1992 BMW 318i trim

400-2
BODY-GENERAL

4-door
Sedan

Coupe

-
saas3
.7""

351
/



37
.3
O



I
x
`-193



267

o
oa

'3281
model
"M3
model

Convertible

BODYASSEMBLY

55
ass
.e
iss
""
-
66
.9
-

Fig
.
2
.



E36
body
dimensíons
.

BODY
ASSEMBLY

29
.4

29
4

The
BMW
3
Series
chassis
is
a
unibodydesign
constructed
ofhigh
strength
steel
.
Attaching
parts,
suchas
the
front
fend-
ers,
rear
quarter
panels,
doors,
trunk
lid
and
hood
are
also
constructed
of
steel
.

706
.31108
.7"



I
38
.5
174
.5

174
.5

O



oo

196
.3/106
.7'
"



35_5



1.
.
55
.9,566
".

106
.3/196
.7""



i.
358
-1745-

55
9/56
3'/56
6"
-
J

0013099

Windows
bonded
flush
to
the
body
and
the
guided
flow
of
cooling
air
into
the
engine
compartment
provide
a
good
coeffi-
cient
of
drag(CD)
.
TheE36
cars
have
a
CD
of
approximately
0
.30for
the
sedan
and
coupe
models,
and
0
.35
for
the
con-
vertible
models
:

The
exterior
panels
are
corrosion-resistant
zinc
coated

steel
.
The
front
fenders
are
bolted
on
and
easily
replaceabie
.
The
body
styles
of
E36
cars
coveredby
this
manual
arethe



See410
Fenders,
Engine
Hood
.
4-door
sedan,
2-door
coupe
and
convertible
.
Body
dimen-
sions
vary
slightly
betweenmodels
.
See
Fig
.
2
.



The
front
and
rear
bumpers
use
an
aluminum
framework
with
an
overlaid
high-impact,
deformable
plastic
cover
.
This
Exterior
and
Aerodynamics



bumper
system
keeps
damage
to
a
minimum
in
head-on
colli-
sions
of
up
to
10
m
.p
.h
.
(15
km/h)
.
See
510
Exterior
Trim,
TheE36
can
be
immediatelyrecognized
asa
typical
BMW
.



Bumpers
.
With
its
traditionalstyling
features,
suchas
the
BMW
kidney
grille,
circular
headlights
behind
a
glass
cover
(for
reasons
of
streamliníng),
and
the
"kick"
in
the
rearmost
roof
pillar
(C-pil-
lar)
.

GENERAL

This
repair
group
covers
replacement
of
the
front
fenders

and
removal
and
installation
of
the
engine
hood
.

NOTE-

The
body
is
painted
at
the
factoryafter
assembly
.
Re-
alignment
of
body
panels
may
expose
unpainted
metal
.

Paint
all
exposed
metal
once
the
work
fs
complete
.

FRONT
FENDERS

Front
fender,
removing
and
installing

1
.
Raise
hood
.
Raise
and
safely
support
front
of
vehicle
.

WARNING
-

"
When
raising
thecar
using
a
floor
jack
or
a
hy-

draulic
lift,
carefully
position
the
jack
pad
to
pre-

vent
damaging
thecar
body
.
A
suitable
liner
(wood,
rubber,
etc
.)
should
be
placed
between
the
jack
and
the
car
to
prevent
body
damage
.

"
Watch
the
jack
closely
.
Make
sure
it
stays
stable
and
does
not
shift
or
tilt
.
As
the
car
is
raised,
the

car
may
roll
slightly
and
the
jack
may
shift
.

2
.
Remove
front
wheel
.
Remove
inner
plastic
liner
from

wheel
well
.

3
.
Remove
front
bumper
.
See510
Exterior
Trim,

Bumpers
.

4
.
Working
atfront
corner
of
fender,
remove
front
grille

panel
bolts
(2
bolts
at
left
and
right)
.
See
Fig
.
1
.

FENDERS,
ENGINE
HOOD



410-1

410
Fenders,
Engine
Hood

GENERAL
...............
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
..
410-1



ENGINE
HOOD
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
...
.
.410-3

Hood,
raising
to
service
position
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
...
410-3
FRONTFENDERS
........
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.410-1



Hood,
removin



and
installin



410-3

Front
Pender,
removing
and
installing
.
.
.
....
410-1



Hood,
aligning
...
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.....
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
...
410-4

Hood
release
cable
and
latches,
adjusting
...
410-4

001
.145

Fig
.
1
.



Front
grille
panel
to
front
fender
retaining
bolts
(arrows)
.
Front

bumpershown
removed
.

5
.
Remove
front
turn
signalliens
assembly
from
applica-

ble
front
corner
.
Carefully
pryout
side
directional
from

fender
(later
cars
only)
.
See
630
Exterior
Lighting
.

6
.
Remove
fender
attaching
bolts
atfront
underside
of

fender
.
See
Fig
.
2
.

7
.
Remove
bolts
along
top
edge
of
fender
:
See
Fig
.
3
.

8
.
Open
front
door
and
remove
fender
mounting
bolts
in

door
jamb
.
See
Fig
.
4
.

9
.
Carefully
remove
fender
from
body
.

FRONTFENDERS

410-4



FENDERS,
ENGINE
HOOD

4
.
With
aid
of
assistant,
remove
hood
hinge
bolts
from
left

and
Rght
sides
of
hood
.
Lift
hood
off
carefully
See
Fig
.
8
.

Fig
.
8
.



Hood
hinge
bolts
(arrows)
.
Right
side
shown
.

5
.
Installation
is
reverse
of
removal
.

NOTE-

The
hood
was
fitted
and
attached
to
an
unfinished
body
at
the
factory
.
Unfinished
surfaces
exposed
by
this
pro-
cedure
must
betouchedup
wfth
pafnt
.

Hood,
aligning

ENGINE
HOOD

0013149

6013150

Fig
.
9
.



Hood
panel
gaps
should
be
even
(approx
.
5
.5
mm)
at
all
points
(arrows)
.

Hood
release
cable
and
latches,
adjusting

Before
adjusting
hood
latches,
be
sure
the
hood
is
aligned

evenly
to
fenders
and
front
panel
.
The
hood
latch
and
cable

assembly
is
shown
in
Fig
.
10
.

"
Repair
any
paint
damage
and
paint
any
exposed
metal
.

"
Check
hood
alignment
as
described
next
.



1
.
To
adjust
hood
cables
:

When
installing
the
hood,
align
the
hinges
as
close
to
the
original
paintedsurface
as
possible
.
Movement
of
the
hood
on
its'attaching
hardware
may
require
touch-up
paint
.

The
hood
should
be
aligned
so
that
gapson
all
sides
areas

even
as
possible
.
See
Fig
.
9
.

Clearance
Specification

"
Hood
edges
to
adjoining
body

panel
(gap)
........
..
..
..
.....
.5
.5
mm
(0.216
in)

"
Remove
left
and
right
radiator
grilles
.
See
510
Exterior

Trim,
Bumpers
.

"
Remove
electric
auxíliary
cooling
fan
.
See
170
Radia-

tor
and
Cooling
System
.

"
Adjust
cable
section
between
two
hood
latches
so

there
is
no
play
(cables
must
not
be
under
tension
ei-

ther)
.

2
.
Loosen
hood
latches
at
hood
on
left
and
right
sides
.

Loosen
bolts
only
enough
to
allow
movement
of
latch
.

See
Fig
.
11
.

3
.
Lower
(but
do
not
fully
latch)
hood
severa¡
times
so

latches
on
hood
center
themselves
in
lower
locks
.

CA
UTION-

Do
not
let
hood
fockwith
latchbolts
loose
.

4
.
Tighten
hood
latch
bolts
when
alignment
is
correct
.

5
.
Remove
one
screw
fromeach
side,
clean
and
coat
with
Loctite
O
270
or
equivalent,
and
reinstall
.

GENERAL

This
repair
group
covers
front
and
rear
door
repair
informa-
tion,
including
removal
and
installationof
the
interior
doorpan-
els
.

DOORS

WARNING
-

Late
M3
moddis
havealuminum
doors
.
Use
extra
care
in
handling
aluminum
parts
in
order
to
avoid
damage
from
gouging
or
corrosión
.

NOTE-

"
For
information
on
the
power
door
windows
and
door
glass
replacement,
sea512Door
Windows
.

"
Forinformation
on
the
power
door
locking
system,
see
515
Central
Locking
and
Anti-Theft
.

WARNING
-

Some
1997
and
all
1998
cars
are
fitted
with
side-im-
pact
airbags
in
the
front
doors
.
When
servicing
doors
on
cars
with
front
side-impact
airbags,
always
dis-
connect
the
negative
(-)
battery
terminal
.
See
721
Airbag
System
(SRS)
for
cautions
and
procedures
relating
to
the
airbag
system
.

Front
orrear
door,
removing
and
installing

1
.
If
workingon
front
door
with
side-impact
airbag,
discon-

nect
negative
(-)
battery
cable
.

CAUTION
-

Prior
to
disconnectiog
the
battery,
read
the
battery
disconnection
cautions
given
at
the
front
of
this
manual
on
page
vüi
.

2
.
Unbolt
main
harness
connector
at
door
pillar
and
sep-
arate
connector
.
See
Fig
.
1
.

411
Doors

GENERAL
.............
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
..
411-1



DOOR
PANELS
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
...
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
...
.
.
411-4

Front
door
trim
panel,
removing
and
installing
.411-4
DOORS
..
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
...
.
.......
.
....
.
.
.
411-1



Rear
door
trim
panel,
removing
and
installing
.411-5
Front
or
reardoor,
removing
and
installing
..
.
411-1



Rear
side
trim
panel,
removing
and
installing
Door
check,
replacing
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.......
411-3



(coupemodel)
.
.
.
.
.
.
....
.
.............
411-6

Door
Adjustment
.......
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.....
411-3



Rear
side
trim
panel,
removing
and
installing
(convertible
models)
.
...
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
...
.
411-6

DOORS
411-1

Fig
.
1
.



Door
harness
connector
being
removed
fromdoor
pillar
.
Re-
move
mountingscrews
atA,
then
separate
connector
by
pulling
upon
harness
lock(top
arrow)
.

3
.
Withdoor
fully
open,
remove
pin
bolts
from
top
and
bot-
tom
door
hinges
.
See
Fig
.
2
.

0011650

Fig
.
2
.



Door
hinge
pin
bolt
(arrow)
.
Top
hinge
shown
.
Also
remove
pin
bolt
from
lowerhinge
.

DOORS

Door
Hinge
Adjustment

If
the
installed
door
is
uneven
or
out
of
parallel,
shims
can
be
used
to
correct
its
position
.
The
shims
are
placedbehind
the
hinge
plate
and
are
available
in
two
different
thicknesses
(0
.5
mm
and
1
.0
mm)
.
See
Fig
.
4
.

Tightening
Torque

"
Door
hinge
to
door
.............
..
21
Nm
(15
.5
ft-I
b)
"
Door
striker
to
door
...........
...
25
Nm
(18
ft-Ib)

DOOR
PANELS

0
l
o
0013102

Fig
.
4
.



Door
hinge
and
door
check
components
.
Front
and
rear
doors
are
similar
.

WARNING
-

Some
1997
and
all
1998
cars
are
fitted
with
side-im-
pact
airbags
in
the
front
doors
.
When
servicing
doors
on
cars
with
front
side-impact
airbags,
always
dis-
connect
the
negative
()
battery
terminal
.
See
721
Airbag
System
(SRS)
for
cautions
and
procedures
relating
to
the
airbag
system
.

Front
door
trimpanel,
removing
and
in-

stalling

1
.
On
cars
with
side-impact
airbags,
disconnect
negative

(-)
battery
cable
.

CAUTION
-

Prior
to
disconnecting
the
battery,
read
the
battery
disconnection
cautions
given
at
the
front
of
this
manual
on
page
viii
.

Fig
.
5
.



Pry
outside
mirror
switch
from
door
armrest
.

3
.
Unscrew
door
locking
knob
.

Fig
.
6
.



Pry
off
plugs
(arrows)
and
remove
screws
.

DOORS
411-
3

2
.
Carefully
pry
out
mirror
adjustment
switch
and
discon-
nect
harness
connector
from
switch
.
Fig
.
5
.

5
.
Unclip
door
panel
from
door
perimeter
.
See
Fig
.
7
.

0013168

4
.
Pry
off
trim
cover
for
insíde
door
handle
.
Pry
off
con-
cealing
plugs
from
armrest
.
Remove
door
panel
retain-
ing
screws
.
See
Fig
.
6
.

UU13169

DOOR
PANELS

411-
4
DOORS

6
.
Disconnect
radio
speaker
harness
connector
.

Fig
.
7
.



Door
panel
being
unclipped
from
door
.
Pull
panel
retaining

clips
off
one
at
a
time
.

7
.
Installation
is
reverse
of
removal,
noting
the
following
:

"
Replace
any
damaged
plastic
parts
orclips
.

"
Renew
vapor
barrier
ifit
is
damaged
.

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

pactairbag
to
the
door
(where
applicable)
.

"
When
installing
door
panel,
align
metal
retainers
on

window
sill
with
openingsontop
of
door
panel
.
See

Fig
.
8
.

"
Check
door-lock
mechanism
and
window
for
ease
of

movement
.

"
If
battery
was
disconnected,
re-initialize
window
regu-

lator
motors
as
described
in
512
Door
Windows
.

373

Fig
.
8
.



Metal
retainers
at
base
of
window
should
be
in
position
to
mate
with
openings
in
door
trim
panel
.

DOOR
PANELS

Reardoor
trimpanel,

removing
and
installing

1
.
Open
door
and
pry
out
power
window
switch
.
Discon-

nect
harness
connector
.

2
.
Remove
ash
tray
.

3
.
Pry
off
trim
cover
from
inside
door
handle
.

4
.
Pry
off
concealing
plugs
from
armrest
.
Remove
door

panel
retaining
screws
.
See
Fig
.
9
.

Fig
.
9
.



Pry
off
plugs
(arrows)
andremove
screws
.

5
.
Unscrew
door
locking
knob
.

6
.
Unclip
panel
from
door
perimeter,
starting
at
thetop
of

the
door
.

7
.
Installation
is
reverse
of
removal
.

"
Replace
any
damaged
plastic
parts
or
clips
.

"
Renew
vapor
barrier
ifit
is
damaged
.

"
Align
metal
retainers
on
window
sill
with
openings
in

trim
panel
.
Refer
to
Fig
.
8
.

"
Check
door-lock
mechanism
and
window
for
ease
of

movement
.

Rear
side
trim
panel,
removing
and
install-

ing
(coupe
models)

1
.
Remove
rear
seat
cushion
.
Remove
rear
backrest
side

section
.
See
520
Seats
.

2
.
Pull
off
edge
trimat
bottom
of
rear
side
window
.
See

Fig
.
10
.

3
.
Gently
unclip
trim
panel
andremove
.

4
.
Installation
is
reverse
of
removal
.

"
Replace
any
damaged
plastic
parts
or
clips
.

Fig
.
10
.
Panel
edge
trim
piece
trim
being
removed
.

Rear
side
trimpanel,
removing
and
install-

ing
(convertible
models)

To
remove
the
rearside
panel
in
convertible
models
it
is
necessary
to
:

"
Remove
rear
seat
cushion
and
rear
backrest
side
sec-
tion
.

"
Lower
side
window
;
open
convertible
roof
.

"
Leftside
:
Remove
convertible
top
lid
release
lever
trim
.

"
Remove
power
window
switch
and
disconnect
harness
connector
.

"
Remove
door
panel
inset
by
pulling
forward
.

"
Remove
corner
protector
rubber
trim
.

"
Pull
off
side
panel
after
removing
screw
fastener(s)
.
Dis-
engage
from
front
shoulder
belt
.

412-2



TRUNK
LID

Trunk
lid,
aligning

1.
Raise
trunk
lid
.

2
.
Loosen
boits
at
trunk
lid
lock
until
it
can
just
be
moved
.

See
Fig
.
3
.

Fig
.
3
.



Trunk
lid
lock
mounting
boits
(arrows)
.

0013172

3
.
Loosen
bolis
at
left
and
right
trunk
hinges
until
lid
can

just
be
moved
.

4
.
Working
at
lower
comers
of
trunk
lid,
screw
in
rubber

buffers
on
left
and
right
sides
fully
.

5
.
Prop
open
trunk
lid
and
remove
gas
pressure
strut
as

described
below
.

WARNING
-

"
Make
sure
to
support
trunk
lid
before
removing
strut
.

"
Trunk
lid
with
gas
pressure
strut
removed
will
drop
without
damping
.

6
.
Close
trunk
lid
and
align
lid
to
body
at
rear
and
front
.
Open
trunk
lid
and
tighten
hinge
bolis
.

7
.
Adjust
lock
so
that
closed
trunk
lid
is
approximately
1
mm
(0
.04
in
.)
belowtop
of
rear
fenders
.
Tighten
lock
bolts
.

TRUNK
LID

8
.
Open
trunk
lid
and
screw
outrubber
stops
so
that

closed
trunk
lid
is
flush
with
top
of
rear
fenders
.

9
.
Reinstall
gas
pressure
strut
.

Seam
Clearance
Specification

"
Trunk
lid
to
rear
fender

or
bumper
..........
4
.3
-
5
.3
mm
(0
.169
-
0
.209
in)

"
Max
.
deviation
from
parallel
.......
0
.5
mm
(0
.019
in)

Trunk
lid
support
strut,

removing
and
installing

WARNING
-

Make
sure
to
support
trunk
lid
before
removing
strut

1
.
Open
trunk
lid
.
Remove
spring
clip
from
support
strut

and
remove
strut
from
body
end
.
See
Fig
.
4
.

Fig
.
4
.



Support
strut
spring
clip
(arrow)
at
body
end
.

2
.
Remove
strut
from
trunk
lid
.

3
.
Installation
is
reverse
of
removal
.
Replace
any
trim
re-

taining
clips
damaged
during
removal
.