E30 Zone

Looking at one tomorrow for a motorway cruiser for work while the E30 s/c and engine swap/rebuild and other stuff gets done.

Anything to seriously watch for? I'm not worried about minor rust spots or flaky paint etc. Just major stuff the if the engine does xyz then run a mile.

I know less than fuck all about diesels

they are apparently not that economical and if the diesel pump goes pete tong then it's a messy and expensive job, i.e about a grand to fix.

Probably better with an E36 318i for less hassle and probably the same MPG

Derv is remarkably expensive at the moment,tends to cancel out the economy saving.If you are covering big miles LPG seems to be the way to go.

How would I know anything about the pump. Do the make noise, I presume they're internal to the engine, very high pressure?

LPG not an option atm, it will be fitted to the iS in due course though

Generaly diesel pumps are external,they are a bit more complex than your ordinary fuel pump as they meter fuel as well as lifting it from the tank.I would imagine that it is the metering bit that fails...dunno what the symptioms are but if the turd belches black smoke walk away...

As above. If it goes wrong you will have to throw it away.

Ive driven a few and they are also very slow.

well - i picked it up for 450 in the end.

no smoke, drives great. paint is fucked, suspect that it needs new glow plugs as it takes a few seconds of cranking to fire up.

it's a dog to be sure but it will do for a few months while I tidy up the iS -- it's so quiet on the motorway too.

It's coming to france with me next week so we'll see how it goes. AA cover will be taken out.

Expect the paint finish will not worry you but travel cover for any trip 'over the water' is a must have.Good luck...

Cheers malc.

Regarding the cranking to start the thing,bear in mind that diesel flashes at around 50c,compared to motor spirit at around -30c,so until compression has warmed the stuff it will not burn...a nice big battery would be a good idea.

It's got a 70amp on atm I think. Book recommends 85 so that's prime candidate for changing. Probably cheaper than glow plugs.

Plugs are £5 each from euro, same as Omega 2.5 and Rangerover

oh wow - didn't realise they're so cheap. Might slap a set in anyway if I carry on having problems.

get a 90amp bettery then you can crank it over and drive it in second gear off the starter!

lol. nice one Si.

I'm surprised I've not been berated for getting an e36, especially a diesel! lol.

It is my first 6pot though

How you finding it on fuel, i'm tempted to get one also.

not too good so far but I have been hammering it. I bought it with just under quarter tank and did 80odd miles then it was down to just above the bottom of the orange light. I don't know where the reserve begins and ends on the fuel gauge on the E36s but it's a 62l tank with 8l reserve. I've just put a tenner in (7.5l) so I'm gonna see how it goes on light cruising.

I'd get an insurance quote before buying if I were you. I got raped

A great BMW an amazing engine which was used in the p38 range rover and vauxhall omega; Mine drifts full roundabouts in wet; lots of tourque to play with; runs well on bio-diesel too at a £1 a litre. Any one fancy full diesel running gear for a e30 diesel 325 tds conversion????

My advice is to go your local motor factors and get some "Revite diesel". You put Revite it in your fuel tank when you have less than a quarter of a tank of diesel and it cleans all of your fuel system including your injectors. Your car will probably smoke a little at first but this is the junk coming out of your fuel system. After 100 or so miles you will notice that your car will be noticeably quicker and your mpg will also improove. I use it with every diesel car that I but and it can make a fantastic difference particularly with high mileage cars. It costs around £6.50 per bottle so it pays for itself quickly to. There are many more expensive alternatives but this is the one that the motor trade uses and trusts. I introduced my local taxi company to it and they claim that they have saved £10k per year on fuel taking into account the fuel price increases

jprcelite - you're obviously a shareholder...

nope just think its a great product

fair enough

I've bought some redex from ebay - i don't expect much improvement but for less than a tenner delivered it's worth a punt.

Anybody know if these are chipable?

don't do it, it's asking for trouble. They aren't like new engines anymore.

Ash fear not i'm driving a 316i M40 e36 now. it's only good feature are 433 miles to a tank today. Red light just came on but if 8 litres is the reserve i could of managed a 450 miles plus easy! and at least it's a bm.

37mpg is saving me pennies and the car cost £140

Yeah fair point about the chip. It would be funny though

First thing on the list is to replace the frayed 4v belt with the proper 5v one couldn't believe it when I saw that!

hahahahahahaha!

derv burning loser

Hey Neil, at least it's a 6pot

hoshy wrote:Hey Neil, at least it's a 6pot

aye, maybe in name

Hoshy,

My daily share car is a e36 325td, my mate gets 40+mpgs and it rides great.

Make sure you have the bosch fuel pump, it's the daddy, it'll do all the "alternative" fuels

These TD lumps are self fueling so you just need to wind up the boost some more and keep an eye on the AFRS, something YOU could do with your many talents.

IIRC the TD can be tuned to about 160bhp and the TDS over 200bhp but not many about running that all day.

I wound up a Ford escort TD the other day for a mate, it wouldn't go over 95mph beforehand, now sees 110+!

Fozz

How many miles has it done? My mates is 183,000 so far......

Nice one Mark. When I've had my wicked way with it I think it's got to be worth winding up some. Fortunately it is the intercooled "s"

Mine is on 188 atm

You know where I can find info on this engine? I've tried some googles but ot turned up much.

Hoshy,

Does the car have trouble starting when warm??

If so there is a mod required to go in the fuel line for about £10

Cheers Paul - I don't think it has much of a problem but not had it long. Can I identify if the mod has been put in visually?

Hi Paul - I noticed today that it is definately harder to start when warm than cool/cold

Does anybody know if these are fitted with a torsen diff? I noticed that if I turn the rear wheels softly then it seems like an open diff but if I turn one wheel faster the other wheel stays dead still. Never seen a diff do that before