E30 Zone

cheers again guys, checked the wires, plugged them in the right way, then a quick spot of valve adjustment and it fired up :) It's taken the best part of a year, but my e30 is back from a snapped cam belt and running again. It still needs some attention though, but hopefully it'll be back to normal ...

many thanks Will and Brian, I'll carefully check everything tomorrow

(I have an M20B25, should have said really)

Hi Guys, I'm -finally- getting round to finishing off the 'snapped cam belt' engine rebuild. Due to jobs and life and stuff I've only managed to get it all back together today, and it wont fire up. so, before taking it all apart again, can I ask how I check I have the three pin plugs connected to th...

my experience is just that, my experience, but when i bought my e30 it had alpina 17 inch copies on it with low profile tyres and it was all over the shop handling-wise. last winter I decided that I wanted proper winter tyres, so rather than spending thousands on 17inch tyres, I bought a set of 14 b...

so some previous owner has been fiddling then ? I wonder what they were trying to do ?

ok, just been out to the garage to take a few pics as i'm confused :D I took two wires off when i removed the housing, should there be four ? the two connectors in the photo are orange-ish and blue (the flash has washed out the colours a bit) http://www.spiny.org/e30/e30-thermostat2.jpg http://www.s...

ok, another quick one, took the thermostat housing and the inlet off earlier and i've just realised that what I thought were blanking bolts are actually some kind of bodge on the thermostat housing, one random screw and what looks like a wheel bolt :D all with a generous helping of PTFE, soooo, what...

yes, the old 'buy the best and cry once' approach :) I have six inlets to go on too, I was hoping to find a valve spring remover that works from the top only, so I could leave the inlet on, but they seem to be thin on the ground, so I'll be adding a manifold gasket to the list :) I don't know if it'...

slight update for an old thread :) been lapping in the valves very kindly supplied by Grrrmachine, and i'm a bit concerned by the condition of some parts of the head. first off, the pump housing - can I just buy a new one of these, the hose connectors are very corroded. http://www.spiny.org/e30/e30-...

I've used bigred for calipers for other cars i've owned and had good results, not bought any e30 bits from them though.

GSF want £7 each, I'll keep looking

maggs: cheers for the offer, I enjoy doing this sort of stuff (when it goes smoothly) but if it all goes tits up then I'll be in contact I expect

any tips on the best place to buy a set of valves ? the usual GSF / eurocarparts suppliers ok for this ?

ok, the torx socket turned up and I now have the head off (after using the Haynes removal order instructions to remove the bolts) none of the pistons are holed, and none of the valves have snapped off, but all the exhaust valves appear to be bent, none are seated, and if i rotate the ones that stick...

Take 2 of your old head bolts and cut the heads off, screw them in hand tight a few threads in opposite corners before you fit the new gasket and replace the head, they stop everything shifting about as you lower it onto place, remove when you have got a couple of bolts in. Thats what I do anyway. ...

I was just wondering in case I try and grab the head then drop it and crack something, that'd make me swear a bit, even if it has 12 bent valves already

I nearly gave up there .. my 7/16 was too tight, but I did find some cheapy long reach sockets that were six sided, and with some gentle encouragment smashing an 11mm on then tapping a 12mm on after, I've managed to get them all off. all bar three have wound the studs out too, but none have broken, ...

ok, three of the lower manifold nuts are totally rounded off - a 12mm socket just spins and an 11mm one doesn't quite fit.
is it game over ? theres no way to get it onto ramps as it's parked on a gravel drive.

I'll be making a start this evening, got the torx tool on order to get the head off, so I'll be stripping everything off ready.

I feel like I could change a cam bely my feel along now, the amount of times I've had the front of the engine in pieces ..

arses.

oh well, time to take the head off then.

ok, something is amiss ... I did the 'turn twice' check and everything stays lined up after two rotations, but when I tried to start the car, it seemed to spin quite quickly (though this could be my imagination) but wouldn't fire. I tried a few times after rechecking al the wires and on the third tr...

doh, the 17mm 'washer bit' is the trick

Ok, whats the trick for removing the second tensioner pulley bolt ? http://www.spiny.org/e30-cambelt/tensioner.jpg it appears to be stuck solid, i've tried a 12mm on the bolt itself and the 'two nut' trick to try and wind it off, but it doesn't want to move, I don't want to force it, as if it snaps ...

I'm off to my local GSF to get a belt kit in a minute :) as far as I can tell from the paperwork I have, the belt has only been on for about 18k miles, but.... it was done about five years ago, my bad ! I'm hoping that part of the broken belt got inbetween the belt and one of the pulleys, making the...

i checked the marks ane theybare out, so will try a new belt

typing 9n my puone on a bus rght now, apologies for typos, bumpy road

ok, spent an hour dodging the rain taking the various hoses and things off to get to the cam belt and it's not -actually- snapped ? there is a lot of defelection in it though, i can almost turn it 180degrees. sooooo, could the loud noise i heard have been the missing bits flapping about, hence why i...

Nah like anything it can only come apart and go back together one way. M20 engines are super easy to work on.... My brothers supra jza80 engine has broken a valve.. Not looking forward to fixing that .. :? it's the billions of hoses and wires that worry me :) I've owned various VW buses since I pas...

I think damage varies greatly when he timing belt goes, valves bent even busted through pistons! There was a fella on here who belt went and it only snapped a rocker arm. Have a look, might not be that bad. :? i'm crossing my fingers here, as it was running when making the 'very loud noises' and I ...

mcbonio wrote:I'd just source a good m20b25 from one of the guys from here.!

yes, that would probably keep things simple

I'll pop the head off over the weekend and see whats kanckered.

I know zero about engine swaps, but is this as compatable as the advert says it is ? http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/bmw-520i-engine-and-gearbox-ecu-e30-conversion-/120969731422?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item1c2a5b9d5e how 'bolt in' are swaps in general ? is it juts a case of collecting th...

cheers guys.

Hi again everyone, not my week with my 325 :/ just had the cam belt go this evening and i'm after pointers on how to go about checking and/or fixing it. I was pottering along in traffic at about 20mph when a real loud rattling started, like a loose exhaust or something, I was about to pull over, whe...

cheers for all the advice, people :) Brian: I went through my spares pile and found a fitting kit for a Mk2 Fiesta (no idea why, never owned one :D ) and I did look at the 'cups' and wonder if it would work. I'll have a better look when the fitting kit turns up. though, for the time being, the (hamm...

Just drill the head off and forget about the rest, does anyone actually use the retaining screws? I think the last wheel bearing i fitted didn't even have a hole for the retaining screw. This is what I did, I drilled them out and left the 'stub' in place to hold the new disk while bolting the wheel...

hmm, been checking out the guides on the net on removing the hub in order to replace the backing plate - it appears to require lots of parts and tools I don't have.

I think I'll try and weld on a plate or washer to stop the new pins pulling out when I fit them.

it's never simple is it ?

ah, yes, that makes sense, part of me was wondering where the mounting hardware was ... is this backing plate ok to re-use ? and if not, is it tricky to replace ? it looks like it's attached by two 10mm bolts, but the inner/center hub bit needs to come off first to remove it ? http://www.spiny.org/e...

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