» Site Navigation | | » Recent Threads | | | | | | | | 01-19-2016, 12:18 AM | #1 | Junior Member Join Date: Jan 2016 Location: New Zealand Posts: 8 | '96 318ti, unknown service history Hi everyone, great forum you guys have here. I have just bought my first BMW, a Santorin blue 96 318ti auto, Japanese import to New Zealand. It was running like a dog when I got it with a spark plug hole full of water. Cleaned that up and its running great now. I am going to try to get all maintenance up to date but my budget will stop me from doing everything at once. First question. How do I check which engine I have? Registration says 1795cc, engine number unknown, and I can't see anything under the hood. My rough plan is to do oil and filter change, coolant flush/replace, change out any plastic coolant system parts (can only see a small right angle elbow so far) , change auto trans fluid and diff oil, plugs and leads. In approximately that order. Have I missed anything more important than what I listed? Have I prioritized well? TIA John Last edited by firstbmw; 01-19-2016 at 12:21 AM. Reason: formatting | | | 01-19-2016, 05:17 AM | #2 | Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Wichita Falls, Texas Posts: 1,364 | Welcome aboard! You're correct to change all fluids and all filters before you do anything else. Next: the two plastic water pipes at the back of the engine. If old, these fail without notice with bad results often. After that, make sure that your brakes aren't worn out. I would then check and replace the serpentine belt if necessary and consider replacing the water pump as a preventative measure if you don't know the age of the one in the car now. Bottom line: overheating is something you want to avoid and prevent, and as luck would have it, the ti's cooling system is the model's weak point. Enjoy your ti! John | | | 01-19-2016, 05:38 AM | #3 | Junior Member Join Date: Jan 2016 Location: New Zealand Posts: 8 | Awesome. Thanks jca. Good to know I am on the right track. | | | 01-19-2016, 05:46 AM | #4 | Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: norcal - 94590 Posts: 3,186 | John; US spec ti's came with 2 engines, '95 with the 1.8L M42, '96 and later came with the 1.9L M44. I cannot answer to what the Japanese market had. The best guess is that you have the M44.. If you post the last 7 numbers of you VIN in the VIN Decoding thread here; http://www.318ti.org/forum/showthread.php?t=18444 we can run the report for you so you can be 100%. Welcome! __________________ James 95 active w/leather interior and sport interior conversion, Vaders, full M-Tech exterior conversion. Now m50 swapped* Eibach sway bars, D2 Coilovers, Depo's w/AE's, blacked-out sides and grills, LeatherZ console and door armrests, 1 series starter button mod, and custom finished Style 5's <--- in this color! Named "Roddy": *M50 6 cyl. swap with fan delete, S50 cams and chip, AFE stage 2 intake, M3 clutch and 11.5 lb Fidanza flywheel, 3.15LSD, battery relocated to rear and complete custom exhaust. Sweet! 97 318ti sport, Alaska Blue, Contours, coilovers, Dove Vaders and custom black/grey interior named "Max" 95 318ti Active in Cosmos, S50 swap in progress... named "Pit" SUPPORT 318ti.org! CLICK THE LINK ABOVE! Hosting a forum like this is not free. 318ti.org is one of the best BMW forums on the web because it is member supported, not vendor supported. The cost to become a Supporter is a nominal $10.00... A YEAR! DO IT! NOW! | | | 01-19-2016, 06:09 AM | #5 | Junior Member Join Date: Jan 2016 Location: New Zealand Posts: 8 | Done. Thanks wolferj | | | 01-19-2016, 07:07 AM | #6 | Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: norcal - 94590 Posts: 3,186 | So, you have a M42, so there is no plastic coolant pipe on the back of the head, just the one under the intake to worry about. The M42 has forged internals, so it is pretty bullet-proof as long as you keep it maintained (many examples of 500+ KM engines exist). Never let it overheat... __________________ James 95 active w/leather interior and sport interior conversion, Vaders, full M-Tech exterior conversion. Now m50 swapped* Eibach sway bars, D2 Coilovers, Depo's w/AE's, blacked-out sides and grills, LeatherZ console and door armrests, 1 series starter button mod, and custom finished Style 5's <--- in this color! Named "Roddy": *M50 6 cyl. swap with fan delete, S50 cams and chip, AFE stage 2 intake, M3 clutch and 11.5 lb Fidanza flywheel, 3.15LSD, battery relocated to rear and complete custom exhaust. Sweet! 97 318ti sport, Alaska Blue, Contours, coilovers, Dove Vaders and custom black/grey interior named "Max" 95 318ti Active in Cosmos, S50 swap in progress... named "Pit" SUPPORT 318ti.org! CLICK THE LINK ABOVE! Hosting a forum like this is not free. 318ti.org is one of the best BMW forums on the web because it is member supported, not vendor supported. The cost to become a Supporter is a nominal $10.00... A YEAR! DO IT! NOW! | | | 01-21-2016, 09:59 PM | #7 | Junior Member Join Date: Jan 2016 Location: New Zealand Posts: 8 | Stumbled across this original Japanese sales brochure last night. I wonder what the chances are that the one in the pic is the one I am driving. Same colour, same roof, same motor, same wheels, same matching side skirts. Would love a hard copy if anyone stumbles across one. http://baurspotting.blogspot.co.nz/2...-open.html?m=1 | | | 01-23-2016, 03:30 AM | #8 | Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Wichita Falls, Texas Posts: 1,364 | That sales brochure is way cool! | | | | Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests) | | Posting Rules | You may not post new threads You may not post replies You may not post attachments You may not edit your posts HTML code is Off | | | |