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Managed to conquer the rear axle today. Much like the lhs the shock and control arm balljoint were f’d. The lower swingarm balljoint was looser than the lhs one. Made a start on the front too. So far the lhs shock and control arm are f’d. The thrust arm balljoint and bush (x5 item swapped out 3 years ago) are fine, along with the drag link and tie rod ends still feel ok so may leave those and replace when actually needed. In the last pic I forgot to fit the strut mount bearing. Was a sign to finish up for the day. Hopefully wrapped up tomorrow.

That's the right one Dan

When they renew their service team we might see a change. Currently it's the same people.

Diff Rebuilt. Kayne commented the pinion bearing was shagged and I should be running 75w140.. This might have been my dentist drill whine under load? We shall find out. Diff looks new now..

Brother fabricated stainless ehaust

Stunning space grey BMW E90 in excellent condition. Best on the market. It has EXTRA LOW mileage. I am the first owner and bought this vehicle in February 2020 with the only 20970kms on a clock and very rare grade 4.5 which is excellent condition for a used car (attached the auction sheet ). Drove only around 5k kms, but have done lots of car detailing over lockdowns. So the car is immaculate inside, outside and mechanically sound. Very reluctant sale. My family is growing, so I need something with a bigger boot. If you are looking for a very reliable BMW E90 for daily driving look no further. Additional features Facelift LCI model with full M-sport package (18 inch alloys, suspension, steering wheel, body kit) Ceramic paint protection coating (Lifetime warranty. No fades. No spots. No scratches. Easy to wash) Headlight protection Fullscreen reversing camera (spent 1k to install original kit) Later model black grille (have the original one) LED black side markers (have the original one) Aftermarket sport exhaust to hear the real voice of straight 6 (have the original one) Rear carbon fiber leap spoiler (didn’t install it yet, might come with the car) Factory Xenon lights Bluetooth 2 keys This vehicle has a straight-six 3.0 litre engine (N53). NO turbo. If you've done some research you should know that the N53B30 engine is the most reliable in the N series (whereas 2.0 and 2.5 litre engines have too many specific problems, which will cost you an arm and a leg). I've had it regularly serviced (only preventative maintenance) and it does not need oil top-ups between services, so no worries about valve seals. Always used premium fuel and original fluids. Can provide all invoices and receipts. Comes with all the service history from Auckland City BMW. Happy to do fresh service from the dealer before selling it. Drop me a message (+64 22 1969099). if you're seriously interested. Happy to discuss its history and everything I've done with it with an interested buyer. The car might go with personalized plates for an extra cost.

Not a BMW but a bloody amazing machine. Wish I could hop on and experience the way it moves.

yeah, cool car though way over-priced. It's a $19k car IMHO.

This looks like NZ?

I'm at work, so this is rushed and a brain dump, but.... I think 'asks' certainly contribute. People look to trademe to see what their vehicle is commanding before listing. I've watched the E36 M3 'ask' pattern going up and up and that impacts what they sell for eventually. You can guarantee the next one doesn't come on at 20k (probably a realstic value for these cars imo) when others are on there for 40. In that respect 'asks' do contribute to setting prices. Also, the purple vert sold to Rose City... it must have changed hand around 35 (sure someone can look it up) but that doesn't appear to have 'reset / raised' it's value.

Gauges, coilovers, fancy exhaust, stickers, LSD and a BIG wang, all for less than 10k... you could probably remediate and recover it. https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/motors/cars/bmw/listing/2905766777

Classic Winger Wellington service. 1. They broke the passenger door mirror and refuse to even acknowledge it was broken by them, despite the scratches down the side of the passenger wing on the paint. Replacement mirror housing required... $$$ 2. Did an oil service on my new car and refuse to update the service history in iDrive because “it wasn’t due an oil change so there’s nothing to update” Thank goodness it will be out of warranty by it’s next scheduled visit. None of my vehicles will ever go back. They aren’t all terrible though. Sales team and Parts team who have been there for a long time are great.

The fun actually began today. Thought I could do the entire rear axle but only managed to sort out one rear corner before getting too tired and over it. After 21years and 197k kms the larger control arm balljoint and the shock was F’d. The rest was actually ok but since I only ever want to do this sort of job once, may as well do it all. Hopefully get the other rear corner sorted tomorrow then on to the front, which I think is alot easier in terms of access to nuts and bolts.

Perfect one car garage is a 964 911(sorry, I mean E46 M3) and pay just someone to deliver your fridge or pick up parents from the airport 🤣

This thing is awesome. Its quite expensive for a “535” but it does have a lot of mods. also this dealer (consignment seller) knows how to present cars really well. Almost bought one off him a few months ago but ended up with something else.

2005 manual with a $9,500 effective reserve... https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/motors/cars/bmw/listing/2902297134

Mounting of gas paddle. Inspection for any header & exhaust leaks. Prep for all final welding.

So it turns out the dry sump would be absolutely perfect ... on a left hand drive Just enough interference with the steering rack input shaft to be a no-go. Will turn the attention back to a custom wet sump. Some progress on the rear end however !! Certifier has been and inspected the welding so now I'm free to get the rear back together. Got supplies to do this consisting of light rust killer, wax & grease remover, 2k epoxy primer, 3M polyurethane seam sealer, paintable underseal and a 2k top coat (grey). Gave everything a final wire wheel and wipe down then applied the epoxy primer with a brush. You can get it to go on pretty nice but turns into a messy and painful job with the brush upside down. Will investigate spraying the underbody when the time comes ... something I didn't want to have to do 😕

Got my alignment today at Wairau Alignment, getting ready for cert, he did unfortunately confirm my Tie rods are shot which I suspected and made the alignment tricky so another item for the to-do list... Steering feels significantly better which is nice, should be great when I change the Tie rods and get another alignment ? I don't have camber plates so was a little concerned at being able to get it close enough to factory specs for LVVTA certification which I'll be doing ASAP. Rear camber was no issue but front camber was borderline at my current ride height which is low but not silly IMO. Front Left -1'04' (spec range -1'03' - 0'23') Front Right - 1'32' (spec range -1'03' - 0'23') Alignment guy seemed think while not ideal, this would pass cert (within 1/2 a degree of stock range) so fingers crossed! Really don't want to have to buy camber plates as well...

Oh and my rubber grommet from where the airbox sits is gone and replaced with a piece of f**king rag....