Need new DME, which ones are compatible?

[Arlei]

Hello, this is my first post on here. I've tried looking through many different posts on the similar topic using google but couldn't find anything so I thought I'd ask myself to be absolutely sure before I make purchases.

So I have a 1999 (prod. 9/98) BMW 323i Convertible with 5MT and the DME has received water damage from a leaky compartment as my mechanic has stated. In order to avoid paying for a brand new one for about $1100 USD, I thought I'd look for what people did as a used option, since I saw that some people would "borrow" DME's as said in another popular post. Anyways, there's some sites that sell EWS "deletes" as a plug and play option for my car for $599, however, eBay seems to have some for under $200 with the delete. What I'm unsure about is

-Does it matter what car it came from as long as it says Ms41.1 (with index)?
-Does a DME that's listed to fit an Auto AND Manual true? or will that affect idle if they don't match the car it's going in to?
-Does it matter if it's for a different model (ex 328i) or must it be specified for a 323i?
-I think I heard that as long as the part number is the same or is superseded by your original part number it will work?

This is the post I'm thinking of buying from: link
For some reason it says it's non compatible with m52tu's. I thought late gen E36 were MS41.1s so it would hypothetically work because they aren't MS42 yet.

These are the sites that sell the DME with deletes: Site 1 Site 2 and Site 3 (Site 3 actually has my DME part number (via RealOEM) listed as compatible)
Any help is appreciated. If I can't figure it out I might end up getting one of the 599 ones to be safe. Still saving money.

[Eric93se]

You don't have a dual vanos engine (m52tu). You can post a pic of the front of your engine to be sure.

The auto trans has a separate computer. It is true that if you get a DME flashed to an automatic you may have a couple minor issues, simply buy one that has been flashed to a manual. They can flash the DME to the same engine as long as they can get a ROM meant for it.


You can't post pics with the built in host but you can use an outside free pic host.

[Eric93se]

If you want you can try cleaning your old DME, get a can of Deoxit 5% and an old toothbrush. Open up the DME get access to both sides spray down liberally all of it and scrub all of it, do this two more times. Its very important that its 100% dry before reinstalling, put it in a warm place for 24hrs (on top water heater).

[Arlei]

Thank you so much for the reply. I think i misunderstood wikipedia when i was first learning about my car and thought e36 and e36/7 were the same so I believed i had the tu but no i have the m52b25 (lmao). I’ve thought about sending it in for repair since it would keep the security but im not too worried abt that.

I might message a few sellers and see if they have manual dme or at least search for manual dme for my engine.

[pbonsalb]

There is a free EWS alignment software that a member wrote that you can use to align another obd2 dme to your car. I used it a few years ago and it worked fine. I don’t have a link handy but I am sure someone will find it and post it. Auto may have different programming than manual. Also, 328 and M3 had different auto trans. I assume 323 used the same as 328, but don’t know for sure.

[Arlei]

I’ll try to look for it then. If anything I might end up with a higher idle since autos idle higher i think but ill use this info once I get my car back and take out the old one. For the different engine sizes i heard you need the one to match your vehicle because of o2 sensors (mine has 2 instead of 4) but maybe thats programmable too?