Soft top BMW 318i 1997 E36 Workshop Manual

Fig
.
16
.
Multimeter
or
Digital
Volt/Ohmmeter
(DVOM)
.

BMW
Special
Tools

FUNDAMENTALS
FOR
THE
DO-ITYOURSELF
OWNER
010-11

0012223

Some
of
the
more
challenging
repairs
covered
in
this
manual

cal¡
for
the
use
of
BMW
special
tools
.
This,
however,
does
not

automatically
mean
that
thejob
is
too
complicated
or
out
of

reach
of
thenovice
.

Many
of
the
BMW
special
tools
mentioned
in
this
manual
are
simplythe
best
thing
to
use
to
do
thejob
correctly
.
In
these
cas-

es,
the
tool
is
identified
with
a
BMW
part
number
.
See
your
au-

thorized
BMW
dealer
parts
department
for
information
on
how

to
order
special
tools
.

There
are
some
jobs
for
which
expensive
special
tools
are

essential,
and
not
a
cost-effective
purchase
for
one-time
repair

by
the
do-it-yourself
owner
.
This
manual
includes
such
repairs

for
the
benefit
of
these
with
the
necessary
experience
and
ac-

cess
to
tools
.
For
the
do-it-yourselfer,
the
need
for
special
tools

is
noted
in
the
text,
and
whether
or
not
BMW
dealer
service
is

recommended
.

EMERGENCIES

Changing
a
Tire

Stop
thecar
onas
flat
a
surface
as
possible,
in
a
place
where

you
canbe
easily
seen
by
other
drivers
.
Avoid
stopping
just

over
the
crest
of
a
hill
.
Turnon
the
emergency
flashers,
and
set

out
(lares
or
emergency
markers
well
behindthecar
.
Chock
the

wheel
(wheel
chock
located
in
trunk)
diagonally
opposite
to
the
one
being
changed
.
Passengers
shouldgetout
of
thecar
and

stand
well
away
from
the
road
.
Remove
the
spare
tire
from
the
spare
tire
storage
tray,
as
described
later
.

WARNING
-

If
a
tire
goes
fíat
while
drtving,
pull
well
off
the
road
.
Changing
a
tire
ona
busy
street
or
highway
is
very
dangerous
.
If
necessary,
drive
a
short
distance
on
the
fíat
tire
to
get
to
a
sale
place
.
tt
is
much
better
to
ruin
a
tire
or
rim
than
to
risk
being
hit
.

Take
the
jack
and
tools
from
the
tool
area
beneath
the
trunk

mat
.
Remove
the
spare
tire
from
the
tire
storage
tray
.

Loosen
the
wheel
bolts
while
the
car
is
on
the
ground,
but

leave
them
a
little
snug
.
Placethe
jack
in
the
lifting
point
nearest

the
wheel
beingchanged,
lifting
points
are
shown
in
Fig
.
1
and

Fig
.
2)
.
Use
a
board
to
provide
a
firm
footing
for
the
jack
if
the

ground
is
soft
.
Raise
the
car
only
lar
enough
so
that
the
wheel
is

fully
off
the
ground
and
then
remove
the
wheel
nuts
and
the

wheel
.

Insta¡¡
the
spare
wheel
.
Install
the
wheel
nuts
and
tighten

them
by
hand,
then
lower
the
car
.
With
all
wheelson
the

ground,
fully
tighten
the
nuts
in
a
crisscross
pattern
.
Torque
the

wheel
nuts
when
installing
the
wheel
.
Check
the
inflation
pres-

sure
of
the
spare
tire
.

Tightening
torques

"
Wheel
to
wheel
hub
.....
100
t
10
Nm
(74
t
7
ft-Ib)

Car
Will
Not
Start

If
the
engine
tucos
over
slowly
or
not
at
all,
especially
on
cold

mornings,
the
battery
may
not
be
sufficiently
charged
.
Jump-

starting
the
battery
from
another
car
may
help
.

WARNING
-

On
carswith
manual
transmisston,
push
starting
(or

tow
starting)
acar
ts
not
recommended
by
BMW
.

NOTE-

Be
sure
to
read
the
cautions
underJump
Starting
Car
prior
boosting
a
low
battery
.
Fatlure
to
followthe
cau-

tions
may
result
in
damage
to
the
electronic
compo-
nents
in
the
car
.

If
the
engine
is
turning
over
at
normal
speed
with
the
starter

motor,
the
battery
and
starter
are
fine
.
Check
to
make
sure
that

there
is
fuel
in
the
tank
.
Do
not
rely
on
the
fuel
gauge,
it
may
be

faulty
.
Instead,
remove
the
gas
filler
cap
and
rock
thecar
.
If

there
is
gas
in
the
tank,
you
should
hear
a
sloshing
sound
at
the

filler
neck
.
lf
there
is
plenty
offuel
in
the
tank,
see100
Engine-

General
for
in-depth
diagnostics
and
troubleshootingproce-

dures
.

EMERGENCIES

020-
1
4



MAINTENANCE
PROGRAM

uu11989

Fig
.
14
.
Engine
drive
belt
tensíoner
being
released
on
late
4-cylinder
engine
.
Pry
off
tensioner
cover
and
then
lever
tensioner
in
clockwise
direction
(as
facing
engine)
and
slip
beltoff
pulleys
.



Fig
.
17
.
Engine
drive
belt
routing
for
late
4-cylinder
engine
with
poly-
ribbed
drivebelts
.

CA
UTION-

Use
only
BMW
approved
phosphate-free
anti-
freeze
when
filling
the
cooling
system
.
Use
of
anti-

B11177



freeze
containing
phosphates
!s
considerad
to
be

Fig
.
15
.
Engine
drive
belt
tensioner
being
released
on
6-cylinder
en-



harmful
to
the
cooling
system
.

gine
.
Pry
off
tensioner
cover
and
then
lever
tensioner
in
clock-
wise
direction
(as
facing
engine)
and
slipbelt
off
pulleys
.



A
translucent
expansion
tank,
or
overflow
resenroir,
providesmonitóring
of
coolant
leve¡
.
Because
the
expansion
tank
is
translucent,
thecoolant
level
can
be
checked
visually
without
opening
the
system
.
Always
check
thecoolant
leve¡
with
theen-gine
cold
.
The
coolant
leve¡
should
be
at
the
maximum
mark
on
O



o
'~
I



the
expansion
tank,
as
shown
in
Fig
.
18
.

OO



Hose
connectionhld
b
tiht
s
soueg



an
ddry
.
Coolánt
seepage
indicates
either
that
the
hose
clamp
is
loose,
that
the
pose
is

ENGINE
COMPARTMENT
MAINTENANCE

0012470

Fig
.
16
.
Engine
drive
belt
routing
for
6-cylinder
engine
.
A/C
compres-
sor
drive
belt
not
shown
.

'92

irá
Alternator
belt

Coolant~
0
pp



o0o



Belt
tensioner

Cooling
System
Service

0013000

Cooling
system
maintenance
consists
of
maíntaining
thecoolant
leve¡,
inspecting
hoses
.
Because
the
coolant's
anti-cor-

rosion
and
anti-freeze
additives
gradually
lose
their
effective-
ness,
replacement
of
thecoolant
every
two
years
up
to
1996
models,
and
every
three
years
from
1996
is
recommended
.
Asa
preventive
measure,
replacement
of
the
cooling
system
hos-
es
every
four
years
is
also
recommended
.

damaged,
or
that
the
connection
is
dirty
or
corroded
.
Dried
cool-
ant
has
a
chalky
appearance
.
Hoses
should
be
firm
and
springy
.
Replace
any
hose
that
is
cracked,
that
has
become
soft
and
limp,
or
has
been
contaminated
by
oil
.
See
Fig
.
19
.

Power
steering
fluid,
checking
leve¡

Check
the
power
steering
fluid
level
in
the
fluid
reservoir
.
Park
thecar
on
leve¡
ground
with
the
engine
off
.
The
level
is
cor-
rect
if
it
is
between
the
MIN
and
MAX
marks
on
the
dipstick
.
See
Fig
.
20
.
If
the
leve¡
is
below
the
MIN
mark,
start
the
engine
andadd
fluid
to
the
reservoir
to
bríng
the
leve¡
up
.
Stop
the
engine
and
recheck
the
leve¡
.
Hand-tighten
the
reservoir
cap
.

113-8



CYLINDER
HEAD
REMOVAL
AND
INSTALLATION

IW?
-
L
'/~f
W



~
4r

"

-
"



;,s
1

12
.
On
M44
engine
:
Place
sensor
wheel
on
intake
cam-
shaft
sprocket
so
that
arrowon
sensor
wheel
points
up
.

13
.
Instan
and
hand-tighten
sprocket
mounting
bolts
.

CAUTION-

Different
hydraulic
chaintensioners
were
used
during
manufacture,
depending
onengine
type
.
See
Fig
.
21
.
Note
that
the
late
style
tensioner
can
be
retrofitted
to
the
earlier
engine,
so
be
sure
to
identify
the
version
of
tensioner
installed
as
insta-lation
instructions
vary
between
the
two
.

14
.
On
M42
engine
:
Disassemble
chain
tensioner
by
strik-
ing
outer
sleeve
against
a
solid
object
.
This
will
release
snap
ring
and
tensioner
will
separate
.
See
Fig
.
22
.

M42
Engine

up
and
camshaft
threaded
holes
centered
in
siotted
holes
.

CYLINDER
HEAD,
4-CYLINDER

0013024a

Outer
sl
eve



Detent

ring

Spri
g

Fig
.
22
.
Disassembled
chain
tensioner
for
M42
engine
.

15
.
On
M42
engine
:
Clamp
tensioner
piston
in
vice
(soft

jaws)
.
Slowly
compress
piston,
making
sure
detent
ring

fits
into
taper
of
outer
sleeve
.
If
necessary,
press
ends

of
detent
ring
together
.
Slowly
continuepressing
ten-

sioner
together
until
snap
ring
audibly
clicksinto
outer

sleeve
.
Measure
overall
lengthof
tensioner
to
confirm

correct
assembly
:
68
.5
mm
(2.7
in
.)
.

NOTE-

i

Snap

ring

/0
.13024

The
late-style
tensioner
on
the
M44
engíne
canbe
ret-
rofitted
to
the
M42
engine
.

Tightening
Torque

"Chain
tensioner
plug
to
cylinder
head
.....
.-~
..........
40
Nm
(30
ft-Ib)

16
.
On
M44
engíne
:
Clamp
tensioner
píston
in
vice
(soft

jaws)
and
squeeze
oil
from
it
.
Slowly
compress
piston
only
up
to
end
circlip
.
Repeat
procedure
twice
to
ensure

all
oil
is
expelled
.
See
Fig
.
23
.

17
.
Instan
hydraulic
chain
tensioner
to
cylinder
head
.
Use
a
new
sealing
washer
on
tensioner
when
installing
.

18
.
On
M42
engine
:
Unlock
chain
tensioner
by
pressing
chain
rail
against
tensioner
until
it
expands
out
.

19
.
Check
that
chain
is
free
of
slack
.
Tighten
sprocket
mounting
bolts
.
Fig
.
21
.
Two
versions
of
hydraulic
chain
tensioners
.
Original
chainten-
sioner
on
M42
engine
(top)
can
be
disassembled
.
Chain
ten
sioner
on
M44
engine
(bottom)
cannotbe
disassembled
.



Tightening
Torque
Note
differences
in
outer
sleeve
.
Also,
the
M42
tensioner
de-



"
Chain
sprocket
to
camshaft
flange
.
..
10
Nm
(89
in-lb)
tent
ring
groove
(arrow)
is
visible
when
tensioner
is
extended
.

20
.
Remove
crankshaft
locking
tool
from
bellhousing
and
camshaft
locking
tool
from
rear
of
cylinder
head
.

M42
Engine

CL
(EM

Fig
.
11
.
Two
versionsof
hydraulic
chaintensioners
.
Original
chain
ten-
sioner
on
M42
engine
(top)
canbe
disassembled
.
Chain
ten-
sioner
on
M44
engine
(bottom)
cannot
be
disassembled
.
Note
differences
in
outer
sleeve
.
Also,
the
M42
tensioner
de-
tent
ring
groove
is
visible
when
tensioner
is
extended
(arrow)
.

Outer
sleeve
Spring

0013024a

Detent

ring

9
.
On
M44
engines
:
Clamp
tensioner
piston
in
vice
(soft

jaws)
and
squeeze
oil
from
it
.
Slowly
compress
piston

only
up
to
end
círclip
.
Repeat
procedure
twice
to
ensure

al¡oil
is
expelled
.
See
Fig
.
13
.

10
.
Insta¡¡
hydraulic
chain
tensioner
lo
cylinder
head
.
Usea
new
sealing
washer
on
tensionerplug
when
installing
.

Tightening
Torque

"
Chain
tensioner
to
cylinder
head
....
40
Nm
(30
ft-Ib)

11
.
On
M42
engines
:
Release
early-style
chain
tensioner
by
pressing
chain
guide
against
tensioner
until
it
un-

locks
and
expands
out
.

CAMSHAFT
TIMING
CHAIN



117-
5

0012507

Fig
.
13
.
When
reinstalling
chain
tensiones,
oil
in
tensioner
piston
must

first
be
expelled
by
compressing
piston
in
vise
.
When
com-
pressing
piston,
only
compress
up
to
and
circlip
(arrow)
.

Tightening
Torque

"
Chain
sprocket
lo
camshaft
flange
(M6)
..
.
..
.............
.
..
10
Nm
(89
in-lb)

13
.
Remove
crankshaft
locking
tool
from
bellhousing
and

camshaft
locking
tool
from
rear
of
cylinder
head
.

14
.
Install
lower
timingchain
cover
:

"
Insta¡¡
new
crankshaft
oil
seal
in
cover
.

"
Use
new
gaskets
when
installing
cover
.

"
Thoroughly
clean
profile
gasketgroove
and
all
gasket

sealing
surfaces
on
lowerchaincover
.

"
Apply
a
small
bead
of
silicon
sealer
(3-Bond
1209
or
Snap



equivalent)
lo
joint
corners
where
chaincover
meets

ring



0013024



head
and
block
.
See
Fig
.
14
.

"
Tap
cover
into
position
to
engage
locating
dowels
.

Fig
.
12
.
Disassembled
early-style
chain
tensioner
usadon
M42
en-



"
Tighten
cover
mounting
bolts
alternately
and
in
stages
.

gine
.

12
.
Check
that
chain
is
now
free
of
siack
.
Tighten
down

sprocket
mounting
bolts
.



where
chain
cover
meets
head
and
block
(arrows)
.
Fig
.
14
.
Apply
sealer
(3-Bond
1209
0
or
equivalent)
to
joint
corners

CAMSHAFT
TIMING
CHAIN,
4-CYLINDER

The
fuel
injection
systems
used
on
the
1996
and
later
cars
covered
bythis
manual
are
OBD
II
compliant
.
This
system
is
in-
corporated
into
both
the
Bosch
M5
.2
(M44
engine)
and
the
Si-
emens
MS
41
.1
(M52/S52US
engine)
engine
management
systems
.
OBD
II
systems
use
sophisticateddiagnostic
soft-
ware
capable
of
recognizing
and
electronically
storing
hun-
dreds
of
DTCs
in
the
system
ECM
.
DTCs
can
only
be
accessed
using
special
scan
tooltest
equipment
.
The
BMW
dealer
is
equipped
with
the
specialized
OBD
II
scan
toolto
quickly
and
efficiently
locate
engine
management
problems
.
Alternately,
a
"generic"
scan
tool
can
be
used
to
access
OBD
II
fault
informa-
tion
.

NOTE-

"
At
the
time
this
manual
went
to
press,
generic
scan
tools
were
notwidely
available
for
BMW
vehicles
.
The
generic
sean
tool
is
a
specialized
toolthat
plugs
into
a
standardized
OBD
11
connector
on
1996
and
later
pas-senger
vehícles
built
for
sale
in
the
US
.

"
The
OBD
11
fault
memory
(including
an
illuminated
Check
Engine
light)
can
only
be
reset
using
the
spe-
cial
scan
tool
.
Removing
the
connector
trom
the
ECM
or
disconnecting
the
battery
will
not
erase
the
fault
memory
.

"
The
16-pin
OBD
11
diagnostic
connector
is
located
on
the
lower
left
dash
panel
.
Refer
to
Fig
.
1
.

6

1
.
Secondary
air
pump
2
.
Electric
solenoid
valve
3
.
One-way
check
valve
4
.
Intake
manifold
5
.
Exhaust
manifolds
6
.
Secondary
air
check-valve

®
G~



i

o
o



0
0
G
0000
o



,-
00

~

1111111
in

,,
0
1--

a

Fig
.
5
.



Components
of
6-cylinder
secondary
air
injection
system
.
4-
cylinder
system
is
similar
.

Secondary
AirInjection

FUEL
INJECTION



130-
5

All
OBD
II
6-cylinder
engines
are
equípped
with
asecond-
ary
air
injection
system
.
In
addition,
beginning
in
January
1997,
the
M44
engine
was
classified
as
a
TLEV
(Transitional
Low
Emission
Vehicle)
engine
and
is
also
equipped
with
sec-
ondary
air
injection
.

Typical
components
of
the
secondary
air
injection
system

are
depicted
in
Fig
.
5
.

Secondary
air
injection
usesan
electric
pump
to
pump
fresh
air
finto
the
exhaust
systemupstream
of
the
catalytic
converter
during
engine
warm-up
.
By
providing
extra
oxygen
to
the
un-
burned
fuel
in
the
exhaust,
hydrocarbons
oxidize
and
carbon

monoxide
combines
with
oxygen
to
form
carbon
dioxide
andwa-
ter
.
The
air
injection
pump
stops
within
a
specified
timed
intenral
.

4

0013120

GENERAL

Selector
shaft
seal,
replacing

(transmission
instalied)

1
.
Raise
and
safely
support
vehicle
to
access
drain
plug
.

2
.
Support
transmission
with
transmission
jack
.

3
.
Remove
driveshaft
.
See
260
Driveshaft
.

4
.
Remove
transmission
crossmember
and
tilt
down
rear

of
transmission
.

CA
UTION--

Tilting
the
engine
to
lower
the
transmission
can
lead
to
damage
to
various
cgmponents
due
to
lack
of
clearance
.
-On
cars
with
AST
(traction
control)
remove
throt-
tle
body
before
tiltlng
engine
.
-Remove
brake
fluid
reservoir
lf
necessary
.

Locking
pin

á



Locking
clip

8
.
Reinstall
shift
linkage
to
selectorshaft
.

7
.
Coat
new
seal
with
transmission
fluid
.
Drive
new
seal
in

flush
with
housing
.
Use
BMW
special
seal
installation
tool
no
.
23
2
260
orequivalent
and
a
soft-faced
(plastic)

hammer
.
See
Fig
.
4
.

9
.
Fiaise
transmission
and
reinstall
crossmember
.

MANUAL
TRANSMISSION



230-
3

Seal
Selector

_
shaft

5
.
Working
at
rear
of
selector
shaft,
disconnect
shift
link-



Fig
.
3
.



Selector
shaft
oil
sea¡
being
pried
out
with
screwdriver
.

age
from
selectorshaft
.
See
Fig
.
2
.

Fig
.
4
.



Selector
shaftseal
being
installed
.

6542

0012020

Fig
.
2
.



Disconnect
shift
linkage
from
transmission
selector
shaft
by

prying
back
locking
clip
and
pushing
locking
pin
out
.



10
.
Install
driveshaft
using
new
nuts
.
See260
Driveshaft
.

6
.
Carefully
pry
sea¡
out
with
a
narrow
seal
remover
or



11
.
Check
transmission
oil
level,
topping
upas
necessary
.

small
screwdriver
.
See
Fig
.
3
.

Tightening
Torques

"
Driveshaftto
flex
disc/

final
drive
flange
..............
See
260
Driveshaft

"
Transmission
crossmember
to
chassis

M8
........
..
.
...
........
22-24
Nm
(16-17
ft-1b)

M10
........
.
.
...
...
.
.........
42
Nm
(31
ft-Ib)

TRANSMISSIONSERVICE

TheE36
convertible
is
an
all-season
vehicle
with
a
high
lev-
e¡offunctionality,
excellent
interior
comfort,
and
acoustic
re-

finement
.
Interior
materials
and
colors,
the
soft
top
and
the

light-alloy
wheelshave
been
carefully
matched
.

Various
versions
of
manual
and
automatic
soft
tops
have
been
used,
with
the
fully
automatic
convertible
roof
being
in-

stalled
beginning
in
the
1997
model
year
.

A
hard-top
in
body
color
with
heated
rear
window
is
avail-

ableas
an
option
for
the
cold
season
.

BODY-GENERAL
400-
3

Coupe
Models



The
convertible
body
structure
includes
many
passive
safe-

ty
refinements
over
its
fixed-top
counterparts
.
Some
of
the
en-

TheE36
coupe
is
similar
to
the4-door
sedan,
but
has
a



hancements
include
:

more
stretched
and
sleeker
appearance
.
Thus,
with
the
same

wheelbase
and
identicallength,
it
looks
different
but
still
famil-



"
More
rígíd
underbody
.

iar
.



"
Transverse
seat
members
.

"
Reinforced
windshield
frame
with
bonded
windshield,

The
2-door
variant
differs
from
the
4-door
sedan
by
a
3
.12



and
tubular
door
reinforcements
.

inch
(8
cm)
longer
front
end,
a
flatter
hood
line
with
air
slits,



"
Rollover
protection
system,
which
is
tripped
into
position

and
a
roof
almost
1
.2
inches
(3
cm)
shorter
.
Additional
differ-



in
a
fraction
of
second
.
This
is
available
as
optional

ences
include
wider
doors
with
frameless
Windows,
glass-



equipment
(standard
on
the
1998
328iC)
and
may
be
fit-

covered
door-posts
(B-pillars)
and
a
shorter
and
lower
lug-



ted
to
earlier
convertible
models
.
With
this
feature,
two

gage
compartment
lid
.



bars
fully
independent
of
each
other
come
up
behind

each
rear-seat
backrest
when
the
vehicle
is
in
danger
of

Convertible
Models



turning
over
.

A
convertible
body
normally
flexes
and
vibrates,
transfer-

ring
oscillations
to
the
luggage
compartment
.
In
the
E36
con-

vertible,
BMW
utilizes
a
special
battery
in
the
luggage
compartment,
in
conjunction
with
a
unique
battery
tray,
asa

vibration
dampening
system
to
counteract
thisoscillation
.

CAUTION
-

The
E36
convertible
requires
a
specialbattery
which
is
designed
for
constant
vibration
.

Information
for
the
convertible
top
and
its
related
mecha-

nisms
can
be
found
541
Convertible
Top
.

BODYASSEMBLY