Intro and urgent question

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AbnMike

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I'm the guy who bought Gordon's 1970 Euro-spec E3. Great car and I look forward to many years of ownership.

Just last week I drove it East on the 54 to 125N and to I-8 and to Julian, CA. (0' elevation to about 4,000' elevation in about an hour). I passed every single person on the road. Great drive. And once in the curves towards Julian on 79 it was brilliant.

However...

Couple of questions (and I've sent these to Gordon, too, but haven't heard back yet so he's likely out of touch for the moment and I'm unsure of what in the heck to do currently)

1: Attached photo. I changed the oil today and then reached in with a magnet to the pan and that link was in there. There was also a small retaining clip but I dropped it. I am assuming this is a timing chain link. The dime is for reference. The other crap is gasket material.

The timing chain was replaced in 2005. I do not -think- that with that link missing the car would run (i.e., the timing chain would break) but I am unfamiliar with the BMW 6. I am -assuming- that this is from when the timing chain was replaced and it has just been there ever since.

So what should I do? I'm kind of afraid to start it now but it went on an hour long 75mph drive just this morning.

2: I wanted to change the brake fluid today but I am unsure if it has 3 or 4 in it right now. Is that a problem? I bought DOT3 but if it has 4 in it currently can I just do a bleed or do I have to do an absolutely complete to the last drop flush? I sent a message to Gordon asking him if he recalls which one is in the system currently.

Minor issues:

3: Temp gauge. Sometimes sits on cold. Sometimes it's correct. If it's on cold and I hit the dash it jumps into place. So if I am hitting it is that a sign of a loose wire or the gauge itself could be wonky?

4: Fuel gauge. At 3/4 to full it's fine. Lower than 3/4 it starts bouncing all over the place, settling, then bouncing again. ONLY when lower than 3/4 though. Bad gauge or sender in the tank going bad?

I think that's it for now...looking forward to being here. I'm an overthinker and fast typer though so some of you may get tired of all my questions!

Mike
 

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Just talked to Gordon - he didn't remember anything about a link falling when it was changed. He also thinks, as I do, that if this is the current chain it would already be broken, not running...

so at a loss. I guess the prudent thing is removing the timing cover, etc?
 
I have the same issue with my fuel gauge...look forward to hearing an answer.
 
On the two major issues.

If that link was missing the engine very likely wouldn't be running. If you are still worried just remove the valve cover and turn the engine through a full rotation looking for missing links. You can do this by putting the car in gear on a flat surface and pushing it or by putting the car in neutral and turning the engine with a big spanner on the crank bolt.

Dot 3 and dot 4 fluids are interchangeable for all practical purposes so no worries there.
 
aalto said:
On the two major issues.

If that link was missing the engine very likely wouldn't be running. If you are still worried just remove the valve cover and turn the engine through a full rotation looking for missing links. You can do this by putting the car in gear on a flat surface and pushing it or by putting the car in neutral and turning the engine with a big spanner on the crank bolt.

Dot 3 and dot 4 fluids are interchangeable for all practical purposes so no worries there.
Click to expand...

Oh man thank you so much. I pulled out the service manuals that Gordon gave me and how to remove the timing chain cover....well it ain't like it is on an old Chevy that's for sure!


On the fuel gauge issue I did find this link:

http://www.lesliewong.us/blog/2009/07/26/bmw-fuel-sender-repair/

But that was for a broken fuel gauge (didn't work at all). Mine works, just bouncy.
 
Anyone know what size that crank bolt is? I've got a 32mm but it seems larger and I can't get up in there to get a correct measurement.

Finally found it. 36mm
 
Last edited:
Wow, you have found the missing link!

Seriously, that thing probably fell into the pan in 1978. Some mechanic grabbed a spare off the parts car, installed that, and forgot about it.
 
So I talked to the shop that did work on the car and they don't recall any links dropping (of course it was in 2005).

I cannot find a 36mm short socket at any store today. However with the valve cover off I can see the master link, with both e clips in place.

If there is only one master link then my chain is good. So is there only one?
 
Mike,
Congratulations on the purchase, it looks to be an outstanding E3.

DOT 3 and 4 are compatible but if unsure of the age of the fluid and if it looks murky you might as well do a flush/bleed.

The gas gauge flakiness looks to me to be a dirty or defective sender. Easy enough to pull it out, inspect it and clean it.
 
On 2: DOT4

on 3 and 4: That´s a bad ground on or to the instruments. Very common on the E3. Take the cluster apart, clean and grase the connections on the gauges to the backplane. Run an extra ground from the instruments to chassis ground. Clean all ground connections you find on the car.

Let me repeat that:

CLEAN ALL GROUND CONNECTIONS on the E3.

I mean all of them. Behind the dash, from battery to body. From body to engine (a b... to get to) from the firewall to the gearbox/starter, at the front where the wires from the lights go, at the back in the trunk, at the coil and wherever you find any ground.

Let me repeat that:

CLEAN ALL GROUND CONNECTIONS, REPLACE ALL GROUND STRAPS, GREASE EVERYTHING.

you wouldn´t believe what a difference that makes. No kidding, not only the instruments will behave better (they never fully behave, they allways jump a bit) but actually the engine runs a lot better (I kid you not)

If you ever feel like fiddling with the carbs to make the engine run better:
DON´T

first:
CLEAN AND REPLACE ALL GORUNDS. Then throw out the points in the distributor and replace with a pertronics ignitor. Then replace the cap and rotor with really high quality items. Then replace the plug wires (with Magnecor wires). Then replace the plugs (with NGK, Iridium recommended). Then set the timing (once, vac advance disconnected at 1800rpm according to book or manual) and then forget forever.

And then and only then may you carefully try to adjust the zeniths. Idle screw first, then CO, then back to idle and the linkage syncro.

If you think the carbs are the problem: They aren´t. It´s the ignition.

So:

CLEAN YOUR GROUNDS

sorry bout the preaching. Congrats on the purchase.

This is the collected wisdom of 110.000mls in my E3 daily driver over the last 5 years, my only car (that drives at all).

CLEAN YOUR GROUNDS!
 
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