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I just hit a year of owning a 1998 M3 Sedan. This is my 4th bimmer. I owned an E46 M3 and E90 335i FBO Stage 2. Still currently own an E30 1991 318is. My intent when buying the E36 was to make it a daily commuter car. Previous owner was older gentlemen who drove it a few times a month as he owned several other bimmers. Body was in overall good shape with no rust.
Things I've replace in the first year of ownership
- Waterpump and Thermostat - On my 750 mile ride home after purchasing the car, I noticed puddle of coolant under the car after I stopped for food. I topped it off and kept eye on water temp while driving it home. Later I found out the oem plastic thermostat was leaking. Very common on E36.
- Front Control Arm Bushings and Tie Rods - I bought new Lemforder bushings and used my coworker's press to install them on the OEM LCAs. Took more work than expected but the OEM LCA assemblies are ridiculously priced for an E36 M3.
- HVAC Heater Valve - I noticed in the winter I was not getting hot air. When I bought the car it was in the summer so I guess I didn't notice when testing. It felt warm so I thought it was working. This valve is hard to get to at the firewall. Limited space to get the heater hoses on and off. Once I got it off I noticed the rubber seals were broken inside.
- Driveshaft - Noticed clunking noises when going into reverse. Also really bad vibrations after 40mph. Once exhaust was removed, I found play in the u-joint at the differential. Ordered reman driveshaft from Driveshaftspecialist. It came with new CSB. I installed a new flex disc guibo while we had everything down.
- Transmissions Mount- Replaced them while exhaust was out as they were cracked.
- Steering Coupling - I had some slop in the steering wheel. Replaced with OEM coupling. My old one had cracks in rubber. It didn't address the slop. I believe it is my steering rack.
- Glovebox button - One summer hot day, I found the release button and spring laying on the passenger seat. The release button clip cracked.
- Brake Switch - I had intermittent Brake Light Switch on the Check control. This addressed it.
- ICV Hose - original hose was cracked. I bet there are more rubber hoses I need to replace.
- Door handle seals - replaced all 4. Known issue on E36.
- Exhaust Muffler hanger - Sagging exhaust known issue on E36. Replaced 1 side. Realized I need 2.
- Pre-Cat O2 Sensors - I guess when we had to drop the exhaust from the manifolds with torch and air hammer, both o2 sensors were damaged. I got aftermarket ones but the CELs would come back. Strongly suggest getting the NTK sensors.
- Driver door regulator- I bought new plastic sliders since they tend to break but it looked like previous owner had already done them. The window would fall off the track as it got to the top when closing. I adjusted the arm on the regulator but still feels like there is track issue.
I gotta say the interior is a POS on the E36. I think my E30 is holding up better. Every E36 I've seen has had A-pillars and headliner sagging. Even the fabric on my c-pillars started to peel off. I would like to upgrade the seats to Vaders someday but the sport seats are uncomfortable and cheap. I daily drive mine and the rattles and creaks get to me. I understand it is now becoming 24 years old but I can't seem to go 2 or 3 months without having to fix something else. Welcome to bimmer life.
I do enjoy the driving dynamics and feel. Even though I am on stock suspension, it handles great. I can only imagine what coilovers or lower springs can do. I need to upgrade the headlights to Euro projectors or DEPOs. The stock plastic halogens are absolutely shit at night. I thought about a m50 manifold, ASC delete, and intake but for the amount of work required for very little gain I'm hesitant. I do plan to get a Stromung exhaust soon to get a nicer exhaust note. I have the HK audio but still sounds like trash. Would love to get that BAVauto speaker upgrade with VDO head unit.
When I was shopping for the E36 M3, I was also looking at the MK7 GTI for a daily. The GTI checked a lot of boxes. Easy power gains, newer tech, more cargo, and still get 30+mpg.
I will say the E36 does everything better than the E30 so I have plans to sell the E30 in the near future. It does not get driven. Once that is sold I will likely garage the E36 and get a more reliable daily.
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BMW CCA Member
Congrats on your first year. It sounds like the previous owner didn’t keep up with maintenance.
I recently replaced my speakers with the BavSound speakers, and a Kenwood media player head unit (KMM-X704). What an improvement in sound! The speakers were pricey, but BavSound makes it all plug and play.
That said, you’ll need to remove your door panels to replace the speakers, so be prepared to have the plastic mounting pieces for the door panels break or shatter, especially the piece that attaches the top edge of the panels to the doors. There is a company that makes an aluminum replacement for it, but I’m not sure how well that would work out.
I fortunately purchased a brand new set of door panels, so I didn’t need to worry about fixing the old panels.
-rb
Last edited by RBNetEngr; 09-22-2021 at 11:10 PM.
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Lol, I can't think of a worse daily (ok, I'm exaggerating) than an E36. Interior is just pure garbage. Great weekend enthusiast car that you can do most of your own work on, but if you drive it daily, it's "quirks" quickly transform from charms into flaws....
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They make the car ride worse and rattle moreOriginally Posted by blkmz3
Last year with my daily driver sedan I replaced every single bushing, ball joint, bearing, rubber, or moving part with OEM. I fit brand new Sachs shocks and picked up some used stock M3 springs to replace the way-too-low Tein springs that were installed by the previous owner. Basically I returned the whole suspension and driveline as close as possible to original condition. It totally transformed the car. I really enjoy the stock suspension for daily driving. It's comfy but still handles great. I've driven several combos of shocks and springs over the years, everything from stock to MCS + 800/900 springs in my track M3. The factory setup is my favorite for regular street driving. Wheel travel is a great thing to have on real world roads.
From what I've seen people slap springs and shocks in and assume everything's fixed because the car handles differently - when in reality, different is still crap because RTABs are coming apart, tires are junk, alignment is totally jacked, or whatever. As you mentioned, these cars are 20+ years old... anything original is almost certainly worn out by now. When everything is freshened up all at once as a system you have something super enjoyable. It takes a lot of time and $$ though.
Stromung is a great choice for exhaust. I have one. The sound is throaty but refined and without being obnoxious.
And yes, the interiors are junk. They creak and pop like a POS every time you hit a bump or corner. That's what bothers me the most.
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For a daily driver I think the LAST two mods I would do are changing the suspension from anything but stock and the M50 manifold. I would hesitate to even suggest the Stromung exhaust as it's a bit throaty. I have all these things on my car, which was retired from daily driving/commuting in 2016. I just couldn't take the stiffness of the suspension, the tight cockpit, and yes, the plastic and seat creaking in the interior.
It sounds like you really did some great work in your first year, so hats off to you.
My stock HK speakers went out probably a decade ago, maybe more. I updated with the BavSound speakers and they've held up well over time. Though I wonder if there are any nice offerings maybe from MB Quart or Polk (I know nothing of speakers). I definitely recommend getting that sound system in shape to enjoy your music or listening to the radio. To be honest, I listen to casettes in my M3 and I have a somewhat decent collection that I rotate in and out. I never wanted to remove the headunit and have stayed stock this long. The sound quality from casettes is just fine for me!
I think for a DD I would look at upgrading the seats first. I'd stay away from stock/vaders and maybe look to get yourself some nice adjustable recaros. Hopefully they can free up some headroom, reduce some of the weight, and quiet down your cockpit.
For performance I would consider maybe a Conforti/AFE intake or just debaffle the airbox combined with an ASC delete. That should free up some HP and improve the sound while really maintaining driveability.
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Additional Repairs since 1st post
-Sunroof motor cover. Weather is getting cold. The cover panel just dropped while I was driving. I guess the 8 plastic clips got brittle and gave out. I ended up using 2-part plastic epoxy adhesive on the plastic clips to get them rigid again.
-Fuel pump. It left me stranded to where I had to get my car towed. This event really made me want to sell the car. This one took some troubleshooting at first for the no start condition (cranked). I checked the relays and fuses. I replaced the crankshaft position sensor. In the end it was dead fuel pump after confirming the connector at the pump was getting 12v with ignition on. I also replaced the fuel filter few weeks later.
I am currently chasing another CEL which is P1421 and P1423 for the secondary air system. I found 2 cracked vacuum hoses. 1 from the hardline to the secondary air injection valve (EGR). The 2nd hose was the one from hardline going to the vacuum control valve under the intake manifold. Replaced both with new hoses. I need to buy a vacuum gauge to see if there is vacuum for the secondary air injection valve (EGR). I don't believe it is opening. CELs are still there. I may have another vacuum leak somewhere or the vacuum control valve is bad.
My driver door lock actuator also started acting up. I have the keyless/remote entry system on mine. All other doors lock and unlock fine except the driver door. Often I have to manually lock the driver door with the key cylinder.
The fan is rubbing the fan shroud. I tried to tighten up the fan shroud to the radiator to get more clearance. I may need to do new motor mounts.
I cannot go a month without a CEL or something failing. Getting really frustrated and my wife is telling me to get rid of the POS. I have started to look for another daily driver.
Last edited by blkmz3; 11-29-2021 at 11:06 PM.
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You can say that again. The interiors on these cars just melts with age. I am redoing my entire interior except for maybe the door cards (mine are about an 8or9 out of 10) but we will see. In addition like others I returned all the suspension to factory rubber but kept the TC Kline coil overs since I like the ride height.
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Feels like as if BMW had 1000 days to develop the e36 and they spent 999 days to engineer the engines and then started with the interior the last day at 4:30pm
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LOL Yes I think this is the case with how little thought was put into the interior.
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I got a set of Recaros from an Evo X and fabricated my own brackets. They are perfect. Maybe not a ton lighter, but they are adjustable, have great bolsters, and I love the alcantara - does a +1 on keeping you in place.
You can test the EGR function easy enough - just put your hand over the intake for the thing.
On the lock actuator, those are easy enough to replace. I dealt with it for a week or two while I waited for the part to arrive, but it's not so difficult I just lived with it for an extended period. Just get the part and replace it.
Same with the motor mounts but moreso. Get new ones before it causes a larger problem.
...
I'll admit that dailying a car this old can be problematic. It may be unrealistic to think you'd work through the issues in just the first year, and may also be a little hopeful that it will ever be like a car 15 years newer (i.e. the oldest Mk7 GTI you could have bought).
Especially when you're driving it much more than the PO. It took several years of little things before I felt like I was on really solid ground (and I started when it was ONLY 12 years old).
What kind of mileage have you got? Having had it for 12 years and having a list of work that's roughly 12 times as long, I'm sure I've got more in receipts than you do, but my car has been far, far more reliable than my 2010 Escalade over the same amount of mileage. I wouldn't expect the little things to dry up, but you should be able to get to a place where it's more predictable / preventative than catching you off guard.
If you really decide it's more trouble than it's worth, I think there are probably a lot of guys here who would like a heads up before you just toss it up on FB marketplace - or BaT for that matter...
-Josh: 1998 S54 E36 M3/4/6 with most of the easy stuff and most of the hard stuff. At least twice. 271k miles. 1994 E32 740il with nothing but some MPars. 93k miles.
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BMW CCA Member
A 20+ year old daily driver is not going to be without problems. That’s why you may want to get a newer POS car to be your daily (and take all the potholes, parking lot dings, etc) but will always start up and not easily break down.
The E46 interior was a big step up in quality. Given that it uses most of the engineering from the E36 (evolved, or directly copied), maybe they had more time to devote to interior quality.
-rb
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I have 2 95s, one we call Daytona and the other The AntiChrist. Daytona has few owners and was bought from a 70 year old 30 year BMWCC member, no rattles, everything was done per your list above and then some, everything works, smooth and flawless.
The other, Avus blue over Anthrazit has stranded me 4 times in 4 months, needed $3k worth of repairs ( I can't itemize here or I'll cry) but to weird sh!t like a driveshaft and differential. FFS don't put Bilsteins on no matter what unless you like the covered wagon ride.
But the motor was stepped on (cams I think and the diff is a 3:28, shift kit) it is such an addictive ride and goes like the clappers. As I bought it right I don't mind the fixing, it is the stranding I can do without.
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Additional Repairs in 2022
-Installed new engine mounts. This was the root cause of the fan blades starting to hit the shroud.
-Rearview mirror fell off one morning. I used adhesive designed for re-attaching mirror to windshield. All good.
-CEL came on for cam position sensor code P0340. I installed a VDO sensor I got from a friend. CEL came back on and I still had issues with warm starts. Sometimes delay in throttle response. I read threads about needing to buy OEM sensor as aftermarket or even VDO sensors will not work. I installed an OEM sensor tonight. Crossing my fingers that fixes the P0340. The 2nd time around I was able to install the CPS in about an hour.
I still have this dreaded moaning/rubbing sound coming from the rear. It only happens at slow speeds with no throttle and during a slow turn. No sound when going straight or on throttle. Not sure if it is the rear differential or center support bearing. I bought a REMAN driveshaft assembly 2 years ago that came with a new center support bearing. At that time I installed a new flex disc (guibo). I'm also suspecting wheel bearing or the brake shoe.
At 155k now and the problems continue....
Last edited by blkmz3; 04-19-2022 at 10:34 PM.
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25 year old daily drivers will require a lot of work as you have learned. The sweet spot for price/fairly reliable daily is probably around 10 years old. You pay more initially but get a newer and more comfortable and probably reliable car.
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The M50 intake manifold is totally worth the price. It's not that bad of an install with a kit.
I run a fleet of older cars. I rotate through daily driving a 99 M3, a 99 Oldsmobile 88 and a 90 Jeep Comanche. They are not without their issues but generally I've been very happy with their simplicity which is reflected in their reliability. In the summer I even daily a 62 Austin Healey Sprite, it's the best running and most reliable car I own, has never left me stranded.
Now, to get out of my rose tinted glasses world for a moment. There is a lot of preventative maintenance that goes into keeping old cars as daily drivers. But I will say the more you drive them, the more reliable they tend to stay. Letting cars sit is just the worst for them.
smokes at gas stations
Seen that happen a lot, most people overlook the mounts after the fan takes a dump. I think worn mounts are also the main culprit to the common power steering fluid leak from the reservoir. There's barely any slack in the lines, so if the motor moves ever so slightly it tugs on the hoses and starts to leak out.
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Updating the thread with latest failure
The PS hose that goes reservoir to hardline at the rack busted at the crimp. This is the 2nd time car left me stranded.
This was the last straw for me so I am actively looking for a daily driver. Current picks are 2013+ Lexus GS350, 2015+ GTI, and 2018+ Honda Accord 2.0T.
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BMW E36 M3 Expert
lol ok
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I don't know your financial situation, but maybe you should buy a NEW car. The new Civics look nice.
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How much do you want for it?
-Josh: 1998 S54 E36 M3/4/6 with most of the easy stuff and most of the hard stuff. At least twice. 271k miles. 1994 E32 740il with nothing but some MPars. 93k miles.
Member
Hit us with that price. I need another POS in my garage.
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At what number of years would you be okay with a hose breaking due to age?
Last edited by samy01; 08-20-2022 at 11:22 AM.
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