Thanks to Mr. Spyonu2007 I FINALLY found a car!

It is a 1992 BMW 325i. 2.5L I6. 189hp/184tq. 4spd Automatic w/ electronic over-ride.

Classy, moderately fast, and most of all... the ladies LOVE it!

You BALLER!

Sharp!

Nice lookin Beamer

Nice!!

I may have seen this car near the Washington area earlier this week or something.. looked great!

Lemme know if you want an opinion on mods or repairs, etc. I know the e36 chassis fairly well.

What color is that?

Spotted at Kroger in Washington today!

Hey Horns, I would like to get together with you to look her over to assess it's current set-up and most effective upgrades.

BTW - Do you have any diagnosis experience or information on these cars for the following? Evan has been experiencing random engine sputtering and dying as he drives here and there. After it dies sometimes it will re-start right away. Other times the engine will just spin over like it wants to start, but it wont for 10-20 minutes. The check engine light only comes on at this time.

If you have no ideas, I will take it into K&M for diagnosis.

did you do the obvious like replace fuel filter?

also had a similar prob on the mustang when the distributor sensor went bad, but would guess that one's electronic/coil packs

Trust me, you don't want anything to do with those types of ladies...


...so just send them my way.

Congrats on the car. Back in my pre-DSM days, I had an '86 325i and I loved it. I should never have strayed from the German cars.

Sure thing! I will be around most all of next week... trying to get some last minute wrenching in before the NASA weekend at Autobahn.

Lemme know what days/times work for you guys.

Like duald says, fuel filter is suspect, or could be fuel delivery related. I just threw out a working fuel pump a few years ago that I now wish I had kept. With a CEL, should be able to pull the code and make it much easier.

First thing to buy is the Bentley manual for e36. Great reference for DIY stuff. I also recommend finding an "Inspection" checklist for that year and giving the car a once-over. There are some common problem areas on these cars (bushings, cooling system, etc) but most are fairly easy to address. Hollar back and we'll gtg next week or something.

I hear you haven't strayed too far from them any more, Kris!

Verryy Niiiiice

I can vouch for that. 911's are dead sexy and fun to drive.

Curious to see what the code reader finds out for us!

Here are some good internet resources for these cars:

Bimmerforums. Excellent e36 resource:
http://www.bimmerforums.com/

Parts, aftermarket and stock:
http://www.bimmerworld.com/
http://www.turnermotorsport.com/

Looking up parts and numbers:
http://www.realoem.com/bmw/

Nearest dealership: (i go here for parts and stuff sometimes)
http://www.bmwofpeoria.com/

Local BMWCCA chapter: (BMWCCA members get parts discount at the dealership, plus other chapters put on great driving events, teen clinics, and auto-x)
http://www.illinibmw.com/

Teen driving clinic sometimes hosted by BMWCCA chapters:
http://www.streetsurvival.org/

If I think of any more, will post up!

Nice ride, Evan. Brings back memories of my '93 325i. It was a great car. Not as good as the Evo I traded it for, but a great car nonetheless.

Needs an lsx based power plant.

yeah Aka's new ride is sweet too. can't wait to drive it before he leaves (hmmm.... wet pavement? even more fun!)

I cant wait to drive it at the track, after he is gone.

Thanks for the links Collin.

The code reader worked fine and it came up with the following three codes:
Crank sensor
Throttle position sensor
AC Compressor

I've done a little research but haven't found out if the 92 325i uses only the cam angle sensor or both crank and cam sensor. One of the mechanics at K&M mentioned the cam sensor may be the issue before I checked the codes as if it were common.

So I've cleared the codes and I'm waiting to see which one(s) come back.

The porche definately gets two thumbs up, fun driver.

Good luck getting the Beamer repaired.

Well so far the crankshaft sensor code is the only one that has returned along with the continued random stalling issue. I just need to narrow down the cam or crank sensor or both.

Have you searched those codes on bimmerforums? Might be able to find out which is most likely to fail. I'm sure you guys aren't the first to have this code.

Looks like this car is getting you the CHICKS!!!

way to go!

e36 manual transmission conversion kit in chicago: $750

http://www.euroteknik.com/forum/car-parts-...-328-325-a.html

Bump!!

Evan lost #5 cylinder to a bad oil leak and starvation a number of months ago.

We recently picked-up a doner 94 325i with a manual transmission and 135k on the engine for $500. The going is slow, but we are in the process of removing all of the good items from the donor and will soon be refreshing Evan's 325i. He has already upgraded the headlights, emblems and stereo while she's been down. This thing makes working on a DSM look like child's play.... Such a pain in the ass! LOL

Nice to hear you're back turning wrenches!

Yes they are.. huge pita

you still got the rx7 as well, or get rid of it?

Here are some pics of the donor in her current state right before the engine comes out. We should have the engine and pedal assembly out today.

The engine and pedal set is out! We drug the old donor car out of the garage and are now ready to start removing the engine from Evan's 325i.

More pictures:

Oh...before we pulled the donor BMW out of the garage we installed a 302 Ford V8 into it. Mid engine style. It didn't take nearly as long as I thought either!

You going to sit on the trans???

lol, that the old one from the rx7?

Them inline 6's sure are tanks. But awesome torque. Needs a big turbo IMO.

Haha...yeah. That's the 302 from the RX7 that had the rod knocking. I figured I'd just scrap it as opposed to trying to sell it for $25-$50.

The BMW slant 6 is a big engine for what it is. Strange looking. Plenty of room in there for a V8 if it didn't cost so much to convert over!

We've got everything off of the topside of Evan's engine. Now I just need to get under it to remove the exhaust and transmission so we can pull the engine. Here are a couple of progress pics:

need to get ya a lift

Hah ha... I used to have one, but sold it to Dan because I didn't have a building tall enough for it anymore.

i would love to have both the building tall enough, and the lift lol

Well, last night Evan and I finished getting the old engine and automatic transmission out of his 325i. (See attached pictures)

Friday we are going to go buy all the nickle and dime gaskets and fluids required to install the donor engine. Also supposed to hear back from Bruce at B&M transmissions this week about what it's going to take to fix the manual transmission. Then Saturday we will roll the BMW out to power wash all the built up gunk from the old oil seeping engine.

We are getting there:

Let me know which gaskets and seals you are looking for, Ill see how my prices compare to the competition.

Any new updates this week?

Found out the 1-2 shift hub and synchros are junk in the donor cars manual transmission. A new shift hub from BMW costs $400 and labor will be a fair $200. $600 is a bit more than we wanted to spend. So we are on standby while Evan searches for another used transmission or the parts. Maybe Dan can get a new 1-2 shift hub assembly for a decent price.

If you got instructions...I've got a press if you want to try to rebuild it.

I'm still not well versed on transmissions, I helped rebuild the one out of my bro's MR2 (blew out 4th gear and syncro's), so have a rough idea of what's going on at least. You can probably handle it yourself with the correct press/tools, or if you have the parts and the trans disassembled, I can probably get my old man to change it (supposing it's just changing parts on the shaft)

You got her running yet?

nice whip... actually looked at purchasing one a little newer a few months ago but got caught up with another DSM...