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Just put an E36 rack on my E30 because mine was pissing fluid when I turned left. Oh my god there is a difference. Probably because my old rack was really lovely, but this is so much better. It's nice to have firm steering, with less turns lock to lock. I think something got tangled in the SRS wires though, because something went "plunk" and now my SRS lights are blinking so I will have to take the whole thing apart again to find out what is going on there. Oh well, the joys of owning an E30!
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Oct 23, 2008 18:06
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Dyscrasia posted:Ive been thinking about this, my current rack is fine, but I would like to have less turns to lock on my E30. How hard was it to do? How much did it cost? What specific rack did you end up getting? I wasn't able to do it myself because I had no time and mine was broke, but my trusted mechanic did it for $400. It was $50 for a used E36 rack. Its not terribly hard to do, you have to modify the steering knuckle. If you have an airbag car you have to cut a slight hole in your firewall. Enlarge the hole and fab up a slightly new bracket. There are plenty of howtos on how to do it all.
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Oct 24, 2008 01:23
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Brock Landers posted:Just disconnect all the airbag poo poo. Use it as an excuse to get a Mtech I or II steering wheel. You'll have to take apart the check panel and remove the TWO SRS lights (one is hidden and soldered in place). Or get a check panel from a non-SRS E30. Even if you get things hooked back up right, I was reading on one of the E30 boards that even the dealers can't turn the SRS lights off anymore. You can turn off the SRS lights, I've done it before. My clockspring broke. Basically you have to jump the code reader directly to the SRS unit. It's actually pretty easy. Instead of bitching around with replacing the check panel or SRS lights I just unplugged the SRS unit. I'm going to get a new wheel eventually, but I'm cheap. SUSPENSION FIRST. FLYWHEEL AFTER. Then something ridiculous maybe.
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Oct 25, 2008 03:28
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I just got invited to go to my first track day at Mid-America near Omaha, NE in my E30. Anyone have any tips for me? I'm planning on changing my brake fluid, my rotors/pads are good. When I'm there I am going to change my tire pressures way higher(was thinking 42f/38r). Any other ideas for me?
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Nov 1, 2008 15:12
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Okay guys, brake questions. I toasted my front pads at my track day, and just put on some cheap duralast pads, but they loving suck rear end. I want to put on Hawk HPS'. However, when I toasted my pads, I also happened to put 3 little grooves into one of my rotors. Now my question is, is it safe to a. put a different pad on the fronts than the rears and b. is it fine if I run pads with the grooves in the rotor? ALSO I am trying to plan out what I want for suspension. My current plans are Eibach springs & sways, Bilstein sports, and replacing the front control arm bushings with the M3 ones to add some castor. Also replacing the rear trailing arm bushings. I have heard that the Bilstein sports are too stiff, and that I may want to look into Koni adjustables. Any advice?
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Nov 22, 2008 15:26
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BraveUlysses posted:don't bother with the offset m3 lcabs, they're meant to be used with the appropriate 95 m3 lca's. Just get some 96+ centered m3 lcabs or pflex poly lcabs if you're a masochist. My car is an E30 so the m3 lcabs just add castor as far as I know.
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Nov 22, 2008 20:10
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KillerFuzzball posted:I'm looking at picking up an E30 for a daily driver in a few weeks, because I need a car, and I love E30s. The specific car is a 1987 325i that looks to be in great shape. It's got 114k miles on it, which is about mid range for a well priced E30. As long as you look over the cooling system with a fine tooth comb, and make sure the timing belt has been changed, it shouldn't be TOO bad. Those are the common failure points. Those are the major things about E30s, and E36s. They do not have tilt steering wheels.
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Dec 6, 2008 03:58
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Bought the UUC rotors/ss brake lines. Brake lines are fine, but they sent me 5 lug rotors instead of 4 lug for the E30. Oopsy. Also, just made a deal to pick up an '84 325e with bad ICV and shifter bushings for $1000.
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Dec 13, 2008 04:21
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Dunno if you guys saw my thread, but add one to the fleet..
Lightbulb Out fucked around with this message at 04:03 on Jan 2, 2009 |
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Jan 2, 2009 01:21
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case posted:Taking my E30 to a track day soon, what prep could anyone recommend? Make sure you have good pads on. I tracked my E30 with OEM BMW pads with 60% life left, and in 4 hours I was on the backing plates. And what sterndotstern said.
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Mar 3, 2009 00:21
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two_beer_bishes posted:I posted this in the stupid question thread also, but BMW experience doesn't hurt From what I've heard that can be the fuel pressure regulator going bad. Also, I had KIND OF a similiar thing, and I just cleaned out my idle control valve.
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Mar 6, 2009 02:46
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Here is a teaser of the upgrades on my E30.
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Mar 15, 2009 01:20
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I installed some new stuff. 
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Apr 18, 2009 22:45
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peterjmatt posted:Nice. I love those Mtech 2 wheels. Makes me regret having an airbag car. I had an airbag car, too. My clockspring broke and I searched for a good leather airbag wheel and couldn't find one, so I just decided to spend the $400 for an Mtech2 instead of the $800 for a leather airbag wheel. However you have to build yourself a spacer and get the non-airbag stalks.
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Apr 18, 2009 22:54
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The Locator posted:If you have an LSD, do not, under any circumstances use the Redline fluid. I was told by a guy that builds and races BMW's for a living that the Redline fluid will destroy the clutches in a BMW LSD in about 2 weeks of hard driving. I know a number of people who do some pretty hard driving in their E30s/E36s and swear by Redline in their diff and transmission.
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Jun 9, 2009 01:33
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I just bought Redline 75w90 and it has limited slip additives in it as well.
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Oct 7, 2010 13:14
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BrokenKnucklez posted:Any one else have a good suggestion on finding another E30. I have combed craigslist, the local papers, etc. I am having a hard time finding another e30 to fill the hole in my heart from my last one. I really would like to find another cheap example, one in need of some moderate work, because I will be tearing it apart anyways. Keep scrounging, talk to every car person you know, and keep looking. I have less than $3,000 including purchase price, E36 rack installed, and an LSD in my '91 318i that is really clean and has a shitload of maintenance records.
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Dec 27, 2010 16:06
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 The Midwest isn't THAT bad for finding E30s... patience is the key.
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Dec 28, 2010 04:06
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If the 318ti has an M42 engine, which are the earlier ones, make sure it has the profile gasket issue fixed. I believe they still had issues with those until they moved on to the M44. I think it swapped over in 96 because of OBD2 but I could be completely wrong.
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Jan 8, 2011 22:08
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Yerok posted:Quick question for you guys. I've got my own opinion, but it never hurts to ask, so what would you pay for a rust free E30 325is that needs pretty much nothing other than a tires and a new transmission? Needs a new transmission? $1500.
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Jan 15, 2011 00:46
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The Third Man posted:old cars need to be babied, there's no way around that. If you are doing your maintenance, there is no need to baby an old BMW.
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Mar 14, 2011 14:04
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kimbo305 posted:But in the case of the E46, that means preventatively maintaining the water pump and sometimes radiator at pretty short intervals, right? While we're at it, doesn't the E39 have the same problem with plastic impellers? E36s, I don't know about E39s. I wouldn't say 60,000 miles is short intervals though.
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Mar 14, 2011 15:55
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Crustashio posted:I use one of those "tapes" with an mp3 line in, those actually work pretty well with my BLAUPUNKT stereo. I only wish it didn't automatically eject the tape on my e30 when you turn the drat radio off to retract the antenna. Since I'm always listening via aux line or a tape adapter, I wired a switch into the dash using an OEM foglight switch to raise or lower the powered antenna. It's a super simple and easy as it's only one wire that you have to switch.
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Mar 25, 2011 03:38
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I bought ebay headers and rear exhaust section for my E30. Yes, I need to paint my valve cover. 193k This is what it sounds like via an autocross run. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bj0SorqNGBM
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Apr 4, 2011 02:59
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T-Square posted:Quick E30 question, specifically the 325's, for those who Autocross and/or track them: Just go drive it. Fill just a smidge over the "full" line and you'll be fine. I'm on my 4th season of autocross on my 1990 325is, and haven't had any oil starvation issues, even on some long(90 sec) courses with a looooong left hander.
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Apr 6, 2011 22:03
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325e's are fun, but not for that price. They are slow and get OK gas mileage but aren't nearly as fun to drive as the other models. Get the E28 or the E36, or find a better quality '90-'91 318i or 325i/s.
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Apr 9, 2011 12:22
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BrokenKnucklez posted:Ok, here is what I am looking at purchasing to fill the E30 shaped hole in my life.... Don't do it. I'm in that area and there are FAR better cars to buy. There's a cleaner car in Iowa City that already has suspension done to it that will be for sale soon. However, those sport seats you could get good money for. If you want a project it wouldn't be the worst candidate, but definitely not the best. Lightbulb Out fucked around with this message at 22:33 on Apr 11, 2011 |
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Apr 11, 2011 22:31
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I liked everything but the wheels, to be honest. Leather side straps are a little much, as well.
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May 23, 2011 19:21
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RapeWhistle posted:Stock diff, but apparently it is an LSD!!! From what I hear that is a pretty rare option for the e30 318is in the US. If it's a legit 318is, it will have an LSD. As far as I'm aware, all "is" cars have LSDs, and all others it was an option.
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Jun 26, 2011 00:55
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Trintintin posted:How awful of an idea is getting an e30 as a college car? I'm currently driving a 97 legacy outback but I've been lusting after e30s for a long time, and I have about 4 grand that I could spare on an e30, 5500 if I sold the outback. From what I've seen I can get a pretty decent e30 for that price but I'm mainly wondering how maintenance heavy they are. They're great if you can do the work yourself and find decent used parts online / scrounge for parts. Though, most parts aren't that unreasonably expensive in comparison. However, they will break and require you to work on them and do maintenance. As far as one with a swap done, bring money. I am 22 and own a 1990 325is and a 1991 318i.
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Aug 10, 2011 04:17
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two_beer_bishes posted:The clutch pedal on my E30 is starting to bind intermittently. It works 98% of the time but every once in a while it only lets me push the pedal in about half way until I release it and press it again. Nothing is behind the pedal to get in the way, any idea what's going on? Mine started doing this when my throw out bearing decided to seize and break in half.
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Aug 18, 2011 16:19
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two_beer_bishes posted:Oooh, that sounds bad Yeah, I'd check your slave cylinder, too. However, it sounds exactly like what happened to me. I was 5 hours away from home and went to clutch in and it wouldn't, and then clutched in again and it was rough but fine. Eventually it got so bad that every time you pushed the clutch in it made terrible terrible noises and was extremely hard to change gears and such. The throw out bearing had seized, all the bearings had fallen out, broken in half, and then started bluing the pressure plate. It didn't help I had driven it for 3-4 weeks like that. Do you hear any noises when you're in neutral and push the clutch in and out?
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Aug 18, 2011 18:43
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Dyscrasia posted:I've heard mixed things about Eibachs. For 300ZX's, Eibachs are the standard, everyone has them. Yet when I was reading various E30 forums, everone hated Eibachs and H&R's + Bilsteins were the go-to combo. I have Eibachs on my E30, and the problem with them is that they are just too soft.
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Aug 19, 2011 15:46
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Looks like BMW just issued a recall for E46s with the bad tail light grounds. http://www.autoblog.com/2011/09/01/bmw-recalling-241-000-3-series-models-over-faulty-tail-lights/
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Sep 1, 2011 17:08
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Fermunky posted:drat it, why doesn't this cover my car (04/2001). I JUST fixed my taillight wiring due to a lovely ground Yeah, my friend was going to be fixing his this weekend. It's about drat time, though.
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Sep 1, 2011 17:46
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televiper posted:Anyone conversant in E30s enough to know which water hose snakes behind the distributor on an m20? The exploded parts diagrams leave out the parts that aren't directly relevant, so my bearings are off. I think it's '11531287651' but I'm not sure enough to order one without confirmation. What year of vehicle?
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Sep 12, 2011 15:28
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Mat_Drinks posted:I was looking at e36 M3s, but everything that I felt was fairly priced was generally a poo poo can. Anything halfway maintained in this area was pretty overpriced (imo). I would pass on that car unless you could get it for far less than they're asking. For $3k, you should be able to find a relatively clean E30 with 150-200k on the dial.
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Sep 25, 2011 00:11
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Tab8715 posted:So, what am I as a moderate-enthusiast-newbie suppose to tell all my friend when claim I'm an idiot for wanting a manual-RWD car in a place it snows? Buy winter tires, go practice a couple times when it snows and not worry about the snow. I've driven my 325is and 318i in Iowa(where we get plenty of snow) for the past 5 years without issue as long as I kept my revs up and didn't stop. Also, you NEED winter tires.
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Sep 25, 2011 00:12
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Mat_Drinks posted:But is that really the case? What region are you in? I'm located in the Midwest, Iowa in particular. Rust free E30s around here go for between 2000-4000 depending on how nice they are, and usually they all have around 150-200k on the clock. My dad picked up a practically mint 1987 325is with 87k for $3,000. When I was searching for E30s, the midwest seems to have the least amount of E30s and the pacific northwest, California and New England seemed to have the most E30s and for the cheapest.
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Sep 25, 2011 03:25
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Mat_Drinks posted:I wish the "cheapest" part was still true, because unless the past three to four months have been an aberration, it isn't the case any more Be patient and troll craigslist, BMW forums, and the newspaper every day. The more places you look the better chance you will have. I was fortunate to be able to find 2 nice ones for relatively inexpensive.
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Sep 25, 2011 14:48
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