BMW M328i, The Underside

I had some free time before we closed at work on Christmas Eve, and was able to bring the BMW over the pit and have a look under it. There were some surprises….

Taking the car to work was a mission in itself, with the damn thing having a flat front tire, so before I could leave I had to pump that up. Hopefully its a valve, but I’ll need to investigate once I have the wheels off.

Another other issue I have now uncovered is that the damn starter is playing up and sometimes wont engage the flywheel first time, until I release the key and try again. Looks like I’ll need a starter too >_<

So the list of issues with the car grows by the day, but on the plus side driving the car to and from work has made me realise that despite its flaws, I actually like driving it. This is good, it encourages me to keep working on it.

My general feeling after inspecting the car over the pit is that it’s better than expected. Only one or two small leaks, one from the power steering like ALL E36s, and one from the gearbox selector shaft seal, which will be changed when I do the shifter bushes. This was after I gave it a quick clean.

The other major issue I found is that the giubo (rubber drive shaft coupling) is stuffed. Lots of cracks in it and some bits missing. Hard to see in the photos, but unmistakable in person.

I also discovered some bad workmanship, possibly from when it was converted. This hose clamp, on the outlet of the fuel filter, to the engine, was completely loose. The hose is also internally cracking, so will be replaced when I change the filter.

Another hose clamp with issues, was this one. The red arrow is pointing at the hose clamp that should be on the hose, but that’s where I found it, jammed up between the car body and metal hard pipe and when I tried to put it into place I found someone has completely flogged out of the screwdriver slot, so it cannot be tightened (or undone, I’ll need to cut it off). Strangely it also doesn’t match any normal metric size, so I couldn’t use a socket on it either. I ended up fitting a new clamp on the hose instead, shown by the green arrow. Oh, and what’s that hose? Just the fuel return from the rail.

No wonder the seller claimed it took two tanks of gas to get here from Auckland, it was probably just dumping fuel everywhere.

Thankfully I confirmed the M3 LSD has indeed been fitted. 3.15 ratio with S tag, indicating LSD.

Everything else does also appear to be standard M3 gear. Lots of room for aftermarket improvements then!

Another small issue is that the oil cap is bucketing oil out of it, so despite cleaning down the side of the engine before leaving work, it’s covered in oil again. I suspect I will have to stop driving the car until the new cap arrives.

Over all, it could be worse, and that’s fine with me.