MOT Time! PASSED!

[Gavla]

So I have sent the old girl in for her MOT...

I am hoping that I will get lucky like last year.

But to be fair she will be 28 years old in August so I guess having to fix a few bits and bobs can be expected.

I just hope I do not have to replace the exhaust, as I have decided that buying anything other than original is a false economy.

[rix313]

I need to do the same tbh

[Gavla]

Well I am stunned, the old girl passed her MOT for a second year in a row!

For a 28 year old daily driver I reckon that is pretty impressive...

3 advisories, nothing serious I hope;

1. Mid exhaust leak, quick fix and it should last another 6 months but then it will definitely be time to fit a new one

2. Tie rods have a bit of play will sort this out, anything else I should check / replace while doing this?

3. Oil leak - aaargh, will have the engine steam cleaned and try and figure where and why, hopefully nothing too serious, any advice on where to be looking...

Other than that I look forward to many more years of happy E30 motoring

[mcbonio]

Good work Gavla, my 325i cab failed only on a split track rod boot, and my e46 330ci sport failed on a snapped wheel nut.! So not too bad this year round.

[darkchild]

Congrats!

Mine passed with no advisories back in January which was nice. I too was a bit worried about my exhaust as I thought it had a slight leak from the back box where the bracket is fitted but it sailed through. I'll be fitting a new OE system later this year which should be good for another 20 years.

[G-Bear]

Good news. So you're going to for a dealer exhaust when you do? That's was a good price you had the other day I thought.

As for oil leaks. Get some degreaser up around the sump block and head, get it nice and clean and keep an eye out for leaks. Places to check;

Sump gasket.
Head gasket.
Crank seal.
There's a seal at the back behind the flywheel I think but I don't know 100%.
Cam seal.
'D' seals on the head x4.
Rover cover gasket.
Oil filter housing gasket.

I'm sure I've missed some..

[Gavla]

Thanks for the advice on finding the oil leak G-Bear...

Yeah, I might as well bite the bullet with an oem exhaust, will probably do this when I need to fix the oil leak and I also have to double check the history as I believe I may need to do the cambelt soon...

So, although it has passed its MOT, I still need to spend some serious cash on her

[G-Bear]

I'd get the cam belt done as a rest assure..

If you're doing it yourself (its not that hard, just read loads and take your time if you haven't done it before) its a good time for a service too. As most of the ancillaries at the front of the engine have to come off to get to the belt as does the engines coolant..

As a start, I would get a new..

Timing belt kit with tensioner.
Spring for the belt tensioner (they're cheap from the dealer), this and the pin inside the spring may well be missing.
Water pump.

Whilst there inspect the state of the rotor arm and distributer and replace if needs be.

Flush the radiator and hoses.

Whilst thats all off you can check round the cam seal and 'D' seals on the head for leaks. There's no harm just changing these seals whilst everything is off, again not big money from the dealer. The 'd' seals are easy, cam seal isn't too hard but takes a bit more time.

Once you're all done check the state of the auxiliary belts as they'll be off too.

New rocker cover gasket (dealer)
Oil
Oil filter (dealer)
Plugs
Air filter panel (again will probably be off the engine for better access)
fuel filter

..and you'll be on your way to having major parts of your engine (mainly) serviced.

If you replaced all of that, buying the bits otherwise stated from CP4L. I would say it would cost £150 £200 max.

[G-Bear]

oh and new coolant of course