Help locating lower chain case!!

[iszekeres]

I need to replace my lower chain case...such fun!  

I knew things were going too well when Eurodepot had the part for 125 shipped....when it arrived I could clearly see that it was damaged...one of the lower chain guide mounts was cracked and still had part of a bolt in the remaining threads!  Eurodepot was not helpful at all, telling me that "that's the way used parts work!" and "you should have inspected the part when it arrived". I am of the opinion that the part should have been inspected before it was sold and shipped to me...but no matter.

I now need to find another lower chain case.  Bavarian does not have one.  Eurodepot is not interested in helping me find a good replacement.  Short of paying through the nose for a new part, where else might I stand a good chance of finding this cursed hunk of aluminum?

Any help at all would be appreciated......I have all of the parts but this ready to go now....I was planning on getting this done this week, where temps are going to be close to 70 in Chicago......Now it looks as though I will be freezing my butt off...grrrrrrr!!!! :mad:

--Ian

[sheepdog]

I need to replace my lower chain case...such fun!  

I knew things were going too well when Eurodepot had the part for 125 shipped....when it arrived I could clearly see that it was damaged...one of the lower chain guide mounts was cracked and still had part of a bolt in the remaining threads!  Eurodepot was not helpful at all, telling me that "that's the way used parts work!" and "you should have inspected the part when it arrived". I am of the opinion that the part should have been inspected before it was sold and shipped to me...but no matter.

I now need to find another lower chain case.  Bavarian does not have one.  Eurodepot is not interested in helping me find a good replacement.  Short of paying through the nose for a new part, where else might I stand a good chance of finding this cursed hunk of aluminum?

Any help at all would be appreciated......I have all of the parts but this ready to go now....I was planning on getting this done this week, where temps are going to be close to 70 in Chicago......Now it looks as though I will be freezing my butt off...grrrrrrr!!!! :mad:

--Ian

There is a junk yard up there that does mainly BMW or imports. Supposedly you can get an e36 engine for VERY cheap (well under $100), unfortunately that is all of the details I know.

[Alpine003]

If the lower chain case is the same as the newer M42 on the E36 models, there is a E36 318is parts car with it on the last time I checked at "U pull it" on North Ave. and Grand ave. Shouldn't be more than $15 or so.

[Windsport1]

Hey I'm a new member. It took me about a month to find one at a salvage yard using parts locator on line. Cost 100 bucks shipped from GA to PA. I almost gave up and purchased from the stealer 300.00. Mine had the tensioner gear ripped out, guides broken and all valves bent. Timing chain didn't break - not sure what happened. Recon head coming from Houston, started to reassemble today.

Bought car from SC and trailered to PA. 1991 is original delivery to Guam and brought to the states. No sunroof or airbag. The rest of the car is super. Silver ext/black int. This is my 6th BMW can't wait for first ride.

This site is awesome, great tech info. Thanks to everyone involved.

[D. Clay]

car-part.com
Select Region, Timing Cover, and then lower.

[iszekeres]

Thanks for all of the great advice....I ended up purchasing another used one from http://www.auroraaw.com/ , Aurora Auto Wrecking Inc. located in Wasington.  65 plus shipping, near half the price I had paid from Euro Depot.  They were a great help, checking the casting numbers against my original to insure I was getting the correct part.

Now I get to start on putting this all back together!  At th end of it all I will have replaced all of the timing parts but the idle gear and tension rail.  I also will have replaced all of the seals and gaskets on the front of the engine.  

The engine was coated with a thick layer of oil and dirt....hopefully my luck will turn and the engine will stay clean.  I am also replacing the steering rack, which was leaking.  The vaccum lines and coolant hoses look good, although if I were really ambitious I would go through the trouble of replacing them as well since they are so easy to get to now.  

It really is hard to stop replacing parts preventitively, as so much of the engine is easily accessable with both pans and the timing gear removed.  Enough is enough though, I want to start driving this thing again!  This is my second e30, the first being a 91 iX that was destroyed when the timing belt slipped a tooth on the highway  One of the valve heads cracked off and beat a hole through the piston before I slowed down enough and pulled over.  

I ended up with a 93 Tempo as a beater for WAY too long (year and a half) and finally got around to replacing it with this 91 318i.  I picked it up off craigslist for 2k.  Even with the ~600 in parts I think I got a good deal.  The engine has 168k on it now, and I am hoping to get another 50,000 miles out of it.  

The PO replaced all of the suspension rubber and installed bilstien sports and HR springs.  The paint isnt bad but it does have 15 years worth of dings and small scratches.  The interior is in great shape with no cracks or tears.  I forgot how much I missed the WX radio!  I think with an OBC conversion and the map light rearview, I will have a quite nice commuter car

The only other pressing change would be the exhaust.  I havent looked to see what was installed but it is much too loud for my taste....does anyone have any ideas on a replacement that is close to the stock sound level?  I have never done any exhaust work.  I am assuming I would be able to purchase a replacement and have a shop cut off the old muffler and weld on a different one?

Thanks again everyone....

--Ian

[Alpine003]

I havent looked to see what was installed but it is much too loud for my taste....does anyone have any ideas on a replacement that is close to the stock sound level?  I have never done any exhaust work.  I am assuming I would be able to purchase a replacement and have a shop cut off the old muffler and weld on a different one?

Thanks again everyone....

--Ian

If you don't mind "slightly" above stock noise levels while maintaining good flow, Dynomax Turbo muffler is a good cost effective choice and can be bought at Pep Boys/Autozone/Murrays for around $35 or so. It is aluminized and chambered so it will definitely be on the quiet side and doesn't drone or anything. It should run you $50 at the most to get this hooked up by a muffler shop.