Subject: Story of my recent good fortune, due to BimmerBoard (warning long) Author: noahgo as Windows7 (noahgo) : member since April, 2006 : 906 posts Posted on: 2010-03-14 20:11:18

Hello all, been a member here for several years, but hadn’t posted much in last few years due to work travels, etc. Still part of DFW7 and been reading your posts all along, but work has been consuming me for a long time. Decided to change that and so here goes:

I had broken the dip-stick plastic handle of a few weeks back [another victim of engine heat]. Searched, but couldn't find one on-line and didn't want to pay dealer price, so I decided to check out an area junkyard recommended by a fellow DFW7er.

My son and I dropped by on a Saturday morning to check it out. Figured if they did have any engines, they should have a dip-stick. CHECK IT OUT. They had recently received a 95 740i and a 2000iL, both wrecked in the front, but passenger compartments still intact. Both cars were up close to the road. Someone had already removed in interior of the 2000iL but the 95i still had most of interior (tan) - although someone had already started dismantling the dash and had removed the wood trim pieces. 95 had all four MPARS, needing polishing, but all look functional.
So I grabbed the dip-stick from the 2000 (figured it had 5 yrs less heat exposure than the other) and headed back to pay - pleased with my find.
Was almost to the cashier when I stopped cold and realized - that 95i still had the instrument cluster. It got me to wondering… My pixels were pretty bad but BMWNA only offered to pay 1/2 the cluster and zero labor. Being the cheap-skate that I am, I’d been holding off till bonus time. So I asked the cashier, how much for the instrument cluster? “100 bucks” So I mentioned about the classic pixel problems and said “it prolly is no better than mine”. The guy says, “Tell you what, 75 bucks and you can bring it back it doesn’t work.” Good enough…
The whole reason I wanted to give this a try is because I had found an old 'pixel fix no recode' post about the 97 and earlier cars that had the removable modules on the back of the instrument cluster. Plus I figured the money-back guarantee was worth the effort. So I got the cluster and headed home. It was dusty from being outside, but was not damaged (except a little where the screws hold it in place).
Got it home, removed my current one, swapped the modules and hooked the new one up. WOO-HOO! All the pixels work perfectly. None missing!
Here is both clusters with the modules removed:

Here are a couple of pics of the old cluster showing missing pixels:



Here are the same shots with the new cluster. PERFECT! Boy did I luck out with this.



I compared part numbers and they did not match exactly, so I figure that most likely the owner of that 95 had his cluster replaced at some point. Needless to say, I was super excited. I’ve had my car for 4 years and knew someday I’d have to take care of this, but never thought I’d luck out for only 75 bucks!
For the locals, the junkyard is in east Ft. Worth, inside the loop, about 20 minutes from Arlington.

The second half of the story is that I went back yesterday and found that they have at least 10 E38s. I'll post some pics of the wrecks later. So for the north Texas folks, if you’re looking for used parts, you should definitely consider this place.

I have to give a major kudos to the board AND all you folks who went thru this before me. If it wasn’t for you all, I would be out several hundred bucks for a new cluster. So thank you, thank you and THANK YOU.

Sorry to keep going on, but I am loving life after this find!

Noah '97 740iL, DM06118, Black/Tan, 137K Miles, 18" Style-118 Wheels with Goodyear Run-Flats, Clear Corners/Sides/Tails, Quad Brake Lights, tons of misc fixes...

• Story of my recent good fortune, due to BimmerBoard (warning long) (pic) (url) - Windows7 (noahgo) 2010-03-14 20:11:18 (513 views)
  • Congrats Makes the car feel worth twice as much when looking at all - Wiggi 2010-03-15 13:38:30 (67 views)
    • i know right? wife said I was only one it bothered, but since mine is a - Windows7 (noahgo) 2010-03-15 13:49:05 (68 views)
  • Thats a great find and a great price, I call it score of the week! (nt) - Edwin™ 2010-03-15 09:40:06 (69 views)
  • Score! Good to know for us early car owners too. (nt) - RobinK 2010-03-15 05:38:37 (79 views)
  • Good find! Thanks for the info Noah. (nt) - JL 2010-03-15 01:45:10 (86 views)
    • as Lurcher previous mentioned, we should think about having DFW7 meet there. - Windows7 (noahgo) 2010-03-15 09:14:39 (95 views)
  • Great find. - Isiah 90-735il 2010-03-15 00:26:32 (84 views)
  • Nice find!! Looks good. (nt) - zapperjoe 2010-03-14 20:14:21 (84 views)