M42club.com - Home of the BMW E30/E36 318i/iS
DISCUSSION => General Topics => Topic started by: kramerica5000 on April 29, 2006, 11:55:43 PM
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Hey everyone, this is my first post over here so its befitting that it includes some pics of my new 318is. Thanks asubimmer for telling be about this forum.
I bought the car off ebay from a guy in NY. Some of you may have seen it as it was mentioned in a thread. The car has 87,000 miles on it and its in great shape. But not perfect shape. Its got a nasty vibration above 60mph that I am hoping goes away after a trip to the shop for an alignment/balance. Its also got a loose and rattly steering column/shaft. I took a look at it today, and the lower swivel joint has some play in it, but I am not sure how much play it is supposed to have. I'm more concerned about the play in the part were the lower splined shaft goes into the upper shaft (inside the car). I tried to tighten what appears to be a compression fitting but it didn't help. Any advice on this would be appreciated. Should I just replace the whole steering column assembly?
Its also got a leaky steering rack and diff. I'd like to get a rack with a tigher ratio. I know there is a write up on this out ther but haven't been able to find it, so I would also love some advice on this.
The other thing I have in mind is a lighter flywheel. I can really feel that 30lbs spinning and want to get rid of some of that weight! What are my options for a lighter m42 flywheel without getting too pricy or so light that my wife can't drive it? Is it possible to machine the dual mass flywheel?
Anyways, on to what you came here to see, some pics. I gave it a good washing and a coat of cleaner wax. The wax really brought up the shine. Should sparkle after I hit it with the buffer :-)
(http://oak.cats.ohiou.edu/~kramere/pictures/IMG_5108_web.jpg)
(http://oak.cats.ohiou.edu/~kramere/pictures/IMG_5112_web.jpg)
Check out this old school car phone that I removed along with a non-functioning security system.
(http://oak.cats.ohiou.edu/~kramere/pictures/IMG_9708.jpg)
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LOL, another brilliantrot m42 (http://www.m42club.com/forums/images/icons/icon14.gif), we're setting up for World Domination with this color. Funny coincidence, I purchased mine from eBay and it came with a car phone and a non-functioning alarm as well :)... Anyway nice car man, welcome.
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Congrats on the purchase. Funny thing is that I shared the car with Febi back when it was listed on the bay and we were both amazed at how clean it was.
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Welcome and congrats. Im a bit jealous that mine didnt come with the car phone now.
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Welcome and congrats. Im a bit jealous that mine didnt come with the car phone now.
I would give you mine, but unfortunately it didn't survive uninstallation. :o
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I saw that car on Ebay. Looked pretty good, at least as far as these 318is' seem to go. For some reason, most of them seem to be beaten like a red-headed stepchild. :rolleyes:
How much did you get it for, if you don't mind me asking. Looks about the same condition as mine, and I always wonder if I overpaid. Mine was an Ebay purchase as well.
Congrats on a fine purchase and welcome to the club!
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welcome man, I'm glad you came over. I think you will really like all the M42 info we have over here!!
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welcome welcome nice ride glade to see another new member
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That's sharp. I have a few pet peeves like most people. One is the stock ride height. Another is the excessive rake - it makes the car look shorter, and black rocker panels - they make the is lip look like a severe overbite.
But that car looks good! No rust and a straight body. You gatta love 87,000 miles.
I'd say get the coupler with an E36 rack. That big nut on the lower shaft is a puzzle. I tightened mine real tight and it still has enough looseness to collapse. The rack knocking probabbly stressed the other components. I don't see a need to replace the column. Is the play in the lower coupler joint splines or in the u-joint in the coupler. Could be loose bolts there also.
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:) WELCOME
I was watching that car on ebay and salivating a little at how nice the condition was .:eek:
RED must be the color !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Gotta love it
congratulations and welcome again
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I paid $5400, which a lot of people said was too much (especially at e30tech.com). I don't regret it at all, and I would have paid more for it. I'm sure I could have found a better deal, but I had been looking for 6 months on ebay, craigslist, autotrader, cars.com, the forums, etc. and this is the best thing I found. Its great to find a deal, but I was ready to buy and this was the car, so I paid what it took to get it. Its mostly borrowed money anyways. What's most important is that its sitting outside, and I couldn't be happier. Oh and I don't care what anyone says $5400 is not much for a car like this.
How much did you get it for, if you don't mind me asking. Looks about the same condition as mine, and I always wonder if I overpaid. Mine was an Ebay purchase as well.
Congrats on a fine purchase and welcome to the club!
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I totally agree with you on the black rocker panels; I've always thought that. I'll prolly paint them red someday, and the ride height won't be stock for long :D Not sure what you mean by "excessive rake."
I went all out tightening that bolt on the column and on my second attempt it actually took out the slop. It drives much better now, and the rattle is gone. Not sure if its will still collapse as it supposed to, but I feel safer without slop in the steering.
That's sharp. I have a few pet peeves like most people. One is the stock ride height. Another is the excessive rake - it makes the car look shorter, and black rocker panels - they make the is lip look like a severe overbite.
But that car looks good! No rust and a straight body. You gatta love 87,000 miles.
I'd say get the coupler with an E36 rack. That big nut on the lower shaft is a puzzle. I tightened mine real tight and it still has enough looseness to collapse. The rack knocking probabbly stressed the other components. I don't see a need to replace the column. Is the play in the lower coupler joint splines or in the u-joint in the coupler. Could be loose bolts there also.
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check out bmp for a lighter flywheel. i know ill be buying one to install on my car shortly.
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Welcome to the land of brilliantrot m42s. I like the rake and black body panels.
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sorry if i sound stupid but what is rake?
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I paid $3500.00 for mine with 179,000 miles on it.:)
Worth every penny . two owner dealer maintained . no rust .runs perfect
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check out bmp for a lighter flywheel. i know ill be buying one to install on my car shortly.
I looked at that; I actually think it will be TOO light. I think that flywheel is geared (no pun intended) towards track use, and I want my car to still be pretty easy to drive in case my wife ever drives it (the HORROR, lol). Its also pretty expensive. I think I will go with an M20 flywheel, clutch assembly and starter gear. I think they are about 20lbs and you can have them machined down to 15lbs. I plan to install it when I need to replace my clutch. I've found the flywheel for $100-150 on car-parts.com. The aluminum flywheel looks sick, though. If you install it, let us know what its like!
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Gawd damn! So it was YOU!!! :)
I had this car on my watch but I couldn't justify paying this much for it, not because it's not worth it, but because I'd have to get it over the border and it would cost about 8000CDN altogether to even get it on the road here. Well, that and it's not black. :D
Congrats on a fine purchase. I really couldn't believe how clean it was when I saw it.
Glad you made it to the forums....
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Ahhh Brillantrot!!! The car looks awesome. Keep us posted on upgrades and by the way, welcome.
Dan.
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I looked at that; I actually think it will be TOO light. I think that flywheel is geared (no pun intended) towards track use, and I want my car to still be pretty easy to drive in case my wife ever drives it (the HORROR, lol). Its also pretty expensive. I think I will go with an M20 flywheel, clutch assembly and starter gear. I think they are about 20lbs and you can have them machined down to 15lbs. I plan to install it when I need to replace my clutch. I've found the flywheel for $100-150 on car-parts.com. The aluminum flywheel looks sick, though. If you install it, let us know what its like!
My thoughts exactly!
Granted, this car could benefit from as much reduction in rotating mass as possible, but I still want the car to be a good driver as mine's still going to be relegated to a lot of daily driving. I think the 8 lb or less aluminum options are great for a track application, but fear it will sacrifice drivability too much.
I think the M20 flywheel is probably the best option for weight and cost. The M20 flywheel weighs about 17 lbs, but nearly 1/2 the weight of the M42 dual-mass, so should see a significant improvement on acceleration. You can have a machine shop remove some more mass from it, but I just simply resurfaced mine. I figure mine will weigh about 16 lbs. I'm gonna weigh it on the track scales before I install it. Going in the car next week! :D
I hope it's still easy to drive, but better acceleration in the lower gears. That's what I'm going for anyways. I'll report back with results once installed.
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looks good man, may I ask what you paid?
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I paid $5400, which a lot of people said was too much (especially at e30tech.com). I don't regret it at all, and I would have paid more for it. I'm sure I could have found a better deal, but I had been looking for 6 months on ebay, craigslist, autotrader, cars.com, the forums, etc. and this is the best thing I found. Its great to find a deal, but I was ready to buy and this was the car, so I paid what it took to get it. Its mostly borrowed money anyways. What's most important is that its sitting outside, and I couldn't be happier. Oh and I don't care what anyone says $5400 is not much for a car like this.
Nice car.
And no, you did not really pay too much. Do some research as to what they are selling for, not what people will pay, and you will see you got it for aabout what you should have paid, maybe less in some instances. Some people find great deals, others struggle to find one in even ok shape (like me). Granted if you are willing to drive all over the country or wait a year, you probably could have gotten a better deal, but like you said, it is yours now as opposed to later. If I had the money I would have paid that much for it as well. No question. There is also the other saying, it is worth what someone will pay for it.
Great looking car.
Oh, steering, an e30 M3 rack aparently will swap in with no mods, be prepared to pay for it though. If you look, you may find a reman'ed for about $650 - $750 plus core.
An e36 rack is cheaper ($260-550 plus core) but requires a little work or another part. Pelican Parts I believe has a how to on this.
Be sure to shop around for steering. You can get ripped of easily. I recomend http://www.discountsteering.com. I got mine there and it was a factory rack, but refurb'ed. It was well over $100 less than most places wanted, plus had free shipping and a low core charge.
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Hey, at least its in the family, right? Just look at it as if I saved you from spending money and going on a long trip to get it. I had to drive 500 miles and it was a rough trip, especially with a wicked vibration (that has since been smoothed out). It is clean, but not perfect. It had (and has) quite a few mechanical issues to sort out, but over all its solid. I've been driving it like crazy the last couple weeks and have loved every minute of it. Its cut about 15min off the 2.25 hr drive to visit my folks ;)
Gawd damn! So it was YOU!!! :)
I had this car on my watch but I couldn't justify paying this much for it, not because it's not worth it, but because I'd have to get it over the border and it would cost about 8000CDN altogether to even get it on the road here. Well, that and it's not black. :D
Congrats on a fine purchase. I really couldn't believe how clean it was when I saw it.
Glad you made it to the forums....
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$5400 with no regrets :D
looks good man, may I ask what you paid?
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I agree with you totally. People over at e30tech will say $5400 is too much for an E30, but I think that they are comparing the 318is to all of the E30s ever made, but the 318is is a pretty rare car actually, as it was only made for about a year. I think people who specifically want this car had better be prepared to pay for it, because there are a lot of people out there who feel the same way.
Its worth every penny.
Thanks for the tip on the rack. I've kinda gotten use the to stock rack, its only really a pain when I am in the parking lot, but I am definitely going to look int he places you mentioned for a good E36 rack.
Nice car.
And no, you did not really pay too much. Do some research as to what they are selling for, not what people will pay, and you will see you got it for aabout what you should have paid, maybe less in some instances. Some people find great deals, others struggle to find one in even ok shape (like me). Granted if you are willing to drive all over the country or wait a year, you probably could have gotten a better deal, but like you said, it is yours now as opposed to later. If I had the money I would have paid that much for it as well. No question. There is also the other saying, it is worth what someone will pay for it.
Great looking car.
Oh, steering, an e30 M3 rack aparently will swap in with no mods, be prepared to pay for it though. If you look, you may find a reman'ed for about $650 - $750 plus core.
An e36 rack is cheaper ($260-550 plus core) but requires a little work or another part. Pelican Parts I believe has a how to on this.
Be sure to shop around for steering. You can get ripped of easily. I recomend http://www.discountsteering.com. I got mine there and it was a factory rack, but refurb'ed. It was well over $100 less than most places wanted, plus had free shipping and a low core charge.
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D Not sure what you mean by "excessive rake."
Excessive in my opinion is the back of the car being more than slightly higher than the front. With the back lower the car looks longer. Too much rake and the back of the car looks larger than the front. Some people think the back of mine is too low but it's subjective and strictly personal preference.
Here's an E36 rack link:
http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=66247 (http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=66247)
Used price is $150-$200. Those guys use the same repair shop I do except mine is carpeted. Those carpet remnants are soooooo soft!
On a late model airbag car the rack will connect directly to the steering shaft coupler without modification. You just have to notch the firewall to move the opening toward the center of the car about an 3/4" and down a bit. Used racks usually come with the tie rods. making removal even simpler. No need to mess with taking tie rods off the rack.
I think the purchase price is right considering the mileage.
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$5400 with no regrets :D
I got mine for a smooth 1700 off of ebay also.....from Walpole, Mass. It has 90,000 on the clock, VERY little rust, but a peeling clearcoat on the doors...no clearcoat on the bumpers hood roof or trunk, and a cracked front bumper...Bust still... best 1700 I have ever spent (this is my first car). Oh yea....BRILLANTROT FTW! lol