really high mileage (100k+) coupes

[bmwn00b]

Hi All,

After a long hiatus from coupe ownership, I'm happily back in the market! While S54 would be a dream come true, I'm tempted by the S52s out there that are selling for the low-mid teens. The cars are all obviously well used, but look otherwise well cared for.

I owned an S52 that had 60k when I bought it and about 80k when I sold. Had to get a new transmission for the shift pin issue, but that was covered under CPO warranty. I shudder to think of the cost out of warranty....

Any thoughts on buying a high mileage coupe and what problems/costs I can expect to encounter? I am prepared for certain wear and tear stuff, but it's the big stuff (like transmission replacement I mentioned) that gets me worried.

thanks!

Oz

[rfritz]

Question for you .... what is the shift pin issue? Not familiar with that problem...M Coupe issue only, or also on the regular Z3s?

Thanks!!

[PaulR]

thankfully, my shifter's been good (ie: returns to center).<IMG SRC=http://mydrive.roadfly.com/photos/pic.php?u=73302r2fUS&i=2642><FONT FACE="Comic Sans MS" COLOR=Gray SIZE=+1>PaulR</FONT>
<FONT COLOR=Black>'CCA Memb #8743
'99 M-Coupe - Silver/Black
'85 325e - my "Ol' Paint"
'96 VFR750F - smooooth
'86 Ducati 750-F1 - raw, obnoxious</FONT>

[jsirota]

There is absolutely no need to replace the transmission for the shift pin issue. It's a really easy fix and the repair part is like $20 or something.

The only issue is that the transmission has to be removed from the car to apply the fix -- so there's a decent labor cost, but a very low parts cost.

The problem is this:

There are two sets of spring-loaded pins in the transmission. One set is used to return the shifter to center from left (reverse) or right (5th). With that set, the problem is that sometimes when you depress the spring loaded pin one way or the other, the pin gets stuck and doesn't push the shifter back to center. In this case, the problem usually happens when the transmission is cold but everything works normally when it's warm.

The 2nd set of pins is used to "lock" the shifter in gear front-to-back. There are notches in a shaft that moves when you move the lever forward and aft (say, between 1st gear, neutral, and 2nd gear), and a spring-loaded pin rides along the shaft and presses into these detents, holding it in that position but can be overcome by the force of your arm moving the shifter. When these pins stick, they stick in their extended position, making it difficult to move the shifter forward and aft.

Anyway, the fix is to add a teflon liner to the bore that the pins ride in, and to replace the pins with new ones that ride in the teflon lining. This is done from the OUTSIDE of the transmission, but it cannot be done while the transmission is in the car.

--
<a href="http://www.godoggoracing.org/">Go Dog Go Racing</a>

[flukecapecod]

done from the interior of the car with the tranny intact, just find that really hard to believe you have to pull the tranny for something thats so easily repairable otherwise. I sure would try pulling out the center console and get to exposing the tranny from inside of the car as my first choice of ways to tackle this project, if it were mine.

[flukecapecod]

only problem was waterpump replacement due to excessive wobbling of the fan some 4 years ago when it had 84,000 on it.

MAF sensor problems due to my using the wrong spray cleaner and now what is either a loose fan belt or the powersteeering pump may be on the blink.

[jsirota]

Pulling the center console just exposes a bunch of sheet metal. You might be able to cut a hole in the tranny tunnel to access the side of the tranny, but most would just pull the tranny. Wait until it's time to replace the clutch, then do it at the same time.
--
<a href="http://www.godoggoracing.org/">Go Dog Go Racing</a>