Another possibility is the heater core. If you have smelled coolant on cold mornings as the engine warms and have fog form on the inside of the windshield, you need to change the heater core.
Forum: Technical Forum

That is one thing the E30 has going for it....the lower body is pretty well protected. Have been driving mine in salted roads here for several years with not trouble. I had some accident repairs done that do not have the corrosion treatment where the new body parts are welded in so that may be an issue eventually.
Forum: Community Forum

I used to think I was an oddity in E-30 land being a seasoned citizen myself. Thought you guys were much younger enthusiasts. Glad to see that I am not alone in appreciating art and engineering that comes in one package with a set of keys. I once read that "simplicity is the ultimate sophistication" and the E-30 sure it that.
Forum: Community Forum

My experience with the starter was likewise, difficult to reach the upper bolt. Are you sure it is the starter? Does the starter motor run? You most likely will have to be under the car to get the starter changed. A small radiant heater under there with you may help keep your hands from freezing.
Forum: Technical Forum

You might be surprised what BMW has in stock. I had my cabrio repaired recently and the dealer had the body panel needed.
Forum: Technical Forum

It is pretty phenomenal what can happen if one avoids trouble and just keeps doing what it takes. Hard to imagine 200 mph myself. Seeing the slo-mo shots of those that got crossways always amazes me what a car will do at that speed.
Forum: Car Talk

The water pump will have a shaft seal under the pump impeller that keeps coolant from coming out. Usually these seals are a "face" seal that has flat surfaces requiring a tiny amount of liquid to be between the flat surfaces to lubricate them. The layer of coolant is so thin that very little actually leaks (about 30 millionths of an inch). The drain hole lets any excess leakage out s
Forum: Technical Forum

Do bears live in the woods? Is the Pope Catholic? etc, I had several VWs over the years. Mostly the valve push rod tubes were chronic leakers.
Forum: Technical Forum

Forum: Car Talk

That was cheating. He put the same belt back on. Probable was not very tight after being stretched a couple of dozen times while he practiced for the movie. If one had a worn belt and wanted to replace with a new one. The new belt would be seriously over tight and would overload the generator bearings.
Forum: Car Talk

Matt, I still want to see that CD changer but have been so darn busy have not had time to try to meet up with you.
Forum: Community Forum

Peter, here a a couple of candidates for you.
Forum: Community Forum

These two are candidates if they are still around. There was another guy looking at a non-running E-30 for about $2000 that might be just the thing for you since you have the running end of one.
Forum: Car Talk

I am with Dave on the gasket sealer. That wimpy thin gasket would be a challenge to seal much of any thing. coat both sides of the gasket with Permatex non-hardening gasket sealant. Also use some anti-seize sealant on the bolts too. The Permatex is not the right thing for the bolts as it makes them very difficult to remove.
Forum: Technical Forum

QuoteArcheo-peteriX The people want democracy not a police state. That's what happens when the military takes over From the frying pan into the fire >:<( There are some examples in the middle east of the military doing the right thing. Turkey comes to mind. Their military tossed out the civil government a couple of times when it got too corrupt and ran new elections. One ni
Forum: Community Forum

It will be a miracle if this is not co-opted by the bad guys and it turns out just like Iran. Normal people are just not organized well enough to make it work without tons of money and guns. Their former government made sure of that. The brotherhood will be given or steal enough to take over and run things if the people do not pay attention. The more of this I see, the more it looks like l
Forum: Community Forum

My sister leased a 530 iX sedan and loves it. She bought it at the end of the lease. There are a few low mileage E-30s around the Seattle area and most of them will be on display at the Puget Sound BMW club E-30 picnic next June. Probably 200 E-30 will be there. A few people here also refit the S50 engine into them so they can have a non-timing belt engine.
Forum: Car Talk

I have changed mine twice now and the second time was because I did not do it right the first time. I allowed the gasket to get out of proper location as the pan went into place. The gasket was slightly out of place and prying it back with a screw drive through the bolt holes was not as successful as I had thought at the time. This time I used some small tie wraps through the bolt holes at eac
Forum: Technical Forum

Now just have to teach the cat a few tricks and you will be in business.
Forum: Community Forum

I lived in SoCal at that time and it got a lot of publicity on TV news and suddenly there was a rash of them. The news media was accused of sensationalism and causing more copycat actions. They denied it of course but stopped talking about it and only reported the convictions for the offense. Hard to say if they stopped or not since the news was selective. Have not heard much about it in rec
Forum: Technical Forum

The seals on my transmission started leaking when I went to synthetic. Not sure what they would do if I went back to basic. Do be sure and inspect all the drive line parts. The Guibo and u-joints and also the center bearing. It might be the rubber mounting of the center bearing is worn out and allowing the shaft to bang around.
Forum: Technical Forum

QuoteBob in Everett Rick, Thanks for the comment but I only removed the pump, did not disassemble it. Is there supposed to be a gasket where the pump bolts to the engine? Realoem does not show a gasket there. I was concerned about this myself and did put some sealant on the engine surface before I bolted the pump in place. Since the pump is submerged, not sure how the pickup tube would be
Forum: Technical Forum

I used to have a 51 Merc woody wagon in very nice condition. Sad to have to give it up as I was being transferred to Europe. My first car was a 55 Olds. Have not had a car with as much chrome since. It sure was a reliable old tank. I could put everything I owned in it at the time. I loved the dash with all the chrome and real gauges. It even had a 4 speed automatic that was incredibly re
Forum: Car Talk

Probably had lots of body roll too. Having driven old GM iron for most of my adult driving, I know of what you speak. The BMW handles so well that I have become spoiled. The 67 Camaro used to feel like a sports car, but now, it is a nice collectible antique that does not get driven much.
Forum: Car Talk

Probably more related to dirt on the tracks. Cleaning and lube of the whole mechanism will probably do wonders.
Forum: Technical Forum

Might be related to the drive train, being sensitive to acceleration and all.
Forum: Technical Forum

Quotealanrw On the topic of my '84 E30, my wife says "are you ever gonna get a new car? You never get rid of anything" to which I replied "from your perspective, I would consider that a big plus" alan I get static similarly from my spousal unit. Less since I bought her an E38.
Forum: Community Forum

My children told me a few years ago that my E-30 cabrio was my mid life crisis car but they were wrong. My midlife crisis was a long time ago. I am in my second childhood now so can start over with the cars.
Forum: Community Forum

Fifth gear is an over drive that uses both internal shafts of the transmission to increase the output speed. Power is transferred from the upper shaft to the lower shaft and back to the upper shaft. There could be some malfunction within the transmission. It might be good to investigate with an oil change and exploration with a magnet in the oil and inside the transmission case to see if an ex
Forum: Technical Forum

That is the normal evolution of life it appears. Girls are attracted to guys who do things with cars and other fast toys but once the knot is tied...the toys are over.
Forum: Community Forum