e36 328 ownership experience

[Lee36328]

Hey all,

Am currently looking at a 328 which has already been converted into a manual. However the gearbox is from a 318. I remember reading somewhere from this forum that the gearbox from the 318 and 328 have different torque ratings. Do they both share similar gear ratios? Will this be an issue later down the road (in terms of parts durability)? The origins of the flywheel are also unclear. I've driven the car and the shifts and all seem pretty smooth.

damnu,

Thanks for your post. Regarding the manual gearbox, I'm no expert, but it is clear that the torque from the 328 engine is much higher than the 318, so the torque rating may be a relevant point.

As for the ratio differences between e36 318 and 328, here's what I found.

318i/is/ic, 323i/is/ic, 325i/is/ic- getrag s5d 200/250 g
1st 4.23, 2nd 2.52, 3rd 1.66, 4th 1.22, 5th 1.00

328i/is/ic, M3- zf s5d320/s5d320 z
1st 4.20, 2nd 2.49, 3rd 1.66, 1.24, 5th 1.00

Btw, do both gearboxes share the same clutch plate? I'm currently driving a 318 manual but the transition to 328 wasn't quite what i expected. I was sort of expecting a "squish you in your seat till you cant move" kind of acceleration but instead it's a bit more wafty, a smooth progressive kind of pace. Is this how it's supposed to be? This is my first drive in a 328 hence I have no basis for comparison.

I have not done the conversion to manual yet, so can't really answer from experience. However, the 318 manual is lively, because of the manual gearbox. The 328 auto has loads of torque. The 328 manual should be even better. I think what you'll find is that the 328 manual should get to a higher top speed, and get there faster.

There's also a faint clicking noise from the engine and was told that this was due to the tappets wearing out. How crucial is it to replace this? Or is it just an annoyance like the worn hydraulic tappets in an M40 ie not critical, change it only if you can't stand the noise anymore.

Appreciate your thoughts.

Cheers

Hard to diagnose noises via the written medium. But I'd get that noise looked at.

Will check w my mechanic and let you know what's the comment about tappets.

Cheers.

Meanwhile, update on my ride.

Changed a bunch of pulleys when the engine got whiny during cold starts. Couple of new pulleys and new belts later, she's purring again and pulling like a much younger car. Less vibration too.

Amazing the improvements you can still get with some minor maintenance on a car this age.

 

[enkil]

Mr Lee, thank you for the tonnes of info from you and the rest of the gang. All the read up really helps me a lot. So far my e36 has been a good gurl. Loving it though i dont drive it much. Its more of a weekend ride.

Things that i have done,

1. Exhaust bullet 2 units. Old one is already punctured.
2. RBF660 brake fluid coz i track the car. No fade anymore.
3. Radiator drain plug coz leaking the plastic cracked.
4. Fuel filter.
5. Tires. Now on MPS2.
6. Normal service, oil chg my second one. Every 2500miles.
7. Gearbox change. In fact this was done in agreement with previous owner. Now i have a spare 6 speed manual.

6 months plus into ownwership it has put plenty of smiles on my face. Hope to enjoy a couple more years of this relationship.

Cheers

 

[damnu]

Thanks Lee. Well, problem or not I've already taken the plunge. Decided to go ahead with the purchase. Just hope I don't end up with a Lemon

I'm no technical guy, but based on what you wrote about the ratios I suppose that given that the ratios for the 318 are lower, hence the 328 should have greater acceleration whenn fitted with a 318 box? Am I correct in saying this?

The car definitely feels more alive beyond 4000 rpm, when my 318 would have started to run out of puff. Below that the difference isn't that obvious. There's no scientific comparison to this though, just based on the built-in G-sensors in my body.

I like your new steering, was is just a simple plug and play?

 

[loafer]

Should be plug and play. My car has the same steering as well but it was already there when I got the car.

318,325 and 328 gearboxes don't share the same clutch. Each gearbox has it's own clutch, flywheel and they're all different in size. Nothing wrong with using a 318 gearbox on a 328 but you risk slipping gears if you mod your engine. Running on stock engine shouldn't be a problem at all.

Have you started planning on your mods already damnu? Haven't seen you for a while since you took the plunge. Come join us la TT at the usual place on Friday. Would love to get a peek at your new ride.

 

[damnu]

Hi Loafer,

I always have plans on what to do with my car, the only thing is that they remain plans for a long time due to an uncooperative pocket, and unforseen maintenance bills. Case in point was my previous car.

The 3 spoke steering looks better then the stock 4 spoke unit, it's one of the mods I have "planned".

I was always under the impression that they all share the same clutch. This is news to me. I was also told by my mechanic that the flywheels are interchangeable, is this true?

Yup, it's definitely been a while since I last joined you guys. Right now I also work Saturdays so it's even harder. Will give you all a heads up when I can make it, hope that there'll be a night drive up coz I'm still an Ulu Yam virgin to date.

Signing off.

 

[loafer]

Hi Loafer,

I always have plans on what to do with my car, the only thing is that they remain plans for a long time due to an uncooperative pocket, and unforseen maintenance bills. Case in point was my previous car.

The 3 spoke steering looks better then the stock 4 spoke unit, it's one of the mods I have "planned".

I was always under the impression that they all share the same clutch. This is news to me. I was also told by my mechanic that the flywheels are interchangeable, is this true?

Yup, it's definitely been a while since I last joined you guys. Right now I also work Saturdays so it's even harder. Will give you all a heads up when I can make it, hope that there'll be a night drive up coz I'm still an Ulu Yam virgin to date.

Signing off.

Hmm actually now that you mentioned it yes I think the flywheel is interchangeable. I recall that you can change from a single mass flywheel to a twin mass one. Looking at realoem.com the clutch product number is all different and price tag is also different .

A few of them are still visiting Ulu Yam on a weekly basis. Last drive was on a Saturday last week.

 

[lelaju]

.....

I have not done the conversion to manual yet, so can't really answer from experience. However, the 318 manual is lively, because of the manual gearbox. The 328 auto has loads of torque. The 328 manual should be even better. I think what you'll find is that the 328 manual should get to a higher top speed, and get there faster.

.....

from my experience a good M52B28 with autobox much more efficient then manualbox...
from classic drag comparison zero to top end... manualbox more quicker but then at mid end
loose boost every gearchange...
hard to explain how.. from static to 150kmh manualbox own the road.
but in realworld at speed 200 to 270kmh autobox always win.

 

[Lee36328]

Good to see a lively discussion on gearbox here. Thanks for your inputs, guys. This keeps the thread useful and relevant.

Meanwhile, if I may, a little update on my e36; cooling issue again, what else...

After yet another overheating incident, I sent the car in for a check.

Radiator sprung some fine leaks. This is a good place for a friendly reminder - don't ignore the CHECK COOLANT message (duh...), it's not always a faulty sensor. When the sign came up, my car was soon stranded w the coolant pouring down the tarmac.

By the way, it's also not a good idea to drive your car without coolant (duh no.2...) even if you start/stop start/stop in the rain, watching the temp gauge like a hawk in a misguided attempt to save towing fees (times are bad, dude...) Explanation later on below.

So, new radiator later, my car was overheating again within a few days - WTF?

Aircond fan was temperamental (no pun intended, not funny), sometimes on, sometimes resolutely off even when it's blardy hot.

Checked all the belts (new) and aircond fan (new), all looked ok.

Still overheating, no aircond, and furthermore, seems to leak coolant. Dammit.

Finally found all the sources. I hope...

This unglamorous looking thing is called the receiver drier safety pressure switch. It indirectly controls the aircond fan, based on the amount of coolant pressure. If the pressure is too low or too high, it cuts off the compressor (and therefore the aircond fan as well).

If it's faulty, it can either cause the aircond fan to blow at high speed all the time (sucking up power and consumption), or cut off prematurely (leading to loss of cooling in the cabin, and subsequently, overheating the engine). This is quite tricky to diagnose. As the symptoms include a warm aircond, a wild goose chase around aircond fans, compressors, cooling coils, etc may result.

And about that leak earlier? It was caused by a busted thermostat housing. The housing melted in the heat when I did my hero thing of driving slowly in the rain without any coolant.

As it melted, the seal could no longer sit properly, resulting in a persistent coolant leak from the housing.

Apparently what happened was this. The radiator sprung some micro leaks, causing the cooling system to slowly lose coolant. Next, the busted receiver drier switch was cutting off the aircond fan prematurely, causing intermittent overheating, compounding the leaking coolant situation. And finally, when I limped the car to the workshop, I melted the thermostat housing.

So, with all these items sorted, hopefully my aircond and overheating issues are finally resolved.

Now, next project, on to the tiny leak they found in my exhaust (will this saga never end?)

 

[alexkhoo]

Lol. I know this is a 328i E36 thread, but I was just wandering whether anyone could maybe roughly tell me a price of a 94 E36 325i? Cheers.

 

[loafer]

Lol. I know this is a 328i E36 thread, but I was just wandering whether anyone could maybe roughly tell me a price of a 94 E36 325i? Cheers.

If you actually took the initiative to spend a little time looking around the forum's classified forums you'd actually find the information you want.

Either that or you can try mudah.com.my, but personally I feel the prices there is greatly inflated.

 

[infinityKL]

The Star ....

 

[loafer]

Lee thanks for the great writeup. Would you mind sharing with us how much the switch cost?

 

[Lee36328]

Lee thanks for the great writeup. Would you mind sharing with us how much the switch cost?

Actually, I don't know yet. I just add it to my tab. :wink:

I don't expect it to be more than 200 bucks though; it's a simple thing.

 

[Lee36328]

Carbon fibre badges

You gotta give it to the industrious Taiwanese. There's no wheel they can't re-invent, to catch the latest trends.

When my car was running fine with no issues, idle minds being the devil's workshop as the saying goes, I itchy backside went to change all my hood and wheel badges to those carbon-fibre ones from Taiwan.

Why? Because I can. And they looked good. For a while.

This is what they look like now.

They looked nice when new. But the lacquer is not designed to withstand heat. And our wheels get really hot, so those were the first ones to turn black (within 1 week or so.) Next is the badge on the hood, if it stayed there. I had to buy the hood badge several times because it kept flying off. It seems the taiwanese glue is not designed to withstand wind either. And I wasn't even going that fast.... . The one that lasted the longest is the one on the rear bootlid (not much heat or wind there.)

So, motto of the story, cheap, pretty, and long lasting, you must choose two out of three. Seldom do you get all three together, like most things in life.

Back to the original emblems for me then...

 

[loafer]

As the saying goes, "Cheap stuff not good, Good stuff not cheap". ^_^V

 

[Lee36328]

Thanks Lee. Well, problem or not I've already taken the plunge. Decided to go ahead with the purchase. Just hope I don't end up with a Lemon

I'm no technical guy, but based on what you wrote about the ratios I suppose that given that the ratios for the 318 are lower, hence the 328 should have greater acceleration whenn fitted with a 318 box? Am I correct in saying this?

The car definitely feels more alive beyond 4000 rpm, when my 318 would have started to run out of puff. Below that the difference isn't that obvious. There's no scientific comparison to this though, just based on the built-in G-sensors in my body.

I like your new steering, was is just a simple plug and play?

Damnu,

Sorry for my tardy reply. Congrats on getting your ride.

Loafer is right; the steering is plug and play. I prefer this 3-spoke design, and have been looking for it for a long time. Quite rare apparently.

318i/is/ic, 323i/is/ic, 325i/is/ic- getrag s5d 200/250 g
1st 4.23, 2nd 2.52, 3rd 1.66, 4th 1.22, 5th 1.00

328i/is/ic, M3- zf s5d320/s5d320 z
1st 4.20, 2nd 2.49, 3rd 1.66, 1.24, 5th 1.00

Because the 328 engine has more torque, it can handle more load at lower gears. Therefore, the gear ratios for 1st and 2nd gears are slightly lower compared with 318 (4.20 vs 4.23 for 1st, 2.49 vs 2.52 for 2nd.) What that means in theory is for the 1st and 2nd gear for the 328 using 318 gear ratios, the ratio is slightly lower than ideal. I.e., the car's engine can 'pull more', but the gear ratios limit it slightly.

For example, in 1st gear, a 318 gearbox has a ratio of 4.23. That obviously means that the input (the crank, i.e. the engine) has to turn 4.23 times in order to turn the wheel once.

For the 328 gearbox, in 1st gear, the crank has to turn only 4.20 times in order to turn the wheel once, because it generates more torque (turning power) and can handle more load.

So, in effect, in 1st and 2nd gear, for the same rpm, a 328 running a 328 manual gearbox will pull faster than a 328 running on 318 gear ratios. Which probably won't affect you much, since a 328 manual gearbox is quite rare if I'm not mistaken, so I wouldn't worry about it.

Gearbox sifus, please correct me if I'm wrong. Thx.

Cheers.

 

[mizhan]

i didn't realize this thread is a wealthy repository of E36 info. keep up the good work guys! all the stuff you share here will definitely help when i look for an E36 again.. i miss my Alpine Weiss II.

 

[vish]

this thread has been going on for 5 years, all i can say is wow...sadly it has only served to strengthen what i already know, that i just havent got the moolah to buy into the e36 ownership experience

yet

 

[frogstonez]

hi,
Just wondering how much does E36 328i cost when it first come out the market in the 90's.

Thanks.

 

[Lee36328]

hi,
Just wondering how much does E36 328i cost when it first come out the market in the 90's.

Thanks.

Oh, this is an interesting question.

I think it was RM198k, give or take. I even got an official price qiuotation from the salesman in the PJ showroom, circa 1996-97, before I was posted overseas.

It is certainly costly to maintain. However, if duly serviced and the wear and tear parts changed on a timely basis, it will keep going strongly. My mileage is fast approaching 400k km now. I recently took it at a decent clip to JB, and I marveled at its stability at that speed for a car this age. The Eagle F1 tires and Bilstein B6 (or is it B8?) suspension helped too.

This model is now available at a fraction of its original sales price. Figure a generous budget of say RM20-30k to do it up, and you've got a keeper, and at good value too, relatively speaking.