Words of wisdom needed for '88 325ix...(head gasket, valve noise...)

[Gills]

Hey guys,

I know you probably get a lot of threads like this and i definitely searched but my situation is a little different.
I've already posted up a thread about a valve ticking/tapping issue about the car here:

http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum...d.php?t=455493

Anyway, more information:

Car has 187k-190k.
All electronics work(except power antenna)
interior is in very good condition

exterior is good for it's age. Tiny rust spots on the passenger side door on bottom, small spot on sunroof, and trunk. No major dents, dings

Jacked the car up to check for a leaking transfer case and other parts. Looks clean of tranny fluid. There seems to be oil on the passenger side axle and misc parts (under oil filter area)but it's not fresh..more on this..

Shifter feels like it's mounted in jello. There's something disconnected because even when it's in gear you can move it all the way from side to side

suspension and steering feel very good. The car "feels" great besides the horrific shifter. I believe it's lowered on m-technic(? can't remember exactly) springs with bilsteins in the back and some other brand in the front.

There seems to be oil puddled up near the oil filter, exhaust headers on some kind of mounting plate. It's actually slighty above and to the side of the oil filter/headers. I'm not sure where this came from but i'm thinking it's from lazy oil filter changes when taking it off and spilling it. I'm thinking(hoping) the oil i saw underneath was from this as well. Ideas? Any why the hell is the oil filter mounted underneath the headers?!? lol

The valve tapping/knocking issue. The owner prior to the one selling me the car has kept all the service records from when he owned the car. The current seller was nice enough to give me his phone number since he was very involved with this car. I asked him about it and he told me the valve adjusters are worn and cause this knocking noise. Even when adjusted the noise will come back within 2k miles. I was told in the previous post that this is common. What is involved with changing these? is it better to just find a used head off a junker?

Checked the oil dipstick about 3-5 minutes after i had the engine running. DOH! there's some white streaks in the oil. I'm definitely thinking Head gasket issue. I called the previous owner on this topic and he said he never had any loss of coolant or white smoke out the pipe issues. He did mention that since the car is rarely driven and just sits(which is true, the new owner has put maybe 2-3k miles on it since may 05. That was in the first months that he owned it and the last couple is has been sitting in cold weather), that possibly water has has developed in the oil pan because it never is heated up all the way. The car does just sit there and is not started very often and not heated up all the way. Regardless of that theory, i plan on changing out the head gasket if i notice more severity.

Now between the valve issue, head gasket, and shifter issue this guy is asking too much money IMO. Add to that the timing belt is due for replacement(previous owner claims 30-50k ago which means i change right away if i buy). I plan to change the head gasket, head studs, timing belt, tensioner pulley, water pump, install a rogue or UUC shift kit, new valve adjusters if it makes sense, and miscellaneous tune up parts. All that added up with doing the work myself= i have no idea. What would these parts run me? The engine does feel good and seems to have all the torque/power that it should have. Just the coolant/water on the dipstick and valve issue are really buggin me.

I shot out an offer of 1500 and he turned me down and i said arrivederci. But the car keeps calling me for some reason and i'm thinking about calling him back to see what his offer is. My opinion is the car is worth no more than 2000. I'm assuming i'm going to have to spend another 500 in parts to get it in proper running order so that would bring it to 2500 which is what the car would be worth. I'm not sure if that's a proper ballpark or not which brings me here.

I would like to hear your advice and what you think is the best thing to do for each issue i mentioned and how much you would spend. What is the best route to take. Remember i will be doing all the work myself.

Any help would be much appreciated.

Thanks,
Tom

[2002jm]

Please have someone that knows ix's check the level of the oils in the drivetrain, axles, transfer box, etc.
If you are up for the work, and the drive train is good offer no more than 2,000.00 assuming the body is in good shape.
These cars will cost $$$$ if they have not been keep up on the maint. for it to be a good daily driver.

My 89ix had tons of $$$ spent on it and I still had plenty of things to fix.
jm

[Gills]

Please have someone that knows ix's check the level of the oils in the drivetrain, axles, transfer box, etc.
If you are up for the work, and the drive train is good offer no more than 2,000.00 assuming the body is in good shape.
These cars will cost $$$$ if they have not been keep up on the maint. for it to be a good daily driver.

My 89ix had tons of $$$ spent on it and I still had plenty of things to fix.
jm

As far as being kept up on maint, the previous owner has many, many receipts of work he had done so many things were luckily upkept. As far as i saw, the clutch, wheel bearings, front axles, CV, ball joints, tie rods, front driveshaft, ABS sensors, O2 sensor....(can't remember the rest but there was a decent amount) were all replaced fairly recently. There's no clunking or binding in any of the diffs when the wheel is fully locked either. Actually, he has a spare transfer case and a front driveshaft in the trunk of the car as well as a bently repair manual. The spare transfer case needs to be rebuilt and i'm not sure on the driveshaft.

I was looking at bringing it to someone that specializes with bimmers but the current seller doesn't even have the car registered or insured. I guess i could always have a tow truck bring it but i'm not sure of where closest BMW specialist is.

2000 is definitely where i think i should max out. Does anyone have anymore info on these valve adjusters and how to replace/fix them? Are there any writeups of head gasket and timing belt replacements? Also, where would be a good place to order all these parts? I would like to hear from anyone that has experience replacing the parts i've mentioned.

Thanks in advance,
Tom

[gwatson]

Check with BMW for the valve adjuster eccentric. Part #11331744354 I don't know if they have them. As far as the water in the oil, I've heard that a car sitting a long time can get some condensation in the crankcase, but it sounds like you may have more than condensation. Have you looked at the oil cap on the valve cover? If there is white gunk under the cap you may have head gasket problems or a cracked or warped head. Rebuilt heads run about $700 on ebay. Used heads about $150 to $450. then you have the gaskets, head bolts, timing kit, anti-freeze, etc. and labor.

[Gills]

Check with BMW for the valve adjuster eccentric. Part #11331744354 I don't know if they have them. As far as the water in the oil, I've heard that a car sitting a long time can get some condensation in the crankcase, but it sounds like you may have more than condensation. Have you looked at the oil cap on the valve cover? If there is white gunk under the cap you may have head gasket problems or a cracked or warped head. Rebuilt heads run about $700 on ebay. Used heads about $150 to $450. then you have the gaskets, head bolts, timing kit, anti-freeze, etc. and labor.

Thanks for the reply. I'm assuming the valve eccentric is an individual part that needs to be ordered for every rocker arm. And how did you find that part number?

I actually did open up the oil cap and i don't remember seeing any cheese there. I need to go back and be certain, but not right away because i don't want the guy to know that i'm still interested There's no way anyone is going to buy the car at the price he's asking anyway so it's not going anywhere.

I will check ebay for sure and see what's out there. Where is the best place to order gaskets, timing kits...etc?

[gwatson]

http://catalog.theeurodepot.com/
http://www.realoem.com/bmw/

[gwatson]

I bought my car with a broken timing belt. I think I paid too much but I love this IX.

[Gills]

http://catalog.theeurodepot.com/
http://www.realoem.com/bmw/

did you have to show this picture??

Well, there's some heads on ebay. Here's a used one: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/E30-M...QQcmdZViewItem

Here's a fresh one but holy expensive!!!:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1984-...QQcmdZViewItem

Why do you think they won't have the eccentrics? They have prices at one of the links you listed. I would like to come up with a total of what i'm going to fix on the engine. Oh i don't know if you saw, but i'm going to be doing all the work. Mechanics are too expensive

[Gills]

anyone else that can help me out??

[Gills]

does anyone have experience with the UUC or rogue shift kits? I've heard that you have to drop the tranny to install these on the IX.


And no one has ever bought/installed new valve eccentrics?

I stopped by a local junk yard today and they have a 88 M20 head with a claimed 60k miles on it for $300. I really have a difficult time believing that but i got to see it in person and it looks like it's decent. But 300 seems to be a little to much for it.

Anyone else want to throw in their 2 cents? are there other E30 forums that are knowledgeable? I NEED to read what long time owners think!

Thanks,
Tom

[Gills]

not too much information on here, eh?

[Kuhl 951]

I can't help you on the eccentrics but I know they are available as a separate item from the dealer. They aren't that expensive really. Sometimes the rocker can get egg shaped from wear and make a nasty mechanical noise. Concerning the shift kit, you can install most of them by lowering the rear of the trans (disconnect the special tail piece housing on the iX trans) and loosening the motor mounts. It gives you better clearance to work without dropping the trans. Welcome to the joys and headaches of iX ownership. I just drove mine last night in a hard steady rain and still couldn't get the rear end to kick out...I'm still impressed with this car!