thanks for your help guys!

this is one of the articles i read........ http://uucmotorwerks.com/flywheel/lfwe46m3sh.htm

RE: "Big News For E46 Owners"...

 

now, they are trying to sell a new clutch set-up, so take that in mind, but they are talking about this thing on the MT.

 

I've never heard of this, but I wouldn't discredit it based on the context of a sales pitch. Poke into e46fanatics.com. There's a great forum there with lots of knowledgable folks.

On the other had, the stalling/loss of power steering bit doesn't seem like clutch slippage or premature clutch wear. But, BMWs are really weird sometimes, and a failure of one component can cause other seemingly unrelated components to go.

 

ok, thanks much!