E36 reliability - Page 2

Wayne 962 · Wayne 962's Garage

We recently upgraded my wife's accord to a 325is. We had to replace the exhaust, fuel pump, starter, and a few other things on the Accord. Yes, they are well-built cars, but definitely not as fun as the BMWs...

-Wayne

Dave at Pelican Parts · Dave at Pelican Parts's Garage

I s'pose I should "fess up"... I have a Honda CRX as a daily driver. Now that car does indeed give you a fun driving experience!! It's small, light, very tossable, and quite capable. Sadly, it's FWD so the dynamics are a little funky... And the power is kinda limited (108 HP from 1600cc). But it's still quite a bit of fun.

I'm really looking forward to borrowing my folks recent acquisition of a 98 328 so I can compare. (It's gotta be better than the POS Rx-7 that it replaced!) I'm anticipating similar or better grip, refinement, comfort, better dynamics, and less "tossability". And a whoooooooole lot more power! Not to mention that sexy straight-six exhaust note. (Is it just me, or do the BMW six and the Porsche six sound alike when you really get on them?)

I did the Accord thing for a while back before I got interested in cars that were fun to drive. The Accords were utensils--they got you from point A to point B and back again, and that was about it. After I figured out that you could actually enjoy driving, I never looked back!

--DD

jenmcd · 05-07-2002, 09:43 AM

My wife recently purchased a Hyundai (I don't even know how to spell it!) for a commuter car. NOT a fun car but it gets about 40 mpg and has a 10 year warranty. Seemed like a waste to be putting 75 miles a day on the 328. Now it resided in our shop, happy and clean. It will driven for fun and DE's now.
Dave, If you like the way the straight six sounds, try it with a Remus exhaust!! At 5500 rpm BBWWRRRAAAPP!!!

I posted a while ago about track tires. Debated A032's and the like. Decided that until we get serious with the suspension and more get track time, Bridgestone S-03's. We are leaving these on our BBS street rims. DE with the BMW CCA this Friday. Will post again with our opinion of the S-03.

Keith

Wayne 962 · Wayne 962's Garage

That's one thing - I wish both my Beamers got better mileage. The 325 gets about 20-21 on average, and the 318 slightly higher. I don't exactly drive them conservatively though...

-Wayne

sayah · 05-08-2002, 04:24 AM

Funny, when I replaced the alternator, air conditioning compressor and other parts I noticed the following:

1. AIR Compressor from Nippondenso

2. Alternator from Renault

3. All the above items plus the water pump and power window motor (over $150.00) did not break due to failure of new materials, ie subsitution of a metal part for a plastic part. Instead they all failed due to wear on a metal ball bearing. Why not make the parts in a BMW of similiar quality of the engine? The car's fun to drive and constantly breaking.

E15643 · 05-14-2002, 04:18 AM

Noticed the common issues - most of which I have paid for. One which puzzles me - the rear shock mounts - mine have been replaced 2- 3 times - and I do not drive aggresively. The car is a '98 M3 and is an every day commuter. I also notice that the rear end creaks an groans sometimes - despite the shocks and mounts both being recently replaced - maybe worn bushings...?

EGSMachine · EGSMachine's Garage

i have a squeak in the right rear end on my 93 325is. i don't hear it when i drive, but it is prevelent when i am parked or stopped and jiggle in the car. any ideas?
thanks,
e

Wayne 962 · Wayne 962's Garage

It could be from the emergency brake, or just from the springs. I have the same thing on my 325is. Take the e-brake off, and see if it still squeaks. If it does, it's the springs...

You can spray some WD-40 onto the coils (and the base of the coils), and that might help the situation...

-Wayne

sayah · 05-17-2002, 02:10 PM

I have the same sympton on my car. It is definetly related to something with the emergency brake. If the noise occurs more frequently when parked on a slight incline it would probabily be the shoes (an possible accumulated dust) moving when weight casuses the car to move downhill slightly. Then again it could be a slight misalinement side to side in the adjusters causing a squeak in something else.
Just my 2 cents.

Wayne 962 · Wayne 962's Garage

I just replaced all of the components in my e-brake system (the shoes were worn beyond recognition), so I'm surprised at the noise. It's my wife's car, so I haven't been able to get under it quite yet to see what the problem is. But everytime we go somewhere together, the car squeaks when I get out of it...

-Wayne