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Forum LockedE36 M3 EVO engine nightmare
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alpina527 View Drop Down
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Points: 68 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 13-December-2005 at 13:50
Peter: Yes, I get your point about the indy servicing. It does however seem that whoever services M3's, Number 5 bearing is almost always the one that goes. I for one would like to know why this happens. If we can find out via the forums, we will have ammunition for anyone who has a justified claim after having it fully serviced at BMW.
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Drew540i View Drop Down
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Points: 632 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 13-December-2005 at 15:56
You can't just slate independents like that - most of
them are better than BMW dealers who can often do
the shoddiest job. I don't know of a single Indy who
doesn't use genuine oil filters and decent oil.
At the end of the day this is not an old 7 Series
engine, but a very highly stressed and specialised
bit of machinery developing around 95 bhp per litre.
If ever there was a good reason to avoid the 3.2 M3,
this was it - they've never been the most robust of
engines anyway - the 3 litre was a lot better.

Tell you what - find out how many Ferraris have done
105'000 miles of everyday use without engine work!
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m3steve View Drop Down
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Points: 20 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 13-December-2005 at 16:33

......and that's the point - "put some of that decent stuff in it" - yeh, great.  'Decent oil' is fine for a 540 (*global warming alert*), not an M3.  BMW spec Mobil1 which is far superior to 'decent oil'.  Therefore, 'decent oil' = excessive heat build up, more than engine components are engineered for and subsequent 'early failure'.  No independent stocks it because it's too expensive and lets face it, how the hell do you tell.  I know a lot of people will agree with you, independents are very trustworthy - do you know any ladies, at all, or people who don't know about cars.  Who said anything about no previous engine work?  Perhaps it was rebuilt at 80K - ive only had it 10 months.  And now you're slating main dealers and comparing a mass production car with an exotic............WHATEVER.  By the way, the 525i was a lot better than the 540i.
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m3steve View Drop Down
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Points: 20 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 13-December-2005 at 16:45

Originally posted by Pegsta Pegsta wrote:

I live with my parents and would kill to be able to afford (and run) an E36 M3.....  let alone a 46.

sounds like a bargain to me. 
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Peter Fenwick View Drop Down
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Points: 6484 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 14-December-2005 at 05:47

Independants, main dealers, there all in the car trade therefore a significant proportion of them are rubbish, or rip off merchants. Out of all the garages i've used well over 50% of them have given me reason not to go back.

Steve, why not compare the engine of an M3 to that of a Ferrari?

After all they have similar specific outputs so must be in a similar state of tune?

It may be mass produced but that doesn't mean that it is not highly strung and highly stressed. TBH I can't see how the 3 litre is a lot better based on that arguement though.

Oh and Steve, my local independant offers Mobil1 oil. They are crap though, just like my local main dealer.
Entering an age of Austerity and now driving a Focus Diesel.
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evoestoril View Drop Down
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Points: 7 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 14-December-2005 at 06:36

Going to BMW for a service on a car woth e.g. sub �10k may not seem worth it especially when you have to have an Insp2 on an E36 evo. But there are some good independent BMW specialists like Birds or Munich Legends where you can take your car, though they are independents they are a hundred times better than local garages.

A car like an M3 even if its 10 or 15 years old and is'nt worth much money still has to be serviced by a specialist or BMW. You can't take an engine like that to your local garage and expect them to do a proper job even with their best intentions. They just dont have the knowledge, experience and specefic checks in place to look after cars such as these. They are as highly tuned as some porsches and ferraris pushing out almost 100bhp per litre which from a non turbo or supercharged engine is amazing.

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David321 View Drop Down
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Points: 202 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 14-December-2005 at 07:37

Even the BMW range of standard oils for the M3 Evo is really wide. I 'phoned up the last dealer to service my car to check what had been used. Turned out to be Castrol SLX 0W30, which was right at the 'thinnest' end of the spectrum.

I have subsequently used a specialist for servicing and provided Mobil 1 (0W40) - always make sure the receipt for the oil goes into the service history though...

Sorry to hear about engine failure woes - though I'm sure getting into an E46 M3 should ease the pain over time!

 



Edited by David321
E36 M3 Evo - Techno Violet
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