A neighbor has a 91 318is that he offered to me for free. He simply doesn't have the time to work on it and no garage to boot. He knows I'm a wrencher who does good work and he just wants it out of his driveway. I checked it out today and it looks totally straight, but could not start due to missing battery.

180k miles and he is the 2nd owner, has had it for 20 years. He kept the fluids changed and just drove it. Only issue he mentioned is steering clunk which I would assume is ball joints or TREs, and a couple aftermarket vacuum lines that need to be replaced again.

M42 DOHC 4cyl, manual trans, sunroof, sport package, the whole deal. No missing parts.

Is there anything to look out for immediately when working on one of these?

I've always wanted a 3 series from this era and the price can't be beat.

I'd replace every last piece of plastic in the cooling system,  find out what the clunk is, fix it then drive it like you stole it.

Yes I already plan to replace all belts and hoses and do a full tuneup.

The 318s are bringing money I would have never expected 10 years ago. Seems people like to make them into street/track weapons with M engine swaps.

Yeah I see that. I offered to pay him or give him half of whatever I get if I decide to sell. He flat out refused. Have never had anyone give me something this substantial for free, I honestly have a hard time accepting it. He just doesn't have the time for it and wanted it to go to someone who would take care of it, and remembered when I offered to buy it years ago

I have no street/track dreams I just want to keep it stock and enjoy driving it. Have wanted a boxy 3 for years and years

It’s not free, but my friend offed my his 2005 Cayenne Turbo for 5k. It’s in immaculate shape. 145,000 on the odo.
He’s replaced every item on it that could ever break.

Dang.

The adjustable ride height on those is pretty cool but I couldn't ever see myself taking something like that off road.

I’ve been with him going through a mud pit and fording a creek!

1991 should be an E36 if I remember correctly.  I had a 318 E36 with over 300,000 miles on it.  Did pretty decent on gas but it was turd in the power department.  Still had the original AC compressor when I sold it.  The only re-occurring issue I had was the bypass valve for the Oil filter adapter. The O-rings would get hard and leak pretty bad.  You'd think it was a font crank seal the way it would leak.  I'd pull the oil filter adapter, pull the valve, install new O-rings (50cents) and it would be good for another 50k. Takes about an hour. I think I re-sealed it 3 times over the 13 years I had it.  The door panels and headliner sag/come apart with age, another reason I didn't want to deal with it anymore. Just remember 1991 was a long time ago and everything rubber and plastic will be rotten regardless of how well it was taken car of.

The steering clunk is likely the front lower control arm bushings. They look like big lollipops, very common failure on pretty much every E36/46.  When the lower ball joints go out, the tell is a vibration when going on a long sweeping turn.  

Edit: *Sniff*  I miss that car now that I think about it.   It was already 10 years old when I purchased it with around 100K on it.  I remember when I bought it thinking how solid the thing felt even as a "base" model and the mileage.  It never left me stranded even when it did have a failure, it always managed to limp home.  I never did have any internal engine failures; never had the head off, and 1 clutch.  The radiator, alternator, fuel pump, and starter finally went out around 300,000 miles the last year I had it.  She was tired when I sold it but ran strong, didn't burn oil, and the AC still blew cold.  

One more edit.  The other thing I had to do twice: right when I bought it and toward the end.  There's a $15 water neck on the back of the head that is a motherfucker to replace.  There's no room to get your hands or tools back there and it will leave you cussing to replace it.  It rots from the inside over the years and both times it just blew apart without warning; so once around 100k and the second time around 300k.

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There’s a European car mechanic in town that’s highly respected. When I asked him which bummer was the best, he instantly said it was the E36, and that I should buy one if I ever found a clean one.

I always thought those E36 started in 93. Those are some of my favorites as well.

Refreshing the control arms is no big deal for me. I'll either replace them or put in new bushings and ball joints. Thanks

The 318is being given looks exactly like this to a tee

FO

My first BMW was a E36 325is and it was a blast.  

Buddy of mine had an E36 M3 was really fun.

LS swap

E30 chassis went till 1994.

We have an 84 318is with the four banger. It was a heck of a ride but the trans went and we don't have the money to replace it atm. I didn't get too far into it mechanically, but it did well for us. Got a lot of parts for it from bavarian autosport.

Parts are more expensive than for domestics. You will most likely not be able to find an actual factory service manual for it (the germans are jerks, they won't let them out the door), but the bently manual is pretty good.

Better do a trunk dead hooker inspection. Then FO.

There’s a ‘90-something 318 wagon in my neighborhood that looks like it hasn’t been driven in years. I’ve been thinking about making a crazy low offer just to take it off the owner’s hands.

Haha.. the trunk has a full set of spare tires and BMW wheels

Should be picking it up this week. Going to just dead tow it over to my house because it's sat for 3 years. Want to change the oil and filter and new gas before even trying to start

Free E30 checking in. Not running yet but cleaned up well. Inside is straight aside from a mouse that took up in the glove box. Hopefully no devoured wires.

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You are living right. Nice!  Next steps are at the link:

E30 Build

That's what a repairable totaled Turbo or really nice repairable S goes for at salvage auction around here.

E36 started in '90. My first-year '96 Z3 is a modified E36, classified as an E36/7 I think.

Found that whatever rodent was in the glovebox has chewed some wires inside the dash, so the dash will most likely need to come out for a full inspection and possibly some harness rebuild/replacements before connecting a battery. Fortunately looks pretty easy to do and found a full step by step disassembly guide http://www.rtsauto.com/45/

Only looks like a couple wires got gnawed. ECU harness was left alone.

The PO also had an aftemarket security system installed that needs to go. A good time to do both.

This is my first time working on an older vehicle that has a serious hobbyist community so it's nice to see how many parts and info are available.

Apparently mice don't like German wire wrapping. Pretty much only chewed on wires for aftermarket security system and cruise control. OEM wiring was basically left alone.

Newer wiring may have had soy based insulation. Rodents love that shit


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Love the E30 body style. Very cool tagged for updates.

Got it running this afternoon after completing removal of the security system and restoring the factory ignition wiring. It sat for 3 years so it was a little chunky at first but cleaned up and idled well. No CEL which is a good sign. Took the kids for a short spin up & down the road.

There will be lots of little things to fix. Window switches are touchy and need to be replaced or rebuilt. Defrost button stuck on. SRS indicator on and horn does not work so may need a new clockspring. Steering sounds like needs a new U-joint in the shaft.  Headlight switch is stuck off. Aftermarket stereo is dead and retractable antenna is broken off though I heard the stepper motor running. Need to repair the chewed up wiring to the aftermarket cruise control, a must have for me.

Surprisingly the AC still works although the fan will only blow on highest setting.

The engine pulls very strong, way more than I expected from a small 1.8. Not sure of the gear ratio but will check the tag when changing diff oil. From what I'm reading all 318is had factory L/S. I'll have to get the rears off the ground and do the spin test to see if it still has any life to it

Hell yeah! That’s sweet.

Much more practical then my Miata.

Looks like electrical Gremlins gonna be the name of the game

Sat idling in the driveway and noticed engine was getting hot. Aux fan not coming on. The one factory wire I found that was chewed turned out to be for the fan relay energize when AC is on. Repaired it and aux fan comes on with AC. As a bonus the AC still blows cold!!!!

However aux fan still not coming on by itself so need to diagnose the temp sensor and related circuits.

Found out it has central locking because as I sat in the chair the doors started unlocking and locking on their own. Pulled the central locking mechanism relay board and cleaned it out. Problem seems to be solved.

Several interior switches will need to be pulled and replaced or R&R. Window switches, window safety switch, rear defrost all seem to need contacts cleaned and latching mechanisms possibly cleaned and lubricated. Headlight switch is stuck off.

Vacuum leak at the intake from a cracked vac elbow. Will be getting new silicone hose kit.

I enjoy working on all of the little interior parts. If they can be fixed that's great. If they fall apart in my hands while doing so, oh well eBay is full of them

Dude, if you can, try and score the factory cruise control system. The one in our 1984 318is is jaw-droppingly good. You can darn near drive the car with it, and it's a stickshift.

If it's like the '84, yes, it has central locking. Ours can lock/unlock the doors from the trunk lock/etc. We replaced tons of interior parts/switches from bav autosport. No idea if they are still as good as they were, it's been a while. Yes, we did the window switches (even upgraded to the ones that are backlit).

If you have a sunroof and it's wonky ... be prepared for fun.

Look at any of the car for sale websites. You can get a running driving one for $5500

I'll have to see how the aftermarket cruise works. The wires hot chewed up pretty bad and I haven't dug into it yet. It looks like it needs ON pwr, wires from the switch, and a  sense switch for brake and vehicle speed. They're hanging down from the factory loom so should be easy

Usually I can rebuild small switches without issue unless the plastic bits break. I work on marine electronics and regularly get tasked rebuilding old hard to find relays, latching switches etc.

Not sure why the central locking module went nuts but I had two theories. It was being actuated by the collision sensor which has a small check ball inside a magnetic ring, for the purpose of unlocking the doors in a collision. Something knocked it loose enough to make intermittent contact so it kept trying to unlock the already unlocked doors. My wife bumped into the car earlier in the day right where the module sits. I also got the radio going and had turned it on right about that same time, and the radio is an Alpine high output - wonder if the speaker was putting out enough juice to pull the ball from the magnet, since the module sits right behind the speaker.

It has the mechanical sunroof which was apparently rare. It works perfectly and does not leak. Seals are still in great shape and just for kicks I blew out the drain lines from the top down. Had two huge squalls the past couple days and no water even in the track area

Our first car purchase after being married for three years was going to be a 1986 325.  We looked at the Volvo's and the Volve 740 GLE was $1000 cheaper and passed on the 325.  The Volvo was an excellent car, put 125K on it and it was tight the entire time we owned it, but every time I see the classic BMW cars, especially a 325, I wish we would have went in that direction.

We even looked at a new Peugeot 505....dodged that bullet

91 is an e30, 92 started e36. Highly desirable car that is starting to bring stupid money is good condition.

If you have a euro local mechanic, get a ppi so that you have a gameplan on things to watchout and build a checklist.  Easy to work on and most parts are available or Amazon or places like fcpeuro.  Also check if there are any local junkyards or bmw fb groups, there are some rare parts that you may need to get used.

Fun cars to work on and drive!

There is very little I can't do myself but have considered seeing who does BMW long block rebuilds in the area. It's the only thing I really don't have the time to dive into. There are a ton of Euro shops in Seattle near me. The engine seems to run very well but I haven't had it out on a long stretch of road yet. From what I'm reading despite being a high RPM engine the M42 lasts a long time as long as the profile gasket isn't neglected. It may not need a rebuild at all.

Got out on the road today

The good - WOW this little thing scoots and corners like a laser. Trans shifts well with no clutch issues. PO installed Bilsteins in the last 5 years or so and it still ride well

Factory LSD appears to still be engaging.

The bad - speedo works intermittently. Need to clean diff sensor connector and go from there. Apparently the traces on the cluster PCB like to fail and need to be reflowed which is no big deal.

Cleaned and reinstalled central locking module but it's still randomly unlocking the doors. If I kick the panel it unlocks which points to the collision switch not holding the conductive ball solidly. I may just bypass the collision switch as it doesn't seem to make much sense. On the plus side it does lock/unlock with any of the locks including the trunk.

Had the dash trim off still so I was able reach up and feel that the small U joint in the steering stalk needs to be replaced. This is the source of the steering clunk. When I held the joint flanges tightly in my hand the clunk stopped. That ought to be fun to press out.

Aux fan still not engaging on its own but will turn on when AC engaged. Need to diag the temp sensor/relay circuits.

Pulled the gauge cluster and found a few broken wires. It's a good thing I enjoy doing electrical.

Took my 6 year old son for a spin. It's the first reasonably fast car he's ever rode in. He had a blast

Pretty jealous over here.  I've been looking for a cheap manual car (preferably a BMW of this generation) to teach my girls how to drive something other than an automatic (one turning 17 in a few days, the other is 6 months from getting her permit.)  A "free" BMW would be great.  "Free" in quotes, because as we've seen in this thread, nothing "free" is really ever without cost.....

The late model E30s are a hell of a car and have been skyrocketing in value around here. The M42 is a pretty decent little engine and the plastic bumpers are a big upgrade over the normal diving boards. Like you have already discovered, they drive and handle very well. From a time when BMW was the "ultimate driving machine" and actually cared about the reputation instead of building luxury SUVs.

if you need parts, hit me up...i sell euro parts wholesale for a living

What outfit?

Yes needs some parts here and there. Ones that need to be replaced asap are timing chain tensioner piston, aux fan cooling switch, and steering shaft joint on the rack end. Otherwise everything else is mostly electrical gremlins

Speaking of the timing chain tensioner. This is the first engine I've ever worked on where the tensioner can be replaced from the outside of the engine without opening anything. Neat idea. Chain rattles a little on initial startup and apparently there is a revised part for the tensioner that eliminates bleed down

I also have a minor vacuum leak and plan on pulling the intakes to do the vac/coolant mess elimination mod.

Yesterday I pulled up the carpet in the trunk and found in the spare tire well a reset tool for the ECU service interval light. Still in a protective case. Nice

Going over all of the exterior lights to get them working and going to tear down the rest of the dash to replace all the mini bulbs

Also pretty sure the central locking demons are centered on the contact switch in the driver's side door lock. For the time just pulled the fuse for it

Got all of the ext lights going so that I felt comfortable hitting the road for a more extended period

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I was looking for one of those a few years ago. Anything in remotely decent shape was pricey. Timeless looks and that little 4cyl is fun!

M3 vs 318is

I had a mint 91 318ic. I loved that car. Sadly I got t-boned in an intersection and my car was totaled. A good resource (or at least used to be.) for E30s and such is r3vlimited.com

Pulled the gauge cluster to replace all the lights and address an intermittent speedo. I initially thought it was the diff sensor until I realized smacking the dash would sometimes bring it to life.

I also ordered lithium batteries for the SI board as the OEM ones were dead. Interestingly all of the functions that go through the SI (speedo and temp gauge) work fine, while most of the BMW tech sites say that if the batteries are dead the whole thing won't work. I assume the batteries are only there to keep the RAM active to store the SI reset timer value and run the internal clock used to countdown the interval. Regardless the SI LEDs don't work so that function needs to be addressed.

Unfortunately on a 91 the SI board can't be bypassed.

Removed speedo module and cleaned all contacts and checked traces for continuity. Everything checked out fine except for some mild corrosion inside the magneto drum for the needle sweep assembly. Cleaned out with EC spray. Tensioned the spring clip contacts for the speedo electrical from the PCB, hopefully that's all it is.

They really cheaped out on the PCB traces, they are paper thin. No wonder the gauge cluster is the bane of E30 restoration. It's as bad as Lucas electrical

My son is really into circuits lately so I put some probes on my 12v PS and showed him how to test the lights

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The engine had some minor (I thought) timing chain rattle at cold startup and sometimes around 2500RPM so I changed out the timing chain tensioner piston for the revised M44 part and WOW - it runs and sounds like a brand new engine. No more rattle and now revs much smoother. I guess since I had nothing to compare to I didn't realize how noisy the chain really was.

The old tensioner piston was the original part and the plunger appeared to be seized up.

Pretty unique that this part can be replaced from outside of the engine. I've never worked on a small engine before where this was a serviceable part without cracking open the timing case.

New aux fan temp switch in the radiator solved the aux fan engagement problem and now fan engages during extended idling in the driveway.

Unfortunately I have not been able to get the speedo to run 100% reliably and will probably need to pull the gauge cluster apart again and reflow all of the solder joints and traces on the PCB. They looked good and passed continuity test but something is being affected by flex/shock and temperature

Every guide online shows the gauge cluster being very easy to remove/reinstall.  Mine is not and barely fits in the dash. Trying hard not to destroy the dash material...

Sounds like you might wanna try and score a new flex if you can (if you do, drop the link man, I'd be interested to see it).

Also, show us your work :P

Not sure what you mean. I'm talking about the cluster and SI board PCBs possibly flexing with ambient temp which is apparently a problem.

I soldered new batteries onto the SI board but it did not restore the SI LED light bar function. Oddly enough all of the functions that go through the SI board appear to work, and when I plug the SI light reset tool into the diagnostic port in the hood, the tool appears to work normally i.e. the light on the tool comes on and goes out when pressing the reset button.

So maybe the LED driver on the SI board is just dead. I asked the PO but it was so long since he drove it that he doesn't know. In any case I will trace and check all of the cluster grounds under the dash and see if something is going on there.

I don't really need that SI light to work but I'm anal about fixing all the stuff that's supposed to work down to the last detail

Brainfreeze. Somehow my mind saw flex and dealing with the electronics in the cluster and thought you were talking about flexible connectors or such..

Great stuff! Glad to see another BMW saved.

I resurrected an E46 M3 and my 11 yr old daughter has claimed it as her own.

Thanks!

Was driving it today and front left wheel bearing started to groan, so obviously that is first on the list to get fixed. Eventually will do the rear bearings and shafts if needed.