1999 M3 daily driver running log

[m42b32]

139k

Thermostat and thermostat housing replaced, swapped in a brass bleeder screw on the expansion tank too, so far no more leaks. I had an 80C thermostat in there before, and it kept coolant temps around 190 at the head sensor so I replaced it with another Behr 80C unit and a genuine BMW composite thermostat housing (with a bunch of RTV, apparently the genuine housings don't have the paper gasket on them anymore). I really couldn't tell why the aluminum one had started leaking, no cracks or anything, though the rubber gasket looked like it had flattened out quite a bit so that may have been the problem, but who knows... I'm just happy to be driving it again. 

I seem to always pick terrible days to work on things, but I wanted my car back so nothing a tarp, bungee cords, and a WJ Grand Cherokee couldn't fix. Not pictured: the 6"of snow burying both cars and 1/4" of ice sealing the hood/doors/trunk shut. 

[Boris3]

Now that's just about one of the best examples of wrenching dedication I've seen and downright humbling. Well done sir.

[B C]

I feel like im the only person running a 92C thermostat these days

[jc43089]

snap said:

I feel like im the only person running a 92C thermostat these days

I have an 88 at least.  I also have no fan and a broken temp gauge.  #livinontheedge

[m42b32]

snap said:

I feel like im the only person running a 92C thermostat these days

I had the original 92C for the first 5k that I drove the car and had no problems (only had the factory buffered temp gauge at the time, but it never moved past the middle), the lower temp thermostat really just gives you a minute or two of a buffer in case something goes wrong. If you have an additional temp gauge with actual numbers to keep an eye on things you should be fine!

[KaiserRolls]

Come to think of it, I dont remember what ° I have. Probably 88 [emoji19]

[m42b32]

Ready for summer! Slapped on the roof rack and a square set of 17x8.5 contours with 245/40/17 Falken Fk510's. Loving the wider rubber already, it looks a lot meaner! Not usually a black wheel fan, but on the white/modena it really makes the interior pop!

I also discovered I don't have any roundel center caps for my wheels, so if anyone has a set in decent shape (68mm, 36136783536) let me know!

[Rekpoint]

m42b32 said:

Ready for summer! Slapped on the roof rack and a square set of 17x8.5 contours with 245/40/17 Falken Fk510's. Loving the wider rubber already, it looks a lot meaner! Not usually a black wheel fan, but on the white/modena it really makes the interior pop!

 
I also discovered I don't have any roundel center caps for my wheels, so if anyone has a set in decent shape (68mm, 36136783536) let me know!

Curious how the roof rack is mounted.

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

[m42b32]

Rekpoint said:

Curious how the roof rack is mounted.

Its Thule Traverse 480 feet, with the fit kit 1015 (fits the feet to an e36 coupe), and I can't remember the width of the bars but I had them on my e30. Looks like they don't make that specific fit kit anymore but some retailers still have it in stock. It's basically rubber pads that are shaped to the roof profile, and then clamps that come down and grab onto the crack just above the window trim. It basically squeezes itself to the shape of the roof, but its on there really well!

[Jdesign]

This looks great white black wheels. I dig!

[m42b32]

140k

The keyless entry has developed a mind of it's own and immediately re-locks the doors after hitting the unlock button. I suspect the trunk lock/actuator is messing with things as it has been very sticky and tough to operate lately. Anyone have behavior like this before? Other things to look for? 

Edit: English is hard, fixed...

[jc43089]

m42b32 said:

140k

The keyless entry has developed a mind of it's own and immediately locks the doors after hitting the lock button. I suspect the trunk lock/actuator is messing with things as it has been very sticky and tough to operate lately. Anyone have behavior like this before? Other things to look for? 

Seems good to me!  I assume you mean the doors lock and then unlock right away?  My coupe does this as well.  I don't have a key fob, it does the lock and immediately unlock if I push the rod down.  If I push it down a second time they all stay down.  I just don't lock it, I think it has something to do with the limit switches for the door being closed.  Do your windows drop when you open the door?  Mine do not.

[B C]

jc43089 said:

Seems good to me!  

Came here to post this.

Is it by chance an air actuated system like Audi/VW uses? im guessing not but the only time I had issues like that was on a pneumatic system

[m42b32]

jc43089 said:

Seems good to me!  I assume you mean the doors lock and then unlock right away?  My coupe does this as well.  I don't have a key fob, it does the lock and immediately unlock if I push the rod down.  If I push it down a second time they all stay down.  I just don't lock it, I think it has something to do with the limit switches for the door being closed.  Do your windows drop when you open the door?  Mine do not.

Whoops haha, fixed that! It's actually the opposite: If the car is unlocked and I lock it, it all works fine. If the car is locked, and I hit the button to unlock it, the car re-locks itself immediately. This only happens when I use the keyless remote (earlier 3-button system if that matters). The window drop works on both doors. Good call on the limit switches, I have the hood switch connected to the alarm so that or the trunk could possibly be causing a problem. 

snap said:

Is it by chance an air actuated system like Audi/VW uses? im guessing not but the only time I had issues like that was on a pneumatic system

It's an electric system with actuators on both doors and the trunk, and limit switches on each of those as well as the hood.

[patsbimmer1]

I had this issue on my 95 325is and it was a security issue with the window pressure sensors.  Replacement of the driver side window motor fixed it.

[m42b32]

Minor update: It has now changed it's mind and the situation is reversed. Only does it with keyless, key works fine in all doors and trunk lock. Looks like I've got a date with a multi-meter pretty soon.

[straight6pwr]

on e30s,  problems with the central locking 'disagreeing' with locking is caused by actuators that have gone bad, or door lock/latch mechanisms which are a little sticky and make the sensors in the actuators misread due to the extra resistance. i'd try lubing all the mechanisms first and see if you see an improvement.

not sure if this applies to e36s.

[wasnt m3]

If you end up needing a trunk lock actuator, I have one you can come steal.

[m42b32]

140.3k

Oil changed with Mobil1 5w50 

Haven't gotten a chance to look into the lock situation, might get to it this weekend. I did, however, finally get into cleaning the interior before the picnic last weekend. I had time to get into everything but the leather on the front seats. It had gotten pretty dirty, but it's looking awesome now. I'm planning to finish up the front seats this weekend and will finally get some pics of the interior in this thread. 

With the super hot weather coming up this weekend I reinstalled the AC belt and tensioner. I had taken it off when I was investigating weird noises maybe two years ago and never got around to reinstalling it. The AC worked well when I bought the car, but unfortunately it doesn't do much anymore. RIP. 

I also added another rack to the roof rack so I can carry my mountain bike (it didn't fit the existing racks). Looks good up there

[Jdesign]

A/C is usually a pretty simple fix if you don't need to rebuild the compressor. Buy a can of AC stop leak fix and a A?C Pro recharge and it might be all you need.

( if you are interested PM me, I can get a deal on this stuff)