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Does anyone have a set of these they can measure for me please? I'm after the distance from the top pf the mounting plate to the bottom of the bearing. https://3a663eb0fef48c6d2d60-a88f8ebfcdb877ad223e888bfcb7f7ec.ssl.cf1.rackcdn.com/154569_x600.webp

Yep, gain over standard but a loss of 1.5 from what I have now (7.5 deg)...

Cool, thanks. That sounds like a totally workable solution. If I drill the right sized hole the studs can probably be pressed back in. 1.5 degrees loss of castor should be ok as a compromise to save a lot of additional expense.

Yeah, thanks. Already have the M3 droplinks. I wish I'd known there could be clearance issues before fitting the M3 top hats as I sourced early E36 non-M3 struts to get the top swaybar mount. These were then modified by Stocks for Koni adjustables. Might have to go with adjustable top hats instead so I can set the castor to the maximum possible without clearance problems. Have to re-cert anyway so may as well get everything sorted prior.

Recently I changed to M3 top hats (pre-96 type) - I'd previously changed the LCA bushes to the M3 type. The extra castor is excellent. Over the weekend one of the swaybar nylocks came a bit loose and while tightening it up I noticed the spring ledge on the strut will likely not clear the strut tower wall if I was to hit a really big bump. There's about 45mm clearance from the ledge to the inside of the wheel arch/inner-guard so it would need to be a big bump. However, it it was ever to happen the back edge of the spring ledge would make contact with the body of the car. The M3 has a smaller diameter ledge and spring - I'm guessing this is the reason why. So, how to fix it - looks like I'll need to change to M3 struts. Has anyone else changed to M3 top-hats on non-M3 struts and noticed a clearance issue?

Have you got a second hoop behind the hanger bearing UJ? My cert guy made me put in 2 hoops, one where your's is and another behind the hanger bearing UJ. Is the section where the bolts go through double-skinned (where you've bolted might be the only part that isn't)? Most of the E36 trans-tunnel is double skinned and crush-tubes need to be welded in where it is. My bolts come through the double skinned parts of the tunnel which made it a pain.

Excellent, thanks. Now I need to find alternative steering wheels to check for fitment. It's still possible the back of the steering wheel where it meets the column will have issues but I won't know until I try. All the info I've found so far is referencing airbags not working due to slip-ring differences. Since I don't need the airbag feature and don't care if buttons don't work the only issue I'm interested in is the spline and interference with the column. Sounds like the spring change is possible since it's been done already. The biggest issue where I live is lack of suppliers with second hand steering wheels. I'll probably need to go to Auckland or Hamilton to visit some wreckers to see if they have anything to try for fitment.

Thanks. Was pretty sure this would be the case. If the splines are the same on later model steering wheels I thought it wouldn't be too difficult to adapt a later model steering wheel to work. I'd be very interested in the details please.

Thanks for this info. I'm more interested in late model steering wheels from the E90 or later. The only things of concern are: 1. Will it fit the spline. 2. Will it go together with all covers etc with the airbag removed. 3. Will the horn work. 4. Will the auto-indicator off function correctly. I don't care if none of the buttons work as long as it fits. Some of the newer vehicle steering wheels look really good and if they will fit would make a nice upgrade. I'd rather keep to original BMW steering wheels but if that isn't possible will look at other alternatives.

I have an early model E36 Coupe, 1992, originally 325i M-Technik pre-airbag 3-spoke steering wheel. The original part was 32332227206, column shaft 32311159160. It was buggered and I tried getting it redone which worked for a while but it's starting to degrade again. What I'm looking for is any late model 3-spoke steering wheel that will fit the spline and bolt-in. Obviously pre-airbag and per everything except ABS the slip rings don't need to work or even be fitted. The airbag can be removed too if that's possible and still have the steering wheel assembled correctly. So, does anybody know which 3-spoke steering wheels will fit the E36 02/92 325i M-Technik column?

Confirmed, sold.

Epic!!!

No worries, should be about $30 for freight to Auckland - if it's more I'll take the hit. If you're happy with the freight cost then they're sold!!

I've changed over to using Koni adjustables so the B12 shocks/struts are available. I purchased a B12 Kit a few years ago from Weitz Ind, so were already second hand. About 2 years ago I finally got the front shocks rebuilt at Raceline ($500+) and installed them. It lowered the front about 40mm (due to the Eibach springs) which was too much. I ended up putting in 10mm spacers at the top of the strut to get 100mm ground clearance. The ride height was set by the Eibach springs which I've kept and re-used with Koni adjustables specially valved for the springs. The Eibach springs are ok when used with M3 top-hats though at they're about 20mm taller than standard E36 top hats. So, for sale is just the shock/strut parts of the B12 kit, front and rear. The fronts were rebuilt 2 years ago and have done approx 20,000km's since the rebuilt. The rears were used as-is and appeared to be ok but should really be rebuilt as the km's are unknown. The front shocks are quite short compared to standard as they were designed for the shorter stiffer Eibach spring and for lowered setups. If you know the kit then you'll know the differences between standard setups and these shocks, if you don't know the difference then please research first. These shocks were a significant upgrade over the stock setup but do have a very hard ride. I don't really know what they're worth so we'll start off at $300 and see how it goes.

Did a bit of suspension maintenance. Over the last few months I've been slowing rebuilding an E36 6-cyl subframe as the current one has done >400,000km with almost no maintenance. I sourced a second-hand complete subframe from the local wreckers and set about replacing everything. It has AKG bushes for the RTABs, diff, rear shock top mounts and subframe to chassis. The inner arm bushes are stock BMW to give a little softness. The outers are both spherical - same as the M3. New hub bearings, caliper seals, rotors and pads. Also got a nice medium case 3.46 LSD conversion done by Kayne Barrie (ZF type). It was all repainted to sort out minor surface rust. At the same time subframe reinforcement plates were installed using the epoxy method (3M 07333). It all went really smoothly with no problems. The shocks were then replaced with Koni adjustables all round. The front struts got M3 top-hats to finally get the proper M3 castor (did the bottom bushes some time ago). The swaybars were changed to M3 all round too and the front swaybar connection was changed from bottom arm to strut. Unfortunately it can't be driven yet as it needs an alignment first and I have to wait until Tuesday... Thanks to 3Pedals for his help in the background!!

Did this 11 months ago on my coupe - took out a Kidney and got them all from BMW... It's impressive BMW can still supply parts for these cars 20 years after they stopped production. I had to wait 3 months to get the metal trim that runs along the entire side of the windows but it eventually got here (got both sides at $175 each inc) - was actually manufactured to order... Windscreen seals need to be fitted with the window from memory (unless you mean the scuttle panel at the bottom of the window which is about $165 new).

Thanks. Measured a mates 335 at work, -365mV running but cold. This has an alloy block head and radiator.

Thanks that would be great. The measurement I'm interested in is from the aluminum on the head to the aluminum on the core of the radiator.

Didn't know that - at least I learned one thing today 🙂 Just looked them up - nice but $1800 AUD!!!

ITB's won't fit this engine without an adapter plate and the adapters aren't cheap...

Thanks for your thoughts. I'm an electrical engineer specialising in power electronics so understand the electrical side of the problem well. I'm of the opinion earthing the radiator will make current where little to none exists now which will make the corrosion worse. BMW didn't earth bond the radiator for a reason. Earthing the radiator will create electrolysis due to current flow. With no earth there will be a significantly slower chemical reaction that isn't accelerated by current flow. With no hoses connected there's >10M ohms from the radiator core to the engine earth. The hoses are new silicone. With the hoses connected there's also >10M ohms. Once coolant is present there's a voltage so ohms cannot be measured. I'm pretty sure there's no leakage current to the engine earth from the radiator core except through the resistance of the coolant which cannot be avoided unless there's no coolant. Earthing the radiator also exposes the system to potential electrolytic effects from bad earths. If the radiator is floating with M ohms of isolation then it's impossible for bad chassis earths to have any effect because the radiator is floating and moves with a potential relative to the engine earth, not the chassis earth. Even if the hoses are dirty and have some resistance this slightly bonds the radiator to the engine earth, not to the chassis so no other earthing issues to the chassis will have any effect. Even if there's a few hundred k ohms to the chassis this represents a few micro-amps max of leakage at the small voltages present. Possibly the biggest issue is I cannot measure the voltage present in the coolant like all the documentation I've found to date says to. Every reference I've seen says to put the positive probe into the expansion tank in contact with the coolant but without touching the metal. This assumes the expansion tank is built into the radiator so the coolant is close to the radiator metal. In my case the expansion tank voltage is acceptable but it's not even connected to the radiator so measuring in the expansion tank does not give a proper result. I'd be interested to know what other BMW owners have as a voltage when measured from the radiator core metal to the engine earth. If it's similar and there's no problems then I'm potentially barking up the wrong tree using this as a metric to know if it's good or bad (then what...).

It's been a couple of hours now and the straight distilled water has settled out at -467mV. I'm going to add inhibitor back in shortly as I don't like the idea of running straight water even for a few days while I try to sort out the issue. I think I'm going to try a good flush product first then a thorough flush with distilled/demineralised water and then try the distilled water thing again to see if the voltage is lower and more stable. If it is then I'll put a 50/50 BMW blue coolant and distilled/demineralised water back in it. Not sure if I'll add water wetter back in at this stage. Will post up the results after the flush and than again with the BMW blue coolant - can anyone recommend a really good flush product?

Have now drained and flushed the whole cooling system (including the block plug) three times with distilled water to remove almost all traces of the original coolant. Once filled with only distilled water the voltage between the expansion tank and engine earth (cold) is -56mV (was -100mV) and between the radiator core and engine earth is -305mV (was -1020mV) and the current if shorted is 0.0mA (was 0.2mA). However, over 15 minutes the voltage kept slowly increasing between the radiator core and engine earth which suggests the distilled water is becoming ionic - possibly reacting with and absorbing the deposits inside the engine, hoses etc. After 15 minutes it went down to -420mV but is still decreasing... It's possible residues from past corrosion issues are adding to the problem and stopping the inhibitor doing it's job. Maybe a good flush solution needs run through the system to clean up the old deposits so the coolant can do its job correctly?

There is no current right now, just a potential difference. Earthing the radiator will create current which would increase the rate of reaction. Right now I essentially just have a battery producing a voltage with no load on it. Earthing the radiator will provide a current path to discharge the battery. A battery in storage lasts much longer than one with current draw as the internal corrosion rate in the battery is slower. I'm using Pure-Dew water, first de-mineralised then distilled, $7 for 10L so cheap as. I'm going to try dumping the new coolant and just fill with distilled water to see if the voltage potential drops. Then I'll know for sure if it's galvanic. Just missed the shop shutting earlier - could have just tried Water Wetter and distilled water as another alternative to see what the difference is.

Thanks for the info. This morning I replaced the A1 radiator with a new standard BMW one from Silverdale. First I flushed 30L of distilled water through the engine. It was refilled with a generic inhibitor and distilled water. Further investigation has come up with some interesting results: Exp = Expansion tank to engine earth (E36 M3 style expansion tank mounted near the firewall) Rad = Radiator Core to engine earth Cur = the current flowing if radiator core shorted to the engine earth Cold just after filling: Exp -100mV, Rad -1020mV, Cur -0.2mA Hot Idle (92'C): Exp -152mV, Rad -1005mV, Cur -2.4mA Hot 3000RPM (95'C, thermostat open, cooling fan running): -1060mV, Cur -2.5mA Hot Idle (92'C) Headlights on: Exp -155mV, Rad -1005mV, Cur -2.4mA Cranking (92'C): Exp -154mV, Rad -1025mV, Cur -2.4mA Combination of any electrical loads (headlights, brake lights, heater, windows): Exp -150mV to -156mV, Rad -1005mV to -1025mV, Cur -2.4mA to -2.5mA Battery earth disconnected (92'C): Exp -152mV, Rad -1005mV, Cur -2.4mA It appears it's not bad earthing or significant change would be seen with loads and cranking. Also, since the radiator is fully insulated from the chassis it's electrically floating and has no current path to the engine earth or chassis. The inlet and outlet pipes both connect to the same aluminum housing so both hoses are at the same potential where they connect to the engine. For there to be a -1V difference between the radiator core and the engine earth there has to be galvanic corrosion occurring. Maybe the generic inhibitor I've used is rubbish and is creating a reaction? So, how to fix this. If the coolant was truly inert and non-conductive then there would be no voltage from the radiator core to the engine earth. How to fix this is unknown, any ideas?