1991 "1RüSTYBöI" 318IS rebuild

[15Michaeljoseph]

Awesome work. My e30 is all torn apart right now for rust repair too, hopefully finishing up this weekend. Those front cab corner spots are something else. I made my patches just 'contoured' the rest of the floor... Didn't make that extra flat piece in front the way you did... Hope that doesn't cause any fender fitment issues lol

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[Pootis]

Great work! I plan on addressing the rust in mine this winter. I have the same areas as you had with the battery tray and passenger side footwell.

[parkerbink]

Great job!

[Powling]

Been following your other threads since the start and happy to see progress still being made! Especially for another 318is locally.

Come out to TedFest this Saturday in Mississaugua. Going to be a great time with great people!

[D.Martijn]

New piece was fabricated and welded into place.

Like the others said, awesome work! Great metal/welding skills.
May I ask how you made those corner sections?

[TFJR]

Incredible work and progress! I'm glad you're saving it. You do nice work, it looks like this is a labor of love.

[jwal]

Looks terrific! May I ask how you cleaned up the paint? Reminds me so much of my E30 haha

[bignslow]

I got rear axles from RockAuto. Cheapest ones they had so I am not expecting miracles. I mostly wanted the rubber dust boots since all of mine were shot and after pricing them out the axles ended up being cheaper. If they last, great, if not I will rebuild my old ones using parts from these ones.

Like the others said, awesome work! Great metal/welding skills.
May I ask how you made those corner sections?

Thank you. The corner sections are actually original pieces from the car. I drilled out spot welds and took them off. One side did require replacing a small piece of the bottom section. Other than that just cleaned them up and welded back into place. I can't imagine being able to fabricate those pieces.

Looks terrific! May I ask how you cleaned up the paint? Reminds me so much of my E30 haha

Being that it's original paint which is single stage it was just a matter of polishing it out. I use 3M products which work great. If you car was repainted with base/clear and it's faded the only option is to repaint. If still original single stage you can likely polish it out as long as paint is still thick enough.

Come out to TedFest this Saturday in Mississaugua. Going to be a great time with great people!

Sadly I don't have a BMW that's plated or insured right now. This one is in pieces and my E38 is being an E38 so not currently on the road. Hopefully next year.

[Powling]

Dont need to have a BMW to come watch and walk around! The first two years I went I didn't even have my E30 yet.

[KIRIEIW]

You got some skills with fab work, awesome job so far man.

[bignslow]

Dont need to have a BMW to come watch and walk around! The first two years I went I didn't even have my E30 yet.

Ok, maybe I will stop by. Do people sell parts there? Might be even more inclined to go then.

You got some skills with fab work, awesome job so far man.

Thank you.

[bignslow]

Hey guys I am hoping someone can point me in the right direction. I started working on the engine this morning. Full rebuild is not on the menu at this time but I'd like to get rid of the oil leaks and clean it up in general.

Front of the engine is soaked in oil and it looks like it's been leaking for a while. I had to scrub the steering rack pretty good to get it all off. My first thought is front crank seal but I haven't done any work on BMWs before so hoping you can confirm or deny.

[D.Martijn]

Going off of your pictures, to me it looks like it's coming from somewhere higher as well?
I've heard that it's common that it leaks at the oil filter housing gasket

[mike.bmw]

Looks like you may need to replace the following:

• Oil filter gasket and o-ring
• Upper and Lower oil pan gaskets
• Upper and Lower timing case gaskets
• Profile gasket
• Valve cover gasket (and spark plug tube gaskets)

While you have the timing case covers off check/replace the following:

• Front crank seal
• Timing guides ($$$$)
• Cam Sprockets (No Longer Available)
• Water pump

And relatively cheap and easy items:

• Timing chain tensioner
• Thermostat

You'll likely want to replace or bypass the "mess under the intake". Check the injectors while you're in there. And definitely replace the two short sections of rubber fuel hose with the intake manifold off.

As you can see, things start to add up quickly. The upper and lower oil pan gaskets, the timing case covers, and crank seal will be super easy to do with easy access to the front of the engine (which it appears you have based on the photos).

Good luck!

[bignslow]

Thanks for the suggestions. I yanked the front cover and oil filter adapters off today. Gaskets were junk. Brittle and falling apart. Timing guides appeared fine at first glance but closer inspection revealed they are full of cracks so those will be getting replaced as well.

Are there any kits available to replace all the guides or do I have to source them individually? Should I replace the chain as well or do those typically not wear out? What about timing chain tensioner?