86 325 Granny Car

[Z06&E30]

Hi all,

New to the forum and the E30 platform and BMWs in general. I have mostly been into Corvettes and DD a 02 Z06. I am hoping to switch it up a bit and have this E30 as a daily as well and bounce between the two cars, I'm a firm believer in driving cars and not letting them sit and waste away...

Recently was presented and took the opportunity to purchase a 1986 325 Auto with 62k miles from my long time elderly neighbor. She recently became a widow and placed her house on the market. Once the house sold, she realized that her beloved 325 would no longer have a garage to rest in.

Long story short -drove 200 feet to my place and parked it in the barn/shop.

Currently waiting on the typical parts, timing belt kit (water pump and all that as well), plugs, fuel filters, fuel pump, plug wires, cap and rotor, air filter and I think thats it for the time being. So for the time being, I have done the following...

Cant figure out to how to upload photos from google drive...

[Cptcarisma]

Pix MrZ.... Pix~~~!

Welcome Sir.. do some reading here & enjoy!

CAPP :-)

[ForcedFirebird]

Glad to see you picked it up. Welcome to the world of e30's :D

[e30sh]

Hi all,

Cant figure out to how to upload photos from google drive...

You can upload pics to R3V unless you need a minimum number of posts.

It's under User CP and pictures and albums will be in the left column.

[Z06&E30]

I'll upload photos once I figure it out.

So far, I've checked the in tank pump and filter. Some rust but its ok for now, I may revisit this tank later on if get some fuel problems. I did order a new in tank pump and sock of rock auto for about 90 bucks. Drained the remaining fuel out, flowed out pretty well and didn't seem to be littered with any debris but was almost amber colored... Ordered the out of tank filter as well. I did not order the out of tank pump but may...


Pulled the airbox, lots of oil(?) in the neck from the filter towards the throttle body... I'll keep it up and see if its truly a problem or not.. New filter ordered as well..


Tore down the front drive and accessories, you can definitely tell that someone has been in there before, the alternator was somewhat lose and its got a set of napa belts on it. Was able to get the radiator out but tried to shim out the shroud prior to and ended up busting it so I may try to epoxy it back together or may try running the car without for the time being. I ordered the timing belt kit from FCP Euro, comes with the water pump, cam seals, timing belt and dampener and some other gaskets and stuff. Either way, timing belt is off, water pump pullie and crank/fly wheel is off. Just waiting on the stuff to come in.

Pulled the plugs, PO places the quad tip bosch units in and they're all fouled up. Ordered a set of new NGK, wires and a cap, need to order the rotor part that sits under the cap, it looks old..

I think tomorrow I will try to do the valve lash adjustments. With that being said, intake set to .008 and exhaust set at .009?? Seems like some say .008 and then the other parties say .010.. Tips or comments on this or anything else I should take care off...?

I'm excited but hope I don't run into any major problems...

[325isman]

Welcome

Welcome aboard......you will learn a lot from this site....plenty of knowledge here

[Z06&E30]

So I got the timing belt done, water pump done, new accessory belts, plugs, wires, cap and rotor, new in tank pump/filter, and new filter next to the charcoal canister....

Still have a miss at idle but I believe it smooths out with a little rev...

Tach is now reading at 2.5k steady but it doesn't seem like the car is running at 2.5k maybe more like 1.5k?

Water temp gauge is now out as well...

Waiting on my bentley manual so anyone got any ideas or where to looks??

[e30sh]

Run some Techron injector cleaner through it and see if that smooths it out. Also check the intake boot / ICV rubber parts for cracks

Sometimes you can thump the cluster to get the gauges back. Most likely needs the nut tightened or contacts cleaned.

[Z06&E30]

Did put some injector cleaner in and tried to hit the cluster to see if it would help at all...

Still chasing rough idle/missing.. took it around the block and its definitely down on a cylinder and missing.

The ICV seems to be good, I took some carb cleaner and it rattles when you shake it. If you unplug it the car picks up in revs so I believe its in working order.

Going to try un plugging the cold start injector and see if that helps. I believe the car is running pretty rich.

[e30sh]

I've used a brass drift to get an injector on a car that's been sitting unstuck. Lay the drift up against the metal part of the injector while the car is running and tap lightly. Use a long screw driver / stethoscope to figure out which one is not firing.

Good luck.

[Z06&E30]

I've used a brass drift to get an injector on a car that's been sitting unstuck. Lay the drift up against the metal part of the injector while the car is running and tap lightly. Use a long screw driver / stethoscope to figure out which one is not firing.

Good luck.

Worth a shot.

Any idea what to look for with the cluster, the speedo and fuel level work fine. The Tach reads an idle of 2k and never lower but moves as you blip the throttle.. The water temp seems to be working and the mpg gauge is working as well.

[e30sh]

Worth a shot.

Any idea what to look for with the cluster, the speedo and fuel level work fine. The Tach reads an idle of 2k and never lower but moves as you blip the throttle.. The water temp seems to be working and the mpg gauge is working as well.

Verify it has the right codic plug.

Dead SI batteries cause all sorts of cluster issues. Sometimes driving the car will recharge them and everything will return to normal. Odds are you have some corrosion in there.

[Z06&E30]

Verify it has the right codic plug.

Dead SI batteries cause all sorts of cluster issues. Sometimes driving the car will recharge them and everything will return to normal. Odds are you have some corrosion in there.

Guess I be pulling the cluster out and see if anything is lose or nasty looking.

[Z06&E30]

Update: Finally got the car running like a top.

Looking through all the paperwork that the P/O had with the car and found that the auto tranny was replaced about 5 or 6 years ago. I've been DDing it lately and have about 2k miles so far.

I ran into some bad replacement fuel pumps but have about 1500 miles so far. I did the SI batteries which fixed the tach and fuel level. Still have to tackle the water temp though, worried it might a faulty gauge.

I am actually preparing to take the car to Corpus Christi, Texas were I got a job offer! About 1300 miles or so... Bought some extra belts, coolant hoses, fuel pump, fan clutch and wheel bearings (1 Front and 1 Rear).

Things I would like to figure out before doing the trip, water temp and getting the AC to blow cold. Looking at all the paperwork that came with the car it seems this car has had trouble with the AC system and is probably still busted or leaking.

With that being said, its a great car! Super easy to drive and pleasant. Handles decent, not fast at all but whocares, I've got the vette for that. Seriously a great car. Already looking for another, maybe a manual to add to the fleet.

[ForcedFirebird]

If you get another, shoot for an iS. They have nicer seats, and have a more balanced power/weight ratio. Huge difference when going from an auto 2.7 to a manual 2.5. Besides, the e30 was never meant to go overly fast...in a straight line...but, they can carry a lot of corner speed. ;)