318is I bought two days ago, need advice please

[Brianmoooore]

Looks like you've posted at exactly the same time as me. See my last post above.

Those aren't original leads, so definitely replace them with the genuine item.

The diagnostics on an iS are marginally better than on most E30s, but still give little or no information that any mechanic worth the title wouldn't work oput by more conventional means.

Stick with it, and I guarantee we'll get it sorted.

As you say, the fuel filter could well be full of muck, so you could replace it anyway - it's a service item after all. It's in the back left corner of the engine compartment, low down.

[Diabhalta]

Can I just take the fuel filter apart or is it pressurised?

Re head gasket failure. Wouldn't there be a difference in the colour of the spark plugs? The coolant is clean so is the oil. The temperature never changes, goes very slightly up when sitting in heavy traffic. When I started the car after leaving it cool down for 20 minutes (after I almost got stuck on a busy carriageway) it ran ok again (I mean like usual struggle to go into higher revs and around 2000rpm it was going smoothly, then again around 5000rpm twitching like losing a cylinder) ... I used to have similar problem on Scimitar and after the mechanic set the ignition timing and did some fine tuning on the carb the problem dissapeared. So it could be a fuel delivery problem (as mentioned by willnz).

[Brianmoooore]

Fuel filter is a sealed canister. It will be under pressure, and the usual way to get rid of this is to start the engine, then pull out the fuel pump fuse, #11. After a short while the engine will die.
Switch off the ignition and replace the fuse, then you can remove the filter. There will still be some fuel leakage from the pipes and filter itself, but it won't be under pressure.
I agree that it doesn't look like coolant is getting into a cylinder, because the plugs all look identical.

[motormanmick]

Those plugs don't look very old, from picture, the 3 plugs from right, the ceramic has a browning to half way down although slight, the one on the left, to me appears cleaner to the top of the ceramic area, a better pic would be good. It's just the symptoms so close match mine on the e34 and I drove it around for a couple of months before it went big time.

My mechanic was motorsport trained and he explained how my head gasket went, he said the first perforation through the gasket was no more than pin width when it started and sometimes would seep coolant, sometime not, it was dependent on coolant system pressure.

It is cheap insurance to do those 2 pressure tests, then if they are ok, move on.

I don't know any history of the care and I don't want to say anything unkind of the previous owner, but you can hide some problems when you put a car up for sale.

Sorry if I'm anal, but it's a check I would do.

[Diabhalta]

I think the head gasket is ok. Didn't have a look at the fuel filter, because the wind is strong today and the bonnet kept falling on my head. There supposed to be some proper bonnet stay installed on the car in the factory, definitely a thumb down for german engineers. As a bonus I broke that clip on the fuse box cover (it was just matter of time, I knew it is going to happen sooner or later) and also the camera fell off the car onto the ground and broke. Really bad day today. I am not driving the E30 now until the problem with misfiring is sorted. My Scimitar is a daily driver now.

right to left spark plug number one to four (front to back where front is closer to the radiator)









different angle









ign. leads



First ign. lead



no signs of oil



no signs of water

[Diabhalta]

Crash helmet, raincoat and a head lamp ... worst time of the year to work on a car ffs

[motormanmick]

Bonnet dropping on your head problem could be part 22 in link below, they can loose pressure, good pictures of the plugs and the other lads are correct, they look ok and very lean. Your tenacity is a credit to you, keep up the good work.

http://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/showpar ... Id=41_0455

[Diabhalta]

I wanted to take apart the fuel filter today, but because my Scimitar recently overheated a bit and started giving trouble (despite some work done on the car) I focused on it instead of E30. E30 isn't at the moment a car that is 100% reliable so I will have a look next time the weather will allow me.

Now... I took some pictures when I took the car to the mechanic more than a week ago so I will post them. If you will see something I don't please let me know.

Fuel filler neck - some quick fix has been done apparently. I will get a replacement in about 2 weeks time and install it as soon as possible (with front wheel bearings).



I didn't take a better picture of the tank, but it looks rough (as you can see), so will have to be replaced eventually.



Tank strap mounting



Is this an LSD diff? has a bit of leak. In 2nd gear on wet road the rear of the car was dancing a bit (I was going flat out of course)... It didn't feel like driving a car with open diff (like Scimitar).



These bushings need to be replaced obviously



Fuel lines ok, this is the worst part



This obviously needs to be welded. What is that thing above it? The other side is ok.



Moving to the front, an exhaust that looks quite bad.



Wishbone bushings and ball joints need to be replaced



Well... this is stupid.



Not sure now if it's the rocker cover gasket or oil sump gasket, but the oil is leaking a bit from somewhere. Nice to see the oil sump intact and without any damage.



---

Not bad overall, couple of hundred of euros will fix the problems. Bushings and balljoints with wheel bearings are easy to replace in a workshop... some welding need to be done.

[Diabhalta]

I guess I am not taking apart the fuel filter... I put it back and the car seems to run better. Will take it for a spin now.





this hose will have to be replaced sooner or later. I am lucky to have a friend in a hose shop



what's this?

[Diabhalta]

Car runs better but it's still not 100%. New fuel filter is around 23 euro but fitting a new one when the filler neck is rusty and tank is full of rusty debris isn't a good idea. Wasted money basically.

I think I will get a new tank (180 euro on ebay) and fit it as soon as the weather gets better. In january I will replace the wheel bearings and the filler neck in the garage.

[Diabhalta]

How about adding this fuel filter under the existing one? I have one spare in the shed. I would like to see how bad it is re the rusty pieces in the tank.

[Diabhalta]

Oh yeah, I completely forgot about that. Oops

[motormanmick]

Diff should have a tag held on by one of the rear bolts, tag will have the diff ratio on it ie 4.1, if it's an LSD there will be an "S" stamped as well, also there may be an "S" painted on the case.

Sometimes the tag is missing, so if you lift one rear wheel off the ground and try to turn it by hand and very hard to turn, it's LSD or someone has welded it.

For a certainty, remove rear cover and inspect.

[Diabhalta]

Ok guys, I removed the ignition leads and measured them. All of them are 3.27 ohms and the one with tape around the end is 3.16 ohms. Now after I put the leads back the car runs waaay better. It pulls smoothly like it should. It's still not 100% but it is definitely better than before, so I presume the ignition leads are faulty (engine shakes a bit, then there is no spark because of the bad lead and that's pretty much it). It takes a while to start the engine, 10 seconds cranking and then it fires up, sometimes it starts after 2nd/3rd try.

[pianist]

Did anyone suggested to check vacuum leak? Cracked air intake pipe can cause lean running, or even the AFM it self might be at fault.
If I'm repeating someone else my apology

[Diabhalta]

Victory! It took a while but at the end I managed to replace that wiper motor. The wipers go down slightly a bit before going up. I presume the wiper linkage is too worn (slight play at joints?)

[Brianmoooore]

If the blades go down before going up, you probably have the crank on the motor shaft a spline out.

[Diabhalta]

Guys, which injectors are better (or: is the other set ok for 318is?)

http://www.ebay.ie/itm/BMW-E30-318iS-E3 ... SwjVVVjUyK

or

http://www.ebay.ie/itm/BMW-E30-318iS-E3 ... Swj0NUb~qI

the seller says about the upgraded set:

You can also use a better ( and cheaper ) set in my other listing which is Bosch 0280150566
They are a bit more modern disc type with 4 hole discharge orifice with better atomization but the same flow
as originals.

---

I replaced the ignition leads and the car still runs bad. I am 100% sure the injectors are clogged. Another option is to buy a repair kit (filters, o-rings etc.). Unfortunately I can't find any set on ebay.

One fella on e30tech.com forum did it like this (seems to be like the best option, and cheapest of course):

http://www.e30tech.com/forum/showthread.php?t=85631

I am planning to get a new petrol tank, new fuel filter as well so the whole fuel system will be replaced.

[Diabhalta]

Postage there, postage back. It definitely won't cost 10 quid a piece so the price would be somewhere between 80-100 euro. That's a cost of those sets on ebay.

I mean, I can just get that rebuild kit and do it myself. I think I have a spare toothbrush somewhere...

[aimlessrock]

Postage there, postage back. It definitely won't cost 10 quid a piece so the price would be somewhere between 80-100 euro. That's a cost of those sets on ebay.

I mean, I can just get that rebuild kit and do it myself. I think I have a spare toothbrush somewhere...

its not just the overhaul , injectortune will also balance them

That stuff on ebay could be fine, but why bother taking the risk when you could have oem injectors properly overhauled and balanced by a known professional (most zoners have used this trader at one time or another) for about the same cost.

[Diabhalta]

I think the ebay fella did the same job with those injectors. Thorough cleaning, balancing. He has the stufor it as I can see on his youtube video.

The upgraded ones, or the standard ones so? I think it doesn't matter if I pay 100 euro on ebay, or have them rebuilt for the same price. Difference is I will have a spare set if I get a rebuilt one.

[Diabhalta]

The whole time it was one of the ignition coils. 2 weeks ago I replaced 3x ball joimts, both front wheel bearings and a thermostat so the engine is running at correct temperature.



Car broke down today. No petrol going into the engine. Engine cranking but nothing was happening. Spark plugs were dry so I removed the hose from the fuel filter. Filter was full but there wasn't much petrol in the hose (top hose above the filter). After a while I gave up, there wasn't anything happening so called a tow truck.





I had a quick look under the rear seats and there is one pump behind the driver (RHD car) and then there's something else on the other side. The cover isn't oval but round. What is it?

Since I replaced the coil the car is running fine but still won't start when warm. Or very hard to start when warm. Also the car is quite thirsty. Could it be a faulty temp. sensor (not the one from the gauge)? Sending wrong signal to ECU and ECU thinks that the engine is cold and sending more petrol into the engine the whole time? I tried to check the signal at the ECU, but can't do it because the probes of the multimeter are too big and I can't stick them in . How to find a way around this? I didn't get to check the sensor itself because I have to start here before digging deeper.



I took the car for a late night spin a week ago and pushed it really hard for a while. Suddenly I lost power and when pushed pedal to the floor it started slowing down and when I kept my foot on the pedal it started jumping. So I had to change gear and drive with very light foot. Then I turned the engine off (while still going) and while in gear I started it again and it was running fine. Not sure what it is.

Thanks for all the tips, much appreciated. It always makes me feel good when I can answer somebody else questions so they know what is going on. When it comes to e30 I'm learning something every day even though I have the car for 4 months now.

Is the fuel pump identical with 316i/318i or even the bigger engines?

[Brianmoooore]

DO NOT under any circumstances try to push meter probes into any socket of this type of construction. Use short lengths of solid bare wire, of no greater diameter than the thickness of the pins on the ECU, pushed into the socket, and connect your meter probes to them.
Fuel pumps are the same across all facelift E30s, but the mounting frame for them comes in two versions. The one for 55 litre tanks has two pipe connections on the top, and the 62 litre version only has one.
Fuel pump is beneath the RH cover under the rear seat. Nothing under the LH cover on cars with 55 litre tanks. Second fuel level sender under this cover on cars with 62 litre tank.
Check your fuses are all the correct rating - I can see that the 7.5A fuel pump fuse (#11) has been replaced by a 15A one, and I think a couple of others are wrong as well.

[Diabhalta]

I got a piece of wire and pushed it in but nothing happened. I couldn't get any reading.

My tank is the 55 litre one. I will have a look tommorow and see myself.

Is there anywhere a diagram where it says which fuses should be where?

[Brianmoooore]

http://www.e30zone.net/e30zonewiki/index.php/Fuse_Box Some fuses probably won't be needed in your car, of course, depending on equipment fitted.

IF you're connecting to the correct pins, no reading means the wiring or sensor is open circuit.

[Diabhalta]

Removed the pump today. Checked it home connecting it to a car battery but nothing happened. Not pumping at all.



Is there any way how to clean this without removing the whole tank?



This is the bottom part of the pump, unfortunately can't buy this separate



Hose under the fuel filter looked like this so I replaced it



What should I do now? The pump itself costs 30-40 euro, the whole petrol pump unit is close to 200 euro (OEM is 700 euro). Should I get just the pump? I don't want to buy second hand because I might end up in the same situation again.

I can't see how to remove the pump. Is it there fixed permanently?

[Diabhalta]

This:

http://www.ebay.ie/itm/BMW-3-E30-318-is ... SwFnFV-R81

He says M42 engine but the OEM part number refers to a unit used in larger tanks (63L, not 55L). Or are the pumps same and the only difference is one or two pipes at the top of the unit?

[Brianmoooore]

Filter at the bottom just pulls out, and I don't think you get a new one with a replacement pump.
With that out of the way, you just flex the frame slightly, ease the bottom of the pump out of the cradle and pull it out of the connector piece at the top. Wires have to be unsoldered of course, and make sure you put them back the right way when you refit.
Pump will (would have) spring back into life if you tap it hard.
The incorrect fuse for the pump, fitted in the fuse box, may be an indication that the pump has jammed before. The stall current of a jammed pump is sufficient to blow the correct 7.5A fuse, but won't blow a 15A one, and the terminally stupid's answer to a blowing fuse is usually to fit a bigger one.

[Diabhalta]

Thanks, will have a look and fiddle with it a bit.

When I lifted the rear seats the lid wasn't on the pump at all (put aside) so apparently somebody was there before.

[Diabhalta]

How do I take this thing off? Impossible. I managed to damage it with pliers.