hand me down neglected M3, time to restore! id like advice please

[jibran5]

My brother got sick and tired of his 1998 sedan M3 that was riddled with problems. I never knew why he got it since he barely knows anything about cars. He got a new car and gave me the m3 as is. I have been putting more work into it now lately . Been lurking on the forums for years to help him out but now decided to finally make a profile. Ive made alot of progress and had many questions answered through search but im left with a few.

1. what cars came with a CD43 radio? i know 2000-2002 Z3 did but thats as far as i know. im going to track one down! and has anyone used the ebay Bluetooth adapter for BMW radios? http://www.ebay.com/itm/Bluetooth-Mu...1Yqm0F&vxp=mtr

2. what is the long pair of wires for, that rundown the passenger side of the hood to the front of the car? I was thinking ambient temp sensor. its bundled up in black electrical tape but at the ends they seem to be 2 green wires (one with a black stripe and another with yellow).

3. is there any way to get rid of the airbag light without dropping 180 on the peake scan tool? any member have one out in the inland empire of socal that is down to meet up and let me borrow it?? ill buy you lunch and beer and we can talk about our shitty e36s haha

4. i have a very subtle rattle at idle that gets very loud and exaggerated when in drive or reverse (yes its automatic :'( ) but just the ever so slightest but of throttle completely eliminates the rattle. Any ideas on what this can be? it sounds like the alternator (which chargers) so maybe a bearing but i have no idea whats the common failure here.

besides that what i have done to the car is

replace leaking water pump
replace valve cover gasket
new front brake pads
adjusted parking brakes, TWICE! and its still kind of uneven damnit
upgraded the torn rear control arm bushings to polyurathane and got new shocks and springs all around. oe spec
added the z3 rear tower plates
got A pillar interior panels (1 dollar each at pick you part lol)
new cluster bulbs
one new bulb for OBC
glue on glove box trim, still have a sag but it has to do with the black panel with the latch, not the interior matching cover panel
resurfaced corroded connections of dome lights with rotary tool and brass brush and bought new bulbs
corrected the ceiling panel sag (the one with the sunroof button) with heavy duty 3M dual lock mounting tape
bought new inverter to fix angel eyes on passenger side
bought new fog light (one was stolen)
spliced new fog light connector so they can actually work
got a seat cushion from a junk yard for 20 bucks with no holes, matching dove gray, but its not leather.
new seat motor so drivers side can slide back and forth
bought 2 seat gears off ebay to fix reclining feature but keep breaking them when installing it on the shaft so i gave up
fixed a loose taillight connector for the cheap euro knock off tails, i used super glue lol
removed shitty ugly sony cd player that had no aux or usb input (waiting on a stock radio)
removed all carpet stains (zap high traffic carpet cleaner does MAGIC).
replace weather strips on driver door and behind that one, still need one for the rear right door.
adjusted headlights

what I need to do is

take care of a mysterious power steering leak, I just cleaned the bottom of the car and will observe where its coming from. it seems like the rack and pinion is leaking.
take care of the idle rattle
get a CD43 radio
get a bav sound upgrade
get a third seat gear onto the shaft without BREAKING IT!
get a passenger seat switch cause i stepped on it and broke the right prong and also lost it so i cant even glue it back on.
fix door lock button
get a rear right weather strip
find out why rear right door doesn't lock with the rest
get floor mats
down the line Id like to swap to manual, reupholster seats and redo paint.

I know that was a long post but if you guys can chime in a help a long time M3 lover, restore an m3 back to stock id really appreciate it. I am not a heavy picture taking person but ill get some up for sure. here is one i found from a recent wash.

IMG_7120 by Jay Eye, on Flickr

[jibran5]

sorry mods, can you please move this to the e36 m3 forum and delete the message i am now writing. i was unaware that there was a separate sub forum for the M cars

[FiberFast]

sorry mods, can you please move this to the e36 m3 forum and delete the message i am now writing. i was unaware that there was a separate sub forum for the M cars

Removing the clear corners will get you way closer to stock.

[jibran5]

the clear corners are oem in europe so its all good

i found a CD43 and installed it now I just need to pick out a bluetooth adapter for it. I also just reupholstered the armrest using an ebay precut leather and loctite 300.

Untitled by [url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/98713836@N07/]

Untitled by [url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/98713836@N07/]

whats the recommended mediabridge for the cd43? I want it all handsfree calling, Bluetooth stream, but would also like to use an aux or even play music through the iphone lightning cable.

[LockDots]

1 - I'm not sure.
2 - I can check for you later today or tomorrow when I have time to look at my car.
3 - The only way to get rid of the airbag light is to fix what's causing the airbag light. To diagnose and reset after fixing you can purchase a knockoff tool on eBay/Amazon for around $20. Worked perfectly for me, but if yours doesn't work good luck getting support on it (made in china). That's the risk you take on purchasing cheap/knockoff equipment.
4 - You have to get under the car to look. Most likely exhaust and/or heat shields.

[Carpy2]

Congratz on the car

2. The green/black and green/yellow wires are commonly not connected to anything (mine are not connected). They are bundled together with the brown/purple wires that actuate your hood switch, as well as the windshield washer pump. There is some speculation as to what they are for, but I believe they are for headlamp cleaners. I am probably wrong, but it's all I can think of, and would explain why most of our cars just have them sitting there not connected to anything. I've searched countless diagrams for "GN/GE" (green/yellow) but come up with only fog light diagrams and alarm system diagrams. I know it's not the fog lights or the alarm system, so who knows. All I do know is that there are a lot of people who have these mysterious unconnected green/yellow wires that have no issues.

3. The airbag light is commonly set off by either the seat belt receptor, or the pressure pad inside the passenger seat (if applicable). You can try replacing those parts, but will still need a tool to delete the code/light to see if it worked. I understand that it is a safety issue, but I have since removed the airbag light from my cluster. Others have put black tape over it to cover the light but keep the bulb.

Hopefully that helps a little, good luck!

[Ex36]

+1 for the Chinese SRS reset knock-off. I've been using it for years with good results. The problem is, the dealer understandably sees a big liability issue with just resetting the light. So even if you know why it went off (like you took seat out and turned car on), they won't take your word for it but run a giant diagnostic that they charge for. One visit makes the Peake tool even seem worth it!

[TostitoBandito]

An independent shop would probably reset the light for you for free if you had it there for other work.

[realjones]

This tool will you the code and reset the airbag light. I've used it a couple times myself when the seat belt set it off. $25.

https://www.amazon.com/Yeam-Reset-Ai...dp/B01HKMW904/

[jibran5]

I actually got that exact tool, but it didnt reset the light for me. The light came on after I took out the cluster to exchange bulbs by the way. I got errors 10 and 11 and the manual is very confusing because there are different tables each showing different faults for code numbers. I have resolved the rattling when idle, it was the pulley tensioner so i got that changed along with the ac belt tensioner. While i was at it i got both belts replaced.

My next move is to install a handsfree bluetooth music streaming module to the radio. I want to mount the microphone in an OEM fashion so I ordered an oem microphone cover that goes on the headliner cover and I am hoping it fits in those slots where the hi-fi and heated seat buttons go. I tried looking online but cant seem to find if anyone who has done that yet. I will be sure to report on that.

After that I want to replace the springs cause they are sagging. I dont necessarily need OEM springs but I dont want to go TOO LOW to where i would need camber kits so that I wont run though tires fast. H&R OE kit only fits 95 M3s

Can anyone let me know If i can run eibach pro kit springs on sachs shocks and have camber still be in spec? I have eibach springs on my 04 Acura TL along with Koni SP3s and Love them when properly tuned.

[LockDots]

Regardless of which springs you choose camber can be adjusted in the rear, the front not so much.

[jibran5]

ok so stock springs it is.

I pulled off the carpet to check on the shock mounts and im a little worried as i found little bits of black what seems to be rubber. What do you guys think. I feel that it was worn out springs in the rear causing the slightly bouncey ride but now im thinking there in another issue at hand. quick summary: car has original springs, welded tower, newish shocks, newish mounts, newish rear control arm bushings, and added Z3 plates. the shocks are now a few years old but not too many miles because my brother basically just drove it to school for college and lived near it.

left shock


right shock


one thing i should add is there was a number miles more then there should have been driven on this car with blown shock towers and control arm bushings which leads me to believe the rear springs went bad. when i push down on the trunk the car seems to dip and bounce to easily and i am not a heavy or strong man at 150 pounds. ill post side view pic later. what do you guys think? you have already been of so much help to me. thank you all

[brokeazz]

those mounts looks like they are about to rip through, you should replace them. shocks are probably dead, if you really want to know, just jack up the rear and unbolt the 18mm bolt holding the shock and compress it in, see if there's any resistance, they should decompress on its own.

[scooper]

4. exhaust rattle somewhere
Get some rogue rear shock mounts
power steering fluid leak is probably just the reservoir/filter weeping. It's common. Replace it if it hasn't been done.

[jibran5]

those mounts looks like they are about to rip through, you should replace them. shocks are probably dead, if you really want to know, just jack up the rear and unbolt the 18mm bolt holding the shock and compress it in, see if there's any resistance, they should decompress on its own.

great advice! thank you. but i dont think the shocks are blown I remember what that feels like. ill try it anyways just to be safe.

[jibran5]

4. exhaust rattle somewhere
Get some rogue rear shock mounts
power steering fluid leak is probably just the reservoir/filter weeping. It's common. Replace it if it hasn't been done.

-the rattle was the ide pulley tenshioner. that has been done.
-ill look into rogue, never heard of it.
-you are probably right about the power steering fluid

I noticed the reservoir was dirty all over so I was thinking it had to be the cap gasket but at driving speed it can be from anywhere, spreading all over from wind right? you suggest I get a whole new reservoir? can you go into more detail about the common failure. ill do a search too

[LockDots]

-the rattle was the ide pulley tenshioner. that has been done.
-ill look into rogue, never heard of it.
-you are probably right about the power steering fluid

I noticed the reservoir was dirty all over so I was thinking it had to be the cap gasket but at driving speed it can be from anywhere, spreading all over from wind right? you suggest I get a whole new reservoir? can you go into more detail about the common failure. ill do a search too

PS fluid comes typically from one of three spots. Either the vent hole on the cap itself (normal depending on driving conditions and level of fluid) or leaking hoses connected either at the reservoir or the banjo fitting crimp connections at the pump and cooler line.

If the base of the hoses where they connect to the reservoir look pretty oily/dirty and/or swollen it's time to replace them. You can either replace with new custom length hoses and hose clamps (you'll have to do a search for the sizes, I don't remember what they are off the top of my head) or you can buy replacement hoses from BMW.

Note: Where the hoses attach to the pump and cooler (trombone looking line) are banjo fittings that are crimped onto the hoses. You can cut the crimp off and slide a new hose onto the banjo fitting (which will have a nipple on it) and use a couple of hose clamps to hold it on. I'm personally a fan of this method for a couple of reasons. It's cheaper than dealer parts and you can make the hoses a little longer to alleviate some of the tension on the banjo fittings where they tend to leak sometimes.

[TostitoBandito]

And if you're going to muck with the PS reservoir/lines, you may as well rebuild or upgrade the steering rack at the same time. Either a rebuilt E36 rack or a Z3 rack for a tighter feel. In either case, not a bad idea on a car with that many miles if it hasn't been addressed yet.

[jibran5]

can anyone elaborate on the Z3 rack having a "tighter feel?"

[TostitoBandito]

There's several very comprehensive threads on this topic here and on other forums if you do a search.

https://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/s...Steering-racks
https://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/s...ame-after-1995

To briefly summarize:

The E36 M3 rack (there are different versions in the 95 and 96+) is progressive meaning that the further you steer one direction the more sensitive it becomes to further input. Near center it isn't super responsive. This was deliberate so it's easier to handle for normal drivers at high speeds on the autobahn.

The Z3 racks are linear meaning that every degree you turn the wheel gets you the same amount of steering throughout the range. It also has a lower number of turns lock-to-lock than the M3 racks. This means that it's more responsive overall, and especially around center since it's linear. It's a "twitchier" rack, and preferred for spirited or track driving where you want to be able to flick it into a corner with minimal effort. It's a direct bolt-in swap for the OEM M3 rack.

Some people also use E46 racks, which are similar to the Z3 racks but may be cheaper or easier to find.

You can get fully rebuilt racks of any type from rackdoctor. The Z3 racks are significantly more expensive due to demand, and you'll also need to eat the core charge if you go that route since they won't take an M3 rack as a core for a Z3 rack. Or, you can try to source a used Z3 rack and rebuild it yourself. I recall that certain Z3 racks might be better than others, so you should research the threads I mentioned for more info if you want to go down this route.

[jibran5]

^thank you much, perfectly summarized.

I'm going to clean up everything and determine what exactly is leaking before jumping to conclusions.
In the mean while i have a CEL for P0155 O2 heater circuit (bank 2, sensor 1). some searching has lead to understand thats a precat sensor on the rear exhaust manifold. The search also taught me that changing the O2 sensor isnt always the fix for it but I couldnt find what the alternative solution is. I hope to solve that this weekend.
Also found screw cover tabs for my CD43 on ebay for 7.50 and got a new vaccum hose for the intake boot. After all that ill try to get some more pics up to share with you guys.

[hli]

Going by your earlier description it sounds like your rear shocks are shot. If the rear is overly bouncy it means the shocks aren't doing their job as dampers (resistance to motion). It's also good to see that you have the reinforcement plates in place; make sure to re-use those. I would personally just go with Meyle HD mounts; beefier than the OEM mounts and don't cost $100 like some of the other aftermarket mounts.

I also wouldn't worry too much about the leaking rack unless it's pissing fluid. Almost all of these cars seep a little here and there and it's not a huge concern. You can get all the other higher priority stuff sorted first.

If you're planning on doing some sound system work, I'd suggest going with a solid head unit (I'm using a DEH-80PRS), and getting a decent Class D amplifier (I'm using a Soundstream 640D which fits nicely into the stock amp location; you can go with the 4 channel model if you aren't planning for a subwoofer later on). It will sound significantly better than the stock system.

[jibran5]

heres my new CD43 and bluetooth module

the mic set up is temporary. Im thinking about moving it to the unused panel next to the cluster brightness control.




Also here is a pic of the rear wheel. Does this ride height seem too low for stock springs? should I find another set of new springs? there are probably only 15K miles on these replaced shocks. Im going to replace them either way cause they are still under autozone's warranty but its just a hassle. Something is causing the shocks and mounts to fail prematurely and im guessing its the springs since its the only left that's original. Im hoping its the springs t least cause its easy to replace

[JGard]

ride height looks normal. Here's my car, stock with Koni shock inserts

[jibran5]

what's a koni insert? what does it do?