Buying an E36 Convertible

[Cjc6547]

Hi all,
im going to pick up a 1995 325i convertible I recently purchased. I was hoping you guys could help me out with letting me know what I should check out first and what I should replace. I just blew the head gasket on my e30 so I'm hoping to drive this until I have the money for the repairs on that. Thanks

[hotdish]

Hi all,
im going to pick up a 1995 325i convertible I recently purchased. I was hoping you guys could help me out with letting me know what I should check out first and what I should replace. I just blew the head gasket on my e30 so I'm hoping to drive this until I have the money for the repairs on that. Thanks

Watch for head gaskets, head cracks, and check the cooling system. The m50 has a very fragile cooling system compared to the m20

[Duanob328iC]

The m50 has a very fragile cooling system compared to the m20

In further detail, a lot of the parts to the cooling system are made of plastic that will crack and fail from hot/cold cycles for the life of the car. The radiator, the over flow tank, the thermostat housing, the water pump impeller and water pump belt pulley, all plastic. You can buy kits to change out the whole thing including hoses and thermostat for under $300. Shop around. If one of these parts fails and the car over heats it will cost you way more than that to fix.

As far as the top you're lucky as a 95 will have auto/manual and if it stops working electronically just do it manually. In fact you will save a bunch of weight by removing all the motors and electricals. My 97 is completely automatic and so far so good. Check for leaks by spraying a hose of the top. The A-pillar is a common spot and can be fixed most times by cleaning out the drains along the pillars.

Suspension check for thunks and clunks as per usual BMW. If you get clunks form the rear end there is a good chance the RSM need replacing, fairly easy and cheap. The convert should come stock with the sport suspension which is good.

Oil leaks: valve cover, oil pan, power steering reservoir, VANOS hoses, etc. None of which are expensive parts but time consuming to replace.

Maybe others will chime in. Good luck they are fun cars.

[Cjc6547]

The roof motors don't work and this has probably been answered in another thread but I can't find where. How do I manually put the roof down? It was I have to pull a latch under the rear seat and unhook the motors from the back and all that and seems like a lot of work just to put the top down.

[Twistytee]

Unfortunately that's the only method. Pull out the rear seat bottom cushion and you'll see the black manual release lever on the driver's side. It has two tension wires attached to it - one for the tonneau top motor and one for the soft top motor. Pull it towards the quarter panel until both motors click and release. You can then manually move the top. If you search the convertible subsection of this forum, you can find the motor sync procedure to try to reset them. If you pull away the carpet on the driver's side of the trunk you will have access to both motors in order to re-lock and engage them. If it's still not working after the re-sync procedure, you'll need to leave it in the up position so that the tonneau cover is held in place and either try additional trouble shooting, replace offending parts, or decide to do a conversion to full manual operation including locking tonneau.

[jno]

I'd be happy if the body is rust and accident free and convertible top in good condition. Any mechanical problems are a walk in the park.

[MParallel]

You didn't check all this out before purchasing?

[sharadn]

I purchased a 98 vert last spring. Drove it until Nov of last year when it developed a bad rear wheel bearing. As a result of the "might as well while in there" approach and due to sales at Bavauto I refreshed the entire suspension, all new bushings (M3 upgrade) shocks, sway bar links, tie rods ect.....After finishing I took it out for a test drive and while letting idle in the driveway to open the garage door, the upper neck of the radiator blew off. Lucky for me it happened in the driveway and the car did not overheat. I then overhauled the entire cooling system including all lines under the manifold, including vacuum lines. The reason for the story is that this is typical of the type of problems to expect. My car had 95K on it when purchased. It was rust free and the drive train was in good shape. It could use new front seat covers and a passenger side door card. For me rust is a reason to run. As far as mechanical problems being a walk in the park yes mostly except I would not want to get into a dealing with an engine rebuild but these engines are quite robust. I was fortunate in that the PO had just had a new top installed and it works perfectly. It cost him $2500.