New E36 M3 Owner: My Progression Thread

[E36 Em Tree]

If this is in the wrong spot could mods tow it to the right area and lmk thanks.

Anyways, this is my second E36 coupe M3 in alpine white on dove. 5 SP manual. This one is sitting on contours rather than DSII and Apex's.

History: From 2012-2019 I had a 1997 M3 before I got rear ended at a low speed and AAA deemed it totaled and paid me 9K in Sept 2019 (before prices sky rocketed). I owned the car from bone stock 133k until just hitting 230K miles, that day, before getting rear ended. It had PSS9s, Dinan (ECU, MAF, Intake, F/R strut bars), Apex concaves, Z3 SSK, hotschkis F/R sway bars and a bunch of other nice mods. I went to the B8 S4 platform after that and sold that for a W204 C63, but nothing was like the E36 so I've been searching for another one since.

Today: Just picked up a stock 1999 M3 that's probably in better condition than my previous one (less 70K) miles on the chassis. It's got heated seats, HiFi stereo, cruise control, rear headrests, working 3rd brake light and a bunch of other things that I wish I had in my 1997, just to say I have it in a 90s car. The car has had its EVAP, cooling and brakes done in the last 5-7K miles so that's pretty much out of the way. I've ordered about 1K in window/door gaskets, trans/diff fluid, understeer budget SSK/DSSR, preventative maintenance stuff. I replace all the seals and gaskets on my 1997 before it got totaled and it made a huge difference in appearance and peace of mind.

Work to be done: The OBC says "brake light circuit" and from a quick search (i love to search before making threads) says that it might be my brake light CIRCUIT so i ordered a cheap $15 4 pin one off ebay for now to see if that fixes the issue, next would be an OE one for about 50-60, but I can live with wasting $15 first before I dive into what ever else it might be (all my brake lights work so I figured it was the circuit under the dash?). Also planned would be the trans/diff/oil fluids for peace of mind. Giubo and SSK/DSSR might be the next thing to tackle if I can get my exhaust off with out an issue. Then hopefully by the end of the year I can get the car into the shop for the clutch and trans detent/springs to help mitigate 5th gear lean and also peace of mind. I think the suspension is still good but bushing are probably on their way out since its a 24+ y.o card with 166K miles but mechanically it drives and sounds fine.

Ill upload pictures later but I couldnt do it from my phone and I deleted the app when my last E36 M3 got crashed. Ive lurked on the forums a lot and sad that M3F is down (i think) and that this platform isnt as active as it used to be. It's hard to find some parts that I had before (dinan strut tower bars used, ssk, retrofit morimoto headlights, etc).

I feel like I'm pretty knowledgeable on the E36 platform, but please let me know any other preventative maintenance items that I may have skipped. I've spent a lot of time on FCP, ECS and Turner so I may have overlooked stuff. This car is about the same age as the previous one that I owned now so I'm hoping I can at least make it past 233K this time *knocks on wood*. I have this car under Hagerty now btw.


Maintenance list done so far:

166K miles - Door handle gasket
166K miles - Upper/Lower rear window gasket
166K miles - Trunk weatherstripping
166K miles - Installed X-Brace
166K miles - Installed new window cowl/grommets
166K miles - Replace gas cap to OEM (fix P04xx code an evap monitor).
166k miles - Replaced brake light switch
166K miles - Install Msport tunnel support bracket


To Do:
Change Oil
Change trans fluid
Change diff fluid
Change leaky CSF radiator?
Replace suspension to coilovers. KW V2? GC SA?
Replace power steering lines and reservoir
Replace giubo (w/ bolts, CSB, guide, etc)
Install SSK (understeer Z3 and DSSR)
Rear brake pads/rotors?
Replace front window weatherstrip
Replace rear window weatherstrip
Replace upper rear window weatherstrip
Install rear strut tower reinforcement plates
New glass headlights?

[E36 Em Tree]

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[RightYouAreKen]

Welcome back to the fold. Car looks like it's been pretty well taken care of. Enjoy!

[E36 Em Tree]

Welcome back to the fold. Car looks like it's been pretty well taken care of. Enjoy!

Thanks. Came with the user manual, the security tag for the OE stereo and even has the flashlight. Pretty surprised this thing had all the misc. items.

[golgo13]

Car looks clean!

[E85STI]

Congrats and welcome!

[E36 Em Tree]

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In with the new

[E36 Em Tree]

Got a new trunk gasket on to replace the ripped one.
Also installed the x-brace. One of the first oem upgrades I did on my last m3. If it really helps, idk, but seems a lot better than just one solid bar.

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[E36 Em Tree]

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Was trying to put on some reinforcement plates and realized the studs for the rear shock mount are super short.

Has anyone else run into this and what was the fix?

I didn't install it like that. I just took off the bolts for context.

[E85STI]

This reminds me that I still haven't installed the x-brace on my car yet.

Btw, the new door handle/gasket/covers look great. Mine need replaced at some point.

Got a new trunk gasket on to replace the ripped one.
Also installed the x-brace. One of the first oem upgrades I did on my last m3. If it really helps, idk, but seems a lot better than just one solid bar.

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[E36 Em Tree]

This reminds me that I still haven't installed the x-brace on my car yet.

Btw, the new door handle/gasket/covers look great. Mine need replaced at some point.

Thanks man. Yeah the gaskets were one thing I did on my last car and makes the car look way better since that's one thing you probably look at every time you drive the car. Do the x brace! It's about less than a 30 min job. I only jacked up one side and it was enough to install the 6 bolts easily.

- - - Updated - - -

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This job took longer than I wanted. Had to do it upside down, with the car on so I could depress the brake with my head and then finesse it out.

- - - Updated - - -

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Another quick job since my tunnel sound deadening was falling. Thanks to the member who recommended this. Quick and easy fix.

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Fixed my EVAP readiness monitors by changing to a BMW gas cap. Previous shop installed an OEM Blau one and it fit weird causing EVAP issues intermittently and I could even see gas build up around the rubber seal where it was leaking. Fuel Tank Breather Valve and gas cap done... Hopefully some injector cleaner and new plugs will help pass smog

[bmwstephen]

Thanks man. Yeah the gaskets were one thing I did on my last car and makes the car look way better since that's one thing you probably look at every time you drive the car. Do the x brace! It's about less than a 30 min job. I only jacked up one side and it was enough to install the 6 bolts easily.

I don't want to overthink it (like I do other things) , but if you are only jacking up one side and installing the x-brace, aren't you preloading the chassis in a flexed position that the xbrace is trying to counter? I would at least jack up both sides of the front

[E36 Em Tree]

I don't want to overthink it (like I do other things) , but if you are only jacking up one side and installing the x-brace, aren't you preloading the chassis in a flexed position that the xbrace is trying to counter? I would at least jack up both sides of the front

I was thinking that too but then the bolt holes wouldn't fit either too right?

Now you're making me over think and wanting to raise it evenly and retorque it....

[E36 Em Tree]

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Changed giubo at 168k miles. Original was stamped 1998.

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Changed the torn/missing porkchops and put in a turner plate.

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Took out the taillights and found this mess and cleaned it up a bit.

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New lemforder transmission mounts

[E36 Em Tree]

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New lemforder motor mounts

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New 5 speed illuminated and weighted shift knob from leather.

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Added a stromung exhaust

[E36 Em Tree]

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Decided to test my luck on a 20$ leather replacement cover on Amazon. It was real leather and smelled better than the old cover. The fitment was tight and nearly true to size but for $20 and replacing the old cracked one I'll call it worth it. Some wrinkles I didn't feel like ironing out and couldn't stretch ut more but definitely worth it for the price.

[egebhardt]

Bravo Em Tree. Good work.

[Hagasan41]

Nice progress been following you on IG.

[E36 Em Tree]

Nice progress been following you on IG.

Thanks for the follow! I cant detail as much as I'd like, limited with family and time, but hopefully down the line I can take better pics and start uploading them more.
It's come a long way since I got it and even cleaning the dirt from behind the plastic trims was satisfying.
I should have taken more pics of the ironx wash I did because that thing seemed to bring new life to the shine and texture of the paint. The amount of purple that came off was amazing.

[Hagasan41]

Thanks for the follow! I cant detail as much as I'd like, limited with family and time, but hopefully down the line I can take better pics and start uploading them more.
It's come a long way since I got it and even cleaning the dirt from behind the plastic trims was satisfying.
I should have taken more pics of the ironx wash I did because that thing seemed to bring new life to the shine and texture of the paint. The amount of purple that came off was amazing.

One of the first things I did with mine was decontaminate it.

[E36 Em Tree]

One of the first things I did with mine was decontaminate it.

Detailing is a whole different level I've never researched but I'm glad i found ironx. I'll probably work on de-greasing the engine bay once I get everything back on.
Driveshaft is out and waiting for the HDT one to arrive. Plans to finish the throttle bushings and valve cover gasket here soon.

[E36 Em Tree]

Decided to buy an Amazon leather kit for the shift boot and e brake. It was literally 19.99 so I figured I couldn't go wrong with adding this to replace the old interior leather. I know it's not OEM and people might not like that, but Real tumbled black leather (supposedly made in Germany too) looks way better to me. It feels great and I got that new leather smell now.

I took the old leather and separated it from the plastic mold and I then used some super glue to adhere it since i didn't know what else to use. I figured it doesn't move so it should be fine. I didn't secure the e brake handle insert yet but it fit well in the end.


(Set of Shift Boot Cover and Handbrake Cover Genuine Real Leather Compatible with BMW 3 Series e36 1990 - 1999 Manual Transmission https://a.co/d/bAPTPq6)

Comp of last shift boot:

[E36 Em Tree]

Courtesy of Brett.

Added new door sills. Bought all new clips off of Amazon too.

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[E36 Em Tree]

My old driveshaft was shuddering around 1st and 2nd gear. Decided to change the giubo first and see if that worked, but it didn't. I took out the driveshaft and found the rear ujoint was seized in one direction. Had free range in one direction but had to be forced in the other. I'm assuming this is the source of my issue so I ordered an HDT shaft from a guy on FB (https://www.hdtautoparts.com/)

These come with replaceable u joints and are a lot beefier. Install will come shortly but I can't wait to do some pulls again.

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[E36 Em Tree]

Here's how the car sits now. I haven't really posted a pic of what it looks like. It didn't have tints for the last 2 years but I decided to add ceramic tints for looks and to preserve the interior better.

Not sure what else to do after this.
I have sway bars on order, but websites keep canceling my Hotchkis rear bars.

I also have front and rear bushing that I should be getting to soon.

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