BMW E30 325iX Touring

Some of you guys might have noticed that I haven't updated the 2002 project thread in a while now.

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 He also helped us picking up the Golf mk1 and BMW 2002 Touring.


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
 

I've been driving the car for I think 2 weeks now, I noticed the coolant level dropping. At first I thought that it might have been a air bubble since I replaced the coolant.

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..  

Looks like a really tidy car!

What are the plans for it?

Look forward to updates.

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

Update

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.

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     )

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.  

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!




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

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!




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?

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

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 like them stock, mine's is fairly stock except the standard E30 wheels that are now sitting on it. It make it look a bit wider
I'll probably get the iX specific wheels refurbished later on

I noticed a few weeks ago that the boot floor was damp.
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.

Haven't updated this thread for a while now; I've been pretty busy with this car.

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.


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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.

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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 :)






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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

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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


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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



 

Figured I also post some interior pictures since I haven't posted some yet.

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


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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

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!!

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!

Oh nice one!! When does everything move over to the new home?

Hairyarse said

Oh nice one!! When does everything move over to the new home?

I have my last final on the 1st of February and our contract starts that day too.

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. edit: Expect alot of updates!!

Can't wait!!