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Thread: New here with an E30

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Oct 2012
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    Saint Paul, Minnesota
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    87 BMW E30 w m50

    New here with an E30

    For the last 6 years I've owned an e36 m3 sedan, this forum was a big help when it came to fixing it up (and lets just say I had to fix it all the time!).. finally I got tired of having a daily driver that needed to be back together before monday so I could make it to work/school. So as difficult as it was for me to let it go, I sold it. Bought myself a nice honda civic as a daily…

    But I still wanted something to work on, just not something I needed to depend on every day. I've wanted an e30 for a very long time, I just absolutely love how they look, And last night I picked up an 87 325 es, fitted with a m50b25 vanos.. I'm gonna need some help with this one, its gonna be my project car/weekend driver. I'd like to make it fairly beefy over a period of time, all suggestions on what to look at, what to look for, and directions to take are very welcome! I'm not opposed to engine swaps or any direction really but its my understanding that the m50b25 is a fairly good base to start with.

    Also, did a I get a good deal? I paid $2400 for it, its absolutely rust free, it has a little dent on the front fender (It looks hopefully pop-able) its feels pretty sluggish right now, but its hard to tell cause its got a misfire in cylinder 4, so first Im gonna track this down and see how it feels then, but I think it just generally needs a tune up.. He said it was running the standard PCM from its e36 doner car. But it feels like it needs some engine management too… She drove home 200 miles no problem tho last night. And all in all, body and interior is in immaculate condition and its just absolutely gorgeous.

    Thats all I got story wise, enjoy the photos I took this morning!












  2. #2
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
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    SD, Cali, USA
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    1995 M3, 1985 745i , S13 240sx sr20det
    Good start


    95 BMW M3 Alpine-
    <GO...JIC Cross Coilovers- UUC RCAB, AKG FCAB, Rogue Engineering TM bushings- AA Gen3 Exhaust- Dinan F&R Strut Bars- Dinan F&R Sway Bars- X-Brace- Mishimoto Rad- BBS RK 17x8"- TRM Chip- Dinan BBTB- DIY CAI- JP Performance Headers- 21.5 injectors- JB Racing Flywheel- Bimmerworld TB boot- 540i MAF><SHOW...OE euro clear exterior lights- Depo w/ HID- Hurricane Alcantara interior- Stereo (Kenwood,Sony,MB Quart,Rockford Fosgate,JL Audio)- Black kidneys- Euro 3 Spoke- ZHP Knob- AutoDim Mirror>

  3. #3
    323i E30's Avatar
    323i E30 is offline ⅂!ʈө !ƨ l!ʞө ɐ ʇөlөbµouө
    Join Date
    Jan 2013
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    Europe
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    My Cars
    M52 E30 touring & E91
    Beautiful
    ^ true story



    D̶i̶b̶s̶ ̶o̶n̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶E̶2̶1̶

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Oct 2014
    Location
    Elkins Park, PA
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    40
    My Cars
    1986 325E
    niice man. beautiful car.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Oct 2012
    Location
    Cedar Rapids Iowa
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    390
    My Cars
    87 325i vert, 87 325i
    Gorgeous

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Sep 2014
    Location
    Minnesota
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    E21 323i, E36 M3
    In Minnesota, that is a HELLUVA good deal for a rust free coupe if you can sort out the engine. Not to mention the m50 swap, suspension, headlights, euro clock, euro cluster, etc. Reasonably priced clean e30 coupes are so much harder to find than verts in MN.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Apr 2009
    Location
    norcal
    Posts
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    a few e30s
    Yes, you done did good.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    May 2010
    Location
    Honolulu, Hawaii
    Posts
    753
    My Cars
    '73 E9, '94 E34, '02 E46
    It could be that "feels sluggish" is only in comparison with your previous M3. But a misfire suggests something's not right, and should be looked into.
    Charlie

    Your mission, should you decide to accept it, is to add value to these threads, either by pictures or by descriptions, so the next person with the same or similar problem stands on your shoulders.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Nov 2013
    Location
    Egypt
    Posts
    141
    My Cars
    1987 e30 318i M50B25NV
    put in a strut bar and a skid plate to be pothole proof ( in egypt u kind need both )

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Oct 2013
    Location
    Chicago, Illinois
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    '90 bmw 325is, '90 vert
    $2400, rust free and M fiddy...I say you came out on top.

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Oct 2012
    Location
    Saint Paul, Minnesota
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    My Cars
    87 BMW E30 w m50
    Thanks guys, had an extra hour and did some testing today! No particular cylinder is consistently misfiring, but it feels/acts as if theres a misfire, unplugging each coil makes a noticeable rpm drop.. ALL Spark plugs have similar amounts of black soot on them (indicating running rich or intermittent ignition problem), but no signs whatsoever of oil, coolant or carbon tracing on them.. Also the compression tests brought me some confidence that the motor is pretty healthy:
    cylinder 1: 180psi
    cylinder 2: 185psi
    cylinder 3: 182psi
    cylinder 4: 190psi
    cylinder 5: 180psi
    cylinder 6: 190psi

    Could this be caused by a crank/cam position sensor? I know when the cam sensor went out on my m3 it felt like it had a misfire. I'm not very familiar with OBD1, but I know it usually doesn't show misfire data, I used my peake bmw reader and it gave me no codes (but frankly who knows if its hooked up correctly or working, even the owner said he didn't know) but it did have power and at least act like it was scanning. I'm going to move onto the fuel system next, maybe do some temps off the headers to see if any cylinders are vastly different. any other ideas?

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Oct 2014
    Location
    United States
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    27
    My Cars
    1988 BMW 325i Vert
    If it isn't fuel or pressure, then it has to be intake somewhere, doesn't it? I'm new still but learning!

  13. #13
    Join Date
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    a few e30s
    If you don't have a cel there won't be any codes. I had a frayed cps that made the engine miss at certain rpm. I also had a cps where the wires had pulled out of the sensor, causing intermittent connection.
    Last edited by dohcdoh; 10-24-2014 at 07:28 PM.

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Oct 2012
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    87 BMW E30 w m50
    Quote Originally Posted by dohcdoh View Post
    If you don't have a cel there won't be any codes. I had a frayed cps that made the engine miss at certain rpm. I also had a cps where the wires had pulled out of the sensor, causing intermittent connection.
    thats what I was thinking. but who knows if the CEL on dash is hooked up right (cause I didn't do it). wires on CPS look fine. might borrow a labscope from school to make sure the actual CPS is bad before I buy a new one but I'm leaning towards that

  15. #15
    Join Date
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    a few e30s
    Quote Originally Posted by SirMaxximus View Post
    thats what I was thinking. but who knows if the CEL on dash is hooked up right (cause I didn't do it). wires on CPS look fine. might borrow a labscope from school to make sure the actual CPS is bad before I buy a new one but I'm leaning towards that
    You can do a resistance test on it. Why wouldn't the cel be hooked up right?

  16. #16
    Join Date
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    87 BMW E30 w m50
    Because I assumed it would show me something and it didn't, and I don't really know the guy that swapped the motor so I couldn't be sure ^ BUT!

    OBD reader is officially trusted, it just showed me an oxygen sensor code… however the front o2 bungs are plugged I noticed and theres no cat.. so it must only be getting data from the MAF…

    heres what I think I narrowed down today.. all cylinders are firing at idle most of the time… all cylinders are electrically working fuel injector wise (noid light tested) but at various rpms #4 misfires. I can hear a leak coming from the intake manifold near #4.. spark plug from #4 also is the least soot on it by far which tells me its running more lean than the rest… I'm thinking its sucking air from a small mani leak and causing it to lean out cylinder #4 enough to misfire under load. does that sound reasonable?

  17. #17
    Join Date
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    1995 M3, 1985 745i , S13 240sx sr20det
    A vacuum leak is very likely if you haven't ruled that out


    95 BMW M3 Alpine-
    <GO...JIC Cross Coilovers- UUC RCAB, AKG FCAB, Rogue Engineering TM bushings- AA Gen3 Exhaust- Dinan F&R Strut Bars- Dinan F&R Sway Bars- X-Brace- Mishimoto Rad- BBS RK 17x8"- TRM Chip- Dinan BBTB- DIY CAI- JP Performance Headers- 21.5 injectors- JB Racing Flywheel- Bimmerworld TB boot- 540i MAF><SHOW...OE euro clear exterior lights- Depo w/ HID- Hurricane Alcantara interior- Stereo (Kenwood,Sony,MB Quart,Rockford Fosgate,JL Audio)- Black kidneys- Euro 3 Spoke- ZHP Knob- AutoDim Mirror>

  18. #18
    Join Date
    Sep 2013
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    Punta Gorda, Florida USA
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    1990 BMW E30 325is
    I love the clock.

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