Car Repairs please help

[tprice88]

Hi i'm new to BMWs and just bought a 95' M3. I've looked over the common problems checklist sticky and am wondering what order I should get parts and replace them, and what groupings I should do first? Also what the best and cheapest place to find parts is? Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks

[L3000C]

what build date is ur m3? (should be on the driver side pillar when u open the door)

first thing i would do if i was u, is purchase a cooling system re-haul kit:

http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=626294

At the same time i would replace your RSM`s with these that have the Z3 plates in them:

http://store.nexternal.com/shared/StoreFront/product_detail.asp?CS=uuc&RowID=550&All=


I would also change all of my fluids, (tranny fluids change with royal purple, same with the diff, id stick with mobil-1 for the engine because of the expense of buying 7quarts of it lol)

go from there matinence wise.

[tprice88]

Build Date is 01/96 Thanks for the help so far

[L3000C]

Build Date is 01/96 Thanks for the help so far

Oh good...so u have a late model 95 m3, you dont have to worry about your retainers failing on you when ur at 7,000 rpm lol.

oh, make sure you give the car plenty of time to warm up before you start pushing it, the water gauge on the dash has nothing to do with the temperature of the engine, tranny, or oil (really the most important parts of the car). You should always let ur car idle for 30secs to a 1 min, not any longer, then drive it slowly (under 3k rpm) until the water gauge is halfway..about a minute after it reaches halfway, u can take it to 4k rpm. After 15-20 minutes of steady driving, your oil should be between 160-180 degrees, and right about the operating temperature it should be, ONLY at this point, let ur right foot have some fun, right to redline ;)

[tprice88]

Thanks again, The water pump has already been replaced and I havent noticed any heating problems. I think the fan is still good also as I read somewhere to check it after running for awhile and see if it has resistance, which it did. I know the suspension is supposed to go bad after 50k miles or so, so I was hoping to start getting to work on that area. So far i've heard Blisten shocks were the way to go but I have no clue what all you need to purchase besides the shocks, such as mounts and springs, to be able to install them. Also I don't really want to spend like 700 dollars on them so if you know of any place I can get them at a good price or another brand a bit cheaper that would be great. Also do the transmission mounts go bad on the automatic to or just manual? and what else should I go ahead and replace while i'm doing the shocks? thanks again in advance for the help.

[PseudoRealityX]

oh, make sure you give the car plenty of time to warm up before you start pushing it, the water gauge on the dash has nothing to do with the temperature of the engine, tranny, or oil (really the most important parts of the car). You should always let ur car idle for 30secs to a 1 min, not any longer, then drive it slowly (under 3k rpm) until the water gauge is halfway..about a minute after it reaches halfway, u can take it to 4k rpm. After 15-20 minutes of steady driving, your oil should be between 160-180 degrees, and right about the operating temperature it should be, ONLY at this point, let ur right foot have some fun, right to redline ;)

Please explain to me how it takes 20 mins for the oil to reach 160 degrees, but the coolant only takes ~3 mins to get to an even higher temperature.

[L3000C]

Please explain to me how it takes 20 mins for the oil to reach 160 degrees, but the coolant only takes ~3 mins to get to an even higher temperature.

actually on highway driving, in 5th gear, i dont even think ur oil reaches 180 degrees (no matter how long u drive)


In a e36, u have 7 quarts of oil, much more than most cars, hell even more than some trucks, so it takes a bit longer to heat than most other cars...


and btw, please stop talking out of ur ass, do u really think that the oil and the coolant goes from ~75 to 180 in 3 mins? Get a oil temperature gauge, or drive in the car with someone that does, and compare the speed that the water heats up to the speed that the oil does.

[PseudoRealityX]

actually on highway driving, in 5th gear, i dont even think ur oil reaches 180 degrees (no matter how long u drive)


In a e36, u have 7 quarts of oil, much more than most cars, hell even more than some trucks, so it takes a bit longer to heat than most other cars...


and btw, please stop talking out of ur ass, do u really think that the oil and the coolant goes from ~75 to 180 in 3 mins? Get a oil temperature gauge, or drive in the car with someone that does, and compare the speed that the water heats up to the speed that the oil does.

The point was that you don't have to wait 20 mins before you can push the car.

[L3000C]

The point was that you don't have to wait 20 mins before you can push the car.

LOL u dont have to wait 3 secs, u can go WOT at startup....


all im saying is that ALL of the fluids should be at operating temperature before the car is pushed. Of course if u dont care about compression, or dont care how long your engine, or tranny is going to last, then by all means dont wait.

[L3000C]

Thanks again, The water pump has already been replaced and I havent noticed any heating problems. I think the fan is still good also as I read somewhere to check it after running for awhile and see if it has resistance, which it did. I know the suspension is supposed to go bad after 50k miles or so, so I was hoping to start getting to work on that area. So far i've heard Blisten shocks were the way to go but I have no clue what all you need to purchase besides the shocks, such as mounts and springs, to be able to install them. Also I don't really want to spend like 700 dollars on them so if you know of any place I can get them at a good price or another brand a bit cheaper that would be great. Also do the transmission mounts go bad on the automatic to or just manual? and what else should I go ahead and replace while i'm doing the shocks? thanks again in advance for the help.

I am assuming u have a automatic m3. I dont think you have to replace the tranny mounts, but i would imagine it would be a good idea, considering it is one of the easiest mounts to replace.

i have 140k on my stock shocks, and i can still take corners much harder than almost any other car ive driven, and mine still feels fine over bumps...

I would only get new springs if u plan to lower your ride hight (if u experience alot of driving in citys, or speed bumps, it is really ruff on the car, (and ur ass lol)

[tprice88]

Yea, its an automatic so besides the tranny mounts should I go ahead and replace the thermostat and housing? then what should I move on to besides my shocks because it definately doesnt do good when hitting bumps, and anyone know what could stop the cd changer from skipping every time I hit a bump? Thanks

[tprice88]

bump

[tprice88]

anyone?

[tprice88]

bumperooski

[ESMcBlurM3]

come on bro, edge checklist - sticky at the top of the page

ill even link you:
http://edgemotorworks.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=24&Itemid=55

do all of that

/thread

[tprice88]

well i knew about the edge checklist what I'm wondering is if someone can put those into groupings as to what could be done at the same time, while you have certain things apart and which ones are most important?