WarNox

yeah i've never heard anything bad about stock parts, but if isis can get a good deal on german parts that will be the same as oem parts i'd be happy to get them. but once the shipping adds up the cost could be pretty much the same.

cool, thanks for the replies guys. yeah i will do it all myself. i like buying oem parts, i trust it more. sure my chassis number is : FJ01537 the light isn't on, but i know the rotors are warped as the car shakes when braking at higher speed. i think when i bought the car the light was on (back when i didnt know anything about e36's), and the seller said they'll sort it out, i have the feeling they just pulled the bulb out of the cluster, as the two screws that hold it in weren't there when i got the car. and yeah ill buy the sensors, but they aren't too expenisve so its ok.

my brakes are gone and the rotors are pretty f....., at the dealership it just over $600 ($100 per rotor + $100 per a set of pads) just for the parts. But all those parts will be OEM and i know will work properly. Is this a smart thing to do or can I get something better for $600? I read the brake upgrade thread but have not rung them or anything yet. And with non-oem parts, will the brake pad wear sensors work? thanks Gregor

I think I asked team mcmillan and they said Castrol Magnatec, so i put that in. you shouldn't swap from non-synthetic to synthetic as it might kill all your seals or something, i read that somewhere.

i've seen that before, but i could never find the actual tests they did with e36's. and how can e30's have the same safety rating as e36's?

everything you might need from the manual will be also explained in the bentley, the only difference is that you dont have to pay for it.

you pretty much just pull them. start with the top of the vertical part first. will you then drill a hole through the metal or are you hoping that there is a hole?

yep mine old ones were like that. i just replaced them tho, got it in black. i don't think it'll be that easy to clean.

even the 320i's are slow, like mine. its barely as fast as a 1.8L stock primera, in a drag that is. drivers with same sorta skill. for a car with that much weight you need as big an engine as possible. the difference in fuel consumption between a 325 and 320 is hardly anything.

have they actually increased the TM fees? if everyone starts using different sites it'll be that much harder to find stuff to buy and to sell stuff. thats why i say just stick to trademe, let them win and it'll be better for everyone i always put my phone number or email in auctions when people ask, even tho you're not supposed to. i've never been asked to change anything. i guess they only take action if someone complains. ebay would be ok if it wasn't for the shipping costs.

from what year are e36's made with chains?

well i have a sticker on the drivers side shock tower, a metal one with the NZ vin number. and i do have that cutout by the windscreen wipers but it only has the 7 digits in it. not 15. what do u mean by the brake booster? drivers side inner guard? i've looked under there before, but have not seen anything.

well it's from south africa, if that makes a difference? i've got the 7digit number, but i want the whole thing. i've found a list of locations on the car that the number is ment to be engraved and all are in really hard to reach places. and the ones that are not are not there. i guess the mystery remains...

my car is a 1993 (made dec. 92'), hence no vanos. dme is the chip, right? the ecu. what is ews then? and what other stuff would i have to change? the key? thnx man.

yeah and 25% is quite a lot. So couldn't I just get a 2.5L engine from a 94 or 95' car and its chip, put in all in place of mine and be done? yeah fireworks are always fun, u can make some pretty bombs from those boom boxes

oh sorry, i ment the standard chip that would have come with the 2.5L engine, i dont think my current one would work with the new engine. 325's weren't made with the m52 engine (from what i've found on the internet: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BMW_E36), and i wouldn't get a obdII engine as that would reguire way too much upgrading or downgrading. so an engine from a 325, 94' or 95' with not too high km's would be good.

well i figure about $1500 for a 2.5 and a chip. this 2.0L i have now has done 225,000km's, and since the previous owners (5 i think) didn't really take care of it i dont know how much longer it will last. how hard can it be to swap an engine anyway

yeah but there is a difference between 320i and 328i, there is a few years between those. 328's are obdII as well.

cool, good to know. im thinking about changing my engine from 2L to 2.5 sometime, rather than changing the whole car since i know everything else is fine. my engine is a m50, are 325's m52's? i dont really understand that whole numbering system.

I was just wondering what the mechanical differences were between these two models. Appart from a bigger engine? Are the brakes, suspension, the diff all the same? thanks.

I was just wondering if its just my stupid car or all NZ cars that have this. When a bmw comes out of the factory it should get a 15 digit vin number, usualy starting with W...., and then the last 7 digits will be your chassis number. On my car, I cannot find the original VIN number anywhere, just the chassis number and the NZ VIN number (of which the last 7 digits aren't even my chassis number). I rang team McMillan and they don't have it in their system either (they found this interesting), they only have my chassis number. When i look in my engine bay, under the windshield, i only have my chassis number written there too. Is this strange or normal? thanks in advance.

i went and talked to lance at arrow wheels, it'd be $220+gst to fix. Anyone know of any place I can get a 2nd hand one cheaper? thnx.

are all e36 steering wheels this big?

i'll give u one for $20. i think its been glued back on too, but works fine.

well at least the oil filter holder looks the same as on my e36 makes me feel a little bit better.