'Upping my Green Credentials' - Meergrün E36 328i Trio
Discussion
carpetsoiler said:
*snigger* nicely done!
One of my best mates has a manual 'box. They usually go for around £75 or so, make sure you get the ZF one.
Oh.. and... PICS!
It's not just the box I need though, is it, there are all the ancillaries to think about as well. In fact I'll probably have to buy ANOTHER one as a donor to get bits off. And that's before I admit to myself that I barely know where to start with something like a transmission swap, and will need to start begging people to HALP PLZ! One of my best mates has a manual 'box. They usually go for around £75 or so, make sure you get the ZF one.
Oh.. and... PICS!
vsonix said:
It's not just the box I need though, is it, there are all the ancillaries to think about as well. In fact I'll probably have to buy ANOTHER one as a donor to get bits off. And that's before I admit to myself that I barely know where to start with something like a transmission swap, and will need to start begging people to HALP PLZ!
You need a pedal box, a gear shifter, surround, the gearbox itself, and a bit of wiring savvy. I had another 328i Touring that was originally an auto- apparently it's a fairly easy swap. Only issues caused are by cruise control or something like that. Get stuck in and stop being a fanny. 
Sami- have a look here... http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.ph...
General consensus seems to be 10 hours or less to do it, just need decent access. Having removed gearboxes off a few of these now, I can attest to it not being massively difficult to pull bits off. One of the harder parts will be the pedal box/master cylinder/servo change. It's just fiddly and patience-trying.
General consensus seems to be 10 hours or less to do it, just need decent access. Having removed gearboxes off a few of these now, I can attest to it not being massively difficult to pull bits off. One of the harder parts will be the pedal box/master cylinder/servo change. It's just fiddly and patience-trying.
but I am cack-handed and impatient...
Anyway, here's a pic of the fleet... in case anyone doubted I was actually crazy enough to have three very similar cars. The neighbours are a bit astounded I think.
I'm gonna start with the easy stuff I know I can sort first. Already located a new nose cone/slam panel in Meergrun from a 318is breaking in Cornwall. New lambda sensors on order from Euro Car Parts. I'm not really ready to start trying to do a manual conversion on my driveway so I think initially the thing will be to try and get the auto box working properly. It mostly works fine but sometimes needs a hand shifting from first into second or from a higher gear into a low one. This can be done with the manual selector. I've noticed if I leave the selector in '4' or '3' the car is mostly driveable as normal. The worst of it seems to be when the car is left in 'D'. Actually it's amazing how much lighter the Touring feels than the cabrio, the auto box actually feels like it's less of a hinderance to performance than it is in the 'vert - reluctance to shift notwithstanding.
I'm actually starting to think that leaving the Tourer as a daily driver with auto box is a good idea, and that it will probably benefit more from the M50 manifold I have knocking around than the convertible would. Seen some custom stainless headers on the 'bay for a decent price so might pick up a set of those.
Anyway, here's a pic of the fleet... in case anyone doubted I was actually crazy enough to have three very similar cars. The neighbours are a bit astounded I think.
I'm gonna start with the easy stuff I know I can sort first. Already located a new nose cone/slam panel in Meergrun from a 318is breaking in Cornwall. New lambda sensors on order from Euro Car Parts. I'm not really ready to start trying to do a manual conversion on my driveway so I think initially the thing will be to try and get the auto box working properly. It mostly works fine but sometimes needs a hand shifting from first into second or from a higher gear into a low one. This can be done with the manual selector. I've noticed if I leave the selector in '4' or '3' the car is mostly driveable as normal. The worst of it seems to be when the car is left in 'D'. Actually it's amazing how much lighter the Touring feels than the cabrio, the auto box actually feels like it's less of a hinderance to performance than it is in the 'vert - reluctance to shift notwithstanding.
I'm actually starting to think that leaving the Tourer as a daily driver with auto box is a good idea, and that it will probably benefit more from the M50 manifold I have knocking around than the convertible would. Seen some custom stainless headers on the 'bay for a decent price so might pick up a set of those.
Quhet said:
So when are you getting the saloon?
To the best of my knowledge there isn't an E36 Saloon in this shade as it was a launch colour for the E46 saloon, but made it onto a few (I've heard as little as 150 but I dunno how to check the truth of that) of the late E36 that were sold alongside. I don't believe there is a Compact or a Z3 either. Which is a shame, but probably just as well for the sake of my bank balance. The neighbors already seem to be getting the hump about it; typical. Oh well sod it I'm moving soon anyway.
So I have now fixed all the faults with The Pelican (continuing the bird theme, and with a nod to the 'Halo' drop-ships) she is running beautifully! Fixed the overfuelling with new lambda sensors. I was a little bit gutted when replacing the faulty Throttle Position Sensor did not fix the shifting problem, but was pleased to see another couple of MPG creeping back. The were no longer any fault codes showing anywhere, so I was a little stumped. I scoured the Internet some more, and found a very interesting thread. Identical symptoms to mine, but with a very simple, almost free solution. Switch Cleaner! A liberal dousing of switch cleaner into the gear selector, and hey presto, the car is 100% as it should be! Joy of joys!
While I was down at the scrappy looking for sensors and assorted goodies, I found a silver grey leather interior in good condition overall save for a slightly manky driver's bolster. Obviously I couldn't leave it there, so now the car has been upgraded, and is an even better match to the others! Picture will have to wait as the car is currently full of the old cloth seats. Which are up for grabs if anyone wants.
Been a busy old week (and expensive) with a load of insurance, MOT and tyre bills! But, making progress on refurbing the BBS splits I picked up a while ago, and I also managed to pick up a set of E39 Style 32s for the tourer. Next purchases, some -40mm lowering springs for the front (probably 10mm at the rear as well) and a new nose panel... and pluck up the courage to break out the arch roller I ordered!
test fit:
test fit:
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