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Ah yes, that time again. It's not my M3 if it doesn't involve rebuilding the Vanos at some point. If anyone has forgotten, I have previously rebuilt the Vanos unit on my old M3, and what a nightmare that was. Lesson learned, don't use cheap tools. Being that this car has 300,000KM on the clock, and the previous owner has no history of the Vanos ever being rebuilt, I felt it was prudent to do it. This made even more sense, since when I first got the car I ordered a full Beisan rebuild kit, as the Vanos was completely dead (turned out it was just a sensor issue), so had a kit sitting around. The previous owner had the Vanos off the head back when they had the head work done, but when I asked, he confirmed that it was not rebuilt at the same time (argh, the hardest part is taking it on and off, why not do it then?!). This gave me some hope that maybe it wouldn't fight me like the last one did.... or on the flip side, there was a chance the previous owner had been kind enough to round off the bolts or something on reassembly. Anyway, with a nice clear day off work, I got stuck in. I won't do much step by step work in this post, as it's covered in my previous rebuild, and also on Beisans website. One reason I had been putting the job off a little bit longer was that the valve cover wasn't leaking, and I really didn't want to pull it off again in case it starts to leak. Oh well, Here goes. Argh, bugger, so much for not leaking. This little bastard never seems to want to seal. It's a new gasket, with a new rubber washer... and it's still leaking. The inside of this engine is bloody amazing for 300,000KM. Its obviously been looked after and well serviced. The previous M3, with 100,000KM less, was almost black on the inside. This is lovely and golden brown. Before you can do anything else you must get the engine up at TDC. This involves having the No.1 cam lobes for intake and exhaust pointing up and towards each other and making sure the crank pulley mark is lined up. I had a hell of a time last time, as the Beisan instructions are incorrect, and the timing mark is hard to find, tucked down behind the crank pulley. Strangely, on this engine there seems to be a critical change. Not only does it have the marks behind the pulley, but it finally also has it stamped into the front of the pulley! Not sure if this was a South African Market difference or just a difference between 1994 and 1995 engines. I still had to use my old iPhone to see it, but it's better than having to try and see it behind the pulley. As expected this little piston nut gave me some anxiety. To undo it, you use a 7mm spanner on the nut and a 4mm 6 sided socket on a ratchet to hold the shaft still. The 4mm hex is well known for just shearing off, and then you're having a bad day. Thankfully although it was tight, mine came off just fine. One part I have been asked about was to give more details on the removal of the oil pump driver when removing the Vanos unit. This is a little disk that sits on the back of the unit. It's circled here My previous unit was so sludged up that the driver disk was stuck to the unit, but in this case it was nice and free. The risk here is that if dropped, it takes a swift one way trip to the bottom of the sump. Turns out, it's easy to keep it in place. Use one hand to hold and pull the Vanos forward, and the other to hold the disk. There is plenty of space around it. The Vanos has been leaking externally leaving a mess down the front of the engine And on the underside of the unit Of course the unit got scrubbed clean, and the engine was given a quick scrub and clean. Removing the cylinder cover on the back of the Vanos unit gave me my first surprise. This is meant to have a seal pressed into it. The seal was sitting on the cylinder, having fallen out of the cover. It was well perished and crumbled when you so much as looked at it Organised chaos Part of the rebuild was to clean and test the solenoids again. I had previously done this when I redid the seals on the solenoids, but I wanted to be more thorough this time around. I got sick of having to try and jam the wires from the battery connector into the solenoid connectors, so quickly rigged up a tester using bits from the garage. Now all I have to do is plug the solenoid into the connector, plug in the 9v battery, and hit the button. Easy. I can use the same tester on injectors too, as long as they use the JPT connector. With the more thorough cleaning and testing the solenoids when from a nice click, to a firm crack every time they were actuated. I don't think it'll make a difference, but at least now I know they are working as good as they can. I also resoldered the solder points on the solenoids, as they were looking a bit old. I also chose to bridge the solder points. I don't know why BMW chose to run it through that little circuit board instead of direct (it literally goes into the outer solder point, across a track on the circuit board, and out to the solenoid via the inner solder points), but this is a common mod to ensure reliability. With the Vanos unit rebuilt, It was time to do the rattle fix on the splined shaft This one wasn't anywhere near as bad as the old M3s one, but good to take any play out of it. Reassembly was the reverse of disassembly. So, what's the story now? Well, the seals take a few hundred KM to bed in properly, but already the car has perked up down low and has noticeably more punch off the line. Up top is about the same, but it's quicker to get there. It's proper rapid. The idle issue has not changed. This is really disappointing; I was hoping it would be the solution to everyone that is having the same idle issue, but sadly not. Back to the drawing board on that issue. Since the WOF runs out at the start of next month I have decided to pull the car off the road shortly. I have a set of BC Gold coilovers and a purple tag steering rack to go in, along with some other bits coming from the States (thermostat, reinforcement plates etc). Once I get back from holiday, I'll book it in for a Cert, and see what happens there.

Hey Guys, It's time to let my pride and joy go to another home. Me and the wife are cutting back on costs and are dropping down to one car, I now e-bike into work and this just sits in the garage and only gets used occasionally on the weekends. I've loved every minute of ownership, and I hope to find another home on here for it rather than have to put it up on Trademe. I have full service history for it in my ownership, prior to me there was one other NZ owner, and originally from Japan. Recently done the brakes/rotors (all around) 60,000km's left in them Near new front tyres Rear tyres have plenty of life left in them No modifications apart from blacking out the kindey grille, and white angel eyes Recently serviced 102,000km Always garaged and washed meticulously every fortnight! There are no issues that i know of with the car except that it could do with a transmission fluid change as it very occasionally hesitates in 6th gear at around 2k RPM. I had it checked at Auckland City BMW who had it on their computers, checked all the gear ratios, torque converter etc etc and said it was perfect, just needs a fluid change, this would be at a cost to the new owner of around $1000 Due to the above, i will let it go for $14000 If you would like to discuss further please get me on mobile (Zero 2 1 Two three Zero 3 0 7 7 ) Or, email me - adam @ mada . co . nz

New to the forum, forums generally. Looking to buy a e90 325i Motorsport wagon and advice through purchase and ownership. Would love a 335i but perhaps a stretch to justify but twist my rubber arm. Currently own a Lancia Integrale and a Land Rover discovery. As a 17 year old went in the red e46 M3 demonstrator when they first came out. Keen to learn.

Depends on the model and sometimes the year, but in the case of the F31 330d the Professional Navigation, and hence larger screen size, was a standard feature. Standard headlights were Xenons, with the adaptive functionality a cost upgrade. Motorsport was not standard but probably 90% of cars were optioned with it, and for NZ the 19" rims were included as standard with motorsport, whereas many markets stuck with the 18"s and charged for the upgrade. Later versions got the extended display as standard - with the bigger screen in the cluster. NZ F31 / F31 3-Series had leather upholstery as standard, most markets offered cloth as the entry level. 8-Speed Sports Auto as standard across the range, non-sports auto or even manual standard in some markets. Those are some of the more obvious things. 320i and 320d would be different again as spec varies across models (bigger engine usually has more standard spec as higher price point), Business Nav was standard on those, with Pro Nav being an upgrade - pretty sure Xenons were standard though, but it's been a long time since ordering those. I was just comparing what was on that particular 330d Touring against what you would see on an NZ new version of the same.

Bump. Had the giubo done. Also a shock top mount replaced as it was causing a bit of creaking when the wheels turned without power.

Don't be a wanker and ask for photos. Third world countries have better internet than me.

Pick of that bunch for me would be the 320d done 10s of thousands of kms on that motor in both 320d sedan and 320d xDrive touring. Great compromise between performance and economy. Enough torque to over-take a truck and trailer unit quickly even when loaded up, yet range of over 1,000kms to a tank on the open road. I’ve not owned one long enough to know of any issues, but anecdotally have had much better feedback than on the previous generation. Yes 330d would be harder to find, only a few sedan and some touring xDrive around. 4 Series offered here only in petrol, and Japanese imports very rarely diesel. Might be the odd UK one about, but again very few. Drive the 320d and see what you think.

Gutted, surely? Or is there some preoccupation with drainage?

Just front and rear strut mounts. Don't want the adjustables poking their way through my towers.

@Jacko - E91 330i's are not easy to find, as they're NZ new or UK import only.

X5 is back from Auto38... work done: Replaced due to faults: Water pump Radiator fan blade (it was chipped) LF height sensor (for self-leveling suspension, as I started getting a 'SL Susp inactive' warning recently) Fuse for SLS compressor Rear number plate bulb Replaced because it was a good idea: Water pump pulley Tensioner roller assembly Deflection pulley Main belt AC belt Other stuff Radiator shroud refitted (hadn't been installed correctly previously) General vehicle check over. Things for later: Guibo RF CV boot Vehicle needed battery removed for 30 min to properly clear and reset the SLS error code. Thanks to Jon at Auto 38 and Autosure (helped with the waterpump fault). As much as I don't like spending lots of money on repairs (and it looks like a hobby of mine) I value Jon's thoroughness and proactive approach. It's great to have the X5 back - and it is just as well that I enjoy driving it.

I owned a NZ new 3.6 RM1762 in Macau Blue. Brilliant car that had 245kms on it when i sold it in 09 and it ran superbly. Think it is still in Auckland.

Gotta be quick around here Nath! Just tee-ing up to get them to someone in Tauranga, if it falls over they are yours. Sump gasket gone too.

I'll take the tyres

Why 325? Get a 330. More chooch, same amount of fuel (same engine in some cases) . In regards to buying. Real service history is king, k's dont mean all that much if looked after. The basic car is solid, complex multilink rear ends with lots of bushes, which translates to lots of bushes to flog out. Cabin fans die, and get noisey, not expensive or difficult to fix. Cup holders get stuck... minor stuff. N52s are pretty bulletproof for the most part. Early ones can have a cam ledge seal that dies, many were fixed under recall. Noisey lifters can be a symptom, but they can also be a symptom of one that spends too much time at idle. Electric waterpumps crap emselves, no where near as bad as the internet says, nor as expensive/hard to do as the internet says either. Check the coolant reservoir for blue (bmw spec) coolant, green stuff pretty much translates to poor maintenance. Oil filter housings, sump gaskets, rocker gaskets leak Vanos solenoids die occasionally, or just get dirty. DISA flaps die and rattle around CCV systems are complex and die sometimes (lots of oil in intake) Coils can die, but no more common than any other coil on plug engine. Good cars though, nothing too scary.

Mrs Ms Baur would like the sump gasket.

A stupid bitch in a new M4 with her mobile to her ear driving through Milford yesterday. Personalised plate starting with WEI or WUI or similar - if you know the owners tell them to sell their vehicles status symbols and walk.

I feel for your bad internet, mate.

Hi all. After thinking about keeping this car for a while I've decided it needs to go so I've put a fresh wof on it and am ready to move it on. Best offer I have so far is only $6500 so if you want a cheap well sorted drivers E30 make an offer that beats that and you may get it. Cheers

You beaut 320i manual spotted in Wellington last week...

Jon found belts were rather past their best so they're being replaced along with a tensioner and pulleys. My self-levelling (rear) suspension had reported an issue 'not active' recently but seemed OK. Fault found with left ride height sensor. Being sorted tomorrow. Rear number plate bulb was had it too - fixed Pete

Annoying thing is that back in 2007 I worked on a project for Toyota Australia where their TRD section developed a "proper" TRD ute, supercharged v6 petrol, big brakes, shocks & Springs, etc. Was doing well until the bean counters closed it down for no proper reason, look at the size of the tricked-up ute market now. The "TRD" is only a few stickers, and bits of trim, no more power, etc... grr.

TuRD

What Rag Top said. Did it recently after two years of research and searching. Very pleased I did.

Few BMWs hanging out at the nurburgring... The i8 is a very pretty car, but I do wish they put something with a bit more horsepower in it.

Genuine E39 M5 titanline interior trim all round with black vinyl wrapped gear lever over standard wood trim. Also has the ultimate nice fat 3 spoke m sport steering wheel - best version by far.

Huh. Never even considered the possibility they weren't original! There goes the Pebble Beach concours d'elegance !

Oooooor, fly to Auckland for ~$50 and drive it back for probably less than $150 gas, easy trip to do in a day, take SH2 if you want some corners. Or save the flight by doing a one way transfer and do Auckland and Back over a weekend.