my frist bmw! how reliable is the z3 1.9L!?

[em1civicsi]

Hey guys!!

I just bought a 1997 Z3 1.9L! The body is perfect!

but the only thing that scares me is that it has 175,000 miles on it!

How good is this motor? is it reliable? do you think its going to give me trouble very soon?

The car drives good... and the motor sounds smooth. I bought this car for $6000!

Please help!!! thanks

[em1civicsi]

come on i know someone is out there that has info!!!! :)

[uter]

Well, I don't think anyone would disagree that BMW builds substantial engines.

"The 1.9 gets the M44 engine from the rest of the E36 range, a good little engine but the OBD-II system makes modifications difficult. This was later replaced by the 1.9 M3TU 8 valve engine with much less power" More info here (http://www.unixnerd.demon.co.uk/enumber.html)

I don't know if the M44 has some of the problems like the M40 4cyl did. In my 1992 318i, I had problems due to use of non-OEM coolant and also with the plastic radiator parts.

[em1civicsi]

is this motor going to break down on me????

[SergioK]

The M44 is a great engine. Make sure you change the oil regularly though. I find our M44 will eat about a quart every 7.5k miles (that's also our oil change interval when using BMW 5w-30 synthetic oil).

[Kiwi]

is this motor going to break down on me????

Yes.

[em1civicsi]

Yes.


wow thanks for the help!!!



so i should be ok with 175,000? :eeps:

[firedwg1]

wow thanks for the help!!!



so i should be ok with 175,000? :eeps:


GAS engine should last 250k if this makes you feel better. Be nice to it it may last longer all engines will break some day.

[luciano136]

Hey guys!!

I just bought a 1997 Z3 1.9L! The body is perfect!

but the only thing that scares me is that it has 175,000 miles on it!

How good is this motor? is it reliable? do you think its going to give me trouble very soon?

The car drives good... and the motor sounds smooth. I bought this car for $6000!

Please help!!! thanks

To what I've read and heard, it's pretty bullet-proof. 175k is a lot of miles but with proper care it should still have a lot of miles in it. Give it plenty of oil changes for sure!

[rjcoston]

I believe there is more than one person over on the Roadfly.com board that has well over 200,000 miles on their 1.9 Z3.

[Kiwi]

wow thanks for the help!!!

You might have heard a saying "ask a silly question ..." Anyway, just having a little fun - cos every engine is eventually going to break down so the answer is"yes".

so i should be ok with 175,000? :eeps:


But anyway, like Luciano said, the 1.9 is a very hardy unit - it is not overstressed and has a reputation for long life and reliability when properly maintained. Do a search on the various Z3 forums and you will find quite a few instances of 1.9 owners with mileage in the mid or even high 200's that have not had any critical engine issues. Obviously difficult to tell how the engine has been treated over its life in terms of regularity of maintenance, how the miles were racked up etc etc which directly impacts the longevity of the motor.

Hopefully you've got a good one - did you have it checked out before you bought it?

[kgwld1]

If you have concerns perform a cylinder leak down test, and a compression test this will give you a good indication of how strong or weak each cylinder is, then you'll have a baseline to keep track of for future. Also do some visual things check belts and hoses look for oil leaks maybe even oil survey. Keep track of oil comsumption also. These things will give you a good feel as to where the motor is. Hope this helps. :)

[JonM]

How long do you want it to last?

M44 is horrendously reliable. Excellent motor.

You should change all of the fluids in your car if you haven't already. You should change the coolant, water pump, thermostat, and belts. You should change the spark plugs.

If concerned about longevity, you can send the oil out to a lab for analysis and see what is happening inside the engine.