E36's suck!

[flyboyx]

a couple years ago, we bought my step daughter a '98 328i sedan. the car only had 100k on the clock. paint was a bit rough, but the car had new tires, aftermarket 17" wheels, and a minty interior. we had the car painted and so it went on down the road.

its had a few leaks that have since turned into bigger leaks. the starter started going out. no big deal so i thought until i started working on the stupid thing. anyone ever change the starter on a 6 cylinder e36? fuck!!!!!! its not easy to change on an e30 but this is 10x worse. the only way to get to the bolts on the transmission side is to unbolt the exhaust and the trans mount, then lower the tail stock just enough to get about 3 feet of extensions in there. (it didn't help that some jack ass used the wrong tool on one of the torx heads and rounded it off.) oh, and by the way, the fucking intake manifold has to come off too! after two days worth of work, the car finally as a new starter as well as a bunch of new hoses and vacuum lines.

its not too big of a deal to change the oil pan gasket on an m20 e30. all you have to do is disconnect the motor mounts and lift the front of the engine up a couple inches. have any of you tried to change the same seal on e36? fuuuuuuuuck! i made a little gantry that sits on the inner fender to hold up the front of the engine. it was then necessary to drop the sub frame about 5" and remove the power steering pump to get the pan out.


had i known, i would have just pulled out the engine and trans to reseal everything.

i still have to go through the cooling system and power steering because they also has some enigmatic leak.

its not like i'm some noob auto mechanic. i have been wrenching on cars for the better part of 35 years and i even have an aircraft mechanic's license.

this car sux! i'll take an e30 any day of the week.

end rant. carry on.

[ST1G]

If you can't take the heat stay out of the kitchen.

[rwh11385]

I like mine (especially the steering) but working on it is not as easy and the interior is low quality / so cheaply slapped together. Compared to an E39, E36 is terrible.

I do miss having a street e30 and the sewing machine sound of a M20 with very direct feel of the chassis. Maybe one of these days I'll plate the LeMon or get a 325i sedan (then put an E36 rack in).

[flyboyx]

If you can't take the heat stay out of the kitchen.

my pussy hurts

[roguetoaster]

If you like E30s and E36s, but think E36s are hard to work on you need a 318ti.

I do like the utility value of mine, and the many interchangeable parts that this M42 fan already had in stock.

[ThatOneEuroE30]

E36 blower motor. Nuff said

[rturbo 930]

Could be worse. The starter could be under the intake.

[flyboyx]

Could be worse. The starter could be under the intake.

but.....it is.

[rturbo 930]

[kway]

^ ah, the 9pa Cayenne... Now you wanna talk about a SHITbox. Although to be fair, pulling the intake on one isn't *that* bad in and of itself; it's when the secondary air injection line self destructs that the real fun begins.

[E30 Wagen]

In my experience of owning a few high mileage e30s and e36s, so far the e36s seem to hold up just a little better.

things with E30s that annoy me a lot:
cracked dashes
door skins that start pealing
glovebox latch breaks
door handle mechanisms break
central locking breaks
seats tearing, especially sport seats
"loud" valves, risk of timing belt failure, rocker arm breaking
cracking subframes
leaking seals
front and rear valance design that can't be easily fixed if damaged
leaking steering racks
areas prone to rust/stress
broken odometers

I still love e30s the most because they're just more fun to drive, but with only basic maintenance an e36 seems more willing to surpass that 200k mark and still outperform a completely refreshed e30 in pretty much every way.

[BlackbirdM3]

From what I have seen, the E36 was a step backward in just about every way from an E30. They drive like trucks, poorly balanced, the interiors are junk, working on the engine is a PITA, and they feel like driving a tank (Way too heavy) The brakes are so so. I'm unimpressed with just about everything about the car, including the looks.

Will

[Alaska Ted]

I've got a 92 e36 325. 265 thousand miles still pulls strong with just basic maintenance. Leaks like a sieve but oil is cheap.

[flyboyx]

I've got a 92 e36 325. 265 thousand miles still pulls strong with just basic maintenance. Leaks like a sieve but oil is cheap.

It is indeed cheap. The problem is that I can't rely on my daughter to check the oil....or for that matter, the coolant, or anything else on the car.

It leaks(leaked) bad enough that if left unchecked, she would probably burn it up in 2 or 3 months.

[Exodus_2pt0]

Does the e36 have an oil level indicator?

If so, probably works by closing the circuit to ground when the oil goes low.

So here's the plan.

Wire in a relay on the fuel pump ground so that it's normally in the closed position. Have the coil side of the relay going to the circuit wired into the low oil level sensor. Of course this is a rough idea and you'll need to check out a wiring diagram or use a test light to figure out specifics. Also, that circuit might be only 5v so this is all speculation. Anywho:

Low oil level gets triggered, fuel pump dies. Fuel pump is a safe way to pull this off because the car won't instantly die, but sputter out and she can safely get off the road.

Kindly hide a quart of oil in the trunk, so when you get the panicked phone call you can make her sweat a little before saving the day.

I bet you could remove the relay again after only 1 or 2 uses.