This is what I did Saturday:
New Chapter member Alan Pate from Fairhope, AL bought a really nice 1987 325is a while back. It's a gorgeous red 5-speed coupe. When he drove it to the monthly meeting in (January? February? I can't remember) we asked him about the last time the timing belt, belt tensioner and water pump were replaced. Replacing the timing belt every 60,000 miles or 4 years is VITAL on the M20 engine. Neglecting that one item can ruin the head if the belt breaks. The water pump and tensioner need to be replaced at the same time. Since Alan didn't know when the belt was last changed on his E30, we suggested that the club do a "work session" to use it as a learning opportunity for Alan and anyone else that wanted to see how to perform that basic task. The work session was scheduled for March 15th originally, but several of the people that wanted to attend couldn't be there that day, and that was the weekend of the annual Fairhope Arts and Crafts Festival. The town was going to be full of people (turns out it rained cats and dogs all that day, too), so it was rescheduled for the following Saturday, March 22nd.
On a gorgeous, "Chamber of Commerce" morning six of us gathered at Alan's beautiful new home at 9am (I was late after waiting for the post office to open so I could mails some time-sensitive parcels, and arrived at 9:30). Beside Alan, the group included Cliff Pike, Mike Paquette, Jeff Hackman, Ray Sells, and me (Ken Kanne). (Jim Ramsey showed up just about the time the pizza was ready. Something mysterious about that! LOL!!!) We took turns disassembling the cooling system and other parts to allow access to the timing belt, tensioner, and water pump. Alan had bought a belt, hose and water pump kit from Autohaus of Arizona (
www.autohausaz.com). Mike, Jeff and I did most of the tearing down, Cliff was designated parts cleaner, and Ray and Alan lent a hand when not "watching and learning". We proceeded at a pretty leisurely pace, and took time out to eat the pizzas and chips Alan had provided. The reassembly went smoothly, and by 3 PM the car was back together and running smoothly. We left Alan with a serviced car that won't need that job done again for many years. By the way, although the old belt looked pretty good, it WAS starting to delaminate on the toothed side, and the old tensioner had put clean rub marks on the back.
If you own a BMW with an M20 engine, CHANGE YOUR TIMING BELT if it has over 60,000 miles OR 4 years on it. Even if the car has been parked for years, the belt is still subject to break if put back into service. The belt "takes a set", and subsequent running will flex it where it was bent while asleep all that time. All the more reason to drive your Bimmer! That's what it was made for!
Here are some pictures of the day....
Jeff and Mike taking out parts:
Ray dives in while Jeff advises:
Cliff was kept busy most of the time cleaning parts as they came off the engine:
Car owner Alan Pate (left) compares pictures of the work with Ray Sells:
Cliff and Mike working on the reassembly:
I'm happy to be in a BMW CCA local Chapter that has many "hands-on" guys. Next month we're getting together to drop the new engine and transmission in Eddie's 1985 325e. Upgrading to an "i" engine.