Powe BMW 325i 1994 E36 Owners Manual

513-2



INTERIOR
TRim

DASHBOARD

Dashboard
removal
is
a
complex
operation,
involving
dis-

connection
and
dismantling
of
a
number
of
electrical
and
dash

structural
components
.

The
BMW
E36
is
equipped
with
SRS
airbags
mounted
in

the
steering
wheel,
in
the
dashboard
(1994
and
later)
on
the

passenger
side,
and
in
the
front
doors(1997
and
later)
.
Air-

bags
units
are
pyrotechnic
devices
and
should
be
treated
with

extreme
caution
.
Improper
handling
of
the
airbags
could

cause
serious
injury
.

WARNING
-

"
The
BMW
Supplemental
Restraint
System
(SRS)
is
complex
and
special
precautions
must
be
ob-
served
when
servicing
.
Serious
injury
may
result
if
system
service
is
attempted
by
persons
unfa-
miliar
with
the
BMW
SRS
and
its
approved
ser-vice
procedures
.
BMW
specifies
that
all
inspection
and
service
shouldbe
performed
byan
authorized
BMW
dealer
.

"
Beforeperforming
any
work
involving
the
steering
wheel
or
interior
trim
in
the
vicinity
of
the
airbags,
disconnect
the
negative
()
battery
cable
.
See
721
Airbag
System
(SRS)
.

"
SRS
contains
aback-up
power
supply
within
the
SRS
control
module
.
A
10
minute
díscharge
peri-
od
should
be
allowed
after
the
battery
cable
has
been
disconnected
.

Glove
compartment,
removing
and
installing

1.
Open
glove
compartment
door
.

2
.
Remove
glove
compartment
mounting
screws
.
See
Fig
.
2
.

3
.
Pull
glove
compartment
out,
disconnecting
electrical

harness
connectors
as
necessary
.

4
.
Installation
is
reverse
of
removal
.

DASH80ARD

Fig
.
2
.



Glove
compartment
mounting
screws
(arrows)
.

Lower
left
dash
panel,

removing
and
installing

0013107

1
.
Remove
lower
dash
panel
retaining
screws
.
See
Fig
.
3
.

0013155

Fig
.
3
.



Lower
left
dash
panel
retaining
screws
(arrows)
.

2
.
Pull
lower
dash
panel
left
and
back
to
disengagefrom
driver's
footwell
retaining
clips
.

3
.
Installation
is
reverse
of
removal
.

515-2



CENTRAL
LOCKING
AND
ANTI-THEFT

0013117

Fig
.
1
.



4-door
cars
:
Remove
lower
retaining
boltat
base
of
window
rear
guide
rail
and
pivot
rail
out
of
door
.

Fig
.
3
.



Front
door
lock
mounting
screws
(arrows)
.

uu11686
0012685

Fig
.
4
.



Pry
out
locklinkage
(A)
from
plastic
retainer
.
Lift
door
lock
mechanism
slightly
to
Rmove
latching
pin
from
lock
gate
(B)
.
Door
lock
mechanism
shown
removed
from
door
.
0013073
Fig
.
2
.



Inside
door
handle
retaining
screw
(A)
Unhook
linkage
from
handle
at
B
.



9
.
Installation
is
reverse
of
removal,
noting
the
following
:

DOOR
HANDLES
AND
LOCKS

"
Install
lock
mounting
bolts
with
Loctite
0
270
or
equiva-
lent
thread-locker
.
"
Reconnect
power
window
motor
harness
connector
.
"
Usenew
mounting
bolts
when
reinstalling
the
side-ím-
pact
airbag
to
the
door
(where
applicable)
.
"
Secure
wire
harnesses
with
wire
ties
.
"
Check
function
of
door
lock
and
window
mechanism

before
reinstalling
inner
door
panel
.

Tightening
Torques

"
Door
lock
to
door
......
.
..........
9
Nm
(80
in-lb)

"
Window
guide
to
door
........
.
...
10
Nm
(89
in-lb)

515-4



CENTRAL
LOCKING
AND
ANTI-THEFT

11
.
Installation
is
reverse
of
removal
.
Keep
in
mind
the
fol-



4
.
Remove
screws
mounting
bottom
of
window
rear
track

lowing
:



to
door
.
See
Fig
.
9
.

"
Make
sure
rubber
seal
for
handle
is
correctly
posi-

tionedbefore
tightening
mounting
fasteners
.

"
Install
exteriortrim
piece
and
then
use
a
hooked
tool
to

pull
locking
plate
into
locked
position
.
Make
sure
door

handle
trim
contacts
body
evenly
before
locking
trim

in
place
.

"
Use
new
mounting
bolts
when
reinstalling
the
side-im-

pactairbag
to
the
door(where
applicable)
.
Reset
SRS

warning
light
and
clear
SRS
fault
memory
using
spe-

cial
test
equipment
.
See
721
Airbag
System
(SRS)
.

"
Reconnect
al¡
harness
connectors
(including
power

window
motor)before
installing
door
panel
.

"
Secure
wire
harnesses
withwire
ties
.

"
Adjust
and
reinitialize
windows
.
See
512
Door
Win-

dows
.

Tightening
Torque

"
Collar
nut
to
doorhandle
..........
10
Nm
(89
in-lb)

1.
Remove
rear
door
panel
and
vapor
barrier
as
described

in
411
Doors
.

2
.
Remove
window
from
rear
dooras
described
in
512

Door
Windows
.

3
.
Disconnect
andremove
inside
door
handle
.
See
Fig
.
8
.

0013073

Fig
.
8
.



Inside
door
handle
retaining
screw
(A)
Unhook
linkage
from
handle
at
B
.

DOOR
HANDLES
AND
LOCKS

Fig
.
9
.



Rear
window
track
lower
fasteners
(arrows)
.

Reardoor
lock,
removing
and
installing



5
.
Remove
window
rear
track
top
screw
and
move
track

aside
.
See
Fig
.
10
.

Fig
.
10
.
Rear
window
track
top
screw
(arrow)
.

6
.
Remove
screw
from
lock
button
linkage
rod
retainer
.
Lift

rod
out
of
retaining
clip
.
See
Fig
.
11
.

7
.
Disconnect
door
lock
harnessconnector
.

8
.
Remove
door
lock
screws
.
See
Fig
.
12
.

0013085

9
.
Move
lock
upslightly
to
disengage
from
exterior
handle

linkage
.
Remove
lock
from
inside
door
.

0011688

Fig
.
11
.
Rear
door
lockbutton
linkage
rod
retainer
(A),
rod
retaining
clip
(B),
and
harness
connector
(C)
.

Fig
.
12
.
Rear
door
lock
mounting
screws
(arrows)
.

0011687

10
.
Installation
is
reverse
of
removal
.
Keep
in
mind
the
fol-
lowing
:

"
Insta¡¡
lock
mounting
boits
with
Loctite
©
270
or
equiva-

lentthread-locker
.

"
Reconnect
power
window
motorharness
connector

before
installing
door
panel
.

"
Secure
wire
harnesses
with
wire
ties
.

"
Adjust
window
as
described
in
512
Door
Windows
.

Tightening
Torque

"
Door
lock
to
door
.
...
.
..
..........
9
Nm
(80
in-lb)

CENTRAL
LOCKING
AND
ANTI-THEFT



515-5

Rear
door
handie,
removing
and
installing

1
.
Remove
rear
door
panel
and
vapor
barrier
as
described
in
411
Doors
.

2
.
Remove
window
from
rear
door
as
described
in
512

Door
Windows
.

3
.
Remove
door
lock
as
described
earlier
.

4
.
Pry
out
access
plug
in
end
of
door
.
Use
screwdriver
through
access
hole
to
slide
exterior
trim
locking
plate
into
released
position
.
See
Fig
.
13
.
Remove
doorhan-
dle
exterior
trim
piece
.

u
.]lbbl

Fig
.
13
.
Insert
screwdriver
into
access
hole
and
push
locking
plate
forward
(arrow)torelease
exterior
handle
trim
.

5
.
Remove
door
handle
mountingscrews
while
support-

ing
handle
.
See
Fig
.
14
.

Fig
.
14
.
Reardoor
handle
mounting
screws
(arrows)
.

0011684

DOOR
HANDLES
AND
LOCKS

515-6



CENTRAL
LOCKING
AND
ANTI-THEFT

6
.
Remove
door
handle
assembly
from
inside
door
.

7
.
Installation
is
reverse
of
removal
.
Keep
in
mindthe
fol-

lowing
:

"
Make
sure
rubber
seal
for
handle
is
correctly
posi-

tionedbefore
tightening
mounting
fasteners
.

"
Install
exterior
trim
piece
and
then
use
a
hooked
toolto

pull
locking
plate
into
locked
position
.
Make
sure
door
handle
trim
contacts
body
evenly
before
lockingtrim

in
place
.

"
Reconnect
all
harness
connectors
(including
power

window
motor)before
installing
door
panel
.

"
Secure
wire
harnesses
withwire
ties
.

"
Adjust
windowas
described
in
512
Door
Windows
.

Tightening
Torque

"
Rear
door
handle
mounting
screws
..
10
Nm
(89
in-lb)

NOTE

If
the
striker
backup
plate
fafls
into
the
body
cavlty,
it
can
be
retrieved
after
removing
the
inside
trim
from
the
B-pillar
(door-post
pillar)
.

Tightening
Torque

"
Striker
plate
to
body
pillar
..........
28
Nm
(20
ft-lb)

LOCKING
ACTUATORS

Door
Locking
Actuator

The
front
door
lock
mechanism
and
actuator
are
shown
in
Fig
.
15
.
The
rear
door
lock
and
actuator
are
similar
.
The
lock
must
first
be
removed,
as
described
earlier,
to
replace
the
ac-
tuator
.

if
defective
.

LOCKING
ACTUATORS

Connections
to
door
handle

®
o

_



Attaching
pin
0

O~
Lock
mechanism

0012082

Fig
.
15
.
Front
door
lock
mechanism
and
related
parts
.
Rear
lock
mechanism
is
similar
.

Door
striker,
replacing



Luggage
compartment
locking
actuator,

removing
and
installing
The
door
striker
contains
an
electrical
contact
switch
.
If
the

switch
is
faulty,
the
striker
must
be
replaced
.
To
remove
the



1
.
Raise
trunk
lid
.
Remove
tool
kit
and
trunk
lid
trim
panel
.

striker,
remove
the
mounting
bolts
.
Disconnect
the
harness



See
Fig
.
16
.

connector
from
the
striker
.

0013162

Fig
.
16
.
Trunk
lid
trim
and
tool
kit
retainíng
screws
and
clips
(arrows)
.

2
.
Disconnect
actuating
rod
from
lock
.
See
Fig
.
17
.

3
.
lJnplug
two
wíring
connectors
from
actuator
.
See
Fig
.

18
.

NOTE
-

"
lf
just
one
of
the
centrallocking
drives
does
not
oper-



NOTE-

ate,
the
lockinglinkage
could
be
frozen
orstiff
enough



The
actuator
is
adjustable
.
Matchmark
the
attaching
to
prevent
actuatonof
the
drive
.
Try
remove
the
finte-



screws
before
removal
.

rior
doorpanel
and
lubricating
the
locking
linkage
as
the
first
step
.



4
.
Remove
actuator
attaching
screws
.
Pull
actuator
back-

"
The
actuator
is
not
serviceable
and
mustbe
replaced



wards
from
behind
metal
shield
to
remove
.

5
.
installation
is
reverse
of
removal
.
Align
actuator
screws
with
matchmarks
during
installation
.

GENERAL

This
repair
group
covers
removal
and
installation
of
the

front
and
rear
seats
.

FRONT
SEATS

The
front
seats
installed
in
E36
cars
come
in
either
manual

or
electrically
powered
versions
.
Cloth,vinyl
and
leather
ver-

sions
are
offered
.
M3
sport
seats
have
extra
bolsters
on
the

sides
of
the
sean-back,
a
thigh
support
bolster,
and
extra
con-

trols
for
sean
inclination
.

Seat
removal
and
installation
is
similar
for
all
versions
.
Seat
disassembly
differs
in
details
among
the
many
models
of

seats
.

Front
seat,
removing
and
installing

1
.
Move
seat
to
fui¡
forward
position
and
raise
it
as
far
as

possible
.
Remove
two
mounting
bolts
at
rear
of
sean

rails
.
See
Fig
.
1
.

2
.
Move
seat
to
fui¡
rear
position,
keeping
it
raised
.

3
.
Disconnect
negative
(-)
cable
from
battery
.



Fig
.1
.



Frontseat
rear
mounting
bolts
(arrows)
.

CAUTION-

Prior
to
disconnecting
the
battery,
read
the
battery
disconnection
cautions
given
at
the
front
of
this

manual
onpage
viii
.

520
Seats

SEATS
520-1

GENERAL
...
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
..............
.
.
520-1



Rear
seat
cushion
and
backrest,

removing
and
installing

FRONT
SEATS
.
.
.
.
.
.
......
.
.
.
...
.
.
.
.
.
.
520-1



(fixed
seat
back
models)
......
.
.
.
...
.
...
520-5

Front
seat,
removing
and
installing
...
.
.
.
..'
520-1



Rear
seat
cushion
and
backrest,

Manual
Front
Seat
Assembly
.............
520-3



removing
and
installing

fold-downsean
back
models
(



)
..
.
.
..
..
.
...
520-5
Power
Fronf
Seat
Assembly
..
.
.....
.
.
.
.
.
;
520-4



Rear
seat
backrest
side
section,

REAR
SEATS
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
............
.
...
520-5



removing
and
installing

(fold-down
seat
back
models)
..
.
.....
.
..
.520-6

4
.
Remove
plastic
caps
from
front
mounting
nuts,
and

then
remove
mounting
nuts
.
See
Fig
.
2
.

WARNING
-

Deactivate
front
seat
belt
lock
tensioners
before
proceeding
to
next
step
.
See720
Seat
Belts
.

NOTE-

Use
a
blanket
to
protect
door
sill
from
scuffing
bysean
rail
during
seatremoval
.

FRONT
SEA
TS

Manual
Front
Seat
Assembly

The
non-power
seat
in
E36
cars
is
shown
disassembled
in

Fig
.
4
.
Component
replacement
is
possible
once
theseat
has

been
removed
from
the
vehicle
as
described
earlier
.

Fig
.
4
.



Construction
of
non-power
front
seat
.

SEATS
520-
3

1.
Backrest
padding



4
.
Seat
adjustment
controis



7
.
Seatframe2
.
Backrest
frame



5
.
Seat
adjustmentcables



8
.
Seat
cushion
3
.



Backrest
release
lever
(two-door)



6
.



Seat
tilt
control
(M3
only)



9
.



Knee
bolster
(M3
only)

FRONT
SEA
TS

520-
4
SEATS

Power
Front
Seat
Assembly
The
power
seat
in
E36
cars
is
shown
disassembled
in
Fig
.

5
.
Component,
actuator
and
drive
cable
replacement
is
possi-
ble
once
theseat
has
been
removed
from
the
vehicle
as
de-
scribed
earlier
.

FRONT
SEA
TS

Fig
.
5
.



Construction
of
power
front
seat
.

1
.



Backrest
frame



6
.



Lumbar
support
(to
9/94)



11
.
Seat
track
2
.



Seatframe



7
.



Vertical
adjustment
(rear)



12
.
Seat
tilt
motor3
.



Backrest
release
lever
(two-door)



8
.



Backrest
adjustment
gearbox



13
.
Tilt
motorgearbox4
.
Backrest
release
lever
cable



9
.
Backrest
adjustment
motor



14
.
Forward/backward
driveshafts
5
.
Lumbar
support
(from9/94)



10
.
Wiring
harness



15
.
Forward/backwardmotor

GENERAL
.
...
.
.
.
......
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
......
541-1



Visor
Latch
Plate
.....
.
....
.
.
.
.
.
...
.
...
.541-4

Visor
Latch
..
.
............
.
.
.
..........
541-4

MANUAL
CONVERTIBLE
TOP
.
.
.
.
...
.
..
541-1



Visor
Latch
Motor
...
.......
.
.
.
..
........
541-5

Visor
Latch
Plate
.
.
......
.
.
.
...
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
..
541-1



Convertible
top
and
frame,
replacing
........
541-5

VisorLatch
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
..........
.
.....
.
.
.541-1



Convertible
top
drive
motor,
replacing



......
541-7

Convertible
Top
Lid
Release
Mechanism
.
.
.
.
541-2



Convertible
Top
Emergency
Operation
.....
.541-7

Convertible
top
and
frame,
replacing
....
.
.
.
541-2



Convertible
Top
Lid
.
.
.
.
...........
.
.....
541-9

POWER
CONVERTIBLE
TOP
.
.
.
.
....
.
.
.
541-2



ROLLOVER
PROTECTION
SYSTEM
..
.
.
541-9

FrontLatching
Mechanism
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
......
.
541-4

GENERAL

The
convertible
top
comes
in
three
versions
:
a
manually
op-erated
top,
a
semi-automatic
power
top
and
a
fully
automatic
power
top
.

NOTE-

The
convertible
top
control
module
(CVM)
is
located
behind
the
left
rearside
trim
panel
.
For
the
location
of
other
convertible
top
electric
components
see610
Electrical
Component
Locations
.

The
rear
window
in
the
convertible
models
is
made
of
a
strong,
flexible
vínyl
which
is
available
separately
.
Replace-

ment
of
the
rear
window
is
not
covered
in
this
manual
.

The
left
and
right
visor
latch
plates
can
be
accessed
by
re-
moving
the
trim
and
moldings
around
the
sides
and
top
of
the

windshield
.
Each
latch
is
secured
to
thetop
of
the
windshield

usingthree
bolts
.
Latch
position
is
adjusted
as
follows
:

541
Convertible
Top

CONVERTIBLE
TOP



541-1

"
Loosen
bolts

"
Latch
top

"
Align
top

"
Retighten
bolts
.
See
Fig
.
1
.

BMW
has
designed
a
specialbattery
tray
for
the
convertible

which,
in
conjunction
with
the
mass
of
the
battery
in
the
lug-

gage
compartment,
serves
to
dampen
convertible
body
flex
ing
and
vibration
.



Fig
.
1.



Visor
latchplate
is
held
to
top
of
windshieldwith
three
bolts
(arrows)
.

CAUTION-

The
E36
convertible
requires
a
specialbattery



VisorLatch
which
is
designed
for
constant
vibration
.
A
battery
not
designed
forthis
will
fa¡¡
much
earlier
.



Check
for
ease
of
release
and
locking
of
convertible
top
front
latches
.
Height
of
a
latch
can
be
changed
by
using
the
adjusting
screw
.
To
change
latch
tension,
it
is
necessary
to
re-
MANUAL
CONVERTIBLE
TOP



move
the
trim
on
the
front
bow
of
thetop
.
The
ball-joint
pull-rod
length
can
then
be
adjusted
.
Lubricate
latch
if
necessary
.
See

Visor
Latch
Plate



Fig
.
2
.

MANUAL
CONVERTIBLE
TOP

541-2



CONVERTIBLE
TOP

Fig
.
2
.



Manually
operated
frontlatch
.
Loosen
mounting
nuts
(A)
and
locknut
(B),
then
adjust
latch
height
with
hex-bolt
(C)
.
(Fully
automatic
front
latch
height
adjuster
is
similar
.)
Latch
tension

ís
adjusted
at
rod
ball-joint
end
(D)
.

Convertible
Top
Lid
Release
Mechanism

The
convertible
lid
release
handle
is
situated
in
the
trim

panel
behind
the
driver's
seat
.
To
remove
thehandle,
pull
its

plastic
insert
forward
and
remove
the
triminsert
.
The
handle
is

mounted
with
a
single
screw
.

Abowden
cable
is
routed
from
the
handle
to
the
left
lid
latch
.

Another
cable
is
routed
from
the
left
tothe
right
latch
inside
the

luggage
compartment
.
It
is
accessed
by
pulling
down
the
trim

lining
off
the
front
wall
of
the
compartment
.

Convertible
top
and
frame,
replacing

1
.
Open
convertible
top
partially
.
Open
convertible
top
lid
.



J
I~I~KX
Open
back
windows
.



_

v
2
.
Remove
fasteners
in
compartments
behind
door
posts

and
lift
out
complete
top
.
Count
number
of
shims
on

horizontal
mounting
bolts
.
See
Fig
.
3
.

3
.
Installation
is
reverse
of
removal
.
Be
sure
to
replaceU-
shaped
shims
on
horizontal
mounting
bolts
.
See
Fig
.
4
.

Fig
.
4
.



Horizontal
positioning
bolt(A)
and
U-shaped
adjusting
shims4
.
To
adjust
position
and
fit
oftop,
remove
or
add
U-



(B)for
convertible
top
.
One
of
two
main
mounting
nuts
(ar
shaped
shims
until
top
is
properly
aligned
.
Tighten
nuts



rows)
also
visible
.

and
screws
.

POWER
CONVERTIBLE
TOP

The
semi-automatic
top,
installed
in
1996
convertibles,

must
first
be
manually
released
from
the
visor
latch
plates
and
pushed
back
past
the
"tension
point,"
wheréupon,
the
auto-
matic
retracting
motor
and
linkage
take
over
and
pull
it
into
the
storage
compartment
behind
the
back
seat
.

POWER
CONVERTIBLE
TOP

Fig
.
3
.



Mounting
nuts
(A)
for
convertible
top
(two
oneach
side)
.
There
is
also
a
horizontal
bolt
with
spacers
oneach
side
(B)
.

0012754

The
fully
automatic
top,
standard
on
1997
and
later
convert-

ibles,
allows
complete
operation
of
the
top,
from
fully
open
to
fully
closed,withthe
push
of
atoggleswitch
on
the
console
.

The
top
switch
incorporates
a
"top
unlatched"
warning
LED
.

A
schematic
representation
of
the
fully
automatic
convert-
ible
top
is
shown
in
Fig
.
5
.