Leaderboard

Well it's all up and running... I tell ya, cranking the engine for first time after major open heart surgery and pouring $xxx into it - is somewhat nerve-racking, wondering if the fresh new parts are going to lunch themselves deep in the internals... But all good apart from lots of smoke from the new paint on the exhaust "curing". Been for first drive since driving it home day one back in May (to the supermarket of course - not necessarily the nearest one ). Rest of weekend was spent fitting front bumper and interior cosmetics (cupholders, centre console cubby and armrest handle, plus door cards and vapour barrier checks - some butcher had been at work on the rear vapour barriers, slicing them open to get at the window regulators.... Put my old M5 steering wheel on as it is in better condition. Before engine start I'd done a road wheels (quickie) tidy up... Time to start thinking about paint.... Sorry for fairly average photos - I need lessons @hunter

Moved Red car outside to put dinghy in it's place while I finish off the underside. First time the car has seen rain in a long time. Fitted 4 new door handle gaskets to red car; I'm really not sure there is anything else to replace/tidy up on her!

EPS retrofit. Installed and coded to the car. Has a great feel. Dif ratio change from factory 335d 2.81 to a 3.08 LSD.

You going need at least 2 wrenches to cover the typical ranges. A 3\8" ~20-100nm and a 1\2" ~70-350nm would cover just about everything. You could add in a 1\4" ~5-30nm if you wanted to get fussy on the low torque stuff. Toptul are one of the best quality options for the price. You could get a 3\8" and 1\2" in the above ranges for just over $400. Good support here in NZ also.

Exciting times ahead as this past weekend i ordered new MSport2 shocks and springs forthe E39. (with at least 1 shock leaking these are on their way out )- old springs will be for sale after refresh Not sure when they will arrive at this stage, but hoping to have install done sept / October as lockdowns allow. This will mark a substantial progress point in the refresh / return to build sheet spec project of the car and will leave only the Xenon lights to go. (these are listed on build sheet but not installed o nthe car) @hqstu is holding a set for me - lucky to have such good mates in the community. most importantly i cannot wait toget out and drive!

If you have the money https://shop.snapon.com/product/TechAngle-Models-(2%-Accuracy)/1-2"-Drive-TechAngle-Electronic-Torque-Wrench-(15-300-ft-lb)/ATECH3FR300B It's the only snap on tool I own. Brings me alot of joy every time I use it. Costs enough that I also don't want to use it as a hammer or a pry bar. Also in the market for a 1/4 inch torque wrench

3. DO NOT USE CHEAP HEX SOCKETS. I made that mistake and will never do it again. Make sure you get the best brand you can get and not some cheap Supercrap rubbish. I replaced mine with Bahco and the difference in how tight of a fit the hex was was huge, its no wonder the cheap ones rounded the bolts out.

spotted this BMW motorcycle and sidecar, parked up in the neighbourhood.

Hi guys, A couple months ago I was sitting listening to a Philosophy general education course lecture (compulsory course for uni) absolutely bored out of my mind. While I was pondering everything except what the lecturer was actually saying a bright idea popped into my head: what if I made an e34 540i registry for New Zealand? E34 540s are far from a common sight in NZ so I was intrigued as to how many there actually are, and then the statistical break down of automatics and manuals, sedans and Tourings, production year, colours, import history etc. So far at last count I have 84 cars on the list! I managed to collate these from the E34 NZ Facebook page, as well as from old Bimmersport posts and then just seeing the occasional one while out and about. There are still quite a few more cars out there though! (There could be up to ~120 according to NZTA stats) I have been a bit busy with University stuff so I haven't quite finished filling in the colours of all the cars (as this requires using a vin decoder) but most of it is complete. Anyway, if you have or know of an E34 540 that isn't on the list, please add it! The registry is on a publicly shared Google Doc: https://docs.google.com/document/d/105QyKE6a_xYv8p-_R4dSbFnPsJcLvHrYUJ8W2PuhgZU/edit?usp=sharing The Google Doc can only be edited on a computer for some reason and if it doesn't work then just leave the plate of your 540 in the comments and I can add it for you. So far some statistics are: 8/84 are Tourings 76/84 are Sedans 8/84 are factory 6-Speed Manual 76/84 are Automatic 66/84 are NZ NEW 15/84 are Japan Imports 2/84 are UK Imports 1/86 German Import (Must have been tourist delivery) 1/84 are 1992 (I believe this was a dealer car maybe for Jerry Clayton BMW) 31/84 are 1993 33/84 are 1994 10/84 are 1995 8/84 are 1996 1/84 are 1997 (Was probably MY95 or MY96 and was in storage)

Where can I get a working sunroof for a e39 540i?

That's the question I have no answer for lol.... everything is always for sale isn't it?

Amazing!

Looking good mate - happy to give some pointers on pics once we can meet up. i'm also keen to check out Bluey in the metal.

Which 540i are you going to sell after you done with them?

My money would be on the derv-burner!

Warren and Brown have a good name and nice products. I run a digital Snap on 3/8" which goes from 5 - 140nm which is versatile and handy but not cheap at around $800 from memory. Also have a Cat micrometer action 3/8 and 1/2'' which were around $350aud each. 1/2" has good range 40-300nm and long handle. The Cat wrenches are old Snap On gear. Warren and Brown look to be identical to my Cat gear. Am in the trade and use them nearly everyday. Have owned the Cat stuff for around 7 years with no drama.

👍 Same. I have a reducer for 1/2 to 3/8 sockets. 1/4 and 1/2 covers me from 5-200NM.

As it turns out @Ghost Chip, I actually have 1/4" and 1/2" drives, not a 3/8" 🙄 So, in summary, I've not missed the 3/8"!

Quality automotive tools don't really exist in hardware stores (NZ at least) mytools.co.nz Decent selection and prices on asian stuff (not far off trade in many a case) If you want European at a fair price then its Amazon or various international retailers around the globe. Primetools in Uk is good for facom if you specifically want them but shipping maybe a bit much in this case

I have 4, all random brands from amazon, cost a couple of hundy all up and are decent enough quality for the home gamer... torque wrenches last forever provided you dont use them as hammers and reset them to zero after use. 1/4" is a must have for N52s, aluminium bolts that are all tiny torques.

One recommendation i'll make is to check the scale. If you mainly work on metric stuff (bmws, japanese etc), make sure the NM scale is what lines up with the round figures. One of my most used ones has the rounded scale line up with lb-ft and its a pain to use NM instead. I have all three scales. The 1/2" is mostly used for wheels, mounts, and suspension parts. 3/8" for engine parts, and the 1/4" is useful for valve covers and anything that needs a small, fine, scale (not that often but its damn handy when you do need it).

Facom / Toptul / Koken / Teng I've used professionally and rated. Ive got Toptul for personal use. I'm eyeing up the Milkwaukee digital range that can also measure to a torque and then an additional degree rating for things that require an angle after being torqued. More of a want than a need though.

Depends on how much you want to spend obviously - for occasional DIY use, I have these in a 1/2" and 1/4" (to cover wide nm range on a budget) https://www.bunnings.co.nz/kincrome-1-2-micrometer-torque-wrench_p0227823 Seem fine for someone who does minor DIY and outsources the bigger jobs - if you're more serious about wrenching would be worth investing in higher quality.

+1 ☝️

1/4 is very handy, for a home mechanic I've never needed anything bigger than 3/8, might be different if you're working on tractors. I'd say the gap between 1/4 and 1/2 is probably too wide, heaps of stuff you'll want to to will be somewhere between their capabilities whereas the 3/8 can get right up there. Mine a very middling Kincrome from Bunnings (or Mitre 10, can't remember) and they're fine for what I need, if I were to replace them I'd probably step up a grade to Teng to match the result of my tools... but I don't see needing t replace them in a hurry. Edit: I wrote mine before Graham posted and I wasn't directly refuting his comments on 1/4. Nevertheless, 1/4 is very handy for smaller stuff like VANOS and for getting into tight spaces.

Not much on a car needs 1/4" torque wrench. Get a 3/8th and use a 3/8-1/4 adapter if you need one. (I have a 1/4" torque wrench, but it's used on bicycles.) Manufacturer... @C-130 Hercules Hazet suggestion is a goo one. Don't bother with SnapOn (or similar) - try BluePoint instead. Facom are also very good.

Hazet

Think you won't be able to be too fussy @leichtbau, these are much rarer than the F3x gen (even though all of those are imports) - wish mine had the twin exhaust like previous gen. Space grey is the best colour for these IMO, can't remember seeing an NZ new one without Xenons. Good luck though - the LCI 330d would also be a solid choice as has the N57.

Hi, I have a sunroof that will not fully close or open, I tried reseting but no luck. any ideas appreciated

I remember doing this on my parents 330i too, pesky things haha

Ohh lead free bearings. That explains a lot

Hey Team Hope everyones making the most of their lockdown. So finally got the motor all back together with most gaskets changed, now to get the engine mounts finished off and to get the oil pump back from engineers. I should be able to test fit the motor and then get the X5 sump modified to suit. drilled out the starter hole in the passger side to allow more room for the custom headers.

the 540iS list

I think if all the S65 and S85 engines had proper mechanical sympathy from day one the situation would be different. That would mean: > Low rpm driving until oil is at full operating temperature. > correct oil change intervals, ideally shorter than oem recommendations > correct oil grade / quality The situation would certainly be different 10+ years on. Many people that owned these cars beat on them when the oil was cold and/or had been overdue for a change, accelerating wear. It's easy to blame the engine but these aren't regular motors they are high compression NA motors making strong power at high rpm so if anything need to be respected more than more conventional lower rpm engines.

Well this one's a doozy... there is enough crude oil on the engine / subframe etc. to cause our PM to break out in hives... The focus is on the engine - practically every gasket has turned to bakolite - the PO's attempts with RTV instead of just buying new stuff has failed miserably. The chain guides have also just been caught in time with the plastic bits loose on the backing plate... so into it... valley pan, accumulator, heater pipes before heading underneath....

Just like lead-free solder!