Hello all. I bought a 1991 diamondschwartz 318i sedan, 5-speed, from a friend who was the original owner. 189,000 miles. Got it for $1100. I have seen these cars referred to as "the poor man's M3." The interior is in great shape, the paint, not so much. I plan to clay/compund/buff/polish and see how it is. There are some little rock chips and some scuffs, as well as a few small dings, but no rust. I want to swap out the steel wheels and hub caps for basketweaves, but that's about it.
Mechanically, the engine is strong up to red line and shifts cleanly. It had a bit of gunked up oil deposits here and there, so I have de-greased it and will monitor to see if there are current leaks. The air intake sleeve had some cracks that I used Shoe-Goo on, to seal them up. I am sure the suspension could use some refreshing, but it seems to ride fine. This is my first e30, and first BMW, (although I got to ride a nice early 2002 a lot back in college), so no other e30 experience to compare this current car to.
The power steering leaks...typical stuff. A/C and heat work, all windows work except rear driver side. The glove box is stuck shut, the readout of the dash display "computer" thing is broken, but other wise all works ok. I should replace the cracked fog light lenses and get a front valence lip to replace whatever was there that has broken off.
So far all I have done to it is to wash it, clean the windshield, de-grease in the engine compartment, Shoe-Goo the intake piece, and change to Redline diff fluid.
The one thing I really need to address is the whining from the back at speed that does not change whether in gear or out, i.e., it is speed related and not rpm related. Rear wheel bearings? (not a lot of change in the sound when turning, though); drive shaft support bearing? Something in or around the differential? Well, with 189,000 miles, I may need to look at all of it, but it does make the car too loud in an unpleasant way when I am at more than in-town speeds.
I like that there's no need for valve adjustment. I should check the timing chain tensioner for wear and for updating, if I'm not mistaken. And with no records about changing the chain, I don't know what the best course of action is: to go ahead and have it changed (or change it myself?), or just inspect it and keep going with it. I have been trying to read up on the particulars of the M42 engine and of e30's in general, but the chain and tensioner issue seems a bit unclear to me at this point.
I also ride Buell motorcycles, and I own a Fiat Spider... actually, it's a 1984 Pininfarina Spider, but that's another story. Anyway, here are some pix of the BMW (clickable thumbnail views):
Topic: wikkid (Read 2499 times)