1994 BMW 325i 515

General
Data
and



010
FundamentalsfortheDo-lt-YourselfOwner

Maintenance



020
Maintenance
Program

Engine

Transmission

Suspension,

Steering
and

Brakes

4
Body

100
Engine-General

110



Engine
Removal
and
Installation
113



Cylinder
Head
Removal
and
Installation
116



Cylinder
Head
and
Valvetrain
117



Camshaft
Timing
Chain

119



Lubrication
System

200
Transmission-General
210
Clutch
230
Manual
Transmission

510



Exterior
Trim,
Bumpers



520



Seats

Bo
y
Equipment



512
DoorWTdws



540



nr
t

513



InteriorTrim



541



Convertible
Top

515



Central
Locking
and
Anti-Theft

600



Electrical
System-General



620



Instruments

Electrical
S



stem
610
Electrical
Component
Locations



630
Exterior
Lighting

611



Wipers
and
Washers



640



Heating
and
Air
Conditioning

6



612



Switches
and
Electrical
Accessories



650



Radio

Equipment
and



720
SeatBelts

Accessories



721
Airbag
System
(SRS)

Electrical
Wiring

Diagrams

Foreword
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.
...
.
.
.
.
.
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.
.
.
.....
.
......
.
................
.
.
.
.....
v

Warnings
and
Cautions
.....
.
...
.
.
.
.
.
..........
.
...
.
.
.
.
.
......
.
.........
.
.
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...
.
.
.
......
.
.
.
.
.
............
.
.
.
.
.
.
.vii

Index
..............
.
.
.
.....
.
............
.
...
.
.
.
.
.
........
.
...
.
.
.
.
.
.......
.
......
.
...
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
........
.
.
.
..
back
of
book

300



Suspension,
Steering
and



330



RearSuspension

Brakes-General



331



Final
Drive

310



Front
Suspension



340



Brakes

320



Steering
and
Wheel
Alignment

400
Body-General



411
Doors

410



Fenders,
Engine
Hood



412



Trunk
Lid

120



Ignition
System
121



Battery,Starter,
Alternator
130



Fue¡
Injection
160



Fuel
Tank
and
Fuel
Pump
170



Radiator
and
Cooling
System180



Exhaust
System

240



Automatic
Transmission
250



Gearshift
Linkage

260
Driveshaft

NOTE-



Aftermarket
reset
tools
can
be
purchased
from
one
of
the
fol-
lift
owng
manuacurers
:
For
referente,
the
BMW
Inspection
1
and
Inspection
11
requirements
are
approximately
equivalent
to
the
main-
tenance
requirements
that
other
European
manufac-



Assenmacher
Bo
s
turers
specify
.
Inspection
I
is
normally
due
at
intervals



lder,
CO
80301

Specialty
Tools

with
a
maximum
of
15,000
miles
or
12
months
.
lnspec-



(303)
530-2424

tion
11
is
normally
due
at
intervals
with
a
maximum
of
30,000
miles
or
24
months
.



Peake
Research,Automotive
Products
Division
P
.O
.
Box
28776

San
Jose,
CA
95159

Resetting
Service
Indicator



(408)
369-0406

When
the
specified
maintenance
has
been
carried
out,
the
service
indicator
memory
should
be
reset
.



MAINTENANCE
TABLES

The
senrice
indicator
is
reset
using
a
special
tool
.
The
tool
is
plugged
into
the
diagnostic
connector
in
the
engine
compart-

ment
.
See
Fig
.
2
.

iii

Fig
.
2
.



Service
indicator
reset
tool
installed
in
diagnostic
connector
(aftermarket
tool
shown)
.

CAUTION-

Follow
themanufacturer's
directions
when
reset-
ting
the
service
Indicator
.
If
the
reset
procedures

are
done
incorrectly,
the
reset
tool
or
the
electron-
ic
service
indicator
may
be
damaged
.

MAINTENANCE
PROGRAM
020-
3

Table
a,b,c,
and
don
the
following
pages
list
the
routine
maintenance
tasks
specified
by
BMW
.
The
intervals
for
most
of
thesetasks
are
determined
by
the
Service
Indicator
.
The
main-

tenance
intervals
for
afew
additional
items
are
based
on
either
elapsedmileage
ortime
.
These
intervals
are
indicated
in
sepa-
rate
tables
.

Except
where
noted,
the
maintenance
items
listed
apply
to
all
models
and
model
years
coveredby
this
manual
.
The
columns

on
the
rightsitie
of
each
table
give
quick-referente
information

about
the
job
.
The
bold
text
references
the
repair
groups
where

additional
repair
information
can
befound
.

MAINTENANCE
TABLES

120-10



IGNITION
SYSTEM

Ground
(rear
of
engine
compartment,
rear
of
passenger
side
shock
tower)

.!
BK

Camshaft
Position
Sensor

IGNITION
SYSTEM
SCHEMATICS

Batteryvoltage
in
run
or
start
(
via
ignition
switch
terminal
15)

---------------------------------------------------------
55



S5154
i

power
input



Power
input



1
DME
Control
Module(Bosch
DME
M3
.1)

Ground
-
(RHrear
of
enginecompartment,
rearof
passenger
side
shock
tower)

Fig
.
15
.
Bosch
DME
M3
.1
usedon1992
M50
engines(without
VANOS)
.

.EBK

Crankshaftlrpm
Position
Sensor

5GN

1.0
RD

Ground
(RH
rearof
enginecompartment,
rear
of
passenger
side
shock
tower)

WIRING
COLOR
CODE

BK
-
BLACK
BR
-
BROWN
RD
-
RED
YL
-
YELLOWGN
-
GREEN
BL
-
BLUE
VI-
VIOLET
GY
"
GREY
WT
"
WHITE
PK
-
PINK

Batteryvoltage
in
run
or
start
(
via
main
relay
Battery
voltage



terminal
87)
in
run
or
start
(via
ignition
switch
terminal
15)

11508

1
grounds



Main
rela
control
P
ower
Input



Y



I
-
34
---"--
6
26
27
1

Battery
voltage
at
all
times
to
Main
relay
(terminal
85)

Alternator
brushes,



STARTER
SERVICE
inspecting
and
replacing

Regulator
brushesarenot
available
as
replacement
parts
from
BMW
.
Replacement
brushes
may
be
available
from
af-

termarket
sources,
however
.

1
.
Remove
voltage
regulator
as
described
above
.

2
.
Clean
brush
contact
sürfaces
and
measure
brush
pro-trusion
.
See
Fig
.
7
.

Check
for
battery
voltage
at
terminal
50
of
the
starter
motor
Fig
.
7
.



Regulator
brush
protrusion
(A)
.



with
the
key
in
the
start
position
.
See
Fig
.
8
.
If
voltage
is
not
present,
check
the
wiring
between
the
ignition
switch
and
the
starter
terminal
.
If
voltage
is
present
and
no
other
visible
wir
Voltage
Regulator



ing
faults
can
be
found,
the
problem
is
most
likely
interna¡in

"
Brush
protrusion
(minimum)
.......
.
..
5
mm
(
1
/4
in
.)



the
starter
motor
.

3
.
To
replace
brushes,
carefully
and
as
quickly
as
possi-

ble,
unsolder
brush
lead
from
brush
holder
termina¡,

withdrawing
brush
from
holder
at
same
time
.

4
.
Remove
any
traces
of
solder
frombrush
holder
termi-
nal
using
solder
wick
.

5
.
Fit
spring
into
brush
holder
and
inserí
new
brush
.

6
.
Guide
brush
lead
into
terminal
and
solder
into
place
.

Check
for
free
movement
of
brushes
when
solder

cools
.

7
.
Check
brush
slip
rings
in
alternator
for
wear
.
Lightly
clean
slip
rings
using
fine
abrasive
cloth
.

BATTERY,
STARTER,
ALTERNATOR



121-
7

Starter
Troubleshooting

If
the
starter
tucos
the
engine
slowlyor
fails
to
operate
when
the
ignition
isin
the
start
position,
check
the
battery
first
.
In-
spect
the
starter
wires,
terminals,
and
ground
connections
for
good
contact
.
In
particular,
make
sure
the
ground
connections
between
the
battery,
the
body
and
the
engine
are
completely
clean
and
tight
.
If
no
faults
can
be
found,
the
starter
may
be
faulty
and
should
be
replaced
.

NOTE
-

"
Starting
in1194,
a
factory-installed
drive-away
protec-
tion
system,
alsoreferred
to
as
EWS
or
EWS
11,
was
used
on
all
E36
cars
.
This
system
prevenís
operation
of
the
starter
when
the
system
is
engaged
.
See
515
Central
Locking
and
Anti-theft
.

"
On
cars
with
automatic
transmission,
a
starter
relay
and
a
neutral
safetyswitchare
used
to
present
theen-
ginefrom
starting
in
gear
positions
other
than
park
or
neutral
.
ff
voltage
is
not
present
atterminal
50
with
the
key
in
the
startposition,
check
these
components

To
make
the
most
accurate
check
of
the
battery
cables
and
starterwiring,
make
a
voltage
drop
test
on
the
cables
and
wir-

ing
as
described
in
600
Electrical
System-General
.

Terminal
30
'
\



/
Terminal
30h

0012518

8
.
Reinstall
regulator
and
alternator
.



Fig
.
8
.



Typical
starterwiring
terminal
identification
.
Large
wireat
ter-
minal
30
is
direct
battery
voltage
.
Smaller
wire
at
terminal
50
operates
starter
solenoid
via
ignition
switch
.

STARTER
SERVICE

Ambient
temperaturelclock

MÍM
Aa
.Mi}rm
-Mil"
IMua~naa~u~itacar
"
za
.~

Central
Body
Electronics

0013028

Fig
.
4
.



Different
versionsof
Multi-information
Display(MID)
installed
in
E36
cars
.

The
E36
cars
are
equipped
with
a
sophisticated
centralized

body
electric/electronics
plan
.
The
system
is
self-diagnostic

and
incorporates
many
functions
into
a
single
control
module
.

The
consolidation
of
several
systems
into
a
single
control

module
minimizes
power
requirements
and
the
incorporation

of
the
diagnostic
link
results
in
more
efficient
and
accurate

troubleshooting
.

Self-diagnostic
codes
are
accessible
electronically
through

the
data-link
connector
in
the
engine
compartment
.
See610

Electrical
Component
Locations
.

BODY-GENERAL
400-
5

Two
versions
of
central
body
electronics
are
used
depend-

ing
on
model
year
.

1992
and
1993
models
are
equipped
with
a
central
locking

module
(ZVM)
which
incorporates
control
of
the
following
sys-

tems
:

"Interiorlighting
"
Central
locking
with
double
lock
feature

"
Output
relays
for
powerwindows
and
sunroof

"
Electronic
power
protection

E36
cars
since
the
1994
model
year
are
equipped
with
ZKE

IV
.
This
is
an
electronic
comfort
and
convenience
system
that

includes
the
following
additional
features
:

"
One
touch
up/down
power
window
operation

"
Power
window
and
sunroof
closure
from
driver
or
pas-

sengerdoor
lock

"
Vehicle
locking
or
unlocking
from
the
trunk
lock
.

Other
features
of
the
system
are
discussed
in
515
Central

Locking
and
Anti-Theft
.

Electronic
Immobilization
System

Beginning
in
model
year
1994,
all
E36
vehicles
incorporate

adriveaway
protection
system
regardless
of
whether
the
vehi-

cle
is
equipped
with
a
BMW
Alarm
System
or
an
On-Board

computer
.
Two
types
of
factory
systems
were
installed,
de-
pending
on
vehicle
production
date
.

On
the
early
system
(model
year
1994
up
to
January
1995),

the
ignition
and
fuel
injection
functions
are
disabled
whenever

the
vehicle
is
locked
in
the
double
lock
mode
.
This
is
referred

lo
as
EWS
or
EWS
I
.

Beginning
in
January
1995,
the
driveaway
protection
sys-

tem
was
upgraded
to
a
more
sophisticated
system,
called

EWS
II
.
This
system
uses
a
wireless
communication
link
be-

tween
a
transponder
chip
in
the
ignition
keyand
the
ring
an-

tenna
surrounding
the
ignition
switch
.
The
EWS
II
control

module
blocksthe
starting
of
the
vehicle
unlessthe
correct

coded
ignition
key
is
used
.

For
further
information
about
drive
away
protection
sys-

tems,
see
515
Central
Locking
and
Anti-Theft
.

INTERIOR
EQUIPMENT

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

411-2
DOORS

4
.
Remove
retainer
clip
(early
models
only)
from
doorcheck

pin
onbody
pillar
.
Drive
out
door
check
pin
.
See
Fig
.
3
.



Door
Adjustment

"
Door
gap

to
fender/rear
door
.........
approx
.
5
mm
(0
.189
in)

"
Permíssible
deviation
from
parallel
.
.0
.5
mm
(0
.020
in)

0011651

Fig
.
3
.



Door
check
pin
being
removed
.
Note
retainer
clip
(A)
usedon

early
models
.

5
.
Remove
doorby
lifting
up
off
lowerhinge
halves
.

CAUTION-

Be
careful
not
to
damage
door
or
other
painted
body
surfaces
.
Make
sure
no
load
is
placedon

wiring
harness
.

6
.
Installation
is
reverse
of
removal
.
Keep
in
mind
the
fol-

lowing
:

"
Align
doorso
that
panel
gaps
are
equal
on
either
side,

as
described
later
.
If
necessary,
adjust
door
hinges
as

described
later
.

"
Adjust
door
striker
so
that
trailing
edge
of
front
door
is

slightly
higher
(1
mm)
than
leading
edge
of
rear
door
.

See
515
Central
Locking
and
Anti-Theft
.

"
Repair
any
paint
damage
and
paínt
any
exposed
met-

al
.

CAUTION-
.

"In
2-door
models,
removing
and
installing
the
door
may
upset
the
adjustment
and
alignment
of
the
window
.
Window
adjustment,
as
described
in
512DoorWindows,
must
be
carried
out
ater
installation
to
prevent
damaging
the
glass
.

"
If
battery
power
is
lost
or
the
battery
has
been
disconnected,
the
windows
must
be
re-initialized
.
Both
one
touch
upldown
and
pinch-protection
will
be
inactive
until
windows
are
re-initialized
.
See
512
Door
Windows
.

DOOR
CHECK,
REPLACING

Door
check,replacing

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

Al
rbag
System
(SRS)
for
cautions
and
procedures
relating
to
the
airbag
system
.

1
.
Closedoor
window
completely
.

2
.
If
working
on
front
door
with
side-impact
airbag,
discon-

nect
negative
(-)
battery
cable
.,

CAUTION-

Prior
to
disconnectiog
the
battery,
read
the
battery

disconnection
cautions
gíven
at
the
front
of
this

manual
on
page
viii
.

3
.
Remove
interior
door
panel
and
vapor
barrier
as
de-

scribed
later
.

4
.
Where
applicable,
remove
side-impact
airbag
from
door
.
See
721
Airbag
System
(SRS)
.

NOTE-

In
some
models
covered
inthis
manual,
ít
is
not
essen-

tial
to
remove
the
side-ímpact
airbag
to
access
internal

door
components
.
However,
the
procedure
is
recom-

mended
for
safety
reasons
.

5
.
Remove
retainer
clip
(early
models
only)
from
door

check
pin
on
body
pillar
.
Drive
out
door
check
pin
.
Refer

to
Fig
.
3
.

6
.
Remove
bolts
and
rubber
cover
fromdoor
check
lock-
plate
ondoor
.

7
.
Remove
door
check
from
inside
door
.

8
.
Installation
is
reverse
of
removal
.

"
Lubricate
door
check
before
installing
.

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

pact
airbag
to
thedoor(where
applicable)
.

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

lator
motors
as
described
in
512
Door
Windows
.

515
Central
Locking
and
Anti-Theft

GENERAL
.....
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
..:
.
.
.
......
.
.
.
.
515-1



Luggage
compartment
locking
actuator,
removing
and
installing
.
.
.
.
.
...........
.
515-6

DOOR
HANDLES
AND
LOCKS
.........
515-1



LOCKING
SYSTEM
AND
Front
door
lock,
removing
and
installing
....
.515-1



ELECTRONIC
IMMOBILIZATION
......
.515-7
Front
door
handle,
removing
and
installing
...
515-3

Rear
door
lock,
removing
and
installing
.....
515-4



Central
Locking
System(ZVM)
.
.
.
.
.......
.
515-7

Rear
door
handle,
removing
and
installing
...
515-5



Central
Body
Electronics
(ZKE
IV)
.
.
.......
.515-8

Electronic
Immobilization
System
(EWS)
.
.
.
.
.515-8
Door
striker,
rep
lacing
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
..........
515-6



EWS
II
control
module,
re
lacin



515-10

LOCKING
ACTUATORS
.
.
.
.
.
.
..........
515-6



Ring
antenna,
replacing
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
...
.
.
.
.
515-10

Door
Locking
Actuator
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
..........
515-6



EWS
II
transmitter/receiver
module,

replacing
...........
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
515-11

GENERAL

This
section
covers
repair
information
for
the
central
locking

and
the
anti-theft
systems
.
Keep
in
mind
that
E36
cars
are



CA
UTION-

equipped
with
sophisticated
and
self-diagnostic
electrical
sys-



Prior
to
disconnecting
the
battery,
read
the
battery

tems
.
When
experiencing
malfunctions
relatinglo
the
central



disconnection
cautions
given
at
the
front
of
this

locking
or
the
anti-theft
system,
it
is
recommended
that
the



manual
onpage
vi¡¡
.

systembe
diagnosed
using
the
BMW
service
tester
(DIS)
.

This
advanced
diagnostic
tool
can
usually
pinpoint
electrical



NOTE-
faults
quickly
and
safely
.
Consult
an
authorized
BMW
dealer
.
In
some
models
covered
inthis
manual,
it
is
not
essen-
tial
to
remove
the
side-impact
airbag
to
access
intemal

NOTE-



door
components
.
However,
the
procedure
is
recom-

Additional
general
electrical
information
can
be
found



mended
for
safely
reasons
.

i
n
610
Electrical
Component
Locations
and
Electri-
cal
Wiring
Diagrams
.



4
.
Disconnect
harnessconnector
from
window
motor
to

DOOR
HANDLES
AND
LOCKS

Front
door
lock,
removing
and
installing

1
.
Remove
front
door
panel
and
vapor
barrier
asde-

scribed
in
411
Doors
.

WARNING
-

Some
1997
and
all
1998
cars
are
fitted
with
side-im-

pact
airbags
in
the
front
doors
.
When
servicing
the
door
locks
on
cars
with
front
side-impact
airbags,
al-
ways
disconnect
the
negative
(-)
battery
terminal
.
See721
Airbag
System
(SRS)
forcautions
andpro-
cedures
relating
to
the
airbag
system
.

2
.
Raise
door
window
completely

CENTRAL
LOCKING
AND
ANTI-THEFT



515-1

3
.
On
cars
with
side-impact
airbags,
disconnect
negative
(-)
cable
from
battery,
then
remove
airbag
module
.

prevent
accidental
operation
.

5
.
On
4-door
cars
:
Peel
back
rubber
window
guide
from

reas
guide
rail
:
Remove
guide
rail
mounting
boltat
bot-

tom
.
Unclip
any
wiring
from
guide
rail
and
pull
guide
rail

downward
and
remove
from
door
.
See
Fig
.
1
.

NOTE
-

The
top
of
the
guide
rail
is
"hooked"
to
the
doorsheet
metal
.

6
.
Remove
inside
door
handle
retaining
screw
.
Discon-

nect
inside
handle
from
linkage
and
remove
.
See
Fig
.

2
.

7
.
Cut
wire
ties
and
remove
door
lock
electrical
harness
con-

nector
.
Remove
door
lock
mounting
screws
.
See
Fig
.
3
.

8
.
Working
inside
door,
disconnect
outside
door
handle

and
lockcylinder
linkage
from
door
lock
.
Remove
lock

from
inside
door
.
See
Fig
.
4
.

DOOR
HANDLES
AND
LOCKS