There's a post on here for a 1996 TI with 54,000 miles. Maybe ask that guy what he wants for his before putting $3,000 into yours.

^Here is the link to that:

http://www.318ti.org/forum/showthread.php?t=44703

And his post says,

"

Join Date: Aug 2019
Location: california
Posts: 2
iTrader: (0)
Photo Gallery
Smile 1996 BMW 318ti for sale (low miles)
Hey guys, I'm selling my 1996 318ti with only currently 54,000 miles. It's one owner car and never been in an accident with a clean record. Everything is stock with original parts with owner manual. It's an auto transmission with no issues. I want to pass this car to someone whos really enthusiast about this particular car since its rare. I don't want to sell it to some used dealership.. I'm currently located in SoCal and the best way to reach me is my cell at (347)489-2402. You can call or text me for more photos and price inquiry. thanks for looking!"

Thanks for the pointer... but if I were to buy another 318ti, it'd need to be the same spec's as mine... '97-'98... Black over Millpoint Red... Sport package, etc. I spent a year looking for exactly what I wanted, I finally found it, and nothing else is going to be sufficient. Not that there's anything special about my 318ti, it's just got all the options I want. Well, except for being new, but that's not an "option" anymore. :-D


Sooo... update... I got my usual mechanic to replace the oil pump gasket (or oil filter gasket, I forget which), and hope to pick up the car today. Hopefully that's the only thing leaking and I won't end up spending bigger bucks on the bigger seals. But I also feel like a clutch replacement is in the foreseeable future, so I'm not done yet.

The best part of all of this is that once I get the oil leak sorted out, I get to clean up the mess I've made on the concrete where I park at work. Good times. heh heh


EDIT - Dec. 31, 2019 -- still haven't cleaned up the oil stain at work. LOL

When you do the clutch, budget the rear main seal.

I'm sure the mechanic pointed that out, but just in case....

Last thing you want is paying a clutch job labor AGAIN to go change the rear main.

Indeed he did! :-D And that's my general theory too. I don't mind spending more money in the short term if it's going to save money in the long term.

If you’re gunna replace the clutch, I highly suggest swaping to singlemass and sprung disk. Made a huge difference on mine and made the car alot more fun to drive.

So did the oil filter housing gasket fix the oil leak? Mine is leaking oil pretty bad too and it's coming from that general area. I bought the gasket already since it's $5 and it's got to be easier to replace than the timing cover gaskets.

That gasket is really easy to change. Search the forum and im sure u can find a write up.