1992 318i, rack&pinion need replacing according to inspection, but...

re: the timing belt (got cut off)

- timing belt is due for replacement, but no outward signs of trouble yet

If it has a belt they can fail without warning and effectively wreck the engine. Round about this time BMW changed back to chains.

As regards the rack, is it play or leaks? If play it's usually the track rod inner ball joint and that assembly can be replaced without removal of the rack.

There never are signs. Until it breaks and you then need a complete head rebuilding (at least) $$$$.

If I knew a car was due for a timing belt I would not even start it until that was accomplished.

But, more importantly, are you sure that engine has a timing belt? You should have an M42 engine which has a chain, not a belt.

I'm not certain,

indicates it has a chain.http://tinyurl.com/pot8c is inconclusive. I'll take a look at themanual tomorrow, perhaps it will say?

I should point out that I have the 4 cylinder engine, I know that from memory. Thanks for the help guys.

give me the last 7 digits of your VIN number and I can look it up and tell you which engine you have for sure.

Better yet... You can look it up yourself here:

By the way, it appears that all model year 92 318's which were the E36 body style had the M42 engine with chain. The earlier E30 bodied cars had M40 engines with a belt. The link above will show you exactly.

According to the info I have, the 3 series 1.8 up to '93 was fitted with the M40 B18 engine which has a timing belt. Mike.

I'll get the VIN and double-check tonight. I'm almost positive it's an E30 1992 cabrio. The confusion I think comes from the fact that they continued to manufacture E30 cabrio's in 1992-1993, the time frame during which they'd changed to E36 for the hard-tops. I'll find out for sure tonight.

Simon.

Fred W wrote:

Aha, even more confusion lol. According to the realoem.com link above, European 1992 318i Cabrios had the M40, and USA 1992 318i Cabrios had the M42.

Maybe I'll skip work and go check now :)

Ok, just checked, it's an E30 with an M42. Yay! Also checked the manual, the fluid that the previous owner had been topping up all the time was actually Power Steering fluid (with ATF). That's probably related to the rack&pinion problem the inspector found?

Simon.

Simon,

With that being the case, (M42 with no timing belt) and the steering rack leaking I would not be concerned about a 3 to 5 hour trip. These cars run a long time and as long as you have oil you can top up the power steering fluid. Nothing in there should break catastrophically.

I have been running on a leaking rack for over a year and while the drips are annoying it will just have to wait until I have time to rebuild it...

Cheers, Bob

thorns wrote:

1992 318i is fortunate enough to not have a timing belt.

Ah, yes indeed, you are correct. You did not mention that your car was a cabrio, which means it was an E30 and does have the M40 engine complete with timing belt.

So, change it. Soon. Now. Before it breaks... Changing it afterward will not be a happy experience.

OK, that is good news. I did not know they made E30s fitted with M42s. So now you know why the timing belt was not changed.

But it makes me a bit skeptical about your mechanic recommending a belt change, eh?

It wasn't the mechanic, it was my friend heh. The mechanic made the mistake, but he corrected himself halfway through his inspection. Got me a little worried for a few minutes hehe. Going to get the rack fixed on Friday, plus misc stuff (coolant flush, since we don't know whether the coolant head gasket was ever replaced etc).

Still a great car to drive, I just can't wait until I have to worry less about it =)