Bought My First E30! Any Advice? Upgrades? - Page 4

Farintosh · 04-12-2012, 07:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mr ilia

ALWAYS: ask seller to ship USPS.
UPS will rape you on the brokerage fees.

Haha yeah, my father was quick to warn me about that. The parts I ordered were $250, the seller listed them as a cooling kit and insured them for $33. They went through USPS priority for $53... Not sure whether this is decent or not...
Is this about right?

Farintosh · 04-20-2012, 09:21 PM

Parts just arrived, not duty on them.
Changed the air filter, hoping to do all the belts tomorrow.

Farintosh · 05-06-2012, 06:00 PM

Progress!
Finally managed to get into the engine and change some parts.
Replaced timing belt, alternator (rebuilt and new belt), power steering belt, water pump, thermostat, distributor cap and rotor, spark plugs, camshaft seals, wheels and some other small things.
Waiting on a few more "while your in there" parts before I start putting everything back together.

The coolant plug on the engine is pretty much in the worst spot possible...

Trying to stay organized...

Current state. Tempted to take out the A/C while I wait as it no longer works.

Radiator... should I take it in to get fixed or buy a new one? If so where (right-side overflow, automatic)

Have to say everything went a lot smoother than I had envisioned. This is my first time ever working on a car really, loving it and learning a lot!

Anything else I should worry about while I'm at it?

BimmerBoys · 05-06-2012, 06:48 PM

Congrats on the e30! Good for you digging in like that. It's great way to learn and is rewarding to do things yourself. As for the rad? They're cheap enough now, just buy a new one!

karmatose · 05-07-2012, 09:18 AM

Too bad it's an automatic. If it had a 5-speed, I'd have brought you a rad next weekend. I have the original one from my car just collecting dust since I've converted to the post-facelift cooling setup.

Farintosh · 05-07-2012, 10:32 PM

Thanks for the advice! took you up on it and bought a new rad.
Also got the alternator rebuilt as it was on it's last legs. Sand blasted some other parts as well.
Decided to adjust the valve's and change the gasket and rocker shaft plugs before I put everything back together as well.
Got the some new performance tires to throw on my spare rims, no pictures but I can't wait to ditch the bottle caps for these tsw basket weaves (pictures soon).
School tomorrow (grade 12

) but I'll try my best to get some time in; can't wait any longer!
and yes... I often wish I had a manual, one day, one day.

Amazing what some sandblasting will do.

New Rad!

Adjustments all done.

My work space.

More to come!

BimmerBoys · 05-07-2012, 10:37 PM

Ummm.... You know I was dropping a hint... "buy a rad.... From me" lol

Ceeker · 05-07-2012, 11:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BimmerBoys

Ummm.... You know I was dropping a hint... "buy a rad.... From me" lol

out of curiosity how much are the rads auto/std and who makes them?

BimmerBoys · 05-07-2012, 11:13 PM

200$ to 250$ shipped, usually nissens or behr.

Farintosh · 05-07-2012, 11:21 PM

I feel terrible, didnt know you were carrying rads now...
Then again I really wanted to make the most of my long weekend, and I got a great price.
Ill try and make it up to you, might buy a brake kit off you in the near future.
Next on the agenda is to fix the rattling under the car, I had hoped it was the heat shield but it seems its coming from inside or around the cat...

BimmerBoys · 05-07-2012, 11:30 PM

LOL don't feel bad bro! Go after the best deal, I was just joking with you! Besides, you've got an e30 so you'll be replacing something every week so I'm sure I'll hear from you soon.

MaxBell · 05-08-2012, 12:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BimmerBoys

LOL don't feel bad bro! Go after the best deal, I was just joking with you! Besides, you've got an e30 so you'll be replacing something every week so I'm sure I'll hear from you soon.

Funny cuz it's true. I'll PM you later about some engine bitz I need.

Farintosh · 05-08-2012, 07:42 AM

Yep, I'm sure you're right on that as well.
I really enjoy changing all these parts which haven't been changed in the past 345,000km. Really curious to feel how the ride changes.

Bullet Ride · 05-08-2012, 08:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Farintosh

Next on the agenda is to fix the rattling under the car, I had hoped it was the heat shield but it seems its coming from inside or around the cat...

Check the flanges where the cat back joins with the cat. I currently have a rattle and it's because one of the flanges split due to corrosion.

InfiniteDice · 05-08-2012, 10:13 AM

Not sure if it's a myth, but your fan has a viscous coupling that doesn't like to be laid down for prolonged periods... I hang my spare on a nail on the wall so it sits as it does in the car....

Of course it could be just a myth.