Well I Won't Be Participating For Awhile

#1

So my journey began when I decided I wanted to race an older car rather than my new E92 M3. I stumbled upon the Spec E30 site, and I said this is what I want to do. So I started checking the local craigslist for 325s. I didn’t find any locally, and then I found this thread:

http://spece30.com/component/option,com_kunena/Itemid,94/func,view/id,35884/catid,24/

Well I ended up paying $800 for it, and the only issues at the time were some leaking fuel line, bad shifter, and a weak brake pedal. What I should have noticed at the time was that it wasn’t the shifter that caused it only to be able to use 4th and 5th gear. We will get back to that later. Well I told myself I can fix all that stuff no problem. At least the engine ran and the car was moving when I bought it. Well what a mistake that was. In order to tow it home, I wanted to pull the driveshaft. Well in the process I discovered that of course the carrier bearing was destroyed and the flex disc was in bad shape. I was able to get the driveshaft out though, and I towed it home no problem. Then came the parts ordering:

Autosolutions shifter
Rebuilt driveshaft
AKG tranny and motor mounts
Flex disc
Exhaust bolts, gaskets, and hangers
Kosei K1s and some 205/50/15 Ecsta XS tires
Proform electric fan
Power steering delte kit
Upgraded driveshaft nuts and bolts
New rotors
Hawk HP Plus pads
Stainless steel brake lines

Well while waiting for the shifter to arrive I went ahead and performed the following:

Replaced all rubber fuel lines
Removed the exhaust
Removed the shifter
Removed the power steering
Removed the air conditioning
Installed AKG engine and tranny mounts
Removed the clutch fan
Added the electrical fan (which I haven’t seen come on yet)
Flushed cooling system
Changed engine oil

Well the shifter finally arrived yesterday, so I did the following:

Installed new shifter
Installed remanufactured driveshaft
Installed exhaust

Then came the moment of truth. I fired her up and after taking some time to repressurize the fuel system she came to life just as before. She idles okay, and I did notice that somehow the previous owner installed new spark plug wires without the #6 cylinder sensor hooked up so it isn’t running as good as it could, but at least it runs and there weren’t any leaks. Well I had already installed the shifter and it shifted into all 5 gears and reverse no problem with the engine off.

So now the engine is running I put it in first and let the clutch out and of course I get NOTHING. Put it in 2nd and release the clutch and NOTHING. Put it in third and start to release the clutch, and I hear possibly the worst sound in my life as it sounds like the transmission is destroying itself. Put it in fourth and give it some gas and release the clutch and the rear wheels turn just like when I bought it. So now after spending 2 straight days putting it back together I come to find out my transmission is ruined, and I have to redo all that work again.

So I am looking for some advice on the best course of action at this point. Right now I am thinking I will order a remanufactured transmission and replace the clutch and flywheel while I have it off. Then part of me says well since the tranny is ruined maybe I should just pull the whole engine and tranny out all at once and just rebuild the engine. So it looks like it will be awhile before I get to start my HPDEs and get to race with you guys. I am planning on coming out to Road Atlanta to see you guys race and take some pics.

#2

A reman transmission would be great, but a used transmission from a salvage yard would be cheaper. You can probably find a relatively low mileage engine & transmission for no more than $1000, if you want to go that route.

#3

jlevie wrote:

I’d do a compression test on the engine before I considered replacing or rebuilding it. There’s junkyards all over the place and folks parting out E30’s that will sell you a transmission for not a helova lot.

Be strong. It will all work out.

#4

King Tut - I ditto Ranger’s remarks. Hang in there. Remember with any 20 year old car, you are likely going to find a bit of a patch work quilt when you start to tear her down. In my case, I got to the first race after spending countless hours building the car and found out it had an e motor instead of i (read minus 50 hp). The good news is, when the cars are done, they are generally pretty reliable. Don’t let alot of there posts here frighten you. The cars are pretty bulletproof. Timing belts, oil and oil pressure are the keys. Good luck to you.

#5

The problem with a low mileage engine & transmission is I have to trust where they came from. I didn’t buy this car knowing it had a bad transmission, so how do I trust that when I put this used tranny and engine in that it will work. That is why I was leaning toward a remanufactured one since at least I know it will work and last me a long time. Does anyone know a good place to get one or can you even get one? Money isn’t really the issue for a good transmission. Any other advice?

#6

I don’t know where you are, but google “CR’s BMW Wholesale” and find out what a trans from him would cost. I’ve found him to be pretty fair to deal with. I would not spend ‘good’ money on an unknown trans from a mystery source. I would perhaps take a risk yanking one at a U-Pull-it for $75. You don’t mention how many miles are on your donor but these engines typically can do 200,000 with no drama and be reliably raced. If you still have paranoia pull the rod caps and have a look at the bearings. If they look good, leave it alone. If they are worn, replace them, maybe the rings, and have a valve job done on the head. I don’t think I’d do anything fancier than that unless you plan on running up front and need every ounce of power you can find.

#7

Not really sure how many miles it has. Odometer doesn’t work anymore and is stopped at 184,000 or so. I found a guy in North Georgia with a tranny for sale with 150,000 miles that he says was working perfectly. I’m hoping to get that one now.

#8

Here’s a guy in RI that wants $200 for his high mileage tranny. He’s not going to get that.

http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1246494

#9

Yeah he wants $175 plus shipping on R3V. That is my second option.

#10

Voice of doom: Are you sure you have an “i” motor…I don’t know if they will run without the sensor on the plug wire. Check the head casting and the motor number. On a 20 year old car, many thing can be changed. What year/model? Chuck

#11

I researched it on some of the forums and guys say the motor runs fine just not fully sequential fuel injection without the #6 inductive pickup hooked up. This only results in worse fuel mileage. I haven’t verified that I have an i motor, but I have nothing leading me to believe I don’t. What is the easiest way to tell? The car is a 1987 325is.

#12

Ok, first, the M20 motor does not have sequential FI…it uses a batch fire system, three injectors fire together then the other three.

You will find good info here and on Bimmerforums…the others not so much…too many kids.

The easiest way to check is intake manifold size…the “i” is about a quarter inch larger than the “e”, but you generally need them side by side to recognize the difference. You can look at the ports, also, but that requires disassembly. Chuck

#13

cwbaader wrote:

[quote]Ok, first, the M20 motor does not have sequential FI…it uses a batch fire system, three injectors fire together then the other three.
[/quote]

Yeah poor choice of words. What I meant was it fires all 6 at the same time apparantly instead of just three resulting in the worse gas mileage. I have a set of wires coming from Pelican Parts to correct that next weekend, and I am still trying to decide between a 250k mile transmission shipped to me UPS ground for $200 or a 150k mile transmission that I have to go pick up about 3 hours away for $250 next weekend.

#14

Understood…BTW, OEM wires…none better, period.

Trans, mine has something in excess of 25ok (speedo broken when I got car) and all I have done is replace oil yearly (ATF only) for the last 4 racing years. If you keep oil in them, it is almost impossible to hurt one. However, since you have a dead one, get the one from the person who gives you the best guarantee. Maybe you’ll only have to change once:laugh: Chuck

#15

I would still check the casting #'s on your head. This is cheap insurance and will only take about five minutes and one of your wife’s compacts (Channel works best :laugh:). The #'s are right underneath the intake runners. I was able to check mine using the aforementioned small mirror and a flashlight viewing from the passenger side of the car. If the last three #'s are 885, your in good shape. If they end in 200, you have an e motor. As we like to say 'round here, ask me how I know.

#16

I have a mirror on a stick I bought specifically for seeing the hole that the bitch pin goes throgh for the shift carrier. I will use that and check my casting when I get back from my business trip. I’m gonna go with the 150k mile tranny and pick it up on Saturday. I already have the fluid to change as soon as I get it put in.

#17

Picking up the tranny went fine today. Will remove the old one this week and order parts to replace. I did get some time to work on it today and did the following:

  1. Removed spark plug wires and plugs
  2. Did compression test all were between 164 and 180 psi
  3. Installed new spark plugs and realized that I couldn’t get the damn plug wires on the new OEM Bosch coppers
  4. Did research on the web and learned I needed to unscrew the caps on them to expose the threaded shaft
  5. Removed the plugs and unscrewed all the caps
  6. Installed the new plug wires
  7. Replaced my radiator coolant temp sensor, my new electric fan finally kicked on and off to keep the car nice and cool

The one interesting thing I did notice today was about my brake issue. I definitely have a soft pedal and I found out today that if I keep pushing the brake pedal in and out that the idle starts raising up. I was wondering if anyone knew what this means.

#18

Figured I would update my progress. I have been doing improvements to the house and my M3 instead of working on the E30 the past couple weeks. I do have everything out except for one of the tranny/starter bolts and one of the top torx head bolts. I am using the Craftsman torx bolt head sockets, swivel joint, lots of extentions, 3/8" to 1/2" adapter, and my 1/2" breaker bar. It has been a struggle to get almost every bolt broken loose including breaking both my swivel joint and 3/8" to 1/2" adapter. I will be attacking the last 2 bolts this weekend, and hopefully get the tranny out without any more problems. Hopefully I can find a place to re-surface the flywheel and get everything bolted back up as well.

#19

Okay time for another update. I finally got to drive my E30 yesterday after completing almost 2 months of work. I got the used tranny in along with replacing the pilot bearing, rear main seal, throwout bearing, clutch, and slave cylinder. Bleeding the slave cylinder took along time, but after some research on e30tech I finally found a method that worked. I believe part of my issue was not making sure the resivoir was completely full and above the niple on the side that the clutch line is on. All the gears work in the used tranny, and it drove fine other than a scary brake pedal which I was already aware of. The only issue from the install is I didn’t get a good seal where the rear main seal holder and the oil pan meet so I have a slow leak from the oil pan. My car doesn’t currently have an oil pan gasket, so I plan to drop the pan and install one which should fix that leak. Then I have all new brake parts which hopefully will fix the weak pedal or I guess I will need a new master cylinder.

#20

A change in engine speed when you press hard on the brake could mean that you have a dying brake booster. If you are going to replace the master cylinder (a good idea if original) pull the booster and see if there’s fluid in it. If there is replace the booster. Brake fluid will kill the diaphragm, if it hasn’t already.