S/w e36 build thread #1337 "The Diamond in the Rough"

[uvebeenrobd]

Wow that's some major wrench work...great job!

[kaidotech]

This guy. Lower the car already! lol

[nellydragracer]

Dude! Do you know how lucky you are that you don't have 16 bent valves!? All I can say is they must be some fucking strong valves! A possible cause for the overheating, if the original WP had a plastic impeller then it's more than likely that when the car was up to temp the impeller would expand thus relaxing it's grip an the shaft which causes boiling water to 'pool' in the block, therefore overheating. A common problem on mid 90s BMWs. I'd also replace the thermostat as well, just to be on the safe side.

[Chuckdee]

Wow that's some major wrench work...great job!

thank you sir!

This guy. Lower the car already! lol

working on it, lol. rather have a running car than a slammed pos.

Dude! Do you know how lucky you are that you don't have 16 bent valves!? All I can say is they must be some fucking strong valves! A possible cause for the overheating, if the original WP had a plastic impeller then it's more than likely that when the car was up to temp the impeller would expand thus relaxing it's grip an the shaft which causes boiling water to 'pool' in the block, therefore overheating. A common problem on mid 90s BMWs. I'd also replace the thermostat as well, just to be on the safe side.

yeah I was saying the same thing too. At most I ran the motor with the clacking noise for 15-20 seconds before i realized it was the timing that was the main culprit. And I did a major cooling system overhaul. New thermostat, new lower temperature fan switch and soon to add, new coolant.

[nellydragracer]

yeah I was saying the same thing too. At most I ran the motor with the clacking noise for 15-20 seconds before i realized it was the timing that was the main culprit. And I did a major cooling system overhaul. New thermostat, new lower temperature fan switch and soon to add, new coolant.

Good man.

[NorCalFocus]

Great job Chuck. You've come so far in your automotive knowledge and taste in the last couple of years.

[Chuckdee]

Yeah I've grown up in the world today, lol.

[Chuckdee]

Today I'm going to figure out why it's running rich and bleed the cooling system of air, hopefully I can make some progress.

[kaidotech]

Page three!? You gotta hit those updates man! And post more on the forum, you're making us Houston people look bad. Haha, JK

[Chuckdee]

^^this guy, lol.

UPDATE: Well I've put off ordering the good shit until further notice. apparently whatever problem this car has, it's gotten worse. So my focus is to address those issues and I'm fed up trying to investigate on my own, so i'm taking it to a shop to see what can be done about it :/

[Chuckdee]

And then this happens:

http://houston.craigslist.org/cto/2771815967.html

Came back from the shop earlier today after a series of tests were conducted and the end conclusion comes down to the motor needs to be replaced. I would see this as a perfect opportunity to swap for a m50 but tbh, I wasn't expecting all of this only after a month of buying the car. I want to at least enjoy the car before I do a motor swap, I only want to do one based on when I want to, not when I need to. So sadly, I'll have to cut my losses and part ways. It was a good run and fun while it lasted but one thing for sure is that I will miss it.

Now I'm not leaving the game, i'm just closing this chapter. I'm on the hunt for another e36, probably an e46 maybe or an e36 m3. Whichever I decide to find, shall be much better than this car. Thanks for those who were following this thread, and you can expect another one soon

[NorCalFocus]

[SVT3658]

Will this be a repeat of the Focus, where you have it for sale it for an ungodly long period of time before you actually do it?

Just do the engine swap Chuck. Why avoid doing something that you apparently had thought about doing and seemingly wanted to do...just because it is happening quicker than you wanted it to? Dumb logic to me....

I had $1300 worth of transmission repairs to do within a week of buying my car. It sucked, but I did it. And now 5 years and like 135k miles later I am very glad I didn't just abandon the car.

[Chuckdee]

Will this be a repeat of the Focus, where you have it for sale it for an ungodly long period of time before you actually do it?

Just do the engine swap Chuck. Why avoid doing something that you apparently had thought about doing and seemingly wanted to do...just because it is happening quicker than you wanted it to? Dumb logic to me....

I had $1300 worth of transmission repairs to do within a week of buying my car. It sucked, but I did it. And now 5 years and like 135k miles later I am very glad I didn't just abandon the car.

Even so, I won't have the money to do it now. I had my focus for sale for the longest time only cause I know i can get a better offer than what all the lowballers of houston were trying to throw at me, I got the most out of that sale AT MY OWN PACE. I wasn't in a rush to sell it, so i didn't care if i had it for a couple of months on sale. plus, the motor is the least of its problems, so like I said....i'm cutting my losses. If i had for a couple of months or a year, I can see how keeping it would make sense, but I had it for more than 40 days, i'm not trippin. Just start off fresh with a better daily. You learn and you live.