Another decrepit E30 316i coupe being revived (In colour)

[KwS 2425]

Grab a new cap and rotor, those are very tired. You can try cleaning it up by scraping the corrosion off the terminals, but a new one is better.

[aramoana 20]

Decided that any further money spent on this engine will be a futile endeavor, and the ticking is getting quite frustrating. The idles a bit off and ultimately I wouldn't mind more power and more fuel efficiency, so I've found an M42 containing 318ti that I'm going to go pick up tomorrow to harvest components off and then get rid of so I'm not clogging the driveway with BMW's. 

However that then means I have to find an engine jack that I can borrow. Fingers crossed the neighbours or some mates have one. 

Autolign got my butchered Bilstein B8 back to me after it was rethreaded by their race division up in Auckland, set me back $150~ which was nice after mentally preparing myself to fork out the cost of a new one. 

Based on my research, I think I'm going to need to obtain a few things to do the swap smoothly, namely the M44 headers, a Holden steering linkage, since i'll do the Z3 rack at the same time, and some new gaskets. What preventative maintenance needs to be done while I have the m42 out of the car? I'll likely give it the proper treatment at a later date, but as of right now I'm more interested in getting the M42 into the e30. I guess as it stands, the M42 i've found is in good condition at ~150 thou km's and has a wof and rego. Does anyone know If i can swap the e36 dif into the e30?

[Eagle 1662]

318ti diff would work with your car but may need flanges etc swapped with E30 stuff worst case. 318ti auto's run a 4.44 diff so you'd have to check the diff tag on yours to see what ratio its running.

As for M42 preventative maintenance - Mess of pipes under the intake manifold and associated gaskets is the big one, followed by the PCV and breather hose, chain tensioner then all the usual stuff like oil gaskets\seals, intake boots, drivebelt parts, cooling system parts and hoses. Depends on how far you want to go. 

[Olaf 3317]

Definitely in for a Cert for the M42 swap.  Cheaper to buy a cap and rotor, give it an oil change, and put some MBL8 in there.

[Olaf 3317]

23 hours ago, Eagle said:

318ti diff would work with your car but may need flanges etc swapped with E30 stuff worst case. 318ti auto's run a 4.44 diff so you'd have to check the diff tag on yours to see what ratio its running.

It'll be running a 4.27, standard factory ratio for an M40 316i with manual.

[aramoana 20]

Got the repaired Bilstein B8 back from Autolign and into the car last night. Our garage opens onto the street as so I've had lots of people stopping by talking to me about their E30 stories, and I've heard some quite good ones now. A really iconic car across generations it seems. 

Anyway, just as I was putting the wheel back on and getting ready to take the car for a shake down, a blue e30 ripped past on our street sounding like a cut cat. Nice colour too. Then they turned around and ripped back past the other way, but this time one of the occupants looked to the side and saw me and my E30 and hollered in camaraderie. They circled back and pulled up and lo and behold, its my neighbour-ish and the guy I bought an Alternator off! He had just got his m52b28 swapped e30 working and was taking the neighbour for a ride and I got to have a ride in it. Holy moly is that thing quick. The 2.8 absolutely rips. 

Which got me thinking. I'm not going to buy the m42 and associated bits just yet. I think I'll get it looking pretty first (full respray, panel beating, not in that order) and then if im up for it, I'll start looking at an engine swap. While not brilliant, the m40b16 in there at the moment still has enough juice in it to make me grin ear to ear, and thats good enough for me. I wouldn't mind a limited slip though... Does anyone have any guidance on what diff I should be seeking out? I'd realistically prefer a lower ratio diff for better highway cruising, but I'm unsure of my options. 

 

[Eagle 1662]

Don't see any point in changing it myself. A M40 is never going to be great on the open road and going lower ratio is sacrifice what little acceleration you already have.

[nick496 268]

Eagle is right. You probably don't want to mess with your ratio with the little m40b16. You could go to a 4.1 which is what the m40b18s run. 

Lsds are getting expensive these days, and if you're wanting to do a swap, you'd be looking most likely at a medium case of some ratio.

Though you'll see in the link below the m42 e30s ran a 4.1 small from the factory. 

I run a 3.64 behind my m52 swap with a getrag 240.

https://www.e30zone.net/e30wiki/index.php/Differential

[Autoglym 255]

Interesting read!!, I have an E30,318 with an M42 swap, previous owner, a member on here, did an interesting mod, slotted the inlet cam, made an adaptor on his lathe, in his garage & runs the rotor & distributor cap, off the inlet, ca, doing away with modifying, adapting ECU & wiring looms

[Eagle 1662]

It's an easy swap with a Ti donor car. 

[aramoana 20]

On 9/26/2021 at 3:57 PM, Autoglym said:

Interesting read!!, I have an E30,318 with an M42 swap, previous owner, a member on here, did an interesting mod, slotted the inlet cam, made an adaptor on his lathe, in his garage & runs the rotor & distributor cap, off the inlet, ca, doing away with modifying, adapting ECU & wiring looms

I saw the thread! It looks really tidy. Whats the comparison in 'oomph' between the m42 E30 and Olafs 316i? Does the M42 make a big difference. 

[aramoana 20]

Keeping the ball rolling with the car and getting everything just a little bit tidier, the new shifter knob and boot arrived today, and I think it looks a hell of a lot better. The major issue though is that the actual gear lever is twisted, so the gear knob is also twisted. Ive got no idea how to remedy this and its going to annoy me every time I look at it. In terms of getting the car back in shape, a large swath of parts are on their way from germany. 

- Brake gasket and slide pin rebuild kits

-Tail-light gaskets

-intake and throttle body gasket 

-Hood insulation

-Boot seal

-Fog lights

And now I think Im going to pull the trigger on a fibreglass MT2 front bumper because it is almost the same price as trying to replace the broken plastic bumper thats on the car now. Feels wasteful, but will ultimately make the car look nice. 

Before

After

[Eagle 1662]

Are the shifter and knob aftermarket parts?

[aramoana 20]

Hooray, the wheels finally arrived today. The difference they make in how the car drives and looks is nothing short of amazing. They will ultimately need stripping back and repainting, but for the moment they are good enough. If anyone wants a set of 195/50/15 D windows, I now have a set for sale. 

Before

After

PROBLEM!!

For some reason, the front wheels are rubbing on nothing obvious, with a squeak as the wheel rotates. Does anyone have any ideas? My only idea is that the lug nuts are pulling the brake rotor away from the hub causing it to rub on the brake pads? Ive checked that it doesn't rub at all on any of the components, so it must be something different. 

 

2 hours ago, Eagle said:

Are the shifter and knob aftermarket parts?

Yes, Im very impressed with the quality. Just a bit annoying about the orientation of the shifter stalk. 

 

[Cammsport 390]

Unsure what you mean by the lug nuts pulling the rotor away. Was the squeak there before? Is there any contact between the tyre and the strut? Are both sides squeaking? Does it make the sound continuously or just "chirp" as the wheel rotates past a certain point? 

[Olaf 3317]

the M42 adds real character to the e30 without sacrificing any of the fine balance of the 4cyl.  Way more torque is my first impression driving @Autoglym's.  It's swings and roundabouts in some respects, as his has the auto and fairly stock suspension, mine has all the suspension work, manual, and lighter weight.  I'm so looking forward to the M42 (my parts stash growning each month).  If you get really keen on an M42 rebuild you can get over 200hp at the wheels (there's a club member with around 220 ATW dyno'd) and it's a thing of beauty.  The M5x guys will rightly point out that at that point it's cheaper to go M5x.  It's cheaper to wear a Seiko than an Omega or Tag, too; you go with what's important to you.

Most swear by the six and M5x conversion, they're certainly great and with grown-up torque, and more pure propulsion... for me the magic is in the balance of my 4cyl e30.  It's like the most perfect version of what I was learning to pedal as fast as I could in the 80's, but done right - the ergonomic setup, brakes, suspension, vision, torsional rigidity, weight distro, power plant - that was the preserve of only a few cars that were well beyond my reach.  It rewards with getting it right, momentum driving.  It's easy to buy a faster car, I've taken the road less travelled.

You need to be very sure before you pick one direction or t'other.

I agree re diff ratio, 4.27 is there with the 1600 for good reason.  4.10 for the M40B18 and most M42B18 iS, usually (but not always) LSD in the iS.  4.10 would dull all of the fun from your 1600 e30, unless 95% of your time is spent above 90-100ks.

@aramoana what are the specs of your new wheels and tyres (incl rim offset)?

[aramoana 20]

7 hours ago, Cammsport said:

Unsure what you mean by the lug nuts pulling the rotor away. Was the squeak there before? Is there any contact between the tyre and the strut? Are both sides squeaking? Does it make the sound continuously or just "chirp" as the wheel rotates past a certain point? 

It's a chirp when they rotate past a certain point on both sides. I've run my hand around all of the components and it's not hitting anything, so I've got no idea. 

My thinking was the centre hole that the wheel locates onto isn't deep enough and when I tighten the nuts up fully, the wheels pull the brake rotor towards the wheel, putting it at an angle because of the small brake rotor screw.

 

[aramoana 20]

6 minutes ago, Olaf said:

@aramoana what are the specs of your new wheels and tyres (incl rim offset)?

Theyre ET20 I'm pretty sure. I haven't measured them and will do, but they visually fit fine. 

[KwS 2425]

20 minutes ago, aramoana said:

It's a chirp when they rotate past a certain point on both sides. I've run my hand around all of the components and it's not hitting anything, so I've got no idea. 

My thinking was the centre hole that the wheel locates onto isn't deep enough and when I tighten the nuts up fully, the wheels pull the brake rotor towards the wheel, putting it at an angle because of the small brake rotor screw.

 

The lug bolts dont tighten into the rotor, they tighten into the hub behind the rotor. Something will be catching somewhere. Check strut clearance, but it does just sound like pads rubbing on the rotor which is normal.

[Olaf 3317]

42 minutes ago, aramoana said:

Theyre ET20 I'm pretty sure. I haven't measured them and will do, but they visually fit fine. 

• Rim size (eg size 7J15)
• ET
• Tyre size (eg 205/55R15)

Edited October 13, 2021 by Olaf

[aramoana 20]

20 minutes ago, Olaf said:

• Rim size (eg size 7J15)
• ET
• Tyre size (eg 205/55R15)

Based on what I can tell

7.5J16

ET20

Front 205/50/16

Rear 225/50/16

[Autoglym 255]

Check the lug nut length, I just had an issue with an E28, that had 5 mil longer ones & made a similar noise??

Just a thought!!

[aramoana 20]

1 hour ago, Autoglym said:

Check the lug nut length, I just had an issue with an E28, that had 5 mil longer ones & made a similar noise??

Just a thought!!

Is that to say the ones I have are too short or too long? The squeak/binding only happens when I tighten it up that last little bit 

 

[aramoana 20]

It's a very trill squeak that to me says metal on metal. It's not the softer "tchk" kind of sound that I liken to the brake pad/rotor touching. I'm going to check the dust shields because there is visually no contact. The wheels clear the strut and all of the suspension components, so I'm wondering if I managed to bend the dust shield into the rotor while taking the old wheels off. 

The squeak is new to the car with the wheels, and its only in a certain spot - going "tnk tnk tnk tnk" as the wheel rotates. The wheel can't be rotated by hand and has resistance when driving. 

[aramoana 20]

Problem solved. @Autoglymwas right. I swapped in the shorter lugs and the problem has gone away. Looking at it, the longer lugs had gone through the bearing and were embedded into the dust cover, making a horrid noise