E36 parts suggesstions

Hello All, I just bought a 95 325is. It only has 74k miles on it. It's black on black and it has the 5 speed standard transmission. I bought it from the orig owner. I'm very happy. It's my 4th E36!

Question 1: It needs new pads and rotors. I'm considering drilled and/or slotted rotors as they are "supposed to be better" and they are very visible through the rims. Any suggestions on the rotors and pads? Good brands of both, etc.

Question 2: It's got the standard E36 door panel vinyl separation problems. Has anyone found a good and dependable method for fixing them? Or is it easier to just have a interior shop re-cover them when they do my headliner and pillar covers?

Question 3: The AC compressor is noisy and the interior fan motor makes a moaning / moo-ing noise. (I'll pause here so you can quit laughing.) Is there any hidden problem with a compressor swap? I've done them before and I'm glad it's easily accessible from the bottom of the car. I'm guessing the filter in the cabin may be partially blocked causing the "moo-ing". Any input? (Please keep the cow jokes to a minimum.)

Question 4: Factory Alarm / Remote unlocking Module. Is it worth it or should I just have a good aftermarket alarm wired into the car?

That's about all I can think of for now.

Thanks, Wayne K.

Reply to
Wayne K.
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I can tell you that hot glue doesn't work for longer than it takes to close the door twice. My next attempt may involve contact adhesive. After putting barrier cream on my hands...

Andrew

Reply to
Andrew Morton

Nice. I'll be looking for myself pretty soon, but I prefer the 4 doors for convenience. My '95 325i is showing signs of body cancer over the left rear wheel well (for the second time, repaired once before) due mostly to its prior life in the North Country. Too bad because the rest of the car is primo.

Drilled or slotted rotors won't make any difference unless you are using the car on the track. In street use you won't notioce any difference except that your pads will wear out faster.

Depends... What are your goals? What do hope to achieve? There are many good pads out there and each have plussed and minuses.

For rotors, I like Balo, Zimmerman, ATE, Brembo. All non-slotted. If you absolutely have to have some bling, why not clean and paint your calipers instead of the slots/holes? It will be showy and wont cause your pads to wear out faster...

Re-cover or replace them.

To replace the compressor you need to be able to remove the old refridgerant, and evacuate and recharge the refridgerant afterword. There's nothing special about the BMW AC system.

About the moo-ing... Try replacing the cabin filter, but I'm guessing it will be more involved than that. Maybe there is a leak in the plenum somewhere that is vibrating? If you can identify the location of the source of the sound you'll be half way to fixing it.

I'd try to find the factory alarm / remote. It plugs right in to the wiring harness. No splicing and dicing. Also, not that much more expensive because you can do the install yourself in a few minutes.

Reply to
Fred W

I've heard Balo was better being blanchard ground, but they always spalt very very badly for me. I switched to slotted ATE "ppwer discs" and like them better than anything. The advantages ATE claims *seem* to be true. But it's not like I have lad data to back it up, just a sense/feeling.

Reply to
Richard Sexton

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