E30 Zone

hi my 1st e30 hopefully haven't bought a disaster, had her for around 2 months
shes an 86 325i with 72,000 few oil leaks up front and a tendency to overheat!!





after having her for two months im gonna start on the rear suspension so new meyle subframe and trailing arm bushings poly dif bush 22mm poly bushed sway bar, also got new guibo and e46 steering rack to go in and 15 inch bbs rz with toyo proxes ready to go on gonna be a busy few weeks

A poly diff bush is not a good idea

poly bushes will give a hard ride. If she is going to be a daily OEM would be better for comfort.

i didnt think the poly bushed roll bar would made a difference to the ride apart from when cornering”¦
why would the poly diff bush be a bad idea??

any advice is appreciated

I've had my diff polybushed for over 5 years, and I've had no problems.
I'd like to hear or see pics of any horror stories too.

Ask Pony.

its like welding your diff to the car body don't do it in short the OEM bush works alot better, or an upgrade is the Z3M bush as its tougher. If you had a saggy old cab that flexes over speed humps and bumps then you might not notice the difference but in a saloon you will!

Trailing arm bushes are major work so i'd double check them before condeming them

More to the point what is the overheating issue?

Does the "Alpina" drive yet Boycie?
Diificult to comment on something when you don't have a driveable E30, eh?

fair enough”¦im not sure about the overheating, when i first got it the clutch fan wasnt engaging so being a newbie i took it to an e30 "specialist" who preceded to put a fan clutch that didnt fit my fan which in turn rubbed against a coolant hose putting a hole in it. i ordered the right part fitted it myself and changed the hose, all was well. a few weeks after the alternator belt ripped which for some reason caused it to start overheating again, since then its been touch and go some times she runs perfectly no overheating atall and on other days shell get very hot for no reason...

Hey tips - sent you a PM

Who was the E30 specialist?

The reason why it overheated when the alternator belt snapped was because it also drives the water pump.

Polly bushes are fine in roll bars but I'd stick to rubber for everything else on a road car.

Does the engine overheat when stationary or on the move?

It overheats more when stationary..it cools down when revved in neutral...

...

Not the first time people have had a bad experience with them.

Sounds like it could be an air lock.

Has it had any work to the cooling system other than the visocus fan?

tips wrote:Juste30z

They really are a bunch of crooks ain't they.. Seem to be a fb zone favourite though for some reason.

Love the car btw.. it's gorgeous and those bottle tops really suit imo

Gloss black with green tintz is a good look, even on a quattroporte

Poly diff bush = snapped diff cover if lots of c0ck action ensues

I am certain there will be plenty of other issues on the car where your money will be better spent.

I likey, I likey a lot!

Cheers guys

Although there is a lot of service history there are massive gaps. The timing belt and headgasket were replaced around 5 years ago at 67,000, no mention of water pump..either way just to be on the safe side I got a timing belt kit with a water pump and new thermostat, gonna replace all over the next few days bleed it properly and see if this helps.

Any interior shots?

Mitchen wrote:Any interior shots?

not just yet..ill try get some up tomorow, its got that dark grey houndstooth cloth which is pretty much pristine one of the things that drew me to the car...

btw loving the avatar

tips wrote:

Mitchen wrote:Any interior shots?

btw loving the avatar

Good man!!

Very Nice Car

some interior shots