BMW E30 325iX Touring
Posted
#1552303
(In Topic #208079)

Old Timer

A few reasons; We've been looking for a little space where we can work on our cars and really focus on the 2002, I've started a Masters degree Industrial Engineering Electromechanics and it's taking up most of my time as of now.
And the last reason, I got myself this BMW E30 325iX Touring (6cil 2.5l 4 wheel driven)
The car is originally from Germany so I had to import it into Belgium. I had to take care of getting a CoC for the car so I could drive it here in Belgium as a daily.
Car had 242ish kms, still has the original manual, serviceheft and original Bavaria C business radio and it's manual. It also came with a bunch of receipts of pars and repairs that have been done to the car. Also the Transfer case of the car is still in good nick as I checked for resistance in the coupling by jacking up a front wheel and putting the car in neutral and handbrake on. The car also came with 2 full sets of wheels, original BBS sedan wheels and the original BBS iX wheels which have a different offset.
Overall it's a very solid car with very little / almost no rust. It does need some minor touchups like some new seals for the sunroof, repainting the sideview mirrors as there is some rust creeping from under the paint and some other small stuff
The E30 was located 500kms from our home, luckily my uncle (pictured in the picture) had no problems driving this far to get the car


Checking the rachet straps on our way home

Car on our driveway


Together with the Golf mk1

I've already changed the filters (oil, air and fuel), also replaced the oil and coolant. I'll be doing more stuff to the car as time goes by.

New fuel filter, as you can see I'll have to replace the fuel lines too

The great 6cil engine


Also adjusted the valves, valvetrain looking good

Replace the little bulb in the key too, it's the little things


Posted

Old Timer

When heading back from school to home, I had the same thing happening again. I checked the underside of the car and there was coolant dripping onto the ground.
As I looking in the engine bay I noticed a little stream coming form the waterpump. So I decided to replace the waterpump and also the timing belt. The guy from the part store mixed up the waterpump so I had to wait some more. I'll be able to replace everything tonight when I come back from school.

New parts

Wrong waterpump..


Posted

Settled In

What are the plans for it?
Look forward to updates.
Posted

Old Timer

Super_ted said
Looks like a really tidy car!
What are the plans for it?
Look forward to updates.
Thank you!
Just tidying it up (eg, cracked front mist light, giving the engine bay a good clean)
Rear brakes need to be replaced too, fronts disk have been changed when I had a look with the wheels removed.
Might change out the steering wheel with an M Tech 2 wheel when I find a decent one that isn't too expensive. For now the (ugly) airbag wheel will do

Posted

Old Timer


Got everything replaced, and fitted when coming home from school, finished working on the car at almost 9pm.
First start up was pretty stressful, never fitted a new belt but overall went very smooth.
Pretty easy to work on. After bleeding the coolant system we drove the car for a while.

When at the gas station, a stranger came to talk to me. He was pretty impressed by the car, especially when he noticed it was en iX.
Had a nice talk about everything E30/E28 related

Was also able to calculate the gas milage of the car. Got 11,7l/100km (20,1 mpg).
Not too bad.
Posted

Local Hero




That looks really straight.
(Is that an M badge lurking on the front grill though?? That needs to find the bin!! lol


Andy
LINCOLNSHIRE REGION - https://www.facebook.com/groups/467122313360002/
1983 MK1 Golf GTI Campaign Model - Under (looooong) resto!
1962 Rover P4 80
2002 BMW 745i
2008 BMW Z4 2.5Si
LINCOLNSHIRE REGION - https://www.facebook.com/groups/467122313360002/
1983 MK1 Golf GTI Campaign Model - Under (looooong) resto!
1962 Rover P4 80
2002 BMW 745i
2008 BMW Z4 2.5Si
Posted

Old Timer

Hairyarse said
Ooo nice find Martijn! I love E30s!
That looks really straight.
(Is that an M badge lurking on the front grill though?? That needs to find the bin!! lol![]()
)
Thank you, Andy!
I did have a few problems getting the car registered, glad it's all over so I can start to enjoy it

It's in very good nick for it's age and milage. No signs of rust, only the side mirrors that need to get repainted.
Yes it is



I'll make sure to dispose it correctly.
Fun story, when we arrived back home and started to unload the car off the trailer. My uncle decided he also needed an iX. 2 days after we went and had a look at an 325iX Touring in macao blue and tan color interior. He bought it.

Posted

Local Hero




I had an E30 318i Auto in stock a couple of years ago. I loved it, wish I had kept it really.
It wasn't fast but such a nice cruiser!


I just bought myself another E39 though, after a few 530 diesels I've gone for a 530 petrol


Andy
LINCOLNSHIRE REGION - https://www.facebook.com/groups/467122313360002/
1983 MK1 Golf GTI Campaign Model - Under (looooong) resto!
1962 Rover P4 80
2002 BMW 745i
2008 BMW Z4 2.5Si
LINCOLNSHIRE REGION - https://www.facebook.com/groups/467122313360002/
1983 MK1 Golf GTI Campaign Model - Under (looooong) resto!
1962 Rover P4 80
2002 BMW 745i
2008 BMW Z4 2.5Si
Posted

Old Timer

Hairyarse said
Oh brilliant, glad he joined the club!!
I had an E30 318i Auto in stock a couple of years ago. I loved it, wish I had kept it really.
It wasn't fast but such a nice cruiser!
![]()
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I just bought myself another E39 though, after a few 530 diesels I've gone for a 530 petrol![]()
![]()
That 318i looks very clean! Too bad you sold it.
Great E39, I bet it goes around corners pretty well?

Posted

Local Hero




Yes the E39 does handle well, mostly cruise in it though

Andy
LINCOLNSHIRE REGION - https://www.facebook.com/groups/467122313360002/
1983 MK1 Golf GTI Campaign Model - Under (looooong) resto!
1962 Rover P4 80
2002 BMW 745i
2008 BMW Z4 2.5Si
LINCOLNSHIRE REGION - https://www.facebook.com/groups/467122313360002/
1983 MK1 Golf GTI Campaign Model - Under (looooong) resto!
1962 Rover P4 80
2002 BMW 745i
2008 BMW Z4 2.5Si
Posted

Old Timer

Hairyarse said
I ended up losing money on the E30 so I should have kept it!! But, it was stock so it needed to go sadly.
Yes the E39 does handle well, mostly cruise in it though
That always sucks..


I'll probably get the iX specific wheels refurbished later on
Posted

Old Timer

When looking from where the water came in I noticed the seal at the boot pump was twisted. which caused water to seep in and drip on the carpet.

Already grew some mold too

I decided to buy a new seal but it seems like BMW doesn't offer the boot seal for the Touring anymore.. So I checked ebay. I found a brand new seal in Germany for 55€ shipped, seems like a pretty good deal to me.

New seal fitted on the boot. I also removed as much water/dampness with paper towels.

Hopefully it won't leak again :p

I also decided to look into cleaning the valve cover. I tried using a soft brass bristle brush so I wouldn't make scratches into the aluminium and also Nanolex Race film remover to dissolve the cosmoline.
Old picture which shows the before

And after


Also took the opportunity to take a picture with my DSLR of the valvetrain

Also adjusted the wiper arms. When I was driving on the highway when it rained and the wipers were on full speed, they were lightly tapping the rubber seal on the bottom of the front windshield.
Posted

Old Timer

Bought 2 new rear Sachs dampers as I find that the Bilsteins, that are fitted now, quite harsh to drive daily.
I'll replace the valve cover seal and plugs when re adjusting the valves.

_____________
As it's getting colder over here in Belgium, I noticed my 325 had a rough idle on start up (about 500rpm on the tacho)
Decided to clean the ICV. When removing the rubber hose that's connected to the little elbow that's mounted on the throttle body, I noticed it had some play to it.

I tried to seal it up again by removing it completly and applying gasket sealant.

When cleaning the ICV I noticed that the little tube that goes from the ICV to the elbow is starting to crack. So I ordered this one new from BMW.
_____________
Also received some more parts in the meantime.
Before mounting the new rear shocks I wanted to be sure to reapace the metal shield hat covers the fuel lines in the passenger rear wheel well.
When I redid the timing belt, I noticed the radiator was missing 2 bushings so I also ordered those. With a new breather hose and ICV valve hose

Also no more noise coming from the boot when riding over bumps in the road. Spare wheel is fixed again with some new hardware


And gave it a nice bath too :)



_____________
Finally got the new Sachs rear dampers installed on the Touring.
I took my time cleaning the inner wheel wells too.
To remove the damper from the inside of the car, you have to gut the trunk interior completly
Upper shock mounts were in need of replacing

The old Bilstein shocks had seen better days

New shock fitted :)

Passenger side wheel well and the metal shield.. well atleast the remainings of it.

New shield inplace, Also took the time to give it an extra coat of primer and black paint

And ofcourse, went for a test drive, definitly much improved when riding over bumps. Also noticed a more secure rear end, possibly because of the replaced upper mounts. Although could be placebo effect too :p
_____________
I also ordered all new rear brake parts (Brake shoes, discs, handbrake cables, shoes, springs..)
But when changing the rear shocks, I noticed I ordered solid rear rotors and my Touring has ventilated rotors... Turns out, only the iX Touring has these fitted from factory
Best thing? You can't get them anymore from BMW and there are no aftermarket companies that make these..
So I had a look online and found used rear vented rotors. Asked the seller to measure the discs and they are still 19mm (like when they are new). Decided to buy these, only thing was, he is selling them with a whole rear subframe. oh well.. :p

Also got an original complete toolkit that I found online

_____________
Today I went ahead and removed my rear discs. I figured I'd let my local auto parts store resurface these to remove the burr on the edge. I'll replace these when I get the bought rotors and when there are fully worn out.

Brake caliper removed, sent in the rotor to get resurfaced, meanwhile I cleaned most of the rust with a wire brush.

Little behind the scenes shot while waiting on the rotors ;)

Decided to go over the rotors with a wire wheel on the angle grinder and paint the sides of them

Disc, rotor and pads fitted with some fresh cupper grease

Posted

Old Timer

It's still is in very good condition, looks like the rear seats were never used!






Already drove 2455km with it. Oh man, I love this car


_____________
This week I received the rear suspension parts I ordered with the rear vented rotors
Rear dust shields too a some abuse when shipping, these are gone so no big deal

Rear calipers are looking good to, although they are rusty. I'll probably sandblast, replace and replace the seals and fit them to my car

Brake rotor's still in spec


Posted

Local Hero




It really is a lovely motor, I'm not surprised that you've done so many kms in it already!!
Andy
LINCOLNSHIRE REGION - https://www.facebook.com/groups/467122313360002/
1983 MK1 Golf GTI Campaign Model - Under (looooong) resto!
1962 Rover P4 80
2002 BMW 745i
2008 BMW Z4 2.5Si
LINCOLNSHIRE REGION - https://www.facebook.com/groups/467122313360002/
1983 MK1 Golf GTI Campaign Model - Under (looooong) resto!
1962 Rover P4 80
2002 BMW 745i
2008 BMW Z4 2.5Si
Posted

Old Timer

Hairyarse said
Nice attention to detail Martijn. The interior looks tidy and the paint looks fantastic - nice, deep shine!!
It really is a lovely motor, I'm not surprised that you've done so many kms in it already!!
Thank you, Andy!
As you can probably tell, I'm very pleased with the car haha

Also got some good news, finally found a workshop, only 1min away

Looks like I know what I'm doing once these finals are finally over!
Posted

Local Hero




Andy
LINCOLNSHIRE REGION - https://www.facebook.com/groups/467122313360002/
1983 MK1 Golf GTI Campaign Model - Under (looooong) resto!
1962 Rover P4 80
2002 BMW 745i
2008 BMW Z4 2.5Si
LINCOLNSHIRE REGION - https://www.facebook.com/groups/467122313360002/
1983 MK1 Golf GTI Campaign Model - Under (looooong) resto!
1962 Rover P4 80
2002 BMW 745i
2008 BMW Z4 2.5Si
Posted

Old Timer

I have my last final on the 1st of February and our contract starts that day too.Hairyarse said
Oh nice one!! When does everything move over to the new home?
I have a week and a half holiday after my finals. So I would like to have all the stuff moved by the weekend.
This way I have a full week of welding and working on the 02.

Posted

Local Hero





Andy
LINCOLNSHIRE REGION - https://www.facebook.com/groups/467122313360002/
1983 MK1 Golf GTI Campaign Model - Under (looooong) resto!
1962 Rover P4 80
2002 BMW 745i
2008 BMW Z4 2.5Si
LINCOLNSHIRE REGION - https://www.facebook.com/groups/467122313360002/
1983 MK1 Golf GTI Campaign Model - Under (looooong) resto!
1962 Rover P4 80
2002 BMW 745i
2008 BMW Z4 2.5Si
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