nick496

Just wondering if you ever completed the retrofit?

I'm gearing up to do the same to my touring. 

Just a heads up, the sump will suit an e30 swap. 

Figured I'd chime in here, seeing as I own both, and that's my E46 for sale.

I purchased that a few years ago for about 4k, and have spent over 3k on it.
From what I've seen, the M43 does have a few less hassles than the 6 cylinders, but if the rest of the car needs the same maintenance (shocks, bushings).
The fuel economy is definitely more, 2-3L depending on how you drive it, but it does have almost twice the power.

I also purchased an E30 for 5k a few years ago, spent close the 3k on it in maintenance parts on it, and would say it's gone up in value (mmm E30 tax)

Both have been reliable to drive.

I don't enjoy driving the E30 in the wet, so I'd take the E46 out instead for the points mentioned previous by Olaf.
But when the weather is good, it's E30 all the way. (My wife wasn't too impressed the other night when we went out in the E30 because it currently has no heater haha)

I haven't encountered anything yet that is significantly harder for the home mechanic to do on the E46 vs the E30. But the E46 has been a bit more annoying (Had a leaking oil filter housing unit, no it wasn't the gasket...), but would say the E46 is a better all-round car, but E30 is what I love.

But back on topic
You've take the advice, and looking to check out out physically for rust, as that will be the biggest issue with E30's. Everything else is pretty easy to spin a spanner on.
But depending on what your mate wants to do with it, could empty his wallet quickly (but that's more the point with project cars)

Bump. I'll take $2800.

AC Belt missing - Easy, but could mean that your AC has something else wrong with it
Dash back light - Easy, probably $5 to replace a couple of bulbs
Temp gauge fluctuating - Depends on what it goes to... because the main issue is if it's overheated at some point. But otherwise, its probably a $20 thermostat, or tightening the ground nut on the back of the cluster while you're replacing your dash light bulbs. 

The temp gauge is what I'd be concerned about, it depends on what exactly is going on with the needle and when.

Got a fresh wof today. 

Bump

Engine swapped in without too many issues, aside from me putting one of the mounts upside down. But figured that out pretty quick, and didn't manage to break any parts this time

Old engine colour

New engine colour

The dinosaur that my mate hid in the engine mount when I put the old engine in.

Have given it a few drives, and have a few issues.

This engine is giving me error code 212: VANOS Jammed. Have tested the solenoid, seems to work fine, and swapped to my previous solenoid also with no difference. So sounds like the Vanos needs the seals replacing?

Had this weird sound coming from the intake when the car was cold, which I found was the CCV that I had replaced about 4000km ago.
-Removed the oil cap
-Put a glove over it
-Glove almost got fully sucked in :/
I take it that this is not normal and the CCV needs replacing? I performed the test with an old CCV I had, and the glove gets pulled in, but not like it's going to actually disappear into the valve cover.

While replacing the CCV, I noticed some milky sludge on the end of the tube leading into the dipstick return, and also at the end of the line connecting the valve cover to the CCV. Nothing under the oil cap, and the oil looked pretty clear in the sump.

And lastly, getting some smoke out the rear of the exhaust, but mostly when I'm at WoT
This was taken with the engine warmed up, reving and holding at about 5.5k rpm
https://goo.gl/photos/o2XkymTnD1LzoU3VA

Just wondering what everyone's thoughts are before I start jumping to too many conclusions.

And time for a quick update.

Replaced the fuse box.

Old:

New:

Jumble of wires:

Wasn't too bad, just labeled and de-pinned them, the popped the tabs back out and re-inserted them all. Did it over a weekend (but would be an all day type job)
Just a quick pro-tip, make sure the labels are firmly attached to the wires when you label them. I had a few fall off, so had to get the old wiring diagrams out.

Haven't blown a fuse so far, and now my windows work with the door open as designed.
 

Did a compression test on the M52, and it's down a bit on the rear 2 cylinders. As it's burning through probably 500ml of oil every 1000km, it's time to swap in another engine that I picked up reasonably cheap.
It's pretty much a year ago I started swapping in the current one, though this one looks to be in much better shape (no sludge built up in the head), and should be complete over the weekend. 

Want this gone. 3k takes it away.

Most likely, if your indicators flash when you lock/unlock your car. 

Your next step would be to see if all of your interior lights actually turn off when they are supposed to. Otherwise check your aftermarket head unit wiring. You should be fine without fuse 21 and 28. 

This will help

http://www.e30zone.net/e30zonewiki/index.php/Fuse_Box

But suspect your stuck aerial will be the best place to start. Unplug it (at the boot end) 

Dropped the price a little. Bump.

The rear bumper is faded compared to the rear of the car. And I've only just noticed that is also has some clear coat bubbling. 

The only clear coat peeling is on the plastic bit above the boot latch. I'll check tomorrow, but I don't believe there is any paint fade. 

Hi Olaf, replaced with Munroe ones.

Bump

I split my sunroof into its 2 pieces, saw all the rust hidden between. Then got them acid dipped and repainted before putting back together. 

Have my wife's E46 for sale. $2800 for bimmersporters.

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=1265817281

Auto sedan, well looked after.

I've had it for over 2 years, and replaced:
-Radiator, 
-Thermostat 
-New shocks all round 
-Front lower control arms 
-Oil filter housing gasket 
-AC leak fixed and regassed 
-Transmission fluid and filter replaced. 

Basically everything that needs replacing in a 200,000km+ E46

Has a small dent on the rear guard

Any update on this?

For comparison, I put an M52B28 into my E30. That cost me around $5k.
The cost of the engine + loom was around $300, which wasn't the bulk of the cost.
I managed to get an appropriate gearbox by swapping mine, so the cost was mostly seals + sump + mounts + exhaust work + cert.

So depending on what kind of E30 you start with, you'd be looking at the additional cost of
-Engine
-Gearbox
-Driveshaft
-Diff
-Coilovers? (If you're wanting to put those in, that would be the time to do it)

And that will give you a ballpark figure to add on an extra 1-2k for things to go wrong.

That's why I moved back to Hamilton from Auckland. Currently bike 5.5km to work, takes 17 minutes. If I'm lazy I get the wife to drop me in, drive takes about 12minutes.

Barina parts negated the need to do anything to the rear exhaust manifold.

I used the factory m20b20 selector/carrier rods. The difference being I snapped one of them. 

You'll need to take it to an engineering shop who can shave 6mm off, flywheel skimming is more like 0.006mm off.

Pilot bearing should match the input shaft diameter of your gearbox. Which is different between the getrag 240 vs 260. You'll need the getrag 240 one. Excedy should be able to sort one for you for under $10 locally. 

I've just got a stock Sachs clutch. Feel is as you'd expect, light. Doesn't take much travel on the pedal to engage. 

I used the M20 one that came with my clutch kit.