|
Joined the club and just drove a 2001 BMW 330Ci off the lot. Want to go home and play with it but I have to stay in town until my brother gets in on a 9:00p.m. flight. Can't loving wait.
|
#
?
Dec 14, 2010 21:48
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 19, 2024 18:24 |
|
|
The E36 rear shock mounts tearing out is a very real issue. Luckily, if you have reinforcement plates that are installed correctly, it becomes null. It happened to a good friend of mine that didn't have the plates at ~100K miles. My car didn't have plates until ~75K miles, and it was fine (currently at ~85K with plates, obviously). Further differences from 95 to 96+: - 96+ has digital climate control - 96+ has a staggered tire setup (225 on 7.5" wheels in front, 245 on 8.5" wheels in the back) - 99 has side airbags - 99 has 3 spoke steering wheel - 96+ has slightly different kidney grills
|
|
#
?
Dec 14, 2010 21:48
|
|
|
^^^^^I got lucky with my '92. I got it with 144K on the clock and the only thing that had happened was the rear shock mount gaskets had worn out. I put Bilstein HDs all around, got new gaskets, mounts, plates and strut bars. Fingers crossed, I'll never have to deal with it.Gripen5 posted:Maybe I am just too used to more modern HP and torque numbers, but the 325 just seems so pedestrian in comparison and I was hoping for some extra boost in a strait line (although I'm sure they both handle great around the turns). Have you driven an E36 325? The M50 is a fabulous engine. It doesn't have the numbers of the M3 obviously, but I've never once found myself wishing I had more power. Yes it's a bit underpowered in a straight compared to a newer engine, but it puts down plenty of power to keep the car at the limit in the twisties. And when I go out for fun drives, it's along coastal ridge roads, not highways. McMadCow fucked around with this message at 22:12 on Dec 14, 2010 |
|
#
?
Dec 14, 2010 22:03
|
|
|
McMadCow posted:Have you driven an E36 325? The M50 is a fabulous engine. It doesn't have the numbers of the M3 obviously, but I've never once found myself wishing I had more power. Yes it's a bit underpowered in a straight compared to a newer engine, but it puts down plenty of power to keep the car at the limit in the twisties. And when I go out for fun drives, it's along coastal ridge roads, not highways. Most Americans are timid about reving a motor above "halfway" up the tach, fearing that it might in some way be damaging or hurtful to the car. The M50 doesn't wake up until 4000rpm, so if someone has never driven the car up there, they might not ever know how great the engine is. It really does feel absolutely anemic under 2500rpm, which is why the changed the intake on the M52 to bias for torque.
|
|
#
?
Dec 14, 2010 22:13
|
|
|
McMadCow posted:^^^^^I got lucky with my '92. I got it with 144K on the clock and the only thing that had happened was the rear shock mount gaskets had worn out. I put Bilstein HDs all around, got new gaskets, mounts, plates and strut bars. Fingers crossed, I'll never have to deal with it. Actually, I think the only BMW's I have driven were an E90 and an E92. I suppose it is my duty to drive one before I consider the 325 to be under powered.
|
|
#
?
Dec 14, 2010 22:23
|
|
|
Sterndotstern posted:Most Americans are timid about reving a motor above "halfway" up the tach, fearing that it might in some way be damaging or hurtful to the car. The M50 doesn't wake up until 4000rpm, so if someone has never driven the car up there, they might not ever know how great the engine is. It really does feel absolutely anemic under 2500rpm, which is why the changed the intake on the M52 to bias for torque. Yeah, I definitely agree with that. It's pretty docile at low revs but higher up it really screams.
|
|
#
?
Dec 14, 2010 22:27
|
|
|
Pissingintowind posted:The E36 rear shock mounts tearing out is a very real issue. Luckily, if you have reinforcement plates that are installed correctly, it becomes null. It happened to a good friend of mine that didn't have the plates at ~100K miles. My car didn't have plates until ~75K miles, and it was fine (currently at ~85K with plates, obviously). It's not a huge issue, it's just a shock mount and you will know about it when it starts to fail, as the end of the rod starts smacking into things. E30s and E46s do it. For all I know, the E21 and E90+ also do it. So it's not specifically an E36 concern. As Mr Chips said, although very rare, the subframe is more of a concern, if only given the cost of a repair/reinforcement.
|
|
#
?
Dec 14, 2010 23:25
|
|
|
Saga posted:It's not a huge issue, it's just a shock mount and you will know about it when it starts to fail, as the end of the rod starts smacking into things. It's actually a huge issue with these cars, as the shock mount can take the entire shock tower with it requiring you to weld in a new tower. Examples: http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1283649 To the guy looking at them a sub $5K e36 m3 with 130K will likely need $2K in work right off the bat, so be sure to budget for that.
|
|
#
?
Dec 14, 2010 23:56
|
|
|
Older BMW straight sixes are about revving it high, and keeping it there. Even with the vanos on the 328 it is still pretty much a turd until you hit peak torque. You'll know when you shift early in one because you'll suddenly lose a lot of power. It wasn't until I had my chance to take my 328 on a trip in the hills that I realized it was in fact faster than my e30. I don't know if it's the vanos fudging with the timing or the dual mass flywheel, but it does feel like the M50/M52 isn't as rev-happy as the M20.
|
|
#
?
Dec 15, 2010 00:02
|
|
|
Yeah, when I went from an E30 325i to an E36 325i I thought it was slower as well. Once I started using the revs at the higher range I changed my opinion. It really goes like mad at high revs. It makes for exciting driving on curvy roads when the engine wants to jump ahead so surprisingly.
|
|
#
?
Dec 15, 2010 00:48
|
|
|
Saga posted:It's not a huge issue, it's just a shock mount and you will know about it when it starts to fail, as the end of the rod starts smacking into things. Big issue with the E31 as well. The rear shock towers are in danger of tearing out if not reinforced with aftermarket plates. There is also a weld-in reinforcement part available from BMW for this.
|
|
#
?
Dec 15, 2010 01:08
|
|
|
I've only heard of the subframe tearing issue with the Z3/Z4's, not on E36's. The shock mounts are definitely an issue if you're using high rebound shocks. Plates are a must.
|
|
#
?
Dec 15, 2010 01:55
|
|
|
I've got a 98 540i that just hit 151k miles. It has a newer radiator (I know because it is a Nissens, but cannot find a date) I figured the cooling system had been redone and went on to work on the suspension first. I cannot tell if the water pump was replaced or not. Only know that the radiator was and the expansion tank does not look to be 12 years old. Over the past two days I have put about 500 miles on it. The Check Coolant Level light keeps coming on, but when I check it cold the level is fine. I did smell some faint coolant smell today after a 280 mile roundtrip, but it could have just been my imagination. I am thinking of just changing the radiator, water pump, hoses, pretty much everything. $750 in parts, DIY so no labor, just so I don't have to worry about anything else for a while. This will put off the remainder of the suspension upgrade for a while (last month I did new Bilstien HDs). I don't mind spending money on the car, I got it cheap and it seems to be in good shape. Anyone think I should do anything different? Maybe just figure it is the sensor in the expansion tank and replace that first? I figure the suspension upgrades can wait, but I would hate to have everything done then blow a head gasket or something, seems my luck. Assuming I change out the cooling system should I hit anything while I am at it?
|
|
#
?
Dec 15, 2010 02:03
|
|
|
EvellSnoats posted:The Check Coolant Level light keeps coming on, but when I check it cold the level is fine. I did smell some faint coolant smell today after a 280 mile roundtrip, but it could have just been my imagination. That is definitely a sensor. The coolant smell is probably because the car cracked a radiator/expansion tank/hose at some point and there's a little bit of residue in the engine compartment somewhere. Do the suspension, drive it for a while (5-10k), then if you want to keep it (you will), refresh the cooling system.
|
|
#
?
Dec 15, 2010 02:48
|
|
|
Sterndotstern posted:That is definitely a sensor. The coolant smell is probably because the car cracked a radiator/expansion tank/hose at some point and there's a little bit of residue in the engine compartment somewhere. Not necessarily. I've replaced the sensor in mine when I did a full cooling system overhaul and I still occasionally get a CHECK COOLANT LEVEL message on the check console. If I hadn't done the work myself and triple checked everything, I'd also think it were a sensor - or that the new one were bad. I'd recommend bleeding it properly.
|
|
#
?
Dec 15, 2010 03:12
|
|
|
Saga posted:It's not a huge issue, it's just a shock mount and you will know about it when it starts to fail, as the end of the rod starts smacking into things. It's a huge issue, and it can and will fail without warning if you don't have reinforcement plates (like it did for my friend). Nothing was knocking around, it just went. On stock shocks. Do you actually own an E36? It's one of the most feared issues...
|
|
#
?
Dec 15, 2010 06:17
|
|
|
EvellSnoats posted:I've got a 98 540i that just hit 151k miles. It has a newer radiator (I know because it is a Nissens, but cannot find a date) I figured the cooling system had been redone and went on to work on the suspension first. I cannot tell if the water pump was replaced or not. Only know that the radiator was and the expansion tank does not look to be 12 years old. There is a coolant level sensor and it's probably broken just like the one on my 97 540! The electronics on these cars are poo poo as far as I'm concerned. My ECU/ECM just fried itself along with a window regulator and a 2 year old slave cylinder breaking..all of this at the same time. Luckily I got one for $125CAD instead of most of the quotes around $300-600.. This car is just a bag of headaches when it's not being awesome. 131k miles for the record.
|
|
#
?
Dec 15, 2010 06:21
|
|
|
Pissingintowind posted:It's a huge issue, and it can and will fail without warning if you don't have reinforcement plates (like it did for my friend). Nothing was knocking around, it just went. On stock shocks. Do you actually own an E36? It's one of the most feared issues... Ah, my mistake, I thought people were just talking about the usual self-destructing shock mounts and the variety of supposedly upgraded ones for 3x the price. Doh  Well, I still maintain an E36 M3 will be more fun than an E46 330 until the rear suspension collapses and you crash and die.
|
|
#
?
Dec 15, 2010 07:59
|
|
|
I got the Turner Motorsport reinforcement plates for the rear and BMW factory retrofit plates for the front. I've put about a year/8K miles on them over Bilstein HDs with no issues. That was about $50 to prevent shock tower cracks, so prevention isn't expensive. It's doubly important if you want to upgrade to something stiffer than stock, as I did.
|
|
#
?
Dec 15, 2010 09:38
|
|
|
Where is the Oil Filter and Drain Plug for a 1993 E36 325i, and how much/what type of oil should you be using?
|
|
#
?
Dec 15, 2010 18:06
|
|
|
rscott posted:Where is the Oil Filter and Drain Plug for a 1993 E36 325i, and how much/what type of oil should you be using? The housing for the oil filter is the can looking thing here:  You're only replacing the filter element and some seals/gaskets, it's actually easier than a "normal" oil filter. And the oil drain plug is the big bolt on the oil pan under the car. Recommended winter oil would be a 5W40 or 10W40 Castrol or the stock 20W50 BMW oil. You will need 7qt of oil, you can overfill 1/2-1qt if you're going to be doing high-G cornering.
|
|
#
?
Dec 15, 2010 19:02
|
|
|
I'm having a weird problem with my 2006 325i. Monday night, while running to the car to take my wife who was in labor to the hospital, the rear passenger door wouldn't unlock via the keyfob or the dash button. If I open the door handle from the inside, it unlocks, and all the other doors unlock fine. I've already had it in the dealer for the "all doors won't unlock over amperage fuse blown" problem common to them, but now just the one door won't unlock. The worst thing about it is that because I'm at the hospital (baby is out and fine, so I'm just relaxing) is that my brother-in-law is going to drive my car home and back a few times to bring us things. He's got an Avalon and goes out of his way to poke fun at my car. The door lock will just be another thing to get him going,
|
|
#
?
Dec 15, 2010 19:27
|
|
|
Sterndotstern posted:The housing for the oil filter is the can looking thing here: Thanks! 
|
|
#
?
Dec 15, 2010 19:45
|
|
|
Jerk McJerkface posted:I'm having a weird problem with my 2006 325i. Monday night, while running to the car to take my wife who was in labor to the hospital, the rear passenger door wouldn't unlock via the keyfob or the dash button. If I open the door handle from the inside, it unlocks, and all the other doors unlock fine. I've already had it in the dealer for the "all doors won't unlock over amperage fuse blown" problem common to them, but now just the one door won't unlock. Probably the door lock actuator, which is one of those things BMW seems to have never figured out how to build properly.
|
|
#
?
Dec 15, 2010 20:26
|
|
|
Gotta clear up some details here about chassis failure: Rear Shock tower failure is an issue not limited to the e36...it can affect any vehicle that is neglected. It usually begins with a failed rear shock mount (rsm) which if left alone, will destroy the sheet metal if ignored long enough. E36 chassis: Front strut towers can deform or "mushroom" from abuse or worn strut mounts. M models eventually came with reinforcement plates. Rear subframe mounting locations can fail if the car was abused enough. M cars were reinforced starting in 96, if I recall correctly. These can be purchased and welded in for those cars which did not get reinforced from the factory. Trailing arm boxes can tear out on tracked cars...rare issue for street cars. Front subframe needs reinforcement where the motor mounts attach. Z3: Terrible rear suspension design will fail at some point in the car's life (fml). E46: subframe failures yet again, even worse damage than the e36, but its claimed to be rate and isolated to early e46's. Lots of M cars needed significant work to make it right.
|
|
#
?
Dec 15, 2010 21:15
|
|
|
Jerk McJerkface posted:He's got an Avalon and goes out of his way to poke fun at my car. The door lock will just be another thing to get him going, Joke's on him. He drives an Avalon.
|
|
#
?
Dec 16, 2010 01:23
|
|
|
Sterndotstern posted:That is definitely a sensor. The coolant smell is probably because the car cracked a radiator/expansion tank/hose at some point and there's a little bit of residue in the engine compartment somewhere. I will bleed it first, see if that helps. Is the sensor in the expansion tank or is it a separate part? Rode around today, temps above freezing, no check coolant message. May keep the car in town for a week and see what happens.
|
|
#
?
Dec 16, 2010 01:44
|
|
|
Well here's something you don't see every day... http://www.passionsmobiles.com/files/index.php?id=57  Passions Mobiles posted:Perfect for home, office or any party room, BMW 2002 Living room is made from a 1974 BMW 2002. To complete the BMW 2002 Living room, the artist has created 6 pieces that includes - It isn't actually a '74, but I'll let it slide. One day I'll have this sort of frivolity in my life. If push comes to shove and it fails me on the road, I know what I'm doing to MY '74...
|
|
#
?
Dec 16, 2010 08:37
|
|
|
CornHolio posted:Joke's on him. He drives an Avalon. e;f;b! Exactly, the correct response to any ribbing is "Dude, you drive a loving AVALON..."
|
|
#
?
Dec 16, 2010 10:11
|
|
|
Saga posted:e;f;b! Heh. Well it's a battle I'm not going to win so I don't bother. It started when we took a road trip together over the summer. He was driving my car while I napped in the back, and the AC wasn't working. He started complaining about it and how German machines think they are all awesome but they are just overly complex and quirky. But I'm 99% sure he just didn't know how to run the climate control. When it was my turn to drive it worked fine. I will say this, though, on a 10 hour drive the back seat of the avalon is much more comfortable than the 3 series. Which is fine by me because we take a lot trips together and if he wants to drive his car and save the milage on mine, It's 2006 with only 30k on it. It still has the new car smell. EDIT: Alright, so when I left the hospital, and was on my way home, the check tire light came on. I pulled over and sure enough, the rear passenger tire was at 20 PSI. I had just checked them all and filled them up when the weather got cold, so the rest were ok. It was only a couple miles to home, so I just put some air in it back to the 35 and drove it home. This sucks, the tires still have some life in them, and I hate having to replace just one. I'm curious, since you don't rotate them would it be a good idea to just get one tire for the back, or should I replace both rear tires? The tires have about 35k on them, and I'd like to not get run-flats, but I'm not sure how to handle the lack of a spare. Any suggestions? Super-NintendoUser fucked around with this message at 20:25 on Dec 16, 2010 |
|
#
?
Dec 16, 2010 15:26
|
|
|
Following up, you can point him to the two current threads involving Avalons with chronic sludging and spontaneous electrical problems. As far as tyres, you always replace them together on an axle. I don't have any problem mixing tyres on vehicles, but even I wouldn't do that. So you have runflats (hence TPMS) but don't want to continue with them? What you do is buy two non-runflats and put them on your existing back wheels. Order one official E46 17" steelie from your dealer and (assuming you are running 17" currently) put the remaining good rear run-flat on the spare wheel. Throw said wheel in your trunk. Hey presto. If you aren't running 17"ers, I guess you either buy a 17" tyre with a correct sidewall to use as a spare, or buy a cheap-as-gently caress single alloy from tirerack.com (or ebay) and put the old tyre on it. Jerk McJerkface posted:Heh. Well it's a battle I'm not going to win so I don't bother. It started when we took a road trip together over the summer. He was driving my car while I napped in the back, and the AC wasn't working. He started complaining about it and how German machines think they are all awesome but they are just overly complex and quirky. But I'm 99% sure he just didn't know how to run the climate control. When it was my turn to drive it worked fine.
|
|
#
?
Dec 17, 2010 15:07
|
|
|
How easy is to throw the 6 disc CD changer into my E39? A simple plug and play job or am I opening a can of worms?
|
|
#
?
Dec 17, 2010 15:26
|
|
|
Saga posted:Following up, you can point him to the two current threads involving Avalons with chronic sludging and spontaneous electrical problems. Thanks for the feed back. After thinking it over, I decided to stick with the run flats, seen as I hardly drive the car, and I don't want my wife to have to deal with flats. Oddly enough, though, I filled up the tire yesterday about 1pm, and I checked it just a minute ago, and it's sitting fine at 35 PSI. I'm not sure if maybe it just lost some air due to the tremendous cold spell for the last few days, or it the TPMS system just freaked. I'm going to reset the sensors and then drive it for a bit and see if it comes back on, but for now I think I'll just leave it alone. Also, one of the things he would make fun of is that a couple of times when I parked the car, he noticed that half the lights were on. Turns out that's a European feature that I didn't know how how to turn on, but was engaging by mistake.
|
|
#
?
Dec 17, 2010 15:45
|
|
|
Jerk McJerkface posted:Oddly enough, though, I filled up the tire yesterday about 1pm, and I checked it just a minute ago, and it's sitting fine at 35 PSI. I'm not sure if maybe it just lost some air due to the tremendous cold spell for the last few days, or it the TPMS system just freaked. That's not unusual. You could have a tyre with a foreign object through the tread or damage to the bead which will lose air when parked on the right bit of the tyre and retain it when parked on another. I guess with run flats it should be safe enough to keep driving, as long as there's no gaping holes in the sidewall.
|
|
#
?
Dec 17, 2010 17:54
|
|
|
Sterndotstern, sent you a PM about some more E46 questions.
|
|
#
?
Dec 17, 2010 18:23
|
|
|
Saga posted:That's not unusual. You could have a tyre with a foreign object through the tread or damage to the bead which will lose air when parked on the right bit of the tyre and retain it when parked on another. I guess with run flats it should be safe enough to keep driving, as long as there's no gaping holes in the sidewall. Cool, thanks. I took it out for a bit, reset the TPMS and drove it around for about a half hour, and everything stayed up. I just won't drive it more than a few miles from home for the week, and make sure it stays ok. Some guy offered to sell me a couple Turenzas that he took off his car to replace with aftermarket wheels, maybe I should get them to have a couple spares. I can probably buy a cheap rim somewhere.
|
|
#
?
Dec 17, 2010 19:30
|
|
|
One of my tires deflated on me, and my mechanic found a dry wall screw in between the wheel and the tire. Luckily the screw did not cause any damage to the wheel, he removed the screw and I didn't have any more trouble with it until the day I sold it.
|
|
#
?
Dec 17, 2010 20:06
|
|
|
BrokenKnucklez posted:How easy is to throw the 6 disc CD changer into my E39? A simple plug and play job or am I opening a can of worms? If it's already wired (check the trunk, left side, there should be 3 wires, one coax, one 3 pin and one 6 pin, IIRC), it's a piece of cake. What year/model/stereo do you have?
|
|
#
?
Dec 18, 2010 00:53
|
|
|
BrokenKnucklez posted:How easy is to throw the 6 disc CD changer into my E39? A simple plug and play job or am I opening a can of worms? The E39 is all plug and play for 1997-2003. You can swap a 2003 gps in dash nav unit in, as well as an MP3 CD supporting 6 cd changer and it'll all work together. Very flexible design. Or so I've read. Be sure and check out the e39 in dash ipod kit for $150. Seems like a better deal/more modern. https://vimeo.com/10701003
|
|
#
?
Dec 18, 2010 03:37
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 19, 2024 18:24 |
|
|
Anyone here drive an E46 325xit? The wife and I just bought a used wagon, and it getting under 12.5mpg in city driving. I know the cold weather and short trips aren't great for fuel economy, but it seems like it should do better than that.
|
|
#
?
Dec 18, 2010 19:21
|
|
