Hey all, my brother is interested in an E36 M3 sedan. The one in question has 146,xxx miles on it. The car in general is amazingly clean, and has over $6k in Dinan upgrades on it.

I wanted to know if there are any serious problems/issues or just in general to look for? BTW, the car is an auto.

I'm not big into Bimmers, so I thought I'd ask the best place I know of.

Thanks in advance!

 

Wow, 53 views and nobody has any input?

 

This forum is geared more towards newer BMW's, but to answer your question, I'd look at the following:

Rear shock mounts
RTAB's (rear trailing arm bushings)
Cooling system

The rear shock mounts, make sure they are still together and no cracks in the towers.

Also check the rear trailing arm bushings. Listen for clunking noises while driving around. Take the car on a long straight and give it gas and see if it pulls to once side or the other.

Most importantly check the cooling system. They are notorious to go at around 80k (check for cracks in the overflow tank and radiator necks). This car should have at least 1 complete cooling system overhaul. Radiator, expansion tank, hoses, thermo, thermo housing, water pump, etc. Early E36 M3's had plastic thermo housings and composite water pump impellers. Make sure they were both upgraded to metal ones.

Also, its a good idea to swap out the mechanical fan clutch. If it fails, it will overspin the fan causing it to come apart, usually taking out the radiator with it.

Good luck! These are great cars, your brother will have a lot of fun with it. Especially if he decides to pressurize the intake mani

 

Dinan M3 that's an automatic, that seems to be a problem, lol

 

I was wondering how reliable the auto trannies are. Here is a list of the upgrades as listed in the add:

Dinan Performance Free Flow Exhaust
Dinan Stage III Engine Chip
Dinan Shift Kit Transmission Chip
Stage III Koni/Dinan Suspension
Dinan Cold Air Intake
Dinan Euro Air Mass Meter
Dinan High Flow Throttle Body
Dinan Strut Tower Brace (Front)

Jscy25- Thanks so much for the insight. I'll be sure to ask the sellers' if these have been issues and if they have been addressed.

 

on bimmerforums, there is a thread specifically about e36 issues for pre purchase
it's in the 3 series e36 m3 sub forum