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Just purchased my first ever European car on Friday. I only piad $800 for it the oil is lovely and clean and so is the engine.. (from what i can see looking down the oil cap) the interior is a bit rough and appears to have been poorly re assembled at some point in its life. Its only been 2 days with my new BMW and i am really enjoying the handling, and the cool little differences BMW have in the design of their cars that sets them apart from the rest. It a 1996 E36 318iS (see pic) Thanks for taking time to read this and i look forwards to getting to know users. Thanks

its a bit late now, but i presume it was flagged at the border for rust? All the rust work would need to be properly signed off etc, so compliance costs would add up quickly. I hope whoever purchased it has done their research. Knowing NZ it'll probably be badly fixed, plated and tagged, and on sold for heaps in a couple of months. Also +1 to the seller sounding like an a**hole regarding their silent auction crap, which in the end meant nothing, because someone obviously viewed the car and waved a wad of cash (that i bet was more than 5k) in their face.

And probably the first to 300,000 km

probably the most pampered 130i in NZ!

Anyone got one of these handy, somehow Ive lost one along the way. p/n 07146949380

Just because the topic title is relevant... Bump, Edge 5w40 is currently 40% off at Repco in 5l. The M3 shall be getting some golden love this week.

Hi....Tony from Gisborne...not so sunny east coast... New to the site...couple of picks of my car I've just acquired...pick up on the 18th...

Captains Log : Stardate 8999.4 Gearbox removal. No one died. This is a big job (particularly on Jack stands). Installed the #savemejebus jack and stands incase i had to get rough and it went pearshaped and tried to kill me. 1 - You cannot access the upper bolts from top of engine. N54 you can, n52 and its intake runners - forget about it. I have some funky snap on ratchets and tools, and none of them will fit. 2 - Its an E14, the starter bolt, E14. Dont believe the internet and spend an hour and a half trying to get an E12 to fit. Youre welcome. 3 - Lower the gearbox, push up on the front of the crank and jam wood in there to hold the engine up and box down. I had roughly 2.5" between gearbox mounts and chassis to access the upper bolts. It doesnt require much force, i did it by hand, but it needs to be held up at the front ( and it also stops the engine dropping onto the sump when the weight of box is removed ) 4 - Long ass extensions and universal joints. The two top bolts are accessed from the back if gear box up to the back of head. Its a mare. They like to sit up there once undone, and not come out of holes, had to make a long ass hook device to pull the bolts out. 5 - The ali bolts come out pretty easily, 3/8th drive no wucking furries. The steel bolts require a big ass breaker bar as the 30 foot extensions like to wind themselves up. You will smash your fingers. 6 - Bit of a wriggle and jiggle and the box came out, lowering the jack and pulling it out in one smooth motion went really... Smooth. Shifter assembly comes out easily, my car had what I thought was a pretty decent shift feel, but the bushes are totally shagged.... Bunch of pics, most are to remind me how it goes back together! (and apparently in no order...) This PDF here was very useful http://www.e90post.com/forums/showpost.php?p=19266401&postcount=1

Day number whatever : Waterpump and thermostat done, easy, lots of scare mongering online about these, but its simple. Took roughly 3 hours while learning how to do it, finding the torque for the bolts took awhile though! (10Nm + 90 degrees) Banged the front swaybar in, suspension done! Pulled apart driveshaft, new boots and bearings and shimthingees, easy. Now.. Time to put on the bigboy pants and deal with the clutch and box.

Getting the gearbox out will be easier than getting it back in with the weight on the back of the engine. Putting it back in with out loading the clutch center and bending it will be your first hurdle. Doing it on stands without the right tools can also be very dangerous. It really should be only attempted doing it on a hoist with a transmission jack to get the alignment and load right or dropping the engine, transmission and front cross member together.