Common Faults on OBD1 E36's?
 

I'm looking at picking up a '94 325is as a cheap fun summer car (and later to probably just sell once summer ends) and have narrowed it down to one for sale locally. Seeing as my only other experience with the E36 is with a '98 328is and we didn't really know what to look for at the time, I'd like to get some advice on common issues and what to look for.

Any help would be appreciated. :)

control arm bushings, thermostat, rad overflow tank, valve cover leaks, ps hoses, um door lock actuators, window regulators, water pump, belt tensioners...

anything on it that is made of plastic and exposed to heat. Being a-near 20 year old car, a lot of parts would be near the end of its life cycle, if not exceeded already.

what are figures on the odometer?

Odo reads roughly 200k. This car does have a few small issues (window regulators, valve cover gaskets leaking) but nothing major and nothing I can't handle. At least, that's what the owner told me. I plan on taking a closer look this weekend. She also claims to have all the parts needed to fix it, but we'll see.

Only reason I ask is because I've been reading Bimmerforums for the last couple hours and haven't found any good threads explaining what to look for... just how to repair what's already broken.

200k ... how much is the asking price?

A few dollars over $2k

BCBimmer.. you know a lot of the old VWDov are there now.. Lincoln, Blue Flame etc etc.

98 will be OBD2.

To me the pain in the ass part is the keys.. make sure you get all the keys and they work. EWS 2 is a PITA.

Oops Lomac, I misread your post.. if it is a 94.. you can read the codes by the pedal OBD1 Pedal trick
then it is OBD1.

Fault problems: Well display on the OBC might become delaminated, some finger pressure will fix it temporarily. Check aircare history to see what kind of emission readings it might be.. since a bit rich can do bad things to the cat. But e36 is a simple car, buy a spare expansion tank just in case?

Run the ad, by the armchair shoppers on BCBimmers.. chances are someone would have looked at it beforehand.

Oo, BCBimmers... forgot about that site. Wonder how many of the old DOV crew will remember me :lol

But yeah, I'll check 'em out. I know I have an account for 'em still.

>WATER PUMP<
rear shock towers
rear subframe
front shock towers
rear wheel bearings
thermostat
rad overflowtank
vaccum leaks
ICV
intake elbow crack
headliner sag
glove box sag
hot shifters
random noises
Vanos (marble sounds)
ecu flooding( from car wash)
knock sensors
powersteering leaking (unsolvable)
OBC pixels dying
gauge cluster self reseting
Final stage (climate control )
blower motor squeal
clutch squeak
tie-rods
trailing arm bushings
control arm bushings
front ball joints
Engine mounts
automatic transmissions
Shifter bushings.
every rubber molding piece broken
oil pain gasket
valve cover gasket
coupe front hood struts
coupe window regulators
door panels sagging
rear shock mounts
rear shocks

The list seems long but I helped a friend pick one up a few days ago and it seemed like a pretty good driving dd and has potential.
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^ That list is pretty accurate. I think i've had all those issues.

If it has a valve cover gasket leak, the valve cover itself may have cracked somewhere at that mileage. They are made of plastic and with the amount of heat cycles, they will, at some point, develop a crack. Best to replace it if you care enough to depending on your situation.

So I had a chance to check out the car today. Most obvious faults were the window regulators (driver's side was busted, but they have a new replacement for it), dying OBC (not terribly surprised and not too worried about that), shot hood shocks (not too worried about that), and the rubber mouldings around the windows were starting to peel away (since I plan on using this only during the summer and I'm in the Interior, where it barely rains, not a big deal).

The biggies, however, is some major hydraulic lifter tick and rust. I forgot to grab the VIN to check the history but it doesn't seem to have been in any accidents based on the body panel alignment and the frame. Based on the rust, it appears to have been living the majority of its life in either the interior or Alberta. There's no structural rust damage yet but you can tell it'll turn into cancer if it's not tackled relatively soon.

All in all, not entirely sure. That said, the engine seemed to pull pretty hard and I was able to break the rear loose a few times without much problem. For the price, I think it might be worth it.

Two easy things to check to determine the issue:

1. Low on motor oil
2. Using the incorrect oil weight. It has to use the factory recommended weight or it will tick.

A lot of people love eating up the shit they read online so they start pouring fancy motor oils like German Castrol (0W30) into their cars only to realize it either burns too quickly (too thin) or some kind of Redline cocktail and it causes lifter tick.

lol first hand experience :lawl: :joy: :thumbs:

but where is the clutch fan & radiator explosion shit? & front wheel bearings :troll:

After going through that list again, and realizing 98% of that has been done in my car, I'm rethinking a new car purchase. I mean, my car is practically new now :p
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In the owners' defence, BMW themselves had changed their oil suppliers a few times throughout the e36 life..First valvoline, then Quaker State, then towards the end of life of e36 they signed the exclusive with Castrol.

In fact synthetic was not recommended for a while. in fact the grades listed in the owners manual, some of them don't exist anymore. So there are a lot of trial and error. If you are worried about your engine, always send a sample to Finning or BlackstoneLabs.

ugh. reading this thread is destroying my dream of owning a old BMW one day.

Don't be discouraged. The list looks huge but if you take the time and effort to find one that has been well maintained, you should be fine.

I would liken that westopher managed to sweep his up from an owner who took good care of it. As did I. You will run into a few quirky problems not common on Japanese cars but hey, that's part of Euro ownership.

Rofl:
FS/FT: 94 325is coupe 95% complete 4000$!

Gooooood luck getting $4k for a smashed up 325is, even with decent k. That car at $2k would be a nice buy though.

Even a 20 year old Japanese cars will need maintenance.

http://i.qkme.me/3vf863.jpg

Had my OBD1 E36 for 160K km, none of those shit happened here. Most likely you did some silly shit to the car, which we all know you did.

My E36 was perfect until 170k. This all happened between 170k and 232k where it sits now. Hold on tight.

ive had 4 of them, but all were 96+, i was told to stay even from pre-facelift. just make sure seller has maintenance records. eg: ive spent 1800 to replace all my weather seals.