Any BMW diesel guys here?

yeah its backwards thread and it didn't take much to get it loose, just needed a suitable thing to get in there to turn it. The holding tool was just 2 holes drilled in a piece of aluminum flat stock with a bit ground out of it to clear the fan hex. Probably could have just relied on the fan belt to hold it but that had already been removed. You're not doing a roadside water pump on this guy though. One of the water pump bolts is under the timing belt, so the belt comes off before the pump. Its the only reason I'm changing the pump honestly.

This is the first vehicle I've ever owned with a timing belt, also the first diesel engine, and the first water cooled German engine for me so lots of new things in my world. I do love how Ford Forded it up though. 1960s design American alternator with standard bolts on a vehicle that is basically entirely metric otherwise. Just enough to make you get out both tool sets.
 
Ford always had a "special way" of doing things,,, throw enough ideas at the wall and see if any stick, I guess...
The little 3.0 12V in the wagon seems like a winner,,, until you have to take take the trans cover off, and realize the engine and trans need to be separated to access it... The good engineers only worked every other day!!!!!
 
Found and fixed a wonderful connector. Not sure whats with the insulation but its not the first time I've seen this. Nothing a little heat shrink can't sort out. I didn't trace it but this harness goes up to the header panel, so probably all of the front lighting. Luckily the connectors are pretty easy to take apart and de-pin. There is a red lock tab that comes out, then careful poking with a screwdriver to release each pin one at a time for repair.

1223172008.jpg 1223172102.jpg
 
Unless its got some sort of really extreme reach that can affect things halfway across the garage with no electrical connection, I'll say no.
 
I think that may have been the most annoying valve adjustment I've ever done. It uses eccentrics at the valve end of the rocker arm. To adjust the lash the cross bolt has to be loosened and the eccentric turned with a punch, somehow all while moving the feeler gauge to get it right, then holding the punch, tightening the bolt, and holding the other end of the rocker arm down with another wrench.
 
I hope it's like my luck with valve adjustments that I've had to do over the years in that you may not have to do another on that engine other then just just check them per maint. schedule.
I think the reason I had that luck is I used a quality synthetic oil (changed per manufacture's maint. schedule) & always drove gently til warmed
(I always ran it at a fast idle till the temp gauge started to move though before driving off) up to full operating temp. The cams always
looked like new with this treatment and were all SOHC, and that high cam is the last to get oil pressure on startup.
 
Last edited:
this one is a total unknown to me. I have no clue what maintenance has been done over the years so basically I'm doing all of it now. The timing belt I took out was not original, but it was in a tooth off. It sat for 10 years though so I was worried that it might be in bad shape. Water pump was original, timing belt tensioner pulley is a little loose and has a rattle to it. I'm hoping to never fool with the valve lash again, it wasn't horribly out but it was enough to justify tweaking. The cam looks perfectly fine, no obvious wear on it at all. Oil flow for this one is also very critical. No cam bearings, the cam runs directly in the aluminum towers on the head. The book says for cam clearance checks, basically measure the cam to see if the journals are right, then measure clearance. If any are out of tolerance, replace the cylinder head. Considering these things are like hen's teeth anyway I have no desire to do that.

It sort of surprises me that an engine designed in the 80s requires manual valve adjustment though.
 
You could sleeve the head for cam bearings if needed or even weld cracks/fix warpage etc.
Manual valve adjustment is more efficient (so better MPG) and all industrial Diesel engines have it.
My 89 Ford Festiva 1.3L engine had it & even after 120K miles or 200K KM it never required One adj. ever!
 
I think that may have been the most annoying valve adjustment I've ever done. It uses eccentrics at the valve end of the rocker arm. To adjust the lash the cross bolt has to be loosened and the eccentric turned with a punch, somehow all while moving the feeler gauge to get it right, then holding the punch, tightening the bolt, and holding the other end of the rocker arm down with another wrench.
That's the way BMW valve adjust was done nearly forever. Do it often enough and it'll become second nature. Don't use a punch, use a straight wire bent into an L on one end and a 45º angle on the other to give you proper leverage depending on the eccentric hole location. I found a welding rod that fit perfectly and made several over the years.

You can't imagine an engine designed in the '80s with mechanical adjustment but I can't imagine any engine with a timing belt. Both problems were taken care of by BMW in 1991 with the introduction of the M50 6-cyl which uses hydraulic lifters and re-introduced the timing chain on BMWs. A bullet-proof engine, especially the M50 TU engine (technical update) which I have in my '95 5-series with over 240,000 miles without even replacing a valve cover gasket. In fact the timing belt era at BMW was on one basic engine design only and only for 5-years or so before they dumped it. Some people love it but I've seen the tragedy of ignoring maintenance steps on belted engines that simply aren't required on a modern engine.
 
I just expect the timing belt. It was designed in the 80s, when many bad things were designed. The whole reason I changed it is because I have no clue when it was done last and I have no desire to have it fail. The oil filter had a 2002 manufacture date on it, so I'd judge that all of this has been in place a very long time. The belt tension pulley was OE BMW, same with the water pump. The tension bearing was worn out too, has slop and it has that rattle of no lube when spun. The cam was a tooth off as well, so bonus points for it being wrong and managing to not smash the valves up.

The timing belt is not a sell point for me, its just something to deal with. The car is weird enough that I'll put up with changing the belt once. I will probably not put enough miles on it to have much risk of wearing it out, it will likely age out instead. Its not a bad job to do really, messing with the valve lash and getting the valve cover back on is worse than changing the timing belt. The vacuum pump is very much in the way.
 
Timing belts were said to have benefits in solving harmonic problem issues in some engines as the belt absorbed the vibes! Made the engine lighter too plus likely solving the harmonic
problem likely added a lot on engineering costs besides even more weight to the engine through a stronger block etc.

I prefer the chain drive by far also though there are some engines now with issues with them not
lasting etc. Variable valve timing & for sure running cylinder shutdown (MDS) to save fuel is hard on chains or any drive system.
 
:thumbsup:
Funny thought.
I think caddy had a deisel in the mid to late 80s (probably trying to ape MB, poorly)
They were a big fail. Noisy , rough, bad performance and not even great gas mileage compared to the smoggers of the day.
My father made a comment that stuck with me.
If you bought the same caddy with the gas engine and it was as rough and noisy and poor running as the deisel that was available.
You'd bring it back to the dealer screaming.

This is no reflection on your project Gadget , or diesels in general. Just a thought that popped into my head. :dunno:
 
Awesome!
That digital dash is fairly impressive for it's age. I like odd ball vehicles like that, aside from the struggle to find parts.:( It's hard enough finding certain things for my '83 Dodge D150 pickup. More than once, I've though about finding a turbo diesel Mercedes and fixing it up or using it as a drivetrain donor and put it in a small truck like a Ford Ranger. Others have done it. Believe it or not, but I believe there is actually a kit out there to adapt the MB diesel to a Jeep transmission.:idea: It'll probably never happen. I can't even seem to finish the projects I already have.:rolleyes:
 
Great! It sounds nice! They will put out just as much heat as a gas engine when warmed up as long as the thermostat is working correctly!
Maybe add a good aftermarket temp & oil pressure gauge for safety!

I found if you plug them in around the freezing mark it makes for a quick warm up & so less fuel used/ stink etc./ better oil life & engine life.
Not running the interior heater till it warms up allows them to warm up much faster also as I found on my 93 Dodge W250 Cummins 5.9, as it would take 12 miles to come
up to operating temp with the heater on after starting verse 2 miles for the temp to come up without the heater on!
 
This is no reflection on your project Gadget , or diesels in general. Just a thought that popped into my head. :dunno:

well, there are reasons these sold poorly. it is a pretty unnatural combination really but at least they used a decent engine that runs fairly smooth. The GM diesels were fairly terrible really. This one is rated for 30 mpg, and it will do it. A guy I knew who owned a diesel Mark VII and multiple gasoline Mark VII's told me the diesel did 8-10 mpg better than his gas models on the same trip.

That digital dash is fairly impressive for it's age.
the dash is pretty advanced for it's time. All old style single layer boards with through-hole parts too, so it can be serviced if needed.

The BMW engine parts I can get reasonably easily, the Ford parts are the issue. Its running original radiator hoses because I just cannot find replacements. Ford inlet and outlet are opposite BMW's so the hoses aren't the same.

Not running the interior heater till it warms up allows them to warm up much faster also

Heat was on per the coolant fill instructions, between that and the clutch fan not really de-clutching very much it was sucking a lot of heat out. I imagine if I took it down the road it would heat up a lot more but just idling in the garage doesn't exactly make it do any work.

I have a thought for hidden gauges too. This has a flip-down door for the ashtray. I was thinking of removing the ashtray and bending up a panel to fit into that space with some gauges. I could make it completely stock looking by just closing the door. Right now it has the usual 1980s "you're screwed" idiot lights. I think I can fit 2 gauges and keep the lighter socket in that space if I do it right.
 
Right now it has the usual 1980s "you're screwed" idiot lights.
I had a similar '86 mid size Ford LTD (not a Crown Vic) and so did my Dad. They could be picked up in running condition for nothing before scrap prices went up because they were UGLY and nobody wanted them. Mine cost me $75.:D I think Dad paid less than $200 for his. They had no gauges and ONE idiot light for EVERYTHING that just said ENGINE, if I remember right. So you didn't know for sure if you lost oil pressure or were over heating. Real helpful.:rolleyes:
 
yeah, Ford was good for a "Replace Engine" lamp. This one is fancy, it has one for Oil and one for Temp so you at least know what problem is going to destroy your engine.

I know the baby LTD. basically a 4 door Mustang. In 1985 you could get the LTD LX which actually could be had with the 5.0 HO throttle body engine, exactly the driveline used in the auto Mustang that year. Most of them had a V6 or a small straight six, but I think they may have even offered a 2.3 4 cylinder as well. The Fairmont could have been had with a 4 banger and it was pretty much the same car.
 
Back
Top Bottom