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Solenoids installed and it sounds like it should, smoother idle and happy me. On the down side the original noise that it went in for before it threw codes is still around. I'm just happy to have it back and it got a ragging on the way home to make sure everything was done up nice and tight. So time to enjoy it until the clutch / flywheel get done in the near future. I was very happy that Autosure only charged the one excess for the job. So other than a small comms hick-up at the start of the year BM Workshop continue to provide me with great service.

Nice to have found a obvious leak, my money is on this being the only leak. Hopefully the sealant will work, although its strange that you do not seat it all the way 'home' in its threads. Could the plug have gotten mixed up with another (longer) one when the short engine was at the machine shop?

The UV dye thing turned out to be a dud. Didn't want to blindly pour sludge into the pride and joy so decided to try it out on the new daily, a Suzuki Swift Sport I had picked up a few weeks prior. Did an oil change on it the previous weekend and noticed it pissing out oil quite generously. Cleaned up what I could, poured in a dose of dye and went for a half hour drive onto my mate's hoist. Plenty of new oil dripping out but made absolutely no difference under the UV light. Tested it in some old oil in a measuring cup and looks like it just doesn't play well with oil, just settles to the bottom instead of dissolving in it so is no use in this application. Another expensive shelf filler but worth a try anyway. Checked over the crank sensor, no visible cracks or damage that I could see. Chucked on a new O-ring and drew a ring of RTV in behind it right under the metal plate for good measure. Should be solid enough this time. Got the flywheel bolted up and the intake reassembled, minus the intake boots to have a clearer view from the top. Engine started up very effortlessly, which is encouraging, barely half a crank. No signs of leaks from the sensor so jumped under the car and sure enough, oil started running down the left side of the RMS housing. Video Hard to tell whether there's a leak from the RMS housing and/or oil pan but what's definite is a leak from the oil gallery plug further up, so it could be that running all the way down. Weird one. Thought I had cleaned and seated it all the way in with a healthy dose of sealant. Maybe I just didn't use enough. Then again, not really sure on the correct method of installation. Looking at the old engine block, it sat flush with the block surface so the sealant must have been doing all the work. Feels weird leaving it almost dangling there though as the Permatex sealant I'm using doesn't really harden so much unless tightened fully. There's also a passage that would be almost fully blocked if the plug is driven all the way in. From factory, the sealant looks to be similar to blue Loctite but I was more under the impression it's more to prevent loosening under vibration than stop oil seeping through, so suspect it must be some special BMW magic potion. Looked into ordering a whole new plug with whatever the right sealant is already applied but wherever I've looked, there's 2-4 week wait on them being shipped. Might chuck an order in and have a few kicking around for the future but for now just cleaned it up again, cleaned up the hole and drenched the damn thing in sealant and made sure to drive it in as tight as it would go. Looks to have gone in maybe half a turn further than I had it previously. Pretty crude but seems to have worked for 50sKid. Will let it set overnight and try another startup tomorrow. I'm still sceptical whether this is the only source of the leak but nothing would make me happier than being wrong in this case.

Struts and shocks will certainly need replacing if they haven't been done (rarely ever are). Definitely want to do bump stops at the same time, maybe the mounts, not sure how long they last on these.

Nothing quite like an automatic 323i with a not quite right M3 badge to get the heart racing!

From what I understand harnesses are only street legal with a full cage, complete airbag removal and motorsport authority card but I may have misinterpreted the rules. Will be getting a harness bar as a part of the half cage to keep the option for track use etc.

All good and that sounds like a great plan. Other end of (stock) seatbelt will certainly not be an issue, if it's OE it's already approved. All said and done, since you're putting in a half cage and proper seats, why not install a 3 or 4 point harness? That will probably cost you less than adapting the lap/sash and provide a more secure human/seat interface...

At least it doesn't bang on about a "sunroof delete" anymore.

Hopefully catch up again sometime soon at a Chch meet! Think there is a visit / tour Paul has organized this Saturday, I have put my name down.

I would get this: https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/motors/cars/porsche/cayman/listing/3895845085 I know it has the "cheap 911" reputation but go drive one, TRUST ME. My 987 Boxster is the best car I have driven to date. Steering feel, shift throw, flat 6 howl, weight balance etc, its just all bang on point. 987 Cayman would be even better because convertible roof is annoying when it isn't a perfect day AND its just that bit more rigid. To be fair though, roadster on a sunny day is absolutely awesome. Plus that Cayman is poised for value gains being 1) MANUAL and 2) Uncommon colour. If you can deal with having two seats because they are mid engined you get a front boot and a rear boot so there's tons of storage space, and it would also kick ass on a track day, and still be comfy and reliable for daily driver duties. Bonus: they're good on fuel, I get 11s per 100 around town when I boot it places, and in the 7s on long trips. I drove an E90 M3 the other day, and the steering, driving position, interior quality etc is just sub par to the Porsche. I'm sure a few forum members with M3s may contest this but honestly its really hard to beat some of the mid 2000s Porsche products with hydraulic steering, and the goldilocks levels of driving aids (not too much, not too little), and 3 pedals... p.s: I am selling my manual Boxster if you do fancy a Roadster. $20K and its yours.

Bit the bullet and bought the Turner spherical bearing kit, decided it was worth a punt since they have the lifetime warranty. Kit arrived yesterday and I spent this morning putting them in, out with the arms and pressed the old bushes out, new bushes ready to go in, first one went in no problem, second one took a couple of tries to get it started square but went in fine, arms go back in as per usual, but hardware can be torqued up with suspension droop as the mono ball just pivots when the weight comes back on, so nice and easy, will book for wheel alignment and WOF re-check next week. Now, to see how long they last....

No rear seat makes a huge difference to the ease with which you can do this. Different chassis but same considerations, I researched this for my e36 M3 coupe, and @sweetm3 did get an e36 coupe certed with aftermarket fronts and sliders, and a rear seat. No rear seat (rear seat and seatbelts must be removed and I believe the vehicle needs to be re-registered as a 2 seater) means no access/egress requirements so that's good, I know NZKW and VAC Motorsport mounts can be certed in NZ, I'm sure other brand name mounts, like Recaro would also be fine. I can't recall what brand @sweetm3 used but they're obviously also fine. Or at least was all true a few years back, always talk to your cert guy before spending the money. Then the seatbelt receptical fixing point needs to be OE or a new, reinforced mounting point, you can't use a non-OE mounting point on an aftermarket seat base (or slider) to the best of my knowledge. This is normally on the transmission tunnel and there are documented NZTA/LVVC standards for this with all of the necessary measurements. Did you find this: https://www.lvvta.org.nz/documents/standards/LVVTA_STD_Seatbelts_& Seatbelt_Anchorages.pdf

Don't have as much time anymore with being back to work but slowly chipping away at it as much as I can. Bolted up the fancy new bracket. Will use the auto flywheel as it's smaller and less hassle to install. Also checked over all the nuts and bolts I had access to whilst being under there, everything is torqued to spec so don't think that would have been the issue. Just to be safe, took out the left side oil pan bolt, cleaned everything and replaced it with a clean bolt from the old engine. Used some thread sealer on it as well although there's no threads below the pan gasket anyway so unlikely that it'd make a difference. Also managed to track down some UV dye finally. Only one I could find was this one that's technically meant for AC systems but should still do the job. Don't think it'd have anything in it that would do any damage to the gaskets or anything. Only thing I'm unsure about is how well it holds up to higher temperatures but I guess I'll find out. Not a cheap endeavour at $200 retail (good guy at the counter at NAPA gave me trade price at $120) but if it saves me from doing this all over again then it's money well spent. Will reassemble the intake and everything around it and try start the car back up over the weekend. Will hopefully help get on top of it.

Can we what!! Sex spec is back in fashion!! On the hunt for the chrome light set too!

Hello...My 2007 130i 6 speed finally arrived from Japan to New Zealand. Currently at the groomers getting ceramic coated. Its a white M Sport so I got the painters to paint that grey rear valance black, and removed the 130i and the m badge! Fitted gunmetal Avanti 11 spoke wheels, flat bottom leather and alcantara steering wheel from Lativa, Genuine BMW short throw gear lever that I scored new sealed bag off Ebay via the USA as well as a Storm Motorwerks weighted gunmetal gear knob from the UK, Pedal Haus aluminum pedal covers from Europe (to be fitted), LUX H8V3 bulbs, new floor mat set, new alcantara hood lining fitted, Gloss black grills etc. Looks like a new car. This will be my daily for work as I had a desire to row gears, gave my E70 35i M Sport to my wife so that will remain our family car and will sell her NZ new X3.