BMW E36 M3 Evolution GTii Journal

I would use the Gliptone leather cleaner first Mark then apply the conditioner,well worth the money in my opinion.

JTrist wrote: This is the Best Bmw Specialist in the South West IMO,   David is a fountain of knowledge on all Bmws classic & modern. He has looked after my M635Csi for a very long time and I would not let anyone else touch my car,  Says it all really. I have a weep from one of the vanos covers (left hand side when stood at the front of the engine) I have a sheared bolt on this cover as well which I looked at before (see above previous post) After a good chat we decided to replace all seals and gaskets in the vanos which is costing around the £300 mark. The vanos is nice and quiet and was replaced with a brand new one in 2007 (£2500 from BMW just for the part) He also confirmed that back in the day BMW recalled the Evo for the bolts, he said the new bolts they supply should be uprated so we are going with all new BMW bolts and seals to keep it original. I have also ordered these items in Locking door actuators (used and bought from a friend who breaks these cars, didnt fancy a hong kong version. And the covers for the top seat belt bolts. One of mine is missing and little things like this do my head in. I have also ordered in a load of new interior fixing clips for the door cards and some Glipton leather conditioner.  She is currently sat on the drive looking stunning! Took it for a quick blast to get her up to temps etc and love it.

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Central locking update


Two things were not working on my central locking, and passenger door and the boot.


The boot I tracked down to the wiring loom between the car and the boot.


And the passenger door was the lock actuator.


So this morning I stripped the tape off ai did as a quick fix and with a worried look on my face, cut all the cables in two. I stripped the cables as seen in this photo





I then slowly started soldering it all back in with the new heat shrink in place. Bloody fiddly and being colour blind didnt help but managed to get it all back togethere, tidy and more importantly working. A few pics of my progress











Next up was the passenger door actuator. I have ordered all new door trim clips as mine are broken, they have not arrived yet but couldn't be assed to wait so cracked on. Removed the door card and started fiddling with the actuator (already removed the old one)


Now these are a complete pain in the ass, trying to look up through the door through a small gap and try to gauge and line up everything is near impossible. But I think I found the mistake we all make with them.


Have a look at this photo and I will explain





Now when you look on the underside of the actuator, and look through the door, it makes you think you have a clip in the door for each corner of the actuator, you don't.  I was working on my passenger door (RHD car) and it actually slips in the centre holes (near the part that moves) it only fixes on two points. Once I noticed this I clipped it in within seconds. I found it easier to do it without it being plugged in.


If I had known that, it would of took longer getting the door card off than fitting the actuator.


A few pics of it coming out ans going in.














I also fitted this, it is the little things that make a difference. It was there but has gone walkies so got another set in.





I have an alarm question. I have the two button alarm (Red and Grey button type) it was working fine, then all of a sudden, nothing. I get a light on the fob when I press the buttons but nothing from the car. Any ideas? Could my fob battery be on its last legs and causing this? I took the fob a part and it looks ok. The batterys are really old style (never seen them before)


Has anyone had this?


Cheers all


Mark

. Hi.

Could be battery but could be the fob.

Update; Cleaned, polished, waxed, door card repaired, leather conditioned.


As mentioned above, my door card clips had broken, it was also coming off at thr top which you can see in these photos





So, removed the door card





Got the glue out





And stuck it down, taped it in place too





Let that go off while I was replacing the clips, got these off ebay





I had to modify them a bit as they was never going on the door card





Got them all on





Removed the tape and replaced the door card. Much better, no more rattles.


Next up was a clean, it has not veen used much so not road grim, just lots of dust. Got some helpers too, well they got the car wet for me ha





So cleaned it down, polished and waxed with my failthful





A couple during and after













Next up was the engine bay


Before





After





Next up was the leather. I use Glipton leather cleaner and conditioner, great stuff


Before





After





I really slapped the conditioner on, put about three coats on. I recommend this to anyone with leather, makes it smell new and grips you in the seat. It also looks much better too


Still need to find a fix for my glovebox











Any ideas?


And just some snaps of the car after the work/clean and some with my daily runaround which I will post shortly








At my specialist getting booked in

My agreed valuation has finally been sorted. I can breath a sigh of relieve and not worry so much.

Very easy to setup as well with these guys

If you ring me Mark i might be able to talk you through your glove box problem, 07812 666 250, Dave.

Today I wanted to give the M3 a clean down. The 330ci was also covered in dust so that got a clean too. First time I managed to get some photos of them all together.


After cleaning them, I appreciate just how clean the M3 is now

Not yet. Just gave it a quick clean. Busy working on my daily at the moment

Been sat now for around 2 months. Battery needed a bit of help but she started fine. Love the old school smell this car gives off (running rich on cold start)

Think I will clean her ☺ might even tax her

Tonight I sat down with a beer and sorted through the history folder for my 330ci. I had a few bits I needed to put into the M3s folder so did them both at the same time. It's a workout moving this lot about











☺

Its been a while as it seems you cannot talk about the GTs in certain areas of the internet ;)

Got a week off work so decided to get the old girl fired up. Forget how good the old girl drives.

Local car cleaning people gave it a clean for me. Wash mitts, easy on the pressure washer. They do a nice job. I must admit, it wasn't exactly dirty.

Local car cleaning people gave it a clean for me. Wash mitts, easy on the pressure washer.