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Low voltage can apparently cause all kinds of crazy poo poo to happen. Even knowing this, I had some other issues that I didn't attribute to the battery. Once my battery finally died and I replaced it, a couple of the other issues went away. On a side note, #3 failed on me over the weekend. On almost any other vehicle I've had, these pins just had a cotter pin after a nut on the other end of the pin. Not some crappy metal hinging clasp. Half of the clasp sheared off and allowed the pin to slide half way out. Luckily it was still on the shift bar and didn't fall all the way out. The symptom this cause was a very spongy shifter that allowed the shifter to go all over the place, and I could barely get it to click into gears. I was able to simply shove the pin back in there, and off to the dealer to get a new $7 pin. Fermunky fucked around with this message at 17:52 on Mar 15, 2011 |
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Mar 15, 2011 17:48
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guidoanselmi posted:Battery stuff. I don't have an answer, but I recently disconnected my battery for a few hours while replacing a window regulator and the car ran terribly when I finished up, as if I had a dead cylinder. I figured driving it around the block would let the computer figure out how a motor works again, but it was just as bad after a few minutes of driving. Turning the car off and back on completely resolved the problem.
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Mar 15, 2011 18:20
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Pilsner posted:You could consider a 540 instead. It's a league below in terms of purchase cost and expensive-ness of parts. It's slower of course, but it's attainable. Yeah, it is definitely on my radar. Just thought I would ask about the M5 considering its purchase price was seemingly low for the value. Figured there were reasons.
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Mar 15, 2011 18:29
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barakus posted:I don't have an answer, but I recently disconnected my battery for a few hours while replacing a window regulator and the car ran terribly when I finished up, as if I had a dead cylinder. I figured driving it around the block would let the computer figure out how a motor works again, but it was just as bad after a few minutes of driving. This happened in my e46 when I left my lights on. The car was able to start, but it was sooooo hosed. Super rough idle, very little power, gauges didn't work, all electronics were going bonkers. I got a jump and everything went away.
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Mar 15, 2011 20:22
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Bringing this over from the AIest images thread:awesome-express posted:
Now I love utes and am a fan of the homebrew BMW utes we've seen before, but this just seems silly. I can't imagine there's any market for an OEM M3 ute.
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Mar 15, 2011 21:01
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Pilsner posted:You could consider a 540 instead. It's a league below in terms of purchase cost and expensive-ness of parts. It's slower of course, but it's attainable. Granted the 540i is slower than the m5, it will still put a smile on your face. I love my 540i to death and wish I had another one. Find one with the m sport package, it will put a wider smile on your face.
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Mar 15, 2011 21:10
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Pilsner posted:You could consider a 540 instead. It's a league below in terms of purchase cost and expensive-ness of parts. It's slower of course, but it's attainable. What are the key differences? I feel like a dick, cuz I see Sterndotstern post his E36 checklist every time someone comes in here asking "what BMW should I get? Should I get this one?" and now I'm doing the same. I know it's scattered across these pages, but I don't know where.
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Mar 15, 2011 21:19
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wolrah posted:Bringing this over from the AIest images thread: They're probably testing out an M3 convertible, and masked the retractable roof to make it less obvious. Still that pic is all kinds of 
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Mar 15, 2011 21:21
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Sorry to spoil the party, but Jalopnik updated and said that it's just a parts hauler: http://jalopnik.com/#!5782213/is-this-bmw-m3-pickup-for-real
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Mar 15, 2011 21:34
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It seems the BMW gods got angry at me debasing them and decided to break something else on my e36 coupe. I went into the store to get some parts, and when I came out my door wouldn't open anymore. The handle pulled up but nothing happened - no window drop and the latch didn't release. Passenger door still worked when I opened it. Once I got it I discovered that if the window is rolled down, I can open the door but it takes a little more effort to trigger the latch. Doesn't make a nice sound anymore either. The central locking works fine - I can lock and unlock both doors plus the trunk. edit: if I lean my bodyweight into the door, the door opens without issue...what the hell? Crustashio fucked around with this message at 22:36 on Mar 15, 2011 |
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Mar 15, 2011 22:29
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Crustashio posted:edit: if I lean my bodyweight into the door, the door opens without issue...what the hell? I had this exact issue with my 840. Turns out BMW used lovely pot metal in the door handle pivot that likes to break. Common issue with the 8 series, although I would suspect it to be this way with the E36 as well, since they are generally of similar vintage. If you pull the door handle assembly out of the car, I bet you will find a hairline crack in the upper pivot. The reason it works when you lean into it is that this takes pressure off of the latch area, reducing the amount of force that must be transferred through the weakened pivot to move the latch mechanism. Without the pressure taken off of this area, the crack in the pivot allows the pivot bar to twist when you pull the handle, instead of moving the latch. I kind of suck at explaining, but hopefully this makes sense? The only BMW approved fix for my issue was to buy a whole new door handle assembly (to the tune of almost $300), since the pivot is not available separately. Fortunately for me, someone on the 8 series board made up a few pivots out of welded stainless steel bits and I managed to get ahold of one. Installed that and it's worked great since. Anyone with basic metal cutting abilities and a welder should be able to cobble something up. I took a bunch of pictures of mine when I did it. I can post 'em up if you want. e: Broken part Replacement part Black88GTA fucked around with this message at 23:54 on Mar 15, 2011 |
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Mar 15, 2011 23:34
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Thanks for the info. It should be warm enough tomorrow that I can tear down the door panel and try to wedge my camera in there to find out what the issue is. Either way I'll probably have to suck it up and get a new handle assembly from the dealer. I can't sell this car soon enough, I'm sick of all the shoddy e36 parts. The M52 is rock solid but it feels like the interior is falling to pieces around it.
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Mar 16, 2011 03:26
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kimbo305 posted:What are the key differences? I feel like a dick, cuz I see Sterndotstern post his E36 checklist every time someone comes in here asking "what BMW should I get? Should I get this one?" and now I'm doing the same. I know it's scattered across these pages, but I don't know where. The 540 has 280ish hp, the M5 has ~400hp. The M5 has unique styling options (mirrors, bumpers, badges, quad exhaust, etc). The M5 has many much more expensive parts (especially engine parts), as well as having almost all the E39 options as a standard. The M5 only had 4 options available: M-audio, cold weather package, park distance control, and folding rear seats. The 540 had a mind-boggling array of options, chief among them the sport package, which included an almost M5-like suspension setup. Regular E39s were available with halogen headlights, M5s got HIDs only. 540s had transmission choices, M5s got a 6 speed manual only. 540s had an open diff (LSD with sport package, IIRC), M5s had the LSD standard and a shorter ratio. Basically the M5 was the 540 made better in every way, and made ridiculously expensive in the process. Fortunately, most of the important bits are direct swaps.
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Mar 16, 2011 04:48
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^ starting in MY1996, only M cars get lsd diffs.
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Mar 16, 2011 04:52
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Gripen5 posted:Yeah, the consumable parts in it sounds super expensive and don't seem to last that long. Someone commented on a BMW forum that the tires are $380 each, rotors are $320 each, brakes are $80 each, and that doesn't even consider the labor involved. I don't have a lot of space or tools (or experience) for the more intense DIY stuff anyway, so I think an M5 will just be a pipe dream. They're not super expensive, but they ain't cheap. Brakes are ridiculous (easily $600+/axle if you DIY), tires are bad (~$1400/set for me), but the driving experience is worth it, IMO. If you want, I'll post a more detailed maintenance history of mine + my dad's (he drove mine and bought one after I came back from the business trip I was on).
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Mar 16, 2011 04:58
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Keyser S0ze posted:You start on all these cars by squeezing in the shift boot where you will find the first two screws. You can get to that floppy port in under 5 min. Yay, fixed it! The removable round part of the cig lighter was sticking out, and I assume it popped out under the dash, leading to it being stuck under the panel. No wonder I couldn't pry it out. Finally I can connect my GPS unit. Hell yeah son. Thanks for the tips guys.
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Mar 16, 2011 15:05
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BraveUlysses posted:^ starting in MY1996, only M cars get lsd diffs. I believe even before then (the E34s) only had a LSD if they had the winter package or were the M5.
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Mar 16, 2011 17:07
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8ender posted:I believe even before then (the E34s) only had a LSD if they had the winter package or were the M5.
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Mar 16, 2011 18:12
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tonedef131 posted:So what is taking it's place? ETC? An open diff and the ASC, later DSC (2001+?) systems.
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Mar 16, 2011 18:20
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Saga posted:An open diff and the ASC, later DSC (2001+?) systems.
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Mar 16, 2011 18:32
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Seems to me that the times a torsen LSD (as opposed to a viscous one) could save someone's bacon are few and far between. It offers better performance when someone is on the traction edge, but arguably they should be driving under that on the street anyways. AWD systems with open diffs on both ends have proven to give people better traction in slippery conditions; I don't see giving them the extra 5% that a Torsen might provide could really be argued as a true safety improvement. On top of that, making it optional will only mean an annoyance when you order your car and the dealer has to look through a smaller inventory of cars with the LSD that match your other options.
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Mar 16, 2011 18:44
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kimbo305 posted:Seems to me that the times a torsen LSD (as opposed to a viscous one) could save someone's bacon are few and far between. It offers better performance when someone is on the traction edge, but arguably they should be driving under that on the street anyways. AWD systems with open diffs on both ends have proven to give people better traction in slippery conditions; I don't see giving them the extra 5% that a Torsen might provide could really be argued as a true safety improvement. I find the difference between driving a RWD car with a LSD vs an open diff to be quite noticeable, even when just scooting around in a spirited manor. In FWD it may not be necessary in economy cars but it helps control torque steer a lot if your car is putting out 150+ hp. I guess most people may not ever know or care and for them electronic traction control would be fine, but in something like a BMW that is built around driver pleasure I find that disappointing.
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Mar 16, 2011 18:58
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I think it should be an option, but I don't think it could ever get sold to the feds as a safety feature.
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Mar 16, 2011 19:04
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E46's with and LSD massively own - especially at the track. It's a travesty that they never gave us a factory option for them as I would have gladly paid for one on the 2 I've owned since 2000. I am basically not taking my car back to the track until I go blow $2k and get one installed. It's literally 10 times more important to have in our 330's than the extra 100 HP is in an E46 M3.
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Mar 16, 2011 19:17
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I have an E34 with the LSD (winter package  ) and its a bit of a double edged sword in snow. One one hand its great for plowing through snow with some winter tires. On the other hand its pretty easy to "float" the rear end on hard pack snow by spinning both rear tires up. The hover craft rear end takes some getting used to but its just amazing fun once you do. Theres nothing like quickly shifting into second and turning your car 90 degrees on the spot by drifting the rear end around.
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Mar 16, 2011 19:22
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I found a 2000 Z3 with a 5k obo asking price from some used car lot. The deal is that it's been driven at around 211 thousand miles and the interior is a bit beat up (driver side handle ripped off, glove box loose from one of the hinges, some weird tape around the shifter handle). The engine sounded fine other than a slight tap when idle. Bay looks pretty clean considering, except for some water spots splattered all over engine, and I noticed the newish looking radiator. Didn't see any damage from an accident, though. There is a small bit of paint chipped away from the front of the hood, around baseball size. Most of the emblems are worn off, and the back window looks ripped and taped over. Dude says radiator got busted so the previous owner stuck in a new one. And speaking of the previous owner; he's dead. Apparently he gets roadsters, drives 'em fast and kills himself. He was planning to fix this one up but he died before he could. Originally I was looking for a decent car that I didn't really need to work on, but BMWs and Z3s drive me crazy and I'm having these stupid thoughts about haggling it down, buying it and sticking it in my garage until I have time to work on it. With that many miles on it I've been even thinking about performing my first engine rebuild on it. Then I remembered my dad working on a 96 BMW and how much pain in the rear end the security system was on it when he was trying to replace some parts. That and I'm not sure how much time I'd have free over the summer. Any thoughts?
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Mar 16, 2011 22:04
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Kelly Blue Book says that a 2000 Z3 in fair condition is worth about 4600, that sounds like it is in worse than fair condition. I definitely would not be 5K for it.
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Mar 16, 2011 22:13
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Ugh, passenger window motor just clicks now on my new M3. My paperwork said the thing was replaced two years ago. I tried flopping the switches to rule that out. It worked properly yesterday morning, quickly and smoothly. The passenger switch brings the driver window down properly when hooked to it, so that rules out the switch. Are these regulators/motors that lovely? I'm going to tear it apart this evening and see if it is something that can be easily fixed. Some guys on m3forum.net said they had some luck just hitting the motor lightly with a hammer after they took the door panel off. Anyone else had luck with that? At least the AC is cold as gently caress.
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Mar 16, 2011 22:17
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CamH posted:Ugh, passenger window motor just clicks now on my new M3. My paperwork said the thing was replaced two years ago. I tried flopping the switches to rule that out. It worked properly yesterday morning, quickly and smoothly. The passenger switch brings the driver window down properly when hooked to it, so that rules out the switch. Are these regulators/motors that lovely? I'm going to tear it apart this evening and see if it is something that can be easily fixed. Some guys on m3forum.net said they had some luck just hitting the motor lightly with a hammer after they took the door panel off. Anyone else had luck with that? I literally had a brand new motor fail in less then a week. They reinstalled it free of charge but what a god drat pain in the rear end. E36 power windows are just junk. I tore off the door panel today (it is ridiculous how fast I can do it now) and it's impossible to tell what the issue is with the door handle. It is slightly easier with the window down, but still much harder than the passenger door. I think I'm going to suck it up and get a shop to do the job. I looked at the DIY and it involves removing the window and I really don't want to get into that. I have no qualms dropping a transmission but working on the inside of a door just makes me worry I'll break something. edit: I just went back out an looked at the mechanism now that it's dark out and I'm confused. The resistance when the door didn't open was from both the inside and outside handle. The latching mechanism is controlled by the handles in two completely different ways - the outside handle has the pivot rod retained in a slotted piece of sheet metal, while the inside handle uses that long rod with hook ends. I'm starting to think it isn't the outside handle assembly isn't the issue since it operates indepedantly of the inside handle. Are the latch release mechanisms known to go bad on these cars? It looks like slightly less of a PITA to replace, although it would still require removal of the window guide rail to take it out. Crustashio fucked around with this message at 01:30 on Mar 17, 2011 |
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Mar 16, 2011 22:49
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Crustashio posted:E36 door latch troubles... One day about a year ago, I was about to head out to the local BMW CCA annual planning meeting when my driver side door latch decided not to work on my E36. I found out that the only way I could get the door to open was to pull on the outside and inside latches at the same time. I had no idea what to do, so I took the door panel off, cleaned what I could and sprayed a bunch of poo poo down with a can of white lithium grease, which somehow that fixed it. Working in the door is a pain in the rear end, but it is doable. I can't imagine dropping the transmission, but I was able to replace my window regulator last fall.
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Mar 17, 2011 01:54
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Update, guys. Just tore the door panel off and hit the motor with a hammer. It sprung to life, and now works better than the driver side. German engineering! edit: Loving this car otherwise. It's so refreshing going from my 240Z (which I still have) to this LUXURY MACHINE! Sure, it's not as fast, and doesn't handle as well, but it goes alright and I don't feel like I just got beat up if I drive it for over an hour. CamH fucked around with this message at 02:11 on Mar 17, 2011 |
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Mar 17, 2011 02:02
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rhombus posted:One day about a year ago, I was about to head out to the local BMW CCA annual planning meeting when my driver side door latch decided not to work on my E36. I found out that the only way I could get the door to open was to pull on the outside and inside latches at the same time. I plan on coating the striker with a shitload of white lithium tomorrow. Once I pulled the panel/airbag/foam it seemed to get easier to open so I'm pretty clueless but happy it works for now. I hate working in the door because it's cramped as hell and most of the assemblies are hard to even see, let alone remove. The infamous e30 upper transmission bolt feels like a breeze compared to digging around in the door frame.
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Mar 17, 2011 03:33
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kimbo305 posted:arguably they should be driving under that on the street anyways. whoah whoah whoah whoah, back up there! Keep that up and you'll end up saying something you'll regret, like "V6"
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Mar 17, 2011 10:45
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Cojawfee posted:Kelly Blue Book says that a 2000 Z3 in fair condition is worth about 4600, that sounds like it is in worse than fair condition. I definitely would not be 5K for it. Yeah, it would've been worth around 3000 but I don't think I should deal with it. Thanks. I found a 2003 330i ZHP with 90k miles on it for $6000. Only bad thing is that the instrument cluster went out. KBB.com says they're worth about 9.5k for a fair condition so if it performs mechanically well, would you guys think its worth it?
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Mar 17, 2011 20:40
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Too good to be true, it's a scam.
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Mar 17, 2011 20:41
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The Third Man posted:Too good to be true, it's a scam. Could be a salvage title, if that's the case it might be a hell of a deal, at least worth checking out in my opinion.
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Mar 17, 2011 21:26
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Saga posted:whoah whoah whoah whoah, back up there! To a V6, I say bring it. If it works and it's better, I'm for it. To your point, I did mean "people shouldn't be driving on the traction limit on the street all the time, to the point where a Torsen LSD would be a safety aid." The 200k mile 540i seller manager to acquire 30 pages of maintenance records from the dealer who serviced the car. No evidence of struts being changed, though he says they look newer than original. No evidence of clutch change. Worst of all, there was a radiator and thermostat replacement, but no record of a waterpump replacement. How could someone who always went to the dealer (including for a wiper blade change!) not have had those items done, I wonder. Did 2001 E39s still have plastic impeller waterpumps?
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Mar 17, 2011 21:47
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kimbo305 posted:To a V6, I say bring it. If it works and it's better, I'm for it. My 2000 M5 has a metal impeller, and to my knowledge, it's never been replaced. Not sure about the M62 engine though.
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Mar 17, 2011 23:05
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I'm having a hell of a time replacing an HID headlight in my '04 330Ci. I've got the old parts out. I can get the bulb in and the retaining ring in, no problem there. The trouble I'm having is getting the igniter installed. When I line up the tabs with the slots its like I cannot get it pressed in enough to turn the igniter to lock it into place. I took everything apart and put it together out of the car and what I found is that the bulb seats very firmly inside the igniter. I'm guessing the problem is I can't press it in hard enough to get it to seat completely when its in the housing...there's not a lot of room to work with in there. Are there any tips or tricks to this? I can't believe I've fought this fucker for 30 minutes and can't get the drat thing installed.
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Mar 18, 2011 01:05
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CornHolio posted:Could be a salvage title, if that's the case it might be a hell of a deal, at least worth checking out in my opinion. Unfortunately I didn't make it in time, so dunno if it was a good deal or not. Someone got there before I did, test drove it and bought it at the exact moment I arrived. Which really sucks since I drove from another city to check it out. It's not really the dude's fault, he told me about 30 miles before I got there that someone else was comin' in to check it out; he just beat me to it. That's what I get for waiting for my brother to come with me, I guess. Kind of depressing if the car was as good as the dude said it was.
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Mar 18, 2011 02:13
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