E30 Rehab Build - BMW 1991 318i

Glad it's back to running again!

That's a good looking sedan!

I'm still hearing more noise from the rear-end that I should expect.  I'm pretty sure the rear wheel bearings are toast.  I also know one of the axles is probably bad (boot was torn when I bought it and it moves way too easily), and the other axle appears to be aftermarket.  I bought a used set of OEM (GKN/Loebro) axles, so I'll plan to swap them both when I do the wheel bearings.  Bearings, nuts, lock plates, and dust caps have been ordered.

I've been working nonstop for the last few weeks, so I may have to wait for things to slow down before I can tackle this.

I've been reading lots to DIYs about the process.  Bentley manual says to hammer the hub from the back...1 1/4 socket should work.  3-jaw puller or a hub separator also work.  Most of the bearing removals I've researched use an off the shelf removal tool tool (threaded rod w/attachment).  I did see a DIY where the guy used a pvc pipe, a threaded rod and some custom washers.  I've also seen a few write=ups that didn't use a threaded press at all and just used a hammer and an old bearing to hammer things in/out. I have a few days before the parts show up, so i'll start pulling together the tools I need.  NAPA charges ~$70 to rent their tools, and it's a little unclear if the front or rear bearing removal kit will work. Advance Auto didn't have a wheel bearing removal set, so I'll have to check anothe rstore.  I'm also tempted to get a threaded and some jumbo sockets.  Any suggestions?

I read a DIY post that suggests a Mustang front hub puller can be used to pull the axles back in.  It was <$15 on ebay, so I bought it. 

axle and wheel bearing replacement conpleted.  I'll get to the other side some other time.   Pretty straightforward job, with the right tools. The car does drive better, but i can still hear noise at low speedsfrom the front end indicating both front bearings are bad as well.  I'll double check to make sure the calipers aren't hanging up..but the bearings are likely shot.

Use a  30mm thin wall socket to break the axle nut.  Renove the locking ring around the nut first, then put the wheel back on.  I had to drill through the locking ring so i could pry it out.  It's easier to loosen the nut with the wheel on the ground...they're tight!

Loosen the 6 hex bolts where the axle connects to the diff.  Make sure you have the right tools.  I broke my HF 8mm, and they replaced the set under warranty. I was relieved when the second one didn't break.

Remove the brake disc and caliper.

I pushed the end of the axle through the hub using a cheapo 2 jaw puller from HF.  

Remove the hub from the trailing arm.  The bently manual says to hammer from behind.  There's not much room w/the exhaust in the way so I borrowed a slide hammer from Advance auto.  The lug bolt attachment was too big,  I put a couple of washers on the back of the hub and that was enough.

Next step is to remove the wheel bearing. Wheel bearing Removal kits are expensive.  The good ones are a few hundred.  The HF set is close to $80.  Even the loaner sets at Advance require a few hundred $$ deposit. I rolled the dice and bought a $30 set on Amazon and it worked great.  Big win.  Remember to remove the circlip before trying to remove the bearing

I tapped the new wheel bearing in w/a hammer and block of wood.  Once it was flush i used the old bearing to drive it all of the way back in.  Replace circlip.

I should probably invest in a jumbo socket set.  That wouls have sped things up a little.

I tapped the hub back in and used the wheel bearing press to bring it all of the way back in.  Put a little oil on the parts before you press them back together.

Getting the axles back in can be notoriously hard.  I read a DIY with a link to a generic ford puller to help bring the axles back into the hub.  Fail:  it didn't fit the axle thread.  I was fine without it...but I did waste $15.  

I turned 40 a few weeks ago.  I woke up early w/ the pups and since SWMBWO and Mini-me were sleeping i went for a drive.  It's tough to find good driving roads in FL, but it's easy to find places to drive to.

I decided to swap the other axle today. Unfortunately, i failed.  I knew it was an aftermarket axle.  There was no lockimg ring on the axle nut and the axle nut was 32mm...not 30mm.. A quick trip to Advance Auto and i had the right tools.  Unfortunalely, it snapped my HF breaker bar.  I tried my craftsman ratchet with a cheater bar and broke the ratchet as well.  Fail.  Maybe i should finally buy an impact gun.

Axle nut is off.  HF replaced my 3/8" breaker bar with the 1/2" breaker bar ($2 upcharge).   My HF floor jack handle works great as a cheater bar.. 

The the 3/8" breaker bar was the perfect size for tough bolts.  They're only $12... I'm already kicking myself for only coming home with the 1/2".  I also bought a ratchet to replace my broken craftsman one.  It's a bit of an inconvenience when stuff breaks...but HF is nearby and since they do replace stuff like that no-questions-asked...I'll keep shopping there until I can afford better stuff.

Two of my jackstands were part of the recall so I was at $0 out-of-pocket with my gift card.  I replaced the two 3-ton jackstands w/a pair of Big Red 6-ton stands. It's kind of a pain getting the car up that high, since my jack doesn't quite reach that high...but I figured it'd be good to have a heavier pair of stands in case I need to work on my minivan or Jeep.

Axle and wheel bearing swapped. Removal was easy, but the bearing race separated and i had to dremel it off...which seemed to take forever.

The car drives better, but the brakes sound like they're dragging a little at low speed.  This isn't new, but I haven't driven the car enough to know if it'll go away or not...it's been mostly sitting for 6 months now.  The wheels spin freely, but i can hear a light scraping if i have the windows down.

I greased the calipers when i replaced the lines a few months ago.  I also bled them again.   Maybe i need to rebuild or replace them?  I'll have to check the forums.  I didn't press them all the way back into the cylinders (maybe I should have?).

I had a dream about my E30 last night...more of a nightmare, actually. In the dream it had been sitting parked in a gravel driveway and I noticed a dent on the roof.  When I went to inspect it I could see inside and the dent was all rusty.  I also noticed several big dents like dree limbs had fallen on the roof.  There were also several more rust spots and the car looked awful...to the point it needed to be junked.  Scary stuff.  I do need to address some surface rust on the fendes where the hood and trunk sit.  They must not have been prepped right during the respray.  

I suppose the reason for this has to do with the fact I need to do more work on the E30.  The brake pads don't seem to fully release and make a little more noise than I'd like.  I also don't think the brakes feel as strong as they should.  This could be the brake cylinder, the ABS pump.  There's a chance one of my brake line bends may have pinched a little when I made new hard lines.  Anyhow, I was driving it last week and all of a sudden there's a new grinding sound that may (likely) coming from rear.  I'd say wheel bearing...but I just replaced those.  I'll have to get it up on jackstands and figure out what's going on.  

I finally put the car on stands and digured out the grinding noise.  The pin that holds the parking brake bracket in place slipped out.  Luckily the spring was still there and everything went back togetger.

I finally added 10mm spacers to the rear wheels so they now have the proper offset.   I also used longer wheel studs.  

I vaguely recall my last e30 had issues with the driver side door lock.  I think i primarily used the trunk lock and the central locking system unlocked all the doors.

This car had wireless unlocking installed.  It worked when i bought tge car, but thr driver side lock was intermittant.  Eventually the driver side lock failed but I just used the passenger side.  I bought a replacement tumbler but never installed it.

Last week the door stopped latching alltogether, so fixing that became a big priority.

Disassembly was straightforward.  I made sure to organize the individual lock tumblers in order.  

I should have done a more detailed writeup because the one walk-through post and the one video i used for reference didn't have good pictures (poor light, etc).  Oh yea, the instructions were in german.

Top tip:  once the lock cyl. Is back in place getting the circlip that holds it in place looks impossible due to the lack of access.  Use two flathead screwdrivers to hold it against the door skin and slide it into place.

I bought the kit to fix the lock cylinders in my e30 probably 8 years ago. Never had the guts to take it apart and fix it as I couldn't find good instructions. Maybe its time I tackle this. 

I think I need to attempt to pull one of my locks apart to see if I can repair them as well. No rebuilt kit for my car, but at the very least I can see what's jammed up.

I actually picked up a few spares at the junkyard now that I remember. At least I can practice with those.

I used this as a reference:

http://www.billswebspace.com/BMWE30DoorPanelRemoval-LockCylinderRebuild.htm

I also watched a youtube video for the process on reassembling the cyl mechanism.

The lock cyl. Has two banks of tumblers.  Start with the key in and as you sloooowly slide the key out it'll release the tumblers one at a time as you remove it.  The write-up warned they can fly out...but with the grease/grime it's unlikely.

I put each side of tumblers in a separate row on a sheet of paper (L&R). Match up the tumblers from your replacement set and put them in thr new lock in the same order.  Be sure grease them and put the springs in first.  

I emptied the greese tube on the paper so i didn't have to pick up the tube.  Once you greese the tumblers they shouldn't fall out on their own.

It took some fiddling to get it back together, but it's mostly designed so you can't do it wrong.  

Azryael said:

I think I need to attempt to pull one of my locks apart to see if I can repair them as well. No rebuilt kit for my car, but at the very least I can see what's jammed up.

On mine one of the components broke.  I probably could have skipped replacing the tumblers if I just had that one ring.

Slippery (Forum Supporter) said:

I actually picked up a few spares at the junkyard now that I remember. At least I can practice with those.

having a spare on hand would have made it easier to put back together for sure.

I had the same apprehension.  I bought this kit 15 months ago.  I only dove in because the actual door wouldn't stay shut lol.

Last week I signed up for an autocross event planned for last Saturday.  On Friday afternoon I was driving the E30 and felt a bit more shimmy through the steering wheel at 50mph than normal.   When I was using it as a daily ther was zero shimmy at 75mph.  After putting the car up on jackstands the only flex I could see was coming from control arm bushings. I knew they were degraded and had already purchased a set of Condor offset bushings pre-pressed into new lolipops (w/a GRM $10 ebay discount, thanks TOM!).  I'd watched a bunch of videos on the procedure and figured this should only take an hour or two (or three).  Easy, right?  

The first lolipop bolt was really stiff. I grabbed my breaker bar and promptly snapped the bolt off in the frame rail.  berkley.   There were many valuable lessons learned from this debacle.  Just because you have a big breaker bar, doesn't mean you should be so quick to use it.  If something isn't moving next time I'll use PB blaster my cordless impact gun and/or heat before going straight to big tools. 

Also, as in life it's always best to stop, do a little research, and choose the best path forward.  The best/correct path often the most difficult at first.  What I should have done:  spray the stud w/PB blaster, drive to my buddy's house and grab his welder, weld a nut to the broken stud and proceed to take the bolt out.  I would have missed the autocross...but the extra 30 minutes of dealing w/the welder would have probably gotten the car fixed pretty easily.  Instead, I removed the bushings and realized even if I could drill out the stud I wouldn't be able to put things back together in time for the event.  I don't have a garage to work on my car.  My workspace is under my house. It's covered, but I try not to use power tools are bag ash hammers past 7 or 8pm.

Another lesson learned about preparing.  Figure out what you need and buy the right berkleying tools for the job.  I had a package of small drill bits in my garage and an assortment of random larger bits. I didn't know what they were made of...but I know I bought some of them cheaply from Harbor Freight.  It's really hard to get a pilot hole drilled straight once you break off one or two bits in the bolt. Cheap drill bits amplify the issue.

I bought the appropriate bolt extractor and drill bit at Ace Hardware.  I should hav bought a few varied sizes of cobalt drill bits so I could step up...instead I wasted a bunch of time drilling with the crap bits I had.  Eventually I bought a full set of titanium coated left-handed drill bits from the Advance down the street.  The fact they were left handed didn't make a difference.  They also got dull pretty quickly and the small ones broke.  Eventually I use a die grinder ot flatten the bolt surface and start a new pilot hole.  When the bolt extractor would grip the bolt there was not way it would loosen the bolt...it wouldn't budge.  Eventually I bought a few cobalt bits to replace the broken smaller sizes, drilled out the entire bolt and used the bolt extractor to get the extra material out.  By some  miracle I was able to use my tap & dye set to cut new threads in the chassis sleeve.  Everything bolted back up as it should. Apparently there's a nut welded to the frame rail that can sometimes break loose...making it impossible to loosen or tighten the bolt that holds the lolipop in place. I'm lucky this didn't happen.

The Condor bushings didn't come with any instructions and I couldn't find any on their website.  I did recall reading instructions for a competitor's bushings (revshift?) that instructed you to drill a hole and put a screw into the bushing so they won't rotate in the sleeve.  The E30zone facetalker group had mixed opinions. I emailed Condor and they advised that "yes" always put a screw in them.  Unfortunately, my drill bits were getting dull while drilling through the lolipops.  Back to the store for more sharp drill bits.  I really wish I had thought of drilling the pilot hole in these before they were mounted.  I'd already spent enough time laying on the ground drill in hand.  

This endeavor got waayyy past the point of being a "fun" hobby.  I drove the car today and there's still a little shimmy at +50mph. I'll have to go find a few corners to go around to see if I can notice a difference w/the new bushings.  The offset bushings are supposed to improve caster.  The next auto-x event in October 3rd.  I also noticed that the passenger side steering rack boot is torn. I replaced the driver's side last year.  I'm really thinking about just selling the car, selling my VW Alltrack and finding one car that I can drive to work, autocross, and maybe even rally-x...and not have a car payment.  The wife & kid prefer the minivan over the Alltrack 10/10.  We also have a jeep (4 cars).  Even if we paired down to 3 cars I could afford to have one on jackstands while I fix/upgrade things if needed.  A nice E36 coupe with a roofrack would do everything I need.  An e46 ZHP or wagon are also tempting (but may also drive me mad w/repairs). I also toy with the idea of getting another Saabaru (9-2x), impeza, or even a V50.  

Sometimes, when it rains it pours.  Right before I tackled these bushings my dishwasher stopped working.  It's 7 years old.  I replaced the drain pump last year ($50) but otherwise has been pretty good. A quick call to SearsDirect and they diagnosed I needed a new control panel.  Of course, a few days later and I find out it's backordered.  Luckly I found it elsewhere cheaper and ($80 v. 180) and had it installed a week later. Unfortuantely, that was the wrong diagnosis...I needed a control board.  Another $90 and another hour installing it.  I don't really have much of an issue w/Roaches in my house (even by Florida standards).  There were actual roaches living inside the door of the dishwasher and what I presume to be lots of roach poop.  This was pretty gross.  I sprayed the inside of the door.  The new part came and I installed it last night.  Success!  One less thing that's broken.

After one of the parts runs last weekend my VW Alltrack seemed to have a dead battery.  I had driven only few minutes earlier, but I couldn't even lock the electronic doors.  It wouldn't do anything other than click, even with the jump box, so the problem may be more severe ugh.  That car is still under warranty so I'll try the jump box again then just tow it to the dealer. 

I think the family hoondavan ('08 Odyssey) needs a rear valve cover gasket. It looks like a huge PITA.  It also needs new rotors. 

The Jeep (TJ) needs the torque boxes (body mounts) replaced. It's a really big job with lots of drilling.  I'll wait several more months on this one.

I'm tired of wrenching...I really need to go for a fun drive.

Just a thought but you might want to check your toe and correct if needed with those offset bushings, don't want to scrub your front tires!

I know what you are saying about getting bogged down in repairs and simplifying things, definitely something to think about. 

I can totally empathize with getting a job like this done and not getting that feeling of accomplishment. It's debilitating. Hopefully the next job will go smoothly.

adam525i (Forum Supporter) said:

Just a thought but you might want to check your toe and correct if needed with those offset bushings, don't want to scrub your front tires!

I know what you are saying about getting bogged down in repairs and simplifying things, definitely something to think about. 

Adam & Iansane,  thanks for the encouragement...i needed it today.  I did just order a set of toe plates to measure and fix the alignment.  I was planning to redo the whole front end while i did the bushings and align the toe once that was done...thanks for the reminder. 

VW battery replaced (it was visibly leaking when I went to remove it).  Rear brakes in the minivan have been replaced, although they are making a weird noise when stopping in reverse...I may need to recheck my work.  
Progress with the E30 is moving at a snails pace.  Home improvement projects have been ruling my spare time.  I have a 10x30 enclosed storage area under my house (beach house on stilts) filled with "stuff" that wasn't particularly well organized or useful.  SWMBO and I rented a storage locker, we mostly emptied it, bumped one of the walls forward another 10 ft. and are in the process of insulating & finishing the storage area.  We also sold and donated a few van loads of "stuff" including random unneeded E30 parts.  The stuff we sold paid for the materials to extend the walls, so that's a +.  The size of my workbench is considerably smaller, but I don't think i'll need to get rid of anything important to make it work...I'll just have to get more organized.   

We started around thanksgiving and should have the bulk of the heavy lifting done this week.  It'll still technically be storage, but 1/2 the space can  be used as an office and/or man cave when it's done.  My FIL will likely be staying with us for a while, so the extra space will be useful.  I've still been on the fence about selling the E30, so this may push it on one-direction or another.  FIL daily drove an E30 vert for close to 20 years.  

Right around thanksgiving I finally replaced the blown rear shocks.  Buying new (or even used) Bilsteins wasn't something I could spend $$ on, so I did the next best thing.  After reading a few forum threads I bought Camaro KYB shocks from rock auto (<$60 for the pair).  They're a little stiffer and a bit shorter than the E30 sized shocks, stock-length shocks wouldn't last long with my ride height. I did have to buy sleeves for the lower bolt, but otherwise install was simple.  Unfortunately, as I was trying to re-center my exhaust pipe one of the bolts sheared off when I tried to loosen it...so I couldn't drive without the exhaust tip hitting the valence.  Yesterday (2 months later) I got it straightened-out and went for a ~30 minute drive and everything else felt really good.  The engine felt better than I remember.  The brakes seemed much more confidence inspiring since i cleaned and greased the caliper sliders...but i was checking them and I confirmed my ABS is non-operative.  I'll have to look into doing a ABS pump delete at some point, i know they can get gummed up.  There's a guy who rebuilds them into beautiful pieces of art...but they're also $800 or so.  

I also realized my tires are staring to show some small cracks on the sidewall.  I'll have to take a closer look, I may need to replace them if I'm going to autocross.  Instead of spending $500 on new tires, if i can find front struts and 14" wheels with usable tires for the right price I may still rally-x this car.  There's a local group running rally-x events much closer to home.

The most visible issue with the car is stemming from the cheap respray it received under a prior owner.  Because I'm close to the ocean, surface rust will expand pretty quickly. 

The hood and trunk jams have developed some pretty bad surface rust.  I did buy a matched can of paint to respray...so I guess I'll sand the inner fender jams and pain them at some point.  I was hoping I could a brush w/the spray can to touch-up a few rock chips on the hood & fender but it doesn't work...but i guess I'll need to buy an actual paint pen or a matched can of paint for that.  Any advice or recommendations on what to do are welcome.  Personally, I'd love to do a driveway respray in a more interesting color...but I won't be doing that any time soon.  

It’s now time to close-out this thread, I sold the E30 this week.  I didn’t post it for sale but wound up selling it to someone I had messaged about buying his car several months ago.  The new owner had owned a few E30s in the past and every few weeks he’d ping me that he was going to come buy my car.  Welp, he actually showed up with cash and drove it home a few days ago.

I’m bit sad that I don’t have it any more, but I never really fell in love with this car.  I’ve been working from home for the last year, so I had to actively find a reason to drive the E30.  As much as I liked driving the car, I decided having the space in the driveway and a little extra cash will allow me to pull the trigger when I see something else I really want.  Also, sitting so close to the ocean w/out a respray things would have gotten ugly. 

I’ll probably spend the summer sorting out the rest of the motor pool and revisit getting another “fun” car once life is more “normal.”  The Family truckster (2008 Odyssey) needs a front-end refresh, and oil leak fixed, roof seam leak (?) and new shocks.  Once that’s 100% I’ll have to decide what to do with my 6MT Alltrack.  It’s nice having a newer car in the fleet, but prices for manual wagons are pretty strong these days so selling it and getting rid of a car payment is attractive to me.  I’m on the hunt for GTI or SEL seats if I’m going to keep it, the base level seats have no leg support if you’re tall.  If I sort out the seats, Golf R or GTI springs & struts are pretty cheap, but I don’t think this will ever be a reasonable starting point for an autocross or track car.  With a sump guard it might be fun for rally-x…but that could get real expensive, real quickly.   

I may tackle rust repair SWMBOs TJ Wrangler.  She did a lot of work on it with friends 2 or 3 years ago.  They did some nice work repairing the frame, but it’s kind of awful some of the things they skipped in the process.  It needs torque boxes, body mounts, rear trailing arm reinforcement & lots of general rust attention.  The logical thing would be to sell it and just buy a nicer one…but SWMBO isn’t always logical.

When I do finally get the green light to buy something else it’ll probably be something RWD or AWD, within challenge budget, and woefully uncompetitive.  I’m leaning towards an E36 or another E30 but I also would like to own an MR2, RX7, RWD 70s/80s Toyotas, 323 GTX, Celica Alltrac, E28/E34/E21, something French,  X-1/9, AWD Eclipse (the agony!), etc  Of course, options for challenge-budget cars in this list are pretty thin on the ground these days.  I like the idea of buying a car for for $1-2k, making it better and knowing you can always sell the car for close to what you have into it.  An already prepped rally-x car would be awesome.  

I do have some spare parts CaptainAwesome sent me.  There’s still a good chance I’ll own another E30, but once I know for sure I won’t be using them I’ll pay it forward send them to another group member.

My final Pizza Run:

The rusty jeep:

Sad to see this project come to an end, I've been catching up on everything that you did as I just picked up a 1991 318is that needs a bunch of work. I really appreciate the detail you included, it's going to be super helpful to me.

LifeIsStout said:

Sad to see this project come to an end, I've been catching up on everything that you did as I just picked up a 1991 318is that needs a bunch of work. I really appreciate the detail you included, it's going to be super helpful to me.

Glad to hear some of the detail was helpful! Have you created a build thread yet?  

I have not as of yet, my garage has no electricity, no door, and is fairly dark so I've been collecting parts and waiting until it's a bit lighter out in the evenings. I just picked up an interior swap (going from tan to black), I've done an oil change and a rudimentary cleaning.  I plan on doing an almost full gasket kit on the engine, and wrap the car since the paint is shot.  I expect to get started closer to the end of april honestly.

I didn't buy this.  I'm glad the market for these cars is so ridiculous now, otherwise I would have had to do it.  Saw this posted within 2 minutes of posting on Sunday night.  Wrote the seller and exchanged phone info and we agreed to talk in the AM.  Rusty fuel tank, w/a new one included. I would have had to buy it.  Luckily, an hour later it was marked "pending" and Monday was "sold."  This is good, this is what the universe wanted.  I needed one or two less projects before I start another.