My son has bought his first car , 87 320 i 5 spd , he wanted rear wheel drive and manual so this kind of fitted the bill given his budget and its a clean rust free car. The central locking starting playing up with one door lock sticking, removed trims, lubed linkages but still not 100%, now the rear doors are locked and i cant nut out how to unlock them at all, cant get trim back off of course! LF actuator is seized, i know a visit to auto sparkie is essential but i thought id see if someone had experience with them( hasnt every euro owner ! )
vtecnet,
Feb 4, 3:20am
I fixed mine, theres a known issue, you need to join a wire to another one in behind the drivers side where the factory speakers resides in the kick panel.
If the lad looks at BMW forums he will find all the answers and advice about the known common problems, and manuals. The older models are well supported by forums of enthusiasts.
intrade,
Feb 4, 1:40pm
word of warning thes spin out of controll real easy its why i never owned a rwd bmw , could not see the point of hafing 4 sacks of sand in the boot so it would not spin out in winter in europe
pericles1,
Feb 4, 4:56pm
Get him a BMW manual that way he can fix his central locking and also read up on doing a head job when it overheats, the headgasket blows and cracks the head. my brothers ace at his old BMW's now, cracks heads fixes that then block runs a bearing, fixes that then the head cracks again, then the block knocks its an endless cycle. Im suprised BMW owners don't crash their cars more often as their eyes must be glued to the temperature gauge.
lisa35,
Feb 4, 5:29pm
Jeepers, all sounds pretty bad! Thanks, ill check out the forum etc, it's the 6 cylinder model. What can I do to help the cooling? Fit an after market electric fan or just hope it doesn't get hot and tell my boy no drifting and losing it like Intrade says , lol.
poppy62,
Feb 4, 5:50pm
So not much of a driver then Intrade? Haven't all BMWs (excld 4WD) been RWD. Must be a hell of a lot of Spinning going on everywhere. Funny thing is they were/are so successful racing and not too many spins. I think its the "nut" behind the steering wheel thats the main problem.
poppy62,
Feb 4, 5:55pm
Sensationalising again! I've had and wrecked more BMWs than you've had cars. and just because your brother had a problem doesn't make it a universal issue. There are currently 9 + BMs in the family various models and no such issues. I understand your dislike for them it's been posted by you often enough I got the drift way back.
poppy62,
Feb 4, 6:01pm
OP, CRC and lots of it, is the first line of attack. You can get the rear panels off by removing the rear seat squab first. plenty of CRC in the solenoids and motor units and grease the actuators. You can unplug the solenoids and wire them directly to a battery to test them (after lube). Fitting aftermarket alarm system ( cheap from Repco/ SCA) is a good option to resolving the problem.
elect70,
Feb 4, 7:20pm
Nearly all overheating problems are a result of poor or no maintenance .to the cooling system main culprit is never changing the coolant . Same with door locks , need to be lubed yearly at same time coolant is replaced says BMW service manual .
lisa35,
Feb 5, 2:22am
These things are sent to try us, it wouldn't start tonight, plenty of turnover , just not firing, there's fuel there. I only have a test light and there is power at pos terminal at coil but do I need a meter check for current leaving coil? It's been running so well it's a bit frustrating to have this suddenly happen, he's only had it couple a weeks! What to do next? It's had new dizzy and leads and plugs from the last owner. Not much point taking plugs out to check for spark is there unless all of them are out which brings me back to the coil?
kazbanz,
Feb 5, 2:34am
alarm?
lisa35,
Feb 5, 3:07am
No alarm.
vtecnet,
Feb 5, 3:29am
Fuel pumps fail sometimes, worth checking for fuel pressure, check fuel pump relay, fuses etc Ignition switch could be a problem, I had loads of E30's and only ever had a fuel pump fail. no other issues at all.
lisa35,
Feb 5, 12:37pm
There was plenty of fuel at the feed to injection, it pumped well with key on, I think it's electrical.
kazbanz,
Feb 5, 3:01pm
lisa-its a 28 year old bimmer. They are character not faults-didn't you know that?/
lisa35,
Feb 11, 2:38am
Hey your'e right, its at that age and you just happen to be the owner at that time where . ! happens, its just the frequentcy and severity and how ya deal with it differs !
lisa35,
Feb 11, 3:07am
Hey, forgot to ask about the safety/legality of little 175/185 tyres been fitted to 8" alloys to give that fat ,full look! seems crazy to me , wof guys would have a laugh wouldnt they? My boy has just bought new 15 x8 alloys for the bemma and says the tyre shops stretch them on to these wheels! hard case, buying mags before sorting locking and starting issues, you cant tell them tho aye!
clicker5,
Feb 12, 2:30pm
Hey - Give him a break! This car is 28 years old! Lets see a 28 year-old Jappie or Holden/Ford goes.
tamarillo,
Feb 12, 3:58pm
What a load of rubbish. Owned a few, driven really quick and yes I know how to drive quick. Wife's tales.
tamarillo,
Feb 12, 4:03pm
Some good ideas coming. I've replaced a few actuators in these. If one won't move get trims out and try a good one just by wiring it up. That's confirms if the door is getting the message. If it is then get second hand actuators, lots around. Great thing is they are relatively easy to pull apart and the actuators are easy to change and there are lots around.
lisa35,
Feb 16, 1:09am
Thanks tamarillo, i ran in to the sparkies on friday for them to sort the locks and also a relay and fuse were gone ( as to why it wouldnt start) , i couldnt see anything blown, also the windsreen had a leak at rh lwr corner an it drips directly onto th ecu, which alredy has had a s/h unit fitted in the past, most probably for the same unfixed water leak! So at least the key and dash lights/guages work again. Asked sparkie to fit a remote locking at same time as was a good suggestion on the post!
monzaman,
Feb 16, 1:29am
I worked on these aged BMs when new and heard asian built e30's that leaked onto ecu's,some BMs had an extra central locking function where you turn ign key in dr dool lock further to deadlock all doors.
tamarillo,
Feb 17, 1:44am
We're they Asian built? I've had a few of these and other three series and heard about Asian made or assembled differences. All mine were jap imports but all were made in Germany. No mention anywhere online of Asian plant until a much later one in China. They had a subsided in Japan and built special spec for them I think, but they were a retailer only.
monzaman,
Feb 17, 3:43am
Heard they where and had sat for a couple years with leaks so became substandard and werent allowed to be imported to NZ,yes rest I think are German built except Z4s made in USA nowadays.
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