[dimmerbimmer]

Never had a BMW, had 4 Benz's during my lifetime. Here is why I chose this car off Craigslist...

I have two diesel trucks, one has a tranny on life support, the other has a powerstroke that no one on the forums knows how to fix so I was looking for an "emergency" car in case my other truck bites the dust.

So a local guy was selling this Bimmer, low miles for the year (1997) of 136 K, It has new tires, the exterior and interior are in very good shape, everything works, good spare tire and jack, all manuals service paperwork etc. Price was very good at $1000, the tires alone are worth half of that so I just bought it as soon as it posted. It was well taken care of except it has these issues...

The front shocks (struts) are toast, the belt tensioner is noisy and the drive line vibrates due to some sort of rubber mounting issue which my mechanic told me is usually good for only 100k and this needs replacing.

So, since I am new to these cars, not sure what these rubber mounts are called so if anyone could educate me on what they are and how difficult it is to replace them would be great.

I am guessing these are parts that can only be bought from BMW (no aftermarket) and probably will be spendy. The struts can be aftermarket and not sure if the belt tensioner has to be OEM or if it is the bearings that can be replaced..

I have a new lift post in my warehouse so we can get it up in the air to do the work .

Would appreciate any tips on the work that needs to be done. Thanks, Ray