DavidNZ

Well, how about this for your bog-standard E36? It's a 318i, auto, and has 115,000 on the clock. Fully NZ new - manufactured on 2 Feb 1995 in Germany. My wife and I will have had it for two years this Feb, and what a fantastic car. Totally stock. We've done nothing to it in terms of mods or performance upgrades. Actually, I tell a lie. I put Pirelli P5000s on the back in 2003 and Vrebsteins on the front in early 2004. It's not a quick car - was never really meant to be in my opinion - but it's a joy to drive. Next up, if we can find one in good shape: an E46 Touring.

Thanks Carl - I think i'll just put some packing tape on it for the 15 minute drive. I'm sure it will be OK. Either that or one of the guys can come out and do the repair here. I've got all the part numbers I need.

Yeah - been busy writing and teaching! really sorry to hear about the incident with the punk.

Yep - I'm the fellow who works at the varsity - we've spoken a few times outside of the Commerce Building (usually when I'm having a smoke!). I think we even met up in town once. I remember your old blue e36...

i've got a e36 318i auto and it really is the red-headed stepchild of the e36 series (as European Car once put it). We bought it because it was NZ-new and, because it was an auto, we figured the guy who owned it before didn't drive the crap out of it. Why? Because you can't - it's a e36 318i auto! We've taken ours on lots of long trips. When we bought, style and comfort were important. Power and speed were not.

sweet - thanks! Problem is - no duct tape in the house! Argh! we do have some dark grey sellotape that looks like it is backed with a stickly clay of some sorts (in other words, you have to peel back a layer to expose the sticky white clay material). i've never seen it before. And we do have standard packing tape. I just don't wanna put tape on there that will melt away or, worse, drip into the engine. The problem is on the engine end of the hose. If was by the overflow, i prolly wouldn't worry about it too much...

ouch! this is nasty! Was it i the ODT? I think i know your car (Otago, right?) and it makes me sick to think that something was done to your sweet ride. Who's doing the body work? Clements and Stephens are quite good here in town... David

Hi everyone 95 318i - the fitting on the top part of the engine, to which the hose carrying coolant to the overflow container, has broken, meaning that it can't attach the hose properly. A friend suggested that it is fine to drive it as is, as long as i'm only going to my mechanic to get it fixed. Is this true? I can see his logic: it's only overflow, and whilst the journey to the mechanic is about 15 minutes, i would loose some coolant, but it might be OK. Otherwise, do BMW dealers in NZ make house calls? I could fix it myself (i mean, i only need a new hose the fitting), but i don't want to muck it up. Plus i'm not that mechanically inclined... Any help or advice greatly appreciated! David Dunedin

Hey mate - looks good. I saw it outside of Commerce the other day and wondered if it was yours! Congrats. Hopefully we'll bump into each other (again) - i'm curious about the quality of the stereo. Congrats again. Making me want to give up my own E36 318i! Dave

Well, it seems to have stopped. After the really (and I'm mean really) cleaned the underside, I've brought it back sporadically over the past few weeks to see if they could spot the source. Nothing. In fact, no more drips. The last one was about a week ago. Changed the oil a few days ago. Still nothing. It's a mystery.

UPDATE: The source is not readily apparent. We're watching it. About to drive to Queenstown tomorrow so that'll give it a good run. The team at Cookies here in Dunners has been excellent (as usual). More to come! David

Hehe - Anyone from Dunedin here keen to maybe do a Sunday morning run up to Waihola or something? David

Yeh, you're prolly right. I'm not that mech inclined, so I may just end up whisking it over to the dealer on Monday AM. I'm convinced it's either the main rear seal (ouch! $$) or the oil pan gasket. Thanks for the advice DNZ! Dave

Cool, thanks DNZ. I managed to capture a few drips (well, looks like more than a 'few'!) in a bowl - sure as heck looks, feels and smells like engine oil. Car has 110,000 on the odo, and oil last changed at 107,000.

Well, started noticing small oil-soaked stains where I park the car. No puddles to really speak of. Drips only after parking it from what I can tell. No noticeable streams when it's running. But the pic below shows that it's been sprayed around quite a bit. I don't think it's the oil pan plug. That area seems dry. I'm meant to drive from Dunedin to Queenstown on Thurs and not sure if I really should or not. It runs fine otherwise - no strange noises, cooling system seems to be fine. I'm watching the oil level like a hawk and it's fine. Hasn't really moved at all (still completely full on the dipstick). I'm pretty certain it's engine oil. Anyone else seen this? David