Car Enthusiast Club [Now Motorcycle friendly!] - First thread to 150k! ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[CJPowell27]

3 hours ago, bcredeur97 said:

its most likely a vacuum leak to be honest. 

I'd do a smoke test before you throw too much money at the problem.

 

 

I can tell you it's most likely not a fuel injector if you're not seeing symptoms of a fuel injector. One of those failing usually makes it run quite rough.. and they tend to go out one at a time rather than all at once. 

Those codes simply point to it running lean. So we clearly have either too much air or not enough fuel. Fuel pump maybe?

Smoke test was the first thing I did because I know vacuum leaks plague BMWs with the cheap plastic they use. My parents bought me some silicone vacuum tubing that I'm going to put in this summer to avoid more mess (I already replaced the boot and hose to the secondary air pump). I guess I'll have to check the fuel pump as well, although that will have to wait until summer as well because I'm at school in a different state.  I plugged in an ODB scanner and recorded some live data and I'm hoping it will give some hints but honestly I have no idea what any of it means. I hope its not the fuel pump as it seems like a pain in the ass for my car lol.

[RevoltTrain]

4 hours ago, Wedsea040 said:

I really want to do some of that yellow 3M vinyl tint to my 2009 Subie Impreza hatchback's fog lamps. How hard is it to put that tint on? I feel like I would muck it up. 

 

Did it to my car (ebay vinyl not 3m)and it was easy enough 

 

Just used a hairdryer to shrink the vinyl on once applied, held up to the elements well

[chaozbandit]

@MEC-777 @warmmilk

 

 

[CJPowell27]

16 minutes ago, Wedsea040 said:

No issues with air bubbles or creasing? I've heard some people have issues with that type of stuff.

I've done a lot of wrapping for my car and the main thing you should do is to avoid doing it in colder weather. Bring the light inside and make sure the vinyl is not super cold (use a hairdryer or heat gun) If you do that you won't get creases. Don't be afraid to pull vinyl back to get out air bubbles, vinyl nowadays is forgiving and any microbubbles will release with some time.

[chaozbandit]

@MEC-777

 

 

[techswede]

[techswede]

 

[iDeFecZx]

16 hours ago, Wedsea040 said:

I really want to do some of that yellow 3M vinyl tint to my 2009 Subie Impreza hatchback's fog lamps. How hard is it to put that tint on? I feel like I would muck it up. 

 

Pretty easy, did mine on the driveway in about 10 mins, would recommend if you can to take the fog covers out the bumper tho

[chaozbandit]

 

[byalexandr]

I love this state. Instead of noticing that my name is too long to fit on the title of my truck and fixing it they just reject my title application. At least now I have it corrected, but I still have to wait 7-10 days before I can get my Miata.

[AlwaysFSX]

6 minutes ago, byalexandr said:

I love this state. Instead of noticing that my name is too long to fit on the title of my truck and fixing it they just reject my title application. At least now I have it corrected, but I still have to wait 7-10 days before I can get my Miata.

Boy I'm glad I haven't had that problem yet.

[Real_PhillBert]

1 hour ago, byalexandr said:

I love this state. Instead of noticing that my name is too long to fit on the title of my truck and fixing it they just reject my title application. At least now I have it corrected, but I still have to wait 7-10 days before I can get my Miata.

I know a guy with the opposite problem. He legally changed his last name to "X" and now cant get a marriage license because apparently they need a minimum of 3 letters in the last name box. 

[terrytek]

1 hour ago, byalexandr said:

I love this state. Instead of noticing that my name is too long to fit on the title of my truck and fixing it they just reject my title application. At least now I have it corrected, but I still have to wait 7-10 days before I can get my Miata.

a Miata??? wuuuuuuuut

[terrytek]

1 hour ago, Real_PhillBert said:

I know a guy with the opposite problem. He legally changed his last name to "X" and now cant get a marriage license because apparently they need a minimum of 3 letters in the last name box. 

I didn't know anyone wanted to change their last name to a single letter. Didn't know that was a thing.

[bcredeur97]

3 hours ago, byalexandr said:

I love this state. Instead of noticing that my name is too long to fit on the title of my truck and fixing it they just reject my title application. At least now I have it corrected, but I still have to wait 7-10 days before I can get my Miata.

hue hue hue

[warmmilk]

17 hours ago, chaozbandit said:

@MEC-777 @warmmilk

 

 

I thougth INDY only did ovals?  what kinda times do they run at Sebring?  I need to see if I can beat them in Forza 7   

[bcredeur97]

41 minutes ago, vinyldash303 said:

Hairdresser

It’s funny how a hair dressers car is famous for completely ruining your hair

[chaozbandit]

36 minutes ago, warmmilk said:

I thougth INDY only did ovals?  what kinda times do they run at Sebring?  I need to see if I can beat them in Forza 7   

No INDYs been doing a mix for a few years. 5 ovals, 5 road courses and 5 street courses. I believe they only use Sebring for testing, but per RACER they were hitting 53/54 second laps with the new bodywork.

 

 

[Not_Sean]

Guess what got a Nugget!! 

 

Poor thing has been so badly abused. But got it for like $200, needs a good look at the cooling system but engine idles beautifully smooth. 

 

Its the e36 325 Coupe. No idea what I'm planning on doing with it, but first its get it back on the road as more of a daily. 

[Not_Sean]

2 minutes ago, vinyldash303 said:

M51 swap obviously.

Lol Diesel ??? The Devils Fuel?!

 

Na will prob leave the engine just fix it.. Its just weird cause it's so ready to be stripped out and turned into a track monster with the Coupe body, and 6 cylinder engine, the issue is I've already got my Focus ST with way more power. I am thinking of keeping an eye out for a manual swap and maybe going drifting, but that'll prob take so much money away from the St project.  

 

So maybe just a little daily and just tidy it up and put it up for sale and turn a nice profit 

[Not_Sean]

6 minutes ago, vinyldash303 said:

sounds like a lot better of an option than any swap.

Yeagh, but all going to be decided in the next few days, Pulling the front off on friday and we'll see whats going wrong with the cooling. After that can look at other leaks and then we should be good. I drove the car half way home before the temp got high (Didn't overheat) so know it does go  

also got a mate whos got a huge grass paddock and said we can dig out a track on there and have some RWD time attacks. 

[Real_PhillBert]

5 hours ago, vinyldash303 said:

Change it to 'Placeholder'

Actually, not a horrible idea. He changed it since his parents were assholes, so he kinda wanted to distance himself from his family a bit. 

[bimmerman]

1 hour ago, Not_Sean said:

Yeagh, but all going to be decided in the next few days, Pulling the front off on friday and we'll see whats going wrong with the cooling. After that can look at other leaks and then we should be good. I drove the car half way home before the temp got high (Didn't overheat) so know it does go  

also got a mate whos got a huge grass paddock and said we can dig out a track on there and have some RWD time attacks. 

vanos or nonvanos M50? On every E36, if the needle moves to the right from straight up and down, the cooling system is failing and components need replacing. The needle should NEVER move from operating temp. Any wiggle in the coolant needle is a "well shit this'll be expensive" moment.

 

Regardless, the most likely culprits, having had E36 cooling systems fail on two of my own cars, and helping repair about 4 other friends' cars:

-Water pump failure

-Thermostat / tstat housing failure

-fan clutch

-radiator expansion tank

-head gasket

 

Solution is, if your budget can withstand it, replace all of it. ~$500 out the door should cover all the cooling system. You didn't say the mileage but these are considered 60-80k systems. The Stewart water pump is a nice improvement over stock, but likely overkill for a DD that won't be abused on track. Stay away from metal thermostat housings on these cars; they're all aftermarket and all terrible. If you change the rad (recommended if >120k mile), try to locate a Z3 S54 / Euro M3 radiator. Thicker core and they are not much more expensive over stock non-M / US M3 rad. Stay away from non-OE / OEM suppliers. The radiator expansion tank is FAMOUS for cracking and failing. Definitely replace this when you do the rest.

 

Additional good while-you're-in-theres: all hoses, both motor mounts, and engine fan blade. When the motor mounts are aged, the fan tends to contact the radiator, which then shatters, dents the hood, and causes cooling issues. Similarly aged motor mounts increase strain on the plastic radiator end tank stubs, which then crack and fail.

 

I wouldn't touch the headgasket unless doing the above fails to solve the problem. I don't know anything about UK parts suppliers, but here in the states ECS Tuning and Bimmerworld sell complete packages to fix the cooling system. I'd imagine they'd ship to the UK, or know who to put you in contact with.

[Not_Sean]

5 minutes ago, bimmerman said:

Snip

 

Thanks so much man, Might be inboxing you more. 

 

So I already know the fan shaft is bent badly, as well as the fan missing a blade or two so needs to get replaced anyway. I was keen to look at an electric fan conversion to just remove any further problems from that setup. and prob cheaper than replacing it all. 

 

The car is on around 220k km. and don't know the service history. I was looking at eBay parts as they common and super cheap as the car isn't going to be used for years, hell if it makes it 1 year i'll be over the moon. 

The Res/Expansion tank does look worse for wear and will prob order a new one. I will check water pump and see if that's where it's leaking. but so far looks like a few leaking points at the bottom, So pulling off the front end to get easier access to it all. 

 

Also I'm in New Zealand, but will have a look at what they offer, Shipping is always the killer, Its also a nugget car so doing it all for the fun of it. I have my daily but would love to get this car up and running 

 

[bimmerman]

20 minutes ago, Not_Sean said:

Thanks so much man, Might be inboxing you more. 

 

So I already know the fan shaft is bent badly, as well as the fan missing a blade or two so needs to get replaced anyway. I was keen to look at an electric fan conversion to just remove any further problems from that setup. and prob cheaper than replacing it all. 

 

The car is on around 220k km. and don't know the service history. I was looking at eBay parts as they common and super cheap as the car isn't going to be used for years, hell if it makes it 1 year i'll be over the moon. 

The Res/Expansion tank does look worse for wear and will prob order a new one. I will check water pump and see if that's where it's leaking. but so far looks like a few leaking points at the bottom, So pulling off the front end to get easier access to it all. 

 

Also I'm in New Zealand, but will have a look at what they offer, Shipping is always the killer, Its also a nugget car so doing it all for the fun of it. I have my daily but would love to get this car up and running 

 

Gotcha! I saw right hand drive and figured UK.

 

I would stay away from ebay parts, personally, due to reputation. I can't deny the savings though. 220k km is ~130k mile, so you're at the tirght time to replace everything.

 

I have done the electric fan conversion on one car and kept the stock fan on the other. Stock fan flows better unless you get one of the highest flowing e-fans (Spal makes a few), and then the difference is marginal. You'll also be pulling ~40 Amps for the high flow unit when the fan kicks on, which noticeably dims the headlights/audio/everything. I would not bother doing the conversion over buying a new fan clutch and blades (which is why, on M3 #2, I didn't). The Euro Diesel fan actually fits and has a ring around the outer circumference, which will reduce the likelihood of flying fan blades in the future.

 

If the fan shaft is bent then most likely your water pump is toast. They are co-located.

 

Do NOT pull off the front of the car, it's entirely unnecessary and is way more work than required.

 

You can have the radiator and stock fan out of the car in ~30 minutes with the right tools (i.e., fan clutch tool). From there, another 30ish minutes and you have the water pump and tstat out. I highly recommend you buy the Bentley repair manual for an E36 (this is THE bible for BMW repair) and read some of the DIYs on Bimmerforums and m3forum.net (generally speaking, skip the non-M sections because US M3s have the same parts and you have fewer kids shitposting). These cars are super easy to work on and just about every job is extremely well documented between the Bentley manual and the internet.

 

I.e. read this: https://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?773738-My-E36-Cooling-System-Overhaul-DIY-NOT-56K-Friendly

 

and buy something like this (and also get motor mounts): https://www.ecstuning.com/b-assembled-by-ecs-parts/cooling-maintenance-kit-level-3/61311384739kt4/

 

and this is the bible, available online: https://www.ecstuning.com/b-bentley-parts/bmw-e36-3-series-1992-1998-service-manual/