A 1997 e36 M3 that I shouldn't have bought :/
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A few days after my parents not letting me buy @m42b32 e36 m3 (They want me in something newer)Â
A 1997 e36 m3 sedan popped up on CL Had engine problems
Only an hour away so I took a look.
After spending 4hrs looking at it (Literately) I determined it had no spark it cranks and such.
After consulting some friends.. Thanks @wasnt m3 @KaiserRolls @ChrisO
I figured it be worth it. Worst comes to worst sell it for what I paid..
Here are some basic facts about it
220k miles with 160k mile motorish and manual swap
K&N CAI
light weight clutch + flywheel
max-speeding rods coils
ds2s
Black interior
Also has a muffler delete
A bit of rust.
It was owned by a guy who had a bunch of friends into e36s but didn't know too much about them himself. Nice guy tho
Had to pay off his loan and get a release.
I plan on fixing the problems and selling it as a drift car or something. So hopefully I didn't buy myself into a hole or anything LMAO
Here are some pics. More tomorrow!
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Po LOL
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Yesss
Does it have a full set of Ds2's or does it just have one style 32?
It has a full set. (Not very good condition) But we couldn't get one of the style 32s off because a lug was stripped. (Walmart tightened them to hell) so I'll have to return them to him eventually.
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So it still doesn't have spark? First thing to check, lift up the back seat and listen for the fuel pump priming for a couple seconds when the key is turned to run. If not the ECU isn't getting powered up. Do you have a multimeter?
Yes I have a multi-meter. It is getting fuel. Just no spark. Before I bought it I tried putting new spark plugs in and that didnt work either.
I have a feeling an ecu ground/fried or a cam/crank position sensor. Leaning more to an ecu problem.
Gonna try some stuff tonight.
Nice!! Looks like it will be a fun project, get it running nice and daily it!Â
Probably drive it for a few weeks but ultimately I bought it to flip because the price was decent.
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Ok, if you have fuel injecting then that's a good sign. Coil pack wiring harness is a separate part on OBD2 cars and I have heard of them going bad. Â
ETMs by production date here.  http://wedophones.com/BMWManualsLead.htm
Page 1210.17-03 has the coil wiring harness, note plug X6150. If you need help understanding the diagram let me know. I'm not sure how electrical savvy you are.
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Yes I have a multi-meter. It is getting fuel. Just no spark. Before I bought it I tried putting new spark plugs in and that didnt work either.
I have a feeling an ecu ground/fried or a cam/crank position sensor. Leaning more to an ecu problem.
Gonna try some stuff tonight.
Probably drive it for a few weeks but ultimately I bought it to flip because the price was decent.
I have an ECU from @ChrisO's 97 M3 if you deduce the problem might be from that.
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Pulled the ECU in the rain today. Hoping that it would be my problem. There was a decent amount of dirt and grime in the ecu compartment but when I cracked the ECU open it looked fine.
My next thought was the DME relay. Tested just fine. More looking tomorrow. Hopefully it isn't down-pouring.
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So today I was just about to pull the crank possession sensor when @ChrisOÂ hmu. He asked If I needed to borrow his check engine light scanner. I didn't check it so I said sure bring it over!.
We started fiddling with it and we actually noticed when you turned the key we couldn't hear the fuel pump priming. We compared it to his car and we confirmed our suspicion. After further evaluation we noticed there wasn't a 15 amp fuse in the fuel pump fuse spot. We popped one in and WHALAH it runs. It is currently having trouble idling but I assume it has something to do with the intake boot being so cracked and warn out.
Woo my bank account doesn't look bad to me anymore.....
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Nice! Glad it was a simple fix. That torn intake boot will definitely make it run like absolute garbage
Getting a mishimoto asc delete one from a guy who owes me money tomorrow. So I like free parts
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Well my suspicion was confirmed today. It randomly/idled bad due to the old intake boot. Installed this mishimoto one and it started right up with no hesitation and went right back down to idle! (700ish rpms)..
Next things to figure it out is the oil pressure light. I suspect that it's on due to the fact that there's so much gas in the oil the oil is very thin. I drained it and there is indeed alot of gas in the oil. Grabbing a filter and some 15w-40 mobil 1 to see if that's it!.
I also ordered a used oem clutch fan and a single lug nut.
Anyway does anyone have any experience with Aero Catches? I am not about to spend a couple hundred dollars to fix the hood cable when I can buy aero catches for 80 and it not be a pain in the ass LOL
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If it was me, I'd try to tackle replacing the cable before i went and put hood releases on it. Worst case, you're out 30 bucks and you just get the aerocatches.
Found a DIY:Â https://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?668742-xjeeper-s-Hood-latch-and-cable-replacement-DIY-(the-easy-way)
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If it was me, I'd try to tackle replacing the cable before i went and put hood releases on it. Worst case, you're out 30 bucks and you just get the aerocatches.
Found a DIY:Â https://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?668742-xjeeper-s-Hood-latch-and-cable-replacement-DIY-(the-easy-way)
I wish it was that cheap. But the cable was cut in multiple places. So I would need the whole kit. Would be around 150$. This car isn't perfect and I will probably selling it as a track car or something.
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