E30 Zone

I would suggest most likely a head gasket failure - but check the things I listed and it will point you in the right direction - I blew mine up on the A10 south of Paris on my way to Bordeaux a few years ago - Head gasket had been incorrectly fitted as one of the location pegs was missing setting t...

HI, just wanted to add a quick update: I contacted the garage where I had the belt replaced back in November, and he replied as follows: "Very sorry to hear about your bad luck with the car. Looking at your failure it would suggest an over heating or oil problem as stated if a cam belt fails it will...

Sorry I do my own engineering...car hasn't been to a garage in 10 years apart from mot, I know a couple of engineering shops in Dortmund who know M20's but I guess that's not really helpful ...too far away. Paul :-) Okay, thanks, no worries. Yes, Dortmund is a bit of trek... I'm going to check the ...

Yeah, I know what you mean about the French! I've lived here for 12 years, and I'm still making basic grammar mistakes! Getting back on topic, do you know of any engine dealers in Germany? And/or any E30-experienced garages ? Where abouts is the car stranded in France? I'm currently near Limoges if...

mmmm...well my French is better than my German which is a pretty crap .. very hard to learn properly, at least for me - I also lived in Ibiza and learnt some Catalan - also a bit tricky too... thank god everyone speaks a bit of English - apart from the French - on principle !!! Paul :-) Yeah, I kno...

Where are you in France? I used to live in the Lot near to Cahors... and yes Hamm is 50km from me! Paul :-) I live in Besancon, which is about 2 hours from Freiburg... Do you know any specialist E30 garages/mechanics in the south west region of Germany? If you used to live in France, that means you...

You can easily check a number of things...is the oil white custard? Ie. Water in the oil..pull the dipstick and open the oil filler cap...any signs of creamy sludge? Remove the rocker cover...very easy..you can then see the cam gear at the front..is the timing belt in place or gone or loose...turn ...

Cloggy Saint wrote: ↑
Wed Aug 24, 2022 3:58 pm
My advice would be to get a second opinion, none of this sounds right.

Okay, will do. Only problem is that the car is immobile. I'll have to try an get a mechanic to come and have a look at it at my house. Or get it taken back to a garage on a trailer.

From what you've described above that doesn't sound like a cambelt snapping. That would be a bit more of an "instant"death rather than a smoke trail for a few miles, then a slow loss of power. Plus the fact that you mentioned it was replaced only 6 months ago doesn't make much sense to me. IMHO sou...

How much noise did it make when it "died" Paul :-) Hi, I was on the motorway, driving quite happily, and I noticed a kind of faint rattling on the accelerator. This went on for a few minutes. And then I noticed a lot of smoke, or exhaust, trailing behind me, and at the same time I was losing power ...

Hi All, Sorry if I am posting this in the wrong sub-group... My 325i E30 died on the motorway a few months back, and after getting the car back to my local mechanic, he told me that there's no compression in any of my cylinders, and that it's probably the timing belt that has snapped, but in any cas...

Thanks for all the info! It's been v useful.

Thanks for the great replies! I think it all depends where you would place yourself on the scale: "Bad boy" to "Purist"... AND how much money you are willing to spend. As for me, I'm not really looking for silly amounts of hp (maybe just a slight increase to what's there already) and I wouldn't ever...

KISS, nuff' said. I had to look under the bonnet of a X5 yesterday, (none starter) and I wouldn't put that plastic covered crap in my E30, the M20B20 is fine and does just what I need, a sweet, smooth trouble free ride all day long and easy to service.- Indeed! There is much to be said for keeping ...

The n52b30 would be a great engine for an e30 though it’s not as straight forward as the m54 and m52 but it’s leaps and bounds ahead. I’m sure there will be some off the shelf solutions in the next couple years This is one of the most interesting engine conversions to me just lately, they are great...

You end by saying that "Modern engines have been fitted"... and this is exactly the thing that I am asking. So far, the list is quite short (N52 and N54, and non-BMW LS and K24). Are there others (that have been successfully swapped)? Although I said they had been fitted, personally I have not seen...

I suppose that my question was more of a general interest question, rather than a technical question: I am just interested to know which recent engines are a good fit, and not too complicated, swap into an E30, as there doesn't seem to be an up-to-date discussion on the choices available. The probl...

you are worried an engine with no real problems (other than high mileage) might get expensive to fix so you think that swapping in a more modern engine that is almost certain to cost more than a m20 rebuild (one of simplest engines ever made) is the most cost effective solution? :mrgreen: On a seri...

Hi All, First of all, my apologies if this has been discussed a million times before, and feel free to point me towards previous discussion threads... I am the proud owner of a 1989 325i, it's my daily driver, and loads of fun to drive. But it's got over 337,000km on the clock. Although I don't have...

fixedwheelnut wrote: ↑
Mon Aug 09, 2021 6:35 pm
That almost sounds like exhaust manifold blowing, check around the joints to the cylinder head, use a piece of hose as a listening device.

Thanks, I will definitely try that, and then post an update here.

Hi All, My E30 325i has recently developed a new noise in the engine bay: a high-pitched almost whistle kind of noise when I press the accelerator. (It might be coming from under the rocker cover...) I've got a short video clip, but I don't know how to attach it to this forum message. Can anyone le...

onthames wrote: ↑
Mon Aug 09, 2021 3:33 pm
Hi if you have trouble attaching just go to streamable.com and upload there

Thanks for the reply. I've just figured out how to put it on Youtube.

Hi All, My E30 325i has recently developed a new noise in the engine bay: a high-pitched almost whistle kind of noise when I press the accelerator. (It might be coming from under the rocker cover...) I've got a short video clip, but I don't know how to attach it to this forum message. Can anyone let...

Okay, thanks for that... I know the instrument panel is fairly easy to remove.... Cheers.

Sorry, yes, it's a LHD car. Thanks.

Hi All, My ABS light is always on, and last week it didn't pass the "controle technique" (The French MOT) because of that. The light has always been on for as long as I can remember - I bought this car 2 years ago, but I can't remember if it has always been like that, or if it started sometime after...

That would explain why I couldn't pull the damn thing out!

Thanks for the Halfords tip, but not very convenient for me as I live the other side of the Channel! Looks like it's ebay then...

Make sure you pick the correct wattage for the dash etc bulbs as there are two types, 5w and 3w one of which will harm the dash. Pick your oem number and try e-bay mate. Mart. Okay, will do. Ta. Just one final question: there are some bulbs that sit in their bulb holder that twist-lock in (most of ...

Bonymaenjack wrote:
BenHar wrote:Stick with originals.

The dimmer won't work on LEDs.

Ben
I've also found that if you replace the number plate lights with LED bulbs then the check panel lights up as if there's a fault

I'll steer well clear then! Thanks.

Okay, thanks. Do you know where's the best place to get them?

Hi All, A couple of the bulbs in the dash are no longer working, so I want to replace all the bulbs in the instrument cluster, behind the HVAC unit and ashtrays. I've opened everything up so I know which types of bulbs go where. A quick search on ebay throws up all sorts of LED-this and Xenon-that. ...

The usual cause of E30 alternator failure is that the carbon brushes that feed power to the alternator's rotor have worn away. If you remove the regulator pack (two small cross head screws) you will see the two spring loaded carbon brushes, which are retained in place by short lengths of flexible c...

Take the air filter assembly out of the way, unscrew the regulator from the back of the alternator, gently pull on the carbon brushes, put it all back together, and it'll probably be fine for at least 12 months, assuming your alternator has suffered what is by far the most common failure. I was won...

Did the garage replace/repair the alternator? The garage told me he'd get a quote to me by the end of the day. My car broke down on my home back from the garage! He has now given me a quote and he'll order a new alternator tomorrow. I just have to get the car to him - hopefully a fully charged batt...

Your alternator isn't charging the battery so your fuel pump would also have stopped working eventually and the car will cut out. The car isn't starting now because the battery is flat. Okay, so it must be the alternator in that case. Thanks. But it seems kind of dangerous that a car could just los...

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Re: Reputable dealer for used engines?

Re: Reputable dealer for used engines?

Re: Reputable dealer for used engines?

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Reputable dealer for used engines?

Re: Engine swap: what choice of (recent) engine?

Re: Engine swap: what choice of (recent) engine?

Re: Engine swap: what choice of (recent) engine?

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Engine swap: what choice of (recent) engine?

Re: weird high-pitched noise?

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weird high-pitched noise?

Re: Where's the ABS ECU?

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Where's the ABS ECU?

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Re: Advice please. My car has just died!

Re: Advice please. My car has just died!

Re: Advice please. My car has just died!

Re: Advice please. My car has just died!