fairly cheap too, so that's good.

I'm throwing it on the lift tomorrow or Saturday, I'm assuming get it off the ground and put it in gear to check for moving wheels. I have only pulled a 5spd for one so my knowledge of the iX drive train is very limited. I would be compelled to keep it if I can find a 5spd to swap(I know they're different). Can the half shaft pop out from turning too far? Or is it a clip/missing pin issue? I know Subaru uses a pin for their half shafts. I have been searching and reading many ix builds/threads to stack some info on these into my e30 data base. I know when maintained they are awesome!

I know you and Nando are formidable with the ix info amongst a bunch of others here, I look forward to responses :)

[stonea]

The hubs and axles are held in like they are in the rear, nut and securing plate. I actually don't know how they are secured to the diff. Is it just the half shaft splines on the inner ends pushed into the diff? I've never taken my half shafts out (yet). My money is on TC or the splines on the front driveshaft.

As for 5 speed; I know nomansland92 isn't using his 3.91 diffs anymore in his build, not sure if he's still using the G260 set up or not. He's somewhere in PA.

*Also the internals of Auto and Manual TC are the same, drive shafts are the same, its just the diff ratios and the transmission and the TC case that are different.

[iXguido]

Nice ride, I miss my red ix so much!

The front axles are splined where they meet the diff and are held into the diff with a c-clip. Very much the same as the output shafts in the rear diff. They just push in. Your front DS might be stripped as well.

[Reichart12]

Rust free is pretty awesome! Nice grab.

[nando]

make sure the front axles are pushed all the way into the diff. if it still drives with no front wheel action, then the VC must be good.

And if you're moving to Colorado, I think you would want to keep the ix..

[LJ851]

Lift kit + knobbies , Do eet.

[Mr. Burns]

whichever direction you go with this car, I know it's gonna be good.

[CorvallisBMW]

Sweet find, sub'd for more