New to BMW, any idea as to upgrade it?

[Jerico24]

http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/C:%5CUsers%5CFaculty%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5CDS C01620-1.JPG
I just got a 1992 325i E36, its pretty sweet but there are some minor problems I don't know which would be the best way to repair them. This is also my first BMW I have ever owned. The two problems thus far are my windows and heater. My windows will go down most the time but sometimes they wont, or else when they are down they wont come back up until later after trying multible times. As far as my heater goes, it has been working fine but yesterday it stopped putting out heat and was putting out cool air. So I'm not sure its a bad heater coil or if its the water pump I donno. Anyone know the best ways to fix these problems without having to go into the shop, or have an idea on how much it would cost to fix? I tried posting pictures of it too but I'm not sure how to upload the files. I also have some ideas on upgrading it but I'll share that after I figure out how to put photos on here.
-Travis

[ZeGerman]

Regarding the heater, it could be a couple of things. Firstly, check to make sure your coolant is at the proper level when the car is cold. Secondly, is your temp gauge reaching 12 o'clock and staying there after about 10 minutes of driving, or does it take much longer and/or never really stay at 12 o'clock. If it doesn't stay put at 12, your t-stat is stuck open and it isn't allowing your engine to get to normal operating temperature, thus you get no/little heat. Also, your heater control valve could need to be cleaned - this is a common cause of no heat. Other possibility is that you may have air trapped in your cooling system and need to bleed it, but if you haven't done any work on it recently, I doubt this is the case. Even less likely is that you have a clogged heater core. This info should get you moving in the right direction.

[boothill]

yeah im kinda having the same problem the center vents blow out cool air if any at all but the defrost vents blow out fine. my driver side window goes down about half way then i have to fight with it coming back up as i push the button and it starts going up but then goes back down by itself

[ZeGerman]

yeah im kinda having the same problem the center vents blow out cool air if any at all but the defrost vents blow out fine.

This is a different problem altogether. Provided you have the center vent temp dial turned to red, getting heat out of the defroster vents but cold air out of the other vents is indicative of flapper doors that are not articulating correctly for one reason or another (either physical obstruction, breakage, or loss of vacuum).

[jfmjr442]

yeah im kinda having the same problem the center vents blow out cool air if any at all but the defrost vents blow out fine. my driver side window goes down about half way then i have to fight with it coming back up as i push the button and it starts going up but then goes back down by itself
you need to remove the door panel and clean and lube the tracks on the window - BTDT - exact same symptoms on my 95 325i 4 dr - fixed it right up

HTH

John

[Jerico24]

Thanks for the help, I'll get some coolant and see if that helps with the heat. I'm also going to put in a new water pump, maybe that will help. As far as the engine heat gauge, it stays at the 12 position after around 5-10 min. Also have any of you guys had problems with your gas gauge stick or speedometer sticking at the bottom (such as zero) when you turn the car on, and you have to tap it to get them to work? Is there a solution to fix this?

[sunbrn]

Make sure you have the dial on the center vent towards the heat side.