Calling E36 experts!

Sunday I finally bought an E36. It's not the car I ever thought I would buy, but I picked up a '94 318i. As far as driving the car goes, I really, REALLY like the thing. I just need to know what to look for as far as maintenance goes, and general tips since this is my first BMW of any kind. I do know I'll have to replace the clutch soon; it slips just a bit under hard acceleration. I also need to do a little work to the door panels (peeling fabric). Also, it has 215k miles on it. From what I understand, this isn't all that big a deal, but I'm open to fresh input. Thanks for the help.

 Mike

The water pump is easy to change. Very easy. Pull it out and see if it's a plastic impeller or metal. Put a metal one in there from pelicanparts if it hasn't been done already.

Get a single mass flywheel and get it shaved or just get a lightened flywheel while you're buying a clutch. A stock Sachs clutch is very good

Buy a Bentley manual.

www.realoem.com is your friend.

www.pelicanparts.com is your next friend.

If you can wade through the fanboi chatter at bimmerforums, there's good info there.

Bimmerworld, Turner Motorsports, and even Bavarian Autosport can have specials worth paying attention to.

Ireland Engineering and Vorshlag round out the list.

Fun cars, suddenly becoming dirt cheap. I've seen three in the past week for challenge prices.

Freshen the suspension, add lightness and have fun.

+1 on bludroptop's post

Definitely check the suspension. Shocks and rubber bushings are probably beat at that mileage.

The rear trailing arm bushings (RTAB's) and the front lower control arm bushings (LCAB's) dry out and tear letting the suspension move around too much can give squirelly handling and uneven tire wear.

I just did RTAB's and 4 new shocks on my 328 - made a huge difference. I went cheap and got the Monroe Sensatrac replacement shocks - fine for my daily driver.

Funny, it seemed that every E30 or E36 I looked at had new rear shocks. Including the one I bought. I'll have to do the fronts at some point, but right now they're ok. Thanks for all the info, it is appreciated. Oh, and the front bumper has been bumped in just a "bit". Any idea what I'll find when I pull it off?

answer: rears are cheap and easy to swap, fronts not so much. yup, my m3 has new rears but old fronts.

You'll get a kick out of this nderwater: Your old Azenis are now orphan'd. I sold the Miata, and the wheels/tires are sitting in the garage awaiting their next host.

 Mike