Yet another rescued E36 328i M Sport project...
Discussion
Well, whether you lot are interested or not, I have managed to secure a 3:15 ratio limited slip diff, from an E36 325i, for £128 including VAT and delivery!!! Has also been looked-at, by someone in-the-know, to evaluate that it should work without exploding...
BTW, why are people trying to sell these things on e-bay for £300 - £400??? The guy I'm buying mine from has plenty of them; they aren't even that rare!?!?!???
I can, however, understand that a refurbed race-ready M3 diff could cost you a hefty £1,000 +
I have also bought a set of brand new BMW diff mounting bushes, direct from BMW, for £45 including VAT. So, job's a good un...
My mechanic mate will fit them, next weekend, and do a spot of welding for the rear passenger side jacking-point, as was found to have a little hole...
BTW, why are people trying to sell these things on e-bay for £300 - £400??? The guy I'm buying mine from has plenty of them; they aren't even that rare!?!?!???
I can, however, understand that a refurbed race-ready M3 diff could cost you a hefty £1,000 +I have also bought a set of brand new BMW diff mounting bushes, direct from BMW, for £45 including VAT. So, job's a good un...
My mechanic mate will fit them, next weekend, and do a spot of welding for the rear passenger side jacking-point, as was found to have a little hole...
Edited by RickBristol on Thursday 9th October 20:07
2013BRM said:
Love this thread, my partner has a 2.8 Z3 that is going to be given the manifold mod including remap, I can't wait
Hmmm...My mate bought an original Z3 M a few years ago - after selling his Audi S3 in order to buy it - and was really p
d-off as he complianed that the Z3 M had far too much power for the car and didn't handle that well, as a consequence...Worth thinking about before you up-grade?
Edited by RickBristol on Thursday 9th October 20:05
carpetsoiler said:
JordanTurbo said:
Also you mentioned the shocks you fitted were Bilstein B12s? Aren't B12 shocks yellow and come with matched Eibach springs?
I thought the silver shocks with Bilstein's own springs is the B10 kit.
They are B10s. It's my old suspension kit.I thought the silver shocks with Bilstein's own springs is the B10 kit.
All part of the learning curve...
OK folks, it's been a while, but I now have some up-dates for this thread...
First off I had a problem with the engine limiting itself to 4,500 revs and was informed that the problem was most probably down to a faulty crank position sensor. So off I go to the BMW dealer.
£115 later, plus £35 to have it fitted, have solved the rev-limiting problem, BUT, then had another issue with the engine not being happy if I pushed it hard - was 'kangarooing' and very 'stuttery' at the low-end rev range...
SO.... Back to the garage I go and, after explaining my new problem, the mechanic asked if I had also replaced the cam position sensor - as they are electro-magnetic sensors - that can deteriorate over time - and provide input to the VANOS system, that they both need replacing at the same time! Gggrrrrr...
SO, off I go to the BMW dealer.
Another £115 later, plus £30 to have it fitted, I have now solved the other issue...
The message to take away from this is: If you need to replace one, you also need to replace the other - something the guys at BMW didn't realise...
First off I had a problem with the engine limiting itself to 4,500 revs and was informed that the problem was most probably down to a faulty crank position sensor. So off I go to the BMW dealer.
£115 later, plus £35 to have it fitted, have solved the rev-limiting problem, BUT, then had another issue with the engine not being happy if I pushed it hard - was 'kangarooing' and very 'stuttery' at the low-end rev range...
SO.... Back to the garage I go and, after explaining my new problem, the mechanic asked if I had also replaced the cam position sensor - as they are electro-magnetic sensors - that can deteriorate over time - and provide input to the VANOS system, that they both need replacing at the same time! Gggrrrrr...
SO, off I go to the BMW dealer.
Another £115 later, plus £30 to have it fitted, I have now solved the other issue...
The message to take away from this is: If you need to replace one, you also need to replace the other - something the guys at BMW didn't realise...
Next...
Have replaced the second bonnet catch
Which also decided to fail. Surprisingly, only cost around £18 for a genuine BMW part... Why fit anything else!
Also decided to replace the driver's-side indicator lense as I had noticed that the original had a broken seal and was letting in water.
This cost aroung £15 for a genuine BMW part - bargain!
Have replaced the second bonnet catch
Which also decided to fail. Surprisingly, only cost around £18 for a genuine BMW part... Why fit anything else!
Also decided to replace the driver's-side indicator lense as I had noticed that the original had a broken seal and was letting in water.
This cost aroung £15 for a genuine BMW part - bargain!
Boot lid wiring........
I'm sure that many E36 owners have been down this road....
This is what I found:
Pretty much, ALL of the wires were damaged/broken.
So I stripped and re-connected the boot-lid wiring loom wires:
Taped them up:
And guess what!?!?????
The boot central locking still would'nt F******g well work! - Today I'm not sure if I love or hate my BMW...
'I'm sure that many E36 owners have been down this road....'
I'm sure that many E36 owners have been down this road....
This is what I found:
Pretty much, ALL of the wires were damaged/broken.
So I stripped and re-connected the boot-lid wiring loom wires:
Taped them up:
And guess what!?!?????
The boot central locking still would'nt F******g well work! - Today I'm not sure if I love or hate my BMW...
'I'm sure that many E36 owners have been down this road....'
Now onto something much more interesting - and a LOT less frustrating...
MY NEW RC041 WHEELS...
If you were to have read through this thread, or looked at some of the pics of my car, you may have realised that some complete ARSE had - in the past - sold the wheels that the car originally left the show room with and replaced them with fake M3 wheels:
So in order to try and return this car back to its original - concourse - condition, I did some research and found out that the original wheels that it was originally sold with should have been BBS RC041s...
So off to the Internet and E-Bay I go...
F*** Me! Anything in decen condition is around £1,000 to £1,200.......
However, I had a word with a mate who managed to come-up with these for £400:
Very nice, in good nick and cheap, but... The centres are dark grey... Not suitable for my car, SO...
I have paid £85 for new Gold bolts - and have had the wheels stripped, sand-blasted, ready for re-painting in silver:
Will add more updates as the work on the wheels progresses...
MY NEW RC041 WHEELS...
If you were to have read through this thread, or looked at some of the pics of my car, you may have realised that some complete ARSE had - in the past - sold the wheels that the car originally left the show room with and replaced them with fake M3 wheels:
So in order to try and return this car back to its original - concourse - condition, I did some research and found out that the original wheels that it was originally sold with should have been BBS RC041s...
So off to the Internet and E-Bay I go...
F*** Me! Anything in decen condition is around £1,000 to £1,200.......
However, I had a word with a mate who managed to come-up with these for £400:
Very nice, in good nick and cheap, but... The centres are dark grey... Not suitable for my car, SO...
I have paid £85 for new Gold bolts - and have had the wheels stripped, sand-blasted, ready for re-painting in silver:
Will add more updates as the work on the wheels progresses...
Edited by RickBristol on Thursday 25th December 16:54
My mate - Sam from Southampton - will be comming to Bristol in the New Year, with the re-furbed RC041 wheels, my new cold-air induction kit, replacement Bilstein B10 front suspension, re-mapped ECU chip and will also wire-up the brake lights on the boot 'Rainbow' Heckspoiler - rear wing - in English...
Will then look at changing the disc pads with Red-Dot replacements as mine are wearing low.
Will then look at changing the disc pads with Red-Dot replacements as mine are wearing low.
AM7 said:
I'm surprised it needed so much bodywork though, it looked pretty tidy in the initial picture. Were the rust issues serious or did you just want it all neatened up regardless?
The rear arches had rust bubbles appearing on the external paintwork, and after closer inspection found it was comming through from the inside. The only way to 'stop the rot' was to cut the arches out and get new panels welded on. Rusty rear arches are one of the numerous common problems with E36s.Don't be put off from owning an E36 - mine is a lovely example, now, and a real scream if you drive it hard. They are also, surprisingly, quite reasonable when it comes to the cost of genuine BMW parts. However, owning one requires reasonably deep pockets.
Edited by RickBristol on Friday 26th December 14:03
Theoldfm said:
There may be a lot of filler in that arch, but I am sure that it will be ok and very surprised if it did crack - looking at the whole thread I would say that this is turning into a really lovely car - not another 328i sport lost at all... Don't be so mean!
thanks for that! I was really P****d off with some of the comments 'dumped' on my thread by one or two individuals, who seem more intent on being negative and destructive, rather than offering constructive criticism...Was considering deleting the whole thing...
steely dan said:
I love seeing interesting cars being rescued and this one's coming together very well and looking good , congratulations.
............
On looking at your photos again I see that the tacked arch is the OS whereas the fibreglassed arch is the NS , did you get photos of the NS during repair ?
Thanks again for some positive support!............
On looking at your photos again I see that the tacked arch is the OS whereas the fibreglassed arch is the NS , did you get photos of the NS during repair ?
They were both done in the same fashion.
When you take on something like this - I've never taken on a restoration project before - there are a lot of fairly steep learning curves to negotiate. Only since it has been pointed out that the definition of the rear arches had been somewhat lost by the use of too much fiberglass, I now realise that I should have been more in control of what the guys at the bodyshop were doing. With a lot going on at the same time, and having only had limited opportunities to visit the bodyshop, it can be easy to miss things.
Anyway, these threads are supposed to be for people recording the projects they are working on, not a shooting gallery.
Edited by RickBristol on Friday 2nd January 13:59
Well, its been quite a while... My mate from Southampton eventually turned-up yesterday with most of the remaining parts for the car.
First up is the genuine 328 2.93 ratio L.S.D. that we managed to aquire for £200! The guy that we got it from reckons that it locks-up well and has no clonking or grinding noises.
Even still, you can see in the above picture that it has a missing output flange... My mate assures me that one of my originals will serve as a replacement.
I started the day by removing the old bushes...
This was a lot easier and took a lot less time than I expected.
The replacements...
However, we were unable to find a supplier that had any of the correct diff oil in stock. And given the daunting task of trying to correctly press-in the new bushes
I made a call to my mechanic, and he happily agreed to take care of the fitting for us. So a couple of weeks before this is done...
First up is the genuine 328 2.93 ratio L.S.D. that we managed to aquire for £200! The guy that we got it from reckons that it locks-up well and has no clonking or grinding noises.
Even still, you can see in the above picture that it has a missing output flange... My mate assures me that one of my originals will serve as a replacement.
I started the day by removing the old bushes...
This was a lot easier and took a lot less time than I expected.
The replacements...
However, we were unable to find a supplier that had any of the correct diff oil in stock. And given the daunting task of trying to correctly press-in the new bushes
I made a call to my mechanic, and he happily agreed to take care of the fitting for us. So a couple of weeks before this is done...
Edited by RickBristol on Sunday 12th April 13:29
Next, we got the car up in the air
And set about putting on the Bilstein B10 front suspension parts
And after a lot of grunting, and much use of a careful selection of expletives, we managed to get the old suspension off of the car...
Here you can see the remnants of the yellow paint that - as far as I'm aware - show that the car originally had the sports suspension upgrade when manufactured.
This ties-up with the original build spec that I managed to get from BMW - using the car's VIN code...
Code Optional Equipment
...
S704A M Sports suspension
The suspension now fitted - in this picture you can also see the new drop-links that I had fitted a couple of weeks earlier
Look how much difference a 60mm drop in suspension height makes...
However, this did cause some issues with removing the car from the lift... We had to use a couple of jacks so that we could remove the lift arms from under the car, as it was so much lower...
And set about putting on the Bilstein B10 front suspension parts
And after a lot of grunting, and much use of a careful selection of expletives, we managed to get the old suspension off of the car...
Here you can see the remnants of the yellow paint that - as far as I'm aware - show that the car originally had the sports suspension upgrade when manufactured.
This ties-up with the original build spec that I managed to get from BMW - using the car's VIN code...
Code Optional Equipment
...
S704A M Sports suspension
The suspension now fitted - in this picture you can also see the new drop-links that I had fitted a couple of weeks earlier
Look how much difference a 60mm drop in suspension height makes...
However, this did cause some issues with removing the car from the lift... We had to use a couple of jacks so that we could remove the lift arms from under the car, as it was so much lower...
Edited by RickBristol on Sunday 12th April 13:58
Moving on...
The next task was fitting of the cold air induction kit and heat shield.
I manged to get this second-hand kit for less than a hundred quid to boot!
Out with the old...
And after giving the MAF a good clean with the help of some electrical contact cleaner, the kit took no time at all to instal
The next task was fitting of the cold air induction kit and heat shield.
I manged to get this second-hand kit for less than a hundred quid to boot!
Out with the old...
And after giving the MAF a good clean with the help of some electrical contact cleaner, the kit took no time at all to instal
Next, we replaced the ECU, EWS and the key chip... This is the re-mapped DME
So we had to access the old DME here...
And the place that it lives in - in the engine bay bulk-head...
We then had to replace the ECU, located behgind the glove box...
It's amazing how much stuff has been crammed behind the glove box
So we had to access the old DME here...
And the place that it lives in - in the engine bay bulk-head...
We then had to replace the ECU, located behgind the glove box...
It's amazing how much stuff has been crammed behind the glove box
Edited by RickBristol on Monday 18th May 11:31
Been a few weeks since my last update but eventually got my LSD sorted and fitted last week, so here goes...
Here is the little beauty, complete with the correct Castrol Syntrax 75W-140 LSD oil and new bushes.
The usual story, up in the air she goes...
Interestingly, the guys only detached the anti-sway bar in order to be able to gain sufficient access to remove the old diff. I had previously 'Googled' this process - out of curiosity - and found You Tube videos where others had removed the rear exhaust etc.
The mechanic also checked the sub-frame mounting points, in order to determine if any welding needed to be done, before installing the new diff.
It was given a clean bill of health, just had a little surface rust. Good news indeed!
On the ground the old open diff - on the left - and my new LSD - on the right - looked identicle, until I turned the input flanges and could see the difference in output shaft rotation.
The guys now moved onto removing the old bushes from the LSD.
They then pressed the new bushes into place with the help of a bench-vice.
New bushes now fitted.
The bush mounted in the sub-frame proved to be difficult and time consuming to remove. In the pic below, the mechanic is using an 'air-hammer' to try and remove the bush.
Gone!
The remains of the old sub-frame bush.
Installing the new sub-frame bush.
The new sub-frame bush now fitted.
Next, the new LSD gets a steam clean, so that the mechanic can check for possible oil seal leaks, before installing on the car.
And even gets a blow-dry...
Now the guys start installing the LSD onto the car.
The LSD casing had been adapted to accept a long through-bolt for the sub-frame mounting, instead of the original that just threaded into the diff casing.
This had to be shortened as it was too long to instal
And now it can be fitted through the diff casing and sub-frame mounting points.
After re-attaching the sway bar.
The job is done!
The mechanic also re-attatched the loose heat shield.
And the result of all this work, and money spent???
Can definitely notice the extra grip, when you put your foot down hard! And accelerates more agressively from standing still/ out of bends...
However, I would love to have a pic of the car doing a 'midnight' doughnut in the local Tescos car park, but after a lucky escape, involving a recent speeding incident
have decided to play it cool for a while. Anyway, don't think my Pirelli 6000s would appreciate the rough treatment...
Here is the little beauty, complete with the correct Castrol Syntrax 75W-140 LSD oil and new bushes.
The usual story, up in the air she goes...
Interestingly, the guys only detached the anti-sway bar in order to be able to gain sufficient access to remove the old diff. I had previously 'Googled' this process - out of curiosity - and found You Tube videos where others had removed the rear exhaust etc.
The mechanic also checked the sub-frame mounting points, in order to determine if any welding needed to be done, before installing the new diff.
It was given a clean bill of health, just had a little surface rust. Good news indeed!
On the ground the old open diff - on the left - and my new LSD - on the right - looked identicle, until I turned the input flanges and could see the difference in output shaft rotation.
The guys now moved onto removing the old bushes from the LSD.
They then pressed the new bushes into place with the help of a bench-vice.
New bushes now fitted.
The bush mounted in the sub-frame proved to be difficult and time consuming to remove. In the pic below, the mechanic is using an 'air-hammer' to try and remove the bush.
Gone!
The remains of the old sub-frame bush.
Installing the new sub-frame bush.
The new sub-frame bush now fitted.
Next, the new LSD gets a steam clean, so that the mechanic can check for possible oil seal leaks, before installing on the car.
And even gets a blow-dry...
Now the guys start installing the LSD onto the car.
The LSD casing had been adapted to accept a long through-bolt for the sub-frame mounting, instead of the original that just threaded into the diff casing.
This had to be shortened as it was too long to instal
And now it can be fitted through the diff casing and sub-frame mounting points.
After re-attaching the sway bar.
The job is done!
The mechanic also re-attatched the loose heat shield.
And the result of all this work, and money spent???
Can definitely notice the extra grip, when you put your foot down hard! And accelerates more agressively from standing still/ out of bends...
However, I would love to have a pic of the car doing a 'midnight' doughnut in the local Tescos car park, but after a lucky escape, involving a recent speeding incident
have decided to play it cool for a while. Anyway, don't think my Pirelli 6000s would appreciate the rough treatment... Edited by RickBristol on Monday 18th May 12:53
While the car was in the garage I had a new in-line fuel filter fitted.
Interestingly, the mechanic reckoned that the one on the car had never been changed!
The new filter being installed.
And the protective cover being re-fitted.
Well, after we had previously cleaned the MAF sensor a few weeks ago, when the cold air induction kit was fitted - see previous post above - I was hoping that this would be the last step in sorting out the on-going fuelling issue - the car seems slightly starved of fuel and splutters a bit when I accelerate after driving slowly. But this was not to be!!!
AND, 'Bunny-hops' aren't cool, when you're pulling away from the lights... 
Looks like I'm going to have to shell-out another seventy pounds or so and take the car to the local BMW dealer to get some diagnostics done...
I'll update this particular post with the result of this, once I've had it done...
Interestingly, the mechanic reckoned that the one on the car had never been changed!
The new filter being installed.
And the protective cover being re-fitted.
Well, after we had previously cleaned the MAF sensor a few weeks ago, when the cold air induction kit was fitted - see previous post above - I was hoping that this would be the last step in sorting out the on-going fuelling issue - the car seems slightly starved of fuel and splutters a bit when I accelerate after driving slowly. But this was not to be!!!
AND, 'Bunny-hops' aren't cool, when you're pulling away from the lights... Looks like I'm going to have to shell-out another seventy pounds or so and take the car to the local BMW dealer to get some diagnostics done...
I'll update this particular post with the result of this, once I've had it done...
Just took a little diversion to look at a couple of other interesting threads...
E36 328, soft top, £575, What's the worst that could happen? (Thread here)
and
BMW E36 M3 3.0 Track Toy (Thread here)
As TroubledSoul commented on his M3 thread, begining to worry that I'm talking to myself here...
Anyone out there, or have I dissapeared into obscurity???
Anyway, as I commmented before on this thread - the main purpose of doing this, is to have a record of all I've done to this car, should I ever decide to sell it - given that I bought the car with no document history what-so-ever...
E36 328, soft top, £575, What's the worst that could happen? (Thread here)
and
BMW E36 M3 3.0 Track Toy (Thread here)
As TroubledSoul commented on his M3 thread, begining to worry that I'm talking to myself here...
Anyone out there, or have I dissapeared into obscurity???
Anyway, as I commmented before on this thread - the main purpose of doing this, is to have a record of all I've done to this car, should I ever decide to sell it - given that I bought the car with no document history what-so-ever...
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