BLACK DORIS

cheers greg, brent. Wasn't the workshop that had mentioned the idling temp rise being normal - was a friend and BS member! All gd. Yeah, an actual bmw workshop could be the go. Would be keen to help/learn some e30 diy skills from site members in the welly area... Def need the fan replacing. Is there a site sponsor that stocks these? Or does anyone know of a good place in welly area to source part? Oh, and the water pump - anyone know the correct one off the top of their head and aprox cost? -Apologies bein a bit lazy here!! Will google and check bently later tonight. Any other thoughts on the rodding suggestion? Or should I try the fan first? I don't mind having both done (as suggested by mechanic) if it means protecting engine.

Lol, that's the strange thing - I'm not entirely certain but I'm sure its a replacement... at least it doesn't look 20yrs old. Will email the guy I bought car off and double check (i've owned the car for 2 1/2 weeks!). Had thought about a new one, since they've suggested getting the current one 'roded' etc and (depending on cost of the rodding), would prob work out to be around similar price when you include cost of flushing etc! I'm keen to learn how to do the flushing etc myself but thought its prob good to have it done professionally/thoroughly this time and I can learn to do it for next time. cheers

Hey, couple of questions... ('87 PFL SA 325i-A ) 1. Had the car go in for a radiator flushing and coolant redo on Tues. Total cost, parts and labour - $290. Wanted to check that this was about right? Not fussed if it's a little high, just pleased to have it done. (Not certified bmw workshop btw) 2. Car was road tested and temp was fine while driven but did increase when left to idle. I was told that the e30's are prone to heating up if left idling so just wondering if that would be considered fairly normal? 3. The guys have suggested getting the radiator rodded(sp?) as this may clear any remaining shite, also the viscous fan is worn and requires replacement. They are pricing it up at the moment. Any idea of what an average price of both may be? 4. Coolant light reappeared today, so checked water level when it had cooled and found it was slightly under the max level indicator on res. There's no sign of any hose cracks etc as they're all fairly new replacements. I have however noticed a water/coolant leak this evening coming from somewhere under the car but it's impossible to tell with the large metal plate covering the bottom of the engine. Wondering if the radiator is still the cause of the leak as I just read on-line that water pump seals can break causing leaking. Any other thoughts or suggestions appreciated. Thanks in advance. Rio

^ cheers, yep is def before the hour but seems to be 10min before.

Lol - in the back of the touring... but still parked out the front of hers! lmao.

Congrats.

More often than not you'll find that beaches closed to the public are enforced by private owners -predominantly non Maori. I mean seriously, how many beaches have people been kicked off?? I'm guessing far less than the amount they've happily sun-bathed, fished, swam at etc. I'm sure members here would see no issue with a stolen, or misrepresented (i.e. sold with money owing, speeding tickets, without the actual owners knowledge) BMR being returned to its rightful owner, especially when it's undeniably proven in accordance with the law of this country. Sounds like an episode 'fair go' and would probably make for a great episode if you don't mind waiting 50, 70, hmm maybe a 100 years for an outcome!! I've seen threads here discussing the injustices of number plates, restrictions on mods, radar detectors, legislation rushed through without time or thought of the impact to other car owners etc. Imagine the issues facing a people trying to maintain international legal rights in their historic homeland, in the face of wide spread media/political fear mongering and general arrogance/ignorance- and I'm not talking about Gaza. We could all benefit from reading and learning more about our countries political/general history no matter what culture, religion, race or age we are. I agree with Bravo, we should get on with it - but we ought to try and understand how we/kiwi's got to this point in the first place. Maybe that's why this thread was started... Rio

^ will do, cheers.

Ok, apologies. Just realised what i thought was an obc is actually a ambient temp display and clock!! say no to crack

Cheers, will check obc again tomorrow. Had another look earlier and there is a display of sorts, just keeps doin a sort of reset flash every second or so... actually think the whole electrics need a bit of a looking at. Sorry, should have been more specific re fuel gauge -it's not jumping around, just reading slightly weird at initial start up. Seems to be quite sensitive to movement, car angle etc.lol.

there mite still be the rotary e30 on TM. now that's some funny sh*t.

Thanks Pacem, 2slow, Bravo! There is an obc but the display/input panel is not working properly, flickering some unreadable random nonsense... Bravo, whats the button to the left of the haz lights for? There are no symbols etc on it, but you can push it on or off although nothing seems to happen... As far as I'm aware the car is pretty stock, not sure what the after parts could/may be. Also, could the beeping be a fuel warning? The fuel guage seems to be a little erratic i.e. will read hi and/or low initially, even on flat driveway etc then even out to what i'm guessing is about the correct amount once you are driving. Will post some photos later this evening as there's also a couple of mysterious sensors on motor. cheers again rio

Cheers!! thanks max, will look after it til you return form oz.

Hey, Have had the car for about 9 days now - first beema, TBH it's the first car I've owned in 16 years . Took it for its first decent trip on w'end (welly to taumarunui, round trip), checked all bit and pieces oil, water, fluids, tyres etc before leaving. Around Otaki the coolant light came on but temp is staying just left of center. Pull over at next servo, let car cool a bit have a look and it's pretty dam brown and rusty looking shite in the plastic res thingameebob. Anyway, water level seemed to still be ok but added some extra and cautiously continued on. Light turned off and temp remained normal for rest of trip but coolant light did come back on a couple of times during trip and the w'end. Since returning to welly I have booked car in to have a flushing and system check. One new 'characteristic' that has just started happening is an intermittent 3 beeps which occurs when the car is moving or stationary - has no other warning light to indicate what it could be? Anyone have any idea what this is? Also does anyone have or know where I can get a manual for the '87 325iA? The seller did not have one when i purchased, although he did throw in a manual from a 320i of similar era which was ok for certain things. There are however a few mysterious things inside and outside the car that I can't seem to identify with this manual. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks in advance. Rio p.s. can't believe the handling of this car!! Was better than the 2006 toyo rental we had over xmas. EDIT: here's the pics of the sensor things and also what i think is a ground wire? The cable was pretty frayed so have taped for now, will replace in next day or two, you can also see the rust that's on top of the radiator... might be part of what was in the radiator res. Apart from what looks like surface stuff on top, it looks fairly new. Sensors came with nothing on/or plugged into them. Any ideas as to what should be attached to them? I've been reading the gospel according to RB but not up to that section yet, just want to read it from start to finish! You can also see in the other pic a little of the splash that occured after I checked the level of radiator res -had cooled but was still a bit hot! Well -hot enough to do a good impression of a thermal hot pool over the water res and part of the engine bay!

cool

^ cheers, will have it looked at properly. Have had no probs at mo but still only day 2...

Hey, finally have the car and everything is pretty good. SA '87 325i - auto:(. Had read in a prior thread that 96 (poss higher?) was a good fuel for the e30's. Previous owner had said he'd been running car on 91 during the high petrol prices and I'm thinking that the injection may need a clean. Have found a couple of tutorials on how to remove and clean injectors but wanting to put something through the fuel sytem til I/mechanic can look at them properly. Engine seems to be running fine but was told it can take a couple of times to start when hot, which I seem to remember from research can also be associated with injection? Have bought some wynns injector cleaner for now. Any other suggestions? p.s. hope everyones had a good holiday!

nice. will pm you in the new year. cheers

sick http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=3FQv_eAxp3c

agreed, unless they desrve a ticket i.e. stupid = danger to themselves and other road users.

Cheers JiB, CamB! Hope it's as good as it looks in the photo's! Did the total opp of all advice given -no pre-purchase, no test drive, hell couldn't even call til the deal was done! Was fixed price offer so no contact deets or time to get down there. In saying that, the seller assures me that it's in very tidy condition and has been very well maintained plus wife has not really been using it lately so it's surplus. I already feel the flames... Conversion will be a few months away but prob a good idea to start collecting the right bits and pieces in the meantime. JiB, how long can you hold onto that gearbox? I'll be back in the new year -round the 7th, can you hold onto it til around then? Wikd Rio

UPDATE... Bought it! Will do a proper update later as we wont have it til the new year once we get back to welly. Thanks to all those who offered advice. Manual conversion is on the cards once my lady gets confident with car, city driving etc. Have a few (loads) of other questions but will address them in appropriate areas. O for Awesome.

...object or the car! dam, -didnt you just get the bm? Stink.

Fair enough. That's the point of the question/s .

Not to hi-jack topic... (this may need moving?) Just noticed on the car jam report that the car had (apparently) dropped about 80k+ off odo in '98. When checking other listings have seen drops as well. Is this catagorically tampering or can repairs like an engine replacement, recon etc legitimately reduce the odo reading? - is there such a thing as legitimate lowering of odo reading!? How accurate are the reports?