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 This is my dirty e36 beater. '92 325i, 5 speed, 177k miles. The motor runs like a top, but the 2nd gear synchro is shot and 4th sometimes pops out. It needs front shock mounts and tie rods which I'll do as soon as the weather cooperates. The rear suspension also makes some unnerving creaking sounds (oh god dont let my subframe rip out before I have a chance to put in reinforcement plates). The interior is like a typical high mileage e36, aka junk. I still love it though. I put in offset poly LCA bushings but other than that it's stock. Not a bad car for $1700 I saw my first e28 M5 this weekend at the SCCA Club Racing event at Gateway.  It was parked in the paddock but wasn't a race car. It was completely clean and stock looking and I got a boner.
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Mar 31, 2008 03:07
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3363 posted:Coming from a variety of hoopties it's always puzzling how a 150K+ BMW idles so softly that sometimes you're not even sure the drat thing is on. My muffler has the natural weight reduction upgrade so this isnt a problem for me.
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Mar 31, 2008 19:24
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XCPuff posted:How much are most of you all paying on insurance for these? I've been looking at E36 328's and every quote I get is almost 400/month? I'm 25 and have one ticket on my record from almost 3 years ago? 21 with a clean license and I pay $45 a month for liability on my 92 325i. It went down from about 70 when I turned 21. edit: No collision because I dont crash (also poor)
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Apr 1, 2008 16:44
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milieu posted:I've got a question for you fine gentlemen: What would you rate are the best bang for your buck bolt-on mods for an e46 323 manual? I've got a 99 323 (2.5L M52) but I'd like to get as much performance out of it as possible sans supercharger or turbo (for the price of doing that I might as well sell the car and just buy an M3). 323s have a restrictive exhaust, you would see gains with a 328 or m3 exhaust system.
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Apr 8, 2008 23:32
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In my '92 325i I'm lucky to break 20 on a tank with half highway and half city, but I drive like an rear end in a top hat. I just replaced the 02 sensor and keep my tire pressure good.
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Apr 12, 2008 20:54
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Doctor Grape Ape posted:I just installed adjustable lower control arms on my E36. Holy poo poo it's stupid easy to get a differential out of a BMW. How do you like them? Is the extra strength noticable, or is it just for the adjustability? I just installed a set of Powerflex trailing arm bushings. It was a lot easier than I expected, took less than 3 hours total. I havnt tested them out yet as I just got out of the shower and am drinking a victory beer User Error fucked around with this message at 21:21 on Apr 23, 2008 |
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Apr 23, 2008 21:19
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ManiacMatt posted:Okay, well I've always loved the looks of BMW's and as far as I've read, they are designed to my liking (more towards handling than outright acceleration). I'm still a University student in Mechatronics Engineering right now and 21 years old, so I want to know if it's possible for someone like me to own a BMW and reasonably take care of one. I was thinking more of an e30, e34 or e36. I know I'm probably too young, but I am selling my neon at the end of the summer as I really don't need a car during the winter right now, and it would help me save up money for a better car in the spring. This means I would have all school year to check out cars, looking for the perfect one for my needs. I would like it if I was able to keep this under a budget of say 4 grand so I can afford repairs/insurance/etc. If you have decent mechanical skills (I assume you do from your major) go for it. I got my e36 for a little under 2 grand because it needed some work, but it's been a great car. BMWs need a little more maintenance than your standard Accord or Corolla but they're far from unreliable. e36s have some problems with the cooling system, but it's nothing an average weekend wrencher cant fix for cheap. BMW engines run forever, there is a guy on bimmerforums.com with over 600k on the original motor and transmission. I would stay away from a high mileage BMW if you don't feel comfortable working on it because it probably will need work from time to time. My '92 325i has about 183k miles on it right now and runs great. I've had to replace ball joints and bushings and now it handles better than any other 4 door car I've driven by a long shot. It has a good amount of power but I wouldn't call it "fast". The engine is very smooth however. I forgot how nice it was until I drove my brother's '99 Mazda 626.
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Jul 11, 2008 05:13
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case posted:Gave my new car a wash. BMW 325i Sport Mtec2 '89 Can I have your car? Please?
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Sep 2, 2008 21:17
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CornHolio posted:What's the impact on fuel economy, in general? non-vanos m50
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Oct 10, 2008 21:36
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My subframe reinforcement plates came in the other day, and today I started tearing apart the suspension. I had a crack in the unibody welded up last year, but didn't put in the plates cause I'm stupid. So now I get to pay the stupid tax in the form of untold hours of suffering. I got the driver side trailing arm off today. Tomorrow hopefully I can get the diff, the other trailing arm, and the control arms. Hopefully I can get the subframe out by tomorrow night. I should have known there was a catch to a $1700 bimmer.
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Oct 20, 2008 00:35
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CornHolio posted:I took my drivers side wheel off today to inspect my suspension, namely the bushings. Looks like I'll be needing bushings after all. Are there 'lollipop' versions of all the bushings, or would I need a press for some of them anyway? That first pic is of a tie rod end with a torn boot. You need a whole new tie rod end. There is only one bushing for each control arm, the other two mounting points are ball joints. If the ball joint boots are torn you are better off buying a whole new control arm (~$100). Bilsteins are not OEM, a previous owner must have upgraded. They're better than the factory shocks by a long shot, and IIRC Bilstein will rebuild them for free if they ever wear out.
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Nov 2, 2008 20:23
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peterjmatt posted:Do you track your car? If so, it's probably worth switching over to poly bushings. If you're just doing street driving, I wouldn't bother. I have poly front CABs, trailing arm bushings, and subframe bushings. The Power flex front CABs are )or at least were) poorly designed and needed some dremel work to fit. Other than that I haven't had an issue. Road noise and vibration is definitely increased, and gravel roads are especially bad. My car is a ragged out 200k mile e36, so it was kind of noise in the first place. I'm young and I drive like a dick, so NVH doesn't bother me, but I wouldn't recommend putting polyurethane everywhere if you don't want to feel every crack and pebble on the road. My motor mounts need to be replaced, and I'll probably go poly there as well.
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Sep 24, 2009 19:04
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Xenoid posted:Alright, I did that and cleaned the hell out of the ICV as well and my problems are still persisting. They seem to be related to both idle and fuel/air mixture when throttle is applied. I just got an iPhone so I've made a video of it. When the car is idling properly I am applying a tap of gas and in that very instant the RPMs drop and the car stalls (or nearly stalls as you will see in the video). You can see it HERE. Have you looked at your spark plugs? Generally that's my first step once I'm stumped, but I hear they are a bitch to remove on v8 e39s. How about the connectors for the IACV, MAF, and TPS? Pull the plug and go bonkers on all the contacts with electronics cleaner spray. edit: Does your car have a low oil level light, or is it a normal dummy light? If it's a normal oil light, it does not mean that your oil level is low, it means that there is no oil pressure and the motor is eating its self. I wouldn't run the engine AT ALL with the oil light on until you are sure that it has oil pressure. If you run it with a dead oil pump a weird idle is the least of your concerns. User Error fucked around with this message at 22:07 on Sep 24, 2009 |
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Sep 24, 2009 22:05
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Xenoid posted:New plugs last year, gapped properly, think I used NGKs or some such that were agreed on as being the best by bimmerforums or something. I have a feeling that it's still the IACV or possibly the CCV. Have you spritzed all the vacuum connections for both valves with starter fluid? e: Google found this, could be useful if you haven't seen it yet http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?p=4457828
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Sep 24, 2009 22:37
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CornHolio posted:You know, I've heard of this before. It might be to accommodate an average driver's weight so the car is level when loaded. I could be wrong though. e36s are like this, but I don't know if older BMWs are.
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Oct 21, 2009 00:54
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revmoo posted:Just bought a '92 325i with about a million miles on it. I might have to post a thread as I go through the cleanup. High five, high mile '92 325i buddy! Mine doesn't have a clutch interlock either. Having the non-vanos engine is cool, they seem to be more reliable than the vanos versions. Keep in mind that the early '92s have a unique front strut design so if you want to upgrade the suspension at all you'll have to hunt down '92 specific parts or convert to the later strut mounts and struts. I've kept mine stock other than poly bushings all around and new ball joints and sway bar ends. How's your interior?
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Nov 12, 2009 22:58
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Lowclock posted:I put a thin even layer of RTV with my fingers on every mating surface when I did mine and it doesn't leak a bit. Sounds like it could help. This is how I did it except when I was done it looked like a smurf exploded in my engine bay.
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Jan 11, 2010 08:58
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I would say about 3k, maybe a bit more if the interior really is flawless.
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Jan 16, 2010 18:05
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revmoo posted:Just did the upper radiator hose on my E36, super easy job. someone had cranked the hose clamp down so far that it sprung a leak. I got tired of topping off coolant, so 12 bucks later it's fixed. My '92 325i with 180k miles, a rough interior, and a 5 speed was $1750 
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Jan 17, 2010 04:39
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CamH posted:Like I said, I got an E36 M3 today. Congrats, I'll say a prayer for your radiator/bushings/headliner/window regulators e. Sorry for being a dick, but my e36 has been less than impressive when it comes to anything but the engine...
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Mar 9, 2011 08:17
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Here are some pics (which I am terrible at taking):
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I was driving through small town Missouri yesterday and spotted a white e36 M3 for sale in front of a garage/used car dealer along side a bunch of pickups. I checked it out, it's a 5-speed with nice Vaders and in pretty decent overall shape. I walked in and asked about it, the guy says "It's a '96, has 118k miles, only problem I know of is the door panels coming apart around the handles. Asking 5 thousand" and hands me the key. It drove great but had a check engine light. The radiator and coolant tank looked excellent, suspension felt good, engine was very quiet, even the OBC worked 100%. It had a Dinan intake which makes me think it was owned by someone who didn't mind throwing money at it which may be a good sign. I told him I'd be back in a few days with cash in hand if he can sort out the check engine light. I'm looking for an autocross/track slut so I don't mind a car that's a little rough around the edges since I'll be overhauling the suspension anyways. I've got a '92 325i that was my daily driver for several years before being turned into a Chumpcar so I know my way around e36s pretty well. This will a sound financial decision considering I almost bought an Alfa last week.
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Feb 15, 2013 00:51
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I dunno about that futuristic OBD-II jibber jabber, I've only owned cars from 1990, 1992 (x2), 1988 (x2), and 1979.
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Feb 15, 2013 01:25
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I just got a screaming deal on a 112k mile '97 M3!   The radiator leaks. God drat cooling system.
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Mar 10, 2013 05:00
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Welcome to Honest Pete's Discount Alignment Shack! I was in my garage setting the toe on my recently acquired e36 M3, getting ready for Evo School tomorrow. It appears that 3 of my M-Contours are 7.5" and one of the rears is 8.5", which is stock on the rear for '96-'99 M3s. I was planning on buying a set of Koesi 17x8.5 K1s anyways, but what the gently caress. Tomorrow could be interesting. I also installed new rotors and Hawk HP+ pads. They bite like a motherfucker but holy hell are they loud. I was kinda stingy with the grease, I'll have to take the brakes back apart and grease the hell out of them to see if that helps. User Error fucked around with this message at 04:30 on Mar 29, 2013 |
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Mar 29, 2013 04:26
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voltron posted:Or recommend a decent street coilover kit for a sexy ride height? Purple HIDs are best HIDs. e: Don't ever put HIDs in a housing designed for incandescent filaments. User Error fucked around with this message at 04:18 on Apr 1, 2013 |
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Apr 1, 2013 04:16
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rscott posted:AAA was the best investment I ever made, gently caress all that noise about machismo. When I was daily driving a MK2 Golf I got picked up on the same stretch of I70 by the same tow truck driver twice within a 6 month period on AAA's dime.
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Apr 26, 2013 06:58
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What pads? I put HP+ pads in my M3 and I think all my neighbors hate me now.
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Jul 21, 2013 13:59
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Somewhat Heroic posted:I have decided that after my speed6 gets out of having the rear diff mount fixed that I am going to part with it and I have set my eye on a BMW. I drove a E28 528e in high school and loved the crap out of it. Here is the one that I am looking to pick up. It is a 97 E36 M3, ~164K miles, 5 speed, black on black leather. 2 sets of wheels/tires (set of summer/snow). I have emailed the seller a few times getting some info on it and it seems to fall within the sense of reasonable for pricing/maintenance/etc. and he went and sent me higher res images in an email and now it is all I can think about. I can sell my MS6 for a few grand more than what this would cost so I would keep a reserve of ~$1000 to buy some new brakes and cooling system bits, maybe suspension stuff (which has been replaced at least once in the life of the car). I drive less than ~7K miles a year so I figure this would be a fun car that I can enjoy and get a little more comfortable tinkering with. That looks really sharp, something like that would probably go for around $7500 around here. They're not bad to work on either. The engine bay is a little cramped but everything is laid out sensibly. Mine is a weekend toy/autocross/track day car and for the price (Or three times it) you can't find a better car for that application. Putting money aside for the cooling system is smart. I've had mine since March and I've had to replace the radiator, water pump, and thermostat. It really would be a good idea to just do it all preemptively. That will leave you a bit of money to do the control arm and trailing arm bushings and the rear shock mounts which are all likely shot if they have not been replaced. The engine and transmission shouldn't give you any trouble. They do seem to like heavy oil if you are planning on running it hard. e: How are the door cards and headliner? User Error fucked around with this message at 00:52 on Oct 29, 2013 |
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Oct 29, 2013 00:46
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more pics
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Does anyone have experience with Delrin front control arm bushings? I'm going to do some winter  to my e36 M3 which is an autocross/track day/weekend car. I'm waffling between TC Kline SA or Ground Control coilovers and will probably get a set of Kosei K1s with BFG Rivals. I had Powerflex poly LCA bushings in my last e36 and liked them, but that was a street car and I wouldn't mind going a bit more aggressive. I just don't want it to be totally miserable on the street and would like to be able to do a few hours on the highway without hating myself.
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Dec 13, 2013 01:44
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The cooling system in my e36 chumpcar is full of straight water and I'm pretty sure it froze  Why the gently caress is it -10 in Missouri. Also why am I an idiot who left the garage door open for 5 hours today.
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Jan 7, 2014 04:26
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 Well that explains the screwy camber. User Error fucked around with this message at 16:18 on Jan 26, 2014 |
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Jan 26, 2014 03:49
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Ground Control race coilovers with D/A Konis are on sale and my tax return is coming soon!
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Feb 6, 2014 14:00
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http://www.ground-control-store.com/products/description.php/II=539/CA=247 D/A fronts anyways. I may see if I can get that kit with the hybrid camber plates.
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Feb 6, 2014 14:13
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PaintVagrant posted:Work is super slow today (duh) and I am shopping e36's (M3s too) in other states, please send help Here's a cheap one: http://stlouis.craigslist.org/cto/4784166806.html
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Dec 26, 2014 17:27
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It's weird, all I ever see around here are beaters for $5k and really nice ones that people want like 12k for. You don't really see ones in between. I got luck with mine, paid 4500. It probably could have gone for 7500 if the seller had done more than park it on the side of the road with a sign on the windshield in buttfuck nowhere Ownesville Missouri.
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Dec 26, 2014 18:10
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Just ordered coilovers for my 97 m3 I went with TRMs. They're a bit of an unknown compared to the Koni based kits but I like their design approach and the fact that they're monotubes. I'll post my impressions once they come in and as I get some miles and events on them.
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Jan 5, 2015 23:23
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Sounds like extra weight.
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Jan 6, 2015 02:11
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That's on the high end of mint, low mile e36 M3 money.
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Aug 7, 2015 04:28
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Every e36 is a beater. Source: I have two.
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Aug 7, 2015 04:29
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 e: fan clutch went out at a track day, somehow didn't take out anything but the fan. I threw it in a dumpster and drove home.
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Aug 22, 2015 05:18
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