E36 M3 Common Maintenance Issues (Reference)

Originally posted by scottn2retro
I think the premise of this thread is a good idea.

How about if there was a thread that was open and maintained by a moderator that was sort of an "e36 M3 Resources" thread.

It could have links to the Ron Stygar Unofficial BMW site and the eurospeed page, etc. The thread would just be one post by the moderator, locked and stickied at the top.

People could PM the moderator for suggested links to be put on the thread.

Maybe it would set a B'fest precedent

I like it.

Originally posted by ARCHER
I like it.

For now, I made it sticky.

Originally posted by TD
For now, I made it sticky.

Perfect - thanks.

Originally posted by TD
Hmmm...

I may work on something like that.

Hey TD, depending on what you come up with, I may have to do the same thing on the Z forum (unless I beat you to it )

My quick contribution -- I have more than what's listed so far ...

But, as a follow-up to the water pump issue ... I would highly suggest people use the COMPOSITE water pump. E36 M3's have gone through 3 revisions of the water pump.

a) plastic pump with the 95 M3's
b) iron cast metal impellar pump; and
c) the new composite pump which seems to feel like plastic than metal.

I don't have the p/n's off the top of my head ... I posted them on bf.c. But, I DO KNOW that the "graf" made water pumps can potentially have problems ... I had one with a loose bearing right out of the box. There should be no play. Because when this one disintegrates, you are SOL.

A couple of more that I would add quickly...

1) oil pump nut
2) rear diff bolt
3) guibo .... etc...etc...etc....

Originally Posted by jderry

My quick contribution -- I have more than what's listed so far ...

But, as a follow-up to the water pump issue ... I would highly suggest people use the COMPOSITE water pump. E36 M3's have gone through 3 revisions of the water pump.

a) plastic pump with the 95 M3's
b) iron cast metal impellar pump; and
c) the new composite pump which seems to feel like plastic than metal.

I don't have the p/n's off the top of my head ... I posted them on bf.c. But, I DO KNOW that the "graf" made water pumps can potentially have problems ... I had one with a loose bearing right out of the box. There should be no play. Because when this one disintegrates, you are SOL.

A couple of more that I would add quickly...

1) oil pump nut
2) rear diff bolt
3) guibo .... etc...etc...etc....

Got any more?

At the track this weekend, the bolt at the bottom end of the left rear shock came out.

On the sticky shifting, I used to experience the same thing on my '95, especially when it was cold, but was much better when I depressed the clutch pedal all the way.

If you are tracking your car -- I would definitely take a look at the rear control arms. Wait, why are you even asking me Scott? You know more probably than I do. Mine completely broke on me while I was on the highway. Come to find out, this is not an uncommon failure if you auto-x or track the car.

The best I could suggest which you might not do is taking some UV dye and adding it to your coolant AND to your oil before going on the track which should show you ANY pinhole leaks not really detectable by visual inspection. This can definitely be invaluable to prevent catastrophic failure.

You need to be on the east coast so I can purchase that S54 from you ...good luck with your sale!

Originally Posted by jderry

If you are tracking your car -- I would definitely take a look at the rear control arms. Wait, why are you even asking me Scott? You know more probably than I do. Mine completely broke on me while I was on the highway. Come to find out, this is not an uncommon failure if you auto-x or track the car.

The best I could suggest which you might not do is taking some UV dye and adding it to your coolant AND to your oil before going on the track which should show you ANY pinhole leaks not really detectable by visual inspection. This can definitely be invaluable to prevent catastrophic failure.

You need to be on the east coast so I can purchase that S54 from you ...good luck with your sale!

The car, when we get our hands on it, will come with some spare Group N rear (upper and lower) control arms - I'll have to check on the legality of using them, but BMW Club racing and I think NASA as well are usually pretty generous in allowing upgrades in the interest of durability, reliablity and safety.

What do you use to look for the UV dye - a black light or something?

If you'd really like that S54 M Roady, don't let some distance discourage you - we could negotiate including shipping in the price

HACk took some nice shots at Laguna Seca

I don't know if it was posted before but I think this could be useful:
US E36 M3 FAQ

Originally Posted by BrazeauRacing

Thanks to Ron Stygar's low oil pressure audio alert procedure, i feel a little more at ease about being able to shut it down quickly enough that it won't do too much damage if this should ever happen to me.
http://www.unofficialbmw.com/e36/int...oil_alert.html

An automotive controller I designed, the "ZZKE", includes an improved low pressure warning system which Ron and I now have in our cars. It is so discrete you wouldn't know it until something goes wrong.

The subsystem beeps and flashes on loss of oil pressure, and also warns you if the oil switch doesn't close when the engine is stopped.

Originally Posted by johnf

An automotive controller I designed, the "ZZKE", includes an improved low pressure warning system which Ron and I now have in our cars. It is so discrete you wouldn't know it until something goes wrong.

The subsystem beeps and flashes on loss of oil pressure, and also warns you if the oil switch doesn't close when the engine is stopped.

I like the idea. Is that something that can be used in parallel with an analog gauge?

Originally Posted by johnf

An automotive controller I designed, the "ZZKE", includes an improved low pressure warning system which Ron and I now have in our cars. It is so discrete you wouldn't know it until something goes wrong.

The subsystem beeps and flashes on loss of oil pressure, and also warns you if the oil switch doesn't close when the engine is stopped.

Originally Posted by scottn2retro

I like the idea. Is that something that can be used in parallel with an analog gauge?

Yes and no, depending on how I understand your question. Like Ron Stygar's original, it basically monitors the oil pressure switch, only more intelligently. At the same time, the subsytem's warning light can improve how you read a gauge. Ron has mounted the light next to his oil pressure gauge, partly to be sure he immediately checks the displayed value.

My car is quiet enough that the constant pinging of the chime is a strong enough clue.

Originally Posted by johnf

Yes and no, depending on how I understand your question. Like Ron Stygar's original, it basically monitors the oil pressure switch, only more intelligently. At the same time, the subsytem's warning light can improve how you read a gauge. Ron has mounted the light next to his oil pressure gauge, partly to be sure he immediately checks the displayed value.

My car is quiet enough that the constant pinging of the chime is a strong enough clue.

Could you PM/e-mail me with more info (or do you have a site)?

Hi,

Thanks for this forum, it certainly helps on stuff to be aware of. Some problems that i experienced are as follows:

1. Climate Control display - apparently these are problematic on all E36's (mine was intermittently going on/off at 100 000km - not sure how many miles this is...)

2. SideShaft/Wheel bearing - i seem to be getting a constant humming sound from LR wheel - BMW has changed out the side-shaft twice, the wheel bearing but the problem still persists - took it in again today- hopefully it gets sorted out as my warranty is up!

3. A question for you guys, has anyone got the problem with the car just switching off for no reason? It seems like when the oil temp reaches 100 deg C, the car switches off on slowing down. Its starts first time when restarted but its bloody embarrassing!

Cheers, i will check back soon.

Mampara from South Africa...

The bottom bolt hole for the rear shocks can strip out, especially if you take it out and put it back in often enough when doing brakes. I had one that it seemed like it threaded in, but just wouldn't torque tight.

Requires a perma-coil or Time-Sert to fix.

The front strut towers on the early years (before they introduced a reinforcement ring) can begin tearing if not using a strut brace - it's a similar problem to the rear shock mount towers.

In group 31, upper front suspension, there is a part #15 for later years (I think 97 and up) that will work on all of them. It's about a $5 part each.

on the e36:
the car' ECU is right bellow a rainwater drain area. If this drain gets plugged with debris, twigs, leaves or other crap; it can overflow the drain water onto the computer. This is BAD. My puter had a nice layer of corrosion on the PCB board because of this. My car would not run after a simple carwash, often leaving me stranded.

To fix this, you can remove the rubber constrictor at the bottom of the drain area near the ECU (looks like a black rubber thumb). This removal allows the rainwater to flow unrestricted to the bottom of the car, instead of overflowing onto the ECU computer.

One other thing that's a problem on all e36s... The taillight housing.

More specifically, the brake light bulb contact (sheet metal part in the tail light assembly) makes weak contact on the brake light bulb receptacle. This causes high resistance between the bulb and the housing, which leads to high heat, which leads to the metal contact burning through. This causes a brake light to fail and requires replacement of the entire tail light assembly to properly fix.

I just took mine apart and man handled the metal contact so a new/clean/un-burned portion of it contacts the brake light housing. I also cleaned and electrically lubricated the crap out of it, so we'll see how long it works.

Originally Posted by Mampara

Hi,

Thanks for this forum, it certainly helps on stuff to be aware of. Some problems that i experienced are as follows:

1. Climate Control display - apparently these are problematic on all E36's (mine was intermittently going on/off at 100 000km - not sure how many miles this is...)

You can fix this by replacing a capacitor on the Climate Control PCB, follow the steps here:
http://www.macadamizer.com/bmwfix.html

I've been thinking about getting an M for some time but with all these "Common Problems" I may get something else.

Oh and What's up I'm new here!

Originally Posted by JST

-Plastic radiator neck fails, leaving nothing for the coolant hose to clamp on to. Only solution is a new radiator. Many replace this before 80K as a preventative measure, since a failure = stranded on the side of the road.

Approx. how much for the radiator and labor?

This thread is very good but has gotten a bit out of control.

We need to differentiate between common failures (things that are likely to happen if not checked/replaced) and failed once (misfortune breakages that have occurred to only one person or so), and there are many many posts, some asking questions, some suggesting things (like this one), others explaining what has broken for them, and others confirming another post, and all these post are responses all over the threads (multiple subthreads within the main thread)

So with all that said, as a suggestion, is there a way to create a poll that lists the majority of things that break and where you are allowed check off what has broken for you? Then have some primary page tally up the overall totals for each area in question. This will show what really breaks frequently vs what broke once for one or two people...

Just a thought

T

Brake Light Circut Failure

Oxygen Sensors Failures

Sticky shifting, I have a 1968 RS Camaro that shifts very smooth compared to the M3

Originally Posted by TEV///

This thread is very good but has gotten a bit out of control.

We need to differentiate between common failures (things that are likely to happen if not checked/replaced) and failed once (misfortune breakages that have occurred to only one person or so), and there are many many posts, some asking questions, some suggesting things (like this one), others explaining what has broken for them, and others confirming another post, and all these post are responses all over the threads (multiple subthreads within the main thread)

So with all that said, as a suggestion, is there a way to create a poll that lists the majority of things that break and where you are allowed check off what has broken for you? Then have some primary page tally up the overall totals for each area in question. This will show what really breaks frequently vs what broke once for one or two people...

Just a thought

T

Agreed, its had to differentiate between what may cause serious damage and money, to something that is very minor and will not cost you much.

This many responses makes it look like the E36 M3 has too many problems to cope with!

A proper list needs to be made, preferably by someone who knows a lot about these faults and could put them in the right place.

Then there's the lock issues. Doors don't open, they stay locked, the keyless won't lock them... This central locking idea will never catch on. Oh and then there's that problem of going through rear tires...