Might Be Time to Say Good Bye

[Viper3812]

Once again my poor ti is down. I just changed the fuel pump and filter last Wednesday and got her running again, but as of 12:30am this morning she is ill again. I went back home for easter and went up to Tampa for a FloridaGerman meet which during our trip to someone's condo I bottomed out and lost all of my transmission fluid and did not realize it til about a couple miles later. It is all gone and I believe there might be internal damage on the transmission, which I hope not. Also, there is quite a bit of oil coming out of my exhaust which idk why it's coming out. I'm back in Orlando now (Lucky for me my dad let me take his 350z up here), but my poor ti is sitting in the garage in pain. She will be going into the shop sometime this week to get looked at and hopefully the damage is only just on the outside and minor, but if the gears are torn there is a possibility the car might be leaving me. It might be a good excuse for a manual swap, but right now the decision belongs to my dad because I am flat broke and he is helping me out by paying for all of it. If the damage is high he will make the call to sell if it isn't then she will stay with me. Wish me luck.

[pdxmotorhead]

I would bet heavily that a good privateer shop can do a 5spd conversion cheaper than getting the auto repaired if you ran it dry.... All the parts are now off the shelf at a wrecker, you will likely need a Manual ECu for the motor to keep it easy...

Good luck!

Dave

[Bluebimma]

Man, that sucks. i hope your tranny isnt trashed. You can always grab a cheap auto tranny from a member on here or on bimmerforums.com

[momorugger]

That sucks dude. Best of luck. Maybe you can just upgrade some components, that's my optimistic outlook. Think of it as an excuse to spend more money on your girl!

[Den]

It might be a good excuse for a manual swap, but right now the decision belongs to my dad because I am flat broke and he is helping me out by paying for all of it. If the damage is high he will make the call to sell if it isn't then she will stay with me. Wish me luck.

I dunno 'bout automatics, but a 5-speed trans can be had for $2 - 300.
Make sure Pop is aware of this before he makes a decision based on the shop telling him a trans rebuild will be $2 - 3k. I would tell him in advance to ignore that kind of talk because there are plenty of good cheap used parts for these cars out there.

http://318ti.org/forum/showthread.php?t=14346

Originally Posted by Bentworker

If you want I also have an E30 5 speed Getrag 240 gearbox that bolts right up to the M42 $330.00

That one is in Cali, but you should have no problem finding one locally. BMW sold a gazillion E30's and E36's with these powertrains, and a fair number have found their way to the bone yards by now. I suggest that you take the initiative and be ready with a price list for all the parts for a 5-speed conversion. Must be less than $1k. Do an M50 swap while you're at it. Plenty of cheap M50's with trans out there too. Bottom line: with all the cheap replacements available, powertrain failure is no excuse to dump a clean Ti, unless you are just looking for something different. . .like Pop's 350z perhaps.

[Den]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/BMW-1...QQcmdZViewItem
M42 engine motor w trans 5 speed


These are just motors, but I've seen a lot of motors sold with trans attached for not much more $.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/BMW-3...QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1995-...QQcmdZViewItem


Tasty M54
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/BMW-Z...QQcmdZViewItem
located in WI now, but. . .

I purchased this engine 4 years ago from Michael's of Orlando Florida. . .Michael's is a large operation, and one of 3 Authorized BMW dismantlers in the USA. . .

Michaels Auto Parts
Orlando, FL 32801
407-423-1695

Looks like a good bet for your location, but may be a bit pricey since they have some kind of 'authorized BMW' mojo.

[marko]

keep the car, dude.. its a sweet little ride.

anyway, it'll cost much more to get something new unless you are buying a used car in which case you really do not know what you are trully gettin so you may be trading old/known probs, for new/unknown ones..

either way, good luck.

Originally Posted by Viper3812

Once again my poor ti is down. I just changed the fuel pump and filter last Wednesday and got her running again, but as of 12:30am this morning she is ill again. I went back home for easter and went up to Tampa for a FloridaGerman meet which during our trip to someone's condo I bottomed out and lost all of my transmission fluid and did not realize it til about a couple miles later. It is all gone and I believe there might be internal damage on the transmission, which I hope not. Also, there is quite a bit of oil coming out of my exhaust which idk why it's coming out. I'm back in Orlando now (Lucky for me my dad let me take his 350z up here), but my poor ti is sitting in the garage in pain. She will be going into the shop sometime this week to get looked at and hopefully the damage is only just on the outside and minor, but if the gears are torn there is a possibility the car might be leaving me. It might be a good excuse for a manual swap, but right now the decision belongs to my dad because I am flat broke and he is helping me out by paying for all of it. If the damage is high he will make the call to sell if it isn't then she will stay with me. Wish me luck.

[zboot]

There is no excuse for a manual swap - unless by swap, you mean swapping your current car for one with a manual transmission. Do the math, unless you have access to the donor equipment for waaay below cost, will be doing all the labour yourself, and free access to all equipment you'd need, it's always cheaper to sell/part your car and buy a manual.

[mohaughn]

I don't agree with that... Used manual transmissions are available and very cheap... Dropping the old transmissions and putting in a new one would only be a few hours labor... When you look at the time involved to buy a new car, sell the old car(a 95 BMW with a blown transmission is not worth very much), part it out, etc.... You will have spent so much time trying to save a little bit of money, that it would make a lot more sense to just spend 700-1000$ and get a manual transmission.

I would also think that unless you spend a few weeks/months parting out the car it will be about impossible to make enough money on a broken 95 Ti to be able to afford anything else in as nice of condition without having to throw in more than 800$ or finance something.

Viper- If you do end up parting out the car let me know and we can meet up and figure out what I might want locally to help you out with that. I can also probably take the miller MAF if you end up not needing it.

[Viper3812]

Thanks for the help guys. I just talked to my dad and the car won't be going into the shop til next Monday. In the mean time I will be looking around for options on transmisisons and parts and enjoying the 350z. I really hope I don't have to say good bye to my ti cause I have known her since the day my dad bought her brand new then he handed her down to me 4 years ago. If I end up getting another car, the only one I want to get is an e36 M, but well see. As I find out more info, I will keep you guys updated.

[Viper3812]

Originally Posted by mohaughn

Viper- If you do end up parting out the car let me know and we can meet up and figure out what I might want locally to help you out with that. I can also probably take the miller MAF if you end up not needing it.

I will def. let you know and everyone else, but local will be the easiest to part.
If I do end up parting out the car it won't be much due to the fact I don't have all my stock parts to put back unless we just swap, but I'll let you know. I still have not received the MAF yet, don't know when it will arrive.

[DustenT]

Originally Posted by zboot

There is no excuse for a manual swap - unless by swap, you mean swapping your current car for one with a manual transmission. Do the math, unless you have access to the donor equipment for waaay below cost, will be doing all the labour yourself, and free access to all equipment you'd need, it's always cheaper to sell/part your car and buy a manual.

An auto to manual swap is just a tad more involved than doing a clutch job. I had $$ to spend so I got all my parts new, but the swap can be done for VERY cheap if you get some used parts. There aren't many e36s in the junk yards around here, so my options were limited.

I'd just do a manual swap if you F'd up your auto.

[BleMW]

why would you have an automatic to begin with

[Viper3812]

Originally Posted by BleMW

why would you have an automatic to begin with

Was my dad's choice due to the fact that my mom does not know how to drive a manual.

[StealthBimmer]

Hope it all work out for you on fixing the ti. If not on the flip side you mentioned that you might get a E36 M3 for replacement then go for it. Work out the $$ and see what is more feasible. Good luck either way.