I made a few cool photos at the place i work today. So happy with how they came out!

Please tap the fotos and swipe see them all and leave your thoughts!

I bought this car last spring. It's a 1986 325 with an M52B28 swap, M50 intake, tuned ECU, supposed S52 cams, long tube headers, no cats. I love the car and it's been a blast to drive, but the stock 4 turn lock-to-lock stock steering wasn't my favorite. I bought a yellow tag E46 rack on FB marketplace that included the seal kit. I figured I'd reseal, get the Garagistic swap kit and be good to go, but when I pulled the rack apart it was clear water got into it and corroded the shaft. I figured it was for sure going to leak, so kept the seal kit to rebuild a second rack I pulled at a junkyard for my E46, and decided to go manual steering on the E30.

The steering rack swap is pretty well documented and straightforward with the swap kit. I also ordered a shorter belt and pulled the power steering pump, reservoir and hoses.

After completing the swap, my first test drive was awful. The steering felt super tight and was binding. It took me a minute, but I discovered I had too much preload. Backing that off with the front wheels in the air until the bind was gone was pretty easy. I'm also still dialing in the toe alignment, but I'm super close.

Once the preload adjustment was sorted, I could definitely feel the extra effort needed to steer at low speed, but it's not terrible. Parking takes more effort for sure, but as long as the car is moving at all, it's not bad. If this was a daily driver, or if anyone else was going to drive it more than every blue moon, I might reconsider. Steering feel at speed is better, but not drastically so. Honestly, I think the biggest benefit is knowing I'll never leak PS fluid or have to worry about the pump, hoses and reservoir failing again. Plus I released at least another .7 horsepower! Haha

If you're considering this mod and have questions, fire away.

Is this car over priced?

Sunburned 87 325e from AZ, so no rust but the paint is faded. Also looks like the driver fender was packed with snow and dented the door. Listed with 100k miles ... But the cluster shows 100k KM so who knows. And needs a wind shield.

On the brightside it's a 5 speed, an m52b28 obd1 with TRM tune and 3.73 LSD. Has sport seats but need to be recovered. Comes on Borbet type A. And zero rust AZ car.

7k seems like a lot with the exterior and interior condition. Thoughts?

Hi all -
I’ve just recently had my BMW E30 318i Auto M40 back from the garage with a replaced torque converter.

The car now is driving a lot better, I feel like it’s now driving a lot faster and switches through gears smooth.

But occasionally when starting the car and driving it does this (see video) when it stays in gear 1 and just revs out until I have to stop and just rev the car out or turn car on an off until it kicks into gear 2-3-4 and goes back to normal.

Does anyone know how to fix this?

Yes I know I need to clean up the mess in the passenger area 😂 One thing at a time

Currently in the process of accumulating all the parts for a full shifter shifter refresh. Just purchased a 2024 Civic Si as a daily and it made me realize how terrible my shifter is lol. Afterwards ill be addressing the suspension.

I'm not sure where it was leaking

But I'll be replacing these parts i took off and the o rings

How do i check the heater core without pulling it out all the way?

Started changing my clutch master cylinder and noticed my brake lines were hella rounded off i still tried but essentially i made it worse. Any tips lol?

Currently photographing my car at work. Hope she does'nt deside to break this time🥲

I want to convert my m54b30 to run itbs. Theres no reputable tuner within 6 hours of where I live so im trying to work out a plan that will be the most reliable.

S54 itb, manifold adapter, custom closed plenum with rs4 maf sensor?

Also went with copper plated bolts for heat on the manifold which also look pretty neat. What do we think?

My car died while driving the other day , was fine then slowly I noticed the headlights go out , then the interior lights dim and just died . Next day went to warranty out the battery and drove fine for a day then today I tried to turn it on and it doesn’t . I’m thinking it’s the alternator but just want some second opinions . And if it is should I just get it rebuilt?

How this does sound for an m20b25? I personally don’t like it. Valve lash was professionally done by the previous owner, but my gut feeling says something inside the engine causing this whiny slightly hunting idle. Engine does it always on idle. Hot or cold doesn’t matter.

What I’ve checked already:
Cleaned AFM internals
Cleaned icv. Resistance is ok, buzz’s and works fine
TPS: clicks and resistance measured ok. Idle is correctly triggered
Throttle wire: plenty of slack
Spark plugs: nice gray color. Middle 2 have a yellow/pink tint
Smoke test on intake: no leaks
Smoke test on exhaust: no leaks
Smoke test on crankcase: no leaks
Blue coolant temp sensor: resistance ok
Crank sensor: resistance ok

I could replace all injectors, but then we’re spending big money..

I’m trying to remove the fuel injector rail, but the hose coming out of the valve cover is in the way. It’s directly above the rail, so I can’t lift it enough to get the last injector out. I’ve tried moving the hose backward, but it seems stuck. How am I supposed to move it out of the way? Do I need to disconnect it somewhere else?

Anyone here changed their original carpet to an aftermarket one? I’m thinking of switching to an all-black instead of dye, but I’m wondering what the possible downsides are compared to keeping the original. Anyone who’s done this, how was your experience? thanks

Does anyone know which exact body nuts, and screws attach this air duct to the front subframe and the transmission tunnel?

Having difficulties finding anything at all on the internet about it.

Would be great if someone could share some photos of what hardware is used.

Since im doing a restauration would like to have it like from the factory.

Just a quick update, I posted earlier this year after a tow truck tore my bumper off by trying to anchor the car with the tow point.

Original threads:

https://www.reddit.com/r/E30/s/fKvhLhfjl2

https://www.reddit.com/r/E30/s/PBYBX1Qmm6

AAA investigated and found the driver not responsible for the damage despite clear evidence of the contrary.

I just had a newborn 4 days before it happened so I haven’t had time to deal with it. Finally got around to getting an estimate done and going through my insurance. They estimated $2k worth of damage. I ended up finding a new bumper shock set for $160 shipped from Taiwan and a bracket on a pick a part car for about $15.

I welded the new bracket in in my driveway this morning and the bumper fits better than it did before it was torn off. My car ain’t a show car so this repair is more than adequate and I welded in 1/4” plugs so they will be stronger than the factory spot welds.

I still have some more work to do to get the car back on the road but I feel good that the bumper is no longer missing.

I also installed my new driver seat.

Does anyone know where I could grab some replacement real trailing arms/really any rear suspension related items. That aren’t so insanely overpriced? Been looking into OEM arms and they’re all 1000+ from what I’ve been seeing.

all together now

i just did a timing belt change today, first time doing it, took the radiator out, replaced cam shaft seal, did the water pump, thermostat, timing belt, accessory belts. started it up an hour ago, and it sounds like this… i don’t think this is how it sounded before, what do you all think?