E30 Zone

Hello all ! Im new here so be gentle !!!

I bought a 87 320i off eBay of all places. Now for the money I paid its in good nick. However as Im not used to an automatic gearbox so I have a few questions...

1) It seems to idle @ high rev's when in Park and Neutral (2k). Other selections idle at 1k revs.
2) I belive my brake pads are on the way out as the light started flashing this morning. It came on for a while then flickered for a bit then went.

Any advice ???

Cheers All.

Rich H ::: :: : ... .. .

Welcome to the zone and E30 ownership.
I don't think the amount of revs has anything to do with the gearbox. 2k is very high, you must have an awful job holding it back at the lights in 'drive'!! Mine ticks over at about 650 or less in drive. I would check for air leaks in the induction system and check the temp sensors - if the blue one's dodgy it will tell the ecu it's cold and needs more fuel. 320s are not known for being economical so an over-revving auto must be using juice like theres no tomorrow!
As far as the auto box is concerned, check that the fluid is a nice clear pink and not a dirty brown - that can mean problems.
Sounds like the brakes need looking at. fronts usually wear more than rears, especially on autos. Do you have a lot of pedal travel? It's not a difficult job on these cars and replacements are not that expensive, even from a main dealer.

I had just about the same problem a few weeks back on my auto. P + N rev at about 2k. D + R revs at about 1250.

Ended up being the cruise control cable connected to the TB (Throttle Body). The plastic clip thingy broke and the cable kept tugging on the TB allowing too much air in.

The car was almost not drivable. Keeping it stationary at intersections was hard and when P or R was selected I got quite a jerk out of the box. Also as far as I know revving these engines in N or P with an auto could cause a clutch pack to fry out, leaving you without any gears.

Hope you get it sorted, otherwise just don't stop.

The high revs are only in Park and Neutral. I have no problems "holding her back" at the lights .... Thank god...

The previous post mentioned cruise control.... Have I got this as standard on an auto box ? Am I being a complete Noob !

In fairness today when I first started the car it was at just under 1k in park / neutral... It then rose to 2k after 30 sec or so.

Life was easier in my old 318i (manual transmission )

Cheers,
Rich H ::: :: : ... .. .

Hi again flaskatron.

No the cruise control isn't standard. Easiest way to know if you've got it is to check for the stalk on the steering column, but if it isn't present make sure by looking at the throttle body: There should be three cables connected to it if you've got cruise control. One for the autobox's kickdown cable, one for the accelerator cable (connected to the gas pedal) and one coming from the cruise control actuator right next to the cooling system expansion tank.

The fact that you say that the revs started out lower and went up makes me think it's not the cruise control cable issue. I'd go with monsport's idea of an airleak somewhere. It could also be the ICV (Idle Control Valve) that's stuck open or an AFM (Air Flow Meter) issue.

If I were you there's 2 things I'd check first (both quite easy to do):

1. Check that all the cables connected to the TB have a bit of free play on them (ie. doesn't keep the TB open all the time) when you don't push down on the gas pedal.

2. Disconnect the ICV and remove. Check that the valve opens and closes easily when you shift it round (bad explanation I know )

My gut tells me you have an ICV issue. Do a search on the forum for ICV cleaning and testing and the like. There are quite a few threads covering this.

Hope this helps. If there's anything else, no matter how stupid you may think it is, don't hesitate to ask. We all have to start somewhere and everyone on here is more than willing to help with even the most elementary.

Cheers
Martin

Oops.

Just a little edit: The kickdown cable from the autobox should have a bit of tension on it, but shouldn't pull the TB open.

There is a common fault in the instrument cluster that can majke the pad wear sensor flicker on and off.
Check the pad wear sensor(s) (two, if you have rear discs), their connectors are clean and the wires aren't rubbing on the inside of the wheels, first, and if all is OK do a forum search for "220 ohm resistor"

Hello again all.... Thanks for your answers !

I took the 320i (AUTO) '87 to my local "Auto Center" and they took a look and advised me to change the discs / pads / rear drums and shoes....

Including fitting they want Ԛ£560 ! I could buy another car for that...

I had a look on the net and a guy quoted me the following parts :

Discs and pad kit Ԛ£45.99.
rear drums Ԛ£22.00 each
Rear brake shoes Ԛ£18.00 set of 4
Service kit oil filter, air filter and 6 plugs Ԛ£23.50 , fuel filter extra Ԛ£9.00

This looks good to me... But my question is...

Do I have Vented disc's on my car ???

Im to lazy to take the wheel off to have a look... Plus Im working away this week so I cant look anyway.

Help !

have a look!

u must! are they sqweeky at all?

I wouldn't do anything untill you've checked them yourself, or had them checked by someone who doesn't have an interest in selling you new ones.
This "Auto centre" sounds like it could be the kind of place that would recommend new a week after they had been changed.
How did they check the rear brakes? AFAIK, there's no way to check without removing the drums.
Think you need to become familiar with "Eurocarparts" and "German, French and Swedish" - Two suppliers of discounted (usually, but not always), E30 parts.

I had seen the discs and drums while the mechanic was doing the quote so I know for a fact they need doing. Now I dont mind paying out some cash to get it sorted but Ԛ£500+ when the parts are just over Ԛ£100 sounds greedy to me.

Oh, I did look on Euro Car Parts. I used to use them when I had my 318i, Very good value.

I would class changing discs and drums as being at the easier end of maimtenance on E30s. If you really can't do it yourself, then you should be able to find someone (possibly on the zone?), who would do it for a lot less.
It's not a long job - In fact if the mechanic has already taken the drums off to check, it would have been very little more work to have fitted the new bits!

if all else fails on this brake issue and you need em doing
gimme a shout fella
im not on ya doorstep but if your willing to drive upto leeds i dnt mind doing the fitting for cheap

that price above is ridiculous

have you got rear discs fitted as well??

fronts should be vented
rears are solid

sorry cnt help much with the idle probs but the advice above would be first on checklist

also check the 2pipes that go in the side of tb have known these to come lose in past as well as all other assosciated hoses for splits etc
hth

Daz

Thanks for the offer...
The parts are ordered and I am going to attempt the overhaul this weekend )

Wish me luck !!!