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ISRGC Claims Another E30


ClayW

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I tackled the dash replacement this week. The wife and I found a salvage yard dash with only two small cracks for $37. That's not a bad deal, since our existing dash looked like a dried up riverbed. The previous owner's temporary fix for this was a fitted dash carpet piece, the velcro for which he apparently glued onto the dash.

Forgive the poor lighting.

325i010.jpg

So, I set about disassembling the interior of the car. There are slightly more electronics in an E30 as compared to the 1600.

325i013.jpg

Removed the A-pillar trim. It's nice that these are vinyl-covered plastic that pops off easily instead of glued-on vinyl, like in the 2002s and 1600s.

325i014.jpg

Next came the emergency brake trim piece....

325i016.jpg

...and the shifter surround....

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...under which I discovered some 29 cent stamps. FYI, first class mail was 29 cents from February 1991 through January 1995. You didn't know that.

325i019.jpg

After a lot more disassembly, the dash was out.

325i023.jpg

Here is the old and the new(er), which was cleaned up a bit.

325i029.jpg

I snapped the VIN tag off the old to swap to the new.

325i025.jpg

I also painted some pop rivets for reattachment.

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And here it is bolted in.

325i030.jpg

Note that you have to pull out the A/C diffuser and route this part of the wiring loom over the ducting.

325i032.jpg

Stereo and HVAC panel in.

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And finally all back together. It's much better without all the cracks. It was a bit of work, but compared to the cost of a 2002 dash, this one was a steal.

325i034.jpg

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I also replace the non-operational antenna with this $45 Hirschmann 2040 replacement power antenna. It came with a bunch of parts for multiple applications.

325i038.jpg

I just cut the wires and soldered them to the old connectors.

325i039.jpg

Mounted in the trunk.

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325i044.jpg

ClayW
1967 1600-2 - M42 - 1521145          Follow my project at www.TX02.blogspot.com          E30 DD Project Blog

 

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It's nice to see an e30 on here. I love my '90 325i. Your build is inspiring me to start getting down with the little things on my car. Most of which are exactly what you are dealing with.

lots of faq'ers have e30's too. the story of my e30 project is in the "off topic" area since is is not an 2002. i should update it since there have been more repairs in last 12 months and 19k miles as a daily commuter car.

http://www.bmw2002faq.com/component/option,com_forum/Itemid,57/page,viewtopic/t,361829/postdays,0/postorder,asc/highlight,saved%252Banother%252Be30/topic_view,flat/start,0/

nice job on the dash Clay!!

2xM3

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FYI, first class mail was 29 cents from February 1991 through January 1995. You didn't know that.

Pshhh. I wouldn't know that... How would you know that I didn't know? :)

Actually I didn't know so COOL!

And good work on the dash install. It looks spankin' new from the photos. I need to come over and see it in a couple of weeks.

J Swift
Global Formula Racing (Oregon State University)

1972 Opel GT "Mae"

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I replaced the O2 sensor today in hopes of solving a rich idle issue. We'll see if it helps.

Also, I picked up a spare, supposedly low mileage M20. In ISRGC fashion, Grice and I unloaded it sans engine crane.

2012-12-06_20-24-07_365.jpg

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I'll be doing a superficial rebuild on this one in preparation for an eventual engine swap. It's good to have a spare.

ClayW
1967 1600-2 - M42 - 1521145          Follow my project at www.TX02.blogspot.com          E30 DD Project Blog

 

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I have a pretty constant oil leak coming from the front passenger side of the motor, just above the head gasket, so I dove in.

Here's where I started:

ValveCover002.jpg

I removed the valve cover and this little retainer bar thingy.

ValveCover004.jpg

Then I removed the four rocker shaft plugs.

ValveCover007.jpg

Here they are next to the new ones. I'm hoping that the fact that these were a little wet means that replacing them and the valve cover gasket will seal up the leak. If it turns out to be the cam seal, I'll have a lot more work in front of me.

ValveCover013.jpg

Retainer bar back in.

ValveCover015.jpg

Now it's time for a rocker adjustment. I used a bent step feeler gauge and set them dead to between .024" and .026" with the engine dead cold.

ValveCover019.jpg

I also used a little yellow model paint to mark the rockers that I adjusted. For those of you who haven't yet tackled this task, don't think that you can just remember which ones you've done as you adjust.

ValveCover017.jpg

Then, I replaced the valve cover gasket. I also painted and sanded the valve cover, because the oxidized aluminum wasn't very good-looking.

ValveCover020.jpg

ClayW
1967 1600-2 - M42 - 1521145          Follow my project at www.TX02.blogspot.com          E30 DD Project Blog

 

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I like your car! :)

Cam seal? Psh, try one on a 5 cylinder volvo. Pain. In. The. ASS.

Why do you plan to swap that other M20 in? The one in there should be good for quite a bit longer if well taken care of. Synthetic oil is your friend.

1974 Malaga 2002 4282899 "Little Red"

1976 Polaris 2002 2374061 "Rusty Shackleford" 

1998 Dk. Blue Volvo S70 T5 "Carlene"- 221k Miles 

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I like your car! :)

Cam seal? Psh, try one on a 5 cylinder volvo. Pain. In. The. ASS.

Why do you plan to swap that other M20 in? The one in there should be good for quite a bit longer if well taken care of. Synthetic oil is your friend.

Thanks.

The spare M20 supposedly has ~50K miles on it (though a peak under the valve cover casts a little doubt on that). Since the engine in the car has 200K+ miles on it, I might swap it at some point, just as a little insurance.

As for the cam seal, I'll probably get around to it soon. I just changed the oil and went a little thicker, so I hope that it'll slow the leak. That cam seal isn't going to be fun. I'm going with conventional oil until I either fix the leak or swap motors!

ClayW
1967 1600-2 - M42 - 1521145          Follow my project at www.TX02.blogspot.com          E30 DD Project Blog

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

I did a relatively quick project today that utilizes the trunk pop function on the GE Keyless Entry system. E30s don't have an electric trunk opener built in and engineering one in the tight space is not easily done, but the trunk opener button remains on my key fob, daring me to put it to use.

2012-12-18_10-31-52_108.jpg

So, I opened my garage door opener.

E30Garage014.jpg

Then I soldered in wires to each side of the button and zip-tied them to the body of the opener.

E30Garage016.jpg

E30Garage017.jpg

I wired up a simple relay and wired it into the red/black wire of the GE Keyless Entry board.

E30Garage019.jpg

E30Garage021.jpg

Final Result: When I hold the trunk pop button on the key fob, it triggers the garage door opener that is now on-board in my car. One less thing to clutter up the interior of the E30.

ClayW
1967 1600-2 - M42 - 1521145          Follow my project at www.TX02.blogspot.com          E30 DD Project Blog

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

After determining that my constant oil leak was likely flowing from the cam seal, I ordered the parts and dove in. If you replace this seal, you'll need the O-ring also.

E30CamSeal001.jpg

Here is where I started:

E30CamSeal002.jpg

Drained the coolant:

E30CamSeal003.jpg

Removed the radiator bracket and hoses:

E30CamSeal004.jpg

.....and removed the radiator, leaving the shroud in place. Radiator first, shroud second.

E30CamSeal008.jpg

E30CamSeal009.jpg

If you remove one of the water pump bolts, you can get a crescent wrench in there to remove the fan clutch and fan. Otherwise, you'll need a thin 32mm wrench. They're cheap and available at bike shops, but the one that i ordered hasn't yet arrived.

E30CamSeal015.jpg

The next trick is to use an oil filter wrench to remove the water pump pulley bolts.

E30CamSeal022.jpg

I removed the distributor cap next. I also took off the crank pulley, only to realize that doing so was unnecessary for the cam seal. If you're doing your timing belt, you'll need to remove it, so I guess that I was just practicing.

E30CamSeal024.jpg

Then I removed the upper timing belt cover. According to the PO, the timing belt was replaced less than 5K miles ago. It looked fine, so I decided not to bother with it.

E30CamSeal025.jpg

You'll need an E12 star socket to remove the cam gear.

E30CamSeal040.jpg

Here is the source of my leak:

E30CamSeal031.jpg

Be careful pulling the seal carrier out.

E30CamSeal032.jpg

The cam seal looked to be in relatively new condition, but the O-ring on the carrier was certainly older than it should be.

E30CamSeal033.jpg

Here is the new one:

E30CamSeal038.jpg

Even though it looked fine, I popped the cam seal out and pressed in a new one.

E30CamSeal034.jpg

E30CamSeal035.jpg

Now to put everything back together. Replacing the belts is really easy with no radiator in the car.

E30CamSeal042.jpg

The car came with a new-in-the-box fan clutch in the trunk. The one on the car was made in China and the replacement is a German-made Sachs clutch. Note the mechanical difference.

E30CamSeal020.jpg

E30CamSeal017.jpg

E30CamSeal018.jpg

New fan clutch installed.

E30CamSeal043.jpg

And all back together. Hopefully I can now park without marking my territory.

E30CamSeal044.jpg

ClayW
1967 1600-2 - M42 - 1521145          Follow my project at www.TX02.blogspot.com          E30 DD Project Blog

 

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  • 4 weeks later...

I had a three-day weekend open, so I decided to tackle dying the interior. The original tan color was nice, but the leather stained really easily and the carpet looked like it came from a fraternity house basement.

Before:

E30Interior001.jpg

E30Interior003.jpg

Then I pulled everything out, except for the carpet; that got dyed in place. I also took the rear deck and speakers apart to dye them.

E30Interior006.jpg

I cleaned the carpet before dyeing, though it looks better in this picture than in reality.

E30Interior010.jpg

Then I got to dying. Thank goodness for my garage heater; it was between 20°F and 34°F all weekend.

E30Interior009.jpg

I had to get creative to get under the strap on the rear seat armrest.

E30Interior004.jpg

Final Result:

DSC00565.jpg

DSC00566.jpg

ClayW
1967 1600-2 - M42 - 1521145          Follow my project at www.TX02.blogspot.com          E30 DD Project Blog

 

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