Horrible news about my ti

[RioT]

Wow. WHat a great looking car. I Cant wait to get mine painted now.

[djcamera]

** UPDATE UPDATE **

Great news (I hope). I took the car today to a non-dealer BMW specialist recommended very highly by my co-worker (325 owner) who swears up and down about this guy's skills and honesty. I stopped by yesterday to meet him and check out his shop. Seems like an OK Joe.

So I pull into the shop today with that horrible high-pitched whine singing loudly, and my "Check Engine" light on. This guy smiles and nods, pops the hood, grabs the oil dipstick, pulls it up two inches and the noise stops. Pushes the dipstick back in and the noise starts. Pulls it out and the noise stops. Tells me to cut the engine. Says he's seen this a hundred times: it's the crankcase vent valve. The diaphragm has a tear in it, and the air forcing over it makes the sound. Vacuum leak also explains the Check Engine light. It's minor and an easy fix.

Remember my original post? Jerkwad at my neighborhood fix-everything shop was convinced my main bearing was garbage and wanted $600 just to drop the oil pan and verify. And he told me to prepare for a new engine. I'm trying to not fantasize too much about dragging this guy around his parking lot.

Bottom line, my baby's gonna be back on the road noise-free ASAP, I'm gonna watch the odometer roll to 200,000 in a couple of weeks, and I have a new regular BMW guy who knows his stuff and is fair with the $$$.

What do you think about THAT, huh?? Happy day.

[Bimmerbuddy]

Awesome sounds like you have a good guy to go to now, luckily I have one of those my self (if I cant fix it myself). If you want I can help you drag that sketchy machanic around the parking lot I just hate machanics like that

[urbanmisfit]

Dang; I KNEW I should have offered you $400 for it!
But this is just 1 of the things that go wrong or wear out as the miles pile up on an E36. It may be a good idea to start making a list of preventive maintenance items these cars need to keep them in top shape and start picking away at it as time/ budget permits.
BTW, this is not just a BMW thing; nobody builds a car that runs forever, they all have their quirks after 100-150K miles.
Good to hear you got a $65 fix instead of "dropping the pan" or "get ready for an engine BS!

[familytruckster]

Wow, great news! Gonna go back to the other mechanic and give him the good news too?

[djcamera]

Got her home today. Dude replaced the CC vent diaphragm, and when he ran codes he found the CAMSHAFT POSITION SENSOR was faulty. Beats me whatever that is, but I had him replace that, too.

Total out the door: $590.00. Most of it labor. The sensor was the most expensive part at $109.

Considering that a few days ago I was weighing options about a new engine/new car, I can't complain, right?
He also said my thrust arm bushings were shot, and that explains the little side-side wiggle in the steering wheel at certain speeds. I'll have him take care of that next.

Haven't talked to the "Mr. Bad News" mechanic yet. Maybe tomorrow. He'll probably give me the HONEST MISTAKE excuse, but whatever. He'll not touch any of my cars again.

[TechieTechie]

Great news. Yay! Can you share the name of the mechanic/shop that did the actual repair? Thx

[djcamera]

Originally Posted by TechieTechie

Great news. Yay! Can you share the name of the mechanic/shop that did the actual repair? Thx

Of course! European Import Specialists in Marietta, GA. Thumbs-up.

[vsonix]

beeeee-utiful looking ti you have there boss

I quite often see M44's with relatively low miles popping up on ebay so swapping engines isn't too hard I don't think. Although if you are gonna swap engines it'd be a shame not to put an M50B28 with manifold conversion!

[djcamera]

Originally Posted by vsonix

beeeee-utiful looking ti you have there boss

I quite often see M44's with relatively low miles popping up on ebay so swapping engines isn't too hard I don't think. Although if you are gonna swap engines it'd be a shame not to put an M50B28 with manifold conversion!

Thanks, man...but no engine swap necessary (whew!) Read above a couple of posts. Problem was originally wildly misdiagnosed, and the fix was easy.

Next week I get new control arm bushings, so no more shakiness up front. After that she'll be solid as a steel ball once again!