I have some new Lemforder RTABs with limiters from FCP Euro that I'm waiting to install once I get my trailing arm cleaned up. Never driving my car in a New York winter again.
Figure after nearly two years I can update this. In addition to the above I've done:
Front wheel bearings
Struts/shocks all around
Front calipers
SS brake lines all around
Brake fluid flush
Front control arms and bushings
Tie rods
Sway bar/links/bushings
Guibo
Exhaust hardware - think muffler hangers were damaged when rear-ended.
While in the shop for an alignment, they did an inspection. Have a couple minor oil leaks. So come spring time planning on getting in to the engine a bit. Valve cover gasket, oil filter housing gasket, replacing a lot of the intake related stuff, intake air temp sensor, cleaning ICV, replacing CCV and hoses. Because of all that, debating pulling the intake manifold and replacing the coolant hoses back there, VANOS line, and vacuum lines. Also finally getting to the trans and diff fluid change.
Definitely replace the coolant temp sensor, if you're going to replace the air temp sensor. $25-$40 - can't remember for your engine.
And I forget - does your engine solely depend on the crank sensor or can it also use the cam sensor to time the engine (without which you can't start). If it only depends on the crank sensor, that needs to be replaced with a new oem unit. Anything from $30-$60 depending on promo offers.
The one thing you should also do is to change the brake booster's grommet, one way valves, air hoses and clips. May set you back a total of $30. Takes less than 10 minutes to remove, measure, fix up and reinstall.
I recommend pulling the intake and doing all the hidden coolant hoses, it's fun.
Also, while you've got the fuel rail off is a perfect time to clean/replace the injectors and replace all rubber fuel lines in engine compartment.
Eat, drink, and be merry - for tomorrow we drive.
And that major coolant hose under the intake manifold is a very good thing to replace. Its less than $50 with new clips. But i generally only recommend you do this if you need to remove the intake manifold for some other reason.
The rest of this post is written under the assumption that you're removing the im. I'm not recommending that you do. But if you do, then these are things you should look at seriously.
Change the little fuel hoses which connect up at both ends of the rail. Clips too.
Unless there are visible leaks coming from the line itself, the vanos oil line can be left alone no matter how crappy it looks.
Vacuum lines can be changed if they don't feel supple.
Check for any oil leakage around the cam sensor - if there, replace the O ring that slips around it when it connects to the cylinder head, or at least reinforce it substantially with pvc thread tape. Oh yes, that works very well. The O ring around the curved hard hose which connects the icv to the im - reinforce before reinserting. Zero vacuum leaks.
Before you remove the im, conduct a smoke test on it with a home kit. Even if it shows you problems on stuff you were planning to change its worth it because it may show you problems elsewhere which could be much easier to fix with the im off. And the test itself takes less than 10 minutes to conduct and wrap up.
At this point, the larger fuel hoses below the brake booster should be inspected and changed if you feel they are suspect. Go with your gut on this. Its too easy to change it with the im off but it hardly ever leaks so doesn't need to be messed with unless the bimmergods command it.
How high is your mileage? How old is your starter ? Yup. With the IM off, you should put in a new oem starter. Hold the car long enough and it will go. Consider this seriously if its your daily. Its only $75 new oem - prices have really come down. Or remove your old starter and have it rebuilt. Change the carbon brushes or carbon ring at least. The carbon ring will run you $30 shipped oem. Carbon brushes are a few bucks but time consuming to change. Some technique involve in just changing the carbon ring alone - you'll need to see it done once to do it right the first time. Youtube will surely have videos.
And yup....if the im is coming off, the intake ports will be exposed. Hold a long tube to each one and sniff on the other end. Any port smelling of fuel has a leaky injector. Rebuilt injectors go for $15 each. Not a bad idea to have just one standing by.
Check all wires and reinforce those which seem flimsy or have broken covering insulation. And check for continuity between the clamp and the connectors for each one. Takes 15 min working alone if you are working alone, but you'll thank me if you find a problem you can easily fix. And check the oil light's connector works properly by checking against the cluster's display.
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Basically all the IM related stuff I've recommended is stuff that needs to be done once ever 15-20 years/ 200k. Well worth the expense...total costs in parts comes up to around 0.1 cent per mile or 1 cent for every 10 miles.
Last edited by Richard81; 02-17-2017 at 12:04 PM.
You have to pop off the fuel lines anyway, why not put new rubber back on?
Pro tip: tiny bit of white silicone grease, just enough to shine up the rubber, and they slide onto the flared tubes much, much easier.
I have found that the typical E36 makes an excellent Project Car, which is allowed to sit for extended periods, but not so much a Daily Driver and certainly not an Only Mode Of Transportation.
My neighbor asked what was wrong with mine (it's been on jackstands since mid December) and my reply was that it keeps demanding upgrades.
Eat, drink, and be merry - for tomorrow we drive.
two years and no actual pics?
Here's a couple after swapping to my summer wheels. Yup, summer wheels in February in Michigan.
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Plus here's a quick one of most of the new bits.
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Some old vs new shots:
Bent sway bar link
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Tie rod
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Trans mount
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Rear shock
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Oh that hideous orange contagion on the shock! Michigan Metal Mites have been chewing on your car. Can you see the road if you lift your floormats?
I don't miss that sh*t at all, I love crawling under my local Texas E36 and seeing no orange whatsoever.
Also my WD40/PB Blaster consumption here is probably 1/10th of what I used to use when I wrenched on cars in The Mitten State. So many less snapped/rounded bolts.
Eat, drink, and be merry - for tomorrow we drive.
Haha no the rust isn't that bad. A little bubbling up on the rear fender and by the front hood latch, then on the trunk where I was rear-ended. Body wise it's still pretty solid for now.
This was one of the first projects where I really got heat involved since I've always been a little bit too cautious. But this was a long frustrating project by myself, so that inspired me.
Old guibo
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And the seized caliper
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Just ran my codes after clearing them a couple days ago. Fortunately only the two I remember are what popped up. SAP relay and IAT. I swapped relays before and that didn't do anything. Have a new IAT on hand for when I pull the intake apart soon-ish. Although there haven't been any driveability problems that I've noticed, reader brings it up at -40C at all times.
Last edited by Nanniepoo; 02-22-2017 at 05:43 PM.
Got some vibrations sitting at a red light yesterday, which continued on and off while accelerating and at idle. Thinking motor mounts, engine speed was rock solid, but I'll still scan for codes anyways. Fortunately I already have the mounts, and were already on my radar. Just need to double check that I have nuts for them, and those, and engine, trans, diff oil change are on my to do list next weekend. I'm not currently driving the car since it's <40 out and I'm too lazy to switch back to the winter tires.
Other than that, the car has been running fan-freaking-tastic the past couple weeks. Been nice to have it back after sitting for so long. Also made me realize I neglected the rear-end on my last E36 without realizing it. This one is so planted on turns, inspires a lot more confidence.
Well...joy of living so close to work, barely put any miles on the car, and therefore can stretch out repairs a while. Went to finally replace the motor mounts, figured I should scan the codes, and yup, misfire on cyl #5, ignition coil cyl #5. Only 6k on the BavAuto coils. Covered under warranty.
Car will unfortunately be parked until then. Only happens when engine is hot, particularly when restarting while still hot. Gonna be in the 90s all next week.
- - - Updated - - -
All that intake stuff, heater hoses etc I'm going to put off until fall. Intake gaskets, CCV, ICV, heater hoses, vacuum lines, cooling flush, rad, expansion tank, and most likely injectors.
New ignition coil from bavauto fixed the problem. However I just replaced my intake air temp sensor, cleared the code, and fired it up. Code came back and my scanner is showing -40 deg F. Anyone else run into this? Code is P0111 to be precise.
I guess I can check the sensor's resistance. Otherwise it's the harness and I'm not looking forward to diagnosing that
Why can't there ever be an easy job on this car? Motor mount broke. Top part is still stuck on the arm.
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This is beyond frustrating. I do not want to have to remove the support arm and drill it out.
If the top nut is off screw it back on a few threads. Add some extensions to the socket and hit it with a hammer
Bleed your cooling system http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum....php?t=1709482The ULTIMATE OEM Alarm/Keyless thread http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum....php?t=1792200
That worked. About 3 good whacks and it popped through.
Still took me entirely too long to do the job. If anyone reads this, do the mounts one at a time. I had to install the driver's side first to use that as leverage to get the passengers side out. And that's with an engine support bar. Also best route I found for putting the driver's side back in was all the way from behind the CAB lollipop, and work it through. Had to lower the engine so I could work the mount over the engine oil pan. Then raised it again to install the mount. Looking back I could probably knock both sides out in an hour.
ForumRunner_20170821_090338.png
Driver's side
So got rear-ended again on my way to work. Don't know what the guy was doing, pretty routine red-light stop. Kind of thankful I didn't put any money into repairing my car the first time haha.
Really nothing else too exciting to report. I did the oil filter housing gasket ~October of last year. Had to redo the t-stat housing earlier this year. Other than that I've been driving it and enjoying it.
Rear bearings are getting a bit noisy. Thinking of dropping the rear subframe down over the winter, bringing it all in to work and using the press to push out/in new bearings and bushings.
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