kev_

Thanks very much for the replies guys Hmm, that's what I thought at first, so I made sure to drive 'sensibly', and it's still guzzling gas. I cleaned just the temp sensors (the long, needle-type probes). The gears are changing at exactly the same points as they were before the service for both sports and economy mode. If anything, the shifting has become drastically smoother now. I know exactly what you mean; I can get about 6.6l/100km for 100kph road driving, and about 1/2 that for city driving, but 60l/100km around Manfield - damn, that's nuts! I didn't touch the O2 sensors at all, but could something else put them out of range? E.g., installing a new air filter?I've read that it can take a couple hundred kms for things to return to normal after disconnecting a battery, so I'm not too worried at this point; as Brent suggested, I might give it a couple of weeks and see what happens - maybe it'll come 'round by itself.

...oh and just to add, I've done about 50 kms since the service (car has done 105,000 kms in total).

Hi Guys, I have a Japanese 1996 E36 328i Auto, and I have noticed that my fuel consumption has risen drastically after giving it a service. Basically: 1. BEFORE SERVICE: fuel consumption is normal, performance is a bit sluggish. 2. AFTER SERVICE: fuel consumption is terrible, performance is fantastic. The service took me a few weeks to perform, as I'm pretty busy, and I was waiting on some parts to arrive; the car was off the road for the entire time (4-6 weeks) it took me perform the service. Here is what I did in the service: 1. Oil change (BMW/Castrol oil from dealer) 2. New oil filter (OEM brand) 3. New spark plugs (OEM/Bosch) 4. New air filter (OEM) 5. New valve cover gasket (replaced all rubber washers while I was at it) 6. Replaced the center driveshaft bearing & assembly with new units 7. Cleaned the cat temp sensors with isopropyl alcohol while the exhaust system was removed from the car 8. Attempted to reset the ECU and transmission adpations by: A] disconnecting battery for a few hours B] turning the key in the ignition until the dash comes on, and then pressing the gas pedal to the floor for 30 secs I also installed a front lip, which required me to remove the font bumper and disconnect/reconnect the temp sensors in the brake ducts. After having performed all that, the car drives amazing! The idle rpm is perfect, and the car is back to its smooth, responsive, grunty self - it drives like new! Also, the jerk from 1st to 2nd has completely disappeared! ...but now the fuel consumption has gone through the roof! I'm just about to replace the fuel filter and clean the MAF sensor, but apart from that, does anybody have any ideas on where I can start looking? Could this be a result of attempting to reset the ECU and transmission adaptions?

Wow, this is awsome; thanks for taking the time to post this. One question; what is 'glaze', and at what step would it fit into the picture?

Thank you so much for taking the time to reply - you've really helped me out! Well that totally explains everything! In that case, I'll trim the excess material on the gasket for the time being, and see how it goes. Thanks again

Hey guys, I'm currently in the process of replacing the valve cover gasket on my 1996 E36 328i. I've removed the valve cover, removed the old gasket, cleaned the mating surfaces, and I currently have the new gasket in place on the cylinder head. I've come across a bit of a problem - I can't seem to secure the valve cover back onto the cylinder head with the new gasket in place, as the nuts wont reach the bolts; it seems that the gasket is too thick / tall. I am using an Elring gasket, which is apparently the OEM gasket for this car. It looks like this: And this diagram should show what's causing the problem: As you can see, the gasket isn't flat! I've tried pushing down on the valve cover very hard with my bare hands in an attempt to compress the raised section of the gasket, but I have had no luck. I am adamant I bought the correct gasket for my engine. Any ideas on how this thing is installed? Thanks guys.

Done deal. I'll PM you later tonight to grab your details off you.

http://www.pelicanparts.com/cgi-bin/smart/...s%2FiC%09%20%20 You see that? Thats yours - free. That's right, free - well, for the price of postage, of course. I bought this for my E36, but it turns out mine doesn't need one - I'm particularly pleased about this. First one to reply gets it.

Well, from my experience I can say it's a total pain in the butt, and I will not do it again, unless it is necessary, I felt particularly masochistic, or it coincides with something else that involves dropping the exhaust sytem / driveshaft. I read somewhere: "Oh, it only takes 2 hours". 2 hours my ass!!!

Got them unstuck - forgot to utter a few magic four-letter words. New center driveshaft bearing, here I come!

Legend! You guys are great, thank you very much. I didn't even think to check RealOEM - I must use that site more often. Now if I could only get my driveshaft bolts unstuck ... haha! Thanks again guys

Hey guys, My name is Kev, I'm a long time lurker, and I believe this is my first post! Anyway, I'm giving my bimmer a service over this long weekend, and I thought I'd do the center support driveshaft bearing and the guibo / flex disc while I'm at it. I have a 1996 Japanese 328i with an automatic Jatco transmission (105,000 Kms). I currently have the exhaust system dropped, the heatshield removed, and the driveshaft is clearly visible and easily accessible. I can spot the center support driveshaft bearing, but I cannot spot the guibo! It appears that the transmission output shaft connects directly to the driveshaft. So my question is, do the Japanese automatic 328i vehicles have a guibo? Or, do only the European and American versions have them? Thanks for your time guys. -Kev