Today is the final update for the supercharged BMW 318is as it has been sold and I will be attempting to use my new (to me) Volvo V50 as my daily transport. The BMW sold very quickly - within a...
Selling my 1998 BMW 318is, Avus Blue, 5-speed manual, M44 1.9-litre twin-cam engine. Has done 310,000 km. Registration to 29 October 2020. Limited-edition Sport model which came with a factory...
For several years I've had a strange knocking type noise coming from my car. I've tried to solve it myself, and replaced several parts. I've also sought expert help on a couple of occasions but...
My car originally came with rear headrests but I broke the rear parcel shelf and replaced it with one that didn't have the holes for the headrests, and I didn't mind the improved rear vision that...
Over the last few weeks I've attempted to sort out a few issues with the car. Some time ago I ordered some new window slides hoping to fix the issue with my passenger-side window getting stuck...
For a week or so now I have been noticing a problem when driving that most occurs when going down hills where I can feel the car bucking or surging. I also noticed that sometimes it would idle at...
Today my 1998 BMW 318is reached 300,000 km (186411 miles), and is still going strong. Not bad for a car with an aftermarket supercharger fitted for most of its life. I haven't updated on the...
As per usual, I fix one problem and another appears. This time the airbag warning light came on for a moment, then stayed on, then was off the following day but came on again momentarily. I...
The passenger door has been difficult to open from the outside for a long time now. Sometimes it would only open if you pushed against the door. But it wouldn't open at all the other day, and the...
I noticed the other day that my radiator expansion tank was empty so filled it up and the next time I drove the car it was empty again. I had a look for leaks and found a trail of coolant under...
There was oil around the exhaust side of the cylinder head cover gasket and also in one of the spark plug tubes so time to replace this gasket. I last did one of these on my first E30 318is and...
I had been hearing some unusual noise from the rear which I thought might be the differential possibly low on oil. Also the gearbox sometimes doesn't spring in and out of fifth gear. First was...
I started having some trouble with my supercharged BMW E36 318is a few weeks ago. Firstly the car smelt strongly of fuel, and then it started losing power or stalling while driving. I kept a...
My passenger side window on my 1998 318is coupe has been stuck in the closed position for some time. I can usually get it going by removing the door trim and then hitting the window motor with a...
If you hear a squeaking noise coming from behind your 1991 to 1998 BMW 3 series steering wheel, or possibly the steering doesn't feel so smooth and maybe binds every now and then, then there's...
Since I bought this car, the air intake system has been a bit of a mess. Originally the exit from the PCV valve was routed to before the MAF. Except there was no PCV valve - just a pipe from the...
I have a spare 7-button MID from one of the cars I dismantled and now that I have moved to a colder climate (Sydney Blue Mountains) I thought it might be interesting to fit it to see what the...
The ABS+ASC warning light has been stuck on in my 1998 318is coupe since I bought it. When I checked the fault codes the error was a fault with the pump unit. I have looked into this problem a...
Last time I had a wheel alignment done the mechanic told me that my front lower control arm bushings were worn out and were in need of replacement. The ball joints and control arms themselves were...
My fuel gauge in my 1998 BMW 318is coupe stopped working the other day. My first thoughts were to check the sender which I believed was on the left side of the car, underneath the rear seat. I...
I finally got around to having the second hand M50 dual mass flywheel and clutch kit fitted today. I can confirm that it is a bolt in replacement with no modifications required. The...
The other night I noticed an unusual whirring noise from the engine area on my 1998 BMW 318is coupe. I assume it was one of my idler pulley wheels which I have previously noticed as being noisy and...
After several months of excessive noise due to the previously mentioned cracked exhaust manifold, my 1997 318is sedan is now fixed and quiet again. I had previously purchased a second hand...
My wife's car, the four door 1997 318is, has developed several faults over the last few months. The most annoying is that the exhaust manifold seems to have developed a crack, which I believe is a...
For some time I had noticed some noise from the rear of the car but it got to the point where I finally did something about it. I jacked the car up and could hear and feel the problem by turning the...
When I got home after buying my 1998 318is Sport, my wife, who had been following me, said that that when I accelerated hard it was quite smokey - although she couldn't tell me what colour the smoke...
Recently we have been having problems starting our 1997 BMW 318is sedan. The symptoms are that the engine does not turn over but the starter motor does spin. However, it only happens sometimes...
After several months of searching for my next car, last night I spotted a 1998 318is Sport for sale. Not only was it priced quite low, but the advertisement said it was supercharged. The next...
The ignition lock on our 1997 318is 4-door has for some time shown some signs that it was wearing out. Sometimes when you turned the key the lock would just spin freely. Today there was a...
Today I said farewell to my 1994 318is coupe, which has served me well for the last five years. The new owner picked it up this morning and left on a 1,000 km journey back to his home on the NSW...
The 318is has had broken front door trims since we bought it earlier in the year, with an entire centre section missing on one side. I finally found a reasonably priced set of four door trims...
This is my 1994 BMW 318is coupe with M42 engine. I bought it in September 2007 with just under 160,000km. Today it has travelled just over 210,000km. It still had the original 15" alloy wheels on...
Engine mounts replaced... car running great now. No strange noises around corners, and idle is much smoother now. See if you can see what's wrong with my old engine mounts (pictures are exactly...
I got around to doing what I should have done first and just looked down at the engine mounts. Looks like the driver side mount has completely separated. It's hard to see the passenger side one but...
Another day spent working on the car, another frustrating day. I replaced the control arm bushings which was much harded than expected. I had trouble getting off the old ones and ended up cutting...
Okay, I might buy a set of bushes already mounted in the housings and try installing them myself. I found some on eBay for about $80 delivered from the USA. I figure if I put the new bushes in...
Finally got the car back from the auto trans place. This transmission is better - drives well in forward gears - but reverse is slow to engage (around 2-3 seconds). Is it that hard to find a...
The car has been with the auto transmission specialists since last Tuesday and two days ago they told me the new (used) transmission needs replacing. I organised a replacement under warranty from...
I drove the car to work today and the transmission became a bit of a problem, finally resulting in the transmission fault light coming on and being stuck in 3rd gear (limp home mode presumably). I...
Late this afternoon I registered the car finally, and my wife and i took it for the first legal drive. I spoke to a couple of people and it seems that after a fluid change an automatic...
Just when I thought the worst was over, things got worse. I picked the car up from the auto trans specialist tonight. A$510 for fitting the new trans, servicing it, replacing a broken water...
Unfortunately the fitting of the new transmission did not go well today. First call I got was that the transmission I bought was different and would not fit. So I rang around and found another...
Car is with the auto transmission specialist now. They are going to fit the transmission, including new rear main and torque converter seals, and new gaskets, filter and oil. They are also going to...
I fitted the new steering wheel slip ring this afternoon and the horn now works. The airbag warning light is on - maybe that needs resetting? While checking that all lights etc work for...
Most importantly, earlier this week my new bonnet badge arrived which I fitted immediately. Looks great. This morning I went to my local wrecker and pulled out a blower motor, cost A$30. I also...
If you saw my first post, you would have seen the condition of the bonnet. It had several large areas where the paint had peeled off and the exposed metal had started to rust. It looked awful and...
Finally fixed the sunroof. Aside from breaking certain parts while trying to work out how it all worked, I think the main problem was lack of lubrication. It's working great now. While I had the...
Yesterday I replaced the oil filter housing gasket and bush, and also the cylinder head cover gasket. So far no oil leaks. I also picked up a (very expensive) sunroof mechanism ("cassette") which...
I picked up a used automatic transmission today for A$250, and need to get it installed now (quoted A$350 + oil). I also got a "final stage unit" hoping it would solve my climate control issue (no...
