New 318ti owner

[paww 1]

Hi guys

Just bought my first BMW, I longed for a E36 for quite some time now, I actually fell for 3 Series because of the coupe but need something a tad more practical so went for a 318ti.

It's pretty much exactly the one I was after, M-Sport extras, just would of preferred some different wheels but tyres are good so no complaints!

I'll be taking it on a road trip around the country in Dec for a month so needed something that I could throw a decent amount of stuff in the boot of.

Picked it up today, it needs some work done on it. It's generally in pretty good condition, previous owner was genuinely a 'careful lady owner' - Window regulator and sliders were done a couple of years ago and the seem pretty solid atm. Drivers one made a clicking sound once, but tbh I was specifically looking and listening and trying it multiple times to see how they fared but no resistance or appearance of it struggling or slowing down.

The list of things to do are

• Replace crankcase seal (it leaks atm )
• Full Service (poor thing needs a full flush)
• Clean up or new front disc rotors (uneven and signs of rust around the edge)
• Tailgate struts, both are shot.
• Roof lining beginning to sag at the back
• Needs a t-cut on the roof
• Replace BMW badges, both front and back are faded/peeling
• Troubleshoot cigarette lighter - (plug in an aux device like a charger, it lights up but charges nothing)
• Little bit of surface rust on drivers side door (seems superficial)

Other than that it seems to be in a good place.

I've literally just picked up the car so it needs a once over to clean up before I take any fancy shots of the car but these are from the listing for those curious!

It's going to go in to a garage next week to get the service and crackcase seal done and then hopefully it'll have the major bits done before my trip. - Going to task them to try and take a look at the coolant tube/pipe on the back of the engine whilst they're in there to see how it's faring.

Be interested to hear if anyone has anything else they think is worth pointing out.

[zero 1160]

Nice looking car.

Just make sure they use the correct oil, as beemers are very picky on the oils they use.

[BM WORLD 1258]

nice ride , they normally leak from behind the oil filter housing ,

the o-rings go hard .

check that 1st before doing the crank seal , common mistake .

oil always goes down and back

see here .

part 5

http://bmwfans.info/parts-catalog/E36-Compact/Europe/318ti-M44/R-A/mar2000/browse/engine/lubrication_system_oil_filter/

http://ills.bmwfans.info/rp.png

[M3AN 4015]

Nice looking car.

Do you mind if I ask approx what you paid? I might be looking for something similar.

Now, there are a few people on here that can tell you how to plonk an S50 in there you know?

[LemonHunter 583]

I thought mine was leaking from the Crank case also, but a bit of googling confirms what is mentioned above, it seems more likely to be the oil filter housing, check the attached for a guide to identify and fix that particular problem.

Replace the Oil Filter Housing Gasket and Bush.pdf

Sauce: http://www.318ti.org/forum/showthread.php?t=20854

Edited November 29, 2015 by Charlie F.

[Rubix 434]

Inspect and replace anything plastic in the cooling system (Water pump, thermostat housing, any pipes/fittings etc) as unless you have proof that this has been done then you need to treat it like it hasn't been. Cooling systems on e36's are terrible, bmw used a lot of cheap plastic parts that fail, however they later revised the parts with metal/alloy (such as thermostat housing and water pump impeller).

I'd not take it on a road trip until you confirm that you won't have any trouble with the cooling system.

[paww 1]

nice ride , they normally leak from behind the oil filter housing ,

the o-rings go hard .

check that 1st before doing the crank seal , common mistake .

oil always goes down and back

see here .

part 5

http://bmwfans.info/parts-catalog/E36-Compact/Europe/318ti-M44/R-A/mar2000/browse/engine/lubrication_system_oil_filter/

http://ills.bmwfans.info/rp.png

Thanks.

I spoke with the mechanic and he did say he'd looked at the oil filter housing first as he was aware that it's a common fault and also that it's a big job so wanted to rule that out. - I hope I can trust his judgement!

Nice looking car.

Do you mind if I ask approx what you paid? I might be looking for something similar.

Now, there are a few people on here that can tell you how to plonk an S50 in there you know?

Cheers man, after I get the bits of necessary work done on it it'll of cost me around $2200.

Haha an S50 would make it fly I'm sure! - It's an auto which isn't something I've really driven for a long time before so I'll see how it fairs on my trip. A manual switch might be something I'll think about next year and then maybe the engine swap at the same time?

I thought mine was leaking from the Crank case also, but a bit of googling confirms what is mentioned above, it seems more likely to be the oil filter housing, check the attached for a guide to identify and fix that particular problem.

Replace the Oil Filter Housing Gasket and Bush.pdf

Sauce: http://www.318ti.org/forum/showthread.php?t=20854

Thanks Charlie, I asked the mechanic today and he said that he'd checked it and confirmed it was crank case, which unusual he seemed very adamant about. I'll have to wait and see if he's got it right. It's too big a job for me to do. (no space or tools)

Inspect and replace anything plastic in the cooling system (Water pump, thermostat housing, any pipes/fittings etc) as unless you have proof that this has been done then you need to treat it like it hasn't been. Cooling systems on e36's are terrible, bmw used a lot of cheap plastic parts that fail, however they later revised the parts with metal/alloy (such as thermostat housing and water pump impeller).

I'd not take it on a road trip until you confirm that you won't have any trouble with the cooling system.

Ty for the pointers, it's had fan belts, new water pump and accessories around this year (don't have paper work for pump but mechanic spotted it when he gave it the once over). I've asked when they do the other work to take a look at the pipes and fittings, he's looked at the ones that are easily accessible and say from the exterior they look fine. - Supposedly theres one on the front of the engine that is super delicate and commonly gets knocked about? which supposedly looked in good knick.

He also mentioned something about the later ones being alloy but was going to wait and see what the one at the back looked like.

I'll ask about thermostat housing as I don't know what I'm looking for!

I don't know what is common for them to run at, but mine sits in the middle of the temp gauge once the engine has warmed up - probably not an indication of anything as I guess it's the parts that are weak and fail that need to be sorted right?

[paww 1]

Managed to pick up some used boot struts for $18 a piece which whilst clearly aren't brand new seem to do go a good job of holding the boot up. If they don't last I'll just sink some money in to new ones.

[LemonHunter 583]

I'm very suspicious of mechanics to be honest. I'd get a second opinion or post us some pictures

[_ethrty-Andy_ 2122]

usually you dont know about the plastic cooling bits being brittle and damaged until its too late. they can look perfect.

Plastic came after the alloy, the alloy was not a revision. Having said that, I always revert back to alloy even on do up to sell cars if i am working in this area.

Also, its not that BMW used poor plastic in the cooling systems, its just that its 20 years old now and gone through 100,000 heat cycles.

furthermore, Kiwis dont do preventative maintenence, and wait till something breaks. And no E36 is still in the hands of the person that brought it new.

Edited November 30, 2015 by _Ethrty-Andy_

[M3AN 4015]

Cheers Paul.

[paww 1]

I'm very suspicious of mechanics to be honest. I'd get a second opinion or post us some pictures

He did come recommended but obviously we'll see. - To be honest I'm naturally pretty pessimistic but the guy seemed genuine and tbh actually quite interested in the car, had his son there that said he'd had a couple of E36's and seemed to say stuff that reflected what I'd seen written around the web about 318's.

If I'm completely honest I don't know if I've taken photos of the right thing, it seemed hard to get down in to there.

It's pretty late so bad lighting but tried to take a shot of what I thought was the right area the leak would show (probably got it wrong)

If they're all wrong then let me know I can try and take more but I think the area that it could be seems very hard to get a shot of with the oil filter in place?

usually you dont know about the plastic cooling bits being brittle and damaged until its too late. they can look perfect.

Plastic came after the alloy, the alloy was not a revision. Having said that, I always revert back to alloy even on do up to sell cars if i am working in this area.

Also, its not that BMW used poor plastic in the cooling systems, its just that its 20 years old now and gone through 100,000 heat cycles.

furthermore, Kiwis dont do preventative maintenence, and wait till something breaks. And no E36 is still in the hands of the person that brought it new.

Thanks, I understand what you mean. I guess if see if it's possible to do those things without pulling the whole thing apart (although I'm guessing the one on the back is a swine to do) I'm going to drop it off tomorrow for him to take another look at, I did make it quite clear I was looking to do whatever preventative work around the cooling that was possible.

Edited November 30, 2015 by paww

[_ethrty-Andy_ 2122]

Looks like the oil cap on top of the filter could do with at least another 3 quarters turn before it would be snug. needs a 36mm to do

[paww 1]

Looks like the oil cap on top of the filter could do with at least another 3 quarters turn before it would be snug. needs a 36mm to do

I take it that's all you can gather from my photos, I've taken photos of the wrong thing haven't I?

[_ethrty-Andy_ 2122]

ive never spent much time on the 4 cylinder e36 engines so dont know what these guys are refering too, but just my observation in the one you have posted ha

strike the 36mm part from my last comment btw, had the other type cap in my head

[allan 295]

The third photo is of the oil filter housing and cap has the 25 Nm arrow on top going out on a limb it should not have a gap between it an the alloy housing ( as Andy has pointed out) hence the oil staining around it this then heads down wards and creates a mess. Would check it out first undo the oil filter cap and check the "O" ring has not been damaged, nicked due to incorrect fitting. If all good then lightly smear "O" ring with clean oil seat it in the groove and tighten it back up unit it seats correctly clean the area concerned keep a eye on it.

2 cents