My 1994 325i project log & fixing diary

[Morgion]

So, my car is a twice-imported (Germany -> Sweden -> Finland) 1994 325i I bought for 2700€ ($3.5K) late summer 2010, driven 260 000km (160 000mi) at time of purchase. It works flawlessly; the engine performs and sounds like new, from 0 to 100km/h (60mph) in 7.5 seconds, 10L/100km (23MPG) mixed, nothing to complain about. One of the unknown previous owners ("Mr. Mysterious" from now on) really liked M3, so it's customized to look roughly like one, with M3 rims and bumper. And I like it, being a M3 fan myself. Now I don't have to get one unless I win the lottery or something! Thank god no spoiler or anything, though, not a fan of that stuff.

At first I didn't intend to get a "project car", but a car I would have to do only maintenance on, but it seems I ended up with an amalgam of sorts - a car that runs fine and looks good, but which has all these little things to fix and tweak if I feel like it. In the end, I've come to consider it a good thing. If I don't have the time/energy to do anything about the car I don't have to, and if I have some extra energy/time I can go tweak and fix it like no tomorrow. Although I've noticed I've lately become so anal-retentive about the car I want to fix everything and know everything about it. But that's a standard side effect of buying a BMW, I guess.

Technical stuff:

VIN: WBACB31000JD66882
Series: E36/4
Engine: M50B25
Manufactured: 26.07.1994

Order options
No. Description
240 LEATHER STEERING WHEEL (Still got it, won't switch.)
314 HEATED WINDSCREEN WASHER NOZZLES (Winter package, thank god for that! You know, Finland.)
428 WARNING TRIANGLE (Missing, bought another one.)
465 THROUGH-LOAD SYSTEM (Folding back seats, I love these! You can fit ridiculous amounts of stuff to a BMW with folding rear seats.)
473 ARMREST, FRONT (Wow, phenomenally impressive, eh...?)
510 HEADLIGHT BEAM-THROW CONTR. F LOW BEAM (Adjustable low beam height, the headlights have been replaced with aftermarket ones with no adjustability so the switch is left useless.)
530 AIR CONDITIONING (Usually it's enough to keep the windows open in summer, but it's nice to have an A/C in working condition for those really hot days. It even uses R-134a so can be refilled!)
556 EXTERIOR TEMPERATURE DISPLAY (11 button OBC)
651 BMW Bavaria C Reverse (The original car stereo, never saw it, the car had a new stereo when I bought it.)
801 GERMANY VERSION (That is, made for and bought in Germany.)
900 APPR. VEH.IMMOBILIZAT. ACC. TO AZT/TUEV (Immobilizer. A working one, even!)
915 BODY SKIN CONSERVATION, DELETION (No protective layer over interior fabrics. Why, god, why?!)

Apart from those, some quite hideous aftermarket headlights (Taiwanese, it seems, identical to these.) with clear blinkers, same in the rear, M3 front bumper and rims.

The current list of deficiencies includes, by category:

Brakes and suspension:

• The air gaps and edges of the front brake discs as well as the sheet metal protecting them are slightly rusty. Probably the rear ones too. I will switch them when they are worn, rather than resurfacing them.

Electronics:

• The MID unit clock light doesn't get power. The bulb itself is fine.
• The MID unit temperature sensor is missing.
• The MID is going haywire. Disconnected that bastard, gonna get a Feeler in there instead when (not if, when) the guys get the project ready-ish.
• No amplifier installed. Eyeing a couple. The head unit has sufficient juice to power the speakers, although the sound is far from good.
• Driver's side window's auto-up function works intermittently. Auto-down works normally, as does the passenger's window. Swapped the polarity of the motor as well as the switch, so now I have auto-up but only intermittent auto-down. Auto-up is more important anyway.

Windows, mirrors and interior:

• Scratches on the tinting tape of the right rear passenger window.
• Some stainage in the seats and other interior fabrics.
• Roof liner is sagging bad.

Plastics:

• Driver's side foglight cover is cracked.
• Rear and front bumpers' attaching screws have loosened a bit, leading to small gaps between the body and the bumpers.
• The rear window is missing some weatherstripping. It's not an issue as the window is still waterproof, but the quarter-inch gaps don't look nice.
• The BMW logo roundels on the centers of the M3 rims are fading and the covering tape chipping away.

Body:

• Minor surface rust under the paint at some spots. (Currently WIP removing it all.)

Other:

• Trunk lock is full of junk, so can't be opened with the key (not an issue anyway, I always use the central locking).
• Transmission input shaft bearing whines.

I'm going to make this thread a diary of sorts. I'll update here whenever I've done something to the car.

If you have any tips for me concerning, well, anything, feel free to share! Also, if you are suffering from some of the same issues, I can share tips if I've taken care of the issue in question.

What I've already done:

• Replaced leaky heater core.
• Took care of the rust on the trunk floor. Scraped off old paint and loose rust, sanded, sprayed on gratuitous amounts of zinc paint, rust protectant and underbody rust seal and called it a day.
• Swapped cats and muffler from a 1997 328iT.
• Repainted nose panel, mirrors and front bumper.
• USB charger integrated into center console.
• Replaced windshield.
• Painted kidney grilles and headlights black.
• E38 side blinkers installed thanks to Mr. Inspector man kindly insisting.
• Front right brake pads unstuck.
• The interior light switch "auto" position fixed.
• Installed the missing front speakers.
• Right side-view mirror changed.
• Missing driver's footwell air duct added.
• Straightened dented passenger side front fender.
• Covered up most rust and damaged paint temporarily.
• Fixed MID lights (faulty soldering) apart from the clock light.
• Changed the engine fan clutch after the old one failed and left me stranded.
• Changed the gearshift knob. (Old one had the Audi RS logo on it.)
• Changed the CD-player (new one has USB and aux input).
• Attached a cellphone stand for my PDA. (Wohoo!)
• Removed rear window tinting tape leftover adhesive with acetone. I gotta do that again sometime later, but it's clear enough for now.
• Cigarette lighter socket light fixed. The orange transparent chainsa- I mean plastic ring doesn't light up as it's supposed to, probably because I installed a LED instead of a bulb. Modified it a bit and now it lights up all proper-like.
• Fixed the driver's window which had fallen off the white plastic sliders.
• Front ride height restored back to stock! It was lowered by 60mm.
• The edge of the side bolster of the right rear passenger seat slightly overlapped the seatbelt lock, requiring the use of some force to get the seatbelt locked. I removed the bolster, bent the metal frame inside it a bit and put it back to place and now it doesn't overlap anymore!
• Added the missing driver's door handle cover.
• Replaced the right rear passenger "panic handle" above the door.
• Added missing plastic strips to front bumper.
• Covered up all damage on hood paint from flown debris.
• Driver's door check replaced.
• Missing brake ducts installed.

Future to do-list:

• Add buttons to toggle brake lights (for tailgaters) and reverse lights (for people who drive behind you at night with high-beams on).
• Gotta find a replacement for the headlights. I have a thread about it.
• Add the missing CEL (euro specs).
• Convert the glovebox flashlight recharge socket to something else.
• Sand and repaint the rusted spots.
• Gotta do something about the paint job sometime. Maybe vinyl? Machine polish? Something. A different color instead of the Dunkelblau would be nice, gunmetal and/or dark red. Not happening anytime soon, if ever.
• Redye the interior after the paintjob. The interior is currently light gray/dark gray/black. I'm gonna dye the light gray fabrics dark gray and red.
• Replace the windshield.
• Change the 11-button OBC to the 18-button one or something custom/aftermarket. A Feeler, mayhaps?
• Re-wire the headlight height adjustment control to something else. (Ideas welcome!)
• Engine sensor, plug, belt, valve, etc. makeover. (As in change/clean every one of them, god knows when they were last checked.)
• Mechanical fan to an electric one (unlikely).
• Cruise control retrofit.
• Brighter angel eyes for DRL purposes. Also swap fog lights for DRLs.
• Reinforce front and rear shock towers.
• M-tech side moldings.

[Morgion]

OLD:

[Morgion]

The rear window is finally (almost) clean of the adhesive! At least now I would recognize his face if a friend drove behind me. Earlier I could only make out the headlights and a roughly car-shaped colored smudge in the rear-view mirror...

I would probably have gone on for half an hour more, had my arm not grown tired of the scrubbing and my head started swimming from the acetone fumes. I had all the doors open the whole time and it is quite windy outside, but I'm still feeling sleepy.

[Morgion]

Engine coolant flush! A serious pain in the ass for the first-timer, thankfully next time I know what to do from the start. The instructions online of the whereabouts of the engine block drain plug ain't that good, at least if you're not familiar with the structure of the engine. For the total noobs, if your steering wheel is on the left, the drain plug is on the passenger side of the engine. Follow the exhaust pipe towards the front/up and it's there, halfway up the side of the engine block. The only bolt up there. When you find it, you have no idea how you could have missed it. I personally didn't look up enough.

Also added some brake/trans fluid.

The soldering of the right low-beam has failed again. It always fails at where the negative wire attaches to the bulb connector. Gotta make a more heavy-duty soldering next time.

[Ramtek55]

If you haven't already, you might wanna get some tubing and extend the position of that air intake closer to the nose of the car where the air from the vents can actually GET to the air filter.

Hot air = No bueno.

A heat shield for it wouldn't hurt either.

[Morgion]

Oh, I hadn't even thought of that! Thanks, I better do that when I make/get some brake ducts.

I re-soldered the right low-beam wire, this time it'll take quite a bit more the break.

[ricky318]

not sure if it still helps but i found that a degreaser spray works best for removing those tint adhesives. spray or apply some on the cloth and on the glass if possible, then let it sit for a few seconds, then wipe off.

when you're done. spray with glass cleaner.

when you do convert the Flashlight to Aux outlet. make sure you take pics and what you used for a possible DIY (not sure i've seen one done yet)

good luck! hope to see more updates.

[ricky318]

not sure if it still helps but i found that a degreaser spray works best for removing those tint adhesives. spray or apply some on the cloth and on the glass if possible, then let it sit for a few seconds, then wipe off.

when you're done. spray with glass cleaner.

when you do convert the Flashlight to Aux outlet. make sure you take pics and what you used for a possible DIY (not sure i've seen one done yet)

good luck! hope to see more updates.

[Morgion]

not sure if it still helps but i found that a degreaser spray works best for removing those tint adhesives.

Probably yes, but the acetone was cheap so I got that instead, it worked well enough. I have to do it a second time before all the adhesive is gone.


My driver's side power window broke! One of the little white plastic sliders broke and the other one popped out of the rail at a drive-through, forcing me to drive 100 miles at 60mph in a rain with the window half-open. Got the burgers, though!

I removed the door panel in a couple of minutes without any trouble despite it reading everywhere that it's hard for the first-timer and got the window almost closed. Now there's just a minimal (50mm) gap next to the side-view mirror. I ordered some new plastic slider clips, hopefully they'll be here soon.

A picture of the broken clip:

[Morgion]

Hell yeah, the front suspension has finally been done! Brand new stock springs, shocks and bump stoppers. Now I don't have to be afraid of bumps and dips anymore! I also fixed the driver's window with some new plastic slider clip things.

Pictures of the front ride height as it is now! Sorry about the quality, it's rainy and dark outside and I took them with my crappy PDA camera.

[325iforlife]

window regulators and the components are so easy to adjust once you get to know it good... now is a good time to do some door panel repairs if needed.. and maybe get some new sealer for the faom weatherstripping piece that covers the inner door components.

I also fixed the driver's window with some new plastic slider clip things.

you did lube up the clips and the track they slide in right?

[Morgion]

you did lube up the clips and the track they slide in right?

Yep. I also lubed the rubber tracks the windows slide in.

[Morgion]

I took the right rear passenger side bolster off and bent the metal frame inside it a bit to make it not overlap with the seatbelt lock anymore. The removal and reinstallation of the bolster required a surprising amount of force, but I was warned beforehand, so it wasn't unexpected.

While I was at it, I checked how my amplifier was doing. To my surprise, I couldn't find one! It wasn't in the trunk where the OEM amp was, so it must have been relocated somewhere. I have to take the whole interior apart and find the DEFA 400 alarm system mainframe and the amp, I'm guessing they're both in the same place. (Under the instrument cluster? Under/behind the glovebox?)

I'm starting to really to get to know this car.

[Ramtek55]

I've got a '94 325i too and found the alarm system behind the glovebox when replacing the cabin filter (something you might wanna do too while you're in there. Very inexpensive.)

[Morgion]

I found lots of interesting stuff Mr. Mysterious has done. It's like he has started every single electronics project at one time or another but has stopped them all halfway through. Wires are spliced and routed but don't connect to anything in the other end. It's nice, no matter what electronics project I'll start, he has done half of it for free already.

I took apart the glovebox and found the alarm/remote locking central unit. It's not DEFA 400. The horn is DEFA, the blinking LED is DEFA, but the central unit is some cheap one of indeterminate make and model. It seems my car has practically no alarm system, because there are a total of 3 sensors (rear doors and trunk) of which only the trunk one is connected. Gotta find out what the central unit's model is and get some more sensors to get my car protected.

[Morgion]

I might get some of the missing components (door handle, bumper strips, brake ducts, door check) mentioned in the list above soon!

I also bought some stereo speakers for dirt cheap, I'll see if I can take them apart and put them in my car.

[Morgion]

It's been ages since I last updated this thread, so here goes!

Quite a many minor fixes done, but can't do any more until it's warm enough to work outside, seeing as I don't have a garage anymore.

An ABS sensor is faulty, I've yet to determine which.

The rust in the rear has advanced. Thank god I have managed to effectively supress it in the rest of the car. Nothing too hard to fix.

I've begun work on getting the interior lights "auto" setting and the OBC clock light to working condition.

[Morgion]

Yesterday I fixed the the interior light switch "auto" position. The culprit was the passenger's door jamb switch. I also installed the missing front speakers (I didn't even realize how badly I needed them.), swapped the right side-view mirror with a brand new one and added the missing driver's footwell air duct. The air filter got some piping to move it further away from the engine for cooler air.

I also identified the keyless entry module!

[Morgion]

Fixing some visible rust today. It's not nearly as bad as I feared! Currently I'm merely scratching the stuff off with a knife, slapping some rust inhibitor (Noverox, they say it's good) on and painting over it, no sanding involved yet. Gotta get some pictures sooooooon, it's been way too long since I took any pictures of my baby.

[Morgion]

So, I took my car for a wash today. On the way home, I was waiting in line for a light to turn green, when some guy backed up from a parking lot straight to my driver's side door. The fun thing is, he is the son of the biggest repair shop in town. Will get my car there to be fixed next week, free of charge of course.

Some pics of the damage. You can't see it from the pics, but the whole door from the rubber strip to the handle is covered by a 2" deep dent.

[flyfishvt]

I wouldn't settle for a bondo job. You had a damage free door. You deserve to have it restored to the condition it was in before Jr hit the gas. Doors are cheap. Probably cheaper than what he'll pay his guy to pull the dent' add filler and prep it for paint.

[Morgion]

Damage-free door? Hardly. It has some rust and other stuff going on, just like the rest of the car, I've just covered it up. As long as there are no marks of the "crash" and no long-term detrimental effects, I'm happy.

I love my car, but I got to be honest, it's 18 years old and it's not getting any younger. Although technically it's in good condition (although a little worn and needing some new consumables), the body is kinda shot and there is minor rust all over, and then some spots (luckily out of sight) that are beyond unfixable and just have to be covered up. After repairs, those two doors will be the best-condition parts of the body.

[Morgion]

Finally replaced the faulty ABS sensor. That required removing the steering arm, because the bolt had snapped into the hole and had to be drilled out.

[zipaquira]

Following this thread because I find it interesting.
I have a '94 325 vert with a 05/94 build date....just two months older than the OP's. It is Morea Grun with Sand interior.

It has almost all of the M3 exterior cosmetics done to it as well as several Dinan mods done to it too (CAI, throttle body, exhaust).

I just had the ABS sensor light go on after the right rear tire rub against a curb. I haven't taken the wheel of yet to inspect if any sensor got knocked out place or broke.

[paniolo]

Hey Morgion, always enjoy seeing what you have done. If you also want to keep a local copy check out Dougs Domain BMW DIY and he has a Maintenance Schedule Worksheet that he wrote in OpenCalc spreadsheet. I downloaded and use it regularly. I really like that he has a page with maintenance intervals so when you put in your work and your current mileage it shows you how many miles to your next scheduled maintenance for probably 35 or more items. And it is easy to add others that you want.

I thought a chronological blog would also be nice, so I added another page with Date, mileage, description and Follow-up columns. That is great for going into detail on stuff I worked on, and also noting things I need to buy or follow up on in the future.

I like using it a lot so thought I would let you know about it ... not that I am trying to dissuade you from keeping an online entry here.