E30 Zone

Hi All, Looking for a few pointers wrt an oil leak at the front of my M20 engine. I have changed the camshaft front oil seal twice now, (including the 'o' ring) and the leak comes back again after a short while. The parts are BMW dealership, not aftermarket and I am careful when installing them to m...

Quick update for everyone kind enough to offer suggestions and for those who need future guidance..... all now fixed, it was the viscous fan coupling. The fan was turning but not fast enough, (evidenced by the load fan 'roar' the new coupling makes when the engine is hot, and the lack of any 'roar' ...

Changed the thermostat but no difference. Also, if I turn the heater on in traffic / at idle, the temp comes back down to 'normalish'. Beginning to wonder if it is the water pump or viscous fan now.... hopefully it isn't the head gasket! The bit that really puzzles me is the over cooling bit going d...

Yes, I tried exactly that and it behaved as you described.

Thanks,

Jason.

Hi All, A bit of a weird one this... In traffic, the temp gauge slowly creeps up past 3/4 but in free traffic at around 50mph +, the needle drops to around 1/4 (i.e. well below half temp). It has just started doing this in the last couple of days. It seems that in traffic it overheats but on an open...

Hi all,

Does anyone know what size front shock absorber the E30 320i Cabriolet used? (earlier pre-facelift 1987 car).

The E30 used both 45mm and 51mm diameter inserts but which was used on this cabriolet?

Any ideas?

Many thanks,

Jason.

Thanks all, will try ECP. GSF can supply 38mm inserts but the Cabrio inserts are 45mm which they don't have.

Thanks again,

Jason.

Hi All,

Anyone have any ideas where I can get a pair of new front shock abosrbers for my 1991 E30 318i Cabriolet? German and Swedish now list them as obsolete however they used to stock them for around £35 each. Does anyone have any suggestions?

Thanks,

Jason.

Thanks Peter,

Good advice there! I think the cam belt position is OK since I would expect a permanent misfire rather than a missfire most of the time wouldn't I? I will check it none-the-less though.

Thanks again,

Jason.

To add to the mystery, the car has become virtually undriveable now and I ended up calling the AA out - their suggestion was the ignition coil but having changed that there is no difference. The current symptoms are: Engine badly misfiring most of the time Observations whilst driving show that the R...

Hi All, Can anyone give me a pointer as to how to cure an intermittent missfire on my E30 318i? (M40 engine 8-valve). The problem occurs almost throughout the rev range and is particularly noticeable between idle and 2,500 rpm as you would expect. It isn't always there, but is very noticeable as a s...

Okay, to start with the engine is an M30 3-litre from a 530i. The idle hunts up and down, and when driving (all the way throughout the rev range) the engine misses and backfires. It doesn't feel like one cylinder, it rather feels like the entire engine cuts momentarilly. I have so far changed: Airfl...

Thanks again guys.

The window and hood seals are pretty good. I also had a look under the floor and the drain holes are intact. Is there any way water can get in from the sills?

Thanks again,

Jason.

After clearing the drain hole it's certainly better but water is still getting in. Underneath the rear passenger carpet is dripping wet.

Any other thoughts on this one? I am totally out of ideas!

Thanks,

Jason.

Nice one, thanks for that. I think it was blocked.... boiling water did the trick so fingers crossed its sorted!

Cheers,

Jas.

Hi I need some advice on a nasty water leak on my E30 convertible.... The rear passenger footwell is like a mini swimming pool in the rain.., easy to find the problem then, you may think! Underneath the main seat base on the passenger side it is soaking too. This suggests that rain is comming in fro...

Thanks guys!

The latch on the glove box on my E30 cabrio has broken inside and the glove box will not open. It's as if it is locked, (but it definitely isn't). Does anyone know how to get it open without damaging it or the surrounding dash panels? I have tried coaxing it with a screwdriver to pry it open but it ...

Hi folks, Need a bit of help - I am building a race car and changed my mind about fabricating a new steering column from lightweight components.... the problem is I have taken the main column out of the shroud but didn't spend too much time looking at how to dissasemble it.... now I want to put it b...

Can anyone help me to locate a cheap source for a standard exhaust for a 1988 E30 Cabriolet? I need the system, not the manifold.

Thanks,

Jason.

P.S I am based in the Essex area.

Jimmy, I'm not racing this year but the car is red with a white roof and carries sponsorship stickers from Pi Research.

Thanks for the snett offer, I may take you up on that!

Jason.

[/quote] Is that Rod Birleys Tin Tops at Lydden?? If so some very quick cars in it, even the m3's struggle An M3 race engine will cost you ALOT circ Ã‚£10k to get built and be competitive[/quote] Yes, that's the series. I won the championship in 2005, (beat Rod) in my little XR2 which packs a heavy ...

The series is the BARC tin tops series. It's a sort of home for anything really with ex-DTM cars mixing it with Mini's! The regs are written very loosely so you can do almost anything you want as long as it doesn't have a bike engine or sequential gearbox. I would want to keep a period E30 engine in...

What do people suggest for a good basis for a race E30? I have built race cars in the past but never a BMW let alone an E30. The M3 E30 is obvious but as a base car is a lot of money it may be cost prohibitive, therefore I am thinking of a 318is.... what do people think? My criteria is as follows: M...

Has anyone had this before on a 1988 320i (M20 Engine)....

Above about 4000 RPM the engine becomes slightly jerky, (possible missfire). It is particularly noticable under heavy load.

I have changed the plugs, but not the leads or distributor cap. Any ideas? Could it be fuel or ignition?

Thanks.

Search found 25 matches

Puzzling oil leak

Re: BMW E30 (M20) Problem - Overheating and Overcooling!

Re: BMW E30 (M20) Problem - Overheating and Overcooling!

Re: BMW E30 (M20) Problem - Overheating and Overcooling!

BMW E30 (M20) Problem - Overheating and Overcooling!

E30 320 Cab Front Shock Absorber Size?

Re: Where can I get new budget shock absorbers for E30 Cabri

Where can I get new budget shock absorbers for E30 Cabrio?

Re: Intermittent missfire on 318i (M40 8-valve engine)

Re: Intermittent missfire on 318i (M40 8-valve engine)

Intermittent missfire on 318i (M40 8-valve engine)

Engine misses and backfires - help!

Re: Rain water leak - E30 Cab - Rear passenger footwell

Re: Rain water leak - E30 Cab - Rear passenger footwell

Re: Rain water leak - E30 Cab - Rear passenger footwell

Rain water leak - E30 Cab - Rear passenger footwell

Re: Broken Glove Box Handle - Help!

Broken Glove Box Handle - Help!

How does the steering column go back together?

Where can I get an inexpensive exhaust?

Re: Building a race car

Re: Building a race car

Re: Building a race car

Building a race car

Engine misses at 4000+ RPM