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Hello new 318is e36 owner

1K views 12 replies 8 participants last post by  goodbad 
#1 ·
Hello my wife has just got her first proper car after passing her test in her fiat cinqcento, a lovely green 1995 318is coupe.

it has good service history, good paintwork (a little rust around the boot lock and on the edge of the bonnet), a new service by me (plugs, oil, filters, and the short circuit between pin 7 and 19), new locking wheel nuts (no key), a cracked headlight (fleabay replacement being scouted for).

I am joining as I have a camper and am on those forums, have a gsx1100f and am on those forums etc. as forums are a brilliant form of information / entertainment. I did actually think I was already on here as I used to have an old 530 and got a lot of assistance regarding that from here I thought, bu ho hum maybe I have been purged.


anyway I will always start with a couple of questions :D

1) The car feels sporty (ish) low and sterdy, it stays quite straight on the corners, but if I go too fast it feels like the mud flaps touch the floor I am sure the suspension is good though it feels rock solid normally?

2) All my other cars / bikes I have ever owned have a powerband this doesn't. it seems to run lovely up to about 4.5Krpm but If I floor it from there it seems to struggle, as if it is under fuelled? if I continue to drive smoothly it goes all the way to the red line 6.5Krpm. It feels like it sure be much more responsive. Is this normal? am I expecting too much? or is it simply because the engine has done 135000 miles, it looks and sounds good and healthy and the sporty exhaust sounds lovely once you put your foot down.

3) now when I had my 530 my manual stated that the 4 cylinder versions (e34 maybe) had a timing belt, but I am sure this version has a timing chain and simply a auxilery belt in the style of a timing belt eg ridges, is that right?

4) I have the occasional spinning ignition tumbler, we both know how to avoid it spinning, but should i certainly replace it or is their another (free) way to resolve this once I manage to remove the tumbler?


thanks for any answers you can give me

Stuart
 
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#3 ·
its a cam chain on the m44 engines with the belt running the alternator, water pump etc
you can replace the ignition barrel but i remember seeing a video (youtube i think) of a guy fixing the tumbler by drilling it and putting a screw into it ill need to see if i can dig it up. mine has been doing the same thing for ages

EDIT: found it
YouTube - BMW DIY #5 - SPINNING LOCK-

welcome to the forum :thumbsup
 
#4 ·
Hi clartsonly,Welcome to Bimmerforums.co.uk........:thumbsup

You have a chain-NOT a cambelt :thumbsup
You would need to replace the ignition barrel :thumbsup
Its only a 4 pot so its going to feel very underpowered compared to the 530 for eg. but as stated it could be an airleak
 
#5 ·
thanks for the welcome, yeah I am sure cam belts have never been easily accessible and this belt simply runs from the crank and not up and around anything at the top of the engine.

air pipe leak??? where would I start to look for one of these, it is not like my camper full of vacuum hoses :D so basically it should pull some extra when you go past 4.5K rpm?

I saw a vid of that too, but got confused as he seemed to replace the tumbler and also drill and put in some form of grub screw. The main issue I have is I get these things into my head to fix and end up breaking more things at the same time :D :D
 
#12 ·
thanks again for the welcomes, I am in the car today as the bike is running rough, and yeah loads of torque from about 3.5 up to 4.5 where the exhaust and engine sound sweet, then unless I try and accelerate slower it feels empty and strangled :(

I am no boy racer (39 this year :D) but driving down a slip road accelerating hard(ish) as a test a vw boro tdi left me for dead after about 50mph. it was almost like I needed to keep the revs between 3.5 and 4.5 to get any real power.

I dont really mind about this that much for a few weeks as my wifes previous 899cc fiat compared to this is a bit of a big gap, so I will get a haynes and check it out over the next couple of weeks.


thanks again
 
#13 ·
hey,

welcome to the forum, i am sure you will get lots of help and info from the chaps on here, i have had a couple of questions and they have been great.

very helpful and very friendly too.......get ya self to some of the meets too, i went to my 1st one with these guys in oxford at the end of march. was a great afternoon.

Good luck...

Chris
 
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