**NEW** 1996 328is It's Alive !! 240k!!

[Skrrrt]

Here i have a 96 328is
Of course you already know by the Title !!
After being so cold and the winter here in the Northwest, its been garaged and worked on ever since..
New lower control arms, tie rods, bushings, sway links, and brake rotors.
New water pump Steel propeller. new belts on.
Valve cover gasket replacement.

Now its out running and purring like its supposed to !
Conclusion Diagnosis..
the screech when i release the clutch in neutral car on.. (worn pilot bearing or throw out bearing for clutch??or should i just get a new clutch kit????)
ticking noise on the right side and , once in a while under my feet i can feel it too.. (CV joint axle going out???)
Underbody needs to be washed from previous owner.. looks like built up fluid and oil .. (oil housing gasket needs to be changed)

-Goal
I want to be able to drive it aggresivley at weekend nights on a small or long mountain
for a little night cruise but i would also would like to daily it for work..
drift ready.

-Plans lined up..
Brake pads..
Struts ,shocks ,springs ,tires
m50 intake manifold with short ram intake?
engine moutns and tranny mounts.
switch to electric fan ? or keep mechanical fan since i like to keep things maintained?
Exhaust.
Rims
Paintjob
.. currently its a green ):

How should i attack it first ?? and be sure its ready for an aggressive ride..?

[Eric93se]

If it's a 5spd, trans mounts are very important. IMO the M50 manifold is not worth the minimal gains, others can share their opinion. Suspension is very important, you can get a kit struts/shocks/springs for around $400, but the bump stops and plastic tubes to protect the pistons are overpriced but necessary.

Post some pics, use imgbox be sure to deselect thumbnails: https://imgbox.com/

Welcome to the forum!

[Skrrrt]

Thank you !!! yes it is a 5spd !.
i am currently ordering motor and transmission mounts just so i can have peace of mind on any mechanical fan failures lol.. i dont like the electric fan mod idea at all.
and ill take you up on that m50 intake.. your correct..
Thanks for the welcome !!
i will be posting pics as soon as im done re-threading some bolts on the water pump ! LOL!

[LunaVyohr]

Thank you !!! yes it is a 5spd !.
i am currently ordering motor and transmission mounts just so i can have peace of mind on any mechanical fan failures lol.. i dont like the electric fan mod idea at all.
and ill take you up on that m50 intake.. your correct..
Thanks for the welcome !!
i will be posting pics as soon as im done re-threading some bolts on the water pump ! LOL!

May I ask why you are not fond of the idea of an electric fan? I'm not trying to debate, but I do enjoy people's input.

I have replaced the mechanical fan with a SPAL e-fan and in my mind, the biggest issue is that an e-fan generally doesn't utilize the fan shroud as well as the mechanical fan. However, if the set-up is wired correctly with a lower temperature fan switch, the combination of the aux fan and electrical fan running together mitigates this issue. I think that the potential benefits out way the downsides.

Just as a disclaimer, I think that mechanical fan is great if everything is working correctly, but after having two OEM fan clutches fail in a short period of time, I decided I was sick of dealing with it. I realize that it was likely due to worn motor mounts, but my priority was replacing the entire cooling system at the time, not the motor mounts.

[Eric93se]

Personally I don't like the parasitic losses from the mechanical fan. Funny how they lighten things with plastic pullies, then put a ~5lb spinning fan on it. I realize it probably only a couple or a few HP it sucks but I don't like it.

[Skrrrt]

the reason why i don't need an electric fan is because
the mechanical has not yet failed on me or has it ever..
and i keep the car up to date so there's no reason for me to get the electric ..
and keeping the mechanical fan to me is a strong idea because it was how the car was made..
and changing the motor and tranny mount is'nt hard and should be done if needed for better and more efficient ride quality..
i changed all plastic pullies to aluminum as well when i changed out my power steering pump..

right now im getting a weird ticking noise just a slow and constanst tick, it goes away when im going fast anything abover 35+
anything lower you will here a tick once the wheel fully turns.. it sounds like the passenger side wheel.. but was told the rear wheel bearings.. currently still working on it.

- - - Updated - - -

what are the losses on utilizing the original mechanical fan?

[B320i]

Personally, I can't imagine there are any significant losses when 99% of the time, the engine fan is completely unlocked and moving comparatively little air. I certainly notice little difference between fully locked (i.e. just after startup) and full unlocked.

What makes me laugh is the suggestion of using cooler thermostats, cooler fan swithces, special coolants and the like with an electric fan setup. It is, for all intents and purposes, an admission the system is inferior to what BMW installed on the car up to 26 years ago. And for those of us whose cars have a "Tropical Climate" (Japan and Australia) cooling system, I'd hate to see the results of a pathetic electric fan.

You'll notice when the fan fully locks up, it moves a huge amount of air just at engine idle. Rev the car even a little bit, and you're moving far more air through the radiator and A/C condenser than any electric fan setup ever would or could. I think I know which system I can rely on to keep my car cool no matter how hot things get.

[scooper]

check out dinan or turner fixed camber plates. No need to go super low to feel how good the stock suspension is with new bushings and ball joints. You can also put a larger sway (27 or 28mm) in the front.

[Skrrrt]

Here is an update of the cars progression and how it is now!
Will be posting a vid/picutres of the exhaust weld that i will be doing !

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