E36 headlamp misting and...

[fastka]

Hello!

just got myself an E36 328i coupe, in silver, black leather, 100k miles with some history for £1400 and overall...i'm quite pleased with the heavy old girl (just sold a mazda V6 which felt light as a feather in comparison!)

anyway, a few things are niggling me and need attention...

the offside (drivers) headlamp is misted up. are they a sealed unit?
what can i do?

the passenger side doorlock has stopped operating when locking with the remote or from drivers door but works fine when locked from passenger side...should i be worried?
is it a difficult fix?

rear brakes pipes are slightly corroded? i believe they are a bugger to replace...any tips?

nearside rear brake light is dimmer than the other side and display occasionally shows 'tail light failure'...a bad earth?

not liking the viscous fan...how easy is it to replace with an electric one? is it available as a complete kit?

in the future i'm thinking...suspension, brakes, inlet and exhaust...but can't find the thread where all these were discussed previously...please help!

mine has traction control...is it a Sport?
what would the differences be?

other than all the above, she goes really well and i'm chuffed to bitys with my first BMW!

thank you!

[TheEnd]

fastka said:

1-the offside (drivers) headlamp is misted up. are they a sealed unit?
what can i do?

2-the passenger side doorlock has stopped operating when locking with the remote or from drivers door but works fine when locked from passenger side...should i be worried?
is it a difficult fix?

3-rear brakes pipes are slightly corroded? i believe they are a bugger to replace...any tips?

4-nearside rear brake light is dimmer than the other side and display occasionally shows 'tail light failure'...a bad earth?

5-not liking the viscous fan...how easy is it to replace with an electric one? is it available as a complete kit?

6-in the future i'm thinking...suspension, brakes, inlet and exhaust...but can't find the thread where all these were discussed previously...please help!

7-mine has traction control...is it a Sport?
what would the differences be?

other than all the above, she goes really well and i'm chuffed to bitys with my first BMW!

thank you!

1- The easiest way to clear it is just remove the access cap at the back, that'll allow it to dry out quite easily
2-Your passenger side central locking solenoid is dead/jammed. not hugely expensive, but fiddly to get in, mostly done by feel!
3- they are awkward, as they run above the tank, there is a trick of just running them round the sides, ie- anyway you can which would do. they run most of the way under the car in the same manner, so it's not as if the tank gives any huge protection to them
4-most likely a corroded bulb contact, take out the bulb/builb holder first and check the contacts, if you can't see anything major, bend them to a better contact, and look at the board on the light itself. they can sometimes arc and overheat a little, which melts the plastic, which means they are unsupported and the contact can push away from the bulb holder. a slight bend or rub with sandpaper will usually fix it.
5-you can swap the viscous fan, usually people just rely on the aircon fan if fitted, or fit an aircon fan, and use a lower temperature switch for it, but BMW cooling systems are often problematic.
6- that'd be a huge thread. just ask if there is anything specific i guess
7- traction isn't much of a clue, if it's a sport, it'll say "sport" on the logbook

[fastka]

what an absolutely superb reply!
you are now my bestest friend ever!

many thanks

[fastka]

hello again!

i want to do the brakes first

is there much benefit in swapping to M3 calipers?
are the discs the same size on the M3 as on my '97 328i?

the discs need doing soon so might as well do the lot in one go.

really chuffed with your help, thank you

[TheEnd]

M3 calipers won't fit, but the brakes from a e46 330 (calipers and discs) will.

I've swapped to M3 front hubs, with the M3 calipers, and the evo discs (evo hubs have a built in tilt which will mess things up) but the evo and 3.0 use the same braking system.

With the M3 hubs, you can stick with the 3.0 disc, or get some of the evo discs, which are pretty much the best disc available unless you go for AP or a 1k+ big brake kit. The key is they are floating, which means a central alloy hub, and a whole lot of pins radiating out from it, and the main disc sits on these pins, so it's free to expand and contract by itself.

Grab hold of some performance friction Z-rated pads (cheap at about 60 quid) and they are amazing. I've managed to give them full abuse and never got a hint of fade or hot brake judder.

The 330 discs are bigger, but diameter isn't everything. What you need is good pads, and a big disc that can soak up a lot of heat. It's resistance to brake fade that makes good brakes, not having the biggest disc possible.

Also with M3 hubs, you can do a further parts bin raid, and get some brembo 4 pot calipers from an 840, but yet again, remember it's dealing with fade, not the clamping of a disc that you'll need.

For brake fluid, you can get ATE super blue DOT4 from GSF carparts ( www.gsfcarparts.com ) for about £13 a litre. It beats 5.1 spec, is mixable with 3/4/5.1 and has a handy blue dye in it so you can see it when bleeding it through.

[fastka]

bugger me sideways!

i mentioned disc size as i want to replace the discs soon but didn't know if M3 calipers would fit at a later stage.

she won't ever be a track animal, just commuting and some fast road use
so i will look for the e46 stuff.

can't wait to get home tomorrow so i can sort the headlamp out...it really annoys me, thanks for the tip, and then onto the rear light!