Howdy,
So this morning I picked up a new project, it is a 1986 325e with close to 200K. It was headed to the junkyard if no one bought it so I offered the guy $400.
According to the previous owner he drove it for a year and they it started overheating just before he moved to AZ. There is no coolant in the oil or vice versa, so I don't think the head it warped. It fired right up and sounds fine. No clunking or overly loud valve noise. It wont hold a steady idle, but it was sitting for ~1 year, so I am not surprised. I also noticed that two of the valve cover nuts are missing, so I am sure there is a pretty bad vacuum leak.
There is some rust on the rockers, but the only non surface rust is on the front fenders. The front seats are torn and crummy, so they will need to be replaced. The rear is in great shape and has headrests :). The dash is cracky and the steering wheel is torn. The rest of the interior seems pretty good though. All the windows and sunroof work as well as all the instruments.
The headlights are some kind of hack job. The high beams are sealed and not connected, but the lows are a hella ellipsoid I think. I will have to run the part number as they have bulbs separate from the housing, but don't look quite right.
I have a spare radiator and will be ordering a new valve cover gasket, waterpump, tensioner, timing belt, and thermostat on Monday. All the hoses appear to be fine, but I will find out tomorrow when I start tearing it apart.
So this morning I picked up a new project, it is a 1986 325e with close to 200K. It was headed to the junkyard if no one bought it so I offered the guy $400.
According to the previous owner he drove it for a year and they it started overheating just before he moved to AZ. There is no coolant in the oil or vice versa, so I don't think the head it warped. It fired right up and sounds fine. No clunking or overly loud valve noise. It wont hold a steady idle, but it was sitting for ~1 year, so I am not surprised. I also noticed that two of the valve cover nuts are missing, so I am sure there is a pretty bad vacuum leak.
There is some rust on the rockers, but the only non surface rust is on the front fenders. The front seats are torn and crummy, so they will need to be replaced. The rear is in great shape and has headrests :). The dash is cracky and the steering wheel is torn. The rest of the interior seems pretty good though. All the windows and sunroof work as well as all the instruments.
The headlights are some kind of hack job. The high beams are sealed and not connected, but the lows are a hella ellipsoid I think. I will have to run the part number as they have bulbs separate from the housing, but don't look quite right.
I have a spare radiator and will be ordering a new valve cover gasket, waterpump, tensioner, timing belt, and thermostat on Monday. All the hoses appear to be fine, but I will find out tomorrow when I start tearing it apart.
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