m40 noisey tappets and sluggish?

[benurminge]

Hi guys I recently got my bmw m40 1.8 touring on the road before xmas, after being sat around for years I had a few problems which is fair enough, rear brake issues locking up up after handbrake was taking off, pin which holds in the shoes was half out! Also changed rear discs and pads. Brakes feel great now. Engine ran horrible and cold, new thermostat, new throttle body with tps and a icv clean up it now runs lovely!!!! Idling properly and getting up to temp.

It has always been tappety since I brought it with 145k on the clock. I done very basic servicing on the engine. Oil, filters, plugs, cleaned up dizzy and rotar etc. The tappeting is practically non exsistant now especially when its hot. But if I go for a short run then turn it off then next time I use it from cold anything over 1500rpm it comes back untill it reaches temp.
I know there about £8 a tappet and I would need 8?? But Im wondering how hard actually is it to change them myself? And is it worth it? will it actually bring back any performance?

perfomance... leading onto my next question. I had a 1.3 mk2 golf which sat stupidly low as my daily before on its original carb with 120k on the clock. It was really nippy and fun to drive! It felt fast because you felt every bump on the road like a go kart, my dad tells me I will have to be sensible in this bmw as its rear wheel drive with alot more power blah blah. I know it's only a 4 pot bmw but it really dont feel very quick. How quick should my m40 touring feel? I know the car is alot bigger and i havnt lowered it yet but it just doesnt even feel quick. not that I wanna drive like a twat anywhere but I do like
to test what my new car is capable of etc etc when I first get it on the road. I have taken it out in the rain on a private road and floored it in 1st and I cant even break traction. Should a standard m40 engine break traction? I did buy decent recommended tyres... I can feel it picking up speed quicker when doing more then 70 but I wouldn't say it feels much quicker then my golf did up to 60. ! Maybe feels is the key word in that sentence! Im not sure...
maybe someone with a m40 should drive mine to compare? Do you really have to red line every gear for it to pick up?

Also are there any south England meets anytime soon?

Please genuine help, any unuseful opinions please keep to yourself. Cheers guys.

[JF008]

I had a 1.8l m40 and it was noisy all the time! I would not say it was fast by any mean but once I had some momentum I could have a bit of fun with it. The handling is good on the e30. Going down hill is the only way I could overtake an other car : )

I had an mk2 golf before my e30 as well I loved it although it was a bit of an old shed!

[Grrrmachine]

The M40 is not a great engine, and mated to the heaviest body shell the E30 ever saw, it's no wonder you think the car is slow. Don't worry, if you're planning on lowering it you have all the joys of making the car drive even worse than it does now, so enjoy its current condition while it lasts.

As far as the tapping goes, it may be a good idea to take the rocker cover off and check the cam lobes for wear. The M40 is notorious for it:

http://www.e30zone.net/e30zonewiki/inde ... n_Problems

[singlezero]

My M40 was tappety when cold but ran ok (other than being really juicy). Having changed the cam, lifters, shims, stem seals and cleaned up the injectors along with the usual service parts it purrs like a kitty and fuel economy is vastly improved. Mines a 1.8 91' cab and performance wise it's about the same as a Mk 1 1.6 Ford Focus.

[benurminge]

Okay so that concludes it shouldn't be quick.
Il just leave the tappets, I want to put a 6 pot in it one day so no point spending to much on the un-desired m40 engine.
Cheers

[benurminge]

When you say really juicey I am getting 100miles out of 20£ which I am happy with as its the same as my 1.3 golf! What does yours do?

[singlezero]

It depends on how and where you're driving it, but that sounds alright. When I first got mine it was at least double that.

[JF008]

I would do 200 miles to the red line on the gauge with the m40, about the same with the 2.5l m50

[eric792]

ive got a m40 318i touring '92, the tappets are irritatingly noisey and performance wise was terrible but its a 21 year old car with 147k, i had 124mph out of mine granted it took about 4 million miles to get there, being a heavy car the acceleration really isnt great, i bought it from north yorkshire and first drive was over 500 miles down the country on one tank! £63.50 to fill the tank aswell lol, i lowered mine 60mm front and 40 mm back and it handles great so much fun round country lanes, and if its raining everynow and again the back will step out but to be honest never would when it was dry :/,
im now currently half way through putting a m20b25 lump into it, one of the easiest transplants to do apparenly,

[benurminge]

il have to fill it right up soon and compare. but my back end certainly never comes out! maybe its decent tyres, they were top rating in the wet. and yeah thats how much im going to lower mine by, to be honest even if it did make the handling worse I wouldn't care, a women can run in high heels but hell she looks good. that's my theory on cars too, as long as she looks good.

LOWER IT! arch gaps are criminal in my world but hey each to there own

[Brianmoooore]

The common M40 tappet noise is just that, and has a minimal effect on performance.
A M40 that has been well maintained and properly serviced should be giving the same power, performance and economy at 147k miles as it did when it left the factory.
These are properly designed and constructed engines, not some Ford or Vauxhall scrap.

[benurminge]

a women can run in high heels but hell she looks good.

meant to be CANT

and okay im sure its just down to it being a heavy car and not the most powerful e30 engine by far.