Saying Hello/Progress Thread

[ruizl300]

Hello everyone from Perris, Ca. Im new to the forum and very excited to learn as much as I can from you guys. I also write on the Mazda-speed forum, I own a Mazdaspeed Miata. I just bought an 84' 318i its pretty reliablem has a trunk, and fits more than 2 people. Ive been changing parts: oil and filter, air filter, fuel filter, fuel pump o-ring (it was leaking gas out the tank), cold start injector (off a 325, works good), hose clamps, working gauge cluster, windshield fluid tank (which turns out to have a small hole i need to fix), distributor cap, and I did a sea foam treatment yesterday, and lastly today i will be doing the spark plugs.

My goals for this car are as following in order of importance:

1) Will be Daily Driven (I have a 2nd car, so if the car is down for a while its fine)
2) Get the A/C working (Has a leak in the low-pressure line)
3) Upgrade Diff/brake system (thinking of taking the whole rear off one of the 325s)
4) Make around 180whp and maintain Daily Driving.

Goal 1 is complete: Trying to see how well it does on the MPG scale
Goal 2 will be complete this week
What are my options for Goal 3?

Here are some pics of the car

[thebutterson]

No need to upgrade the diff, get an lsd if you want more traction, but the current diff will hold up just fine. If you install a larger diff, you're going to lost more power due to more friction in the gears, you're also going to add weight. Just to give you an idea, I've been running an s52 with a small case 3.45 diff for about 8 months.

Numerically higher diff ratios handle less torque, but you'll be fine.

Here's some good info: http://www.metricmechanic.com/pdfs/m...al-booklet.pdf

Looks like you're off to a great start, post up some pics!

[Hey_You]

You can upgrade to 325i brakes in the front. They use wider vented rotors. For the rear you can swap out the trailing arms for 325i units as well and run their rear disc setup. It's gonna be tough getting 180whp out of the m10 unless you plan on dumping a couple thousand into the engine (turbo or building it NA)

[ruizl300]

Yes, thanks for the info. I wasnt sure how much these diff handled. Ill be taking some pics today... finally got it washed.

[ruizl300]

You can upgrade to 325i brakes in the front. They use wider vented rotors. For the rear you can swap out the trailing arms for 325i units as well and run their rear disc setup. It's gonna be tough getting 180whp out of the m10 unless you plan on dumping a couple thousand into the engine (turbo or building it NA)

I looked around and I saw some post of people pulling the brake set ups off of 325's but I could not get a clear walk through or parts list that I would need to do it. Ill keep looking around. My plan is to put in a turbo. Im not looking for insane power.

And unfortunately while changing out the spark plugs I found oil on spark plug #1. :( . Hoping its just the valve cover gasket. I also noticed two fuel line clamps were loose so I was leaking some fuel (Which maybe why i get 24MPG).

THIS WEEK:
1. Get the A/C completed (already installed a new low pressure hose) so leak testing and recharging the system.
2. Change the valve cover gasket.
3. Calculate my MPG to see if there is an improvement from last week since i replaced two clamps.

[Hey_You]

Most with early 318's just grab the whole strut/spring assemblies with the hubs and all the associated brake parts. The 318 has a smaller diameter strut than the 325's

[ruizl300]

update/question

So I will be getting a list together of what I will need to update the brake system. Once it is complete Ill post it in case I missed something.

I ordered the valve-cover gasket on monday, it should be in today or tomorrow. I really hope this is the source of oil in spark plug #1. Once that is in I will update.

As for MPG: So far there is an improvement. First tank 10.5 gal got me 254miles. I am at 267 miles and still have 1/4 of a tank left. So we will see how it improves.

Yesterday:
I ran some leak-tester/sealer with the replacement hose on the a/c. it holds pressure and there are no apparent leaks.
Still need to recharge with refrigerant. How should I go about this?

[thebutterson]

These cars have r12 systems. So you're gonna have to find a shop that deals with r12, or convert to r134a. I would highly suggest sticking with r12. I did the 134a conversion on my 325e several years ago and it just wasn't that great, and it was a lot of work.

Don't mess with any of the r12 substitutes. I've heard stories of shops not being willing to touch your system once you've added it.

[ruizl300]

These cars have r12 systems. So you're gonna have to find a shop that deals with r12, or convert to r134a. I would highly suggest sticking with r12. I did the 134a conversion on my 325e several years ago and it just wasn't that great, and it was a lot of work.

Don't mess with any of the r12 substitutes. I've heard stories of shops not being willing to touch your system once you've added it.

Ok thanks. I hope they dont charge an arm and a leg to get it going.

[ruizl300]

318i brake/suspension upgrade

Ok, so I have a list of things I will need to upgrade to caliper/rotors for all 4 wheels.

Front of Car:
Take he whole strut assembly (IDK if that is what its called) along with
Hub/calipers/rotors/pads pretty much looks like this:




Brake Lines:
1: Take the hand brake lines
2: Take the Line from the T to the Calipers



Questions:
1. Will I need to take a brake booster (Non-ABS) from one of the 325s?
2. Will the master cylinder need replacing or is the stock one fine?
3. Will I need the check valve on the brake line between the master cylinder and the "T"?

Rear of Car:

1: Take upper spring seat
2: Take Coil Spring
3: Take shock obsorber
4: Stabilizer Bar (Is the one on the 6cyl cars better/bigger)
5: Hub/Caliper/Rotor/Pads
6: Trailing Arm


Is there anything I am missing?
Is there anything not necessary (Ex. Brake booster, ect)?
What parts are better to just buy new? (Ex. pads, rotors, ect)?

I appreciate all the help. I know that I am writing a lot. But as someone who is learning I appreciate post like this. The details help a lot of newbees and sometimes people can come off kind of harsh when a newbee ask questions.

Once again thanks.

[ruizl300]

Valve Cover

Well in efforts to stop the oil in spark plug #1 and trying to get the car to DD status, I decided to change the Valve Cover Gasket. I was not pleased with what i saw

I need this car to run for another 3 weeks. Then im off for summer break. So I scraped off some of the sludge and cleaned the valve cover from the inside. I then added some seafoam and Im changing the oil today so we will see how that goes. heres a pic of the valve cover after a quick clean.



I will be checking the compression sometime in the next few weeks. I am scared to find that the engine needs to be rebuilt. So this is the priority at the moment. Having oil in the spark plugs leads me to believe that maybe a piston seal is worn out.

If there is any feed back on the situation let me know. Kinda crossing my fingers here.

[thebutterson]

Do some reading around bobistheoilguy.com about some of the oil additives. I've read some good things about Kreen and Auto-Rx. They may help your engine.

[ruizl300]

Thanks. I will look into it. I changed the oil and I saw small particles in the oil and it was darker in color after only 120miles of an oil change. So I added another seafoam treatment and We will see how it goes. Any other inpt would be great guys.

[mit7059]

Thanks. I will look into it. I changed the oil and I saw small particles in the oil and it was darker in color after only 120miles of an oil change. So I added another seafoam treatment and We will see how it goes. Any other inpt would be great guys.

Kreen it. I'm about to do that with my 318 as well, have only heard good things about it.

[thebutterson]

^^^ Will you post before and after pics under the valve cover? I saw one thread on bobistheoilguy where this dude was ranting and raving about the difference it made, I'd be really interested in proof.