E30 Zone

Well the turd failed on 5 things. None of them major but still a pain in the arse:

1. Steering exccessively rough - Needs a new power steering belt as the one fitted is too big and can't be tightended any further.

2. Steering rack gaiter

3. Drive Shaft outer boot.

4. Parking brake efficency. Again bloody failed on this last year too.

5. Passenger side front shock has failed and leaking fluid.

Apart from the shocks all cheap stuff to sort but still a total pain.

Not so bad mate, all pretty straightforward. Sure you won't be long in getting it sorted.

No idea how to do the gaiter or cv boot so looks like I'll be posting in the tech help section in a few days. PM'd Meatballs82 for parts prices so hopefully get everything ordered up on Monday.

Rtaylor2208 wrote:Well the turd failed on 5 things. None of them major but still a pain in the arse:

1. Steering exccessively rough - Needs a new power steering belt as the one fitted is too big and can't be tightended any further.

2. Steering rack gaiter

3. Drive Shaft outer boot.

4. Parking brake efficency. Again bloody failed on this last year too.

5. Passenger side front shock has failed and leaking fluid.

Apart from the shocks all cheap stuff to sort but still a total pain.

1 Is fluid leaking from the rack/gaiter?

3 Never changed one,possibly a s/h drive shaft may be easier

4 Adjust it properly,at the brake,not the cable!

5 Fit Borge gas dampers,they cannot leak fluid....

Thanks malc. No leaks from the rack which is one saving grace. ny recommendations on where to get the Boge dampers, GSF? Tried to check their website for a price but my login doesn't work.

Brakes were stripped and adjusted at the shoes etc last year. It I think this is the Achilles heel of many a e30.

I reckon I'll get the garage to do the brakes and and drive shaft boot as I don't have much time to work on the car also get the tracking done.

One last thing the CO reading was 3.19% which I think is high is that correct?

The brakes is probably an easier home DIY job than the front shocks TBH

If no leaks from the rack,why is it rough in operation?
Thinking that a good, s/h rack is the easy option!

Rack boot is just a matter of popping the track rod end balljoint off and sliding the new gaiter on,OE will have those clips that are almost impossible to remove/re-fit at home,but cable ties are accepted as a replacement....

My h/b on both cars gives no problems....

My CO was 1.2% max allowed is 3.5%,so yours is high,but within limits...
Could be an airleak on the thottle body,tiny split on an air hose,just spent most of last week trying to get my cabbie to run right with a similar issue!

Borge gas dampers from GSF,E30 parts are getting harder to source there,I bought the last listed throttle cable(M20)this week.You really want the M-tec spec items.I suspect that Meatballs will be a better bet.
I have a good relationship with my local GSF,so at the moment I can get most of needs sorted.

e30 disk handbrakes. utter sh1t. I've not had a good one yet.

Shouldnt be too bad to fix anyway - at least there were no corrosion issues

The steering being stiff is due to the belt being very loose. It looks like when I got the fan belt done fitted they wrong power steering belt at the same time. It was a rush job done at budget of all places so that does explain things.

The old boy I use for MOT's knows his stuff and he's pretty sure thats all it needs. At least I hope so I dont want to start having to swap the rack.

Have just spoken to Matts partner in crime Olly over at ECP and all the parts minus the shocks comes in at approx £33. But there are no shocks in stock at the moment so he is going to get back to me Monday on a price for them.

I've never stripped the brakes to do the handbrake adjustment so i might tackle it myself The front shocks don't bother me as I had to strip all the struts down last year to fit the springs so I know what I'm doing this time.

As for no corrosion issues that is a total result especially being a scotish turd.

Just got a price from GSF for boge shocks. £46.50 a piece. So not too bad either.

Sorry to hear it mate! As I said yesterday they are cracking down on boots and bushings even if they are slight! Should not be to bad for ya looking at the list ! Good luck

No reason foe E30 disc type handbrakes not to work properly if they are set up correctly.
Afterall,they are only used to hold the car stationary when it is stopped,so the shoes are gripping the drum,not being worn away by constant use,as in the drum brake fitted to the rear of lesser E30's.

The main issues seem to be rusty backplates,allowing the shoes to float freely within the drum,and siezed adjusters.

With this in mind,it may,just,pay the OP to sort the rear CV gaiter issue before stripping/re-building the handbrake mech!

CV Boots are really easy. You might need a special tool for the clips when you reseal it though.

kitch wrote:CV Boots are really easy. You might need a special tool for the clips when you reseal it though.

Are those the same kind of clips you find on the end of the washer jet hoses ? I fooking hate those things ! What's the tool you refer to ?

Rtaylor2208 wrote:Just got a price from GSF for boge shocks. £46.50 a piece. So not too bad either.

Make sure you speak to Matt (meatballs82) for parts - works for ECP and will give you a huge discount

As above done already fella.

A BMW can't fail on a drive shaft boot split/damaged

Front driveshaft boots inner and outer are testable; for a rear one to be part of the MOT the driveshaft has to form part of the rear suspension eg old Jag, Triumph Herald.

A BMW driveshaft does NOT form part of the rear suspension.

Are you sure it was failed on that and not just an advisory?

^^ definetly failed on that: The sheet says:

Offside rear (outer boot) Drive Shaft which forms part of the suspension coupling gaiter damaged to the extent that it no longer prevents the ingres of dirt etc [2.4.G.4e]

kitch wrote:CV Boots are really easy. You might need a special tool for the clips when you reseal it though.

really you've removed one from the hub thats rusted in then?!

its all too easy to round off the allen key bolts on the inner one for the unwary also

I'd call the CV a bloody ball ache the other bits are simple, the bodge on the handbrake last year will need more effort this time!

Rtaylor2208 wrote:Brakes were stripped and adjusted at the shoes etc last year. It I think this is the Achilles heel of many a e30.

clipper wrote:The brakes is probably an easier home DIY job than the front shocks TBH

capri_rob wrote:e30 disk handbrakes. utter sh1t. I've not had a good one yet.

daimlerman wrote:No reason foe E30 disc type handbrakes not to work properly if they are set up correctly.
Afterall,they are only used to hold the car stationary when it is stopped,so the shoes are gripping the drum,not being worn away by constant use,as in the drum brake fitted to the rear of lesser E30's.

The main issues seem to be rusty backplates,allowing the shoes to float freely within the drum,and siezed adjusters.

BMW parking brake systems with shoes inside a rear disc work perfectly well when in good condition and set up correctly.

BUT they are a common MOT fail for a number of reasons.#

As Malcolm has mentioned, rusty back plates causing the shoe retaining pins to move thus the shoes to move is more prevalent on older BMW's.

Also incorrect adjustment after someone has replaced the discs shoes or both.

One other common cause for fail is corrosion of the inside of the disc. As the rear shoes do not do any braking other than to hold the car when stationary, the inside of the discs can get rusty and the shoe doesn't grip them as well as clean metal.

I have lost count of the many BMW's that have failed the MOT on parking brake efficiency which have been fixed by driving the car and applying the parking brake on and off for a few hundred meters to clean up the inside of the discs.

On a 20+ year old turd with unknown brake condition/set up i would be pulling the discs off to have a look what's going on.

Must second that about the discs. The drum in disc setup is one of the best i have ever used, certainly puts some newer cars to shame. ( im looking at you ford/vw audi/refault)

Rtaylor2208 wrote:^^ definetly failed on that: The sheet says:

Offside rear (outer boot) Drive Shaft which forms part of the suspension coupling gaiter damaged to the extent that it no longer prevents the ingres of dirt etc [2.4.G.4e]

If the driveshaft formed part of the suspension then when you took it off the suspenson would collapse.

It doesn't on a BMW therefore it was incorectly failed.

Must second that about the discs. The drum in disc setup is one of the best i have ever used, certainly puts some newer cars to shame. ( im looking at you ford/vw audi/refault)

bss325i wrote:which have been fixed by driving the car and applying the parking brake on and off for a few hundred meters to clean up the inside of the discs.

This procedure is detailed in your E30's driver's handbook (if you bothered to read it) as something you should do every three months

Brianmoooore wrote:

bss325i wrote:which have been fixed by driving the car and applying the parking brake on and off for a few hundred meters to clean up the inside of the discs.

This procedure is detailed in your E30's driver's handbook (if you bothered to read it) as something you should do every three months

Can't say i've read that section of the handbook myself (and i bet plenty haven't) but it's certainly advantageous to this every so often.

Page 61 on mine. Under "handbrake" at the end of the "running in" section.

Simon13 wrote:

kitch wrote:CV Boots are really easy. You might need a special tool for the clips when you reseal it though.

really you've removed one from the hub thats rusted in then?!

its all too easy to round off the allen key bolts on the inner one for the unwary also

I'd call the CV a bloody ball ache the other bits are simple, the bodge on the handbrake last year will need more effort this time!

I've changed 3 diffs and never had a problem with the allen key bolts to get the drive shaft off of the diff. I've also done the cv boots on my car and not had a problem getting the shafts out. I guess it's luck of the draw!

Brianmoooore wrote:

bss325i wrote:which have been fixed by driving the car and applying the parking brake on and off for a few hundred meters to clean up the inside of the discs.

This procedure is detailed in your E30's driver's handbook (if you bothered to read it) as something you should do every three months

Nice attitude

Simon13 wrote:

Brianmoooore wrote:

bss325i wrote:which have been fixed by driving the car and applying the parking brake on and off for a few hundred meters to clean up the inside of the discs.

This procedure is detailed in your E30's driver's handbook (if you bothered to read it) as something you should do every three months

Nice attitude

Really? Do real people ever do that?

Surely not! If you have a life, your never going to sit down every 3 months to freshen up on your owners handbook are you?

Simon13 wrote:

Brianmoooore wrote:

bss325i wrote:which have been fixed by driving the car and applying the parking brake on and off for a few hundred meters to clean up the inside of the discs.

This procedure is detailed in your E30's driver's handbook (if you bothered to read it) as something you should do every three months

Nice attitude

If you have something constructive to add to this thread or any thread in any other forum outside of 'pub talk' or the 'kinderkarten', then feel free to post - otherwise, don't.
The same applies to Dezzy.
We are losing too many relatively new members on here as a result of this type of 'banter', and there is likely to be a crackdown shortly, when we have finalised details.

hennabm wrote:

Rtaylor2208 wrote:^^ definetly failed on that: The sheet says:

Offside rear (outer boot) Drive Shaft which forms part of the suspension coupling gaiter damaged to the extent that it no longer prevents the ingres of dirt etc [2.4.G.4e]

If the driveshaft formed part of the suspension then when you took it off the suspenson would collapse.

It doesn't on a BMW therefore it was incorectly failed.

interesting point !
I don't think I have ever seen a damaged Boot on an E30 drive shaft !

i've seen a few perished ones but not to the point they leaked grease out ^

All parts ordered between GSF and ECP as neither had everything I needed.

£200 all in as I added a timing belt kit as well so its getting expensive.

1. Power Steering Belt £2.70 + VAT (ECP)
2. 2 Boge Dampers £93.00 + VAT (GSF)
3. Steering Rack Gaiter £3.50 + VAT (GSF)
4. Outer CV Boot kit £11.70 + VAT (ECP)
5. Bump Stops and Dust Covers for the front shocks £18.50 + VAT (ECP)
6. Timing Belt Kit £34.95 + VAT (ECP)

So looks like I have alot of work on my hands this week getting it all sorted.

those seem like very good prices! When you say that the steering is heavy, what do you mean exactly as it sound similar to mine and I have been trying to work out a solution. Mine is extremely difficult to turn at slow speed ie starting or parking and feels a little notchy but fine when on the road.

At slow speeds the steering is a bit stiff and jerky and the belt squeels now and again. I knew it was loose but planned on replacing it when I was doing the timing belt. I didn't realise it would fail on the MOT as it passed last year in the same condition.

Fingers crossed a new belt tensioned up properly will fix it as after spending so much a new \ second hand rack may be out of the question.