New E36 Owner Here

[avachon]

I purchases a 1996 328i, pretty clean but needs some love.

So far, I have fixed an inoperable window, broken clips, rusted hood locks and cables, brakes, and broken trim pieces... a good cleaning and wax job and she's looking good!

I have a few things that I could use some help on:

The heater takes a while to warm up and almost struggles to blow air at first. The AC is not functioning at all.

The rear suspension is soft and will need replacement... I would like to keep the OEM specs so any suggestions would be great.

I haven't looked yet, are there any cheep E36 Mods to improve performance?

[Wapiennik]

Congrats on your purchase.

I have the same model/year. I've done loads of work on it, so if you ever have any questions that I am capable of answering just shoot me a PM.

If your central vent is working, where the cable isn't snagged or broken, and you can turn it to red or blue and you don't feel significant amounts of air coming out, chances are your cabin filter is old and clogged with sticks and hornets. Replace the cabin air filter and your air should flow nicely from your vents, provided nothings wrong with your vent motors or the blower motor.

If you replace your cabin filter, then you should begin checking/working on your heater issue. If you car was like mine when I purchased it, and the owner didn't take good care of it mechanically, then your heater core might be all clogged up a bit. Perform one or two coolant system flushes. Do them as the bottle states with the heater to hopefully get all the crud that's been in your lines for years. If that doesn't work, you might have to forcefully clean the heater valves and core which ain't too hard.

As for suspension, get good quality shocks/struts and if you're the first to work on your suspension in the fourteen years the cars been on the ground, then consider replacing the entire front suspension (ie: controls arms, sway bar bushings, etc).

And as for the A/C... You say it's not working. Explain a little bit. Is the compressor seized up? Doesn't it seem to work fine with clutch engagement but you get no cold air? Does the climate control unit come on and off randomly?



Had I known what I know now about my 328i when I was purchasing the car, I probably wouldn't have bought it. But now, four thousand dollars later, I couldn't be any happier. It really is a great car, and I had no appreciation for it until only five months ago when I completely restored the steering and suspension - Wow. Take good care of it and it will take great care of you. Good luck!

[avachon]

I'll check into the cabin filter today. It will warm up... just takes a while.

Any suggestions on the suspension components? Brands? I would like to keep the cost down as much as possible.

As far as the AC, the compressor seems to turn, just no cold air. Possibly a re-charge is in order?

Thank you for your reply, this site was a great help for my Porsche and has been even better for the BMW project so far.

[Wapiennik]

Possibly recharge, but check it. Go to Harbor Freight or call Snap-on to get a decent manifold gauge set. If it's full charged, but the compression on the high and low side are good you might have a gummed up expansion valve. The lid to replace your expansion valve is actually right next to your cabin filter. Don't let anyone tell you the dash needs to come off for a replacing the expansion valve.

As for suspension, to each his own. However, if you were asking what I would use I would say Sachs-Boge. When messing with your steering an suspension, I would only stick with high quality brands with good reviews from customers.

[Wapiennik]

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