My E36 Experience

[anxious]

No problem Lee. I do appreciate ur time and thank u for ur advise....but as my nick goes sometimes I'm a bit "anxious".

Anyway as far as my mech is concerned I went back to him bcos he really has not let me down in the last 4 yrs and as the saying goes its better a devil u know than one u dont.

Anyways I hope he doesnt dissapoint me again. So far ok, the head he showed me looked pretty good. Of course I'm paying top dollar for it so it better be.

U see in Pg we really dont have much choice.I thought of going to KL seriously but it was just not feasible due to logistics. I really cant afford to be in KL for one week when the car is being done and its quite difficult to trust a complete stranger. Furthermore follow up would also be a problem.

So I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Since the car drove pretty well even with the head problem I hope my block is ok and visually it seems ok and doent show any sign of wear.

Apart from that my only concern is the cooling system which I'm definitely getting them to check out throughly.

 

[anxious]

Ok guys...got back my car today. The vibration seems to have gone and the car is running very smooth and quite now. My mech tod me to monitor it over the weekend and send it back to him on Monday for a final inspection.

I also managed pour out all my frustration over the whole incident to him and feel very much better now albeit a lighter wallet.

Anyway taking the car to Taiping tmrow to test it out. I'll keep u guys informed of the progress.

Thanks again for all your support during what was a very frustrating and difficult past two weeks.

 

[elwine30]

run in your car for 1st 5000km 1st yeah. no more than 100 km/h

 

[anxious]

Aiyah Elwine..now u tell me...I went to Taiping today (journey totaled 230km), travelled within the speed limit most of the time but when coming back I hit 140 for a while just to test the car. To do 100kmh for 5000km is very susah man....did u mean 500km?

Anyways the car was quite smooth...no more vibration.

I noticed:-

i) when i got back to pg when stationary car for a while a heard a "clok" sound every 10 seconds or so even with ac off....this is only when stationary..must be something rubbing?

ii) on the highway sometimes i can hear this kind of zinging sound for the exhaust...i used to get this sound from my old tredia many yrs back.

iii) sometimes when I slow down at traffic lights the engine seems to get a bit louder...there seems to be a very slight kind of surge before stopping.

Apart from that car seems to be fine.

But this whole thing has really exhausted me. How I wish I could turn the clock back...for the same money(RM55k) I could hv got a 1996 328 with full AB service history.That would hv saved me all this headache , distraction , worry , waste of time etc.

My friends tell me I expected too much from a second hand car...what more a 12 yr old car for RM40k. Now although I hv incurred excess of RM15k on the car (incd painting) and somehow still a bit concerned wheher the car is really ok....of course again it is a question of expectation.

What to do life goes on....what an experience.

 

[anxious]

noticed:-

i) when i got back to pg when stationary car for a while a heard a "clok" sound every 10 seconds or so even with ac off....this is only when stationary..must be something rubbing?

ii) on the highway sometimes i can hear this kind of zinging sound for the [used to get this sound from my old tredia many yrs back.

iii) sometimes when I slow down at traffic lights the engine seems to get a bit louder...there seems to be a very slight kind of surge before stopping.

Any comments?

 

[elwine30]

item 1, it's normal for e36. it's the exhaust expansion sound.

item 2, your exhaust is due?

item 3, no idea

 

[fabianyee]

run in your car for 1st 5000km 1st yeah. no more than 100 km/h

I know if it's a full overhaul, u'll need to run in for that distance. But for his cylinder head change, I don't think he needs 5000km for the run in.. Anyway, better to just double check on the need for run in with your 'new' head..

 

[Zul_84]

anxious,

you are very TABAH person,
no comment,
but at least you drive a UDM

need learn more from you lah.
Master anxious!!!

 

[anxious]

Ok taking leave tomorow to sort out the final bits.


Goin to sort out item (i) to (iii)

Also sort out Brake Light Circuit check & ABS

Need advise on tyres and brake disc.

Tyres

Michelin XM1 RM250pp or
Michelin MXV8 RM285pp


ATE Brake Disc(F) RM130pp or
ATE Power Disc(F) RM200pp

ATE pads ?

 

[elwine30]

Michellin MXV8, check if it's the latest from Singapore. Don't go for the one from Thailand.

For brake disc, go for the ATE PowerDisc and go with ATE brake pads or Jurid.

 

[LCP]

Just side track a bit, can anyone give a Penang contact for somone who carries high performance ATE brake fluids (ATE Super Blue or ATE Type 200 DOT4 to be exact)? Tried Anxious' contact, he doesn't carry ATE brake fluids.

These are good brake fluids that can withstand track bashing...

Thanks in advance...

 

[sesat88]

ATE Super Blue DOT 4 rite? good-ka? i need to work on my braking system next

i think seen it in http://www.EurocarMotorsport.com .....

 

[LCP]

Full name is ATE Super Blue Racing, yes, it's the same DOT4 formulation as ATE Typ 200 ("Typ" is German for "Type"), only different (and illegal) colour, maybe that's why it is not labelled DOT4 explicitly... DOT4 is supposed to be clear.

ATE's biggest bang for the buck, they say.

Another worthy brake fluid is Motul RBF600, higher wet and dry boiling temperatures, but more expensive than ATE Super Blue.

Of course the best will be Castrol SRF... very very expensive, best that money can buy, i heard F1 cars are using that too.

 

[sesat88]

hmmmm... HMMMMMM.... HMMMMMMMM........

heheheheheh .....

pssst... LCP.. we really gotto stop doing this i.e. hijacking other people thread and going off in a tangent!

 

[anxious]

Latest Update.

Took leave today to sort out my car. I even volunteered to drop off my wife at work just to warm up the car b4 sending her for a final check up.

Reached my mech's workshop @ 8.50am. First to arrive.

9.20 am the guy who did my top overhaul and replacement of cylinder head checked my undercarriage for leaks and found none. He also tightened a nut on my exhaust pipe. I also change my air filter as i decided not to get K&N yet'

Anor compression test is done and my cylinders are ok. Cylinder No.3 which was 70 b4 are now 150 as the others. At least that is solved.

the boy also tried to solve the brake light circuit fault by changing the switch but failed. I guess its the wiring which my mech didnt seem to hv the time to look into.

10 plus am I went to the spare part shop to get front brake disc and pads.

Original disk quoted by my mech was RM330pp pads RM300+ per set.

I got ATE powerdisk for RM200pp and pads at RM120 per set. ( Eurotech Nordin Street Mr Loh 0195955042).

11.00am got the boys to replace the disk and pads.

11.30 am to 1.00pm...waiting around for the w/shop owner to look into items (i) to (iii) above but he seemed too busy.

1.00pm went for lunch with anor BMW owner who had just fixed his car.

2.00pm back...still waited around.

2.45pm someone starts working on my ABS and finishes almost at 5.00pm.

The w/shop owner starts to try to listen to the tok sound coming from my dash board area...says it must be electroonic and not mechanical. The sound is only clear when the car is hot.( so I dont see how it can be electronic???)

Anyways he says its not serious and takes my car for a test drive...i follow him...he does some hard braking (despitte the fact that my disc and pads r new and havent been broken into yet!!!...I realise and told him to stop and said I'll test the ABS later...anyway ABS light gone so should be ok).



My compression problem is fixed but at a huge cost.

The other minor issues probably can wait at least until I find someone interested in resolving it.

Anyway after 5 i went to tyre shop and got myself a new pair of shoes...MXV8 205/60/15 at RM180pp(Made In Japan). Almost got talked into to getting Perrilli Dragon by the shopowner but luckily avoided it, thanks to Lee.

7 pm Fill up petrol and my comsumption was at 400km when the light came on ...I last filled full tank...I did 50% town driving and 50% highway.

Hopefully with new tyres and air filter it improves further.

I think i am goin to pause trying to undo the mess the previous owner did to the car with his lack of maintainance and start enjoying my ride.

Dmage to my pocket todate:-

Service & Repairs RM13000
Paint & Tyres RM5000
Car RM40000

Total RM58000

On the bright side whatlese can I get for RM58k....brand new WAJA?

 

[K.M.]

Latest Update.


Anyway after 5 i went to tyre shop and got myself a new pair of shoes...MXV8 205/60/15 at RM180pp(Made In Japan). .

RM180pp for MXV8?...damn cheap!!...where is this shop??? Wanna buy also.

 

[anxious]

Sorry RM280pp...my apology ...very tired todaylah.

 

[anxious]

Got up this morning to diarrhorea.....3 times already since 5.45am.

Cant really go back to sleep......still thinking about My E36 Experience !

I really dont know what u guys think about my experience. Probably a lot of u guys think what do u expect for RM40k, the car is bound to hv trouble esp if u had purchased ur ride three yrs ago for RM80k.

Others may say what do u expect for a 12 yr old car.

So maybe my expectation was too high after a good 4 yrs driving my 1988 E30 w/o any major problems.

Anyway I hope that is all in the past. As I said I look forward to enjoying my ride now. However the attitude of my mech yesterday who pretty much avoided my complaints tend to worry me a bit.

Either :-

i) my complaints were really trivial
ii) he did not hv any answers
iii) he did not want to find any more problems with the car as I still havent paid him for the last bill

After incurring more than RM13k with him over the last mth I thought I deserved more attention but he seemed to have avoided my car although I was at his virtually at his wshop whole day having taken leave specifically to sort it out.

His workers sorted out some issues but he did not really address my problems. He had a cursory look right at the end and mumbled something about my klok sound every three seconds or so from under the dashboard being electronical rather than mechanical.

He had no time to sort out my brake circuit light problem after the worker 's attempted to solve the problem by changing the switch failed. He then said he needed time to sort the wiring.

I pretty much left feeling very unsatisfied having virtually wasted the whole day there.

I hope my concerns are unfounded as I dread to hv to sort out more issues with the car.

Having bought the car at what I now understand to be slightly above market for an average 1995 325, and spent anor RMM18k on it..selling it is really not an option.......but how much more should I pour into this car?

I hope I am at the tail end as I have almost exhausted my resources and refuse to get into debt....that was the whole idea of buying an E36...get it cash, do some repairs and not worry about loans.

All this could hv been avoided if my mech had just told me to walk away when i showed him the car b4 I purchased it.

When I confronted him, he now says that he did tell me that he could tell what is inside the engine.

Well that's probably what every other mech would say but I hv known this guy for 4 yrs and recommended many of my friends to him, so I expected more from him.

I did ask him to do a MODIC test on the car b4 buying it and he told me MoDIC was ok...????, would a MODIC reveal error code if something wrong with the car....esp if one cylinder had low compression.

Forget about compression testing as he told me he doesnt on cars people want to purchase....as the owners/selers may not like it. Thats probably bcos most cars hv slightly lower compression in one or more cylinders?

In fact after I serviced the car with him and incurred my 1st bill (>RM5k), I specifically asked him whether the engine was ok and he said it was.

I can go through the facts over and over in my head but I really hv no answers except that I hv to move on.

You see although I may not be as technically inc;lined as some of u guys , I am very passionate as to my car. I really took care of my E30.

With a little more money to spend I had hoped to enjoy an E36 and set out to get her.

A blip in my judgment landed me in what has really been a nightmare and made me lose confidence in my mech who i've trusted all these years.

I know I sound tragic but I feel so as this car thing is something very important to me.

Well I cant help being overly dramatic...after all I'm Indian.

Believe it or not , this is one of my worst errors in my 36 yrs.

 

[flash]

Take heart bro. I feel for you too as I have gone through a similiar experience too when I got myself my first beemer, an E36 325i. In my case, I got the car from a fellow forummer who is well-known to be very critical of his car and maintains it well. When I got it, the car had already gone through a full engine overhaul (actually a 2.6L) and the gearbox was also recently overhauled. So I thought I got a good buy. Even my mechanic friend said so. Then my nightmare began. Aircon kaput 2 days later. Found the condenser to be leaking. Since I knew the aircon was not serviced, I sent the car in for a full service. That cost me in excess of RM2k. After that, the cooling system needed an overhaul, new radiator becase the old one leaked. Then I had another aircon problem... the first guy did not do a good job. This time also changed the aircon compressor, another RM2k gone. After that, another expansion tank, wheel bearings, door locks, steering wheel slip ring, ABS, etc, etc, etc. Ok, I can go on, on and on. Over the 1 year of ownership, I had spent close to RM10k in repairs to a well-maintained car. Izzit my luck or what?

Decided to downgrade to an older model because I needed a bigger car so I go my self and E34 520i.... this car I went overboard too. Spent close to RM20k for complete overhaul of suspension, cooling system, aircon, top overhaul, painting and some cosmetics . And some more to do on the near future.... But the car turned out to be more robust and reliable them the E36... for the E36, it had to masuk workshop almost every other week. The E34? Hardly. Only goes for the normal oil service now.

Have I made a mistake in spending so much on my beemers? I guess so but then again, maybe it is my luck. Have not been lucky with any of my purchases the past 5 years. Even my house is a perpetual problem. Anyway, the amount of money I have spent on my beemers (repairs and loss in value) is still lesser than if I were to get a new Perdana V6 (well, I do have a PV6 as my company car and that is another money pit but the tab is taken up by the company). end of the day, my 15+ year old car still drives better than any new cars below the RM120k bracket... that is my consolation. Ok, enuff of my ramblings....

 

[K.M.]

As I said before, not many bmw workshop in Penang can be trusted. They are taking advantages of customers. You have to line up for their services. In KL, you will get better services...far much better.

Last time when I just bought my E36, one of well known bmw workshop on mainland asked me to changed the whole steering set for 'kiok kiok' noise, cost about RM350. The workshop claimed it is a normal problem for E36 and a few customers had changed it. But in KL, they had solved the problem with Wurth spray and charged me only RM20.