new guy, just bought a 1991 318is

[brandon11130]

I just bought a 91 318is with around 150k miles on it.  I had a 91 325i  but i wanted somthing a little better on gas and i didnt feel like putting a manual tranny in my old 325i.

Im wondering what matenence i should perform on it? The motor looks as if atleast the head was rebuilt, it still has the assembly numbers on the internals. Im going to compression test it once i get it. The previous owner just put a new clutch in and a new cam chain tensioner in.  What standuard motor matenence should be done? i would like to do a coil on plug conversion(what does that usually cost to do the conversion?) I have heard im supposed to pull the oil pan and make sure some bolts have not fell out of somewhere... idk my friend told me. Anything else that will keep my motor purring?

The shifter has a lot of play in it. who sells the most complete short shift kit? one that has all the bushings, i heard the ebay ones are fine but they are very very short. what shifter do you guys recomend?

The crosmember that supports the motor is cracked/rusted where the engine mounts to it. The PO has a new one ready to put in. im wondering is this a common problem? The carfax showed the vehicle was in 2 minor accidents but nothing that totaled it or gave it an R title.

I already put my suspension on the 318is, i have H&R race springs and billy sports and new bushings that i had on my 325i for a week.

And yes i know you guys love pics, ill snap some nice ones for you, my brother has a sweet EOS with lenses that cost more than my car.

Here are the sellers pics (e30turboboy) from e30tech.







The car does need a little but of bodywork but nothing major, little dent by the tail light and front fender, and some rust spots on the inside of the trunk, door bottoms and a tiny bit on the rockers. Luckily i work at a bodyshop so that shouldint be a problem. Also im looking for a black interrior, and would be willing to trade my tan sport interrior for one

[e30 4cyl]

You beat me to that car, I was too late.  Congratulations on the purchase and good luck with the car.

[cenotaph]

Very nice, I just bought a 318is too! You might have seen it buy it now on ebay!

[strad]

Certainly look into the health of all the vacuum hoses and water hoses/pipes/water pump/radiator.  Nothing kills an M42 faster than an overheat!  Well, maybe running it without oil. . . better pull the lower pan and check the tightness of those six or so upper pan bolts from inside.  

Might wanna also check out the condition of the four rubber fuel hoses in the engine compartment -- don't wanna have a fire!

The paint looks good on your car.  Mine looks that good too, but I had to repaint it in order to get it that way lol.

[brandon11130]

The paint is nice, it looks like it has been re sprayed in some places, i can only tell because of mild overspray in fenders, but it was blended perfectly with the rest of the car. I will need to respray the bottom of both doors because of the rust, the driver side front fender has a dent that needs to be re sprayed, and the trunk needs to be re sprayed because of surface rust on the inside of the lid, Im going to remove the spoiler, just because like the look of a clean backside.

[brandon11130]

has anyone ever swaped out the motor crossmember on a m42? how diffucult is it? will i need to lift the engine up with a crane or will i be fine just jacking it up?

[Choking Hazard]

Looks pretty straight!  Sweet car.
Search "profile" here to learn about the profile gasket.  There are also concerns about oil pan impacts and what that does to the oil pickup.  Also (don't be TOO alarmed by this), sometimes there are loose bolts bouncing around in the oil pan.  Prolly good to search that too.  Of a less"critical" nature, but good to do for improvement you can feel, is a simple plug rplacement and installing a new timing chain tensioner.  The M42 is pretty sensitive to oil viscosity too.  Mine likes 10w30.
Another common problem is a faulty gas and or temp readout, which comes from a bad ground on the instrument panel.

[Nick_318is]

BMA parts Link Here, if you call everyone says to ask for patrick sells a complete short shifter kit with bushings, you might have a couple choices of shift levers I have the z3 1.9 shifter and I like it it made a nice decrease in the throw.

[jeff91-318is]

great choice man
hope you love it as much as i love mine

[hoevesruperd]

good buy!! and welcome to the club
you will now fall in love with the car and quit talking to humans!