E30 Zone

Hello everybody, I've just bought a 1989 318i on an F plate, had a baptism of, well, snow today and the old girl gave a very good account of herself.

This is the first BMW I've owned so I'm not totally up to speed with the ins and outs of the cars yet, so please forgive me if i ask some really dumb questions. Most of them are niggles and nit sh1t more than problems.

1) Where can I find a (new) replacement rear view mirror, the current one is loose in it's mounts and if near useless when driving? Dothe likes of Eurocarparts and GSF sell them?

2) The fuel pump is fairly noisey, (continuous whine), is that a case of "They all do that, Sir" or should I be looking to source a replacement in the near future

3) The electric aerial is FUBAR (the aerial part is snapped, the motor whirrs way fine though when the radio is switched on and off), is it possible to replace just the aerial or do I have to change the whole unit? Either way where can I source a spare?

4) Does the analogue clock in the centre console simply lever out, i need to replace the bulb in the back? Also, is it possible to retro-fit the OBC from the 6cyl cars to the 318i?

5) Where can I source an original gear knob? The previous owners have replaced it with an alloy one and it looks so out of place in the car (and it's chuffing freezing in the morning!)

6) What is so special about the dizzy cap and spar plugs to justify Ԛ£50 each or whatever the price is in GSF? (It's the M40(?) engine, the one with hydraulic tappets)

7) What brands of engine oil are reccomended, or is it a case of pays your money and takes your choice?

There seems to be a lot of dead play in the brake pedal, again is this normal. I'm going to put fresh fluid in to see if that helps, while I'm there I may as well do the clutch too, wheres the bleed for the clutch?

9) The car is fitted with 14" steel rims, and condom rubber remould, is it worth going to a larger rim, say 15" or 16" and what size tyre is a good choice?

I think thats about it for now. Thanks in advance

Regards
Iain

Hi there, welcome to the site and bmw ownership!
With regard to your requests - ive got a mint rear view mirror, replacement aerial, (which is noisey, but you could use the good parts from it) a replacement gear knob (original bmw one) which you could have for a small amount I think!

As for the analogue clock, you want to remove you head unit and get access from there, seem to remember there are a couple of little screws.

Basically if you need any little bits ive got a 318i being broken at the moment!

Hope this helps,

Theo

welcome and good choice of car....

9) IMHO there is a noticable and worthwhile difference in going from 14" to 15", mostly as that is 6.5J to 7J width
tyre size is 195/65/14 or 205/55/15 to keep the speedo correct.
I run 16" in winter ( ) and even though they are 7.5J there isn't as much of an improvement over 15", as the improvement seen with 15" over 14".
16" tyres should be 205/50/16
If you can get O/E BBS BMW multispoke alloys, not only are they very strong, they are very light as well - look fantastic too! But they cost around 50 each 2nd hand. (make sure they say BMW and BBS and have similar manufacturers makings under the centre caps)

as for everything else, do a search (especially on oil) and you'll get lots of opinions

1 & 5 - Use good second hand. BMW parts don't wear like other manufactuers, and second hand stuff should be indistinguishable from new.
2/ Fuel pump can be just about heard from inside the cabin, but shouldn't be intrusive. May be on it's way out.
3/ Think the OE mast is available. Most parts for E30s are readily available still from the dealers, and often surprisingly cheap.
Get yourself a copy of the ETK CD-ROM for Ԛ£2 or so.
4/ The front suuround of the clock prises off, then there are four obvious clips which allow it to come out forwards.
6/ The Lord alone knows! Didn't think the four pot was as bad as the 6 pot though.
7/ Not too low a viscosity.
8/If the pedal doesn't come right up, there is a pull rod acrooss the car behind the heater with an adjustment.
If you have rear drums, then they may not be adjusting themselves properly. Otherwise change fluid and bleed properly. Check for swelling rubber brake hoses under pressure.
Clutch bleed is on the slave cylinder on the side of the bell housing
9/ 15" is the biggest for confort and handling on an E30.

Thanks for the advice folks. It's been suggested i run either 10w40 semi or 5w40 fully synthetic oil.

Can anyone tell me what the correct spark plug is for the 1.8 M40 engine? Searching the forums i've come up with Bosch W8LCR or FR7LDC or FR78 depending on where I look. Which is correct?

Regards
Iain

C33 wrote:Thanks for the advice folks. It's been suggested i run either 10w40 semi or 5w40 fully synthetic oil.

Can anyone tell me what the correct spark plug is for the 1.8 M40 engine? Searching the forums i've come up with Bosch W8LCR or FR7LDC or FR78 depending on where I look. Which is correct?

Regards
Iain

Oil's about right - as long as your hydraulic tappets are happy with it.
F8 LCR (Bosch) are the right plugs for your car.

Cheers.

Found another, more serious, problem leaking fuel from around the tank. I've lifted the rear seat and removed the panel on the drivers side and all the top of the tank with the pump etc is leaking. Could it be a failed gasket? The car had stood for 6months before I bought it so I'm wondering if the gasket has perished in this time. It's the first time I've noticed this, but it coincides with the first full tank of fuel I've put in.

Regards
Iain

C33 wrote:Cheers.

Found another, more serious, problem leaking fuel from around the tank. I've lifted the rear seat and removed the panel on the drivers side and all the top of the tank with the pump etc is leaking. Could it be a failed gasket? The car had stood for 6months before I bought it so I'm wondering if the gasket has perished in this time. It's the first time I've noticed this, but it coincides with the first full tank of fuel I've put in.

Regards
Iain

it could just be a leaking hose pipe which has removed all of the paint. is there any rust?

the normal place for leaking fuel tanks is just above the inlet for the filler hose pipe, and on some, the wavey pipe between each side.

C33 wrote:Cheers.

Found another, more serious, problem leaking fuel from around the tank. I've lifted the rear seat and removed the panel on the drivers side and all the top of the tank with the pump etc is leaking. Could it be a failed gasket? The car had stood for 6months before I bought it so I'm wondering if the gasket has perished in this time. It's the first time I've noticed this, but it coincides with the first full tank of fuel I've put in.

Regards
Iain

Smithy318i is quite correct about the most common leaks on E30 tanks, but it looks like you may be lucky and have the less common but easily fixed leak. There is a large O ring which seals the fuel pump, and it has been known to split.
Remove wires and pipes, unscrew the four small nuts on the top and lift out the fuel level sender, then twist the fuel pump about 1/8 of a turn anticlockwise and ease it out.

Thanks again. It's a job i could of done without but hey ho!

Regards
Iain

Looks like the fuel leak was from the top around the pump/level sender. The rim of the opening had started to rust and let fuel past the seal. Stripped it all down, polished it up with wire wool, stuck a gasket (cut from a sheet of gasket material), blue goo'ed the gasket to the tank, the seal to the gasket and the seal to the sender unit...seems to of worked ok.

Think I've sorted the seat too, just looks like the ratchet mechanism was sticking so a liberal amout of oil on all the pivots etc and it looks like job done.

Didn't find much wrong with the car while servicing it...but can't seem to get the diff fill plug off, both the fill and the drain are 13mm allen hex's right? The clutch fluid seems to of dropped so will keep an eye on that, front pads have only got a couple of mm of friction material left, so thats something to do. Have EBC green pads got a decent reputation on these cars? EBC seem ok on other cars, and I'm using them on my racer.

Thanks for the help.
Regards
Iain

Good work mate