Dotbeta's Hellrot 328i sedan build thread.

[MINIz guy]

Mea culpa - you are correct that leaving it in park is the official procedure. I should have pointed out doing it in neutral is a personal prefernce. Leaving it in neutral speeds-up the warm-up procedure because the pump remains engaged, fills the torque converter to make room for more fluid in the main reservoir, and was also the way I was originally taught to service a GM tranny without a dipstick. Running through the gears per the service manual also engages the pump but returning it to park slows circulation and lengthens the warm-up period. I'm not an engineer so I can't confirm why this is recommended, but either way will work. I think the neutral approach results in a faster job because it gets up to temp quicker.

Ah, your post made it sound like if you leave it in park, you end up underfilling your transmission. Really made me question why I left it in park when I did mine last year, now I know I based it off Alldata.

[DotBeta]

Ordered new engine and tranny mounts but I won't be installing them until next week, I'll probably be doing them at the same time I overhaul the cooling system. I've given it a lot of thought and if I'm replacing the engine mounts then I might just get a new clutch fan instead of converting to electric, lulling it over.

I noticed when I shift into gears I get a clunk but it's no the tranny mounts, seems like it's coming from the diff area. What could cause the clunk from back there? I'm guessing maybe a worn out u-joint? If there are some bushings or something I'm unaware of please learn me.

[Twistytee]

Could be a number of items in the rear causing a clunk. If you only hear it when engaging gear, a broken front diff bolt is a likely culprit. There are also two rear bushings/bolts that mount the rear ears of the aluminum flange on the diff to the carrier, but these usually don't fail easily. If you hear it during driving it could be suspension related. Failed RSM or broken endlinks on your rear sway bar can cause clunking noises. A worn drive shaft u joint normally causes vibration but not necessarily clunking noise.

[DotBeta]

Could be a number of items in the rear causing a clunk. If you only hear it when engaging gear, a broken front diff bolt is a likely culprit. There are also two rear bushings/bolts that mount the rear ears of the aluminum flange on the diff to the carrier, but these usually don't fail easily. If you hear it during driving it could be suspension related. Failed RSM or broken endlinks on your rear sway bar can cause clunking noises. A worn drive shaft u joint normally causes vibration but not necessarily clunking noise.

Thanks for the insight, I only hear it when I'm switching from park to reverse, park to drive or drive to reverse etc. Doesn't happen all the time either, never happens once in gear and moving.

ill take a look at the diff drive shaft bolts this evening after work and report back.

[samy01]

differential internal play ?

[DotBeta]

About to install the motor and Tranny mounts, I'll be taking comparison pics but I don't expect to see much of a difference since I'm replacing them for peace of mind but ya never know.

I was wondering while replacing the engine mounts, I know to jack up from the pan and get the driver side out first then use a bottle jack or something to coax out the pass. side since it'll be a bit harder.... What type of stress do you put on the rest of the drive train when you lift the motor? like does it tear up the tranny mounts? Just thinking about it.\

Oh also I obviously noticed the clutch fan is gonna smash into the shroud, I should be fine if I disconnect the shroud from the rad and rest it on the clutch fan right?

I also bought some bosch icon wiper blades and refinished the wiper arms satin black cause they were pitted, big difference lol. Anyways wish me luck!

[mslevin]

New motor and trans mounts made a big difference for my car! You can move the engine a fair amount with no issues. When I did my oil pan gasket, I probably lifted the engine at least 2-3" without disconnecting the trans mounts. If you want to make it way easier, go to Harbor Freight and buy an engine brace, it'll let you lift up the engine as much as you need without a jack.

Yes, you'll be fine just resting the shroud on the clutch fan. Just be careful to put it back before starting the engine.

[DotBeta]

To my surprise when I popped out the drivers side mount it was blown and had been leaking fluid for some time from the looks of it, was in definite need of replacement. Passengers side was not leaking but worn out, was a bit more of a pain to swap out but managed. The tranny mounts were worn out but not torn, replacement was a breeze. I'm glad I added motor mounts to my refurb list, my gut did not lead me astray lol, I don't notice much of a difference afterward in all honesty but I wasn't going hard on it either.

Next on the list is cooling overhaul, looking for an affordable pump with a metal impeller, ordering profile gasket for housing and a 180 thermostat. until then I'll be doing little things around the car.

[Twistytee]

I've used Hepu metal impellar pumps with no issues. In retrospect, I would go with an OE composite pump like Saleri or INA for a few more bucks. The cheaper metal pump impellars are spot welded and can fail. If a metal impellar granades on you then damage to the block can be severe. The composites are much stronger than the old plastic ones and won't cause catastrophic damage if they break (assuming you don't also experience a major overheat). Also be careful if re-using plastic thermostat housing. It takes very little torque to secure it and they quickly crack under too much pressure. I used a cheaper Uro aluminum housing and found it to be more durable with no leaks so far. It's one of the few Uro parts I'm actually willing to use on the car.

[DotBeta]

I've used Hepu metal impellar pumps with no issues. In retrospect, I would go with an OE composite pump like Saleri or INA for a few more bucks. The cheaper metal pump impellars are spot welded and can fail. If a metal impellar granades on you then damage to the block can be severe. The composites are much stronger than the old plastic ones and won't cause catastrophic damage if they break (assuming you don't also experience a major overheat). Also be careful if re-using plastic thermostat housing. It takes very little torque to secure it and they quickly crack under too much pressure. I used a cheaper Uro aluminum housing and found it to be more durable with no leaks so far. It's one of the few Uro parts I'm actually willing to use on the car.

I'm eyeballing the Stewart pump and I know they come recommended by many so we'll see if I eat it. The car already has an aluminum thermostat housing so I know the cooling system has been serviced before, that's why I decided to put the mounts ahead of the cooling overhaul. I know as long as I use a new profile gasket for the alum. t-srtat housing I should be good with no leaks, its when you resuse the profile gasket that you might wanna use rtv, or if the surface is pitted. I'm hoping it's clean and I can get by with just the profile gasket.

Last night I had an urge to mod something so I built a CAI from left over parts from other intake builds. This was a quick mock up I used while I figured out a legit heat shield rig because it's a no brainer. I think it looks pretty slick aside from the speaker wire lmao. That filter is brand new btw that's just a shadow on it. Hopefully I'll have the heat shield buttoned up by Monday and I'll update pics.

p.s. I need a new alternator vent who's got one?

p.p.s. I bypassed the throttle body coolant hoses since I live in the desert and it's totally pointless for my application. I probably won't see any difference but now I can grab my TB after a drive and it's way cooler = less heat soak upstream at the maf etc..

[DotBeta]

On another note, I'm considering an M50 intake swap with a tune, I know someone who can tune it for me for free.99 I just have to get my hands on an M50 intake manifold and honestly the mod would have already been done if I had gotten my hands on an M50 intake while I replaced injector O-rings and the intake gasket since it was all apart but I couldn't find one in time. Well I've had time to think about it and I wanted to get an honest opinion on the mod. This is my daily driver and a mountain warrior in the sense that I'll take a drive up and down Mt. lemmon once or twice a week, it's a fun spirited drive. With that said I don't street race or track race. I wanted to get everyone's opinion on the mod and if it's worth while for me. Please give me your input.

[DotBeta]

Today I started properly detailing the the seats, door panels and dash which had a layer of dirt you could see inside all of the wrinkles it was clearly dirty. I took my time figuring out the best approach to clean it all up and ended up using a cloth made for scrubbing and some concentrated simple green 1 to 10 parts hot water. I would hit it with the simple green cloth and scrub in a circular motion then let it sit for a bit and wiping it down with a wet clean cloth. I was seriously shocked with how well it worked I mean it came out clean as hell lol. Chased it with some Meguires natural shine vinyl protectant, I'm not into the wet look. I need to hit the carpet next but I'm not sure what to use or if I should just take it to an actual detailer for them to steam clean it, I'm thinking I should take it somewhere. I also ordered a replacement center arm rest leatherette cover since mine is cracked, I'm hoping it's not too much trouble to put on, I'll make a small post about it.

I also installed my Alpine IDA X305S deck and system consisting of Alpine 5 1/4 3 ways in the front & tapped into the door tweets as well, Alpine 3 way 6x9 in the back with adaptors as well as my alpine 10 inch woofer and 1800 watt mono amp. Full range sound is what I'm after and I got it . I bypassed the factory wiring and ran all of my own wiring since I rather run thicker higher quality wire and leave the factory wiring untouched.

On another note hit a milestone 265k on the clock lol. Probably the car with the highest miles I've ever owned aside my 94 Subaru Legacy wagon that has 240k. Looking forward to the future with this car, miles ain't nothing but a number .

The heat shield is on hiatus momentarily until I get some FR-ABS to make it with, I decided to stay away from sheet metal and make it out of plastic, I've switched back to factory intake for now until then. I'll also be overhauling the cooling system next week so expect pics of that soon.

[PITT M3 RR]

Nice update, I see you have ASC deleted too.

M50 mani is a must...with the tune, you'll have only improved the car all around.

lmk when you're looking for an LSD, I have the perfect one for you!

[DotBeta]

Nice update, I see you have ASC deleted too.

M50 mani is a must...with the tune, you'll have only improved the car all around.

lmk when you're looking for an LSD, I have the perfect one for you!

ASC delete? I don't think my car came with ASC as I read about it while figuring out what the A/M button did, I've read to avoid that button like the plague lol. Was ASC a standard option in automatics or was I lucky and didn't get ASC?

Do you have an LSD for sale? It's so funny when I drive the 318i it's one tire fire but it has 3.44 gears as 5 speed so its peppy af. The 328i has 2.93 gears and since it's auto so it feels like a totally different animal, nowhere near as snappy or responsive and all I can do it stab the gas pedal if I wanna downshift lmao. In other words I miss the manual and can't wait to convert the bucket once the cooling overhaul is done .

One more thing I was curious about since you mentioned the intake swap. I know with a program you have minimal loss but you do lose bottom end torque regardless, is it noticeable? Since it's my daily and I spend most of my time in the lower rpms I wonder how it will affect my gas mileage and city driving. Any input would be great.

[PITT M3 RR]

Ah my mistake it appears you don't have ASC as an option. Better for you anyway haha!

Your intake boot is what I saw...when deleted, you have the one on your motor, ASC has another throttle body just before your primary that blocks airflow to slow you down when needed. It's always a restriction though. None that any of us on the street with probably notice but Butt dyno haha

and yes I actually have a 3:23LSD with Non-M hubs and a 4 bolt pinion ready to drop in. I took it from my 328i and put in a 3:91. I have AKG diff ear bushings too in 75D (red). If you're interested PM me and we can maybe work it out!

[DotBeta]

This morning I decided to put the purse down and handle my own carpet cleaning, screw paying someone else for the elbow work when that money could go towards goodies for the car! I used 10-1 Simple Green mixed with very hot water, good spray on and let it sit for 3-5 min then hit it with a soft bristle brush all over, chase it with a clean hot wet towel and then a dry one. For not using any machinery like a wet/dry vac I think it came out pretty good for now until I get my hands on one and can go over it again more thorough.

I'm super pleased with the results so far, overall it makes one of the biggest differences, lookin really cherry now on the inside.

[Twistytee]

Looking good! That shot of the passenger side really shows the difference. Looking at the outside or inside, you'd never guess your car had that many miles on it. I picked up one of those small Genie wet/dry vacs years ago that is great for the cars and easy to store. Let's you do a deep shampoo and suck out all the grime.

[jc43089]

Looks great, I thought I would mention that I have a Stewart water pump and it is a very nice piece. Another tip is if you replace the 91/99c temp switch on the side of the radiator with the one from a 4cyl car which is 80/88c then the aux fan will run at the lower temp and you can toss the mechanical fan. Make sure you get the one with the small pins for obd2, the obd1 cars have larger pins. I have had mine set up like that for 50k with no issues. Never see temps over 210 on my Autometer gauge even in hot weather traffic.

[DotBeta]

Today I'm doing the cooling system overhaul, what you don't see in the pics is the new cooling fan sensor and profile gasket for the aluminum housing but trust me I got em. I'm going to use the current fan clutch because it's working as intended, I rather not buy one because that could go towards the electric fan if I go that route. I know I'm probably gonna catch some shit for the low brand WP but it's just a temp for now until I feel like spending 200 on the good wp lol. I need to get this all done and I rather not wait any longer so imo this is the best route for the moment and I'm sure everything will be fine
Omg that was so much easier than the WP madness I dealt with on my 318i, you can see Here. Anyways upon removal of the old pump my suspicions were right and the pump was fubar, obviously leaking from every possible seal, caught it just in time. This is a perfect example of why you should service any e36 cooling system if you don't have a legit record of maintenance when you buy. The old pump had a metal impeller obviously but I'm not sure what make it is, looks to be some generic brand. The thermostat housing is in good shape but the gaskets were old and starting to seep as well. Reinstallation should be a breeze and now I have the peace of mind that everything is covered .

Here are a couple pics of the radiator and clutch fan, both behr not sure how old they are but it's nice to see legit parts. The clutch fan works great no play and operates as it should.

Finally the coolant itself came out very clean and looked new, PO changed the coolant over to G-05 from the looks of it, it's a great coolant so no complaints here. I'll be refilling with G-05.

All in all a success and now I can finally rest easy, time for some coil overs and wheels .

[BigDreams212]

what a very clean car, following

[DotBeta]

Tomorrow or Thursday I will be replacing the blower motor since mine blows very weak at times and makes noise, in other words it's on it's way out and summer is around the corner. When the temps reach around 110f+ you just can't live without A/C unless you wanna roast and show up everywhere sweaty af. I'm shifting around a couple priorities.

I swapped over my new fogs, chin spoiler and license plate delete from my 318 onto Big Red, looks way better. On another note you may have noticed I haven't posted any frontal picture of Big Red, that's because the PO had some fun with the headlights and VHT nightshades paint, the only thing on the car that had been modified and imo it looks like shit lol, easily the biggest eyesore on the car. I'm going to start looking for some replacement Euro spec projector headlamps with glass housings, that'll be a huge facelift. There is a couple other things I need to address like if I want to paint all of the trim and front grill satin black etc. but one thing at a time there's no major rush. Here's a frontal with my 92 318i that's in desperate need of a wash chilling in their home. Big Red only has a PS leak now so I need to replace PS hoses possibly the pump itself but I'm not too concerned about that right now.

what a very clean car, following

Thanks .

[DotBeta]

Spent the whole day doing the blower motor replacement, took my time didn't run into any snags until the very end, I'll get into that in a bit, first a couple pics of the disassembly.

No real debree or water in the DME compartment thank god, compared to my other cars DME compartment mess you can check out Here I'm smitten. Lots of debree in the cowl section through but I cleaned it up good, last pic is the box with the blower motor already removed, you can see my dirty ass cabin filter at the bottom.

Out with the old.

In with the new. TYC unit with fixed cages, I didn't run into any trouble getting it in though just took a little less conversation and a little more shove that sh!t in there .

Nice new cabin filter to compliment the new motor. God that thing was disgusting, so full of debree and dust.


Took it for a 10 mile drive afterwards in stop and go traffic and outside temp in the 90's, at mid fan speed with a/c on recirculate temps sat around 46-49 degrees. Not bad at all I'm hoping I can squeeze out a few more degrees after proper service and recharge, I have to clean the condenser as well. I didn't try out auto but I mean to.


All in all it works perfect aside from the snag which is it making a bbrrr noise at max speed, the rest of the speeds are fine but max makes it throw a fit, it sounds like the motor is vibrating or rubbing on something but I seated it 2-3 times before popping the clip on it to make sure it was secure and solid. I'll just not use it at max until I get an idea of what's really going on.

UPDATE Research is leading me to believe it could be the FSU so I'm gonna be picking one up soon.

[Brake_L8]

Maaaan, a clean E36 sedan really does it for me. Looks great in Hellrot and nice to see all of the work you are putting in to this one!

Re: M50 manifold. Yes, they flow more air (about 40% more, I think) and on a dyno, you see #madgainz. They also shift the power band higher in the RPMs, so that your power doesn't fall off as you approach fuel cut (6800 rpm or so). A stock M52/S52 manifold will keep power and torque more readily available below 5k rpm, but then it falls off shortly thereafter.

Given that you've got an automatic and the car is street driven, regardless of your back-road-flinging occasionally, I'd recommend keeping the stock manifold and just letting the car breathe better with an intake/exhaust (exhaust > intake). The loss in lower-RPM power will be noticed around town, particularly mated to your 2.93 rear end and torque converter.

Oh, and as for oil - Shell Rotella 15W-40 or GTFO. The motor likes it.

[DotBeta]

Maaaan, a clean E36 sedan really does it for me. Looks great in Hellrot and nice to see all of the work you are putting in to this one!

Re: M50 manifold. Yes, they flow more air (about 40% more, I think) and on a dyno, you see #madgainz. They also shift the power band higher in the RPMs, so that your power doesn't fall off as you approach fuel cut (6800 rpm or so). A stock M52/S52 manifold will keep power and torque more readily available below 5k rpm, but then it falls off shortly thereafter.

Given that you've got an automatic and the car is street driven, regardless of your back-road-flinging occasionally, I'd recommend keeping the stock manifold and just letting the car breathe better with an intake/exhaust (exhaust > intake). The loss in lower-RPM power will be noticed around town, particularly mated to your 2.93 rear end and torque converter.

Oh, and as for oil - Shell Rotella 15W-40 or GTFO. The motor likes it.

Thanks for the compliments it means a bunch to me .

I've seriously been contemplating the M50 manifold swap, since it's my daily and I plan on racing seldomly I was thinking about skipping it because of the lower end torque loss, but with a tune it's hardly noticeable apparently so I'm not sure.. Also I don't know if the beauty covers will still work or if I'll have to get new ones? I like mountain cruises and twisties where this car would shine but I'm also not a wreckless douche bag endangering lives, I've grown out of that so my main performance upgrades when the time comes will be suspension related as well as getting my hands on M3 brakes, I actually found a complete set of M3 brakes with slotted rotors for 300 that I'm haggling but I'm not sure if I'll need the M3 spindles for them to work.. Can anyone let me know if I'll need them?

I'm also on the hunt to find a LSD rear end locally, I'm a member of a few European car clubs in town on FB so parts are always popping up it's just a matter of time. I will also convert the car to a manual that's no doubt but it's not a priority, the auto is a nice change of pace for me and when I wanna drive a manual the 318i is a 5 speed with 3.44 rear end so while not being a M50/M52 it's still really fun and picks up quick, it's night and day going from manual regardless of ci that's for damn sure lol. The 318's been in the family for 5-6 years, it was my fathers so it's sentimental that's why I haven't gotten rid of it. It's taught me everything I need to know about the E36 Body wise plus, been reliable af and gets better gas mileage then the 328i but that's a given lol. working on the 328 is so casual and easy since the 318i popped my cherry. With that said I'm still getting used to the M52 but I'm quickly learning, I was an auto mechanic for 8 years and have worked on many bimmers of all makes and years but the e36 wasn't seen very often even though it's my favorite model.

The end goal for this car will be to have a very clean sharp example of an E36 that turns heads but nothing radical. Honestly @cblockM3's sedan has been a big inspiration for the build and my plans, I don't expect it to be as clean as his ride he has a beautiful E36 I could only hope to get mine as clean as his. Honestly I've already had several strangers compliment the car, I'm meticulous so I know every single little thing wrong with the car and when they come up to me and ask me question or say hey that's a nice ride I immediately think of everything that's wrong with it body wise, I have to remind myself they aren't E36 OCD crazies like me and they don't see the imperfections but it still trips me out lol.

On the oil subject my friend who's a die hard E36 owner wanted me to get this one specific 0w-40 oil that I can't remember the name of atm, but he also mentioned the mobile 1 euro blend would be a 2nd place option. I don't know about 0w-40 for the car, normally I would use 10w-40 since the summers her are hot af but I'll look into the rotella 15w-40 you mentioned. Silly to say but would that normally be diesel oil?? When I hear rotella I think diesels.

[B320i]

Rotella is in theory a diesel oil, but provided a diesel oil carries the API rating for a petroleum engine (SM, SN etc) then there is no problem in using them. Even a mineral (diesel) oil like 15w-40 will give better protection than a basic conventional; they're much stouter oils designed for fleet vehicles (buses, trucks, machinery) running the hard yakka.

Sounds like your friend is talking about Mobil1 0w40. My car didn't really "like" the stuff; made the VANOS noise far worse and the lifter tick more noticeable. I managed to get Rotella 5w-40 for a good price, and that really quitened things down.

Lovely car, by the way!