I actually picked up a used Mishimoto from a local guy. It was out of a 6 cylinder variant. Inlet/outlet didn't look Terrible but I haven't had it all the way in to check. The heated throttle body feature won't work any more (no lower outlet for it), and I'll have to run an external expansion tank but that's no big deal.
What I think will be difficult is getting the fan mounted back up, as there aren't any clips on the new used radiator.
I'll post some pictures here to share.
I put the Mishimoto radiator in my Ti. The first one I bought developed a leak not long after purchase but they were good about getting me a new one quickly.
My baby, 1999 MSport with an S52
buzzboy said:I put the Mishimoto radiator in my Ti. The first one I bought developed a leak not long after purchase but they were good about getting me a new one quickly.
My baby, 1999 MSport with an S52
Ooh, that's pretty.
So, the radiator doesn't drop right in. The upper portion runs right into the airbox, and it was a struggle (after shaving down one of the rubber lower mounts) to try and get it actually fit in otherwise. I'm sure that it's possible to do other "fixes" to get it to work, but I'll probably end up doing a stock radiator (and new hoses) and moving this one along.
*so if anyone wants a nice condition Mishimoto, let me know!
Otherwise, though, new thermostat is in and new water pump is on! Ready to do the power steering, then get a radiator fit and go.
I'm looking forward to putting things together so there's some semblance of space in this garage again, but dang do I love this.
In reply to classicJackets :
Hey in your picture with the front of your engine, that belt is on wrong, up near the alternator. It needs to go under the tensioner like this:
spandak said:Those shift knobs pop straight down into place. No threads. It’s really annoying when looking for a replacement and they tend to wear out over time.
To improve shifter feel I recommend starting by replacing the small yellow washers/bushings in the linkage. It’s the simplest and probably the best bang for buck in my book. Replacing the bushing that mounts the support arm to the transmission helped my car too but was a pita. That would be good time to grab a Z3 shifter for an OEM short shifter. The bushings in the bottom of the shift lever tend to wear out too.
Looks like a nice score! I think I would really enjoy one of these with a M50 swap.
I am selling mine on here. M50 swap. More info and pics on CL: https://lexington.craigslist.org/cto/d/1998-bmw-318ti-compact-hatch/6544161010.html
formyhealth said:In reply to classicJackets :
Hey in your picture with the front of your engine, that belt is on wrong, up near the alternator. It needs to go under the [b]idler[/b]
I was just about to say the same thing. Smooth pulley gets smooth side of belt. Ribbed pulley gets ribbed side of belt. And I think you might find the current belt is too short, unless there's a good bit of travel available from the tensioner.
In reply to AngryCorvair :
I hope he reads this before that belt gets all jiggy with it.
I did in fact read this before the belt got jiggy with anything!
I went out and corrected that tonight, and also ran new (non-pressure) power steering lines and put in a new reservoir. The old fluid was a nice greyish color coming out - the reservoir asked politely for ATF only so I'm not sure how it got to be that color.
I also put on the new tires/wheels - the front driver's wheel all of a sudden won't turn by hand at all. Hmm..
On the good side, I'm heading down tomorrow to get new-to-me rear shocks to replace the leaking ones on there, black carpet that started out as black carpet instead of being dyed, and rear speaker covers (unique to Ti) as well as a few spare O2 sensors. Mine smells like it's running so rich I figure something in the system is shot. New tie rods are on the way as well. I'm going to hold off temporarily on the Front lower control arms, I need to get some money back in my pocket first and what's in there is good.
Last piece of the puzzle to sort is cooling system. I think I'm going to end up trying to pass along the Mishimoto and go back to a stock replacement for ~$110. Saves worrying about fitment issues and it's just the simple solution. (also just more money to spend!)
Only picture I have today is of the car as I came out to it this morning, covered in snow. April, man..
In reply to classicJackets :
Glad to hear you correct the belt position!
I went ahead and changed the rear shocks last night. The new ones didn't seem all that stiff, but the old ones had no attempt at rebound after I removed them, so it's still an upgrade.
I also freed up the front left wheel - pried the brake pads back a little bit. The rotor is definitely warped, as it spins freely at first then catches. More fun stuff to buy.
On the good side, I should be selling my corner notcher early next week and then I'll be good to go ahead and get the new radiator in!
Had another really solid day of work today.
I picked up some "new" black carpet last week, and I took everything out today to get the carpet in. Got everything out and all of my new stuff back in - everything is now "actually" black instead of gray dyed black. Also replaced the rear speakers and covers. The wiring is a pretty solid mess at the moment, and I'll have to go back through it eventually if I want to it to be right.
Still, I'm happy with today's progress.
Old front carpet:
Rear Carpet:
\
Everything in place, new center console and shift knob too! Should be a nicer place to sit now.
The car also paid me back for the first time! - $2.31
Gimp said:I still miss mine.
me too!
One of the best interior mods I made to mine was a European M3 Steering wheel for the E36. It's got a tiny airbag, but it completely compatible with the system so it won't throw any codes. Looks great and feels great in the hand compared to the smaller diameter grips the stocker has
Something like this one: ebay link!
That wheel looks awesome. Someone on the Facebook page just installed one and it looks great installed, too..
She's back on the road!
Who knows the last time she drank premium, so I gave her 3/4 of a tank.
I got the new radiator and upper/lower hoses in today so I could put those in.
Along with a new temperature sensor as the gauge had read sorta janky on the way home when I got the car. Couldn't get a good read on what the temperature actually was:
It still runs a little warm - and the electric cooling fan doesn't kick on I'm thinking I'll need to trace the wiring to make sure it's getting a signal, and then look at replacing the temp sender for that before replacing the whole fan.
Other than that - the steering felt awful. I have new tie rods here and LCAs on the way, but man was it bad. Clunky, and would switch between tight/loose through the range of motion. I have an alignment on the horizon once the new LCAs and tie rods are in, so hopefully that fixes it.
So far though, the vibration it had around 40 before seemed to go away with the new tires. The exhaust definitely has a leak midship, its audible from outside the car. It's also a cluster of welds a few inches apart, so I might even have to look at having it redone.
Not sure if there are any U-joints in your steering column but that loose/tight symptom is what I have had when a u-joint starts to go (Subaru seized and felt like this, I also replaced the one in my E28 and it just added a bit more tightness back to the system).
Car is looking good.
Adam
You can also probably pick up a couple of HP with an M3 airbox inlet. The M44 box is fed from the passenger side of the car via a corrugated plastic hose that goes up and over the radiator fan. The M3 unit pulls air directly from in front of the box on the driver's side.
Steering weirdness definitely sounds like the coupler / u-joint thingie needs to be lubed. I've heard that it makes a world of difference.
In reply to AngryCorvair :
I threw some Grease on there the other day, didn't help immediately but I haven't really messed with it again since. I'm debating just swapping in a Z3 rack while I'm in there now, so I don't have to think about getting another alignment. I also have new tie rods and LCA's with offset bushings so I really would like to just do it all at once and get oen alignment and be done, U-joint (long term fix) and all.
I did get to use my welder to do the front brakes, though, which I never imagined I'd be able to say. The rotor retaining bolts were both stripped and stuck in place. I spent too long on the first one (drill, chisel, etc) and actually got the rotor off around the remnants of the stud before welding a bolt on and using the impact to take the stud out. 2nd one I skipped straight to welding.. I ended up shearing off a bolt twice,and then welded a nut over the remnants and that worked.
Luckily, I had ordered 4 new rotor retaining bolts, and I have anti-seize, so hopefully that won't repeat. In the meantime, though, new front brakes!
I spoke too soon. The caliper bracket mounting bolts fought back on the passenger side. With a real vengeance. Neither will budge, and they've been soaking for a full day already. I guess I need to give them more time? (I hit the lower one with the impact knowing the U-Joint I used would be the weak point, and it was.)
Is there much else I can do? I can't get the impact on the top one, at least with the current steering wheel angle of 0. This doesn't signal good times to be had on the other steering components either, haha.
The lower bolt here is the current one in question but the top one isn't moving either
Edited: Apparently if you post a problem on the internet it goes away. I hit both with a breaker bar with the steering wheel heavily angled and broke them both free with little/no issue
Congratulations on your victory over rust. I hate how it can turn in simple job into a multi-day struggle.
In reply to classicJackets :
Also, giving a stuck fastener a little bit of righty-tighty can encourage them to go lefty-loosey on the next try.
Though I hate BMW engines I love their chassis and suspensions. I have offer considered one of the E36 2 door cars or an E30 2 door with a Toyota 3SGE BEAMS engine with a 6 speed.
Been pretty slow moving on this lately. Haven't really had weekends to spare, and weeknights have been hit or miss between this and cleaning up my yard.
Went out tonight and tackled cleaning the Idle Control Valve. The car would idle 'fine', but it wouldn't come down to idle speed after revving or shifting to neutral. I had ordered one replacement hose, and a replacement intake -> TB boot as well.
One ICV hose from the intake was split, but held together with electrical tape. So that hose got replaced. Additionally, between the upper and lower intake manifolds there's space for 2 gaskets - there's a "spacer" plate with something on it between as well. No gaskets there - so I added some. Also replaced the TB Gasket while I was in there. Can't start it to see if it changed anything (key won't turn), but I should get my new key in by ~Tuesday and I can look to see if that solves the problem.
Last few things to do -
Front shocks, tie rods and LCAs - then alignment
Make sure the new key solves the ignition problem..
Get window regulators fixed
(eventually) - rewire the rear speakers to the aftermarket amp they were attached to at some point
Drive the wheels off it!
My 328 ended up with the shift knob held on with Gorilla Glue - the stock attachment method leaves a lot to be desired.
I'm still waiting for the terrible part of this thread. Is that going to be an M70 swap? :)
Lol, mainly the idea of using a neglected 23 year old car as a daily.
I got my new key today - turns out that doesn't fit the ignition, just the doors, so I'll have to order a new ignition cylinder now, and go about the (more difficult) process of removing the cylinder without being able to turn the key.
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