Liggle Posted November 19, 2018 Share Posted November 19, 2018 My 323i manual coupe was also very lively, base model and had a replacement alusil engine. Was quicker than my house mates 328i saloon at the time, we always suspected a remap or similar too. I've also had an early 328i Sport with factory fit LSD and the usual M50 mods & remap... that was very lively!I echo what Skattrd said about the shape, the E30 and E36 are timeless IMO. Jim Bell and skattrd 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigstraight6 Posted November 19, 2018 Share Posted November 19, 2018 Lovely, I had one of these some years ago and it was a great car, superb sounding and responsive straight 6 Diesel engine! I wish I still had it.. Jim Bell and skattrd 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skattrd Posted November 22, 2018 Author Share Posted November 22, 2018 What size are the hoops on this? I have a set of 185/65 15 winters I'm looking to sell. I'm looking for wheels with tyres really mate. I can't change the tyres myself, so it'd cost me £40 to get them fitted, then the same again to get the summers put back on in the spring. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nebuchenezer Posted November 22, 2018 Share Posted November 22, 2018 https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/5-aluminium-wheels-BMW-E36/323553453543?hash=item4b5549e5e7:g:7k0AAOSwy~Jb7ubp:rk:15:pf:0 and tyre of your choice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Reverend Bluejeans Posted November 22, 2018 Share Posted November 22, 2018 had a replacement steel liner engine. FTFY m8 No alusil on those. Running Veg on a 325tedious will make the main pump leak. Just mix it in with regular devils fuel on a 30/70 basis. The 5 speed ZF is sealed for life and changing the oil makes fuck all difference so save your $$$. Drop the sump and change the filter screen maybe but as for a full fluid change, forget it. This should be running the synthetic oil but you should see a coloured sticker on the sump. The EGR mod is a 1p coin where the pipe meets the intake on the two bolt flange. Nothing else req'd. They're so much simpler than the later stuff, really old school indirect injection. Don't lose the key as it's chipped to the EWS box that talks to the engine ECU. A spare from BMW is 30 quid. Tyres are 205/60x15 - go on Demon Tweeks as they had a deal on Uniroyal Rainsports for 40 quid or so each and they're great in the winter I found. No point in buying Chinese rubbish. They're not a bad old tram and certainly easier to run in old age that the thing that replaced them. Liggle, bigstraight6 and skattrd 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skattrd Posted November 22, 2018 Author Share Posted November 22, 2018 Thx, 1p in the pipe was my quick fix on the EGR last week.As suggested I'll skip the gearbox flush for now, but I don't believe "filled for life" after 20yrs and 200k it'll be past it's best.The main fuel pump was rebuilt less than 10k ago, so it should be ok for a little veg, I won't go full on though. If it's only £30 I might get a replacement key.I don't know if there is remote locking/alarm, but there is a sticker for alarm on the winow. The key I have is standard, not remote, I was going to investigate whether there is remote available as I'm lazy and will probably scratch things in the dark with the key. That will probably be a bit more than £30 though. The Reverend Bluejeans 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skattrd Posted November 23, 2018 Author Share Posted November 23, 2018 I reckon I've done about 400 miles in this, I now deem it fit to use for work, I've got a few hundred miles pencilled in this week and have decided to use this. My main concern is the drivers seat, it seems to be lacking a bit of lumbar support, we'll see how I cope with this, and I'll grab a small cushion just in case. I did say it would take a little while for me to get used to driving this.Today I found that driving faster is more economical. Low 60s mph it's doing 2-2200rpm, not bad, but at 70(ish) it's doing 18-1900rpm and is noticeably quieter. Bucketeer, Scruffy Bodger, Mrs6C and 2 others 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skattrd Posted November 24, 2018 Author Share Posted November 24, 2018 Todays job ... fit the winter wheels I collected last night.FAiL Have I mentioned before that I hate locking wheel nuts? well, this car has them, and can I find the key? No.I've left a message for the PO, but I'm not holding out much hope. This might end up with the inevitable ... hammer a smaller etc etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spartacus Posted November 24, 2018 Share Posted November 24, 2018 What kind of locking wheel nuts are they? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skattrd Posted November 24, 2018 Author Share Posted November 24, 2018 What kind of locking wheel nuts are they? This kind: I'll give the PO a couple of hours to get back to me, then I'll probably have a little drive down to my local part-worn place, and ask him to have a bash. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Posted November 24, 2018 Share Posted November 24, 2018 You'll probably find that hammering a 12 point socket on is quicker and easier than using the key anyway. They aren't there to prevent theft, they're there to inconvenience owners. Lacquer Peel, skattrd, clayts450 and 2 others 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skattrd Posted November 24, 2018 Author Share Posted November 24, 2018 All sorted, the previous owner called me back and told me where he'd hidden the locking nut key.4x M12x1.5 bolts added to shopping list so I can bin the locking nuts. The original task is now complete, last night I collected 5x e46 wheels with winter tyres, 4x Continental winter contact with 8mm and 1x Goodyear with 6mm. I like having a full size spare with a usable tyre.I'm not a fan of the wheels but they're inoffensive and I bought them for the tyres.There's a slight difference in size from the originals, but not much, the originals were 205/60/15 these are 205/55/16 I might have to get the tracking looked at. The fronts I took off were wearing on the outer edge and the rears were wearing on the inner edges. Swapping front to back when I put the old wheels back on should sort those out Lacquer Peel, Dirk Diggler and Jim Bell 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter C Posted November 24, 2018 Share Posted November 24, 2018 Low 60s mph it's doing 2-2200rpm, not bad, but at 70(ish) it's doing 18-1900rpm and is noticeably quieter. Ehh? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skattrd Posted November 24, 2018 Author Share Posted November 24, 2018 When doing a constant speed over 70mph it's doing less revs than a steady 60ish. It's lock-up ... Auto, I've no control over the gears it chooses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skattrd Posted December 22, 2018 Author Share Posted December 22, 2018 After taking this to Scotland last month and not making the Scotoshite meet (work getting in the way) I've clocked up a few miles in this. I've also discovered some faults that needed attention.Clonking over bumps - drop links.Vibration under braking - inner tie rodsDifficult to start when cold - glow plugs This morning I (hopefully) rectified two of the three. Those drop links are probably the worst I've come across until now.. The bushes had completely separated on both sides and they were totally useless.All 6 glow plugs came out, only 2 broke during the process, so I think I might have to buy a lottery/roffle ticket today. The failure was the inner tie rods. They wouldn't budge, even with an induction coil on them and fire, so they were left for now. These will be re-visited after I buy some outer rod ends so we can change the full thing without haven't to fight over separating the inner and outer. On the way home this happened: RobT, Supernaut, dome and 11 others 14 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
320touring Posted December 22, 2018 Share Posted December 22, 2018 Only 116k to catch up;) Good work on the droplink and glow plugs Jim Bell 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spike60 Posted December 22, 2018 Share Posted December 22, 2018 I had a manual 525 tds E34 I took over 250k. It was still going strong but the crank thrusts were toast, probably caused by the previous user doing 70k miles with ridiculously heavy clutch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skattrd Posted January 3, 2019 Author Share Posted January 3, 2019 I've not touched the e36 since before Xmas when i changed the glow plugs I thought I should see if it had improved cold starting.This morning it was showing -1 on my phone weather app, so I thought it would be a good time to test. I went out, turned the key, waited for the glow plug light to go out, then cranked it, it started first turn... yay! I've fixed something. The temp gauge on the car said 2C, so cold starting is much improved. Track/tie rods should hopefully be getting done this weekend. Jim Bell, HillmanImp, The Moog and 5 others 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rocket88 Posted January 3, 2019 Share Posted January 3, 2019 You did well to get all six glow plugs out without major disaster.......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Bell Posted January 3, 2019 Share Posted January 3, 2019 Great news man. Winter is beaten. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bangernomics Posted January 4, 2019 Share Posted January 4, 2019 Probably time to sell it now it’s working so that you can install some misery chod balance. And yet another vehicle I’d like to own. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-T Posted January 4, 2019 Share Posted January 4, 2019 You did well to get all six glow plugs out without major disaster.......... Ideed, I did this job on an E34 5 series years ago and even with the inlet mainfold off I seem to rememeber access to one being particularly awkward, especially if it puts up a fight. Car looks lovely BTW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skattrd Posted January 31, 2019 Author Share Posted January 31, 2019 Minor update, not much happened, new track rods fitted, handling is now better, unsurprisingly fuel economy worse when it's cold, the end. I was out in this again today, it said it was -5C outside, and started first turn of the key, which was nice.It heats up remarkably quickly, so I'm wondering if there is an auxilary heater in these, I'll google later, but toasty warm in a few minutes, much faster than any other diesel I've had.The last fill up dropped down to 34mpg, I blame cold weather plus shorter journeys. Six-cylinder, RobT and Lacquer Peel 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lacquer Peel Posted January 31, 2019 Share Posted January 31, 2019 Indirect injection diesels should heat up quickly if the cooling system is in good order.XUD 405s have brilliant heaters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skattrd Posted January 31, 2019 Author Share Posted January 31, 2019 Indirect injection diesels should heat up quickly if the cooling system is in good order.XUD 405s have brilliant heaters. Yes, and my xud XM heated up quickly for a diesel, but it still took a couple of miles to get to temp.This is different, it heats up much quicker, similar to a petrol. It will get to temp in a few minutes of stationary idling, or less than a mile driving. Most diesels I've had would take forever to get to temp if they weren't moving. Lacquer Peel 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toledo71 Posted January 31, 2019 Share Posted January 31, 2019 Sorry I missed this thread first time around. I would have said that a friend of mine in Northern Ireland had an early 325tds from new, with a manual 'box. It managed 16 years and 270,000 miles or thereabouts before the fuel injection finally let go and it got swapped in for an E91. At that point it was still on its original clutch. I don't recall hearing about anything on that car ever going wrong or needing to be replaced apart from the usual perishables. Good steer as well, I drove it myself on several occasions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yes oui si Posted January 31, 2019 Share Posted January 31, 2019 So much want for this <3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skattrd Posted June 3, 2019 Author Share Posted June 3, 2019 Update time : It's now on 203k so 5k or so done since purchase. I took this over to Germany in February and clocked up a couple of thousand miles in it before returning home in minor disgrace. Whilst it was on the continent the brake judder got very bad, especially on the autobahn when doing 100mph+. It also started losing coolant, it never over heated massively and got me home without assistance, so it wasn't too bad. One thing I did learn is that e36s don't have a low coolant warning light. I don't know why, I just assumed all cars did. Anyhoo it's loosing coolant, not gushing, but it lost over 0.5l between Cologne and Lincolnshire. Today we tried to rectify some things, I'd say partial success. Find and fix coolant escape. Brake judder - New discs and pads bought from ECP for £50 MOT - This expired last month, I wasn't aware of anything that would be a definite fail. 1. We ran the car up to temp but couldn't see anywhere that coolant has been escaping, so slight fail. New expansion cap has been ordered as the thought is the seal could be gone in there. 5l Container full of water left in boot. 2. We changed the front discs and pads, this went relatively ok, but the nsf piston had some surface rust. New piston and rebuild kit has been ordered. 3. MOT - PASS, yay! Some slightly crusty brake pipes at the rear were discovered these have been added to the "to do list" To do list; NSF caliper rebuild, brake pipes at back of car and gearbox filter and fluid change, and refit summer wheels/tyres. J-T, Bucketeer, Dave_Q and 5 others 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobT Posted June 3, 2019 Share Posted June 3, 2019 Have you got Euro cover for it Chris? Or was it a case of just pray and nurse it back to Calais? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigfella2 Posted June 3, 2019 Share Posted June 3, 2019 Don't you need to drop the tank to do the rear brake pipes on these. Am sure when I had mine done years ago I remember the mechanic moaning about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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