School me on the E36

"Dukie - Jalopnik Emergency Management Asshole" (Dukie)
05/06/2015 at 09:28 • Filed to: None

A friend is looking to get back into the “row your own” group. He’s got an E36 325i that he’s looking to trade. I offered my Celica and spare parts to him, kind of jokingly but kind of serious. I need 4 doors with my second kid rapidly approaching eviction from my wife’s loins.

I’ve found a buyers guide to look at online, but I’d rather have opinions from those that have owned one.

DISCUSSION (7)

Cebu > Dukie - Jalopnik Emergency Management Asshole
05/06/2015 at 09:31

“second kid rapidly approaching eviction from my wife’s loins”

Of all the weird ways to tactfully say she’s pregnant, this has to be the weirdest.

SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie > Dukie - Jalopnik Emergency Management Asshole
05/06/2015 at 09:32

Damn good cars. Probably the last BMWs (and German car in general) worthy of the German engineering reputation for quality. They have their own specific maintenance needs because German, but nothing too outrageous.

Dukie - Jalopnik Emergency Management Asshole > Cebu
05/06/2015 at 09:35

I call her Pregasaurus Rex to her face.

Logansteno: Bought a VW? > Dukie - Jalopnik Emergency Management Asshole
05/06/2015 at 09:43

If you’re as tall as I am (6’3”) the seat behind you is totally useless for someone who has legs.

CHECK THE COOLING SYSTEM! That’s probably the weakest point in these cars. If that temp needle is anywhere but dead center on the guage the whole time you drive, it’s going to need an overhaul.

The LCD screens inside the car will most likely have some burnt out pixels.

The glovebox will start sagging and the plastic skin on the front will probably come unglued, it happens to most E36s

Blower motor for the heater may die on you, requiring you to change it. There’s two versions of the E36 setup. One where you can do it under the hood, another where you have to remove the dashboard. Hope it’s the prior.

Airbag light might come on. It’s probably the sensor in the passenger seat going out. Save yourself some time if it happens and buy a phony sensor thing you plug into the cord going into the SRS module that still tells the airbag go off and tricks the car into thinking the seat is fine. You’ll need a special tool to turn the light on the dash off though.

Other than those things, the E36 is pretty reliable and fun to drive if you’re willing to deal with the suspension that’s somewhat on the stiff side. And the straight six, no matter what size, sounds great.

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > Dukie - Jalopnik Emergency Management Asshole
05/06/2015 at 10:03

I drove one for about 3 months, but it was Ł275 from my mate as an MOT failure so there were a few parts where I didn’t get the full experience (gearbox mainly).

They’re decently quick, and make a nice little rumble. Compared to my Alfa acceleration feels more like a wave pushing you steadily forward than an angry frantic animal leashed to the front of the car pulling it forward. Just as fast, but slightly less fun.

Roadholding is great. Comfortable cornering speeds were a solid couple of miles an hour quicker than the Alfa, and significantly higher than my Jag XJ40 (but that’s not a real surprise).

Handling is sharp. It’s not as forgiving as the Jag in slides (something I learnt the hard way ), but that might be something to do with the cheap ditchfinder tyres I had on it. Had a nice balance to it though :)

Gearbox had lost damn near all it’s sychro on 4th so I had to have 2 cracks at getting it into gear each time. Can’t really say much else about it as it was pretty beaten up.

Rust-wise it was going on the rear arches so check there, and there was a fist-size hole under the battery in the boot. Checking there would be a good idea, and also under the washer bottle in the engine bay.

Beyond that there was nothing wrong with it :)

Dukie - Jalopnik Emergency Management Asshole > Logansteno: Bought a VW?
05/06/2015 at 10:06

Thankfully, I’m only 5’8”, so the youngest of the chillens will go behind me.

One of the first things I read was about the plastic vaned waterpump on some of the earlier E36s as well as plastic sided radiators.

I don’t know what year it is, but it’s the one pictured. I’m hoping the blower motor is in the bay too. He hasn’t mentioned anything about it though.

I’m ok with a stiff suspension. I’ve got the shocks on the Celica set to almost maximum stiffness right now.

TotallyThatStupid > Dukie - Jalopnik Emergency Management Asshole
05/06/2015 at 10:46

Do you want it alphabetical or by category? Okay, how about in no particular order.

1. Cooling system replacement every 60-70k miles, including radiator, coolant reservoir, thermostat and housing (replace the latter with a metal piece), and front engine hoses. BMW-branded water pumps that have a plastic impeller will eventually have a broken impeller; BMW-branded water pumps that have a metal impeller will eventually leak. Choose your poison, or go with an aftermarket Stewart Warner at twice the price that will probably never fail. Regardless, it’s an easy job. Fuel pumps, accessed under the back seat, occasionally poop themselves. Also, change the fuel filter. Almost nobody does this.

1a. The temp gauge on the dashboard is a glorified idiot light. It is buffered beyond belief. The needle will stay dead center until the engine is VERY HOT, and then the needle makes a beeline for the red. And then you’re screwed. If the needle never gets to the middle, you have a broken thermostat.

2. As mentioned elsewhere, dashboard displays will lose pixels. Interior panels on the early cars will delaminate. Bonded leather on the seats is marginal at best. Headliners will sag.

3. Suspension bushing... all of them, including the front lower control arm and rear toe bushings, wear out. A clunk from the rear over bumps is probably upper shock mounts. Power steering fluid should be nice, clean Dex III. The reservoir has a filter built in; replace the whole thing and do a fluid flush with real hose clamps and not those crimp-clamp things. Check all the shifter bushings and the driveshaft flex disc. A rumble at lower speeds is probably a driveshaft center support bearing; a vibration from the same is probably a bad u-joint. Automatic transmissions are “lifetime fill” and last about 150k miles, at most, on average.

4. Rust. E36s rust everywhere in places where cars rust, so check everywhere if you live in one of those places. Clearcoat on a car with dark paint from a nice-weather place will be weak, assuming it still exists at all. Plastic USDM headlight lenses will cloud, but Euro replacements with glass lenses are available (better reflector technology, too). Fog lights fall out depending on the phase of the moon and how many butterflies flapped their wings in India last week.

5. All that said, a good E36 is an absolute party to drive. Be it a 1992 318i or a 1999 M3, they are just wonderful cars to run anywhere - commute, backroad, track. They do many, many things well, and a lot of those things they do beautifully. A 1992-95 325i is an OBD-1 car, so it has less of the smog bullshit, and thus less propensity for check engine lights. Tuning is also easier/more effective if you live in a place without emissions testing.

Go drive it and see if you like it. I guarantee you will.

PS - My wife had a c-section. As I like to say, my son wasn’t born so much as he was forcibly removed.