E36 318iS

Gribs

Gribs

Gribs

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12 Nov 2003
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Skipton
What the general opinion on these? A work collegues brother is selling his and it's seems fairly cheap due to a couple of problems. The exhaust manifold is blowing and he's been quoted nearly 800ukp by a BMW dealer to replace it. From looking at it it looks fairly awkward to do but certainly doable for far less.

It's a '93, has no rust but an odd paint blemish, has had 2 owners from new, but in the same family, full BMW history, 4 matching premium tyres, full leather, climate and I think nearly everything else that could be speced (though not sure about the lsd). It drives very well and the suspension and steering seems nice and tight.

Has anyone got any idea how much a replacement manifold costs and is it a really awkward job to do? Also roughly how much would it be worth if it was fixed?
 
I had exactly the same issue on my e36 M42 318iS (1993).

Iirc, it cost me about £150 to have the exhaust manifold removed, welded up and put back on. That was about 8,000 miles and 5-6 track days ago. I think once they are welded up, they generally don't go again.

It is well worth doing. What mileage is the car? I'd say it's worth £1,000-£1,200.
 
Just over 100k. I'm pretty sure I could get it for £350-£450 as it' been replaced and sat unused for a couple of months. Started first time though.
 
Seriously? It may be worth fixing it and having fun in it for a couple of months before punting it on then. I'm sure I could find somewhere to store my Mondeo and use this as a runabout instead for a while.
 
For the exact price my bill was:

- Remove & refit exhaust manifold: £135
- Wed up crack on port 4: £27

Note that my manifold fixings were pretty badly corroded, so mine it probably a worst case scenario.
 
why bother having it welded up? loads of manifolds about, might as well put one on from a breakers.

had a welded one on a m20 (325i e30) the weld broke on that, got one from the e30zone for a tenner iirc, not a big job to slap on,
 
NickXX said:
For the exact price my bill was:

- Remove & refit exhaust manifold: £135
- Wed up crack on port 4: £27

Note that my manifold fixings were pretty badly corroded, so mine it probably a worst case scenario.
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Cheers for that. From the BMW quoted price it sounded like an arse of a job but perhaps it shows quite how much they overcharge as about £500 of the price was just labour. Looks like I'm going to join the legion of BMW owners on here then, at least for a short while.
 
Gribs said:
Cheers for that. From the BMW quoted price it sounded like an arse of a job but perhaps it shows quite how much they overcharge as about £500 of the price was just labour. Looks like I'm going to join the legion of BMW owners on here then, at least for a short while.
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Yeah - the problem with BMW is that they will not try and repair the old manifold (or source 2nd hand parts). They will fit a brand new manifold which, of them, would cost you a small fortune.
 
Gribs said:
It's a '93, has no rust but an odd paint blemish, has had 2 owners from new, but in the same family, full BMW history, 4 matching premium tyres, full leather, climate and I think nearly everything else that could be speced (though not sure about the lsd). It drives very well and the suspension and steering seems nice and tight.
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If the manifold costs you £1k (which it won't by a long long way) you still have a relative bargain imo.

If your after a BMW that won't eat your wallet, such "in the family" cars are rare, especially at this sort of money.

If you don't want it, drop me a mail and I'll have it! :D

Edit - I'd be surprised if the climate works properly though..... Not found an e36 (including my own!) where it does - I assume its the digital one rather than the rotary dial setup which imo is a lot better.
 
R420LA6X2/4MNA said:
Edit - I'd be surprised if the climate works properly though..... Not found an e36 (including my own!) where it does - I assume its the digital one rather than the rotary dial setup which imo is a lot better.
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It's the dual zone rotary one which seemed very old fashioned to me. It heated up ok and seemed to clear the windscreen quickly so I'm guessing it works properly but couldn't be 100% sure as it was cold last night. The only issue with it seemed to be the fan was a bit noisey.
 
R420LA6X2/4MNA said:
Edit - I'd be surprised if the climate works properly though..... Not found an e36 (including my own!) where it does - I assume its the digital one rather than the rotary dial setup which imo is a lot better.
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My dad's e36 318i digital dual-zone worked, but then he had it from new, for 4 years.

My 1992 325i's manual dual-zone climate control (the rotary one) worked flawlessly :cool:
 
Are these worth picking up then is the price and condition is good? I've always had a soft spot for these.

Looking forward to the pics also :)
 
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