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Just another 325IX repair thread (Now with more TURBO!)

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    Just another 325IX repair thread (Now with more TURBO!)

    Hello all! Welcome to my ongoing thread of learning the e30 platform with some RX7 love sprinkles in. First car was a FC RX7 and learned everything I know about cars on it. my turbo FC build thread can be seen here

    So anyway, on to what you came here for. the car. I've looked at purchasing one of these for the last 3 years or so. Went and checked out one in the past with a bad TC coupling, and then moved onto something more family friendly for an incoming child. She is now old enough that a small vehicle is acceptable again as most of the time she is in moms car. I had an RX8 thinking it would be my DD and keep me happy with the rotary but the poor mileage and poorly managed space made it a horrible DD when trying to carry about bicycles, and buckle a kid in the rear seat since the buckle is smushed by the seat and transmission tunnel. Sold it and less than a week later picked up this guy!

    the good:
    Alpine white
    5 speed
    black interior
    mostly stock
    minimal rust
    awd works


    the bad:
    some rust on the valence, front fenders and front door
    shifter bushings are S.H.O.T! (FIXED)!
    Overheated after the test drive idling in the driveway, thinking its the clutch fan (FIXED)!
    exhaust is loud and obnoxious (FIXED)!
    odometer gears (FIXED)!
    minor electrical issues (FIXED)!
    a/c is dead
    Abs light always on. (FIXED)!
    In the last week I have learned a TON of info on these cars and still learning so please feel free to point out the obvious because theres a good chance I do not know!. Also, I am currently on vacation and will have more updates when I return and have it in my driveway. Until then, here are some pictures!



















    Last edited by driftxsequence; 08-05-2018, 09:55 AM.
    325IX Build Thread
    RX7 Build Thread

    #2
    nice! I've owned 5 RX-7's myself. i miss them
    1991 325i - "Scambles" The Daily Driven lightly modded.
    1988 Mazda RX-7 TII "Mako" The Free Dorito
    bacon by Jared Laabs, on Flickr

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      #3
      Looks like a decent example, minus the rust. Hopefully a couple replacement panels will get rid of it. I would start taking trim/panels off to find any more.
      We're in deep now boys
      1988 325i SETA - Daily driver
      1988 340iL - Track car
      My M60 V8 swap thread here
      [oo==OO==oo]

      Comment


        #4
        I only clocked for pics of FC.....

        Too lazy to click linky to RX7club, lol.
        1974.5 Jensen Healey : 2003 330i/5

        Comment


          #5
          I'm hoping the rust is minimal behind the flares. I really hope the battery tray area cleans up as well. We will find out soon!

          The plans for the car will be to clean up the rust, fix the minor nuances, and DD when bicycling is out of the question. The RX7s I have are almost rust free so I wish to keep them that way.


          Here are some pictures of my FCs!

          Way back when i bought it in 2010



          Gotta love 80s interiors...



          Pocono Raceway



          Current engine bay statuts:



          twinsies :)



          current status...





          The NA (current DD) - mostly stock with 213k miles!

          325IX Build Thread
          RX7 Build Thread

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            #6
            Brought the car home yesterday. What an adventure that was. We knew the car was overheating, and expected that it was the coolant fan. I ordered a fan and replaced it when going to pick the car up...unfortunately it still overheated. Confused as to why...we let it sit and left to go home for a uhaul trailer. Half way home we decide to turn around and troubleshoot some more. The drivers side of the radiator was blazing hot, and the passenger side was cold! After some reading we found out it was air in the system...but WHY was it doing this? was the radiator clogged?

            To paint a picture, at this point it is now almost 8PM. The PO has left since the car was parked at his parents and we are in their driveway troubleshooting with hand tools and phone flash lights. We unscrewed the overflow hose and tried to blow through and it seemed blocked. Hmmmmm.....interesting...Pulled the hose off both ends and it was clear...so we turned to the overflow tank. Thankfully we had a set of tiny allen keys because the nipple on the tank was full of crud and was blocking the small hole!

            Here is what I believe happened. The car drove fine for PO. He never let it sit and idle for very long times as he did not drive far distances. We drove the car on the test drive for 20 minutes and then it idled in the driveway for 10+ minutes and began to spew coolant. We think the clutch fan WAS bad, and caused this. but the blocked overflow hole added to this by not allowing the coolant to move as its supposed to. Once the car cooled down, the clogged hole prevented the air from evacuating the system and caused an air-filled system.

            So, once we cleared that...it filled properly, everything got hot as its supposed to...and the fan kept everything at a nice cool 1/4 on the temp gauge!

            Today I took some time and set the OBC to display imperial instead of metric, as well as set the clock. I jumpered the pins to reset the oil light and inspection light. I found out the check engine light code is 1221 for an O2 sensor so I'm going to pick up a 1990 5.0 4 wire O2 sensor locally and swap the plug. I ordered garagistic VDO odometer gears, as well as a complete package of fluids and belts and plugs from pelican parts to make sure everything is ready for some miles. Lastly I started reading up on the ABS light always being on...I need to find out if which ABS pump the car has so the right relays can be ordered.

            More to come soon!
            325IX Build Thread
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              #7
              Grocery Getter

              325IX Build Thread
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                #8
                nice. The IX is such a fun car.

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                  #9
                  What an eventful weekend.

                  Saturday I started with cleaning out all of the door jambs and the interior. Most of the interior wasnt touched since it wouldnt have made a difference....but the carpet was cleaned up. What a difference it makes on a white car!









                  After that I moved to the wheels. They cleaned up fairly well, but I need a better brush to get into the weaves better...





                  That wrapped it up for saturday. Sunday me and the wife went to my parents house and spent the day using his power washer and dual orbital to clean up the outside more.





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                    #10
                    wife helping clay bar before polishing



                    Cleaning out the gas fill area..



                    much better



                    before polishing the hood.



                    and after! what a difference

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                      #11
                      Then to end the day I tried to replace the o2 sensor...and ended up breaking off the o2 bung

                      Thinking I may replace the whole thing....or repair the o2 bung, take out the mild steel straight pipe section and put a cat or silencers, then put flanges on the catback.

                      can anyone identify this header?







                      comments always welcome.
                      325IX Build Thread
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                        #12
                        Forgot to add, when I jack up the passenger side of the car, the drivers side and passenger near the rear wheel has fuel leaking out LOL

                        Not sure what the heck thats about...Guess step 1 is remove the rear seat and check hoses under the access panels
                        Last edited by driftxsequence; 08-15-2016, 09:46 AM.
                        325IX Build Thread
                        RX7 Build Thread

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                          #13
                          Does anyone know if its possible to replace the shifter rod from above? I have the garagistic 325ix dssr, delrin front and rear carrier bushings, a new shift selector joint, and new bitch clip. I will be replacing all of this from below the car. My fear is the bushing in the shift rod itself will be bad and will need the z3 1.9 replacement. Seeing as i dont have one, im curious if i can do it later after reassembly and from above inside the car.
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                            #14
                            you have the early model fc's telling from the tail lights , definitely an under appreciated rear end amongst fc's lol
                            1986 LTW M52 (First project 2015- )
                            1998 e36 328ic/5 -
                            Roundie alpina pig cheekā€™d (1969)
                            1967 2002 parts car
                            1994 318iS junked.

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                              #15
                              Yep! I prefer the early models to the later. A lot of the electronics are repairable with solderimg unlike the later.
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