i miss my E30

9/16/2008 7:09:18 PM

Aussie e30 love for dan

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gsuQRyGpic4

9/16/2008 9:02:10 PM

Since I bought my 89 325i a couple of years ago it has always taken two or three tries to crank it when it's cold. The previous owner said it had been doing that for years and after a short while I got used to it too. After it cranks the first time it always cranks right up on any tries after that. I always thought it was losing fuel pressure to the fuel rail after sitting for a long time as a result of a bad valve on the fuel pump. I assumed that after a try or two it would build up fuel pressure and crank. This was just an assumption that might be totally wrong.

Recently, while driving on the highway with the cruise control on, my car has "hiccuped" three times. I'm literally cruising and it feels like it loses fuel or the transmission is in between gears. By the time I tap the brakes to take it off cruise it is running fine again and I just set the cruise control and go.

I'm concerned about the hiccups on the highway. I'm hoping it is just an indication that the fuel pump is going to shit out on me. I'd hate for it to be the transmission, but I don't know how else to tell other than just keep driving and see what happens. The transmission fluid is recent (less than 9 months old) and full. What do you guys think?

Does anyone have a spare fuel pump that will work in my 1989 325i?

[Edited on September 21, 2008 at 10:38 PM. Reason : l]

9/21/2008 10:38:37 PM

I just wanted to let you all know that i'm thinking about E30s right now.

10/6/2008 7:13:30 PM

Do they have them in the land down under?

10/6/2008 8:36:24 PM

sho do. but i have no need for a car yet, so i don't plan on getting one any time soon. And i still don't have a job here so i can't afford one anyway.

But if i do need a car, a clean stock E30 would be quit nice.

10/6/2008 8:57:13 PM

Whats shipping like from AUS to USA? What is the exchange rate??

10/6/2008 9:27:46 PM

Shipping what? cars? or like packages? packages are like $50-100

exchange rate today is .70 to a USD. def the lowest i've seen and its below normal. I'm moving over some cash money today. Normally its around .80-.85

10/6/2008 10:20:37 PM

Packages. Parts actually. I wonder are there Land Rover outfits near where you are that offer special parts that I could import and resell.

10/6/2008 10:55:16 PM

I'd imagine heavy ass truck parts would be a shit ton. it was $48 for my mom to ship over some clothes. my brother shipped me my PS3 and a camera and it cost $125. Thats via USPS Priority which is way cheaper than UPS or Fedex.

Also, what are US imports/customs laws like? i'm sure you have to declare and pay import fees and tax at some point. its $1000+ pay taxes and fees for Australian imports.

10/7/2008 12:01:22 AM

send me a red hype R plz.

10/7/2008 12:02:48 AM

Quote :

"Also, what are US imports/customs laws like? i'm sure you have to declare and pay import fees and tax at some point. its $1000+ pay taxes and fees for Australian imports."

Why would you have to pay taxes on sending me 40lbs of truck parts/accessories?

10/7/2008 12:08:48 AM

i wouldnt, you would.

10/7/2008 12:31:23 AM

Well why would I?

10/7/2008 8:02:08 AM

infuckingsane!

http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1101938

10/18/2008 2:13:17 PM

I saw that a couple of days ago and JEEZUS, once that thing gets put together it is going to be fucking amazing

10/18/2008 2:36:16 PM

double posting is grounds for suspension.

10/18/2008 2:37:59 PM

Quote :

"Recently, while driving on the highway with the cruise control on, my car has "hiccuped" three times. I'm literally cruising and it feels like it loses fuel or the transmission is in between gears. By the time I tap the brakes to take it off cruise it is running fine again and I just set the cruise control and go."

So this decided to get much much worse today for some reason. It has done this about once per month all summer, but today it got so bad I was worried that I wouldn't make it home. It did it about 6 times in a 5 mile stretch of the beltline. I don't think it is a transmission issue because the tachometer is dropping RPMs instead of increasing when it happens. It feels like the car is losing fuel for about 1/2 second. It is just long enough to make me go "Oh fuck!" and then it starts going again. I kindof don't know where to start since there is no check engine light or anything. I can always throw plugs/wires/fuel filter at it to give it a little tuneup I guess. Trying to troubleshoot an intermittent issue like this is a pain, but I also don't want to end up being that fucker on the side of the road waiting for a tow truck either.

I'm still leaning towards a fuel pump. The car takes a couple of tries to crank any time it has been sitting for a few hours or more. I've always thought the fuel pump was losing pressure somewhere between it and the fuel rail. There is a fuel pressure regulator on these cars and I don't really know how to test it. Then there is always the possibility of a fuel pump relay or the on board computer going bad. It was pouring down raining when the issue popped up today so the humidity could be something to take into consideration.

Any suggestions?

1989
325i
Automatic



[Edited on November 15, 2008 at 1:09 AM. Reason : l]

11/15/2008 1:03:44 AM

i would say you're definitely on the right track with it being a fuel issue. there should be somewhere on the fuel rail that you can attach a fuel pressure guage, like a shrader valve or npt port or something. that way you can monitor the fuel pressure when it does it on the highway and you can also verify if it's dropping pressure when it sits.

when you turn the key to the "on" position, can you hear the fuel pump priming? is it an in tank or external pump? any secondary booster pump? fuel return line or no?

11/15/2008 10:47:21 AM

bttt per request

7/2/2009 10:30:20 PM

Oh we back. Fresh fuel filter, plugs, coolant, and an oil change. Waiting to see if the issue from ^^^ comes back or if the fuel filter took care of it.

Car has been parked since November...I can't believe it's been that long. The brakes sound terrible. Is there any amount of rust buildup on the rotors that's just "too much" or will that shit wear off eventually?

[Edited on July 3, 2009 at 12:16 AM. Reason : l]

7/3/2009 12:12:19 AM

it'll wear off eventually.

Let me know if anyone is selling a cleanish DDable E30. I need one

7/3/2009 12:25:00 AM

Spotted this one on CL today and thought about checking it out:
http://raleigh.craigslist.org/cto/1250204706.html

Not bad for $500 if it really only has a couple of small issues.

7/3/2009 12:31:30 AM

i had the same problem in mine, did the same thing you did and the problem never continued (although i didn't own it much longer after that).

7/3/2009 12:31:44 AM

In other news, my old coolant was so black it's hard to distinguish which jug is full of coolant and which is full of used motor oil. It was a wee bit past due. I'm going to run this coolant for three months and then swap it again at my next oil change.

[Edited on July 3, 2009 at 12:54 AM. Reason : l]

7/3/2009 12:54:05 AM

i'd like to have an E30 325is, but it seems like most of the ones in good shape go for stupid prices.

7/3/2009 10:45:55 AM

they are getting to be a bit hard to justify.

7/3/2009 11:04:53 AM

i was going to trade my pos e30 for a really clean 325is, but i found an e36 328i in good shape for less money

7/4/2009 9:30:44 AM

probably a lot being repoed from the nigs right now

7/5/2009 6:18:32 PM

Drove the car around Raleigh tonight...Still worried about overheating/head gasket though. The temp gauge seems to be working normally and it does not say the car is overheating, but smoke is coming out of the oil filler and the overflow tank for the coolant when you pop the caps on them. The oil level seems to be the same and I didn't notice anything that looked odd on the dip stick. I need to see it during the day though...Working under a headlamp sucks. I bet I'm going to find some coolant in the oil tomorrow after it has had time to separate.

7/6/2009 11:19:26 PM

ill be in sanford in 2 weeks with an e30

7/6/2009 11:22:09 PM

I've got a lightly track prepped e30 if anyone is looking for one. I'll even split the shipping costs with you

7/7/2009 2:54:01 AM

^pmed

7/7/2009 11:26:11 AM

Well- the only problem with one of you guys buying my e30 is that I'm in Northern California

Shipping was ~ 800 bones out here, I'd imagine it'd be comparable now. No time for track events anymore, so it's been sitting in my garage for a few months being neglected.

7/7/2009 3:27:06 PM

^you'd rather facebook all day than drive E30s?

7/7/2009 8:56:19 PM

^^I miss your old e30 so freaking bad, I should never have traded it to nick for this awful red e36 that i drive once every four months.

7/7/2009 9:13:11 PM

So like, is it bad if you open the cap to the coolant overflow tank or the engine oil and a bunch of steam comes out and shit? The dipstick showed nothing but oil...Clean, pure, oil and it was at the right level. Don't see an oil slick floating on top of the coolant in the overflow tank either.

Drove the car from Off Kaplan around the beltline all the way to Six Forks and cut through downtown to come home. Temp gauge is staying right in the middle the whole time. Smells burney though. WTF?

[Edited on July 7, 2009 at 10:52 PM. Reason : l]

7/7/2009 10:51:15 PM

if it doesnt build pressure in the cooling system when cold, then you're ok

7/13/2009 8:26:09 PM

I flushed the coolant last week. It ended up taking about 1/2 hour of running water through the cooling system before the water exiting became semi-transparent. The drain pan I was using had so much crud at the bottom it was hard to believe. I guess buying a car, not knowing the coolant swap history, and then waiting 2.5 years to change the coolant was a bad idea.

I need to drive it some more. I spent like an hour washing it, glossing my tires, and using that spray on Meguiars polish; so I'm not trying to drive it until the roads dry up. I mean, I'm flossing like a motherfucker here in this cherry bimmer. No need to get it dirty or anything because that might cramp my style.

I'm thinking maybe the smoke in the crankcase is some blow-by. The engine probably has around 200k miles with the last 40k being an absolute thrashing. Despite my apparent disregard for the cooling system I have changed the oil and tranny fluid at good intervals. I'm using Mobil1 Synthetic in the engine so I haven't been that bad of a car owner. I'm still hoping the smoke from the crankcase is just some H2O that collected in the oil system when it sat for several months and just needs to evaporate out, but we'll see. It's got fresh oil in there now at least.

[Edited on July 13, 2009 at 9:16 PM. Reason : l]

7/13/2009 9:09:42 PM

how does the crankcase ventilation system work on that motor? might want to check the blowby vent isnt clogged due to too much blowby. also did you ever compression test it? 200k miles is a long ways.

7/13/2009 10:56:44 PM

I checked two cylinders and then ADD took over and I did something else. No idea on the crank venting. Reading about that is on my "to do" list for tomorrow.

[Edited on July 13, 2009 at 11:16 PM. Reason : l]

7/13/2009 11:11:45 PM

just pour some kerosene in the oil

7/17/2009 10:21:43 AM

ok i'll get right on that.

Been driving the car all week. Other than a rough idle (nothing new) everything seems fine. Will probably adjust valves and replace the Oxygen sensor soon to fix the idle.

[Edited on July 17, 2009 at 10:25 AM. Reason : l]

7/17/2009 10:24:58 AM

if i were to buy an e30 for a project car which year/model would be the way to go?

i like 2 doors. if i didnt plan on keeping the motor is there any point in not just getting a 318 over 325? are the rear ends the same?


you can tell i know nothing here

7/17/2009 12:28:28 PM

I don't think there is any point in worrying about the motor if you're swapping it anyway. You'd either want to find an "is" model or go hunting for a limited slip rear end though. There were two LSDs, the 3.73 and the 4.10 (or 4.11?). Most people seem to want the 3.73 although I think it depends a lot on your own setup. The limited slip rear end will probably cost you $300-$400 on average.

Most people seem to go after the 325is which is an M20 engine from 86 on iirc. The other desirable car is the 89 or later 318is with the M42. The M42 was carried over to the e36 and used until around 1995. It's a great engine for the e30 platform. Good power for a 4 cylinder of that era, timing chain instead of belt, and rock solid. Takes premium though due to higher compression.

Question is, what would you want to swap in?

7/17/2009 2:54:39 PM

If Quinn were a bmw guy I think the answer should be S50 or S52

HOWEVER, knowing Quinn I think he is going to explore untested grounds , just wait until he chimes in

7/17/2009 6:08:30 PM

had not really thought about the engine choice much. just wanted to see what kind of car and what kind of power the stock rear end would tolerate. good info so far on the LSD.

If I had my choice it would be something 4 cylinder, aluminum, turbo , and a cheap EMS. Other option for base car would be a 240. I am finding there is absolutely nothing cheaper than a used BMW for RWD. Hell miatas are about 3x as expensive and 240s arnt far off.

7/17/2009 6:19:33 PM

go with a 318is

silver_surfer had one for awhile that was a blast to drive

[Edited on July 17, 2009 at 6:25 PM. Reason : .]

7/17/2009 6:24:43 PM

I'd turbo an M20 (325is) or drop an M50 in it, if it were me. You can swap diffs/driveshafts, that's not a big deal. 318 comes with a weaker rear end. BMW makes great I6 engines. If you're going to go to the dark side, do it right. 6 cylinder engines are naturally balanced, you know what they say, once you go 6, you won't go back.

7/18/2009 1:38:11 AM

bmw does make a great I6. a great I6 from 1988 is completely inadequate in 2009.

i don't care if it prints money if it doesn't make jack for power and im forced to use some crap EMS.

also when buying a 1000$ car I don't want to pay 400$ (read 40%) to swap in another rear end. this is why i am specifically asking about them to avoid such a scenario. square peg square hole. of course its easy.



[Edited on July 18, 2009 at 8:36 AM. Reason : .]

7/18/2009 8:31:26 AM