328i Maintenance

It has been nearly one month since I purchased the ’98 328i and there is already so much work completed. With the help of some good friends the car is almost up to snuff. Replaced so far:

• Control arms
• Front control arm bushings
• Water pump
• Thermostat
• Thermostat housing
• Upper and lower radiator hoses
• Fuel filter
• Air filter
• Cabin microfilter
• Passenger airbag sensor emulator

I am thankful for garages and hydrocarbons.

The cabin microfilter is in a very awkward position but also a very satisfying job. The glove box must be removed along with some plastic duct work in order to access the filter.

I had a state inspection done today and they found two issues. The rear rotors are slightly out of spec and there is also a leak from the power steering fluid reservoir. Both of these are considered normal wear and tear items. The power steering reservoir, which also acts as a filter, should be replaced every 100,000 miles. No doubt the hose is worn as well, allowing the fluid to seep down and coat the power steering pump. Brakes are entirely consumable items on any car and should be replaced as needed. It is probably worth replacing the emergency brake components as well. Luckily, I have 30 days to complete repairs to the satisfaction of the shop before the inspection process resets. This is more than enough time although I only have five days left before the temporary tags expire. Boo. I really just want to drive this car as much as possible but am glad it has been out of commission during the heavy winter weather and subsequent salting of the roads.

One of the tires had a slow leak so I dropped it off at a local shop to be repaired. The tire was fine but there was corrosion on the lip of the rim which broke the seal and allowed air to escape. The wheel was repaired by grinding away the corrosion. There is a lot of tread left on the tire so it’s nice that it was saved. It is also nice to know that the spare I was using holds up well.

Within the next week the power steering and braking components will be addressed. Then I get to pay the state for the privilege of driving such a fine vehicle.

Hood Release Repair

What a pain in the ass. I am happy now that it is done but it was pretty frustrating. Saved $800 today!

This involves replacing the Bowden cable that is used to unlock to hood. There are two locks and an additional cable which connects them. Those were accessed and replaced after removing the nose panel and bumper. It makes the job easier and I had a spare nose panel with kidney grills that needed to be installed anyway. I also installed the two hood catches since they were corroded. The cable had broken on the inside of the car near the release handle. After removing the old pieces it was clear the system needed to be replaced regardless of functionality.

In order to get the new cable installed you are supposed to remove the fender. Nope! After reading some forum posts I decided to try attaching the tip of the new cable to the end of the old one using many zip ties. After removing the rubber stop plug from the old cable I pulled it from the front.

The idea is that the old cable with come out and pull the new one through. It sort of worked and the new cable made it halfway down the fender. It was visible but inaccessible. After endless pulling and feeding from inside the car in an attempt to push the cable out I finally made a wire loop from a coat hanger to pull out the new one.

The nose panel was an OE replacement I bought a while ago so fitment was meh. It was cheap and my car has far worse cosmetic issues so I don’t really mind. I found some spare fog lights so I will replace the leaky ones since the bumper is off. I also need to redo the wiring for the driver side lamp. The projects never end…

Rough Idle in the E36

Yesterday morning after driving to work on the highway I noticed my car was idling roughly when sitting at stop lights. It felt as if it was skipping a beat and the acceleration was not smooth at all. Once up to 30 or 40mph it is hardly noticeable. I felt the exhaust gas rhythm with my hand and the pressure was skipping.

It was about 47 degrees here and I drove a bit harder than usual since I was running late. I hit 90 at one point and revs got to 5-6k. Not crazy, I know, but it is unusual for this car.

I did not notice anything odd when I started it in the morning. After work I checked oil and coolant before starting again. It was a bit low on oil but not dry and the indicator was not on but I added about a quart (it does slowly leak). Coolant level was fine.

I checked around for loose hoses but found none. I have not cleaned the injectors since I got the car. I changed the spark plugs to NGK Iridium about a year ago. I have not changed the coil packs either.

My method of attack is to check for cracked vacuum lines around the intake manifold. I will also remove the coil packs and spark plugs for inspection. I may try a sea foam treatment during my next oil change and switch to copper or nickel spark plugs.

Cooling System Failure!

About a week ago I noticed that when driving around town or in stop and go traffic my temperature sensor would reach the red. It would go back to the middle in about 30 seconds but would sometimes creep back up. After reading up on the issue I decided to replace the fan clutch. The old one was pretty shot compared to the new one. It helped for a single day but then the issue came back. After some friendly advice from the bimmerforums.com community I decided to replace the thermostat. It was a good suggestion. The old one was completely destroyed! I also read some horror stories about the Graf water pumps so I bought a genuine BMW composite one as a replacement. I had installed the Graf 2 to 3 years ago when I replaced the VANOS. It did show signs of leakage on the bottom section upon removal today. I also bought new belts, a new coolant level sensor and a new drain plug for the block since they were all pretty worn. The drained coolant showed no signs of oil. Hooray! However, the old thermostat housing cover cracked when I put it back on! It was likely a combination of age and excessive torque. Now I have to wait until 7:30 Monday to see if the dealer has it in stock…

I am not upset since my engine seems intact and I found the culprit. I should have ordered a new housing anyway. Also, the spanner tool makes it insanely easy to remove the fan clutch, Definitely worth the money. Most E36 owners will likely use it more than a few times.

New car parts!

I am installing four new rotors and pads today with my friend. The rear pads are gone and have been grinding for a week. The calipers are okay though. I had a look when I put on some new (used) rims and tires I nabbed of craigslist for $200. They ride well and look good too! They were such a great deal. New tires alone cost about $400. Two of the rims are replicas but I don’t mind at all. Now I can have separate sets of tires for summer and winter.

I haven’t changed the brakes on this car before but am grateful to Bavarian Autosport for the great videos on how to do so. You can find the videos on their youtube channel. It looks very straightforward.

In additional to pads, rotors, and wheels I also acquired Bilstein sport struts and H&R sport springs over the holidays! I plan on starting the rear strut and spring work tomorrow morning. Pair this with the new control arms and my car should feel completely different. Next step is to get some performance sway bars 🙂