I just got back from a great weekend of climbing in Joshua Tree. It is an annual trip, and the driving is usually done by someone else with a newer car that gets better mileage. Well, all of my Bay Area buddies bailed on the trip, so I drove the E30 down there & met some of my friends from San Diego. Overall, it was ~1100 miles between friday & yesterday. I averaged 60mph (maintained 70-75mph on the highway) and got 29mpg...pretty darn good! For anyone that has ever driven CA247 to Barstow, and CA58 to Bakersfield/I5, you know my deep sense of relief for making it out of the Mojave desert. It is beautiful country, but I would never want to break down there (desert plains at 3000-4000ft altitude).
Anyway, being that I have had a 318iS for ~12 years, I have developed sort of a 6th sense for the thing. Anyone that has driven a car that long can probably pick out the slightest abnormal noise or vibration. I rebuilt my timing case last May when my idler sprocket came apart, and since then I have been getting this odd rattling/knocking sound with a fully warmed-up engine, between 3100 & 3400RPM. I have had the timing case covers off a couple of times since then, trying to figure the noise's source out & replacing suspect parts, but to no avail. So, knowing that something was up with the timing assembly, let's just say that I was nervous for the entire 1100 mile drive!
On I5, maybe 15 miles south of the Kettleman City exit, I noticed what seemed like a new noise, but I told myself to ignore it as road noise. I sort of knew that it wasn't, but I was irritated with the car, and what else was I going to do other than keep driving home? I pull off at the Shell station, planning to get gas & a burger before the last ~3 hours of the drive. As I pull in to the station, I hear the wonderful rattling, diesel-like sound that is characteristic of an M42 with a loose timing chain. Mmmmm, valves kissing pistons and a chain slapping stuff. So, I am instantly pissed. This is 164 miles from home. I have a Gold AAA towing membership, and I COULD get a tow all the way, although that would likely take me 5-6 hours instead of 2-3.
I let my fiancee know that I may be a little late and I am deciding whether or not to try to drive the car. I can tell that she is rolling her eyes at the E30; she doesn't share my love for the little red money pit that is always causing grief. I also call my parents, that live about 20 miles from my place, to let them know that my car will be going there where I will either fix it, or have it towed to a shop. I have been in the timing case 3 times now, in the last 10 months. At this point, I am ready to just pay someone else to deal with it. I HAVE to fix it, either to keep driving it, or to sell it.
So, I decide to see how far the car will get me. At this point, I don't even care that it is broken. Worst case, I get a Metric Mechanic motor if the timing assembly self-destructs on the way home. I gas it up, and start it. GOD I hate that noise! Well, I find that once I rev it over 2500RPM, the noise goes away. Presumably, the oil pressure builds up enough to push the tensioner rail hard enough to take out the slack from [whatever] broke. There is still some abnormal vibration, but it is really slight. All but the last 2 of the 164 miles are highway, and it is late enough that there isn't commute traffic in San Jose, meaning that I can keep the RPMs consistent at around 3000RPM. So, I have a nervous 2.5 hour drive with my fingers crossed. I pull onto my parents' street, kill the engine & coast to a stop in front of their curb. PHEW!
----------------------------------------
OK, so what broke? That 3300RPM rattling noise from the last year that I had mentioned had disappeared, and of course was replaced with the sound of a loose timing chain. So, whatever was making the mystery noise finally gave up the ghost. On the bright side, I should be able to find the broken part now, since whatever it is, is now dead haha. I checked the obvious stuff; the oil level was A-OK, and the tensioner piston was still good. My bet had been on the idler sprocket, that I had replaced last May, blowing up, but I don't think that is the case.
After my last rebuild, I swear that the tensioner piston was easier to install. It had the right stiffness, but the amount of compression I needed to put into it to install it seemed like less than I remembered. If you have replaced it you know what I mean...you insert it, and then you need to compress the spring maybe 1" in order to thread the cap. Well, after the last rebuild I only needed to compress it maybe 0.5" to get the threads engaged. I told myself that I was being paranoid & tried to forget about it.
NOW, after [whatever] broke, the tensioner needs about 1" of compression, and something MOVES when I push it in. I am suspecting that the tensioner rail that the piston pushes on has broken, probably at its pivot point. Either the rail itself has gone south, or the pivot pin in the timing case has broken. When I opened the oil cap, I could see small flecks of aluminum in the oil (and on the dipstick). The chain was probably chewing off metal from around the thermostat housing casting in the head. I also don't like that, but at least the little bits will all eventually get caught in the filter. The motor has 220108 miles now, and that's a decent amount for an original motor...perhaps it is time to retire it.
I last replaced all of the timing case components (guides, rails, chain, sprockets) in 2006, about 75000 miles ago. Given that I have driven the car pretty hard in that time, it is conceivable that the timing parts have worn out. Sheesh, time flies! I still think of the engine as having freshly replaced parts, but it really has been a long time! Anyway, now that I have had a good night's sleep, I am trying to decide on what to do. I really am sick of working on this damn car, and I want a solid, reliable car to do road trips with. In saying that, I sort of know that a 22 year old German car just isn't quite the right match haha. But still, I have driven an E30 for 12 years, and there just isn't a single newer car I can think of (or in my price range) that is an actual DRIVER'S car. So here are the options I am considering:
- Tow the car to a German auto specialist to have them deal with [whatever] broke. It will be a little costly, but I just don't know if I can stand to lose another weekend working on the thing.
- Suck it up & rip it apart myself. Cheaper, but I lose a weekend.
- Buy a Metric Mechanic Sport M42. Much more costly, but at least I don't have to worry about engine problems again for a very long time. I am not sure if I would do the swap or just pay a shop to do it for me, for the same reason as above. I would probably shell out for a MM transmission and differential while I was at it, just to make sure that the whole drive train is SOLID.
- Have a shop repair the engine, sell the car & get something new(er). The new Ford Focus gets better mileage, has the 4 doors that I sort of want, and a warranty. It lacks the soul of the E30, but I am really sick of WORRYING every time I take my car anywhere. This makes the least economic sense of course, but it would get me peace of mind, which is hard to put a price tag on.
Something funky is also up with the clutch (I can feel / hear a popping as I release the clutch), so I would have that taken care of as well. What are you guys' thoughts? I love this car, but I think it is sort of an irrational response based on the fact that I have dumped thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours into this thing. I KNOW that a newer car is the answer to my road-tripping needs, but I keep thinking that I can make my 22 year old German car reliable. Is this textbook insanity? Does my car have me held captive, and I have developed Stockholm syndrome?
