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Thread: Parts that are getting rare/hard to find, expensive or NLA... (and the things to get

  1. #1
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    Parts that are getting rare/hard to find, expensive or NLA... (and the things to get

    I think this is more of a problem for M6 and especially M635, but it seems like there are a lot of parts that are increasingly scarce and/or expensive. Some are going NLA and assuming the OE-aftermarket will provide, but it can be a mixed bag as quality can be super-suspect, even with brands I've grown to trust. A lot of stuff is on very-undefined backorder. I put some blame for that on the global scenario for the last couple years, but I also saw this happen for the E9/2002 crew over time as well...

    A few examples for me lately:

    M6/M635 throttle-body trumpets (11611306790) . Went from like $12/ea to $40+ and then went out of stock. Seems like a prices have relatively come back to earth (mostly around $27, which is still for a rubber boot), but seem to be on a "Out of stock and don't know when we'll get any" backorder. (I grabbed a set just before things got ugly...)

    300x30 front brake rotors (34112225007) - NLA from BMW (and $250-$300), though there are Bosch and other makers available. Have heard mixed thing about quality. The Bosch "OE Equivalent" part number also appears to be on eternal backorder.

    Front wheel bearing/hub (31211131298) - available (sorta...), but well over $300 per side. Ouch. Apparently the best alternative by far is the unfortunately-named-for-American sensibilities FAG offering that was the OE supplier to BMW and apparently have kept production in Germany and Italy. I've heard bad things about the other options. The good news is you can track the good stuff down (I placed an order today for the FAG bearings that was expected to arrive in late May, but just checking it now says September... ), but it's very easy to find the less-good stuff...

    E24 ABS wheel sensors (34521179981) - E24 part is super-expensive ($320 ea.) or shown as discontinued. The E28 part is 36cm/14" shorter, so not a great sub, and has also apparently been in and out of production. A guy in the Netherlands has grabbed some OE-quality parts, and sells an extended kit that offers the proper length for E24: https://www.e28.nl/en/product/abs-se...xtended-cable/ (there's some good stuff on his site - I just searched the store for "E24" to see the relevant stuff it us). I've also heard the E23 part is long enough and works.


    I'm sure there are others, but figured I'd kick off thread with some stuff that was recent for me. Not a great feeling for stuff to start getting super-scarce...

  2. #2
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    I used the E23 wheel sensor, it's much longer than needed.
    Just coiled and plastic tied.

    I have a new one for the 5 series if anyone is interested.
    Last edited by 1986series6; 04-13-2022 at 07:27 AM.

  3. #3
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    I forgot to put my original inspiration for this in the thread: M88/S38 thermostats.

    BMW merged the M30 and M88/S38 thermostats, and my understanding is the blocking plate isn't the correct diameter for the ///M cars. Works, but...

    My shop replaced mine after a bit of hunting. There was a lot of concern about whether it was a correct solution, so I wound up grabbing several thermostats said to be compatible and did some measurements. Some results: (this is copy/pasta from my posts on MyE28 on the topic)




    The Vernet is what is running in my M635 and the cooling system is functioning perfectly so far, including a group-drive that involved a bit of spirited driving as well as more than one very-slow "sitting there" situation as we were parking at stop-offs/etc. I'm pretty confident in it at this point.

    My calipers are cheap ones, and don't have quite the depth or span to get good measurements of the outer diameter of the big plate or the height of the spring assembly, so I don't want to pass those along, though it appears that the "height" from the mounting plate to the bottom plate is taller by approximately 1.4mm of the BMW part for the QH and Vernet parts (they're very close). I can't speak to the impact of that, though the Vernet is working perfectly as far as I can tell in my car. The Vernet has the identical diameter bottom plate of the original that come out of my car.

    Some other thoughts:
    • The QH seems to be the "Early M30" style with the larger/35mm block-off plate - so from the sound of the thread works, but with "faster warm-up" (in quotes because I'm not entirely sure what that means or the impact of it)

    • Obviously the Vernet isn't an "exact visual match" - I might be misremembering his words, but it is pretty clearly dimensionally similar or the same, albeit with a very different design and construction.

    • The Vernet is working fine for me

    • The Calorstat/Vernet TH1528.80J can be found on ebay fairly easily for under $30 delivered, but my searches on the part number all show up from European sites.

    • My shop was able to have it delivered, so I don't think they're hard to get (possibly enabled by the next point)

    • Note that ebay listing also states it's for a mid-late 80's Jeep Cherokee. I'm not sure if that's a useful tangent or not, but it's an amusing one



    I hope that adds some clarity and is useful to someone - nothing sucks more than not being able to drive your car because of something small like this. In this case, that small something also keeps your motor from overheating, so...

  4. #4
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    I'll add heater (water) valves to this list; I think all E24s are affected.

    They used to be manufactured in Europe by Behr/Bosch but BMW shifted production to China years ago, and the new ones have a high failure rate. Not sure if the problem is a difference in internal design or just poor quality control. The plastic bodies begin leaking coolant, sometimes almost immediately after installation. I've gone through several of them in just the last few years. Not a cheap item either, at over $300.

    The last time I got fed up and, fully expecting it to fail, bought one from my local dealer. Sure enough, it began leaking within the two-year warranty period. After bringing the car to the dealer in order to have a tech verify that I had installed it correctly, I received a new one under warranty. The dealer offered to install the new one for me but I declined and installed it myself (don't like others working on my cars). If this one fails I'll repeat the process.

    As a back-up I've acquired a small stash of used O.E plastic valve bodies which I've rebuilt with MTC internal components. Plus I managed to procure an NOS Bosch heater valve off eBay, but I've saving that as the "nuclear option" if all else fails.

  5. #5
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    When this thread was originally started the Throttle Body Boots were one of the items that were getting very difficult to source. I just wanted to post that it seems these have recently become available again. Here is a link to Bimmerworld which shows them as being in stock: https://www.bimmerworld.com/Intake-F...611306790.html

    Just in case anyone was looking for them.

    Chuck

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by Cmcgettrick View Post
    When this thread was originally started the Throttle Body Boots were one of the items that were getting very difficult to source. I just wanted to post that it seems these have recently become available again. Here is a link to Bimmerworld which shows them as being in stock: https://www.bimmerworld.com/Intake-F...611306790.html

    Just in case anyone was looking for them.

    Chuck
    Thanks for posting that! I bought a set of six when there were only a few left. Seems like there were around $15. Then they went to $40 and were unobtanium. Glad to see them at a reasonable-ish price.

  7. #7
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    Having a really difficult time locating FAG front hubs as they seem to be NLA for now. BMW originals are also NLA, I managed to source one FAG unit from RockAuto a couple of days ago, it was their last one. No one else so far seems to have them anymore. I went for an ebay listing out of Netherlands to get the second unit for much more than what I wanted to pay but oh well. Hopefully it will get here ok at some point!

  8. #8
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    “300x30 front brake rotors (34112225007) - NLA from BMW (and $250-$300), though there are Bosch and other makes available. Have heard mixed reviews about quality. The Bosch "OE Equivalent" part number also appears to be on eternal backorder.”

    Here is another one. These seem to be more difficult to source than the throttle body boots! I bought my M6 back in 2020 and have not found 300x30 rotors anywhere.

    You can use 302x28 rotors from an E32 and they fit just fine. This is the route I had to go when I rebuilt my brakes. ECS currently has the BMW branded ones in stock. https://www.ecstuning.com/b-genuine-...4116756090~kt/
    Last edited by Cmcgettrick; 11-11-2022 at 11:19 AM.

  9. #9
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    Hello,

    I am replacing the timing chain in my 1977 633CSI Euro and cannot find the small piston (part number 11311744347) that presses on the chain tensioner. Part is NLA and I cannot find any alternative. Would somebody know if there is another part number that will work in an early E24 M30 engine. I have searched the internet extensively and cannot find anything. Any leads for a new/good used one would greatly be appreciated.

    Thank you,
    Angelo

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by slfan View Post
    Hello,

    I am replacing the timing chain in my 1977 633CSI Euro and cannot find the small piston (part number 11311744347) that presses on the chain tensioner. Part is NLA and I cannot find any alternative. Would somebody know if there is another part number that will work in an early E24 M30 engine. I have searched the internet extensively and cannot find anything. Any leads for a new/good used one would greatly be appreciated.

    Thank you,
    Angelo
    They'll likely whip up a batch of tensioner pistons sooner or later. That's really surprising, since the part is also shared with the M10 motors.

    I'm sure I have five or six used ones down in the garage, if you don't find a new one let me know.
    Save the manuals!
    '08 128i 6MT, '86 635CSi 5MT (B32, Motronic 1.3, WBO2, G265, 18# FW, 3.46 torsen)
    Past projects:
    '96 318iS, sold 4/23 '90 535iM, RIP 1/23 '90 535iA RIP 6/22 '91 318i, sold 7/19 '97 M3 sedan, sold 11/18 '85 735i, RIP 2/18 '92 325iC, sold 7/16 '91 318iS, sold 6/16 '84 745i, sold 10/14 '82 633CSi, traded 9/12 '90 325i, RIP '87 325 sold '89 525i, traded '87 325iS, RIP

  11. #11
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    Hello Dave,

    Thank you for the feedback. I am sending you a message.

    Regards,
    Angelo

  12. #12
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    Good morning,

    Sharing with everybody how the chain tensioner piston (part number 11311744347) for the M30 engine in a 1977 633CSI looks:

    Piston Side Vertical.jpg

    Piston Top Groove.jpg

    Piston Side Vertical #2.jpg

    Piston Bottom Hollow.jpg

    Hope these pictures help others.

    Regards,
    Angelo
    Last edited by slfan; 11-11-2022 at 06:35 AM. Reason: More details

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