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I'm doing this same thing this weekend. Accept a 97 3.2 Sedan.
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Sep 21, 2013 14:16
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wolrah posted:A friend is selling his '95 M3, and I'm considering cleaning up my '02 325i to try to sell and buy his car as a replacement. I have a leased Kia for my four door daily driver needs, this would be a weekend toy with plans of light track use. Honestly if you've got an e46 you should have a good idea what to look for. E36s are very, very similar and share a lot of common issues. Since he's your friend I hope he'd be pretty honest with what it needs and what he's done for maintenance. If you don't trust him that much, get a PPI. The M-tax is really only present on a few things - Front control arms, hubs, and maybe a few other minor suspension parts. A '95 M3 is basically identical to a 325 except for the motor internals, suspension (including hubs/brakes), muffler, and seats. Just about everything else is common and can be had for dirt cheap, especially if you get used parts where it makes sense. And honestly, I'd take an e36 M3 over any e46 non-M as a track/weekend car. You lose comfort and a nicer interior (prepare for rattles), but you gain so much more. A motor that loves to rev, incredibly direct handling, LSD and a huge aftermarket. I'm actually considering getting rid of my 330Ci and finding something like a TSX to daily drive...everytime I drive the 330 I'd rather just be in my M3. FYI dual-vanos is pretty much only for emissions, and DSC is just something you will want to turn off anyway. The only thing the M3 really would benefit from that the e46 has is the DISA, especially with the S50. And the ability to fit much wider tires - you can cram 265s on an e46 non-M with minimal work, but it is quite difficult to fit them on an M3.
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Sep 21, 2013 14:30
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The m-tax really isn't so bad. However, the engine in that car is the 3.0, which was 95-only. Certain parts will be too. Great car in any event, and really not too much of a money pit if you can turn a wrench yourself.
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Sep 21, 2013 16:29
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Was the E61 xdrive-only in the US?
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Sep 21, 2013 18:19
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Crustashio posted:And honestly, I'd take an e36 M3 over any e46 non-M as a track/weekend car. You lose comfort and a nicer interior (prepare for rattles), but you gain so much more. A motor that loves to rev, incredibly direct handling, LSD and a huge aftermarket. I'm actually considering getting rid of my 330Ci and finding something like a TSX to daily drive...everytime I drive the 330 I'd rather just be in my M3. This can't be said enough times, if you have any plans at all of ever going to the track or an autocross or going to play on some fun twisty road the E36 M3 will be worlds better than any non-M E46. The E36 M3 absolutely stock makes a GREAT trackday car that will gladly run all day in a track environment and be fun. We ran one (Dad's daily driver) as a shared car at HPDE events for two years, only breaks from 8am to 5pm were ~5 minutes to switch drivers and an hour for lunch...never had any issues. I'm always looking for a cosmetically challenged E36 M3 to gut/cage and turn into a track rat. The E46 non-M's on the other hand while great street cars just feel big, slow and heavy on the track. Personally I don't even like the E46 M3 on the track other than the engine.
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Sep 21, 2013 19:27
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Cakefool posted:Oh, I didn't realise you were taking about doing it in situ, that makes it much less of a job. This is the way to do it on a MINI, I'd believe that BMW makes a similar adapter for the various DI BMW engines, as well. http://www.northamericanmotoring.com/forums/drivetrain-cooper-s/239368-diy-engine-cleaning.html And a PDF on the procedure...model specific, but adaptable to your own circumstances, I'm sure. http://www.northamericanmotoring.co...-ss-3-27-13.pdf Kenny Rogers fucked around with this message at 21:51 on Sep 21, 2013 |
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Sep 21, 2013 21:46
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wolrah posted:How's the "M tax" situation on these ones, being without the "real" M motor? Is there anything major I'd be losing by going back the good part of a decade in model years which isn't readily apparent? As far as I see it if I can make this work I lose DSC, dual VANOS, and the I-bus interface but gain a lighter chassis, more powerful motor, and a lot of mod potential. Recently bought a 96 M3 and I love it, I am not much of gearhead/mechanic but I have found the car pretty straight forward to work on and there is an absolute poo poo ton of information on just about any work you would want to do on the car.
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Sep 22, 2013 01:11
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Did US 3.2lt 1997 E36 M3s have electronic throttles? How does the ATS work? Where is the clutch typically supposed to take up? Closer to the floor? Or mid pedal travel?
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Sep 22, 2013 01:34
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So as much as I really want an s2000 I really need to get something a bit more practical (more then two seats). In my search I came across this: http://iphone.stevewhitevw.com/index.htm#used_p_2FBMW_p_2F2003-BMW-3_p_2BSeries-e1ed2a0d0a0a00e0019240a4e1a52d48_p_2Ehtm Now I can't get the idea of owning an m3 like I've dreamed of for years out of my head. Not sure about this exact one as I've heard mixed things about the SMG tranny (thoughts on it?) and I don't know if I would want a convertible or not. And anything I should really keep an eye out for specific to the m3 besides normal stuff with the e46? I know to get a good prepurchase inspection done for sure. How well of a daily driver do these make? And how reliable are they in general? I'm gonna keep my old 89 Dakota so having it off the road for a few days sometimes doesn't bother me, but I'm always paranoid about breaking down on the way to work as my job cuts no slack on being late. Speaking of which I found out that since I work for BMW manufacturing I can get BMW parts at dealer cost. Any idea how much that would cut down on maintenance? katka fucked around with this message at 06:10 on Sep 22, 2013 |
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Sep 22, 2013 06:07
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General consensus as far as I have seen has been that the SMG should be avoided. From the video I watched about it, it looks interesting but probably too ahead of its time. In other news, I just found out my car has launch control.
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Sep 22, 2013 06:13
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I would steer away from any SMG, they are asking far to much. Convertible SMG's are probably the least desirable e46 M3 variation which is why you find so many of them, so if that is specifically what you looking for you should be able to get one for much less. You WILL need to replace the SMG pump at some point, it's not so much a matter of if but when.
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Sep 22, 2013 06:51
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wolrah posted:How's the "M tax" situation on these ones, being without the "real" M motor? Is there anything major I'd be losing by going back the good part of a decade in model years which isn't readily apparent? As far as I see it if I can make this work I lose DSC, dual VANOS, and the I-bus interface but gain a lighter chassis, more powerful motor, and a lot of mod potential. You're losing automatic climate control (who cares) and DSC (no biggie) and dual VANOS (irrelevant) and I-bus (buy a $50 head unit) and gaining a MUCH more powerful motor, limited slip diff, and a chassis and suspension tuned for driving enjoyment. For your intended use it will be a vastly superior car. Replacing the front control arm bushings and rear trailing arm bushings are a must. I'd consider refreshing the springs and shocks as well unless they've been done recently. If you replace those few items, the E36 M3 promises handling and enjoyment that, dollar for dollar, outshine almost any other car on the road. Having owned several examples of E46 (330i and 323i) and E36 (325i x 2, 323i, M3 x 2) I can assure you that E36s are wonderful. What you give up in thoughtful creature comforts you gain back many times over in the performance of the M3.
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Sep 22, 2013 06:53
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katka posted:So as much as I really want an s2000 I really need to get something a bit more practical (more then two seats). In my search I came across this: http://iphone.stevewhitevw.com/index.htm#used_p_2FBMW_p_2F2003-BMW-3_p_2BSeries-e1ed2a0d0a0a00e0019240a4e1a52d48_p_2Ehtm You don't want a 3 series convertible, especially if you wanted an S2000 for the fun of driving.
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Sep 22, 2013 12:31
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I had a guy demo his e36 convertible top for me. Holy poo poo it's horrific. So many different parts to break. I dunno if the e46 is better but I doubt it.
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Sep 22, 2013 13:32
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revmoo posted:I had a guy demo his e36 convertible top for me. Holy poo poo it's horrific. So many different parts to break. I dunno if the e46 is better but I doubt it. The prices on those parts are horrific too. I passed on a cheap e36 convertible because total cost of parts just to get the top working again was going to be 1k+
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Sep 22, 2013 15:06
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I had an estoril M3 vert that was IMO the prettiest thing to look at I've ever owned. The sound of that thing tearing up an I85 onramp top down is unrivaled. Its still my PC background. I miss it every day. But for the love of god do not buy one with the power top of which 99% of the M3s and much later e36s are. Its a colossal mess and its essentially impossible to swap the mechanism to the manual one not to mention the power topped cars had a whole computer dedicated to the top which can spectacularly fail randomly.  http://imgur.com/a/o6nHk  Now, one of my dreams is to get an early car with the manual top mechanism and do a full M swap but that would be a dive into full insanity.
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Sep 22, 2013 16:28
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Trying to dare the cooling system into failing with your number plate?  Cojawfee posted:General consensus as far as I have seen has been that the SMG should be avoided. From the video I watched about it, it looks interesting but probably too ahead of its time. It turns out that MDM will do a "launch assist" in the E9x manual cars as long as you operate the clutch with enough dexterity. katka posted:So as much as I really want an s2000 I really need to get something a bit more practical (more then two seats). In my search I came across this: http://iphone.stevewhitevw.com/index.htm#used_p_2FBMW_p_2F2003-BMW-3_p_2BSeries-e1ed2a0d0a0a00e0019240a4e1a52d48_p_2Ehtm If you plan on tracking the car, the consensus is go with a hardtop manual M3. I've heard that you can smooth out the SMG operation (and probably extend its life mechanically) by lifting on shifts as you would a manual.
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Sep 22, 2013 17:06
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SuperDucky posted:I had an estoril M3 vert that was IMO the prettiest thing to look at I've ever owned. The sound of that thing tearing up an I85 onramp top down is unrivaled. Its still my PC background. I miss it every day.
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Sep 22, 2013 17:34
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Das Volk posted:Trying to dare the cooling system into failing with your number plate? 
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Sep 22, 2013 17:49
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I still find this hard to believe. A guy at work has a 2008 528i. The engine began to sporadically run rough and I bet him that it was some electronic bullshit. He put off getting it looked at for months. He finally dealt with it and the mechanic said (I'm getting this info second-hand) that the bolts that hold the camshaft in place were defective (bad metallurgy) and the bolt heads sheared off from fatigue. He said he's seen it a few times on this model/year and thought BMW would do a TSB on it but they never did. The camshaft was able to hop vertically and screw up valve timing which is what would cause misfires and the roughness. Almost $3k later he has all new valves and bolts and whatever else they decided to do while they were in there. Has anyone heard of this? EDIT: It never threw a code and it now runs perfectly. HiggyBaby fucked around with this message at 19:04 on Sep 22, 2013 |
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Sep 22, 2013 19:02
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GOD drat.....power steering pump? This is a new one. Was at the burger joint tonight, started the car, heard a thunk and noticed no power steering. Stopped the car, popped hood. Serpentine belt (big one) was thrown but intact (and appears to be needing replacement). Managed to get it back on without a tool for the tensioner - which I thought was weird. Started it up, threw it after 5 seconds. Then I noticed that the power steering pump seemed to be out of line, and sure enough when I grabbed it, I could wiggle it. Googled the problem and evidently the cast aluminum mounting ears on the pump snap off because it's first in line for the belt power, and also the bolts back out. My boss was super cool and not only let me call in but gave us a ride home. It looks like a junkyard just up the road has a pump for $40, so my rear end might be saved (payday's Thursday) yet. Going to yank the pump out in the morning and see, if that's the problem I'll run up and get the junkyard one and swap right there in the Five Guys lot. Hey, at least it wasn't a water pump?
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Sep 23, 2013 04:23
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I recently had to replace my valve cover gasket on my e46 320i costing a cool $1860 NZD (with a service at the same time). The mechanic who has been servicing my families BMW's for years just said "B M Trouble you" before he gave me the run down of all the problems. The oil was leaking from the valve cover gasket due to the previous owner not regularly topping up the oil and it constantly left a horrific burning smell that would on occasion come through the air vents.
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Sep 23, 2013 10:46
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Skinks posted:I recently had to replace my valve cover gasket on my e46 320i costing a cool $1860 NZD (with a service at the same time). The mechanic who has been servicing my families BMW's for years just said "B M Trouble you" before he gave me the run down of all the problems. The oil was leaking from the valve cover gasket due to the previous owner not regularly topping up the oil and it constantly left a horrific burning smell that would on occasion come through the air vents. Wow. Mine was ~AU$120 when I did it myself. You got taken. He might have been servicing your family cars for years, but that's no excuse to put up with that. And my service is around $400 when done by a mechanic. Don't go back to that guy.
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Sep 23, 2013 12:30
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I paid like $20 usd when I did my valve cover gasket (though I did neglect to replace the bolt grommets) a few years back.
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Sep 23, 2013 13:56
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Jonny 290 posted:GOD drat.....power steering pump? Skinks posted:I recently had to replace my valve cover gasket on my e46 320i costing a cool $1860 NZD (with a service at the same time).
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Sep 23, 2013 16:43
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HiggyBaby posted:I've experience the same thing. Turning a corner and the PS pump bracket snapped right off. Easy fix at least. Followup: saved by a fuckin' splash guard. Got back out to the car, yanked the splash guard and found.......the lower power steering bolt! They're notorious for backing out. Then all of your belt yank is being taken by a single front mount and the rear mount (which is really more of just a locator type thing). I said "haha check this poo poo out y'all" and ran the bolt back into the good mount, and torqued it down as tight as I was comfy. "Hey, that's lined up!" and put the belt back on. Started it up, kept it on, even through some revs to 2k. While chanting my mantra "yolo deutschland uber alles" I carefully cruised it home at turtle revs and got it home without incident - though I do have a check engine light on, I suspect it's because I started it without the intake air sensor plugged in. Anyways, junkyard is pulling a pump for me and will have it tomorrow afternoon, I'll swap and we should be good! $40 sounds right for me. And i'm using grade 11 bolts, lock washers and blue loctite down there to install. gently caress the Germans for not using lock washers or some sort of backside jam nut or ANYTHING on a stressed accessory on an engine that likes to leak delicious bolt-loosening oil off the valve cover gaskets.
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Sep 23, 2013 18:38
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So I've had my battery drain to no charge (0.4 effective Volts) twice now. First time was during 8 weeks of not using it, but the second time was after only 5 days of not using it. The battery is less than a year old. My best guess is that there's a ground current somewhere, but I have no idea what to do if that happens to be the case. I don't think it's an alternator issue as just before the 8 weeks of non-use I drove it cross country and it started up perfectly each time. Any ideas as to what it is or what to do? fakeedit: '94 E36 325is
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Sep 23, 2013 19:59
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Maxwells Demon posted:So I've had my battery drain to no charge (0.4 effective Volts) twice now. First time was during 8 weeks of not using it, but the second time was after only 5 days of not using it. Once an automotive battery gets below 11.4 volts or so it's permanently damaged. The first time killed it for good. Replace it and test for amp draw with the new one to make sure you don't have an electrical problem, but an older battery sitting for 8 weeks and ending up dead isn't a surprise, so you may not have any problem at all other than a spanked battery.
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Sep 23, 2013 20:07
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So is terrible throttle lag normal on e90's? I just test drove a 328xi touring this weekend and it seemed like the first half of the pedal travel did nothing, and then all of a sudden you were at 3/4 throttle from a start. It wasn't as noticeable in normal auto mode, but manually shifting and starting in first was terrible. I know there are products to help fix this issue, but I am wondering if anything was wrong with this specific car I was testing. I drove a 530xit a while back and while it had some lag, I don't remember it being that bad. Granted I did not try manually shifting that one. Besides the throttle lag, I really liked the car. Its a '07 with ~80k miles for $18k. It has the sports seats and steering wheel, but no paddle shifters which seems kind of odd to me. The interior is in good shape, but missing a few pieces(rear cupholders, covers for the child seat tie downs), and the body is in nice shape, except for some decent scratches that *might* be able to be taken care of with a good polish/claybar.
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Sep 23, 2013 20:24
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Reset the adaptation and give it another test drive, then go from there. 1. Never touch the break pedal & key remains inserted the entire time 2. Insert key and push START Button 3. Press and HOLD accelerator pedal for 30 seconds (some say 5, some say 25 seconds - I did 30 to be sure). 4. WITHOUT RELEASING THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL, push the START Button 5. Release accelerator pedal 6. Wait full 2 minutes 7. Start car normally
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Sep 23, 2013 20:29
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Motronic posted:Once an automotive battery gets below 11.4 volts or so it's permanently damaged. The first time killed it for good. Didn't know that a deep discharge does permanent damage. Looks to be absolutely the case after a bit of research and I'll now need to replace it. It's funny that it was able to perform for 3.5 weeks before completely draining itself. Thanks Thread!
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Sep 23, 2013 21:23
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NitroSpazzz posted:
You people complaining that the E46 feels big and heavy compared to the E36 are aware that there's roughly 100 lbs difference between an E36 M3 (3,219 lbs.) and an E46 330i (~3,318 lbs), right? It's less difference than an early NA Miata vs. a late NA Miata. BMW used a shitload of aluminium in the E46 (primarily suspension parts) to keep the weight from ballooning, due to previous complaints about the E36 being a fat pig compared to the E30 (the E36 is nearly 400 lbs heavier than most E30s).
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Sep 23, 2013 21:42
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Maxwells Demon posted:So I've had my battery drain to no charge (0.4 effective Volts) twice now. First time was during 8 weeks of not using it, but the second time was after only 5 days of not using it. The battery is less than a year old. Run car with known good battery, measure voltage. Make sure it's 14+ at all times with various devices turned on. This checks the alt. Then, disconnect the battery negative and stick a multimeter between the battery and the terminal in amp measuring mode (forget what it's called), and check the current draw (pull fuse for trunk light first). You should be seeing around 40-50mah after 5 mins with the car off and locked. If it's above 60 or so then you have a parasitic drain. Start pulling fuses until the draw drops to below 55mah. This will diagnose which circuit has a problem.
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Sep 24, 2013 00:44
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Negromancer posted:So is terrible throttle lag normal on e90's? My friend's car ('08 328i) has the same problem. It actually makes it kind of a drag to drive, since it doesn't behave anything like you expect it to. As far as I know, he hasn't tried anything like BlackMK4's suggestion, but it seems worth a shot.
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Sep 24, 2013 01:17
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HotCanadianChick posted:You people complaining that the E46 feels big and heavy compared to the E36 are aware that there's roughly 100 lbs difference between an E36 M3 (3,219 lbs.) and an E46 330i (~3,318 lbs), right? It's less difference than an early NA Miata vs. a late NA Miata. Yup fully aware, it FEELS bigger and heavier to me especially when pushed a bit. Personal preference and all that. poo poo E30 is my favorite but I'm building an E21 for track and mountain fun 
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Sep 24, 2013 01:47
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Does the awd drag the car down at all? In my 328, the accelerator was sluggish while in normal drive mode. You hit the gas and something happens a second or two later. It made making moves on the highway frustrating. Almost zero lag while in manual mode though.
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Sep 24, 2013 01:48
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My ex wife had an X3 that was a slug in normal mode but turned into a beast in any other mode. Try getting the transmission software updated. The economy (normal) mode on these are kinda screwy.
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Sep 24, 2013 02:04
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98 M3 I replaced a number of items on my car over the summer including the CVV and associated hoses, vanos hose, valve cover gasket, and rear main seal (during a clutch replacement). Previously, the car didn't use hardly any oil and the oil stayed cleaned for several thousand miles. Now the car is using 1 quart every 1000 miles and the oil itself is pretty dirty after 500 miles. I anticipated using even less oil after replacing several leaky parts but now my consumption is up significantly. The car isn't leaking it from anywhere that I can see so I assume it must be burning it. Any idea how this is happening?
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Sep 24, 2013 03:10
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Negromancer posted:So is terrible throttle lag normal on e90's? Yes. It also seems to do weird poo poo like change the throttle mapping when you're in reverse so that you have to push even farther to the the car to move. You can try resetting the adaptation, but it doesn't have much impact as far as I have found. All the control feel of an E90 is fairly disappointing, especially if you've ever driven an E36. I got a Sprint Booster as a Christmas present and it makes a huge difference and makes the car much more enjoyable ('09 328xi 6-speed).
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Sep 24, 2013 13:10
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Following up on my 335i shopping experience: 335i #1: Dead battery, would not jump, would not start. Dealer could not have cared less. 335i #2: Drove fine, but was still under warranty (2010, 30k miles) and out of my desired price range. 335i #3: Exciting candidate! 22900 asking price, 2008 with 39k miles. Dead battery, car would not start. Dealer hit it with a lot jumper and it fired up. Seemed really nice, pulled well, had every feature that I wanted except nav. Drove it for all of two miles before the car told me to go gently caress myself, and went into limp mode and overheated. I had to coast into a parking lot in the middle of a construction zone. I think I am utterly afraid of this car, why does it have to be so nice  I'm focusing my attention on perhaps doing a 2004-2006 e46 M3, but I'm worried that i'll regret it later. I've always been more interested in straight line acceleration. "Get a domestic"...but I just can't STAND the interiors and fit/finish quality. I'm just worried that I'll find myself yearning for a bit more oomf, being a mile high up and going from a turbo to an N/A car.
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Sep 24, 2013 16:00
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