I was just reading up on a few things.And I ran across some info pertaining to two different engines used on pre 97 models.It seems that BMW had an issue with our high sulfur fuel wrecking havoc with the alloy used in there engines. They changed the alloy in 96 to allow for our crappy fuel.,And the US started doing a better job on quality. There are ways to identify your engine in this forum. Good luck
