newbie to euro imports

[matt318]

Hi, I'm new to euro imports and compact cars in general. I'm buying a 1996 BMW 318ti today, and i know absolutely nothing about them except they hold a lot of oil. I am curious as to what the different trim levels are, 318i, ti, is, etc.

I've been looking around different BMW forums, and this forum seems to be the best, and have the most info.

[Mad-Machine]

A lot of oil? Maybe of you put crates of it in the back. They hold no more oil than any other car.

[matt318]

like i said, i know nothing about the 318, but every other bmw i've ever worked on has held at least over 6.5qts.

[familytruckster]

Originally Posted by Mad-Machine

A lot of oil? Maybe of you put crates of it in the back. They hold no more oil than any other car.

5 quarts is more than most 4 cylinders hold-except for maybe the old Ford 2.3L.

Browse the forums for info, there is tons of it here. Anything you need to know.

The first and most important is the cooling system-they have plastic parts that are prone to failure and they will cost you a motor.

[zoner]

Originally Posted by familytruckster

5 quarts is more than most 4 cylinders hold-except for maybe the old Ford 2.3L.

+1

(you could also add the early model Ford 2.0L to that group as well)

Most 4-cylinders that I've owned usually have a stock oil capacity of 3-4 qts., with filter change.

[Suncountry]

I third the cooling system. Had a 93 325is that lost the radiator neck, luckily no damage. A few years later it did managed to get rear ended and totaled though. I just bought a TI project because of a cooling system failure.

[matt318]

Well, I got the car home, the good is it has a new cyl. Head, radiator, water pump, etc.
the bad is the exterior is in rough shape. It was originally a dark purplish blue and someone had it painted dark silver, very piss poor paint job. The clear coat is 90% gone. Headlights need to be restored or replaced, transmission is very sloppy. Some kid owned it before me. I'll be asking alot of questions about this car, but I do know how to search first. Lol. Thanks for your help and future help.

[chudzikb]

Do your homework, mind the plastic coolant pieces and just replace the whole dam cooling system and you will feel better. Not a lot of other weaknesses, I have 190K on mine and after bringing it up to snuff it is very reliable.

[familytruckster]

Originally Posted by chudzikb

Do your homework, mind the plastic coolant pieces and just replace the whole dam cooling system and you will feel better. Not a lot of other weaknesses, I have 190K on mine and after bringing it up to snuff it is very reliable.

x10000000


I got my car on it's 2nd blown motor at 108K due to cooling system failure. 100 bucks to get the car, 160 to tow it.....and about 3K later I have a really fun, reliable daily driver. I've literally replaced EVERYTHING.

[matt318]

these cars stock dont have the dice to spin the wheels, do they?

[tiFreak]

Originally Posted by matt318

these cars stock dont have the dice to spin the wheels, do they?

back in my high school days I was able to spin the back wheels pretty easily, mine has the limited slip in it too

do you have traction control off?

[slow_ti]

I'm actually surprised how Easy it is to spin the wheels with the whittle m44.


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