E36 pointers

[isnowi 0]

Hey all, first post here.

Am looking into buying an e36 coupe, probably with the motorsport bodykit, and most definitely a 6 cylinder.

The vehicles i have been looking around at are all of relatively high KM's (in itself this doesn't worry me) and all are imports (Wanting to spend well under 10K)

I'm aware that the budget i have does limit things a little and it means that i have been looking at early model years, but if the right car is around i'll stretch a little.

My questions relate to what to look for, every car has it's own little quirks and weaknesses, and being that I have not owned a BM before i am not aware of them. Any advice that people can furnish will be appreciated.

Cheers, Dan

[my_e36 43]

Welcome to the site....

If you want a good one within your requirement, you won't get much change for 10k. There's a few on Trademe, here's one for example...

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Motors/C...htm?key=1001918

Try advance search on TradeMe with these parameter...

BMW, 1990-1999, 2.0 litre plus, 3 door or less

Don't specify Body Type

Common problems...

Wheel bearings, radiator expansion tank, water pump (pre-96), Idle Control Valve (need good clean or replace, causes rough idle)

There're other experts on this forum on this subject. These are just my 2 cents.

[Yuen 16]

Welcome to the board Dan.

Major issues:

The automatic transmission on the 6 cylinder imports is the JATCO transmission, which tends to jerk from 1st to 2nd on cold starts. This goes away once the car is warmed up. On my 320i which has done 175000km, the transmission is still solid - the cold start jerk is just annoying but at this many kms I doubt it could get worse. I think the jerk can be reset by programming by some transmission shops (this has been posted on the forum before) or even the dealer.

The cooling system on E36s is a common maintenance item. The problem is the plastic radiator neck weakens and eventually breaks. As has been mentioned, the earlier water pumps were also a problem - they were made of plastic. Later on, they changed to a metal water pump, which wasn't that great either - something to do with the bearings. The latest version has a composite impeller and this is the best type. The radiator should be changed if the car has done high kms, I wouldn't really go past the 140,000km mark. While you're at it, might as well change the water pump, expansion tank, thermostat, and hoses. So try to get a car that's had everything done.

Air-conditioning. The earlier E36s use R12 gas. Since this is now banned in NZ, if the system goes bad you can't recharge it. You'll need to convert the whole system to run on R134a gas, which will cost a lot. You can identify these cars by the black air-con sticker in the engine bay. Later cars use the R134a gas - look for the green sticker.

Minor issues:

Headlining and door panel cloth sagging. Apparently on the earlier E36s, the glue they used was not as good, hence the cloth would separate from the panels after awhile. Purely aesthetic but if the car has had it done, that's great.

Glovebox sagging. It's common to see sagging gloveboxes in the E36s. Later cars had a different mechanism that I think means it can be fixed by replacing a plastic part (saw a DIY somewhere). But the earlier type seemed to have a different design and I don't think you can do much about it.

Switches. On the earlier cars, they used little 'grain of wheat' bulbs in the window switches which burnt out through time. Not an expensive fix if you can source some and solder them in yourself. Otherwise, probably just learn to live with it unless you want to buy some from a wrecker. Same for the headlight switch and the HVAC controls, on some cars the bulbs have burnt out. Cheap fix.

OBC. Almost every E36 out there has, or will have a faulty OBC display. Seems to be more common on imports? Anyway, it's only an annoyance as long as it isn't so bad that you can't read the error messages, so not a big deal.

And if you are thinking of aftermarket suspension in the future, the earlier E36s (5/92 and older) had different front shocks. On these cars, the front sway bar is connected to the front shocks. So to have more options, get a car manufactured after that date.

[Mark 178]

This is a useful article to read if you're looking at buying an E36. Also, make sure you join a site like bimmerforums and lurk around there for a while.... you'll learn heaps about these cars there. (and here too of course!)

[Braeden320 0]

Welcome to the board Dan.

Major issues:

The automatic transmission on the 6 cylinder imports is the JATCO transmission, which tends to jerk from 1st to 2nd on cold starts. This goes away once the car is warmed up. On my 320i which has done 175000km, the transmission is still solid - the cold start jerk is just annoying but at this many kms I doubt it could get worse. I think the jerk can be reset by programming by some transmission shops (this has been posted on the forum before) or even the dealer.

The cooling system on E36s is a common maintenance item. The problem is the plastic radiator neck weakens and eventually breaks. As has been mentioned, the earlier water pumps were also a problem - they were made of plastic. Later on, they changed to a metal water pump, which wasn't that great either - something to do with the bearings. The latest version has a composite impeller and this is the best type. The radiator should be changed if the car has done high kms, I wouldn't really go past the 140,000km mark. While you're at it, might as well change the water pump, expansion tank, thermostat, and hoses. So try to get a car that's had everything done.

Air-conditioning. The earlier E36s use R12 gas. Since this is now banned in NZ, if the system goes bad you can't recharge it. You'll need to convert the whole system to run on R134a gas, which will cost a lot. You can identify these cars by the black air-con sticker in the engine bay. Later cars use the R134a gas - look for the green sticker.

Minor issues:

Headlining and door panel cloth sagging. Apparently on the earlier E36s, the glue they used was not as good, hence the cloth would separate from the panels after awhile. Purely aesthetic but if the car has had it done, that's great.

Glovebox sagging. It's common to see sagging gloveboxes in the E36s. Later cars had a different mechanism that I think means it can be fixed by replacing a plastic part (saw a DIY somewhere). But the earlier type seemed to have a different design and I don't think you can do much about it.

Switches. On the earlier cars, they used little 'grain of wheat' bulbs in the window switches which burnt out through time. Not an expensive fix if you can source some and solder them in yourself. Otherwise, probably just learn to live with it unless you want to buy some from a wrecker. Same for the headlight switch and the HVAC controls, on some cars the bulbs have burnt out. Cheap fix.

OBC. Almost every E36 out there has, or will have a faulty OBC display. Seems to be more common on imports? Anyway, it's only an annoyance as long as it isn't so bad that you can't read the error messages, so not a big deal.

And if you are thinking of aftermarket suspension in the future, the earlier E36s (5/92 and older) had different front shocks. On these cars, the front sway bar is connected to the front shocks. So to have more options, get a car manufactured after that date.

Nice Post!!!!

[Braeden320 0]

This looks like a good buy.

[isnowi 0]

Thanks for the replies, i like the colour of the first one, and in fact have been looking at another in the same colour with black interior and higher k's (not a motorsport though) Only thing i don't like on the first one is the red (half) leather.

The silver looks nice too, but i kinda want a different colour (last car was a silver A4) plus i think the lines of the E36 look best in a deep dark colour, calypso red, avus blue, or boston green etc.

Will let you guys know when i am closer to a purchase and takeo n board any critiques. advice you can offer on specific cars.

Cheers, Dan

[Braeden320 0]

The person who is selling the first one sponsers this forum www.carspot.co.nz

[isnowi 0]

The person who is selling the first one sponsers this forum www.carspot.co.nz

I best not be rude about it then

In all seriousness, it looks really nice in that colour with the motorsport kit, i just can't handle the red leather, and i can only see a glimpse of it in the photos.

Cheers, Dan

[Braeden320 0]

I best not be rude about it then

In all seriousness, it looks really nice in that colour with the motorsport kit, i just can't handle the red leather, and i can only see a glimpse of it in the photos.

Cheers, Dan

I didn't mean it like that, more that he looks after bimmersport members

I agree with the red leather!!

[Yuen 16]

The red leather is an extremely personal thing Love it or hate it! Avus Blue is one of the best colours around. But not easy to find on the E36 6 cylinders except for the later 320s. Braeden yours is Avus isn't it?

[Braeden320 0]

I think so..i didn't realise it was hard to find?

Edited November 15, 2007 by braeden.

[Yuen 16]

I think so, to find an Avus E36 you usually either go for an M3 or later model 320i M-sport like yours with the suede/cloth interior. Looks so nice under the sun - I was looking at one today.

[Braeden320 0]

I agree, it is a nice colour but its a biarch for stone chips

2 things its missing which will be in my next car

-Cruise Control

-Leather

[Yuen 16]

True. Sounds like you need a fiver or a seven! Ok, we better stop the thread hijack...

[isnowi 0]

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Motors/C...48/k-971436.htm

Any thoughts on this? only a 318, but a pretty smart looking car nonetheless, i do wonder exactly what involvlement (if any) ACS had. Has anyone on here ever heard of a ACS 318?

Cheers, Dan

[Yuen 16]

There are a lot of people calling their cars ACS when all they have is a few ACS parts on it, some even when they have none! Not saying that this definitely is one of those, but the only things ACS are the wheels, spoiler (looks like it anyway, need to post up more angles to confirm), and striping. It really depends on how you define an 'ACS car'. Have a look on the ACS site to see what their cars look like.