1989 735IL New To BMW Need Help!!!

[chad107utah]

I am new to the BMW Club and just bought a 1989 735IL with 131xxx miles on it new transmission less than a year ago, now what I am trying to find out is just two things that are concerning me, First the car is shaking alot at certain speeds, Second right in front of the Catylictic converter there is some kind of liquid dripping down onto the muffler and its making white smoke I dont know if its a hose thats leaking or a gasket, also this park brake light keeps coming on when i dont have the park brake light on, i love this BMW and want to keep it but its like driving a computer on wheels its CRAZY haha. If you guys could help me out I would really appreciate it.

[LOS]

In regards to the shaking, check your control arm bushings. The white smoke stuff is probably a cracked water hose.

[chad107utah]

So I took it to the dealership for repairs and its really really alot worse than I thought, control arm bushings is one, Oil Pan Gasket, Cylinder head Gasket, and a whole bunch of other crud, He stated that they would have to pull the motor to get to everything and thats $1000 alone, Is this about average on what they would have to do? its going to cost about as much as the car itself!!

[jeff_in_pgh]

Holy crap!! First off, you can kind of live with the shaking at about 40-45 mph. you can replace the bushings yourself later. As far as the fluid goes, is the white smoke coming out of the exhaust? The oil pan gasket is a weekend project too. The cylinder head gasket is a problem that might need dealt with sooner though. That's a job that's kind of a pain. Is there a garage near you that works on foreign cars? I'd try to steer clear of the dealership if at all possible and see if they can't do it cheaper. A second opinion couldn't hurt.