ib456

This may seem like a retarded reply but my girlfriends E36 318ti did the same thing... got it hooked up to the machine to see what the story was but it didnt tell us anything. In the end it was a small amount of water sitting around the plug, her leads arent the best either so not sure why it was causing trouble but they dried it out and it was back to normal... apparently it isnt that uncommon.... hasnt done it since.. it hadnt been raining either... only thing i can think of is that it leaked from the washer... tho the mechanic said he couldnt work out where it came from either... something to consider maybe..

Hi, the girlfriends passenger door winder mechanism is destroyed, one of the arms is bent and the plastic guides have snapped. Where is the best place to pick up one of these from? Had a look at trademe but nothing listed that will suit... Thanks Stuart

I believe the girlfriends one is a Jap import, 98' e36 318Ti... an unbelieveable car, 188km's all it needed when we got it was new tyres and a airbag sensor in the passenger seat.. everything on it is really good for it's age, rubbers are good, electrics seem to be fine. Only trouble we have had with it is water in number 3 spark plug hole.... Mechanic friend said it is odd but the funny thing is that he has only ever seen it happen with BMW's... other than that he reckons it is one of the best ones he's seen. But in the end it is all luck of the draw... I have had 3 Primera's, first was good, 2nd wasnt too bad, 3rd has cost a small fortune due to VVT engine... Just luck...

Hi, I did the unspeakable, I broke the girlfriends baby, due to a parking accident at work due to the car having no one other than her in it when it was parked it could fit over the wooden barrier to stop you hitting the wall, but with 3 people in it... well now that she is talking to me again. I have broken the fog light bracket on the left hand side and cracked the inner plastic guard where the bumper attaches to it... I have it all back together and it is fine except I need the bracket that the foglight fits into and attaches it to the bumper. I have seen on trademe a set for about $180, but the rear bracket doesnt look the same as the one on her car... and not too interested in wasting money if they arent going to fit. Any advice on where to look for this bracket, it is for a 98' E36 318 Ti. Thanks Stuart

I thought it wouldnt have the ability to change it.. she will just have to get used to it.. is her only complaint about the car tho, otherwise it is her baby, I think she loves it more than me and our dog's....

Diriving to work today I was subject to a 15 minute rant about how the girlfriends 98' 318 ti M spec doesnt have the ability to adjust the intermitant wiper speed or if it does where the hell is it...

Thanks for the help Neal, got two new Grid III's on the front and an alignment, so much better now... much smoother and no darting all over the place. Thanks Stuart

Thanks Neal, it does sound like the problem... will get those changed and see how it goes.... cheers Stuart

I was wondering if it could be alignment, but its not pulling all the time just on the odd occasion, the tyres are all at 35..... and it will pull either way but mainly right. But it does need the front tyres replaced soon.... Is there anything else to watch out for in general as it has done 178000kms... apparently it blows a little smoke, but i have never seen it while following it... i think it was just cold when they saw it... She doesn have a tendency to give her cars a bit of stick, so it will hit the redline or close to a a few times a trip..... I think it has an M44 motor.. not sure, my BMW knowledge is very weak.... how bulletproof are they? I am used to my nissan engines which i have abused for ages and they just stay the same, but they are always serviced 2-3 times a year and i am worse to them than she is to the 318 by a long shot. It is of couse based on what the previous owners have done to it in the past. It will be serviced 2-3 times a year due to the kms we do and has just been done, the check she got done on it only showed up a split driveshaft boot and an airbag sensor mat needs replacing so not really a huge deal... Thanks

Hi, My girlfriend got a 318ti M spec just before Christmas, very nice car and it looks good.... the only thing is that when you are driving it has the tendency to suddenly pull to the left or right, not hard, it is like it is following the bumps and ridges in the road or something like that..... or is it possibly due to a worn steering rack?... it only seems to do it on uneven surfaces.. it sort of feels like my old Nissan was on metal with the wide tyres.. but just seems odd.... The BMW has 225/50/16's..... it just seems odd. It does need an alinement but even that isnt really noticable..... Are there any things i can check or should look for. There doesnt seem to be any play in either wheel or that i can see in the steering rack, not that i am a mechanic or anything even close. Other than that, which she doesnt realy notice she loves it, tho it wouldnt surprse me if she gets a ticket soon as her driving has gone from over cautious to i love my shiny new car........ how fast can i get to 60... oh its doing 80.... Thanks