18 is a dodgy exhaust camshaft sensor, swapped it for the one on my project engine downstairs as it won't be needed when (if) it finally gets done.

227 and 228 are a little more interesting. Lambda Control Tolerance Bank 1 & 2, Frequency 5 & 6 respectively, Log Count 40. Both also note Deviation Rich. Noted as Sporadic Errors in fault memory.

My suspicions (and Google results) lead me to a leak somewhere in the intake, post MAF. Quite a few threads also point to the cam sensor triggering these codes as a flow on effect due to timing being out. Idle is smooth, and no oil smoke from exhaust to indicate CCV blockage, though I haven't checked for vacuum under the oil cap. Motor seems to run quite happily, though fuel consumption is around 10.2 -10.4 l/100. Most reports suggest it should be averaging more like 9.3l / 100.

Hopefully the car will get a decent run tomorrow so I can re-scan and see if the codes reappear, but as food for thought are there any common places on the M54 that develop vacuum leaks? DISA valve and dipstick return line seem to be common ones, but after looking at the M54 on the engine stand here's a mess of plumbing down there! Any hints?

Looking for feedback & recommendation please for reputable quality BMW mechanic in Christchurch. 

Thank you in advance.

looking for some advice on the go to first maintenance bits to do on a car that has been stored for a decade in a garage, it has been run and driven occasionally (total 500km). What are the first things to get done and tackle. 

Any advice greatly appreciated! 

Cheers 

I'm looking to replace these as preventative maintenance on my 2008 UK E92 M3. Based in Auckland, north shore.

First, my car has had some 'fun' in it's past. The previous NZ owner purchased the vehicle with the engine not working (apparently run out of oil) he then purchased a replacement engine and clutch in London when bringing back another vehicle (an X5). I'm told the new engine and clutch is from a 2010 with 40,000 miles on it (~64km).

My car itself had done around 137,000km when I collected it and I'm up around 153,000 now.

Previous owner seemed pretty genuine and a bit of a character at that. This would suggest the engine has done around 80,000km but I don't have any paperwork to clarify 100%

Having made the decision to replace these for piece of mind I'm wondering:

1. If I should use OEM bearings or some of the aftermarket options like BE. Is there any huge disadvantage one way or the other? Generally speaking I like the idea of keeping things original where it makes sense. However if I understand it correctly, the new replacement part BMW bearings are harder wearing and made of different materials which it's not possible to identify wear with an engine oil analysis. Some of the other brands like BE are perhaps better for monitoring lifetime wear through oil analysis?
2. When I was in at CC BMW yesterday (factory recall on battery cable) I asked about this. They said they can do the work but suggested that there were different parts and bolts for different versions of the engine. So without the chassis number of the car the engine came from they wouldn't know for sure which parts to order, they could pull the bearings out and look the order the parts (2 week lead-time) or order both options at my expense. BM Workshop who I inquired about about doing this work to yesterday indicated they done a few S65s and more S85s which give me some confidence in them doing the work. When I asked them about different parts they reckon the parts are all the same and they wouldn't need to open it up work work out what to order. The chap at BM Workshop sounded pretty confident  but does anyone know for sure about this? When I look online I can't see any different parts listed for years of engine at places like Turner Motorsport, parts say they fit all years of coupe, sedan and convertible so to me this supports his assertion that there is no difference.
3. Aside from BM Workshop I read aja540i mentioned using Taylor Automotive but I was unable to reach them this week on the phone (perhaps still on holiday). Is there anyone else I should consider for this work? I know this is a reasonably sizable job and appreciate the workshops have to make their margin, I've had ballpark estimates from 4.3k to 5k for this including parts, does this sound about right? based on aja504i's indication it seems it's probably in the ballpark.

Thanks for your help

This thread is where you can ask any questions you require answers to that wouldnt be necessary to make a thread for. Things that you might be unsure of or something that someone can give you a quick answer too.

This post has been made so more important and technical questions wont be overshadowed by small quick answer questions.

Be sure to be specific:

Specify

Make: BMW

Model: 528i

Year: 1998

Chassis: E39

Then the question below:

Does anyone know what size tyres should I be using on my standard 15" mags.

How much oil should I be putting in?

How do I change the brightness of the lights on my dashboard?

If you dont think you'll be needing to use this thread, be sure to check when theres a new post to see if you can help out. This will hopefully be a quicker way to getting the answers you need.

Andy.

I then thought that the transmission might need a oil service. I then jacked the car up level from the ground , idled it for about 15 minutes to warm up the fluid, switched off and drained the oil. Surprisingly only about 3- 3.5 litres of oil came out of the oil pan. I then pumped new oil in. Started the car and shifted it through the gears and pumped fluid in until it streams out of the filler plug whilst in park. Only about 3.7 - 4 litres of oil wanted to go into the transmission. What I do notice is that the car now has about a 2 seconds delay in shifting into gear from a stand still position. I used Castrol Transmax ATF  Dex iii oil because the oil company who manufactured oil for the Jatco transmission no longer exists Apollo oil.

 I then  thought that it might be DME sensor related like the AIT , CAM and Crank sensor, engine temperature sensor or ICV  caused the transmission to act funny . Or it might have to do with the closed loop not being activated due to a faulty O2 sensor. I rather decided to have the car scanned at a BMW dealer to give me a better idea instead of just throwing money at parts that is not needed. These were the codes that I got:


I put my assumption after doing some research of what the cause could be in brackets


( Engine Control Module - DME/DDE )


41 Camshaft Sensor                                                   ( camshaft position sensor needing replacement)
53 Crankshaft Sensor                                                 ( crank sensor needing replacement)
08 Air- Mass Flow Sensor                                          (already replaced ,noticed a crack in rubber boot )


TCM ( Transmission Control Module - EGS)


69 Engine overdriving interlock                                 ( input and output shaft not correlated due to torque converter lockup clutch )
                                                                                        ( Torque converter solenoid malfunction)


64 Speed Monitoring                                                  (Wheel Speed Sensor ) ( pulse generator sensor on the transmission)
65 Speed Monitoring
04 Solenoid valve , converter lockup clutch            (input and output shaft not correlated due to torque converter lockup clutch )
                                                                                         (Torque converter solenoid malfunction)

68 voltage supply to EDS and MV                              (no idea )

ABS ( Anti - Lock Braking System - DSC )


52 Wheel Speed Sensor , Front Right , not installed or Faulty                     (wheel speed sensor needing replacement)
51 Wheel Speed Sensor , Front left , not installed or Faulty                        (wheel speed sensor needing replacement)
11 Operation of front left inlet valve faulty                                                     (no idea)

I would really appreciate some expert advice on this so that I can get this car running like a dream again. Thanks in advance.

Issues are, in no particular order:

1. sensor says bootlid open, it isn't Inside boot release not working, made worse this week as lock been getting worse and broke key trying to open (have ordered a new key from BMW).

2. Driver's outside door handle broke off

3. Want suspension serviced, getting very 'chattery' and squeaky.

4. Oil change

Any recommendations very appreciated.

Any recommendations ??

Thanks

So I have a rattle coming from the rear of my 96 740i. It started as a faint squeak after using a gas stations car wash and disappeared after a 800km trip. Got a car wash a couple days ago and now the rattle noise is so bad I don't really want to drive it. Only happens when driving and not when stopped. I can make it do the sound if I bounce the rear end but no where near as bad haha, would anyone know where to start looking? 

I'm new to attempting to maintain my car myself, but have little knowledge when it comes to that type of rattle. 😥

My 2005 320i idrive won’t start or even unlock/ lock with my remote. 
 

it worked perfectly not even 5 hours ago but now won’t even start with key and push to start. 
 

An emblem of a steering wheel and a small lock comes on my dash when I try to start my vehicle but nothing else happens. My idrive console in the center boots up but goes blank, my dash lights work but my headlights don’t. 
 

very confused and sad, some help would be much appreciated.. 

Would it be a wise idea to change transmission and transfer case fluids? Diff oils? 

A few issues that I have noticed - first, on cold start, there is a very small cloud of smoke from the exhaust - only happens on cold starts, doesn't smoke at all when driving. I'm thinking this is normal?

Temp gauges normally sits between 1/3 and 1/2, which seems a bit odd to me (should normally be around the 1/2 mark I thought), handbook claims this is normal - is the thermostat worth replacing?

I also get a diesel smell when it's cold, I've been lead to believe these things have a small auxiliary heater that runs off diesel to get heat flowing in the cabin quicker - is there some way of eliminating that diesel smell? A filter or an exhaust somewhere that could be blocked on that system?

The last worrying thing is a whistle from the turbo - definitely worse when cold. I'm hoping some new oil will sort this, what else should I be looking for before panicking? I'm assuming the standard leaks and potentially bad gaskets/hoses? Any common problems people are aware of? 

All in all, it drives well, has a ton of power, there's no real vibrations or noises (other than those noted above) so I think it should last a while with some TLC.

So I have decided to replace a new one. But apart from the head gasket is there any other parts I should be replacing since I'm going to take out a lot of parts. Any suggestion would be much appreciated.

By the way, before this smoking, I had replaced the valve cover gasket as there were some oil leak from the coil/spark plug which is the closest to the windscreen side. I had some little smoke came out for less than 30 seconds then it was gone and did not appear. However I only turned the engine on and was not actually test driving after the valve cover gasket replacement.

The car has done over 249,000km already.

Thank you very much in advance team!!!

Only place I can find in NZ is BMW itself, which wants $400 each.

I can get them cheaper from the likes of FCP for around $280, but I have come across other brands such as Vaico and Gates selling them for around $170. These are some of the alternative brands sold on ECS, Schmiedmann and Pelican etc.

Has anyone had any experience using these brands for vanos solenoids? 

Any advice appreciated

Title says it all. I could hear the motor running, but it sounded like it got stuck somehow. 

I stripped the door panel, and now can see the motor, the window and everything else but I do not see anything broken. How do I take it from there? I just found one weird thing broken, but seems very rusty and the window has not been going up for less than 12 months (car was left aside for a while).
I added two pics to help me figure it out. Cheers.

HOW TO CHANGE JAPAN RADIOS TO NZ FREQUENCIES - WITHOUT A BAND EXPANDER

Factory fitted BMW radios from around 2000 onwards have a 'world tuner' inside them. The same radio can be used anywhere in the world.

The radio can be programmed to operate in JAPAN mode (FM = 70-90), or in OCEANIA or EUROPE mode (FM=87.5-108).

They also do a USA and CANADA mode but that's not useful here in NZ.

BMWs imported from Japan have their radios set to JAPAN mode (wonder why?)

These can be readily re-programmed to NZ frequencies as follows:

1. Switch on radio

2. Within 10 seconds, press and hold down the 'm' button until the serial number appears (takes around 10secs) to enter the radio's service menu.

3. Use the + or - buttons to cycle through the menu settings until you see AREA JAPAN or just JAPAN (varies a bit depending on radio)

4. Use the 1...6 buttons to select either OCEANIA (or OCE) or EUROPE - both are valid settings for New Zealand - see below for differences.

5. Switch radio off to store the change

Voila! Your radio has now bee reprogrammed to receive NZ FM frequencies!

Also, the cool RDS features will now be available.

Differences between OCEANIA and EUROPE modes on an E46 Business RDS radio (other radios may vary slightly):

a) EUROPE has LW, MW and FM. OCEANIA has AM and FM only.

OCEANIA shows ST for a FM stereo station; EUROPE doesn't show anything for stereo or mono FM stations.

c) EUROPE has the softkeys set to RDS and TP; OCEANIA has RDS and PTY

Which ever one you choose - OCEANIA or EUROPE - is up to you, they both work.

I hope you find this info useful, and that the forum moderator makes this a 'sticky'

PS: If anyone wants any info or help with BMW radios - talk to me. I've helped around 80 BMW owners convert from Japan radios to proper NZ radios for their BMWs, thus keeping the vehicle in original condition, and obtaining proper radio reception. Send me an email for more info!

Cheers, Jochen

M52B28

Cyl1 195
Cyl2 210
Cyl3 190
Cyl 4 180
Cyl 5 200
Cyl 6 160

I have a 2001 E38 728i. I had some electrical problems and it seems that my alternator is stuffed. However, after having had a flat battery for some time. I jump started the car via the terminals in the engine bay and got the old girl going. Even managed to get enough juice into the cars battery to be able to restart it eaily. Everything on the car is operating fine except I can't open the boot WHERE THE BATTERY IS. I can't open it mechanically with the key, I can't open via the switch in the cabin and and I can't open it via the remote on the key. Has anyone had similar problems? I really need to get this sorted and would like to solve the problem without having to go to an auto electrician. I reiterate, everything else is fine, including the central locking system. Aaaargh!

I was wondering if before purchasing an e30 I could take it to any mechanic to get it checked out or if it has to be one that specialises is classic cars.

Thanks.

Ideally id like to pull the whole shebang to bits, curious about stuff like how the bedplate seals to the block, and if its something doable by the home gamer, critical dimensions/tolerances etc etc.