Got a 1997 M3, what should i check for?

[Nu2myM]

I recently traded my 2003 mazda 6 for an arctic silver 1997 m3 sedan. Im 17 and this is my second car. It has ~165k miles on it and needs a few minor things that i know of.
The only modifications done to it are a mishimoto radiator (put on by previous owner) and a cold air intake (put on by me). And yes i know that the cai provides no performance increase, i purely did it for the awesome roar it gives the car when you accelerate. :buttrock
I have so far done a few things to the car. I cleaned out the throttle body and icv to fix a rough idle problem. I removed an aftermarket alarm system to prevent the car from being immobilized at random times. I put different spacers in the rear to prevent the wheels from rubbing the fenders. This idiot had 18's on it with 255mm tires! (stock in the rear was 17" with 225mm wide tires) I reconditioned all of the leather seats (previous owner had a dog in the car and the seats were all marked up) I rewired the entire aftermarket sound system (previous owner did everything the lazy way and there was tape holding wires all over the car) I Cleaned up the wiring to the aftermarket angel eye headlights and fog lights. Last but not least, I detailed the shit out of this car! It was in major need of some visual tlc, it looks great now though!
I made this thread in order to see what i should replace, any problems to look for at this mileage, or any other maintenance that should be preformed? Thanks for the help.

[rynburns]

Replace everything in the cooling system, aside from the already replaced radiator. New silicon hoses from Ireland Engineering are about the same as rubber, and look cooler. New water pump, a Stewart one if you can afford it, and new thermostat. Check the power steering hoses, valve cover gasket, and oil pan gaskets for leakage, ill bet youll find some. Its probably due for a fuel filter, and NOBODY EVER CHANGES TRANS AND DIFF FLUIDS.. So do that too.

[Nu2myM]

It actually does have a new water pump. I forgot to mention that lol. I'll take care of those other things within the next few weeks.

Also, something odd has been happening for the past couple of days. When the car is parked at idle after driving for over 15 or 20 minutes, the rpms go down to about 500 so i shut it off. Once i start the car again, it will stall. After a couple tries it will stay started by revving the throttle. Once it is back on the road it runs fine and stopping at stoplights and other stops cause no problems... Any ideas?

[thejlevie]

+1 on replacing everything in the cooling system that isn't new. Don't forget to replace the fan clutch.

Have a smoke test run to check for intake leaks and have a crank case pressure check to see if the CCV has failed. Intake leaks could easily explain the low idle & stalling.

Unless you know they have been changed, replace the pre-cat O2 sensors. They are a scheduled maintenance item with a replacement interval of 100k.

Unless recently replaced, the shocks, upper mounts, all bushings, and probably the control arms and tie rods need replacing by now. The motor, transmission, and differential mounts need to be changed also.

Since you have just gotten the car, assume the brake, transmission, and differential fluids all need changing.

[rynburns]

Also look at the lower control arm bushings, and the sway bar bushings and links..lol..its neverending..basically, look the ENTIRE car over, twice, and replace anything that wears..this isnt just a BMW thing, this should be done on any used car..difference is that we care enough to not ignore it :)

[Nu2myM]

*About the idle problem* I noticed that when i would put the car in neutral and rev it, the rpm needle would stick at the rev point for about one second after i released the gas pedal. I figured i might as well try cleaning the icv. After removing it, i could tell that it definitely needed to be cleaned. I cleaned it and put it back in then hooked everything back up and started the car... Nothing changed. Revs are still sticking too.

[rynburns]

I think theres some sort of small secondary throttle body in there?

[Nu2myM]

Cleaned the throttle body as well..

[stretch1982]

Also look at the lower control arm bushings, and the sway bar bushings and links..lol..its neverending..basically, look the ENTIRE car over, twice, and replace anything that wears..this isnt just a BMW thing, this should be done on any used car..difference is that we care enough to not ignore it :)

+1

[rynburns]

Ill say it before bmwdirtracer does, smoke test the intake..

[Nu2myM]

Where do i go to have that done? And how much $ will it cost?

[rynburns]

Not sure about cost..never had to do it, or have it done..if you find a good import shop (not cheesy jdm honda sh*t, but euro import) they'll probably have a smoke machine

[Nu2myM]

just took it out for a drive today and the idle seemed fine.. im gonna take it to a mechanic friend of my dad's next week and have him check all the fluids. Ill also have him check over the car and see what else it will need.

[Leinbach]

I'm 17, and I'm about to get an E36 M3 as well :buttrock The Under Age Club :redspot

[rynburns]

just check EVERYTHING..even compression..and BEFORE you buy. It cant hurt, and will probably save you more time, money, and tears than you can imagine.