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Much better. Edit: what's best way to tint clear part of tail-lights red? Any spray can stuff?

Just thought I would post this up for all you DIYers. I compiled this a little while ago. It doesnt cover everthing, however it may help someone out there. Diagnostic Overvue I have compiled this overvue to help DIY repairers and Profesional people alike. The diagnosing of repairs can vary dependant on the actual fault, however this is a procedure that most should follow. In most cases specialist equipment is required and most DIY people don't have access to this type of equipment. It is also likely in most cases that professional help would be needed to sort out problems. This overvue can be used on any vehicle…not just BMW's. Not much can be decifered on pre '88 vehicles without the 20 pin diagnostic plug, without the use of a scope and gas analyser, dependant on what the fault is. After '88 things get a little better untill you get to about '93 and then things get better and continue to get better as time goes on. Generally there is not much that the average person can do when a fault occurs, apart from open the bonnet and check for the obvious, broken induction & vaccum hoses, spark plug leads, fuel leaks, loose connections etc. etc. All fuel injected vehicles rely on manifold vacuum as a source for DME function. Regardless of it being MAP, AFM or MAF sensored. Therefore, manifold vacuum is critical for the engine to function properly. Air leaks from hoses, gaskets, crankcase ventilator valves, tight tappets and burnt valves will effect the manifold vacuum, which inturn creates a problem for the whole system. The first thing to do when approaching a problem, is look for the obvious, and try and think if there is any relation to what has happened when you last drove it ie: did you just fill your car with petrol (diesel ???) sounds stupid… but it does happen. Did you drive through a 500mm puddle at speed ?? Things like that, because they could have a bearing on what you need to look for. I grill customers all the time. This helps me help them. If the car stopped while driving it generally is a fuel problem, crankshaft speed sensor or a cambelt. If the car has an irregular driving fault, diagnosis of the problem should be approached in this manor: First do an under bonnet check of all induction hoses, vaccum hoses and check crankcase vacuum by checking how much suction there is when you release the oil filler cap. If vacuum is excessive, it will be a crankcase ventilator valve problem. Check the obvious, spark plugs, leads, distributor cap, rotor etc etc If there is nothing obvious, I would then get it scanned before fiddling. ( Fiddlers are our biggest enemy) Check engine compression If compression is not within 5% check valve clearances Compression should be a minimum of 11 bar Check for spark at the spark plug Then check for spark at the coil (coils) Fuel pressure 2.5 bar with vacuum 3 bar with no vacuum Flow is also critical, you can have pressure without flow Check injector pulse signal On all injectors Manifold vacuum Minimum of 16 and stable If manifold vacuum is not correct then check: Check for air leaks A can of engine start can help find leaks Cylinder leak test All cylinders should be within 95% and should not vary by more than 5% Check camshaft timing Should not change on chain driven engines under normal conditions unless this fault has occurred since work has been done on the engine Make sure TDC mark on front pulley is actually TDC Confirm with flywheel lock tool or a piece of wire down the spark plug hole. Especially with front pulley crankshaft sensors In most cases the above checks cannot be done by the average DIY'er because you wont have the tools or the knowledge to use them I might add also that some so called professionals don't either These above checks are basic for any engine , Timing, Compression, Spark, Vacuum & Fuel. However it must all come together at the right time. SCANNING First I'd just like to say that a scanner is just a very useful tool. Some are good, some arent so good. Some are better on Japanese cars, some are better on Euro cars. This isn't going to be a scan tool buyers guide, however I will say that scan tools are friggen useless, unless you have the mechanical understanding and a brain. You will also need precise vehicle data to make accurate assessment of the data your reading. You will also need to understand what you are reading and relate that data to the driveability fault you are dealing with. Putting it into perspective, I repair doctors cars because they can't fix their cars. Put me into a doctors surgery with all the necessary tools and data, could I repair you ?? I think not.. A lot comes down to training and experience. That’s why there are good and not so good technicians out there. Most fault codes relate to actual sensor faults. ie: Camshaft position sensor Crankshaft position sensor Camshaft position sensor (inlet) Camshaft position sensor (outlet) However, some fault codes are the result of something else wrong, causing a fault code to come up from a sensor that actually is doing it's job properly, but has gone out of scale (trim). Air mass sensors are a prime example of this occurance. An air mass sensor will not normally come up as a fault code unless it fails completely, and the car won't go. If it is reading incorrectly and out of scale, you will get an oxy sensor fault code relating to fuel trim limit reached. Driving the car with the scanner using live data will confirm this. Blocked cats will give you the same problem because the engine can't breath, so will collapsed crankcase ventilator valves and broken induction hoses. Most of these faults will register an oxy sensor trim fault. Oxygen Sensor (Heater coil) would either be the relay or the oxygen sensor itself Engine missfire cyl (1-6) can be many things Igntion coil missfire cyl(1-6) is normally a spark plug, faulty coil or wiring fault Combustion missfire cyl(1-6) on M52tu & M54 engines normally indicates hydraulic lifter fault Again, live data must be checked, particularly engine dynamic balance. Measured differently on most scanners. Remember this is only an overvue. Most individual engine models have their own idiosyncrasies and I can't cover everything on here. However, this should help or give you some idea of what is involved in checking faults PLEASE BE AWARE.. OUR BIGGEST ENEMIES ARE "FIDDLERS" Never fiddle, or replace anything unless you have properly diagnosed the fault first. You will waste money and time. If you don't have the ability or access to the right equipment, consult a professional.

More updates on my excursions! visited hampton downs to do some skid pan work. Trying to handle the car in a tight, slow environment was very... tiring. I don't have power steering and still running the e30 4 turn lock to lock rack. Also i'm finding that i run out of lock very quickly so will need to do something about that. Despite all this I had an awesome time! Learning to drive this car *properly* is so fun. I need to attend more of these types of events and get as much seat time as possible! My car was dubbed the cone eater of the day. my front lip had suffered quite a beating haha Hence its absence Having great friends that always come to cheer me on, I had to take them all for some rides. What better way to show off my new front end setup! The more I drive this car, the more I need to change stuff. Some new bits and bobs incoming

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/121548663629 Even with shipping, taxes and having someone do it for you, you should save about $2k.

Some how find enough time in my day for a wheel alignment! At MAYNE AUTOMOTIVE down the road from my work. Nice guys seemed to know there stuff but it did take them about 10mins to get the car on the alignment machine because of how low it is. "Not that low ;)". As its not the last time i will be dropping the rear on the car I didn't see the point in going to a really good place. Will when i'm 100% done with the suspension. All in all happy with the alignment and happy i'm driving the car again!!! :)

Cant believe our dodgy wheel alignment with a tape measure in the dark was as close as it was.

So its all running! Finally got the engine to start! The issue I was facing was on the drivers side there were 2 cables coming out that were black and appeared identical. Naturally one would expect both of these cable to be earth wires. I was given one tip to cut back the shielding on one of the wires... and what lay beneath was a red cable! That explained why I didnt have positive power to any relays or my DME! Hooked it upto the positive terminal of the battery and all of a sudden she turned over and fired up!!! So after that happened we proceeded to chuck the Ti onto the salvage trailer and take it to the other side of town at 9pm on a friday night to get the exhaust welded up!!! After a few hours and a few more beers we called it quits for the night and finished it off on saturday! Got all the fluids bled through and shes running mint! I managed to get it all done in time for the euro meetup here in Chch on Sunday! The 4.44 diff with the getrag box means Im pulling close to 4k rpm at 100kph in 5th snf boy does the 2.8 have some pull! The M50 intake manifold and chipped ECU mean that its leathal in 2nd gear! In saying that I have already broken a rear cv, still on the lookout for a new medium case diff in a better ratio and potentially a ZF box if I can find one! I have a heap of photos I still have to sort through so will post a propper update on the entire build later in the week!

It'll probably be an overseas buyer.

maybe faulty ignition switch , fairly common part to fail. and no , not all e38 had dsp mostly only early ones with out the monitor screen etc

I used to have random radio issues like this in the e39. Replaced the original BMW battery and all issues went away. I currently have a similar issue with the e53 which shares the same hardware as e39 etc. Radio won't come on if it's been switched off while the engine is running. Only comes back on after switching ignition off and back on to accessory. Checked to see what the battery condition was like and previous owner has the wrong battery installed. Next on the to do list. I just turn the radio down rather than off.

missed the pictures last time, looks good, hope to come up and do some laps with you guys one of these days!