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Welp, just piping in to say I finally got around to changing all my E36s spark plugs this morning. Fairly simple really. Went more or less without a hitch (has some tool problems, but thats not the cars fault). I really like the coil-on-plug setup BMW uses.  Changed the oil/air filter/wiper blades yesterday, now all I have to do are my belts/fuel filter/cabin filter plus the cooling system that Im putting off (I have a metal impeller, so its not a high priority, but I still need to do it). Carry on. CornHolio fucked around with this message at 21:45 on Jul 6, 2008 |
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Jul 6, 2008 21:42
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Doctor Grape Ape posted:So I installed my UUC Red Tranny mounts last night and took it for a spin and there is quite a bit of vibration around 1500rpm and they transmit a lot of road noise while on the interstate. It's possible that I over torqued them and that's the problem, but I'd like to know if anyone else has an experience with them. I knew there would be a little bit more NVH, but this is far beyond what I expected. I've been lazy about installing my set of UUC tranny mounts...how hard are they to install? You're only supposed to torque them to 16lb/ft, which is just past finger-tight. usurper posted:I was going to reply to you the last time you posted about this, but I figured you tried them out somewhere. There are two types of red transmission mounts--one are the street/track and one are "full race". OBAMNA PHONE fucked around with this message at 22:01 on Jul 6, 2008 |
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Jul 6, 2008 21:58
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BraveUlysses posted:I've been lazy about installing my set of UUC tranny mounts...how hard are they to install? Not too hard. I drove the front up on ramps, jacked the driver's side rear up so I had more room to work, then put a jack with a small piece of wood under the transmission. Undid the top nuts, then dropped the crossmember down. After that you remove the old mounts, install the new mounts to the crossmember finger tight, and then loosely reinstall the crossmember. Then you torque the mounts down to 16 ft/lb (or in my case just snug), then bolt the crossmember back to the chassis. It takes an hour at most.
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Jul 7, 2008 00:06
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Spent today removing the rear subframe and front suspension on my E30 track rat. Wow what a pain in the rear end. Will be nice to have it done though. Poly subframe mounts, new trailing arm bushings combined with H&R race springs, Billy sports and adjustable camber/caster plates (front) should really wake the car up.
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Jul 7, 2008 02:11
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What's the general opinion on AWD BMWs? My dad is apparently considering buying a 2005 330xi sedan with an automatic. I know BMW isn't known for their AWD system, but it's not junk, is it? Also, is the automatic that bad?
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Jul 7, 2008 05:26
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andrzejpw posted:What's the general opinion on AWD BMWs? My dad is apparently considering buying a 2005 330xi sedan with an automatic. I know BMW isn't known for their AWD system, but it's not junk, is it? Also, is the automatic that bad? e46 automatics aren't bad at all. There really aren't many other autos I'd consider.
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Jul 7, 2008 06:15
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andrzejpw posted:Also, is the automatic that bad? The auto isn't really bad... to drive. But they have a reputation for making GBS threads themselves depending on which E46 model it's mated to. Mostly due to the fact BMW considers fluid and filter "lifetime" and doesn't do regular changes of either.
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Jul 7, 2008 14:58
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Like I said earlier, I just replaced the timing belt/water pump on my M20 engine, but the belt loving squeals like MAD until I get the revs up a bit then it's quiet for the rest of the trip. I'm not 100% sure that this is the timing belt making the noise or the water pump/alternator belt. Is this common with new timing belts? Do they need to be broken in?
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Jul 7, 2008 16:46
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andrzejpw posted:What's the general opinion on AWD BMWs? My dad is apparently considering buying a 2005 330xi sedan with an automatic. I know BMW isn't known for their AWD system, but it's not junk, is it? Also, is the automatic that bad? E46 AWD is a pretty simple mechanical system -- the xi is basically a RWD car with a transfer case and additional driveshaft added. The transfer case can be a vulnerability. I don't know if there was a bad production run or if the design just sucks - it died in my '03 325xiT just prior to warranty expiration and I've seen anecdotal warnings about its reliability in various BMW enthusiast rags. Regular fluid changes (beyond BMW's "lifetime fill" BS) should help. The 2-3 times I've had it out in the snow with the snow tires on, it was a mountain goat and fun as poo poo, of course. But on the whole I wish it were a regular RWD 325. I don't like the additional weight and complexity given the (for me) minimal and occasional benefits. The xi models have a higher ride-height too, which can look sorta goofy. Except on a wagon of course! As for the automatic tranny in general - I find the e46 auto to be sluggish and uninspiring. Especially after having an E90 loaner for a week - way faster shifting. That said, at least there are "sport" and manumatic modes.
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Jul 7, 2008 17:36
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dvorak posted:So I got a brand new 750Li in February. Are you some kind of automotive masochist? You need to add an 8 series, Jaguar, and a VW to your collection to truly tip the scale towards insanely unreliable automotive fleet.
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Jul 7, 2008 18:10
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I just chipped my E30 with Dinan chip from the eBay seller Doctor Grape Ape reccomended. I opened up my ECU which had obviously been opened before and found out I had a Dinan Transmission Chip. On my manual 5-spd. Needless to say, it runs a lot better now, and now I have an extra Dinan chip. Also, please make sure at least one of your door locks work when you roll the windows up after replacing your door lock "computer". I am getting a door cylinder rebuild kit this week. My passenger side and drivers side doors will lock the car, but not unlock. My trunk lock is seized totally. Oopsy. I'm always listening to my iPod and it annoyed me that the antenna was always up. So this weekend with a little bit of time I wired in a stock switch above the radio to run the antenna. All in all, a very productive weekend.
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Jul 7, 2008 19:34
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Is there any reason for me not to look into a 2000 BMW Z3 (2.3)? It's priced at $8800, which I guess is around Edmund's TMV price, but it still seems a little low for a BMW roadster?
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Jul 9, 2008 14:24
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Holy poo poo I just fixed my door locks, which was the last thing to really fix on my car. NOW WHAT DO I DO?!?! Daddy Fantastic posted:Is there any reason for me not to look into a 2000 BMW Z3 (2.3)? It's priced at $8800, which I guess is around Edmund's TMV price, but it still seems a little low for a BMW roadster? That seems a little low for a 2000, but it is basically an E36/E30 hybrid underneath. What about miles, records, etc?
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Jul 10, 2008 00:37
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TractionControl posted:That seems a little low for a 2000, but it is basically an E36/E30 hybrid underneath. Right now I'm looking at a '97 328IS that's been sitting for a few months and (supposedly) needs a new battery and exhaust repairs, and a '97 328i that's running but looks beat to poo poo, and the windows and driver's side door are broken. The second one scares me, but the first looks salvageable if I can get the seller to accept a lowball offer.
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Jul 10, 2008 00:45
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I know most people here think the 7-series is for rich old men too stupid to buy an S-class, but anyway, here's some info on the new 7:quote:New iDrive, Black Panel technology, Head-Up Display and more   
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Jul 10, 2008 03:23
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CornHolio posted:
Wow, that looks great. Google Maps has had the 'send to' feature for a while now, and I actually tried to use it to send an address to my '08 5er, but it didn't work. I think there was a thread here where a few people tried to get it to send address to their cars. I think that is what is meant by the 'mobile transmission' bit. There are youtubes of this in action with current gen cars in the German market at least. I'm sure the target demographic for iDrive will love the changes, but I think it now looks too much like the competition offerings with the buttons around the dial. Was it really that hard to hit the Menu button and slide the knob in a direction to get to a different menu? Do we know what engines this is getting yet? That V8 from the xDrive50i would be mighty nice... Edit:  I sure hope my boss upgrades to this one when it hits stores...
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Jul 10, 2008 04:40
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New 7 series
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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. Anyways, am I absolutely crazy for wanting this, or should this be possible. If I could find some for the same price as one of the posters on the first page did (I think he got an e36 or 2 for like 1500-2500 each I think this would be possible. But I don't usually see prices like that around here. I live in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada if that helps. I know there seems to be a lot of used BMW's coming out of Toronto which isn't too far a drive away. Thanks in advance for any responses. ManiacMatt fucked around with this message at 19:24 on Jul 10, 2008 |
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Jul 10, 2008 08:49
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Ultimate Mango posted:Do we know what engines this is getting yet? That V8 from the xDrive50i would be mighty nice... Im kind of wondering if the twin turbo V8 will replace the V12 entirely... or if they'll offer a V8, V8 TT and a V12. CornHolio fucked around with this message at 13:52 on Jul 10, 2008 |
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Jul 10, 2008 13:12
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CornHolio posted:Is... is the driver oriented cockpit making a comeback? I sure hope that's what I'm seeing here.
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Jul 10, 2008 14:08
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Brock Landers posted:Is... is the driver oriented cockpit making a comeback? I sure hope that's what I'm seeing here. It's only a very slight skew, but it's a start. Maybe in 7 more years it'll come back all the way. I think the new front end looks great after some initial getting used to. Only thing I kind of wish for is some kind of special treatment to the rear fenders. They looks so plain. 
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Jul 10, 2008 15:00
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ynotony posted:Only thing I kind of wish for is some kind of special treatment to the rear fenders. They looks so plain. I think that after all of the 'Bangle Bustle' drama this plainer look is really the right thing for BMW as a brand. Have we seen pics of her rear yet? It also looks like they are going for a bit of a coupelike profile and shorter rear deck (thank you CLS), but maybe its just the angles of the pics posted here so far.
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Jul 10, 2008 16:52
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I have to say I like the new 7 design. It's simpler and just looks cleaner than the current model.
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Jul 10, 2008 17:30
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Ultimate Mango posted:I think that after all of the 'Bangle Bustle' drama this plainer look is really the right thing for BMW as a brand. Have we seen pics of her rear yet? I think Jalopnik had a shot. It definitely wasn't a Bangle butt anymore.
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Jul 10, 2008 17:53
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dp
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Jul 10, 2008 18:04
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I miss my shark nosed BMWs 
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Jul 11, 2008 00:53
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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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chem42 posted:BMW engines run forever, there is a guy on bimmerforums.com with over 600k on the original motor and transmission. And that 600k is on the GM built Automatic Tranny, no less.
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Jul 11, 2008 05:17
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So I'm not insane for wanting to do this then. I realize any car over 10 years old will most likely need work. I am willing to even have a month set aside as well as some money to bring the car up to snuff before I insure/drive it regularly. Ideally I'd like either an e34 or an e36, I don't know why, but I just love the look of a well polished black e34. Having driven manual, I also will be making sure whatever I get will be a manual, just because even though it was a neon and the clutch is dying, I still love it. So I gather then, from what I've read the, e36 will be a hell of a lot more track friendly than an e34, but the e34 will be a more daily driver friendly car. From all my reading this seems to be true, but I could be completely wrong and haven't met anyone who really throws around their 5-series.
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Jul 11, 2008 06:22
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I'm gearing up to make my last two maintenance related purchases, the first will be the guibo and center support bearing, and the second will be all the rear subframe bushings. I thought about doing it all at once to save some time but I just don't think I have it in me to do that much work at once. Along the way I'll be replacing every seal and rubber bit in the drive shaft and differential, too. After that it's all cosmetic stuff that needs fixing. Then onto the mods and hopefully a Schrick cam by Christmas.
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Jul 11, 2008 07:10
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New 3-series facelift below. The new one is on bottom. Anyone else suddenly bugged by how high up the kidneys are on this car (both versions)? Thankfully it looks like with the new 7-series the next chassis generation of all their cars will have lower kidneys.
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Jul 11, 2008 18:03
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ynotony posted:New 3-series facelift below. The new one is on bottom. Anyone else suddenly bugged by how high up the kidneys are on this car (both versions)? Thankfully it looks like with the new 7-series the next chassis generation of all their cars will have lower kidneys. Looks like we found the creases and lines they took off the new 7 series. At least they didn't totally remove the  just slimmed it down a bit
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Jul 11, 2008 19:02
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My rule of thumb when considering any used BMW, especially E36s is: tack on no less than $1500 for parts to refresh the car post purchase. The breakdown is as follows: - $300 cooling refresh - $800 shocks/springs/rear strut mounts - $250 bushings(FCAB, RTAB, transmission) - $150 alignment If you go in expecting the $1500 expense, you won't be let down by the car. If you need someone to install all this stuff for you, and aren't willing to pay the additional cost of that, strongly consider another kind of car (Corolla, Civic, etc) that doesn't have the maintenance requirements. This checklist has proven true on the last 4 BMWs we've owned. They were all >100k mile cars, though. Honestly, though, the checklist would apply to a 75k mi car, too.
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Jul 11, 2008 19:52
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Sterndotstern posted:My rule of thumb when considering any used BMW, especially E36s is: tack on no less than $1500 for parts to refresh the car post purchase. Cooling is the big one. I bought my 90k e36 three years ago and I've had a little fund sitting around for replacing the major cooling components. Makes dropping a buttload of money on parts/labor way easier. edit: I should say things are holding up well now but I'm going to get the major components replaced as well as getting all my hoses and seals checked because I've got a small leak. Fixing before it breaks is key. ynotony fucked around with this message at 20:23 on Jul 11, 2008 |
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Jul 11, 2008 20:01
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So, I finally bought a car. My first car. No lovely rusty ancient mobile, I plopped £900 ($1800) on a 325i from '93. Every single friend I have advised against it, warning of breakdowns, crappy MPG, rust, the works. Went out to see the guy, who was quite honest. He pointed out rust on arches (getting fixed), dodgy cooling system (fixed), scratch on the back (fixed) and various other minor cosmetic faults. Had a garage owner friend of my family look it over, and he said for the mileage it looked sound. It came lowered, M3 alloys, new exhaust and some other shiny stuff. All in all I'm spending another £800 on bits that need put right. Got it to work and all the aforementioned friends who were mocking my purchase for weeks, got to eat their loving hats. It looks gorgeous, drives gorgeous and has more power than their lovely little £14,000 hatchbacks can ever dream of. Verdict? Happy as hell. When this runs into the ground, i'll be buying another.
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Jul 11, 2008 22:41
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ynotony posted:Cooling is the big one. Agreed, but honestly, all of them *need* addressing. Just consider it the "sales tax" on your E36.
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Jul 11, 2008 22:52
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As I'm sure you E36 guys know, the stock US headlights are loving awful to the point of being almost dangerous when on a dark road. My housings are perfectly clear, and the bulbs are fine. What can be done here? I know a lot of people push the ZKW "ellipsoid" Euro headlights. Is this the way to go? I honestly know nothing about this topic. Are they HIDs, Xenons, projectors (to be honest, I don't really know the difference between those three terms). I do know that I want bright, clean light. None of that faggy blue poo poo and certainly not purple. As far as I've gathered, white light is 5500-6000K? Anyone have any advice for non-ricey headlights that won't get me killed?
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Jul 13, 2008 01:44
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I found out how to replace bushings today in under 30 minutes. I was working with my dad on his 528iT replacing the thrust arm bushings, following a tutorial we found online using a tool from harbor freight. The first bushing took over two hours as we figured out what to do. Using the following process we were able to knock that down to thirty minutes: push out the center metal part using the harbor freight bushing removal tool and an impact wrench, sawzall out the rubber donut that's left by cuting 1/4 of it out and then shoving the rest out with a screw driver. After that just sawzall the metal ring into quarters and it should fall out. Then just drive it back in with the lovely harbor freight tool and the impact.Pissingintowind posted:Lights I was looking into this recently too, as I spent an hour driving back from Cocoa beach doing 80 with lovely headlights. Kind of unnerving. From what I gather, the Depo or Apexcone Ellipsoid lights are the best bang for the buck, with around 4500-5000K looking OEM. For around $250 or so you can get the housing and the bulbs. And I personally would get the angel eyes because I love them. Yes, they are played out and ricey as hell, but I drive a BMW and I want them damnit!
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Jul 13, 2008 02:48
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 '95 E36 manual, 154k miles, drives like a dream 
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Jul 13, 2008 04:40
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Doctor Grape Ape posted:I was looking into this recently too, as I spent an hour driving back from Cocoa beach doing 80 with lovely headlights. Kind of unnerving. From what I gather, the Depo or Apexcone Ellipsoid lights are the best bang for the buck, with around 4500-5000K looking OEM. For around $250 or so you can get the housing and the bulbs. I read about the Depo and Apexcones. Some people are saying that the housings on the ZKWs are much, much better though. Let's see if anyone here has anything to say about it.
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Jul 13, 2008 16:15
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I like my ZKWs but have no personal experience with the Depo/Apexcone headlights. I know the depos have less servicible parts, and just have a cheaper build quality (ZKW is an OEM manufacturer at least). Going to start trans mounts and tranny fluid flush with Redline MTL in an hour or so...any suggestions for a pump that I can make/buy to get the fluid up into the fill hole?
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Jul 13, 2008 21:53
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