Hello everyone! I'm a young guy from Southwest Michigan that just bought his first car, a 1992 325iC. Probably one of the best decisions of my life. Haha I have a passion for cars and I've always wanted to own something that turns heads and is a little different. When I came across my 325, I instantly fell in love. Needless to say it's such a great car, specially seeing that it only has 86k miles on it! Anyway, the car is great but it has the usual problems, split back seat and door lock issues. Betting a college student, the budget is tight, so maybe someone could point me in the right direction! Feels great to know I'm apart of such a vast car club!
The seams in the center bolster have completely split. I think the leather is just too old? But it's not torn, just has split stitching. The locking issue I'm having is bizarre. I don't have any lock buttons inside the car, so I think that means I don't have a central locking system, right? Anyway, when I go to lock my car using the driver's side door lock, I can't completely engage the lock. But if I go to the trunk to lock the car, all locks will engage. On occasion I will try and use my driver's door lock, and it will engage. When it does, I have to saturate the lock with WD40 to unlock it. So I'm not sure where to begin.
The seat I would have looked at by a good upholstery shop. The locks sounds like a issue with the key lock cylinder or the linkage not with the door lock actuator since it works at the trunk.
Welcome to the club & forums! A variety of possibilities for what's causing your door issues, but as a precaution until you get it fixed, it might be a good idea to lock/unlock via the trunk or passenger locks, in case the driver's door engages the locking deadbolts and you can't unlock via the driver's door, leaving you problematically locked out of the car. Lot's of info to be had by googling, here's a start: http://www.pelicanparts.com/bmw/techarticles/101-Projects-67-Doors/101-Projects-67-Doors.htm If you plan to tackle some of your own work, a Bentley manual can be very useful - http://www.bentleypublishers.com/bm...bmw-3-series-e36-1992-1998-repair-manual.html
And make sure you take lots of pictures when you decide to drive all the way around Lake Michigan. I've always wanted to do that....
Plus one on the "find a good upholstery shop". Years ago (in NY) I found one that was a little hole in the wall shop (around behind a dry cleaner) that specialized in convertible tops and boat upholstery. I knew it was a good shop when I saw the Model T in the corner and guy working there was happy to show me his work. They were cheaper then most other big shops in the area. Expensive does not always equal better.
