Thrown a rod 3.0 e36!!!

SundayJumper wrote: mogart1 wrote: Seems to be quite a surplus of written off cars vs demand at the moment... I guess partly because you can pick up a tatty M3 for under £5k now, so the following train of thought probably happens a lot... "wikked thats well cheap im guna sell mi nova and get an m3... my new bimma da best car eva its so fast... why am i leaving this roundabout backwards... oh the car's wrapped round a lamp post" Steve.

I laughed my socks off when i read this!!! It's what I was trying to say, but I was a little too reserved. Spot on Steve!

Hi encomium,

The numbers are:

#1. Part Number - 6 digits

#2. Code number - 5 digits (Internal coding plug#)

#3. K Number - 4 digits

#4. Chassis Number - 5 digits. This is the one, if it's differnet from your chassis number you've got the wrong instument pod!!!!!!

#5. software version.

#6. Revision Index - 2 digits.

These are the unlocked tests.

Dave.

mogart1 wrote: Seems to be quite a surplus of written off cars vs demand at the moment...

I guess partly because you can pick up a tatty M3 for under £5k now, so the following train of thought probably happens a lot...

"wikked thats well cheap im guna sell mi nova and get an m3... my new bimma da best car eva its so fast... why am i leaving this roundabout backwards... oh the car's wrapped round a lamp post"

Steve.

Engine ordered today, checked out good, get it delivered next Friday, praying it doesn't get mullered on its way out. That just gives me time to clear up my garage and make it hospital clean. My baby needs the best possible care!!!

(BTW I think £1500 is way too much now, unless thats with g/box and loom, these engines have come down loads in the past couple of years) Seems to be quite a surplus of written off cars vs demand at the moment, I guess the economy of repairs means that more and more are getting written off by insurers and there are still loads of cars in use on the road. Now is the time to stock up on spares for the future me thinks.

Re-manufaturing the engine does not seem to be an option, talking to a contact in the trade, some of the larger firms have had a go and got problems, so they won't touch them now. Not sure what this means for the future - BMW prices are simply not econmically viable...its cheaper to buy another car already....and that means you get a complete set of spare parts too!

Anyone see the e36 on ebay with 'knocking bottom end' at £133k that's the first i've heard gone sick like that.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1& ;item=4522703276&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT

can of worms or bargain????

bhp555, that thing you suggested with the mileage counter displaying the VIN and other details is pretty neat. But, what are all the other numbers? There are about 7-8 sets of numbers, does anyone know what they all mean?

mogart1,

if you engine falls through I know of one for £1500, still in car and can be run, it in the North East.

Thanks Dave, think I've found  one at a sensible price, i'll heed your advice. I'm just on 2 minds whether to put in new shells and pistons rings, as components they are not too dear, its just the risk of splitting the head..might be best left alone if its sound at the moment.....i'll have a spare head!

Just one question on synthetics though I had heard that these were not encouaged for M3's due to being 'too thin'

BTW I've located the hole, appears to be around no 4 pot, part of the con rod is visible in the gap, clearly too far out of line to be attached to the crank!! Tried to take some snaps but no real succes, I'm afraid you'll have to wait until it comes out to see the real gory bits!

Mogart 1,

A couple of things, before you buy, I would advise taking a compression tester with you and check for compression readings across all cylinders, don't worry about figures too much, just make sure all six measure around the same. If you can't do that I'd at least take the intake trumpets off, it's a small job and check the condition of the throttle butterflies. Expect to see a little black build up around them but not too much, again look for consistency across all six, open them up and take a torch to the inlet tracks and look for cleanish combustion. Next remove the plugs and check for colour and consistency then finally check the dipstick for colour of the oil, even if the sump has been drained you'll get some info from the colour of the oil still on it. Remember fully synthetics (which all M3's should run don't break down and produce the black hydrocarbons a normal oil will), so if the dip stick is very black, chances are there is something else going on. If the oil is still in it, drain it and take a long look at it.

These are few small things to do that will give you the opportunity to check out the story behind the engine without too much effort, as I said though take a chance to look at a couple of engines to get an idea of what is normal. If the donor car is still available, ask them to put the battery back in the car to check the mileage, being careful to check it's the right pod and engine for the car. Or ask to borrow the instrument pod, leave a small deposit if necessary, take the pod home and plug it into your loom and once you've checked out the mileage, go through the tests which show the chassis number to check the you've got the right pod for the right engine, (All you have to do is hold the mileage trip button and turn your ignition key to the first position and the instruments will go through a check cycle, in which you'll see the last 5 or 7 digits of the chassis number).

Best of luck, remember most breakers dont' really know these M cars from a diesel transit, so take the time to find out yourself. Don't rely on their say so.

Dave.

Mogart 1,

Don't be tempted to fit anything other than a 3.0 litre, it is the engine with the least issues, it's also the engine the next buyer will expect to see under the bonnet....besides the loom is different to any of the twin vanos engines.

As far as the TIS goes, they can seem a bit lightweight on first look, but dig around a bit, make sure you only highlight one item at a time as it has a few querks, but believe me I've rebuilt these things using every source of information there is and the TIS is the one. One thing I would recommend is to take the time to talk to the likes of molsey motorsport, if you get him (Nigel) when he has a moment he really is the font of all knowledge, but his time is limited so I'd ring only when you have something specific to talk about.

Best of luck though. A word to the wise though don't treat all BMW 'experts' advice with the same level of confidence, there really are a few out there who don't know their onions quite as well as they think.

Dave.

Hi  Mogart

Sorry to hear about your problem

My heart goes out to you as i had a bottom end blow about 18 months ago on a 99 volvo S70 T5 took me 3 months to rebuild the engine and get it back running like a watch.

Anyhow back to your problem

I have seen a few 3.0 engines on ebay going for not bad money and i have even seen blocks, heads for sale on there too if you have time and patience you can probably pick sommet up cheaply.

Goodluck.

Leigh

96 3.2 Evo coupe