Grey Thunder - 1990 e30 316i

[Olaf 3341]

On 9/15/2019 at 3:31 PM, Palazzo said:

Could you get the e36 cable out at Pickapart? I had a 540i battery in my e30 that was an easy fit.

Excellent idea!  I'll see what I can do.  I had a near miss last visit to pick-a-part involving wind, a bootlid (sans struts), and my fingers; the bruising subsided after 3 weeks.  Nearly prevented me from earning my livelihood, and I re-assessed some of the stuff I do.  I'll have a look after I've sorted the wheels.

 

[Palazzo 478]

On 9/20/2019 at 6:24 AM, Olaf said:

Excellent idea!  I'll see what I can do.  I had a near miss last visit to pick-a-part involving wind, a bootlid (sans struts), and my fingers; the bruising subsided after 3 weeks.  Nearly prevented me from earning my livelihood, and I re-assessed some of the stuff I do.  I'll have a look after I've sorted the wheels.

 

•  

Try dropping a Mazda 3 hatch on your toes.

 

[Olaf 3341]

ouch!

 

[Olaf 3341]

Date: 26 Sept 2019

Distance: 260348kms

Time for some more remedial maintenance.  Just over 60 days to e30 Mega Meet.

1.  Cooling System Refresh
Replaced thermostat housing, bolts, and bleed screw.  Drained cooling system, replaced all hoses & clips (except the top and bottom main hoses.  Flushed, filled with two bottles of fresh BMW Coolant & De-ionised water.  All clips genuine, almost all hoses genuine BMW, with the exception of 2 or 3 by Vaico.  I figured it was worthwhile to just go through and eliminate all of the 30-year old cooling hoses; why gamble my engine on a hose that could leave me stranded?

For those of you wondering, the M40 has a shitload of hoses.  And now all of mine - every single hose, clip, and O-ring - has been replaced, along with the thermostat and rad.  Only the heater matrix remains.  Fingers x'd.

What a hoser.  Yesterday.

 

2.  Rocker Cover Gasket
Replaced rocker cover gasket (Topran), including helicoil of one bolt hole in the head.  Jon had found this stripped a year ago, marked it, and we added to the 'list of things to do'.  New gasket will keep the engine cleaner.

3.  Clutch Slave Cylinder
Replaced clutch slave cylinder (Febi).  Seemed like a good idea, I figured it was probably an original. Flushed and cleaned, refilled and bled.  Jon said it was full of black sludge, needed plenty of flushing.  Clutch action is now much smoother and lighter.  Result!

4.  Throttle Body
While he had that out (access to cooling system), Jon cleaned throttle body, drilled a drain hole in throttle position sensor, reassembled.  It was very gunky.  Smoother idle.

Can't wait for a trip in it!  My thanks again to Jon & Keren at Auto38!

M40 Cooling hoses, yesterday  image borrowed from RealOEM

Edited September 26, 2019 by Olaf
spelling, pictures

[Olaf 3341]

So here's an update to the list (re-ordered), now I'm making progress.

SO: before e30 Mega Meet (in likely order):

1. Cooling System - replace all hoses and clips, new coolant (again). Thermostat housing.  Have all the hoses, clips, and coolant are waiting and ready to go.

2.  Rocker Cover Gasket

3.  Clutch Slave Cylinder

4. Wheels.  New hubcap badges have arrived, Paint is ready to go.  Just need time.

5.  Wind roar driver’s door

5a. Re-attach gutter trim, treat rust staining (Clips needed)

6.  Fuel Filler Pipes (perishing old rubber) - 14/10/19 Have filler flap trim, filler neck, and gas cap seal.

7.  Clutch Master Cylinder (Jon's recommendation) - 14/10/19 Have master cylinder and clutch line - ready to go.

8.  Cam Box Breather Hose (Jon's recommendation) -  Hmmmm! 

8a.  Intake Boot (precautionary) - 2/11/19 Have part (Ebay)

9.  Underhood insulation- 9/10/19 Have parts

10.  Align wiper arms.

11.  Horns (have parts, need to wire in).

11a) rear brake refresh - 9/10/19 Have some parts, more on order, trailing arms to come.

12.  Stereo - head, sub, and power, repaint parcel shelf and fit the premium speakers.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++ 

13.  Fog lights (need lights and switch) - 9/10/19 Have parts and new lenses.

14.  Cluster (refresh and tacho), analogue clock for Centre. - 9/10/19 have cluster, need analogue clock.

15.  Dashboard?  Repair?  Mat?

16.  Front iS lip.  Paint bumpers and mirrors body colour.

17.  xxxxxx now 11a) - brought up the order!

18.  Upholstery refresh (I've given up on finding e30 sport seats in need of refurb).

19.  Strut Brace, lower X-brace

20.  Small case 4.10 LSD - have 4.10 small case, now I need the LSD centre.

21.  15" basketweaves with 205's.

22.  Body and Paint

Edited November 2, 2019 by Olaf
- 2/11/19 parts update.

[zero 1162]

On 9/14/2019 at 2:29 PM, Neal said:

Speaker choice is a very personal thing and knowing your standards nothing really to add other than if I were to replace mine and one lotto I’d put Focal utopias into mine. With Angs CX-5 I’m looking to put https://stereointegrity.com/product/tm65-6-5-woofer/ and matching tweeter in. This brand is one guy who designs speakers with amazing mechanical abilities which punch well above there price tag and a few top end comp Hilfi cars are running these.

 

@NealI inquired about these and sadly they are discontinued and the replacements are some way away.

What else would you recommend for a 6.5 woofer?

[Olaf 3341]

On 10/16/2019 at 10:26 PM, zero said:

@NealI inquired about these and sadly they are discontinued and the replacements are some way away.

What else would you recommend for a 6.5 woofer?

There's a huge thread to read on R3vlimited, where a long-time installer maps out his good-value approach to great e30 sound.  He explains that for good tuneful bass, the driver must be light and stiff.  Specs for a 10" (as an example, for the box he was building and selling) are:

Hope that helps.

[Olaf 3341]

Days are counting down to e30 Mega Meet.  I've not been ticking many jobs off of my list of things to do!  So next weekend, I'll be doing the underhood foam, so needed appropriate supplies. Yesterday I collected:

• - PPE - gloves, possibly mask and goggles.
• - 5 litres of citrus oil-based degreaser
• - 5 litres of IPA.  
• - rags, plastic scrapers, rubbish bags, and a couple of old bedsheets as drop-cloths.  

Roll-on next weekend.

[Young Thrash Driver 1020]

10 hours ago, Olaf said:

 

• - 5 litres of IPA.  

Jeepers... Thirsty work, is it?

[nick496 269]

1 hour ago, Young Thrash Driver said:

Jeepers... Thirsty work, is it?

I knew I wouldn't be the only one. Next time get 5l of IPA Olaf. You might need it doing the rear end. 

[Olaf 3341]

Date: 12 Nov 2019

Distance: 260490kms

Simple stuff today.  Just over 2.5 weeks to e30 Mega Meet.

1.  Intake Boot Replacement
This wasn't strictly necessary.  I did it anyway, as I had the spare lying around.  Gave it a bit of a clean up, contemplated the underbonnet foam, wiped away some grit gathered through driving.  

Before...

 

Part number on display.

 

Afterward.  New boot installed, power steering and brake fluid reservoirs cleaned, respectively.

Note to self:  need pinch-clamp bolt for the Power Steering Reservoir.

In other news:  Crank Case Breather Hose is winging it's way from Germany.  It was like this:

"How's your German coming along, Sis?  I need an intake boot crank case breather hose, here's the part number.  Go visit your friendly BMW dealer for me?"

"Can do.  Don't worry about the money, it's your early christmas present.  At least it's something you want."
 

Tomorrow:  more work!

 

Edited November 12, 2019 by Olaf

[Olaf 3341]

In other news, these arrived yesterday... I'm almost ready for the brake refresh.

... though that’s after e30 mega meet.

Edited November 13, 2019 by Olaf

[Olaf 3341]

Update:  Wheels Part One.

More prep for e30 Mega Meet.  Again, I re-cement my respect and admiration for the spraypainting and panel-beating trades.  I'm refurbing my 14" basketweaves, in preparation for putting them on the car.

To be fair, it's probably "apprentices" who'd normally be assigned the tasking of scuffing/smoothing/filling/prepping old wheels... particularly something like Basket Weaves.  Still, following my blood with the old Scottish (Spike Milligan, actually) Proverb that 'money is flat, and meant to be piled up', I spent the day cleaning, scuffing, filling, smoothing four near-thirty year old rims.  I was looking for 'looks good from a few metres back', rather than 'near-perfect'.  I managed to clean up most of the light kerbing with my magical random-orbital sander (hello Bosch Blue) and a 120 grit oxide pad.  The rest I filled with Isopon Wheel Filler.  This sh*t is really good.  I bought the kit with sachets and all the stuff you need, reasoning I'm not filling wheels all the time, and who am I kidding - buying everything in a box makes sense.  It mixes well, has lots of metal in it, goes off like... (well, choose your own similie and I'll leave your mom out of this!), and sands and shapes well.

Spraypainter's Scotch-brite is a wonderful thing.  So too is white oxide paper.

Yes, my lilly-white office-worker hands have taken a beating.  At the end of the afternoon yesterday, I had this to consider:

 

Like the Beatles, only not scousers, not remotely musical... unless you consider they ring like bells. 

 

Four wheels cleaned and scuffed.  Anything remaining staining in the shadows should come out with the spirits, there's no dust there.  I'm glad I didn't forge ahead with primer last night.  In the light of day, I went over them with a spirit rag, and (as expected) I found a few minor spots on the spokes that I'd filled, but not smoothed.  I sorted those out, finished the wipe-down, and filled my water bath when the jug had boiled.  Yes, when painting from aerosols, I find a standing the cans in a hot-water bath ahead of shake-shake-shake, makes a huge difference to paint flow.  And your groove thing.

And now they're drying, ahead of primer.  And I have a wheel-spinner to make, a workshop to heat, and wheels to paint with two coats of silver and a coat of clear.  I'd better prep those waffles, too.

 

Etching in the suburbs

[Cammsport 391]

How'd you choose the colour? Have you managed to find a colour code for the original silver? Nice work.

[Olaf 3341]

I went to Union Hardware with a rim.  They gave me the sun lamp and a fan deck and warned me that looking at silver chips for too long would mentally blind me! "pick one that's close to what you're seeing".
I found one that looked good to me.  Code photo below.  Silvers are a real bitch to match, that's for sure.  Those spray-painters that do colour-matching by eye are Jedis!

Details of the paint that was mixed for me.

I'm not saying it's a correct paint or anything.  It's one I liked the look of.

@Cammsport

Right then, the etch has dried, I've fixed a couple of nicks, wiped it with Iso, time for me to shoot some primer.  And now it's late enough on a sunday, get the grinder out!

Edited November 18, 2019 by Olaf
added image for paint details.

[Olaf 3341]

I gave up on the wheel spinner.  Too much faffing around. I had spent time with my recipro-saw cutting my office chair down, got it to a reasonable place, and then figured I could waste another hour on woodwork and such - better off painting!  So I shot a coat of primer over them and let them dry, had some lunch.  I came out just in time for.... rain!

Primer Coat, relocated to workshop to dodge the rain.

 

These looked a bit average to start with...

 

then with prep, primer,

 

and a couple of coats of silver... they look better.

 

So I'm painting them in the alclove outside my workshop, one at a time, and returning them back to the 'bake' - an oil column electric heater in my workshop ?The first coat looks okay.  My hands are getting sore!

Edited November 17, 2019 by Olaf

[Olaf 3341]

Well, that's over.  

The two top coats of silver, 40 minutes apart, have gone on.  

Two coats of silver, and thirty minutes later...

And 30-odd minutes later, the clear coat went on.  I used U-Pol, the body shop said it's the best quality clear you can buy in a can.  It's pricey, but who am I to ignore their advice?  I'm now praying my workshop gets/stays warm enough with the heater on, to keep the clear from going cloudy.  

 

Wearing it's new coat of clear.

 

Tomorrow they'll get into the warmest/sunniest room in the house for a few days.  Mount on Friday perhaps?

Edited November 17, 2019 by Olaf

[Olaf 3341]

Date: 18 Nov 2019

Distance: 260530kms

More items off of the list today.  Less than 2 weeks to e30 Mega Meet.

1.  Wiper Arm Alignment
This had been bugging me since I bought the car, though there was always something more important.  With @Autoglym's help today, we re-aligned the wipers to sit lower.  Ahhh, much better.

Wipers parked, at last.

2.  Fuel Filler Inlet Cover and Fuel Cap Seal
Six weeks ago I noticed the fuel filler surround was perished.  I figured a new fuel cap seal and filler neck would be a wise precaution, thirty year old rubber and all.  The surround is fairly easy to replace.   If you're driving a 30-odd year old e30, it's worthwhile inspecting this, along with all of your fuel lines, and replacing any suspect parts.

Wet Rubber:  New Cap Seal (p/n 16111179680) and Fuel Filler Inlet Cover (p/n 51711884358)

 

The vortex of doom (aka where the $$$ go in)

 

Old and crusty, perishing blighter replaced by a younger more supple model.  Observe the deterioration, cracking, and areas where spilt fuel can run.

 

3.  MBL8 Additive in the engine oil
On start-up, I have noticed one noisy lifter since the last oil change.  Concensus was - particularly amongst those of us who don't go for additives at all - that MBL8 is the sh*t.  So I sourced some.  I dropped the oil, re-tightened the drain plug, restored 3 litres of oil, added 75mls of MBL8 to a remaining half litre and mixed it thoroughly, added to the car, and topped-off.  I then drove it for 30 mins.  Well, it's smoother!

I've decided to do another oil and filter next week, with MBL8, in light of the blackness in relatively fresh oil.  I figure the detergent is doing it's job, and having had a good run to Castlepoint and back shortly after it was last changed, it's cleaning out the oil galleries.

The additive recognised as not snake oil, yesterday.

 

4.  Other Stuff
I've been working on the wheel badges, and a friend kindly gave me one to replace the imposter.  Result!  I've been prepping the speakers and a later parcel shelf, for the forthcoming stereo install.

Next on the list:

• Underbonnet sound deadening replacement
• Tail light cluster seal replacement

Stay tuned!

Edited November 18, 2019 by Olaf
Photos, Part Numbers

[Cammsport 391]

Hey @Olaf... my 316i had the same ill-fated lifter noise and look what happened. Giz a yell when you need a hand ?

[Olaf 3341]

? yeah, my declared plan is M42, but I do have a good mate in my ear suggesting M50 or M52... I'm nearly at the end of my list, and wishing good fortune on this M40!

[Olaf 3341]

I've been industrious this evening while watching TV.  I popped that new badge into a repainted waffle, and it looked goooood.  So I separated the remaining old emblems from the badge backing plates, cleaned up the backing plates, and re-installed the badges into the waffles.  I'm liking it.  They look flash on the wheels, can't wait to get them on to the car.

 

Cleaned up, emblems removed.

 

Completed waffle, assembled badge, and backing plate awaiting emblem.

 

Edited November 18, 2019 by Olaf
updated images, re-developed

[Cammsport 391]

10 minutes ago, Olaf said:

? yeah, my declared plan is M42, but I do have a good mate in my ear suggesting M50 or M52... I'm nearly at the end of my list, and wishing good fortune on this M40!

Yea to be honest M42 is very is OEM+. I was on the fence for a very long time. Next time you're silly enough to come to Auckland, have a drive of my M52.

[Olaf 3341]

I'd like that, thanks.  Will give you a shout.  Andy had very kindly offered me a drive of his (as you know, it's all poly-d up and a slightly more serious/spartan part of the e30 continuum) before it went into storage, alas I couldn't make it.  Same goes, if you're in Welly, grab a drive.

Wait up, are ya coming to e30 Mega Meet? ?

[Olaf 3341]

Date: 20 Nov 2019

Distance: 260610kms

More items off of the list today.  Less than 2 weeks to e30 Mega Meet.

1.  Driver's door wind roar
Oooh, this has been somewhat annoying.  My sincere thanks to @Autoglym for working his magic with the errr rubber, and fixing the wind-roar.  I've not had it above 90 yet (peak traffic motorway etc), though noticed even at 60 it's much quieter.  Thank f#%k for that!  4 hours of it was a scary prospect. 

2.  Underbonnet foams
At last.  A couple of old bedsheets/duvet covers, gloves, plastic chisels, rags, IPA, and citrus degreaser.  A sharp knife, and of course your replacement foams.  And a good mate to while away the time, trying not to laugh to much with the fumes from IPA releasing old glue!  Thanks @Autoglym ?!

1.  Starting position.  Thirty year old foams looking rather dead.

 

2. Duvet drop sheet catching crusty old foam.  This is the easy part.

 

3.  What a mess

 

4.  We changed drop cloths, soaked the residue with the citrus degreaser, and scraped and wiped.  Then followed up with the IPA.  Removed the now very flammable drop cloth.

 

5.  Washed, water blasted, and dried with the air-blower.

 

6.  Happy Ending.  

 

6a.  A selection of bulk commercial cleaning products.

Other things

• I've painted the new parcel shelf (vinyl dye).  I brushed it (per the instructions).  It clumped.  Oh well, re-upholster in future.
• I've painted the rear speakers (vinyl dye).

 

Tomorrow:

• wheels
• parcel shelf & rear speakers
• possibly stereo

Next week:

• clutch master cylinder
• oil and filter, and more MBL8
• MBL8 in gearbox

POSTSCRIPT:

These are the plastic chisels that @Autoglym has for this job.  They're well worthwhile.

Edited November 25, 2019 by Olaf
added images of cleaning products, and chisels!

[adro 1084]

Wow, looking good!