E36 m3 brake servo help ... frustrated female owner

[AmberE36]

Hello all,
I own an e36 m3 and lovingly bringing her back to life. Just one more thing to sort ....
I've been having issues with my brakes feeling unresponsive yet they are working. All the lines and pressures are spot on. My mechanic has suggested the brake servo.
I am struggling to find a servo.
My mechanics said a servo from a 325/328 would do the job.
Is this correct? I have been trying to research for days now :/
This an image of the current servo.
Thank you in advance

[Output Flange]

Get familiar with RealOEM.com - all the answers you need are one there

The part number for the M3 servo is only listed for the M3, suggesting that a 325/328 one will be different in some way. It may physically fit and work, but you'd need to know for certain before spending money.

[M5 London]

Which year is your E36 M3 ?

3.0L or 3.2L ?

Last 7 digits of your VIN ?

I think the later ones had a specific M3 Brake Servo unit.

I believe the earlier ones had a shared across the E36 platform Brake Servo unit.

[MitchT]

When you say the brakes feel unresponsive, have you driven other E36s to make a comparison? The reason I ask is because my OH has a 120d and, like all relatively modern cars, the brakes feel over-sensitive to me. Meanwhile, she describes the brakes on my E36 as unresponsive (in comparison to the ones on her 120d), but there's nothing wrong with them. It's purely that these older BMWs are more like authentic sports cars to drive - the brake pedal needs more pressure before anything much happens. If you're not used to this it could be that the brakes are fine and you just need to be a bit more assertive with the car.

[AmberE36]

Thank you to all of you.
I've had several e36s and have a 323 daily. Her brakes are pretty good and don't need too much pressure.

It's the m3 3.0 1994 vert

I've been on realoem and the part number is
34331162965
And I've noticed that is on a few other models, not just the m3.
It is then superseded by 34331162963

Would they be the same fit? As some of the listings in realoem have both units listed, but not both listed for the m3.

I'm guessing I'm probably answering my own question , but using the part number is better than trying to find an m3 doner as they are the same thing?

[Deptford Draylons]

Might be worth checking if someone has replaced the brake master cylinder at some point and just checking its condition. Putting the wrong one on will change the feel. E30 M3 oweners had a bit of a thing for changing them for larger units as an improvement, not sure I'd it was a popular mod for the E36 though.

Edited by Deptford Draylons on Wednesday 12th October 17:17

[M5 London]

AmberE36 said:

Thank you to all of you.
I've had several e36s and have a 323 daily. Her brakes are pretty good and don't need too much pressure.

It's the m3 3.0 1994 vert

I've been on realoem and the part number is
34331162965
And I've noticed that is on a few other models, not just the m3.
It is then superseded by 34331162963

Would they be the same fit? As some of the listings in realoem have both units listed, but not both listed for the m3.

I'm guessing I'm probably answering my own question , but using the part number is better than trying to find an m3 doner as they are the same thing?

If I had your car I would be going for 34331162965 which was also superseded by 34331162963 as you state.

If your build date is newer than 1st September 1994 then you have the superseded part.

If your build date is older than above then you have 34331162965 (if still the original factory servo in place).

I think the superseded part 963 will fit in both pre and post 1st Sept 1994. I think the original part 965 will only fit in cars upto 1st Sept 1994.

So yes, use the part numbers to source.

[Greshamst]

Thanks for letting us know you're a female owner. Would have really struggled to answer your question without that vital and useful piece of info

[AmberE36]

M5 London said:

If I had your car I would be going for 34331162965 which was also superseded by 34331162963 as you state.

If your build date is newer than 1st September 1994 then you have the superseded part.

If your build date is older than above then you have 34331162965 (if still the original factory servo in place).

I think the superseded part 963 will fit in both pre and post 1st Sept 1994. I think the original part 965 will only fit in cars upto 1st Sept 1994.

So yes, use the part numbers to source.

Cheers man it's all making sense, she is a July 1994. I tried asking BMW what you have explained and they were stumped and didn't know. But now I'm on the right track 😄

[AmberE36]

Greshamst said:

Thanks for letting us know you're a female owner. Would have really struggled to answer your question without that vital and useful piece of info

Of course.. female and male brains work differently . and I wanted to get my post noticed 😜