Mike's Cosmos Black 1998 M3 Sedan (M3/4/5) - Project Concord

[mike.bmw]

I'm still in shock, but last month I opened my mailbox to find this:

PXL_20250503_162926050~2 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

I've been a member of BMW Classic Car Club of America for a few years and I occasionally write for their quarterly magazine, The Ultimate Classic. When the Editor reached out in early April and asked for some of my E36 Cherry Blossom Photos, I wasn't expecting to see one of them on the cover of the magazine.

[Reichart12]

I never got to check out RRT in person but they sponsored the CCA autocross and I won one of their shirts. It's about all the way worn through as a garage shirt. Good to see them still putting out great work for ya.

[mike.bmw]

Here's an update! I checked the rear oil pan bolts last week and they were fine.

Earlier this week (Tuesday), I dropped it off at my go-to shop for a proper diagnostic and repair. The shop confirmed it was in fact the rear main seal (RMS) leaking and may have used the name "Exxon Valdez". Speaking with the previous owner and looking at the service records, the clutch, flywheel, RMS, and a bunch of other items were replaced about 35,000 miles ago. The shop said that everything else looked good, had plenty of life left, and only needed to replace the RMS, so that's what they did.

I got the car back yesterday, running great and leak free. I took it out on an enjoyable long drive last night. I love this car.

Whoever joked, "At least you'll have some BimmerLife.com content," was right. I just finished writing a story about this little adventure, so it'll be published in a few weeks. :-)

PXL_20250527_121001979~2 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

[mike.bmw]

I'm sorry I didn't get a chance to catch you at the show! I was super-unprepared for the sheer number of cars, and my 'youngest' and I were hoofing around most of the day trying to see as much as we could before we had to leave around 3.

Sorry to hear about the E36 - it's a good reminder that tools/jacks/stands are always handy to have. I didn't pack anything as my coming to both the Alpina event and the main show were a bit of a last-minute thing (I registered way back, but we've had some family complications lately that made getting there doubtful until it wasn't).

I think I saw your car while I was there!

I came prepared as best I could, which worked out. It'll be leak-free in a couple of weeks and I'm definitely handing this off to a shop to do.

Yesterday, I re-torqued the oil pan bolts (including the rear bolts accessible through transmission housing). It still leaks while running, so it's not the oil pan gasket. Likely the rear main seal or rear main seal housing, which requires the trans to come out. Otherwise, it has been running quite well! :-)

[iXBeater]

I'm sorry I didn't get a chance to catch you at the show! I was super-unprepared for the sheer number of cars, and my 'youngest' and I were hoofing around most of the day trying to see as much as we could before we had to leave around 3.

Sorry to hear about the E36 - it's a good reminder that tools/jacks/stands are always handy to have. I didn't pack anything as my coming to both the Alpina event and the main show were a bit of a last-minute thing (I registered way back, but we've had some family complications lately that made getting there doubtful until it wasn't).

[mike.bmw]

Our trip to The Vintage 2025 was a success! My eleven-year-old daughter Avery had a great time, we did everything we planned to do, and we got home safely. This included driving 500 miles from Virginia to Asheville, NC, visiting the Zentrum at Plant Spartanburg, visiting the Vintage Open House in Greer, SC, going to a Treetop Adventure Park in north Asheville, the big show on Saturday at Hendersonville airport, and the 500-mile drive home.

This was my fifth Vintage and my daughter's second. The last time she came was 2022, and she's grown enough to be a front-seat passenger, so that made the trip extra fun. It was a fantastic father-daughter trip.

It was fun meeting up with the previous owner and showing him what I've done with the car. He said, "I'm so glad that you were the one to buy this car," which was a huge compliment. I know he cared for it a lot, as do I and my family.

It wasn't all rainbows and sunshine, though. On Friday, the day after our long drive to Asheville, my E36 start leaking quite a bit of oil from between the engine and transmission. I had packed a floor jack, jack stands, and a bunch of tools, so I was able to get the car in the air and see the head/valve cover were dry. My best guess is the rear main seal sprung a leak. Bummer. I replaced the failing/failed PCV system about a month ago, which has reduced oil consumption significantly, but my theory is that I caught those failing PCV symptoms too late and the rear main seal had already been affected. Thankfully, with frequent checks and topping up as needed, the oil level never dropped below the half-way mark on the dipstick.

As for now, the E36 is parked in my garage. I'll likely take it to my trusted local shop next week and have them properly diagnose the leak and perform the repair. I certainly hope I'm wrong about the rear main seal, but I'm not sure what else it could be at this point!

2025...
20250516-DSC_5293-2 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

2022...
DSC_0340 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

Uh oh...
20250516-DSC_5646 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

Vintage mastermind, Scott Sturdy...
20250517-DSC_6286 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

[DEV0 E30]

Ha! I said it on probably more than one of your instaglam posts, I want one too.

[mike.bmw]

Trying to convince my buddy to get a 3/4/5 now and its mostly because of you and this thread haha

I think it's my favorite car, but don't tell my E30 that. ;-)

[2mAn]

Trying to convince my buddy to get a 3/4/5 now and its mostly because of you and this thread haha

[mike.bmw]

Earlier this week I rebuilt a low-mileage power steering pump. It was from a 2000 M Coupe, so it's compatible (the same) as the E36 M3 power steering pump.

Here's a video I posted to YouTube: https://youtube.com/shorts/nXjY4Xg_S...hwaVomA9Mbm4c3

And here are some random photos from the rebuild. There will be an in-depth BimmerLife.com article about this in the next few weeks (whenever I can get on their schedule).

20250430-DSC_4318 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

20250430-DSC_4191 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

20250430-DSC_4224 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

20250430-DSC_4240 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

20250430-DSC_4244 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

[mike.bmw]

PCV system replacement! It ended up being much easier than I anticipated. I've seen people have issues removing the PCV unit/assembly from under the intake manifold, but that was the easiest part of the procedure. Big thanks to FCP Euro for supplying the parts!

Here's a short video: https://youtube.com/shorts/KbdE1P-ui...b0VuXkBZF6gq0y

And some photos:

20250419-DSC_3072 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

20250419-DSC_3064 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

20250419-DSC_3087 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

20250419-DSC_3094 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

[mike.bmw]

Last Friday I took an early-morning trip to Washington DC to see the famous cherry blossom trees in full view. The M3's odometer rolled 255,000 miles on the way there.

20250328-DSC_9534 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

20250328-DSC_9558 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

20250328-DSC_9566 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

20250328-DSC_9663 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

20250328-DSC_9701 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

20250328-DSC_9708 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

20250328-PXL_20250328_102312284 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

[mike.bmw]

Squeaky steering resolved! I've been enjoying the new steering rack, but the constant squeaking from the wheel was driving me nuts, so I took care of it.

First I lubed up the slip ring with copper grease.

PXL_20250324_190618801~2 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

PXL_20250324_191244618 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

PXL_20250324_191627077 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

PXL_20250324_191959167 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

PXL_20250324_192155510 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

PXL_20250324_192612247 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

Then I lubed up the lower steering shaft bearing with TriFlow and a crazy-long aerosol extension I picked up on Amazon.

PXL_20250327_190533383 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

PXL_20250327_183813436 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

PXL_20250327_183554363 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

PXL_20250327_183256024 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

[iXBeater]

Love the "family shots" with the E30. Two great cars!

[mike.bmw]

Steering rack, reservoir, hoses, and tie rod ends replaced!

I went with the AAE 3310N rack. It's a 2.7-turn Z3 rack that's a direct fit and sold by FCP, BimmerWorld, Rock Auto, etc. For hoses and everything else, I went with FCP's power steering kit that includes everything you need aside from the rack itself.

I had a local shop, RRT, do the installation. They only charge a couple hours labor for the install, and I would've taken it there for a custom alignment anyway, so I gave myself a break on this one and handed it over to the pros.

PXL_20250228_175608810 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

PXL_20250228_175322632 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

PXL_20250228_190639817 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

PXL_20250306_124619099~2 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

PXL_20250307_181155452 by mike.bevels, on Flickr