'88 325i Touring #001 resto - 03/2012 rimz porn

[jimbom30cab]

Lol, sometimes the zone is worse than being married !

[Kedge]

You know it makes sense

This is why I couldn't have a car like this

[G-Bear]

Nice to see this thread again. I'm sure my vote doesn't bare weight compared to some on here but I'm with Kedge and B7 I'd keep it kitless.

Good luck with the MOT...

[capri_rob]

Nice to see this thread again. I'm sure my vote doesn't bare weight compared to some on here but I'm with Kedge and B7 I'd keep it kitless.

Good luck with the MOT...

MOT should be fine - its done about 600 miles since the last one and garaged every night so can't see how anything can have worn out

Only unknown is the emissions as I've still got the dreaded untraceable M20 air leak but will just have to cross that bridge when I get to it.

Kitless it is then

[DanThe]

Sounds like you woke up from a bad dream this morning Rob, your heads straight now though?

[Kedge]

Sounds like you woke up from a bad dream this morning Rob, your heads straight now though?

Think he woke up p!ssed

[daimlerman]

Sounds like you woke up from a bad dream this morning Rob, your heads straight now though?

Think he woke up p!ssed

It's Rob's car,so it's his choice.

But the thing came from the factory with no kit....

[B7]

Phew! I nearly drove up and slapped him! Tech 2 kit my arse!

[capri_rob]

Just looked back at this thread and realised the last time the turd was started was 10th November

MOT Booked for 9am tomorrow

Started no probs tonight, checked all the obvious stuff light lights, wipers, screenwashers all good.

Only potential worry is emissions as I've done nothing to it since the rebuilt head went back on.

Need to pump the tyres up tomorrow morning, put a fivers worth of fuel in it and take it for a blast "on the way" to the MOT station

Roll on 1st April for the Tax and I can start using it again - might even put a sponge over it tomorrow if I get rewarded with a first time pass

[Andyboy]

If it's still idling a bit roughly, set the exhausts to 12 thou cold.

[capri_rob]

If it's still idling a bit roughly, set the exhausts to 12 thou cold.

If I can get a pass tomorrow I'm gonna give it to Dan with some beer tokens to go over it properly

[capri_rob]

If it's still idling a bit roughly, set the exhausts to 12 thou cold.

What do you set the inlets to ?

[capri_rob]

Passed !!

And even better passed without a single advisory

Can't remember the last time I had a car that went through with a completely clean sheet

[G-Bear]

Nice

[Kedge]

Nice one Rob

[capri_rob]

Legal innit bruvs !



In addition to the robbing barstewards road tax I treated the turd to £15 of Texacos finest unleaded and a "silver" wash & wax - proper executive

I have so missed driving this car - it goes very well using it for work the rest of this week as long as it doesnt rain

[Bump]

Not sure how but I've completely missed this thread but read it from start to finish, wow. Big up the black headlining crew!

The alpinas looks really classy and with the is lip it'll look great.

Well done for rescuing this, nice to see the tourings getting a bit of love!

[pacerpete]

If it's still idling a bit roughly, set the exhausts to 12 thou cold.

What do you set the inlets to ?

12 thou inlet and exhaust cold works best. Setting tappets on a bench is a waste of time. Tight tappets cause all sorts of running issues.

[capri_rob]

Thanks Pete - its pretty much the last mechanical thing left to do - its done a few hundred miles now since the head went back on and I never checked the clearances when it came back because they told me it had been done on the bench

Goes nicely though

[Simon13]

they do when they're tight

[capri_rob]

Annoyed - got a slight coolant leak from somewhere but I can't see where its coming from

Somewhere at the front of the engine I think as the undertray shows signs of drips - the metal cross pipe is new, waterpump is new and top quality, I had it running and can't see any drips coming from any of the hoses and the bottom of the rad looks dry The system also doesnt appear to hold much if any pressure at the moment - was driving it the other day when the low coolant light came on the check panel - there was still plenty in the header tank must just have dropped low enough to put the light on but when I took the cap off about half an hour after stopping there was pretty much no pressure in it - guessing this is due to the leak and/or it needs a new cap ?

Anywhere I should look - the only thing I can think of is that the waterpump didnt seal properly when it was fitted - can't remember the setup - does the cambelt need to come off to be able to get at the bolts holding it in if thats where its coming from might just need nipping up slightly?

[G-Bear]

Don't think you have to remove the cambelt to get to the pump bolts. But it's a fair bit of work to get to it. Drain (what's left) coolant, remove rad, fan, hoses, rota arm and housing.

Have you had a good look round the thermostat housing? Seem to remember in this thread you getting it blasted. But they can go manky. Mine had rotted horribly at the bottom where the hose from the throttle body feeds in.

[Kedge]

Wouldn't surprise me if its th pump itself, I had a top branded one (can't remember which it was) that failed straight out the box.

[capri_rob]

Its a KWP pump with the metal impeller so I'll be p1$$ed if its gotta come out again its done less than 1000 miles since fitting but its probably over 2 years since I bought it so any warranty will have expired

Stat housing pipe was a little manky but not too bad - good call though I'll have another look

[G-Bear]

Stat housing pipe was a little manky but not too bad - good call though I'll have another look

I noticed how bad mine was when I removed my throttle body to get it bored. The hose that led to the stat housing from the TB just came away..

It had managed to seal itself off in the process.



I've been told they're a bit of a week point. The replacement one I got was in a lot better condition but was still showing signs of mank in the same area.

If you end up replacing the thermostat housing, its good opportunity to by pass cooling to the throttle body. I had the stubs on the TB blocked when it was getting bored out (maggspower) and ran a pipe direct from the back of the block to the stat. Its said to improve fuel economy.

Here's is a more involved approach, quite nicely done.

http://garagistic.com/index.php?page=m2 ... ter-delete

[DanThe]

Blanking off the port is the best way to do it, otherwise your just creating a permanent flow of coolant that doesnt need to be there

[capri_rob]

I've already done the TB bypass with a continuous run of hose from the back of the block up to that port on the stat housing - sadly I checked it yesterday and it appear to be bone dry.

Think the leak must be coming from the vicinity of the pump

[capri_rob]

Thread revival MOT booked for tomorrow morning wish me luck

[Speedtouch]

Best of luck with that, Rob...

[capri_rob]

MOT passed as expected. Advisories for 3 of the tyres which each have 3mm left and sodding handbrake efficiency which doesn't surprise me as it hasn't been out of the garage since December and has only done 305 miles since the last MOT.

After stumping up £126.50 for 6 months tax which will be sent off for a refund at the end of October anyway I noticed a drip from the centre console on the passenger side and the carpet is damp so it appears the heater valve or heater matrix is on it's way out. Joy

[Speedtouch]

Oh well, congratulations on the MOT pass.

[G-Bear]

Well done on the MOT.

After stumping up £126.50 for 6 months tax which will be sent off for a refund at the end of October anyway

How much refund will you get on this? I never knew that was possible.

[Speedtouch]

You get the value of as many complete months are remaining on the tax disc.

[capri_rob]

Just make sure you send it well before the end of the month to be sure. Not sure how it will work when the new online system starts in October as you can pay by monthly direct debit I'm hoping that you can just cancel the dd and SORN it online. Much less faffing about than filling forms in and sending off bits of paper

It's just took them over 2 months to issue the refund I was due on the alfa

[capri_rob]

Small update today.
Water leak fixed after dreading the task of changing the heater valve it turned out to be quite easy so no more wet foot wells and thanks to pacerpete for the quick delivery of a good valve.

Confidence boosted by this I then dropped the oil out whilst putting the under dash back together and fitted a new genuine filter I bought about 3 years ago



Then went for a blast and it felt good !