First E30 - 316i Touring Rescue - (Update: Now MOT'd!)

[Brianmoooore]

Old reverse light switch was from a later BMW, such as an E36. Your new cable will do the job for a while, but it isn't really weather resistant enough for where it will live. Right angled, soldered spade connectors would last longer.
A good coating of silicon grease will help.

[iDemonix]

Old reverse light switch was from a later BMW, such as an E36. Your new cable will do the job for a while, but it isn't really weather resistant enough for where it will live. Right angled, soldered spade connectors would last longer.
A good coating of silicon grease will help.

Yup, 100% agree! I'd used them all up and whilst I was under the car decided this would do for now, they already got a good coating. I made the cable an extra 10cm in length (tucked under the centre console) so there's enough wiggle to cut the old ones off and put better ones on.

Going to be watching the postman like a hawk now for my bushings. Might get round to replacing the final rubber hoses near the diff with braided this week whilst waiting, might splash some fresher stonechip on as well, last time it rained the day after and it all ran and now looks naff.

[iDemonix]

Still waiting on bushings 9 days after ordering >:( Typically ordered 15 things on eBay in the last 10 days and the only thing not to arrive is the bushings! Hopefully here tomorrow and if not I'll order from somewhere else....

In other news for some future work, this showed up today:



Spoke to DanThe about some custom pipes in the next few weeks, just need to get some inner/outers (anyone want to buy some brand new E30 ones with 10 miles use? ) and then decide between spacers for the rack or different engine mounts.

[iDemonix]

Well, a day I've long been dreading, but today I finally said goodbye to my 20s and turned 30. The blow was lessened by a parcel from DanThe arriving:



Which will go nicely with the above purple tag rack, and hopefully play nicely with this Corsa C steering knuckle which I've yet to modify:



Finishing bits on the van this week, but then plan is to do the rear bushings now they've finally showed up and then get it MOT'd - might do the steering rack before the MOT as well. The rear trailing arm bushings need doing so I'm in half a mind to drop the subframe, but then it means dealing with the prop shaft and removing the exhaust etc, we'll see what happens.

[iDemonix]

Decided to drop the subframe as the trailing arm bushings really could do with replacing as well.

Start as you mean to go on:



Bit cobwebby...



The bolts are perfectly reusable, and I've got a big box of new locknuts to replace the bottom nut with.



The exhaust put up a bit of a fight when trying to separate the halves, but after a bit of hammer therapy the rear finally came away



The only issue is I need to undo the centre prop mount to drop it down, but the front half of the exhaust is in the way.

I left the bolts to repeatedly soak in plusgas for 24-48h, but even so the nut on the far right snapped off:



Will try and get some of the others off to see if that gives me enough exhaust play without having to unbolt the manifold, unless there's another join in it somewhere...

So, today I managed to remove: wheels, exhaust rear half, brakes, discs, sensors, handbrake internals, subframe mount bolts, shock bolts, and clips.

Things next are: get the handbrake cable/sleeve out the hubs - it's seized in place; try and get the exhaust clear enough to drop the prop from the middle; unbolt the prop from the diff; disconnect the brake lines; undo the final bolt (diff mount) and hopefully lower the jack with a subframe on it.



Typically these are 16mm bolts which is the one size spanner I don't own, so will pick one up tomorrow, I do have a 16mm cheapo line spanner, but it slipped so decided to leave that until I get a proper one.

Speaking of line spanners, going to be fun trying to undo these:



And then try and somehow free these handbrake sleeves



Once I get past these snags and get the subframe out, I'm planning on buying some lengths of M10 threaded rod, and using a bearing puller set (threaded rod in the set is too wide) to try and get the old ones out, and new ones in. The old ones might get butchered out, but I've seen someone on YT press the bushings in with a big G clamp, so I'll see how I go.



The one exception is that I've ordered a new diff mount bushing - I'll remove the rear casing and take that to a local shop to get that one done, hopefully arriving Wed-Fri next week, suppose it makes me change the diff oil too which is probably ancient.

New parts eagerly waiting...

[boiliebasher]

Nice. Keep up the good work mate

I should hopefully be doing the same thing to my touring soon as my subframe bushes are getting a bit tired too.... Probably refresh other tired or worn components whilst I'm in there.

[Brianmoooore]

The exhaust put up a bit of a fight when trying to separate the halves, but after a bit of hammer therapy the rear finally came away

There's no real reason to split it in the middle. Unbolt at the manifold to downpipe join, and it can come off as one piece.

The only issue is I need to undo the centre prop mount to drop it down, but the front half of the exhaust is in the way.

I left the bolts to repeatedly soak in plusgas for 24-48h, but even so the nut on the far right snapped off:

You should have undone the two bolts fixing the bracket to the gearbox, and removed the bracket with the exhaust. If it was tight on the exhaust, it would be all aligned for refitting.

Will try and get some of the others off to see if that gives me enough exhaust play without having to unbolt the manifold, unless there's another join in it somewhere...

So, today I managed to remove: wheels, exhaust rear half, brakes, discs, sensors, handbrake internals, subframe mount bolts, shock bolts, and clips.

Things next are: get the handbrake cable/sleeve out the hubs - it's seized in place; try and get the exhaust clear enough to drop the prop from the middle; unbolt the prop from the diff; disconnect the brake lines; undo the final bolt (diff mount) and hopefully lower the jack with a subframe on it.

I'd normally remove the handbrake cables at the front, if I'm intending to reuse them. If not, cut the inner cable and pull it out, then drift the outer from the hub with a parallel punch from the inside. Exhaust join is between manifold and downpipes, accessed from underneath with a long extension. Refit with new copper coated nuts.

Typically these are 16mm bolts which is the one size spanner I don't own, so will pick one up tomorrow, I do have a 16mm cheapo line spanner, but it slipped so decided to leave that until I get a proper one.

Good quality spanners needed for these. Bolts are 10.9 grade, so the nuts are tight.

Speaking of line spanners, going to be fun trying to undo these:

Don't bother. Chop the pipes, then twist off the U shaped fixing clips. Replace the lot with new. You can make up all the hard brake lines on the car for less than £15

The one exception is that I've ordered a new diff mount bushing - I'll remove the rear casing and take that to a local shop to get that one done, hopefully arriving Wed-Fri next week, suppose it makes me change the diff oil too which is probably ancient

Cut the rubber out of the way (large hole saw), then saw nearly through the outer steel ring of the bush. The saw cut will close up, and the bush will almost fall out. Heat the rear cover to about 120 degrees in an oven, put the new bush in the freezer for half an hour, and it will push in easily.

[iDemonix]

Nice. Keep up the good work mate

I should hopefully be doing the same thing to my touring soon as my subframe bushes are getting a bit tired too.... Probably refresh other tired or worn components whilst I'm in there.

Cheers, get some pics on a build thread when you do, best of luck!


Thanks for all the advice as always Brianmoooore, I'll try and get the front half of the exhaust down, I was under the car and running out of patience/light when trying to sort the front bracket. I'm glad I split it though as I didn't realise how heavy it is and dealing with all this on my own on the driveway is a bit cumbersome.

Brake pipes - I chopped the front ones off the way you described to get them off, I'll probably do the same here - as you can see I've got new braided on the bench waiting, and I've got some kunifer to replace some pipes as needed.

Handbrake cables - I'd rather not replace them as they work fine, I'm gonna swing on them a bit later and try free them before I give up and do it your way.

I'm working from home but nipped out and got a Halfords advanced 16mm spanner at lunch, same as all my kit, hopefully free the diff bolts tonight...

[boiliebasher]

Nice. Keep up the good work mate

I should hopefully be doing the same thing to my touring soon as my subframe bushes are getting a bit tired too.... Probably refresh other tired or worn components whilst I'm in there.

Cheers, get some pics on a build thread when you do, best of luck!

Yeah I will do! Thanks mate! I honestly can't wait to really get stuck into it, but unfortunately it's not currently located near to me so a bit complicated to get some decent spanner time on her.
Should be able to hopefully change that in the next couple of months Exciting (and sometimes frustrating) times ahead

[iDemonix]

Prop bolts came off easily, and I undid the exhaust but left the nuts barely on, this gives me enough wriggle room to drop the prop centre support which I have done.

The last bits are the handbrake cables, tried to hit them out with a screwdriver from the disc side, but only realised after coming in that the metal sleeve on the back is part of the cable, so I'll mole grip that with some heat and try and remove it. Both cables have broken away from the ferrules anyway so I can just drop the subframe, undo the handbrake nuts and slide the cables out as it drops (failing that I'll just cut them) - hoping the prop separates nicely during the drop too...







Have soaked everything in plusgas again until the can was empty, then WD40, more on order! New handbrake cables also ordered.

Will cut the rubber hoses and try and drop it tomorrow, mate isn't free to lend a hand until the weekend but need to crack on. The N/S sub bushing looks to have separate inner/outer pieces, but the O/S is in one piece. I picked up some M10 threaded rod rated to 400Nm earlier, so hopefully that and a combination of nuts, washers, and bearing puller cups/pieces, and I'll manage to sort something out.

[boiliebasher]

hoping the prop separates nicely during the drop too...

Just make sure you mark it up before separating as it's balanced from factory. Would be a shame to get it all out of whack!
Good luck and keep up the good work

[iDemonix]

hoping the prop separates nicely during the drop too...

Just make sure you mark it up before separating as it's balanced from factory. Would be a shame to get it all out of whack!
Good luck and keep up the good work

Thanks, I read on the wiki about marking the two halves. I'm going to do that anyway, but I'm hoping it'll stay as one piece connected to the gearbox, and pull off the diff, we'll see. This is all new to me as the only other car I properly rebuilt was front wheel drive. Learning daily.

[JohnA]

Just now arrived on this thread, and i'm impressed, really nice work, keep it up

somebody already asked maybe, but why go through the trouble of changing the head gasket on a m40, when seeing the work you put in, an m42 swap would be childsplay, and very cost effective ?

[iDemonix]

Just now arrived on this thread, and i'm impressed, really nice work, keep it up

somebody already asked maybe, but why go through the trouble of changing the head gasket on a m40, when seeing the work you put in, an m42 swap would be childsplay, and very cost effective ?

Hi JohnA, thanks!

I haven't fully nailed down the source of water being lost as I can't drive the car around until its MOT'd, so once it's got a clean sheet then hopefully I can start finding out all the engine issues...

Engine wise, the M42 doesn't excite me at all. I get that it's an easier swap but I'm always of the opinion of 'go big or go home', so when the time comes (if it does) to do an engine swap I'd want to drop something with at least 2.5L - 3.0L capacity, and at least 6 cylinders.

For now though I'll just keep wrestling bushings until they're done, then it's on to the steering rack, then MOT!

[iDemonix]

Subframe out. Well, on the drive.



Spent ages battering the handbrake cables but got bored of that job and ignored it.

As ever, the inner core of the subframe bushings are absolutely welded in place, and the outers much the same to the subframe:



After ages and ages spent trying to come up with a working washer combo, my M10 rods just weren't strong enough, and I eventually managed to find a semi-winning combo from the bearing puller kit and socket set, twinned with the "I wasn't f*cking asking" length breaker bar which was originally bought when I had to tighten lorry wheels...



After lots of swearing and sweating, I'm at this stage:



At this point the cup isn't deep enough to go any further in to the bearing puller, so my plan is to cowboy it and angle grind off what is sticking below the subframe, then repeat the process with the bearing/socket contraption, eventually it should be out, and then I can curse and swear whilst getting the new ones in using my poor selection of available tooling.

The fun never ends with a project, as whilst I'm sweating away trying to sort this issue, my eyes keep getting drawn to what's going to be next on the list of things to swear at...

[steve_k]

some good progress there buddy, keep it up.

i know how it feels to be doing that type of work on the drive, dodging the rain & complaining neighbours,

as for dropping the subframe, that is one job i really don't want to do again, as the beam bushes are a PITA when they get stuck,

i guess i was lucky when i did mine a few years ago (again, on the drive) as i had a fully refurbished (poly bushed throughout) & adjustable & reinforced one (diff mounys, arb mounts & reinforced trailing arms) from an e30 m3 to go back in the old ones place.

good luck with it as it's so satisfying when it's all back together & on the road.

[iDemonix]

This Clarke rattle gun cost me about 60 quid, 10 years ago, and it's saved my arse more times than I can count.



Went with the combination of rattle gun with the bearing puller, angle grinder round most of it, then a hacksaw to finish the job...



Voila:



Process repeated:



Managed to get this far with some threaded rod, bit stuck now though. I do have a massive vice on the bench (pictured earlier in the thread) and I'm half tempted to drag the subframe over there and use that, my bail-out solution is to throw it in the van and pay a mechanic with a proper hydraulic press to do the lot, keen to save money at the moment though...



If you've read the thread then you'll have seen my recent saga getting the drive shaft bolts out the diff, I only did one side, but I'm tempted whilst it's out the car to just deal with the other ones (welded nuts again I imagine), then I can replace the backplate and wheel bearing on that side too which I never did.

I tried to get the ferrule bits off the handbrake 'tubes' on the chassis but honestly I can't see them coming off, I can't even tell what's what due to all the rust. Once the new parts arrive I'll look at what they're meant to look like and figure something out, maybe cutting them out and tapping the tubes? Or cut the rubber tubing off leaving the metal bit, then dremel a slot in to it and try turn it out with a large screwdriver or chisel?...

I just want to drive this car now, just a bit more blood, sweat, and tears, to go.

[iDemonix]

Made some good progress today!

My mate, that helped a while back with some of the work on the rust at the front, returned, and the second pair of hands make working with the heavy subframe/diff much easier.

First off the handbrake cables were severed to free the subframe, which was then dragged out. I decided to hammer on an E12 bit and try rattle gun the diff bolts off. With it off the car, it's unbelievably easy, and to my amazement everything freed up easily - the 3-4 days of plus gassing probably helped. That Clarke rattle gun is getting framed on the wall when it finally dies.



With everything separated, my mate held the subframe whilst I tightened up the vice with a long pole, within a minute it was all pressed in nicely:



Process repeated for both sides, easy.

Next up was the dreaded handbrake cables. First off at the hub end, I used a dremel to cut them as close to their metal collar as possible first...



Then after much swinging on the metal collar with pliers, locking pliers, and everything else, I decided to just drill them out:





The same method worked on the tubes in the chassis, and the specialist tool called a 'massive drill bit' was required:



Then used the old cables to push down from inside the cab and clear any debris, the new handbrake cables are now ready to fit at both ends.

Massively pleased with progress today and having someone to lend a hand can help, not just for the physical help but it also pushes you on to deal with problems instead of putting the tools away to go and play The Last of Us II on PS4. Was dreading sorting the handbrake issues, tackling the rusty trailing arm/diff nuts etc, but it was a cinch with it out the car.

One of the last problems was the metal parts of the old bushing that had fused to the chassis. I've seen some people put a 5/8 bolt in the bottom, crank it in, then smash it from above, and dremel the old collar out if it remains. To my surprise I just whacked them 3-4 times each with a lump hammer and they just popped out in one nice big piece.

Started making up some new kunifer brake lines, but realised I've not got enough unions, and also my trailing arm bushings *still* haven't arrived (ordered 2 pairs, only received 1 so far), so decided to call it a day. Tomorrow I'll give the subframe a quick once over with sandpaper + wire wheel and slap on any paint I have on the shelves from doing all the previous work, then work on getting all the old lines off the car and new lines made up. Once the bushings arrive then they can go in, and as per Haynes, refitting is the reverse of removal...

[iDemonix]

Well the rear end is done, bushings replaced (trailing + subframe), I didn't do the diff one as the old bushing is ok for now and I'd ran out of patience pressing bushings myself. Brake lines were all re-created, with new braided bits and ferrules etc.

Bushing swapping was a pain at first, the threaded rod technique was shite and just stripped the rods without doing much else than making me curse at having to spend 2 minutes screwing a nut on.



The vice prevails again.





Everything got a bit of rattle can treatment whilst out the car:



The vice works again to press everything back in:







Didn't change the diff bushing quite honestly because I couldn't be arsed at this point, and it doesn't have too much play in it, so just an oil change.



It did finally give me a chance to swap the other sides ruined bolts, so both diff faces are using these now:



One man job...



Decided whilst doing everything to replace the wheel bearing on the N/S, and the backplate, so both sides match.







With the hub + new handbrake assembly:



With all the above done, the wheels were put back on, everything was torqued up, and she's back on the ground. The trolley jack + axle stands were then dragged to the front of the car.

This is an E46 purple tag rack, custom pipes from DanThe, and a Corsa C steering linkage/knuckle.

The first job is to file off the 'master' raised bit in the Corsa C union:



And after burning out my 2nd one, I'm now on my 3rd...



Next job is to break apart the Corsa + E30 steering linkages, and make a hybrid - a Corsa C steering linkage where the top bracket (connecting to the steering column) is from the E30. Forgot to take many pics of this bit. I started pushing the bearings out properly, then got bored and realised I had a brand new dremel:



Which also came in handy for making sure a bolt would fit through the hole:



Removal of the old bits:



Wasn't expecting all this to be waiting for me inside the boot...





Mocking up on the bench:



Anyway, it turns out this was mostly a waste of time because the steering linkage hits the exhaust downpipes:





I moved the rack to the front non-PAS holes on the subframe, this moved it slightly away, but it still won't turn without hitting the exhaust.

I also haven't really got a clue how DanThe's pipes are meant to route, can't get the 'long straight' one to fit anywhere, think I've got them the right way round but have messaged Dan to check.



So that's the current status: Pretty much everything is done, but I've now fitted a steering rack with a linkage that doesn't fit, and new pipes I can't connect. Should have got the MOT before doing this bit, but thought this would be a bit more straightforward.

I'm back to the drawing board now, so if anyone has any recommendations, please let me know. My only thoughts are to warm the exhaust pipes up then smash the daylights out of them with a hammer, or possibly go to the effort of raising the engine.

[iDemonix]

DanThe has recommended bending the pipe, so I'll do that at some point, but he's also recommended going the E28 engine mount route.

The problem is someone Facebook told me they tried using E28 535i engine mounts with an M40 engine, but the engine would have hit the bonnet, and there wasn't enough clearance in the tunnel for the extra gearbox height.

Someone else on Facebook has mentioned that E36 round engine mounts worked for them with an M40 engine, with 5mm of spacers (probably washers), but that's still going to leave me dealing with the gearbox in the tunnel, the fan being raised inside the shroud, and a whole heap of other problems.

Two people on the FB group have solved the problem by completely cutting up the existing downpipes and repositioning the problem pipe - but unfortunately that is far beyond what I'm willing to attempt. Cutting sheet metal patches was one thing, exhaust fabrication is beyond my abilities. It does seem like this is the actual proper answer to my problems, but it's sadly not something I'm willing to attempt myself.

On a side note if anyone has edit privileges in the wiki it might be worth putting a note on the steering rack page to note that RHD 316i/318i m40 engines won't work with the purple tag rack as simply as it will for other engines/layouts.

Update: Have found a local exhaust fabricator, stay tuned...

[iDemonix]

So...

There was a fair bit of room between the existing fouling pipe and engine block



So, exhaust back out..



Picked it up a few days later after describing my issue and marking it on the pipe, got this:





This *almost* solved the issue with the rack on the front holes, but not on the rear



I tried some careful blowtorch and lump hammer therapy



And during the whacking, this practically fell out...



And after all this, the issue seemed to be possibly resolved on the front holes, had clearance from the linkage. Bolted everything up and took it for a spin round the block, unfortunately when the engine was under load, sometimes it'd snag as you were turning.

Back to the drawing board.

In the meantime I sorted the pipes by bending the ones DanThe sent, and then cut the pipes to length for the pot





Also found a nice colour for the car:





This arrived, which solved the O2 sensor issue



I also picked up some cheap-o eBay car mats which look great for the price







Right, exhaust out for the 4th (or 5th, 6th?) time...



This time I stayed and directed where to cut + bend + weld...



Not the most beautiful system in the world, but we put an elbow in it and now it had a load of clearance on the front holes, I tested it and took it for a spin, all good! I couldn't be bothered to re-lift the car and try it on the back holes, decided to do that after an MOT then get the tracking done.

This is a very common sight for me now, but hopefully one that I won't see for a while soon...



So.... on Tuesday, MOT day! Chose a different garage as my previous one had a 2-3w wait.



Annnd.... she failed! Again! Agh!

I was a bit annoyed as I asked the first garage to be thorough as I knew it was going to fail, just needed a todo list. On the lhs of the car, where the sill lip is at it's lowest point, near the jacking point at the front, I needed to add a small strip of metal about the size of a couple of lighters on top of each other, on the inside. I'd kind of forgotten to do this, but hey ho, I booked a re-test for Thursday and drove home.

A mile away from home, I was trying everything to keep the temperature low, but I got stuck too many times at lights and steam started coming out the bonnet. Jumped the lights and shot home...



Great. Radiator ordered from ECP for next day collection, and cracked on with patching. I also finally found the missing jack point bracket thing I lost ages ago, so welded that on to the sill whilst I was there. No pictures as it was raining a bit, and a faff of an upside down job, but I got it done to an ok standard then lathered it in seam sealer.



Got round to fitting new badges to these:



The next day, picked up the new bits





Annnnd it didn't fit. Turns out this is the A/C version which is about 6cm wider with different feet on the bottom, and is obviously too wide for the fan shroud etc. Headed back to ECP to return it.

I noticed there were none available on ECP's site that weren't either A/C or 'heavy duty' taller versions. The guy at ECP said they had 1 left in stock by AVA which was non-A/C and would fit, so we ordered that for Thursday morning, MOT due at 11am....

So, the next day, got up early and fetched the new rad, and....



It didn't fit. This one didn't fit even more than the last as it was a lot taller.

I returned it, then panicked as the MOT was in 1h30, 7 miles away, through a lot of temporary traffic lights and a busy town centre.

Enter, the emergency band-aid fix:



It's a 20 minute journey, but I left an hour in advance and stopped twice to let her cool...



Finally arrived, and one cursory glance at the welding repair later...



Voila.

1x E30 touring, saved from the scrapheap. Box ticked.

I drove it home like I stole it and got home just as the smell of hot engine/coolant started to emanate from the engine bay, and then got robbed £150 for 6 months tax. Once it cooled down I jumped back in and nipped to the shops to get a celebratory bottle of whisky, and finally put this t-shirt on I've been waiting to wear since July:



So, what's the plan now? Well I've found a £25 almost new rad on eBay that's a Nissens one the same dimensions, so I'll collect that soon, and I have a new fuel pump en route as my current one is extremely buzzy/noisy. Other than that there's some cosmetic bits to do, the headlining needs sorting next year, and I'm sure there'll be many other things to fix! I'll keep updating the thread...

Thanks to all of those that have offered advice/support/parts over the long process.

From this...





To this!

[Tzantushka]

What an awesome finish.
Well done

[martauto]

What an awesome finish.
Well done

Nice one mate, great job

Mart.

[ah]

Epic thread,loving the T-shirt,can I be cheeky and asked where you got it.

[Tineca]

Brilliant and loads of good pics that will help me and others with our cars. Plus one on the t shirt

[iDemonix]

Thanks all

The t-shirt is available (along with some other cool E30 designs) here: https://petrolpassion.eu/21-bmw-e30

Picking up a second hand Nissens radiator tomorrow, apparently the chap bought it, used it for 20 miles, then did an engine swap, can't complain for £25.

[iDemonix]

Met up with a nice bloke called John from eBay, swapped a few notes for a radiator in good condition minus a few bent fins.

Third time is the charm!



Some of the nice goopy radweld...





My original rad had always been missing one of the feet, so that was a nice upgrade...



The new one seems to come with a black cap and '200' instead of '140', guessing that's related to max pressure or something...?



Flushed some clean water through, then fitted the new rad which takes 60 seconds. Topped up with antifreeze:



Spent about an hour with the car running for 15 mins then cooling for a bit, squeezing all the pipes, opening the bleed valve, etc, etc. After 40 minutes of faffing, my heaters (which were on full + hot) finally started blasting warm air - something they've never done before! Another 10 minutes and they were pretty toasty.

Took her out for a spin, and it's all much better. Sitting in traffic it doesn't really get much higher than this:



So that's a result, it's now reliable enough to daily... apart from that annoyingly loud fuel pump!

Seats out, carpet up - I've been re-reading the thread and it's funny the things that used to take me 20 minutes now take me less than 2.



Grub screws out (4x) of the seat base rail, push that out the way and 4x phillips screws hold the cover in place. Once removed, we can see a fuel pump unit, with level sender, and a 5+ year old squirrel stash. Thought I'd cleared all of these!



Tank looks fine inside, but maybe one day if I do the engine swap I'll replace it with a new unit + filler pipe.

The original was pretty seized in place and would not turn at all, took a pair of plumbers grips through the gap to finally loosen it up.



Another old + new pic in the same morning!



Classic Haynes reversing of steps later, all was back together. Took about 3-4s of cranking and all was well! Can hear the electric hum of the new motor, but it's no way near as loud as the buzzing noise from the last one - hopefully this one should last another 25 years.

Took her out for a 20 mile spin, and aside from the lack of power, it was a fun little drive.

Feels strange to just walk outside, hop in, and go wherever I want after all this time!

[Sanchez]

Good work,

There was a recall many moons ago for the coolant caps, black one is the recall on I think.

[BenHar]

There was a recall many moons ago for the coolant caps, black one is the recall on I think.

Yellow is the one to use..

Ben

[Brianmoooore]

The numbers on the coolant pressure caps are the system pressure in centibar. The yellow one is 1.4 bar and the black one is 2.0 bar.
The specified pressure for a M40 engined E30 is 1.4 bar, and the yellow base denotes the upgraded one after the recall. The only E30 that uses a 2.0 bar cap is the iS.

[iDemonix]

Cheers both, will swap them back round

[iDemonix]

Well, looks like I've found the next issue to tackle...

[Extremepower3918]

I had the same problem with the purple tag linkage and the exhaust when I fitted one to my 316i touring. I originally welded and hit the exhaust with a hammer a lot to make it fit. I now have a non cat exhaust that I replaced it with and this happens to clear everything without modification. I'm not sure if this is because the non cat ones have a different down pipe or if its because it's not an original part.

However mine is a J reg so I don't need a cat and yours is an L reg so I don't think this will help you much as you need the cat.

[iDemonix]

Yeah I really wish it was a couple of years older!

I'm tempted to cut it before the cat and add a flange, that way I can have a nice bit of straight pipe for 11 months and 3 weeks of the year, and then pop a cheap Chinesium cat in once a year for the test... I can't find any 316i/318i M40 exhausts for sale at all right now, and the knocking is driving me mad, so I'm tempted to just cut it open and remove the broken ceramics inside, then weld it back up for now...

[Brianmoooore]

Car doesn't have to be older - just the engine (or the engine to be of indeterminate date).