Intro
A couple weeks ago I picked up this diamond in the rough. It is my second E30. Last time around, roughly a decade ago, I had a '91 318i, I really loved that car but I eventually sold it and regretted it ever since. So I jumped at this bad boy as soon as I saw it. A big difference this time around is that im older and hopefully have more patience, not to mention I dont have college students salary... so lets see how it goes.
The Plan
Nothing crazy here, I want to have a solid daily driver with a few choice upgrades here and there (budget is a concern). I feel like "OEM+" has become a bit of a cringe term, but alas…
The reason I consider this car a "diamond in the rough" is because its not exactly pretty, its definitely going to need some cosmetic work but that's not going to be the priority for now. But it does have just under 95k miles, which I think is pretty good for a 30 year old car. And I know the m20 can twice as long easily, even more!
because of my current home situation, I'm keeping the car at my in-laws house. they have a garage with a pit I can use to do work on the weekends, nice. but since its im not colocated with the car, the cadence of updates might be slow and intermittent. Like anyone else creating a project thread I think having this will keep me honest.
27 June 2020
This week the first batch of parts arrived at my doorsteps. Nothing crazy for now, just want to perform a tune-up and address the broken coolant sensor:
- Liqui-Moly Molygen 5w-40, plus Mann Oil Filter
- Mann Air Filter
- Mann Fuel filter
- Bosch spark plugs, 6x
- Febi Coolant sensor
Everything was going swimmingly until I got under the car…
Looks like the rear main seal to my novice eyes, probably also the oil pan gasket. You hate to see it. I decided on holding off on changing the oil just yet, dont want it leaking all the good stuff needlessly. However while I was under the car, I got a good look at the rest of the underside for the first time, and it was remarkably rust free (especially for a NE car), and that, you love to see! I'm not officially considering myself out of the woods in the rust department until I get to lift the carpet and do a more thorough examination.
Also found some gunk inside the old broken coolant sensor, this stuff was pretty gnarly. the coolant flush and refill with some BMW blue can't happen soon enough. Decided to take a look at the power steering reservoir since the car seems to need it, and it was topped up but extremely murky, so maybe the pump? any pointers here are appreciated.
finished up by replacing the fuel filter, the hoses were a huge hassle to release but otherwise standard fare there.
Next up:
- dreading the RMS and oil pan gasket replacement, I just dont have the facilities to do this alone so ill have to take it to a mechanic more than likely.
- timing belt and friends refresh (PO has paperwork saying it was done less than 20k ago, but its been about 5 years since then so I rather be safe and get it out of the way now)
- figure out the power steering issue..
- valve adjustment and spark plug install
- windshield wiper motor needs replacing
Maybe after this things are squared away I can get to the fun stuff.
A couple weeks ago I picked up this diamond in the rough. It is my second E30. Last time around, roughly a decade ago, I had a '91 318i, I really loved that car but I eventually sold it and regretted it ever since. So I jumped at this bad boy as soon as I saw it. A big difference this time around is that im older and hopefully have more patience, not to mention I dont have college students salary... so lets see how it goes.
The Plan
Nothing crazy here, I want to have a solid daily driver with a few choice upgrades here and there (budget is a concern). I feel like "OEM+" has become a bit of a cringe term, but alas…
The reason I consider this car a "diamond in the rough" is because its not exactly pretty, its definitely going to need some cosmetic work but that's not going to be the priority for now. But it does have just under 95k miles, which I think is pretty good for a 30 year old car. And I know the m20 can twice as long easily, even more!
because of my current home situation, I'm keeping the car at my in-laws house. they have a garage with a pit I can use to do work on the weekends, nice. but since its im not colocated with the car, the cadence of updates might be slow and intermittent. Like anyone else creating a project thread I think having this will keep me honest.
27 June 2020
This week the first batch of parts arrived at my doorsteps. Nothing crazy for now, just want to perform a tune-up and address the broken coolant sensor:
- Liqui-Moly Molygen 5w-40, plus Mann Oil Filter
- Mann Air Filter
- Mann Fuel filter
- Bosch spark plugs, 6x
- Febi Coolant sensor
Everything was going swimmingly until I got under the car…
Looks like the rear main seal to my novice eyes, probably also the oil pan gasket. You hate to see it. I decided on holding off on changing the oil just yet, dont want it leaking all the good stuff needlessly. However while I was under the car, I got a good look at the rest of the underside for the first time, and it was remarkably rust free (especially for a NE car), and that, you love to see! I'm not officially considering myself out of the woods in the rust department until I get to lift the carpet and do a more thorough examination.
Also found some gunk inside the old broken coolant sensor, this stuff was pretty gnarly. the coolant flush and refill with some BMW blue can't happen soon enough. Decided to take a look at the power steering reservoir since the car seems to need it, and it was topped up but extremely murky, so maybe the pump? any pointers here are appreciated.
finished up by replacing the fuel filter, the hoses were a huge hassle to release but otherwise standard fare there.
Next up:
- dreading the RMS and oil pan gasket replacement, I just dont have the facilities to do this alone so ill have to take it to a mechanic more than likely.
- timing belt and friends refresh (PO has paperwork saying it was done less than 20k ago, but its been about 5 years since then so I rather be safe and get it out of the way now)
- figure out the power steering issue..
- valve adjustment and spark plug install
- windshield wiper motor needs replacing
Maybe after this things are squared away I can get to the fun stuff.
Comment