story of me and my E36 (happy n sad story)

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sam1741

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hi all, to continue the storySo i have finally decided to purchase my first E36, (and also my first bmw)after seeing so many cars, i thinking to take the best that i have seen, which is the car belong to Venon (he is member here)So i paid the deposit, and take 2 days leave just to go KL to take the car.I took to my friend YSKhong to check , actually wanted to go to BMW specialist, but unfortunately, i dono that day 11th of Dec is public holiday for Selangor.So luckily my friend help me outso he check and said the car is ok,So the owner (venon's mom) said she have service the car earlier, (change oil and oil filter, and check other things, at the shop name 'Eneos')and also she have service the air cond (now is cold, last time i saw the car is very hot)(more on this below)so in the afternoon, i proceed with paying herfirst time i pay so much cash... and now my account is empty. :(THan afternoon, we go to puspakom inspect the car, its very troublesom, at first need to get some oth with buyer n sellerthan after that go puspakom, than realize need original car grant, so go to the bank n take the grant, than go again.than everything pass, except, the tint that venon put, is too dark, cannot pass, so have to tear it out. so its being tear out and left many glue mark than i found out there is another layer of tint already(more on this later)luckily vivien (venon's mom) quite helpful, drove around , to puspakom, to runner, and other placeso we manage to get the car inspected.in the evening , i go to KLCC to buy annivesary and xmas present for my gf (luckily got some cash left)but than i notice cause is public holiday, i cannot go homecause the LRT station is so pack, that i cant even buy ticketso i walk aroundthan i saw vivien, she said, the traffic jam is so bad, so she drove in KLCC and walk aruond first, so since we have time, she buy me dinner.Than rest for one night, i drove back 11th Dec.In the morning, go to fill in petrol, than after having breakfast, i drove the car back.so its a long drive. i notice the absorber is really bad already, the car keep on jumping n jumping ... i feel very frustrated, i not notice this in city drive, it only jump a bit...venon said its blistein black, and only used for 2 years the absorber, and also the spring is eibach lowered springthan half way , i notice, there is CRACK in the windscreen!how can this happened.. i not follow close to any truckthere is total 3 .... 1 major one is 2mmx3mm wide, with some line beside already2 is small one, 1mmx1mm big... so because worried the thing will suddently break, i drive very slow back. :(on the way keep on being bullied by myvi and vios.so before i go home, i stop by the 'windscreen doctor' shopto repair it,he told me the 1mm one no need repair, so do the major one only than comes the interesting part, there are 2 more crack on the windscreen, which i only notice yesterday. Vivien told me the previos owner said is repair before, but, the mechanic told me, there are no repair mark.So total i repair 3 star-crack. total cost me RM200. THe mechanic very nice told me, to observe how it looks like, before and after repair.Now only i learn how to see if the windscreen crack is repaired before or not.so after get the repair done, and the owner told me got 3 month warranty it wont spread. i drove back home.once i reach penang island, i go to buy insurance for the car, because i need so much cassh, to change absorber, spring, tyre, etci can only buy 3rd party one, so .. RM278 for 1 year insurance + PA.than, i cant wait to try on the moutain road back to my homeONLY i realize, the car DOSEN't behave like the other E36 that i droveit keep on UNDERSTEER in cornersi dono what happened actually, maybe is not lowered properly? (the front is more lower than the back, so weight distribution is out?) maybe the absorber is gone making the lack of traction?maybe the tyre ? i dono....i feel very frustratedThan, i reach homeand start to tidy up the carfirst i clean the tint glue mark on front windowstook me 30 minutes, cant even finish one windowsthan i try to take off some sticker, also very hard to tear offthe A-pillar interior (dono what it called), is broke and cannot fix properlycan we buy that?than comes the interesting part yesterday the runner tear of the tint to pass puspakom testthere is half of the rear windscreen is in fog color, i look at it, and think maybe is just glue markthan today i realize, is the ORIGINAL layer of tint being tear off...it is original tint, where there is line at the heater area of the rear windscreen...now i feel very pissed off, how to find replacement for this?Than i open the boot and saw the leftover oil from last serviceTO MY SUPRISE, its normal 15w40 Esso Mineral OIL!!its the same oil i put for my DATSUN 120y....what kind of mechanic at ENEOS shop ..... put low grade oil for a M43 engine?now extra overhead, i have to change oil soon So the most expensive toy i ever bought for myself, turn out with so many unexpected happeningi know when my parents know, sure they will said "u see, i told u so, not to buy car so far away, now your windscreen got crack"....btw, i cant even know if the windscreen is original BMW windscreen or nothow can it so easily get crack... i have been driving proton behind stone lorry and see many stone n sand fly to the windscreen and never got crackand i know Germans, i know how they used things, and i know German product are made to be toughso why is it the windscreen so easily get crack(i drive below 110kph)so far my spending- car inspection RM100 (dono why runner charge so much, in the bill from puspakom is RM30)- name transfer, RM150 (need to wait 1 week)- insurance , RM278 (3rd party)- windscreen repair , RM200 (3 star-shape-crack)and my near future spending - original spring- original absorber- rear windscreen tint (dono where to get this one)- 17' tyreand now, i am brokedono have so many overhead.
 
Wow! such a long story you had here, am feel sympathy on what happened on you and ur babe
along the journey. Well Bro, it's a normal scenario for the second hand car and we can't get as
per our expectation, earlier. Same goes to me after 2 weeks bought my UDM e36 318 got air-cond
problem with the compressor turned to bad... sigh... and its cost me total about rm1200. Then, after
1 month down the road in used, radiator kaput... (double sigh) kena kopak lagi rm1000. So, Bro be
patient and slow slow bikin UDM to be comfort. That's why BMW = Banyak Makan Wang
Best of luck... :top:
 
ya.. now have to fix air cond somemore... forgot to add in up there...
the thing is so cold.. until got fog comes out..

so is either... very cold, or off
 
Congrats on your ownership

u can't expect much from a 12 years old car la... need to spend time & money to make as prefect as possible..

M43 is not a very complicated engine & it is 12years old not necessary you need a better engine oil. I think the engine oil which you mention is good enough as long as you change it regularly.

All this frustration is just the tip of an iceberg.... Enjoy your journey...
 
first and foremost, vernon is just forummer just like 3000+ forummer.

When buying a second car, there are certain risk involved. It up to you to inspect before agreed to but the car.

Puspacom required original car registration in order to conduct inspection. The guard at the gate will tell you that. Yes the inspection is RM30 if you do it on your own for owner transfer. Yes they bloody do tear or scratch the tint if they dont meet the specification. The only consolation you can get it retint until you see the car.

As confirm by the windscreen specialist there was no repair done on the wind screen. It just your bad luck that you experience the crack when you are driving. For original BMW windscreen, look for pilikon if imported and MSG if local assemble car.

As for the spring, it lowered spring and sport type. Yes it is hard almost to jumping. Experience this feeling when compare to stock shock and spring between my E36 (Booge) and E46 Msport.

The oil is semi syn. Get it change to fully syn if you like.

BTW, get the car check up by a good mechanic and you should be able to enjoy the UDM.
 
yeah... more to come....
i must change to stock spring n absorber fast...
the jumping is a lot...


but what i very sad about the tint is
the original layer of tint also being tear off..
and i not saw that on the spot....
the original rear tint got black area without glue to protect the defogger lining
thinking getting the original back

so now i wan to wait for my salary, than repair all the parts that wear out.
 
btw... is the mobile 15w40 semi sync?
it only cost RM58 when i put in my old car
but eneos sell it for RM63...

so i guess i will change oil more frequent....

i will DIY one resetter later,
than i can change my own oid
 
sam1741;380062 said:
btw... is the mobile 15w40 semi sync?
it only cost RM58 when i put in my old car
but eneos sell it for RM63...

so i guess i will change oil more frequent....

i will DIY one resetter later,
than i can change my own oid

Bro, there is 1 forumer selling oil fully sync shell, you can check on that.
Free bump for you Mr 5115... :top:
 
Congrats for ur 1st bimmer.......

As some forumers said here ......

For 12 years car ...u need time to rebuilt it to tip top condition .......

Important thing d car not involve in any major accident b4 and engine condition is good ....

U so lucky to get a M43 manual tranny ...How i know ???cos i know d owner Venom .....

Actually he take a gud care of his ride and just he left to UK for further study so d car need to pass to his mother and she maybe dunno much about car ......

For absorber .....as he told u tat its used for 2 yrs so i think its about time to change ....its wear & tear tat cant avoid ....

If out of budget ....My advice is u may refinace d car since u bought it cash ........Actually ...u need to standby some cash for wear and tear ....u cant expect to buy a very tip top 2nd hand car .....

Believe me .....after u solve out d wear & tear issue ......u will start to enjoy ur ride and start to luv it .......

Cheers up.....
 
steering question

hi all.. hi lionel,

i just back from another moutain road drive....
than i got some question to ask.. hope you all can help me

the steering seems like very soft...
i remember bmw design their steering to not so soft, (eventhough is power steering)
so that we can feel the road
now is so soft... when the car stand still, i can turn it with my pinky finger...
(the front is 245 tyre, venon told me...)

is there anywhere i can adjust so that its back to 'normal'?
i remember a bit.. the others i test before have more feeling to the road than this one i own...
 
sam1741;380077 said:
hi all.. hi lionel,

i just back from another moutain road drive....
than i got some question to ask.. hope you all can help me

the steering seems like very soft...
i remember bmw design their steering to not so soft, (eventhough is power steering)
so that we can feel the road
now is so soft... when the car stand still, i can turn it with my pinky finger...
(the front is 245 tyre, venon told me...)

is there anywhere i can adjust so that its back to 'normal'?
i remember a bit.. the others i test before have more feeling to the road than this one i own...


I think u refer to steering freeplay ....Normaly is d steering rack issue .....common problem for E36 ...can be rebuilt if d shaft still in gud shape .......If not u may need to find a used one from chopshop....

now is so soft... when the car stand still, i can turn it with my pinky finger...
Above is d sympton of d steering failure ......Pls dont drive too fast during raining day cos u cant control ur car ....faster send it for repair .....
 
ooh.. no.. i not mean the freeplay...
i mean the 'power' of the power steering...
it seems like.. the steering is very soft.
like there r a lot a lot of power assist the power steering....
can turn it easily...
cannot feel the road..

venon told me he change the coupling before
dono if the mech check the other parts of the steering when changing things ...
 
sam1741;380080 said:
ooh.. no.. i not mean the freeplay...
i mean the 'power' of the power steering...
it seems like.. the steering is very soft.
like there r a lot a lot of power assist the power steering....
can turn it easily...
cannot feel the road..

venon told me he change the coupling before
dono if the mech check the other parts of the steering when changing things ...


Steering rack might be one of d reason .......

Pls check d coupling ,tie rod as well......

Send to mechanic to check .......Cant help more unless i got change to drive d car ....
 
Sam1741, welcome to the world of the Ultimate Driving Machine (UDM).. BMW. Congratulations for getting yourself a BMW, although it is only a M43 engine, it should be a good start. We all feel you and we understand your frustration in certain issues here. But do remember, the car is already 12 years old, it is not a brand new car, so do not expect it to be in "brand new" condition. Try to live with the wear and tear facts for now.

Yeah, Venom may be just a forummer here, but he is a nice chap. I know him too and he is a car lover.

Since you just got your car, spend some time understanding the car as in how it behaves and the different driving feel compared to other make and model. My advice to you would be not to drive too fast especially on wet surfaces or on rainy days. You may get surprises if you do not take my advice :)

Some of the things you may want to do would include:-
1) Send the car to a BMW specialist to have a thorough check, then you can know what needs to be changed urgently.
2) Spend within your budget, ask your mechanic what is important and needs to be changed urgently. Please do not spend all your money into bringing up the cosmectic aspect of the car (that can be later).
3) If you are not comfortable with the 17" rim, try to fit back the original 15" (you may change to 17" when you have extra $).
4) Change all fluids, check all rubber hoses and bushings.

Actually, there are a lot to be listed here on what to do, but I guess you can also read it from the E36 thread. Just cheer up, don't be too frustrated or upset. You can share your questions with some of us here. I believe there are a lot of E36 owners who can give you good advices. Myself is also driving E36 318i M43 engine. And 1 more thing, please do not feel unhappy when you see a lot of cars overtaking you :) Just drive safely.

Just drop your questions in your own thread here, we can try to assist ok?

Cheers
 
Congrat bro on yr new UDM. Its a BMW so its Banyak Makan Wang but the sheer driving pelasure of ultimate driving machine is priceless. But if know lubang to get parts it might be cheaper than japs. Even if its more expensive it will last long. I spent more than 40k for my ex E36 even though the condition was ok when I bought it. Why? coz I practically change everything. In fact the feel its like driving newer car. Maintaining BMW is a passion for me. Some people buy BMW or drive BMW but me play BMW:love:
 
InitialM , coz u kaya mah, thats why I see E36 and then E39 in your collection :)
 
I don't think there is an original tint on bmw's. Most probably the previous owner double tint.
 
bro,what the sifu said over here is true lah...you are buying a more than 10 year car.you can't expect the previous ownner to do 100% cause all the part in the car is wear & tear.puspakom inspection is rm30 but runner also need to charge you for labour,this is standard unless you do everything yourself.i know cause i am car salesman.
 
Hi bro (i'm the previous owner of this ride),

i'm glad to hear that you've gotten your first bimmer. Just realised you posted up complains about the e36 that you've just bought from me where i've gotten to know from my mum yesterday.

First and foremost, the absorbers are almost 2 years and yes indeed you will have to change them like i've mentioned before in emails to you. Same for the tires as well. The springs are eibach sports, dont think you will have to change it but well you stil have to expect some JUMPING JUMPING unless you want to use ORIGINAL springs which makes the car looks. errr. weirder.. hehe

As for the steering freeplay, this was done by my mechanic Jong, 3 months before i left kl to uk (early july). I changed the steering rack basically and that cost me RM 800++ in total. Many have asked me not to change it as i'm selling soon but i can't really tahan, so i changed it. Maybe you can try tightening it up (I don't know how to explain in detail but it works before i changed last time). This problem was discovered by my friends after cny and i didnt want to change but i still did it before i left just to make sure i get to drive it in perfect condition for the last few mths of me being in kl.

Wheel bearing was changed less than a month before i left for uk which is end august this year. Hope you have nothing to complain about that.

As for the windscreen cracking, honestly, there were 2 cracks at the passenger side of the windscreen. When i bought the car it was already like that and no signs of further cracking came up after that. According to previous owner he did repair it. I called my mum just now and she said you complained about the one in the middle too. As for that i really have no idea why is there a crack in da middle. I've been driving with that and nothing happened for more than 2 years. But well it's good that you fix it, you don't have to worry about it.

And for the tinting, sorry to say i'm a little kiasu last time and it's cool having dark tinting. Driving to college with black tinting makes me looks cooler too. Hehe. Well, the tinting is double layered. The first layer attached to the window should be green and that is UV reflection about 80%. The second layer is pure 90% black without UV reflection. I understand that puspakom tore the tinting out but i do not know to wat extend they tear it. MAybe while tearing it they might have damaged the first layer, i don't know.

I'm sorry bro for the long reply as i felt a little (I meant just a LITTLE :top: offended) when you mentioned da car is not in good condition. Well, there are minor wear and tears that you might have to fix, no doubt. As for the engine oil, i use to use fully synthetic and then to semi synthetic but my mechanic adviced me to change to mineral cos of the age of the car. Maybe an analogy of old man drinking too much alcohol will die faster? lolx. So, i changed to using mineral which is way safer, and i drive with a peace of mind.

Here comes the aircond. I really don't understand this. I forgotten whats the name of the part that i changed in august but its the part which is behind the fan at the front bumper. Not sure why is there a problem with it but it should be fine and shouldn't have any problems. (Even my gf remembers this cos i was suppose to fetch her from internship and end up she have to go back on her own cos i was at the workshop fixing it) Another RM400+ spent.

Am sorry the last email reply was short as i replied you via wireless device and was in class. Hope you will enjoy your ride and do take good care of it. Never for a second i did not take care of it and i still do miss it. Like said BMW memang banyak masuk workshop or banyak makan wang.

You may contact me if you have any problems. I'm more than happy to help you.

Cheers bro!
 
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