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Put a reversing camera in the E38, thanks to Hotwire for a great package and instructions. Great to have and integrated into the 16:9 screen.

Freudian slip or typo?

Have been looking to get a wagon for about 6 months as my daily hatch (Mondeo) just doesn't have the goods, i really wanted an e46 motorsport manual wagon with something larger than 2 litres, but i couldn't find one that suited (the search is still on) however came across this 2007 E91 Motorsport 330i Auto, NZ new model, with a whopping 195,000km on the clock, however the condition was reasonable so worth a nudge i thought. Sitting in the U-Sell lot it ran rough, and didn't want to idle, plugged in my Carly ODB2 reader and found misfire code for cal 6, rang around to get a price for coil packs and plugs, and with that mind called the owner to negotiate a price. It was a gamble but the owner dropped the price by a decent amount (way more than enough to cover 6 coils and plugs) so did the deal. On paying for the car i rang the boys at HellBM, who very kindly agreed to replace the coil on cal 6 for me at short notice. 20mins and $160 later and she purring again! Winner winner chicken dinner. Big thanks to the boys at HellBM for fitting us in, great service!

Have now racked up 4000-odd kms in a month of ownership - so far so good... the car likes a drink though that's more about my driving; and the fact I can't resist flooring it in 2nd/3rd going up Haywards Hill from the Hutt. That aside it's a nice cruiser. Handles beautifully; suspension is spot on for a DD, and having the extra room in the back has proven useful on occasions - more so for the house move. Has enough power 99% of the time (well, probably a hundy really). The only down side is the fact that I probably spent more $$$$ than I needed to - not on this car, but generally. Now the budget for a deck and spa pool is seriously under the pump (pun intended).

https://imgur.com/ Doesn't even require an account.

Thanks for that. I might have to get myself a camera.

No worries. Give Kayne Barrie a call and have a chat - 027 497 5330. He may have something suitable.

Wow, even landed that is cheap. Better get a couple! Awesome thanks, never used FCP before.

Sorry, you are correct. I need the @260/5 for the M20. I'll correct the post now.

Instructions from Grant (Hotwire). Sells the relay, wiring, camera, everything you need. $230 https://www.trademe.co.nz/1409521166 >Remove R/H number plate lamp assy. >Remove the boot lining >The aperture will require some slight enlarging to house the camera – it will be pretty self evident. A bead of silicone behind will secure it in place. >Connect the camera number plate wires to the car wiring. (I prefer to solder connections if possible) Make sure the resistor sits out on it’s own – it gets quite hot. >Run the cabling (two leads) down to the right hand hinge area. It needs threading through the conduit into the boot. This is a bit of a process but it will go through. I usually feed a guide wire carefully through, taping the cables to it & drawing them through. Make sure there is no tension on the video lead terminals as they are pulled through – secure the cable to the draw wire behind the terminals. >Leave the connector plugs in an accessible position within the boot lid incase of having to revisit in the future – unlikely but possible. >Once inside, run the leads to the back of the car then across to the L/H side. Trims will need to be removed. >The video module (VM) is the first silver box you see behind the trim, Has two plugs – white & blue. Remove this, from memory the CD changer too, behind a felt liner on the very inside of the guard is the radio tuner – another silver box > Connect the camera power supply (red) into the purple/white in the radio harness. Connect the earth (black) into the brown (earth) wire in the harness, along with the brown earth wire from the relay. >Connect the red relay wire to the L/H reverse lamp. It is white/yellow in the E39, I would say it will be the same in the 38. >Remove white & blue plugs from the VM – depress tab & slide over the release lever. Once removed the inner block needs to be removed from the case. There is a tab to release on the leading edge & the block slides out. Do one at a time so as not to confuse. In the blue plug find vacant slot for pin 17 – insert the white relay wire – make sure they push fully in. reassemble the plug. Repeat on the white plug & insert the yellow video wire into pin 13 slot, the braid into pin 14 That’s all connections done, key on, into reverse & camera will come up on screen. Reassemble as required.

No, you cannot re-use head gaskets, you should be able to just put a new gasket and new bolts in and re-torque everything if the head turns out to be ok, you don't usually need to allow a thicker gasket for skimming the head but whoever checks it for you should be able to give you more info. You weren't tempted to do the other one while you are in there as preventative maintenance?

No I didn't. As I had insurance to cover, I wanted the best option and he suggested that repair would not be as good. Here is a break down of costs REMOVE & REPLACE _U_n_it_s _E_s_t _A_m_t_ _R_e_m_a_r_k_s 1. FRONT BUMPER COVER 2.50 150.00 2. HEADLAMP WASHERS AND SENSORS 1.00 60.00 3. SPOTLAMPS AND GRILLES __0_._7_5_ ____4_5_._0_0_ TOTAL 4.25 @$60.00 $255.00 REFINISH 1. FRONT BUMPER COVER 0.00 320.00 2. SENSORS AND WASHER HEADS __0_._0_0_ ____8_0_._0_0_ TOTAL $400.00 TOTAL LABOUR 4.25 $655.00 Parts _Q_ty_ _P_a_rt_ N__o_. L_i_s_t_ 1. FRONT BUMPER COVER 924.79 2. MARGIN 92.47 3. FREIGHT 12.00 4. SUCCESS FEE ____3_2_._7_9_ ______ _________ TOTAL $1,062.05 Sublet 1. ---- Materials & Outwork 2. SEALERS & FILLERS ____2_5_._0_0_ TOTAL $25.00 TOTAL $1,742.05 PLUS GST @ 15% _____$_2_6_1_.3_1__ GRAND TOTAL $2,003.36

I will do in a couple weeks time. Currently my leg is in a cast so not quite able to right now. If it's any help the shifter on the 265 is sheet metal as opposed to the 260 which is the aluminium rod type one. Also this hasn't been updated in a long while but a lot has happened on this car since my last post. They say pictures say a thousand words so here goes. Full coilovers front and rear. They still need some work, I need shorter springs to go as low as I'd like and keep the helpers. Currently the fronts are wound all the way down. Not looking to lay frame but a touch lower would be nice. The wheels are Remotec 16x8s, fully polished and painted by myself. The centers I did by doing a black base coat and then dusting silver over to do a shadow chrome type effect. The clear coat kind of messed up the silver and they came out darker than I wanted but fine for now. It's never perfect. I also got a new body which will be getting painted and everything will be swapped over which I hope do have done well before the end of the year.

1. Borrowed a cylinder bore gauge. 2. Went to zebra wreckers in Manukau for a m62b44 block. 3. Pulled engine out of a 540i at zebra. 4. Removed heads. 5. Checked bore with pistons still in and all good. 6. Pissed with rain so moved engine undercover. 7. Dismantled everything off the block as its the only bit I need. 8. Found cracks where the starter motor mounts. 9. Went home empty handed after wrenching for hours.

Little update. Got new headlights, decided I wanted it to look more modern so got some LED's Before: After A smoke test revealed a failed grommet in the back of the intake manifold, hopefully that is the reason it stalls when returning to idle. A scan revealed the airbag module is faulty along with the oil level sensor. Parts are on there way... Got an OEM tow bar complete with towing module from Ray. It's in, just need to extend the loom to make it to the LCM.

The Labour Party. Having nine years to get their policies together and 8 days from the election they still don't know what they are.