JasonZE

Under the car on the trans sump there is a big bung you take out, with the engine running in neutral and fill the trans till oil comes out the hole as it has a tube going up into the trans to determine the level. No dipstick on this model.

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=106967586 A link to my car auction i havr had it for 5 years and its been a great car but time to move on

Take it to a decent mechanic or auto sparky as the needle in a hay stack sounds like (im to dumb to fix it) I used to fix cars but now do seadoo jetskis and quad bikes, The e36 is not a hard car to diagnose. Any decent sparky will be able to get a pattern output from the crank sensor and say if its working or not a resistance test is meaningless. It will still start if the cam sensor is fautly just hard to start and runs gutless. I may have a secondhand sensor if you need one. The ticking noise was most likely a hydraulic valve lifter which is quite common and most almost definately not related to your current problem.

mine did the same came on after refilling cooling system so I just unplugged it and put a wire loop in to stop the anoying message. The dash warning still comes on if the gauge gets to high as i found out when my water pump impellor split and stopped pumping I would have cooked it for sure if the dash had'nt "binged" and said temp high so I was lucky the warning worked.

Thats bad luck I have used aceomatic alot through work and they fixed my e34 525 when everyone else said the box was stuffed they replaced check balls in the valve body which are plastic and tend to wear down and shrink causing shift problems. Good luck finding a good used box I pesonally would go for the 1700 fix by the time you get a used box and pay to install it you wont save much if any and at least if they fix it you know what you have and its got new oil etc.

Check for split vacuum hoses or blown intake manifold gasket, is the idle still smooth? as air leads can make funny sounds and usually cause a rough idle.

I have a set of used coils if you need one send me a pm $50 plus courier they all work fine from an e36 325i 110.000km bosch coils. My car has done 210.000 and only replaced 1 coil with a new one before i got these used ones and doubt i will ever need a;; of them.

I have done a few on late Z3's and a few 5 series but not sure wether they are optical what does the key look like? I can have a look on the computer at work (MotorWorks tuam st) and see how to do it what model is your car? Jason........ OOPs just saw its a 318 ti will look tomorrow and let you know unless you have figured it already

4 or 6 cylinder I may have a 325 m50 one will have to check tomorrow if its on the throttle body i have.

go back and read my first post there is no dipstick on most bmw transmissions 91 on. From memory it cost me $450 including oil and filter gasket and repairs to valve body. Save the money and get the pros to do it

im surprised there is a dipstick are you sure you got the right one (just want to be ure) I had a thumping downshift from 4th to 3rd and aceomatic fixed it by replacing check valve balls in the valve body.

If it doesnt have a dipstick then it wont have a drain bung either! You have to drop the pan to drain it which is messy and then you have to fill it through the hole in the pan (messy again) Im a mechanic with access to hoist etc and i still took my 525 to aceomatic in stanmore rd to be serviced Up to you but some things are better left to the specialist to save mess time and $$$$. If you want a kit go to ATP they are on a side st off tuam look them up in ph book Good luck.

that is not a bad price for a radiator i got a new one at xmas and through my work (trade price) wasnt much less than that. If you are keeping the car then get a new one second hand isnt really worth the risk as far as im concerned. It would be a good time to do the thermostat to (best go genuine)

I have the same wheels in as new condition but need one centre cap dont supose you have any spares or know of anyone who does Jason....... Ps they fill 5 series guards nicely!

bump........ does anyone know if there is a name for these wheels so I can try find one by ringing around?