Project: neglected E36

[Dave]

I know how to do it but it is a pain in the ass. If he used one of those kits, I'd prefer to go that route.

Indeed, mine was a 3M kit that I got at Advance and it required a regular home drill and very little actual work. So far I've done 2 sets of headlights and still have enough materials to do several more. Maeng, want to buy whats left of mine?

[Dave]

Project 4: Replace Windshield
I don't know if I can really call this a project since I did very little work on it, but I don't much care since it has been the largest expenditure I've made so far. Basically, windshield had giant crack, needed to be replaced before I even tried to have it inspected.
Bonus!: Apparently my rear-view mirror was from a Chevy. If I can't find a BMW one for free/cheap, it's probably going back on too...




Update: Got a rear-view from a part-out on a forum, install was simply snapping it in place.

[Dave]

Project 5: Clean engine bay
As you can see, the engine bay was absolutely filthy and just generally covered in grime.


In addition, the intake boot between the AFM and throttle body was wrapped in duct tape, so I'm guessing somebody was trying not to have to buy the part; I just bit the bullet so that it didn't stick out like a sore thumb. Once again, aside from the intake piece, this all boiled down to spending some quality time with a rag and some water to clean it up. I haven't figured out a way to clean off the oil stains on the front cam cover, but I'm not really worried about it either.

[Maengelito]

I know how to do it but it is a pain in the ass. If he used one of those kits, I'd prefer to go that route.

Indeed, mine was a 3M kit that I got at Advance and it required a regular home drill and very little actual work. So far I've done 2 sets of headlights and still have enough materials to do several more. Maeng, want to buy whats left of mine?

I may just pick one up to have for myself. I assume its this one:

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_Headlight-Lens-Restoration-System-3M_7100089-P_N3312Y_T%7CGRP2074____">http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_Headlight-Lens-Restoration-System-3M_7100089-P_N3312Y_T%7CGRP2074____</a><!-- m -->

[Dave]

yup, thats it.
I've still got to do the TL's headlights, but once I'm done with that you can honestly just have mine. I really won't have a use for any of it after that and there will be plenty of supplies left...

[Dave]

Project 6: Wash, polish, wax.

I washed it once to get the top layer of crap that had settled on the car, then washed it again to actually get it clean. Then did three grades of polish to clean up the clear coat, followed by Klasse sealant, and some P21S wax. Seriously, it doesn't look like the same car that I winched onto the trailer...

The car has several dents all over it, and I'd probably honestly put the paint at a 6.5 b/c it does have quite a few blemishes around the car. It's starting to delaminate on the hood, and of course has the damage at the DS front corner as well. That said, the color looks great and you really can't see some of those issues unless you're looking for them.

Pictures similar to the first page for comparison:

[kcook]

amazing how far a little tlc will go. looks awesome dave

[Dave]

Project 7: Replace radiator
I replaced the battery and finally had it drivable, and I noticed that a puddle of coolant was forming under the car. Yay.

After getting it nice and hot, I popped the hood and looked around until I found the source. It was actually seeping from the seams of the radiator itself. I'm sure I could have found a similar diagnosis on a forum, but it was still interesting to see it in person. Needless to say, time to replace the radiator.
A few days later, after a quick order to Pelican Parts, I had one in hand and was tearing the front of the car apart. Everybody says that you have to use a special tool to remove the fan when doing this job; well, they're f'in liars. Not only did I not have to remove the fan, but the entire job itself was really only a couple hours of labor and was very easy.
To avoid the special fan tool, loosen the shroud and push it back away from the radiator. Carefully remove the radiator, and stick a long screwdriver through to support the shroud while you prepare to install the new radiator.


Then reassemble, clean the area (since it probably hasn't been uncovered since it left the factory), and button it up. Here's a pic of the shiny goodness before I reinstalled the plastic ducting.

[Dave]

Project 8: Maintenance keeps your car alive.

Performed the following maintenance on the car since I got it:
-oil change
-cleaned and oiled the K&N air filter
-flushed power steering (be sure to replace the gaskets of the hoses)
-replaced wiper blades
-flushed rear diff (note: requires an 14mm Allen key and there isn't much room to work on the upper plug, but it can be done)
-replaced fuel filter (runs along the inside of the driver frame rail, essentially up under your ass; covered by a metal guard)
-talked with the PO and was informed that they replaced the valve cover gasket and spark plugs before I got it
-replaced passenger front tire and a rear brake bulb to pass VA inspection


Now that I can drive it regularly, I can find other problems. It's very soft, which I guess makes sense since it isn't an IS model. The seat heaters are awesome, even if the seats aren't in the best condition. The gas tank seems enormous; 450+ miles/tank! The biggest problem now is that it has a whining noise whenever you push the clutch in. Based upon internet searching, it appears that the throwout bearing often wears out and results in a similar noise. I do not intend to perform this job, as I think it would be better if the buyer decides what route they want to go with it (replace bearing, replace clutch, upgrade clutch, etc.).
All in all, I now trust it to reliably and comfortably get me to and from work regularly (30 miles one way). That's a lot more than I can say about when I bought it...

[getfast]

sell.

I know someone who might be interested. :wink:

[Dave]

Sooooooold!

Sorry guys, no RJ money shot picture for this one...

[D_Eclipse9916]

lol

[CaptainHenreh]

Sorry guys, no RJ money shot picture for this one...

Apology NOT accepted.

You of all people...

[getfast]

Sooooooold!

Start a new thread or continue this one? Well...

------------------------

So I picked up a crappy April '95 production 325i (4-door, 3-pedal) with 138k miles today guys, it's green:



Horrible throwout bearing noise, CEL on, mismatched tires, blown original suspension & all original bushings, intermittent misfire, at least one tire out of round or out of balance, one tire at 20psi, cracked seats, dents everywhere, signs of front end paint work (including one non-original front fender), etc. It was all I could do to put ~150 miles on it today without it crashing or bursting into flames. :lol:

CEL code was showing for O2 sensor, cleared it, it hasn't returned. Slight misfire is at half-throttle from about 1500rpm to 2500rpm. Cleaned out the MAF and the throttle body, those didn't fixit. 50 miles of driving with STP fuel injector cleaner in half a tank didn't fixit (although it does seem to be improving?) Coilpacks look original, the one plug I pulled was a BMW OEM dual-tip dealio but definitely kinda old looking. Probably gonna see about swapping in some known working coilpacks, and new plugs, this week.

I also put air in that one tire, checked/filled up all the fluids, torqued the lug nuts, and gave it a good old fashioned italian tune-up. Holy hell this thing pulls great from 3500 to redline. Tomorrow it'll actually get its own license plates :thumbup: Stay tuned for details, maybe...

[ViPER1313]

Jon - hope the car treats you well. Please keep us updated on how long the aluminum foil in the drivers door holds up :thumbup:

[Dave]

LOL, nice first post Jon

I have to note how impressed I was about all the things you noticed on the car. You saw and knew about things in a couple of minutes that I hadn't realized after weeks of owning and driving it. I know who I'm calling if I get another BMW later down the road...

Sorry guys, no RJ money shot picture for this one...

Apology NOT accepted.

You of all people...

You're seriously going to make me cash this check, aren't you...

[Steve85]

:lol: Jon, I was just talking to your buddy Greg Beatty about his laps with you at Summit in his...new 4 dr E36 (M3).

The MM BMWCCA chapter idea seems like much less of a joke now...I guess for good reasons.

[D_Eclipse9916]

lol. Cant stay away from the boston green E36s eh? Hope your enjoying it despite all the fun "new car to you" issues.

[getfast]

CEL code was showing for O2 sensor, cleared it, it hasn't returned. Slight misfire is at half-throttle from about 1500rpm to 2500rpm. Cleaned out the MAF and the throttle body, those didn't fixit. 50 miles of driving with STP fuel injector cleaner in half a tank didn't fixit (although it does seem to be improving?) Coilpacks look original, the one plug I pulled was a BMW OEM dual-tip dealio but definitely kinda old looking. Probably gonna see about swapping in some known working coilpacks, and new plugs, this week.

Installed new OEM NGK plugs today. The ones in there were worn but not wasted. More importantly there are several ginormous oil leaks from the valve cover gasket, especially down into spark plug holes #1 and #2. Both those plugs were pretty much soaked and sitting in 1/3" deep pools of Wal-Mart 20w50.

Good news: new plugs and related oil cleanup fixed the intermittent misfire.

Bad news: it came right back 12 miles later.

So tomorrow I'm gonna replace that valve cover gasket set, because oil leaking down into the plug tubes isn't good for anything, whether it's got something to do with the misfire or not. And now I'm pretty sure the miss is coilpacks. I think when I changed the plugs (and reversed the coils front to back) I fixed something that then broke again. Hopefully. So, I'm gonna swap in a set of known good coilpacks from another car hopefully tomorrow and see what happens. If that doesn't fixit, I'm stumped... for now.

Filled up today with Shell 93 octane and a can of STP gas treatment, then discovered that the average mpg on the prior tank was 26.4. That was from like 150 miles of Dave commuting and 200 miles of me test-driving in the city and on the highway and fiddling with stuff while it idled and performing a few italian tune-ups. A new Bosch O2 sensor is like $70 and it only has one (unlike my M3/4 which had four and they each cost more than that), but I think I'll wait. 26.4mpg is certainly around normal for one of these, and the CEL still hasn't come back on.

Next up: figuring out the suspension/steering shudder, and figuring out the clutch related noise. Both are annoying but the car is still plenty driveable (I've put ~225 miles on it in ~30 hours.) Stay tuned for details...

[Scott]

SPEC3?