new owner new forum member!

[polar]

hey all,

i just bought a 1992 325i and i love it! i have a friend who has owned serveral bmw's, including a 1998 M3 and a brand new 540 touring, and due to all the rides in his cars i have come to really appreciate what a great ride they are!

now i am not as rich as my buddy, so i bought my car for $8000.00. the interior is in mint condition, and the paint looks almost new as well. it has 140,000km on it and rides very nice.

but i have three questions:

1. can i go to my local bmw dealer and buy an owners manual for it?

2. is it true that the power steering and ATF go in the same receptacle?

3. the steering gets "shakey" sometimes. i don't know how else to describe it. it only happens sometimes, but it is quite distressing as i am interested in keeping this car in as good a condition as possible. is this a common occurence on the E36 models? has anyone else ever had this problem, and if so, what was the solution/cause?

thanks!

[BMWTECH]

Question 1. Yes you can go to the dealer and get a manual.
Question 2. You do use ATF in your power steering reservoir. As the question is stated, your Trans fluid for your transmission is not fed by the power steering reservoir.
Question 3. I would check your balljoints or the control arm bushings. You can jack the front end up and shake the tire top and bottom to see if it has any play. You can have some one else look at the joint thats closest to the tire. You will see an up and down movement in the joint if it is bad. The bushings can be bad also. You can check these by driving the car and quickly tapping the brake pedal hard. Don't stomp on the brakes and hold it, just tap it. Tap it hard and quickly. If there is play you will feel it in the steering wheel and you may be able to hear a clunk. Hope this helps.