Messages

1

For Sale / Re: Anyone want an entire e30 for parts? SF Bay area

« on: January 26, 2014, 11:03:24 AM »

Yeah, I'm not sure  where the glass moonroof came from, it was in the car when I bought it.

Dash is in good shape - I think there are one or two really small 1/2in. cracks. I can get photos of this today too.

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For Sale / Re: Anyone want an entire e30 for parts? SF Bay area

« on: January 25, 2014, 09:24:12 PM »

Here are some highlights about the non-stock parts. Would love to sell as a unit to someone who wants a project. I can take some more photos of anything, too.

- Kopi Alpina wheels, still in good condition, as well as stock wheels with new snow tires
- After market stereo and speakers - Clarion deck w/iPod and Aux inputs, Pioneer and diamond audio speakers
- H&R sport springs w/ bilstine sport shock absorbers that were new when I bought the car in 2008 (about 20k miles ago)
- No rust on the body
- Glass moonroof
- About 5k miles ago replaced the engine b/c original had a lot of issues. All new timing components in the engine, new water pump, replaced thrust crankshaft bearing, put in a new clutch

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For Sale / Anyone want an entire e30 for parts? SF Bay area

« on: January 25, 2014, 07:02:37 PM »

Got in an accident with my 91 318is today. I'm OK but the car didn't fare as well. Will part it out, but wondering if anyone wants to take the entire thing away this weekend. The engine is in great shape, with just over 100k miles and runs really well. Interior is good too. Everythinge else besides the body is good. Photos of the body damage are here: http://sfbay.craigslist.org/pen/pts/4304788161.html

Bummed about the car and don't really have a place to do a ton of work on it. Hoping the parts can find a good home. Let me know if there's any interest.
Julie

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Engine + Driveline / Overheating--rad hose temp question

« on: January 19, 2013, 03:24:40 PM »

I'm curious @Desktop Dave - when is the aux fan supposed to kick in? And the aux is the fan in front of the radiator, not the one between the radiator & hte block, right?

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Engine + Driveline / How to tension P/S belt?

« on: January 19, 2013, 02:49:33 PM »

I think I figured it out - there's nothing to loosen on the back of the bracket, and you have to loosen the 13mm nut in front before adjusting the 19mm toothed nut. But it's super hard to tighten everything back up after adjusting the tension - any tips from those who've done this lots before?? I ended up prying the end of a crescent wrench under the bracket to hold the whole assembly up while I tightened the 13mm nut...

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Engine + Driveline / How to tension P/S belt?

« on: January 19, 2013, 01:49:46 PM »

Wanted advice on how to tension power steering belt on an e30. I read Zoso's instructions but there's two nuts on this bracket (a 13mm in front, a 19mm behind) and also wasn't sure if there was a nut you had to loosen on the back of the bracket like with the alternator belt. Can anyone give me specific instructions for how to tension this belt?

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Engine + Driveline / How to tell if water pump broken?

« on: January 13, 2013, 10:12:38 PM »

Hmm car just started making a screechy sound - like belt noise - maybe this could be the pump going out? Going to try tensioning the belts to see if that fixes it...otherwise looks like I might be replacing the pump.

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Engine + Driveline / How to tell if water pump broken?

« on: January 13, 2013, 12:16:30 AM »

Coolant level has been stable, and there's plenty of it. No grinding noises but I heard that the impeller blades have a tendency to break off...

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Engine + Driveline / How to tell if water pump broken?

« on: January 12, 2013, 11:13:09 PM »

My car is overheating, no heat - so assuming I'm having a problem with coolant system flow. Thermostat was replaced about a year ago because it was easy while doing repairs on the front of the engine, so I'm worried it might be the water pump. Anyone know of a good way to test?

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Engine + Driveline / Cooling system questions - heater core & water pump

« on: January 02, 2013, 04:30:23 PM »

A few questions on the cooling system for '91 318is (attempting to troubleshoot an overheating problem):

1.) does the coolant flow from the engine to the heater core? (i.e. if there thermostat were stuck shut so that no coolant is flowing into the engine, would it also mean that I'd have no heat?) would seem to make sense - coolant goes through engine, gets hot, then goes into heater core when heat is turned on...

2.) how do I troubleshoot a waterpump? if car is overheating but coolant level seems to be stable, would seem to indicate either a problem with the thermostat or waterpump - is there any way to isolate & tell whether the problem is with one vs. the other?

For reference for those who are curious, I bled the system & there were no air bubbles.

11

Electrical / Instrument Cluster Lights

« on: March 17, 2011, 10:30:33 AM »

I'm replacing a cracked dashboard and pulled the instrument cluster out. I want to replace the bulbs while I've got it out, but am having trouble figuring out which bulbs to get for a few of the sockets. Looking on RealOEM and Pelican Parts, it looks like there's only 2 different types of bulbs for the e30 instrument panel - 3w and 1.2w - I can see where these go. However, there are three sockets on the far right of the lower row (looking from back - see picture linked here) that neither of these bulbs seem to fit into....my panel didn't have bulbs in there - is there a special bulb that fits in these? What's the deal with them?

Hoping someone who's been through this before can help out! Thanks!

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Engine + Driveline / Which thermostat - 88 deg or 92?

« on: November 17, 2010, 03:27:06 PM »

Anyone have advice on which thermostat I should use? Looks like Pelican has two that work for m42's - an 88 deg and a 92 deg one. Is there a reason to go with one vs. the other?

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M42 Reference / Max allowable chain length on m42?

« on: February 04, 2010, 07:14:28 PM »

Thanks - was thinking that if the spec would be between links, I could use a digital caliper....but now that I think about it, that's not really a reliable measure either....

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Engine + Driveline / How to tell if timing chain needs to be replaced?

« on: February 04, 2010, 07:04:03 PM »

thanks for all the help so far. how about judging wear on the tensioner guide rail? mine has some scratches in the very top - does this mean that it is worn out & should be replaced?

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For Sale / M42 Timing chain Brand new 55shipped

« on: February 01, 2010, 06:22:52 PM »

PM sent