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Tonight I gave the interior a decent wipe down and gave the leather a quick once over with some conditioner I had on the shelf. Happy with how it came up except for the back seat having a bit of a worn patch. I'll have to get googling a patch up for that. Also did a quick dash mod. I did this on my last one as well and quite like how it cleans up the dashboard. I had a set of rings already but lost the little ones ?‍♂️. This will do for now. Used a paint pen for needles. Probably thicker than it needs to be but it came out nice and even with the lights on. Maybe not to everyones taste but I think it's an improvement over the white. Now I'm basically waiting for the FCP order to show up. They reckon I'll have it on the 18th.

Spoiler alert. IT RUNS! Very happy and glad I made the choice to take it to P&S' workshop as there were a myriad of electrical gremlins resolved (including replacing the E39 engine loom). While there it also received Wheel alignment - now within E30 spec for cert General check over Exhaust fitment Shifter re-fit (I hadn't had time to finish properly). But again, big shout out to Peter and the team at P&S in East Tamaki. Hoping it comes home this week so I can finish the panel work, replace tyres and get on with the cert.

Bit of a round-up, so apologies for any continuity errors. To drown out the creaking I decided to do something about the stereo. Went for a modern (but middle-school looking) blaupunkt and some tweeters inside a pair of premium sound tweeter pods. Thanks @Rob HB1! Keeping the original kick-panel and parcel shelf speakers for now - I want to get the premium rear speakers in too, but need a better condition parcel shelf to house them. A couple more appearance things - popped on a mtech 1 steering wheel (cheers @Contrails) , and got it tinted to make it bearable for the two year old who faces directly out the rear window. The tint was about 20 years too late to save the poor sunfried interior, so I replaced it with a lovely set from an SE courtesy of @BMTHUG I replaced the lollipop bushes (as they were polyurethane) in the hopes of curing the creaking, but it wasn't til my swaybar bushes finally arrived via the dealership that I finally achieved blissful silence. Not surprised they were complaining - they were pretty munted.

I'm having the same problem. Mdecoder is a valuable resource when looking at cars you might buy, or options on cars at pickapart etc.

Update. Changed the box fluid and filter today. Pretty easy job. Purchased a kit from FCP Euro. It's been done before. The filter wasn't BMW. And only about 4.5ltrs drained out. Over 6.5 went back in. I have a feeling someone filled it wrong. Possibly while the engine was off. Pan magnet had very minimal particles but there was still some present. Took the car on a good run. Not a single shudder. Was filled with what was supplied in the kit. Liquimoly TopTech 1800 ATF. And an extra additive Lubegaurd Anti Shudder which people swear by for these GM boxes. Taking it over the Remutaka Hill on Friday. Then on a longer road trip. Will be a good test. Car is running perfect now.

It's vacuum bagged 2x2 weave.

Hi All, Here's my newly aquired e39. I had a 98 540i many years ago but a Corolla sent that to it's grave in Easter 2014. Since then I've only owned another commodore which was then sold when company cars came along. I've been passively looking for a weekend toy for a while and this one came up in Christchurch, originally the seller was asking $3800 but with no wof or reg and a list of things required. I initally gave it a miss but it came back up with most of the work completed so I gave it a second chance. In the end I purchased it with no wof on Thursday and, one ballast replacement later, it passed it's first wof since April 2018 this morning. 205k's on the clock. The Good: Drives quiet and smooth. Interior is in reasonable shape. Exterior is straight and only minor scratches. Full service history up to 2016. Trans rebuilt at 152k. Minimal oil leaks, the power steering reservoir is the main culprit I think. The Bad: Bonnet and roof were recently resprayed. Kinda looks like they did it in a corn field during harvest... Unknown service history from 2016-present (except what previous did to it which included manifold gaskets, PCV, couple of suspension pieces and steering arm.) Car had sat for at least a year. Exact details on the last couple of years are a little vague. Plenty of small trim items to repair/replace. ABS light comes on occasionally. Brakes are a little spongey so hoping a full fluid replacement solves this. Passenger's side cabin air duct is broken at the filter housing so it's sucking from engine bay. Timing chain guides haven't been touched (tensioner has been replaced though). I've got a few things on the way from FCP including a maintenance kit. The oil was last changed at 178k (that I know of) and I'm not sure if it's been touched before or after it sat. Will do a full service excluding trans. To Do List (in no particular order? Full service including brake bleed/ Replace cabin air duct. Fix power steering leak. White "angel eyes" (low beams are already 6000k). Fix seat twist problems (driver and passenger!). Fit new windscreen seal. Replace stereo unit with aftermarket. Most likely a Chinese Dinan knock off. Remove car phone and replace with something that provides storage. M5 Grill Get sun visor lights working Dye parcel tray back to black Get decent radio reception back Respray bonnet and bumper Fix ABS trifecta I'll get some better pics once I've given it a proper clean up. A couple of the pics attached are the seller's from FB. Cheers! Sam My old 1998 e39 540i. Had done around 155kms at time of death.

Hey fam New to all that is BMW so have been reading through quite a bit here, thought I'd best sign up and say hello. Just recently purchased a 2007 E90 323i Msport. Pretty tidy with only 62000k's on the clock. This particular one ticked a few boxes (stock as, low k's, black, non turbo, no idrive etc) and was within budget so I flew up to Aucks from Welly to grab it. Quite different to my old MkII Escort Sport and stripped/slammed EK hatch civic, sure makes for a nice change though. Not sure if I will put some $$$ into dumping this one (don't hate me lol) or maybe just drive it for a little bit and upgrade to a turbo diesel one @ around 100000k's or something ? Kinda really like this one and am well over the days of having to go fast. Anyways, here's a couple of pics ! Looking forward to learning a lot here. Cheers !

Does anyone have one new or second hand? Part 63128387114

Ahh bingo! Now the penny drops. Saw your car when I called into see Peter & Sam the other week, looked very cool. Didn’t recognise the car with the wheels on it,Now I have put the two together and realised it yours.

Hey guys, so here's the story... have a 1980 635csi auto. Want to convert to manual. Have a getrag 260/6 box. This weekend I'm going to check out a couple of e12 525 manual scrap cars. My e24 is based on the e12 chassis so... What's worth pulling off the e12 car that could be useful for the conversion or for future spare parts or to on sell to others... I'm thinking pedal box, driveshafts, diff, suspension, maybe even the m30b25 engine. Are things like the headlights and doorhandles the same? any internal bits? dash cluster etc? who has knowledge on these old treasures!

My theory is somebody approached them with a business model... Entrepreneur: Hey BMW do you know people are using your data for free when you could charge for it? BMW: Yes, but it's too much trouble, we can't be bothered. E: If you give us access, and empower us to issue takedowns, we'll charge customers and pay you a royalty. B: What do we have to do? E: Profit. B: Okay.

If you want a hand with the rtab's let me know, Ive done it a couple times.

Here's a better close-up. Had a close look at it compared to the CF on my roof and interior trim, it has the same 3D depth and the fibers react to light in the same way. Still 99% sure it's real This is cosmetic stuff, not tyres,and the OEM stuff is waaaay overpriced... but yeah I'm not so sure I'll keep it. Maybe I'll get better quality aftermarket stuff, or go back to stock. I don't want too much messing around with mods, I'm too OCD with this stuff and get carried away ? I've asked to cancel those Aliexpress orders for now as well, I change my mind 5 times a day on what I want, think I need to pause and reflect on what I'm doing, and figure out my end goal on this car ? Plus installing mods when i live in an apartment is frustrating, I need to get back into a house!

Weave pattern can stretch and deform if it's cured under vacuum, 2x2 will show more distortion than 1x1, but if it's autoclaved it won't look anything this. I'd be inclined to agree that it's a dip. Although in saying that, some of the foil repairs in Bermuda on the AC50 during the America's Cup looked this rugged towards the end...

Thanks mate! 35% tint. It was $480 from Window Magic (opposite Spotlight, just off Hutt Rd). They turned it around in a lunchtime. I have had great results from Wrap Innovations in Grenada North too, but they couldn't fit me in at what was reasonably short notice this time.

@adro with the hook-up

Carbon fibre mat can't do this, it would require both stretching and compression at enormous tension which would be impossible whilst laying it. The black stuff is 'floating' on the base, just like a dip would. Unless there's actual evidence of real carbon fibre I can see nothing to suggest it's real at this stage. How it looks where it is straight isn't an indication that it's real cf, as I say, good dips look real these days. Cf is woven material, can you imagine any weave looking like this, regardless of the material?

Crap quality photos incoming... Test fitting the spoiler, it does look good on it ? It sits perfectly in place and I haven't even stuck it on yet. Do I paint the diffuser black or get rid of it? ? Edit, not my car but a photo I found online of one in identical spec, maybe I should just do the spoiler on it's own:

Car has now been running for the longest period of my ownership without breaking woohoo! Completed a nice road trip up the coast today and took the Paekakariki hill road home. Car drove magnificently, the suspension and manual box was a treat on that road. Grip for days and planted the whole time. Exhaust sounds good too! Have found the bushing kit for the shifter, I already have Driveshaft guibos to fit(have to take Driveshaft out to get to shifter bushings) and will investigate trans mounts since will be in that area doing the shifter/driveshaft and that should also help with the gearshift feel/slop.

Cage done and seats and belts all in.

Update for anyone else who might have the same issue... the repco tool worked a treat, got the arm off in 5 minutes. Getting the new cab to line up with the holes in the carrier was a nightmare but a whole different issue. Moral of the story: just spend 50 bucks on the right tool and save yourself 2 days of bashing and swearing ?

All these throttle controllers are doing is changing your throttle mapping, there is no change in the time it takes the throttle position to be communicated to the ECU. Literally the same effect as just pressing the throttle further. But if throttle sensitivity is exactly what you want to change, then they're a decent option. Although this can also be done in the cars software with a tune, although you can't mess around with it as easily as the tuner needs to set it.

Yeah had considered that. I have a heat gun now, pretty sure with heat gun plus suction cup I'll get it. I was making progress with the hair dryer and suction cup on it but very slowly. Would be super happy if someone in Tauranga had a rivet gun / dent puller and an angle grinder haha. Oh well, hard road for me. The rhs quarter panel is within micro meters of something I can live with, guide coats showing less and less low spots. Never thought I'd find it such a challenge! Also today something arrived, couldn't resist. You can't have an e46 without halos. Did my best to keep the wiring neat with bullet connectors, soldering and heat shrink tubing. Plan on putting a relay in eventually so I can have halos linked to the interior lighting / unlock mechanism too.

Hey Team So finally cracked onto stripping the e46 wagon of the v8 running gear to go into the e46 blue sedan and also stripped the sedan of its running gear. sedan ready for the v8 swap Dropping the fuel tank to prep up in order to weld some reinforcement plates. I managed to get the motor out with the headers still attached. I will be swapping out the adapter plate and diesel box out in favour of the factory zf 320z v8 5 speed box I have sent the flywheel setup away to Greg at MP auto to get a new firiction plate relined. Also did a trip to Auckland last weekend and picked up this v12 mock engine to start fitting into the M3 E46 wagon running gear out, so i thought i would use this opportunity to test fit this motor to see if it was possible This a n62b48 out of a 750i rear sump v8 and i tell you what, its doable! may need a little cutting but could be worth it to someone that wants to go down this road. So only real issue i saw was that having the motor sit as far back as possible the steering pump was fouling on the steering rack. just slightly touching the subframe with the lower oil pan Alternator was pretty close to the chassis rail too but with a bit of a massage with a hammer she would fit like a glove. Left side also touching just slightly With the motor this far back there would be no way of fitting a gearbox unless you cut the tunnel up. Steering looks like it would clear with a custom set of headers. So if anyone was looking at doing this swap or attempting to. My advice would be to modify the lower oil pan by cuting it down by 3-5cm. Move the motor foward 3-5cm the you would solve the tunnel, steering issue. Thanks Team

Buy an Alfa

To final weld, sort center mounts and add flexis when i find short enough ones... Sourced radiator. 26×19×2,25 " 2020-08-01-185628609.mp4

My apologies to Sam and others on this forum. I have been so wrong with my replies to this thread. I should have checked before replying on here. It's been a very long time since I've changed front springs (2006 on the Ti) and I should have made sure my statements were correct.

On the subject of style 32s, what's an 18inch set worth you reckon?

Just bought myself a e28 m20b27. Planning to change to 885 head, manual swap, change to b25 ecu and put xyz adjustables on it. Bit of a noob with mechanical side but am learning.

While the weather's been crap, and the OBD is now reading the car, I thought i would dig into the final warning light on the dash, the ABS Thought this might be a helpful write up if anyone else comes across this problem, because I would say wiring / connection issues are probably more common than the actual pre-tensioner failing. ** Edit ** I'm writing this because I don't want anyone else reading this to get the wrong idea or bad information, as I am aware pretensioners and air bags have pyro charges in them. If you're planning on doing your own testing, seek advice from an electrician about this and follow correct procedures before commencing. The battery had been disconnected for atleast 15 minutes prior to me unplugging or inspecting any harnesses / plugs. The pretensioner was removed from the seat and placed in a vice when I tested for ohms. To measure resistance of the pre-tensioner the short tabs need to be dis-engaged, i'm aware why these are there, to prevent the device accidentally being set off outside of it's intended purpose in a crash. I am aware that a multi meter sends a small amount of current in order to measure resistance, from what I've always been told on a 200 ohm scale a maximum of 3 volts will be used, which I am told is not enough to set off a pyro charge but seek your own advice on this. I am also aware that static electricity carries enough voltage to set off a pyro charge The purpose in why I posted this up in the first place was more to show where the failure for me occurred, as I couldn't find much about it specifically online about "Low resistance" fault, and the small adjustment I made to ensure the shorts are dis engaged when plugged in, doesn't compromise the safety circuit of the pre-tensioner, when the plug comes out, the shorts engage again anyway. ** Edit ** So the 2 codes it pull was - resistance too high passenger, I pulled the pre tensioner plug out, cleaned it put it back in, and that code went away - resistance too low driver side, pulled the plug out cleaned it, put it back in and code persisted. From my research that code of low resistance is usually a sign of either a failed pre-tensioner, or one that has been deployed. Found a spare one with wiring at pickapart for $12, so swapped both tensioners onto both sets of wiring, no avail Took the driver seat out again, measured the ohms on the pre-tensioner, seemed to be Ok about between 1-2 ohm ish (not sure my leads on the multimeter are still 100% accurate anymore) Plugged it in, and measured from the larger plug, you have to dis-engage the metal tab from the pin in there too, which is a pain, And measured 0 ohm. So still suggesting a short circuit some where. Cut the wiring insulation from the main plug to look for a break in the connection, found nothing. So thought that's strange, which left me with something at the plug in the pre-tensioner end I thought maybe when it was plugged in, the tabs weren't disengaging from the pins, thus creating a 0 ohm curcuit, tried adjusting the tabs a bit so it would push back easier with the plug engaged to no avail, so I adjusted the end of the plug by adding a tiny bit of a lip to push back those tabs when I inserted it Measured it from the larger connector and sure enough, showing correct ohms again ------------------------------------ Installed tensioner back on the seat, plugged it back in, then connected the battery. Loaded up ISTA, reset the Errors, and warning light finally gone! Hope this helps, wrote it up because I was struggling to find a description of this specific issue, about the plug not disengaging the metal tabs (that act as a fail safe) when performing service work Onto more body work tomorrow, got to get rid of some final low spots.

Looking a hell of alot better Can see a few tiny grooves with the primer on. Not long to sign off on this side

Good on you for saving it. This is satisfying to follow, keep it up!

Finished tidying up, the wiring on the driver seat. Hopefully that stops the strange rail twist going on. Stabbed my self many times trying to de pin the connector with a small screw driver. Also an added benefit of not worrying about the car not sparking a fire under my ?

I think they are. To be honest, if you can't readily find a s/h source (try Brent at BM World, etc) you may as well go to a man dealer. There may be a delay in ordering but I can't imagine they cost much, and you will have brand new bushes.