New ride! 89 e30 vert

jc43089

Got the problem figured out, the clip for the o2 sensor wire broke and it landed on the exhaust manifold, it must have been pulling the ecu voltage down or something, got that fixed up.

The right rear window was sketchy when going up so I pulled everything apart to get the motor out.

To loosen the alignment bolts, they look like this from above, I had to grab the round part with a pliers to keep it from turning and messing up the adjustment.

Then it still didn't want to come out because it was all of the way down. I read somewhere about the window switches getting pitted over time so I took that apart, sure enough it looked terrible, I cleaned it up with some emery cloth and it works perfect now, I am going to clean the others because they are somewhat slow and now the rear is fast again. No pics sorry, I will get some when I do the others.

Odometer gears! Remove the 3 screws on the knee panel.

It pulls out of these 2 clips that support the back of it. The one on the steering column moves so you have to push it back down.

Take the thumbscrews off of the peice below the cluster.

Take the 4 screws out that hold the black trim piece in, there are 2 in the lower corners that are recessed and somewhat hard to see. Remove the trim ring carefully, then take the last 2 screws out that hold the cluster in.

By pulling down/out on the tabs you can get the cluster out far enough to unhook the wiring on the back, make a note of where the bonus bulbs and stuff go that are option specific I assume. (Note, it is much easier to get this out with the steering wheel removed and the column lowered a little, you can't remove the plastic column covers without pulling the wheel either because there are 2 screws hidden by the wheel. I had the wheel out the first time I removed the cluster and it was much easier.)

It's out! From the back, remove the hex/phillips screws that hold it together.

Screws removed. Then unhook the green plug by the levers on the sides and slide it off, it has pics that engage with the speedometer.

More to come.

jc43089

PT2:

Then it comes apart like this.

4 screws holds the speedometer into the main piece, take those out.

Then it should slide right out. Here is what it looks like before disassembling the gears. (note the "e1" or first drive gear is already removed in this picture from taking it apart before.)

Take the clear cover off.

There was a brass bushing inside of the OE gear. I used a side cutter from the end to split it in half lengthwise and it just falls off. Then push the new gear onto the shaft by hand, it is a tight fit.

Install is reverse of removal. I added mileage to accurately reflect the miles put on while I have had it which leaves me at 154,161.

The cluster is somewhat confusing as to what the manufacturer was. The face said VDO, the maint circuit board said motometer, and the speedo itself said VDO. I guess the only way to know what you have is to open it up and see.

My CPS was sketchy and I causing the tach to flicker once in a while so I ordered a new one. The cable is very brittle and the molded area around where the plug goes into the sensor was broken and exposed the wires.

I thoroughly dislike the backwards opening hood! Made this job a pain. I took out the fan/clutch and shroud and unbolted the metal coolant pipe that crosses the front of the engine to get the cable out.

I also installed an 80/88 fan controller switch. I will drive it a while without the mechanical fan to see how temps are.

More parts coming today!

YoungCR

Taking out the cluster on these cars is a pain too! Nice write up though.

B C

I may be changing out my odo gears tonight and this will be beneficial

jc43089

Snap said:

I may be changing out my odo gears tonight and this will be beneficial

Did you do it?

It runs a little hotter than I am comfortable with before the fan comes on, and the fan does not seem as effective as on my e36 so I put the mechanical fan and shroud back on. I put the new shocks on the vert cover and trunk, now you just press the trunk button and it pops up by itself!

I put in the new CPS and it went well but the plug was opposite of the OE one, it fits fine but the cord does not route as nicely, probably a change so that it fits a wider range of applications. No more flickering tach!

So back when we went on our vacation trip, at Mid America Motorworks I found a shift knob from a VW beetle late 60's to early 70's. It looked awesome and was 18 bucks so I got it, It is leather wrapped over aluminum, the inside was 10mm threaded so I had to drill it out to fit the BMW shifter. I used a 35/64ths drill bit (.546") and it fit just like an OE knob. I didn't drill all of the way through so it has a stop when pressing it on. The shift boot was a cheap ebay one, but for 12$ it isn't bad. It is foam like on the backside but the trim ring fit well into the console.

The Red Baron!

I also got the reverse lights hooked up, I had to remake the harness because the one I got was shredded up. Next projects: replace the nasty broken power antenna, fix the wobbly hvac fan switch, and install the new spoiler when it gets here.

RamRod E28

Gotta love the Red Baron!!!

RamRod E28

bfinley

Nicely done John!

patsbimmer1

That is one of the coolest shift knobs I have ever seen!

jc43089

Thanks! You can get them at mid america motorworks, cheap too. It has to be drilled out to fit though, I have a drill bit that is the right size if anyone would like anything drilled for a custom shift knob. I have some more pics to put up I have just been too busy.

jc43089

I recently cleaned, the connectors for the taillights, a battery post/terminal scrubber works great, then a light coating of vaseline to keep corrosion away.

Here are a couple of quick pics of the new spoiler and antenna.

Earl

I never understood why BMW had to make that third brake light so ugly and out of place=/ Looks great otherwise

KaiserRolls

Earl said:

I never understood why BMW had to make that third brake light so ugly and out of place=/ Looks great otherwise

Maybe like a safety regulation or something?

jc43089

Yea, same reason for the diving boards.

jc43089

I guess the Royal Purple cleans a little too well, I developed a steady oil drip from the oil cooler thermostat end cap, around a drop every 3-5 seconds. I planned to replace all of the gaskets and o rings on the oil cooler but I called the local BMW dealer and the only part that they had in stock was the cap and o ring. Good deal because that was the only thing actually leaking. The parts guy said it was odd because it had been on the shelf since 2008 and they normally don't have stuff more than a year. I replaced it without removing the whole housing. Just use a C clamp to hold it in place while installing the retaining ring.

New on the bottom, old on top, the new retaining ring would have been easier to use if it was off of the car, I just reused the old one. The old o-ring pretty much crumbled when I took it out.

And good to go, no more leak.

And it is time, for sale ad photoshoot.

jc43089

jc43089

The only bad points are this little bit of cracking body filler on the fender, and a paint line on the same fender, the carfax shows an accident in '99. It must not have been too serious because the vin tags all match, it appears the fender was repaired and the ES valance was put on at that time.

jc43089

The last project was installing foglights. Mike had some extra e28 fogs so I fabbed a mount to hold them in the es valance. The e28 lights have the same plug as the e30 so they plug right in.

Let there be light!

jc43089

SOLD to a gentleman from north of Madison. This is now your thread Matt, Hope you are enjoying it and post pictures from time to time.

RamRod E28

Dang! Those lights really completed the front end!

WIBIMMERS

New ride! 89 e30 vert