Few E36 M3 Evo Questions - Cam Belt , servicing & Interior
Discussion
I've sold my supercharged BMW Z4 and wanting something cheaper for now.. but still fun. I am looking a two M3 Evo's... one with 51k (Full BMW service history) and the other 56k...
So my questions are:
1- When is a cam belt due on an Evo?
2- Any idea on a cost from an independent garage?
3- I've been looking on ebay for full black leather seats and door cards... anyone know how much they tend to go for?
4- Is it possible to change all the walnut trip for standard black trim?
5- How do I identify a possible vanos failure? Those engines are quite noisy standard at idle.
6- Do these engines still need te valve clearances checked at inspection services?... like the E46... could get expensive.
7- What sort of fuel consumption do they do on the motorway at 75mph, is 30mpg unrealistic?
Anything else to look for?
So my questions are:
1- When is a cam belt due on an Evo?
2- Any idea on a cost from an independent garage?
3- I've been looking on ebay for full black leather seats and door cards... anyone know how much they tend to go for?
4- Is it possible to change all the walnut trip for standard black trim?
5- How do I identify a possible vanos failure? Those engines are quite noisy standard at idle.
6- Do these engines still need te valve clearances checked at inspection services?... like the E46... could get expensive.
7- What sort of fuel consumption do they do on the motorway at 75mph, is 30mpg unrealistic?
Anything else to look for?
gwatson said:
I've sold my supercharged BMW Z4 and wanting something cheaper for now.. but still fun. I am looking a two M3 Evo's... one with 51k (Full BMW service history) and the other 56k...
So my questions are:
1- When is a cam belt due on an Evo?
2- Any idea on a cost from an independent garage?
3- I've been looking on ebay for full black leather seats and door cards... anyone know how much they tend to go for?
4- Is it possible to change all the walnut trip for standard black trim?
5- How do I identify a possible vanos failure? Those engines are quite noisy standard at idle.
6- Do these engines still need te valve clearances checked at inspection services?... like the E46... could get expensive.
7- What sort of fuel consumption do they do on the motorway at 75mph, is 30mpg unrealistic?
Anything else to look for?
1. There is no cambelt, it has a chainSo my questions are:
1- When is a cam belt due on an Evo?
2- Any idea on a cost from an independent garage?
3- I've been looking on ebay for full black leather seats and door cards... anyone know how much they tend to go for?
4- Is it possible to change all the walnut trip for standard black trim?
5- How do I identify a possible vanos failure? Those engines are quite noisy standard at idle.
6- Do these engines still need te valve clearances checked at inspection services?... like the E46... could get expensive.
7- What sort of fuel consumption do they do on the motorway at 75mph, is 30mpg unrealistic?
Anything else to look for?
2. As above
3. Vadar leather interiors tend to make circa £600 - most (but not all) Evos have leather, and all coupes should have Vadars
4. Yes I think so, but is it really worth the hassle? Your choice
5. Not easily! You'll hear a grumble from the front of the engine at low revs (above idle), but then a lot of them make that noise but are fine. When you drive it, you should feel a shove at around 2500rpm and again higher up - if it feels sluggish then that's probably a sign of an issue there.
6. Yes
7. 30mpg should be possible with the 6th cog.
You could easily be looking at £1k for an Insp II, so bear that in mind when haggling over the price of the car.
Do you really want to maintain the BMW SH? I think it is widely accepted that on a car of that age the dealer is no longer the best place to go for decent service and knowledge. There are specialists that are both cheaper and more switched on, as your dealer won't get E36 M3s in every day now.
Do you really want to maintain the BMW SH? I think it is widely accepted that on a car of that age the dealer is no longer the best place to go for decent service and knowledge. There are specialists that are both cheaper and more switched on, as your dealer won't get E36 M3s in every day now.
If you're buying an Evo then maintaining the dealer history will be a false economy. The extra couple of hundred you "might" get when you sell it on would be far less than the extra 000s you'll spend servicing it. Get a decent specialist to service your car for half then money.
Also - not all engines on the Evos are noisy. Mine is virtually silent at tickover.
To check the Vanos (but this is only a guideline). Open bonnet - listen in on the nearest end of the head to you. Get someone to lift the revs to 2.5k and then drop them. If there is a distinct brrr rrrr rrrr sort of sound from the engine then you 'may' have an issue. But as a previous poster says, these engines do nothing below 2.5k then they pick up smoothly and really start to charge beyond 5k revs. Engine should be smooth all the way up the rev range so if one you drive is like a bag of spanners until the high end then the Vanos is probably dodgy.
But it is an overpublicised problem. You hear about all those that have vanos failures but not about the ones that are perfectly alright.
Also - not all engines on the Evos are noisy. Mine is virtually silent at tickover.
To check the Vanos (but this is only a guideline). Open bonnet - listen in on the nearest end of the head to you. Get someone to lift the revs to 2.5k and then drop them. If there is a distinct brrr rrrr rrrr sort of sound from the engine then you 'may' have an issue. But as a previous poster says, these engines do nothing below 2.5k then they pick up smoothly and really start to charge beyond 5k revs. Engine should be smooth all the way up the rev range so if one you drive is like a bag of spanners until the high end then the Vanos is probably dodgy.
But it is an overpublicised problem. You hear about all those that have vanos failures but not about the ones that are perfectly alright.
gwatson said:
6- Do these engines still need te valve clearances checked at inspection services?... like the E46... could get expensive.
as this is the only job i can't really do myself with a lot of bother, I ask my local indy Teesside Autotech and they said it would cost about £130 and they'd need it over night so they can do it when the engine was coldEdited by Cliffv8 on Tuesday 11th March 14:51
Hi gwatson
This is my first post as I am a new member so bear with me - I kinda went straight to the MPower section when I joined!
The info you are seeking is all the right stuff. I see a couple of other people have also posted with some pretty good info by the looks of things. I'd feel great giving you more info too because I searched for an E36 Evo for about 18 months before buying and was really careful in my selection. There are several major criteria and many minor wishes you could have but you should also look out for the following hopefully helpful info:
- the colour apparently affects the value, supposedly Estoril Blue is the "best" but I'm not so sure.., the fern green looks cool, technoviolet is lush, mine is titanium silver which still looks ace even though 95% of Audis are this colour (nearly), the hell red one fades if not cared for
- get heated seats!
- coupe's look meaner but the hard-top on a convertible is the real trick look (but hardtop costs like 500 extra)
- the VANOS is a beautiful system. It can be noisy at idle (you were right - I've seen several) or not, test drive the car is the best answer, if the engine sounds sensational at about 4500 revs when the second cam starts to kick, barring clear and obvious grinding noises (it IS a chain device) or worse, it should be fine.
- To be perfectly honest, my own car, an E36 M3 Evo convertible, it IS noisy sometimes but otherwise is great sounding! (see below)
- 17in wheels look smallish now when every Corsa driver (no offence) has chromed 23s; 19 Hartge's are awesome though - only a few have these, they cost shootloads
- test drive it round some bumpy bendy stuff because work on the suspension is labour intensive and is more of a cost concern
- if its a convertible, make sure the roof mechanism works well and is waterproof (when I bought mine, the softop was actually more water resistant than the hardtop - which had a small leak at the front corner seal!)
- obviously the lower mileage and younger it is, the better, avoid SMG the 6 speed manual is a treat to work with
- do all the other "usual" checks you would normally do...
We all love M cars, pay around 7.5 to 9 for a beauty and let us know how you go.
Spend 1m33s of your life on this link:
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=WsurVXnsYag
Hope this helps!
This is my first post as I am a new member so bear with me - I kinda went straight to the MPower section when I joined!
The info you are seeking is all the right stuff. I see a couple of other people have also posted with some pretty good info by the looks of things. I'd feel great giving you more info too because I searched for an E36 Evo for about 18 months before buying and was really careful in my selection. There are several major criteria and many minor wishes you could have but you should also look out for the following hopefully helpful info:
- the colour apparently affects the value, supposedly Estoril Blue is the "best" but I'm not so sure.., the fern green looks cool, technoviolet is lush, mine is titanium silver which still looks ace even though 95% of Audis are this colour (nearly), the hell red one fades if not cared for
- get heated seats!
- coupe's look meaner but the hard-top on a convertible is the real trick look (but hardtop costs like 500 extra)
- the VANOS is a beautiful system. It can be noisy at idle (you were right - I've seen several) or not, test drive the car is the best answer, if the engine sounds sensational at about 4500 revs when the second cam starts to kick, barring clear and obvious grinding noises (it IS a chain device) or worse, it should be fine.
- To be perfectly honest, my own car, an E36 M3 Evo convertible, it IS noisy sometimes but otherwise is great sounding! (see below)
- 17in wheels look smallish now when every Corsa driver (no offence) has chromed 23s; 19 Hartge's are awesome though - only a few have these, they cost shootloads
- test drive it round some bumpy bendy stuff because work on the suspension is labour intensive and is more of a cost concern
- if its a convertible, make sure the roof mechanism works well and is waterproof (when I bought mine, the softop was actually more water resistant than the hardtop - which had a small leak at the front corner seal!)
- obviously the lower mileage and younger it is, the better, avoid SMG the 6 speed manual is a treat to work with
- do all the other "usual" checks you would normally do...
We all love M cars, pay around 7.5 to 9 for a beauty and let us know how you go.
Spend 1m33s of your life on this link:
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=WsurVXnsYag
Hope this helps!
Stevo///M3 said:
Hi gwatson
This is my first post as I am a new member so bear with me - I kinda went straight to the MPower section when I joined!
The info you are seeking is all the right stuff. I see a couple of other people have also posted with some pretty good info by the looks of things. I'd feel great giving you more info too because I searched for an E36 Evo for about 18 months before buying and was really careful in my selection. There are several major criteria and many minor wishes you could have but you should also look out for the following hopefully helpful info:
- the colour apparently affects the value, supposedly Estoril Blue is the "best" but I'm not so sure.., the fern green looks cool, technoviolet is lush, mine is titanium silver which still looks ace even though 95% of Audis are this colour (nearly), the hell red one fades if not cared for
- get heated seats!
- coupe's look meaner but the hard-top on a convertible is the real trick look (but hardtop costs like 500 extra)
- the VANOS is a beautiful system. It can be noisy at idle (you were right - I've seen several) or not, test drive the car is the best answer, if the engine sounds sensational at about 4500 revs when the second cam starts to kick, barring clear and obvious grinding noises (it IS a chain device) or worse, it should be fine.
- To be perfectly honest, my own car, an E36 M3 Evo convertible, it IS noisy sometimes but otherwise is great sounding! (see below)
- 17in wheels look smallish now when every Corsa driver (no offence) has chromed 23s; 19 Hartge's are awesome though - only a few have these, they cost shootloads
- test drive it round some bumpy bendy stuff because work on the suspension is labour intensive and is more of a cost concern
- if its a convertible, make sure the roof mechanism works well and is waterproof (when I bought mine, the softop was actually more water resistant than the hardtop - which had a small leak at the front corner seal!)
- obviously the lower mileage and younger it is, the better, avoid SMG the 6 speed manual is a treat to work with
- do all the other "usual" checks you would normally do...
We all love M cars, pay around 7.5 to 9 for a beauty and let us know how you go.
Spend 1m33s of your life on this link:
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=WsurVXnsYag
Hope this helps!
Stevo, I hope you dont practice what you preach...This is my first post as I am a new member so bear with me - I kinda went straight to the MPower section when I joined!
The info you are seeking is all the right stuff. I see a couple of other people have also posted with some pretty good info by the looks of things. I'd feel great giving you more info too because I searched for an E36 Evo for about 18 months before buying and was really careful in my selection. There are several major criteria and many minor wishes you could have but you should also look out for the following hopefully helpful info:
- the colour apparently affects the value, supposedly Estoril Blue is the "best" but I'm not so sure.., the fern green looks cool, technoviolet is lush, mine is titanium silver which still looks ace even though 95% of Audis are this colour (nearly), the hell red one fades if not cared for
- get heated seats!
- coupe's look meaner but the hard-top on a convertible is the real trick look (but hardtop costs like 500 extra)
- the VANOS is a beautiful system. It can be noisy at idle (you were right - I've seen several) or not, test drive the car is the best answer, if the engine sounds sensational at about 4500 revs when the second cam starts to kick, barring clear and obvious grinding noises (it IS a chain device) or worse, it should be fine.
- To be perfectly honest, my own car, an E36 M3 Evo convertible, it IS noisy sometimes but otherwise is great sounding! (see below)
- 17in wheels look smallish now when every Corsa driver (no offence) has chromed 23s; 19 Hartge's are awesome though - only a few have these, they cost shootloads
- test drive it round some bumpy bendy stuff because work on the suspension is labour intensive and is more of a cost concern
- if its a convertible, make sure the roof mechanism works well and is waterproof (when I bought mine, the softop was actually more water resistant than the hardtop - which had a small leak at the front corner seal!)
- obviously the lower mileage and younger it is, the better, avoid SMG the 6 speed manual is a treat to work with
- do all the other "usual" checks you would normally do...
We all love M cars, pay around 7.5 to 9 for a beauty and let us know how you go.
Spend 1m33s of your life on this link:
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=WsurVXnsYag
Hope this helps!
Any noises from the engie at all will spell trouble. Barring the fact they are quite 'ticky' at idle the S50 is as smooth as buttered silk. If it sounds gritty then something is wrong.
The suspension is not any more labour intensive than any other car. I can swap all four struts within an hour. A proper geo set up will need to be done by a specialist. That and a max two year life span of the RTAB's is the only issue these have suspension wise.
As for wheels, the 17" may look a little small nowadays (although I still maintain that the OE wheels look the best) but going up to anything like a 19" will ruin the ride and blunt performance quite noticably.
The coupe and convertable are very different cars to drive quickly. The former is the drivers choice, the latter, well, isn't.
I cannot see the video at work but assuming it involves you ragging the nuts off it on a public road, i'd echo the sentiments of others on here and suggest you remove it. Please
ASBO said:
french said:
Would you say 100mph is ragging the nuts of a M3?
It's little wonder that PH holds less appeal to me these days. It's full of t
ts.Edited by french on Friday 14th March 13:51
french said:
ASBO said:
french said:
Would you say 100mph is ragging the nuts of a M3?
It's little wonder that PH holds less appeal to me these days. It's full of t
ts.Edited by french on Friday 14th March 13:51
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