Project 1998 M3

[Tyler.M]

Hi everyone,

On Monday, Jake was gracious enough to go down to Richmond with me and look at an M3. I was always kinda interested in them, but I always assumed they'd be out of my price range....but I got this one for a song. I had been texting the guy back and forth for a bit, and he didn't want me to take the car from him quite yet since he didn't have other transportation. But when I saw the m3, I loved it. So I told him I'll pay for a cab, and miraculously, he agreed.

I felt pretty bad about taking it off his hands... well initially anyways :lol: We got to his house to sign over the title and everything, and come to find out he was trading in the M3 to get a mini-van for the kids. He was a nice guy, but you could tell he was pretty distraught over the whole thing.
Most heartbreaking moment is when his 3 year old daughter and 9 month old son came out and hugged the bumper saying, "bye daddy's car!". I felt bad... for about five minutes. Then Jake and I pulled in to get dinner, I saw it parked and I quickly forgot about it

Anyways, on to the car.
Bmw m3 black with black leather interior, heated manual vaders upgraded head unit and some type of summer tread BF goodrich tire. He threw in a free set of all weathers, which I plan to get on pretty soon.


List of things I want to do;

Fix exterior cosmetic stuff such as:
Front emblem replacement
Right side trim repainted
right side skirt touched up
Left side of front bumper fixed (its hanging a little crooked and the wheel well sheeting is rubbing on the tire)
Dent under the right head light fixed/ touched up
New weather stripping for the windows and door handles
Left rear impact strip replaced
Front right impact strip replaced
Right rear wheel unbent (not bent much andholds air but might mess up bearings eventually)
restore the headlights, replace both bulbs

Fix interior cosmetic stuff such as:
glove box button assembly and front panel glued back on
New shift knob with m3 logo
Reinstall factory sound system (the upgraded one doesn't "talk" with the six cd changer)
Replace fuses for the backlighting on the dashboard (100-120 and temp gauge are pretty dark at night, could be bulbs too)
floor mat clips

DJ and joey will both say I need to upgrade the cooling system, which I will probably do around spring time. There's a sweet smell of coolant in the cabin with the heater on, so I'll go ahead and replace the heater core too whenever I upgrade the rest of the system.

I need to check the bushings/ guido/ control arms and center driveshaft flex for wear. The guy kept the maintenance records since 60k, and some notes suggest these things haven't been done yet. I might just go ahead and refresh the whole suspension while I'm at it, replacing bushings control arms, and maybe shocks too if it needs it.

Serious upgrades will come later.... much much later haha.



Note the tractor in the background :p

[ViPER1313]

I would skip all of those cosmetic things you just listed and focus on fixing the coolant system first, especially since it sounds like it is already leaking a bit. Not to mention that it's just gonna get beat up again sitting around JMU.

EDIT: You had better hope the heater core is not leaking. Total dashboard removal.

[Goodspeed]

Once again, great purchase - that beats the hell out of a MKIII.

You know me (well maybe not you personally), but I'd do all the things on that list, but maybe make them secondary to the cooling stuff. I'm a big believer in a methodical timeline of fixing what needs fixing first, then mods.

Oh, and park it somewhere safe and take the bus :lol: Thats the price that every MM'er/JMU student who cares about their car pays.

[SlimKlim]

I would skip all of those cosmetic things you just listed and focus on fixing the coolant system first, especially since it sounds like it is already leaking a bit. Not to mention that it's just gonna get beat up again sitting around JMU.

EDIT: You had better hope the heater core is not leaking. Total dashboard removal.

Yeah, JMU is god awful on cars, mine has fallen apart in the year its been here.

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[ScottyB]

that car is a steal.

another vote for cooling stuff first. bushings second. cosmetics dead last.

[D_Eclipse9916]

Once again, great purchase - that beats the hell out of a MKIII.

You know me (well maybe not you personally), but I'd do all the things on that list, but maybe make them secondary to the cooling stuff. I'm a big believer in a methodical timeline of fixing what needs fixing first, then mods.

Oh, and park it somewhere safe and take the bus :lol: Thats the price that every MM'er/JMU student who cares about their car pays.

There is nowhere safe at JMU, dont be fooled. Itll be in either some desolate parking late waiting to be stolen, or some student parking lot waiting to be hit, or in some neighborhood lot waiting to get vandalized. Forget the pretty stuff during college (unless your at North 38 where you can rent a garage), because you WONT have a garage and CANT watch your car 24 hours a day. Plus who cares if its pretty when its frustrating to drive because something is always breaking? Fix it first. Hell, if you want to take the cheap/easy way out, I have all the cooling components out of my car that only had like 10-15k miles on it (radiator, revised OEM water pump, reinforced plastic thermostat housing although just get aluminum, its 17 bucks). And fix that interior coolant smell first, if its leaking, itll corrode the shit out of your car and possibly do electrical, chassis and rust damage.

For the stock radio, my friend has an extra one if you need it. Otherwise make sure to buy a C43 or CD43 as the sound is much improved in those stock units than the earlier versions.

Also at 100k miles I would replace both the engine and transmission mounts, flush all the fluids (DO THIS FIRST, its CHEAP!)

[Tyler.M]

You know me (well maybe not you personally), but I'd do all the things on that list, but maybe make them secondary to the cooling stuff. I'm a big believer in a methodical timeline of fixing what needs fixing first, then mods.

haha true true. Good thing to consider. I'll start searching around for an impeller, radiator and expansion tank then I suppose. I'm not too concerned since its getting colder and the likelihood of overheating is a whole lot less.

Heater core wise, yup, I'm not excited about it at all. Some say it'll be an 8 to 10 hour job for a $100 part, but it'll be worth it in the long run. If anyone wants to help, that'd be awesome

Cosmetically though, my birthday is coming up and the rents said they'd pay for some cosmetic things, so I'll hit them up on that. I'm just going to order the parts to the glove box, get a new front emblem, and since my shift knob is shot to hell and I'm borrowing jakes off his e30, I need to get a new one of those too. The bumper can wait though, but the wheels do need to be changed over soon.

Anyways, it drives fine. Just smells a little like coolant

[Jake]

I vote you do the simple cosmetics now. Whatever is cheap and easy, why not.

Do the cooling system soon. Doubt ya need to worry about heater core. The smell in the cabin is the same as Joey's car and it's no big deal.

Dim gauge lights will be bulbs not fuses.

Congrats on a very solid car!!

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[D_Eclipse9916]

You know me (well maybe not you personally), but I'd do all the things on that list, but maybe make them secondary to the cooling stuff. I'm a big believer in a methodical timeline of fixing what needs fixing first, then mods.

haha true true. Good thing to consider. I'll start searching around for an impeller, radiator and expansion tank then I suppose. I'm not too concerned since its getting colder and the likelihood of overheating is a whole lot less.

Heater core wise, yup, I'm not excited about it at all. Some say it'll be an 8 to 10 hour job for a $100 part, but it'll be worth it in the long run. If anyone wants to help, that'd be awesome

Cosmetically though, my birthday is coming up and the rents said they'd pay for some cosmetic things, so I'll hit them up on that. I'm just going to order the parts to the glove box, get a new front emblem, and since my shift knob is shot to hell and I'm borrowing jakes off his e30, I need to get a new one of those too. The bumper can wait though, but the wheels do need to be changed over soon.

Anyways, it drives fine. Just smells a little like coolant

Not to make you worried, but id be MORE worried during the winter about a plastic cooling system. Its not that bmws overheat, its that the plastics EXPLODE. Literally. Endtanks explode, thermostat housing cracks, metal impeller fails and rips everything apart.

During the winter because of thermal expansion due to quick heat from a motor, and then quick cooling from from the cold weather makes everything swell and contract on a more extreme scale leading to you being more prone to failure. One of the reasons plastic end tanks are a bad idea, espcially if their bad bmw plastic, is that imagine the copper or alumnum core expanding and contracting, while the plastic does not. You can see why over time this leads to issues.

[Tyler.M]

haha jesus DJ you make me want to garage it until I get the cooling system upgraded.
I'll PM ya for info on that used stuff you got haha.

[D_Eclipse9916]

Tools youll need to overhaul system:
Flatscrewdriver
32mm flat or skinny wrench
basic socket/socket wrench set

Parts youll need:
New Hose Clamps
New Hoses
New radiator (OEM, BEHR, or aluminum ($200 for Mishimoto)
Water Pump (OEM, or Stewart $179)
Fan and Fan Clutch (OEM or electric)
OEM aluminum thermo housing ($17)
OEM Thermostat
Expansion Tank
New belts (if you want and depending on the condition of yours)


I didnt mean to scare you, just trying to scare you out of spending money on making it look pretty when youve got more pressing issues. Hell I tracked mine on that cooling system no problem, just if your already smelling coolant, its like "heres your sign".

If you ever plan on tracking it...my suggestion would be (and this my personal setup)
New hoses
New Belts
Aluminum thermo housing and real thermo gauge
Aluminum Radiator
Stewart Water Pump
Fan Delete (save money here)
New Thermostat
New Expansion Tank
Wire A/C Fan to turn on high-speed at low setting (just connecting two wires easily accessible together.

Even in NOVA traffic in middle of summer heat, my temps never got over 197 with no main fan. Just the A/C Fan.

If you buy all the stuff I can help you. Or for $100 bucks you can take all my spare cooling stuff and I can help you install it in your car until you can afford to make it bulletproof in two or three years.

PS- If you ever want suspension, imma be switching up from my bilsteins/H+R sports soon enough, but no hurry on my end.

[D_Eclipse9916]

Oh and I have some roundels you can have for free that are in pretty nice condition. Wayyyyy better than yours look right now and its fo' free.

[Tyler.M]

wrench set
Parts youll need:
New Hose Clamps
New Hoses
New radiator (OEM, BEHR, or aluminum ($200 for Mishimoto)
Water Pump (OEM, or Stewart $179)
Fan and Fan Clutch (OEM or electric)
OEM aluminum thermo housing ($17)
OEM Thermostat
Expansion Tank
New belts (if you want and depending on the condition of yours)

Sweet! I'll take those roundels, thanks in advance

I know its a PITA but a new heater core too, just in case.

any suggestions for places I should look for expansion tank wise?

[ViPER1313]

wrench set
Parts youll need:
New Hose Clamps
New Hoses
New radiator (OEM, BEHR, or aluminum ($200 for Mishimoto)
Water Pump (OEM, or Stewart $179)
Fan and Fan Clutch (OEM or electric)
OEM aluminum thermo housing ($17)
OEM Thermostat
Expansion Tank
New belts (if you want and depending on the condition of yours)

Sweet! I'll take those roundels, thanks in advance

I know its a PITA but a new heater core too, just in case.

any suggestions for places I should look for expansion tank wise?

Everyone here (including me) has been saying "heater core, heater core" but you need to find where the coolant is actually leaking from - there is a strong chance that the coolant is simply leaking somewhere under the hood, and you smell it leaking from there. Even a leak at the front of the engine bay can smell pretty strong when you turn the heat on. Find out where it is leaking from, and if you can't find anything and are 99% positive it is the heater core, bypass the core and see if the smell goes away.

[D_Eclipse9916]

+1 I doubt it is the heater core as the E36 has those ducts right from the cowling of the hood so you could simply be smelling the engine bay.

[Goodspeed]

Even a leak at the front of the engine bay can smell pretty strong when you turn the heat on. Find out where it is leaking from, and if you can't find anything and are 99% positive it is the heater core, bypass the core and see if the smell goes away.

My Miata used to stink of coolant, especially on a hot day - it was a combination of a plastic-tanked radiator seeping and a bad cap.

[Tyler.M]

Hmm alright. Ill try to find out where its coming from tonight then

[Goodspeed]

Weird question, but whats the "fuzziness" of the glass going on there? Tint that bish.

[Tyler.M]

Oh that's just a real shitty tint job haha. I need to get it redone

[Tyler.M]

Replaced both headlight bulbs and glued the glovebox trim back on today. Not much, but its a start