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time for another update done 3 more bigger trips, once to Wairou and twice to Hastings, just takes it all in its stride! Second time in Hastings i popped in to see Greg, vibration starting to get pretty bad now and he had a hoist free so lifted it up and spun it up on the hoist, confirmed in the DS UJs, so thats good to know. also noticed the transmission mounts are buggered too so any vibration that is there is going straight into the cabin. Got home and looked up the part number for the driveshaft, it is 320d specific which seemed strange to me since the diff, trans and engine are all geometrically the same as any other automatic 4 cylinder BMW. Have a parts car E46 318i here so measured it up compared to the 320d, all looked the same so pulled it , and then realised the guibo on the 320d is the larger type. realised prefacelift 318i E46 have smaller output flange. thought oh well since my issues is in the rear half, i can just make one shaft up from two, however for whatever reason the slip/spline part is the other way around to the 320d one, so not possible. argh! so still to get that one solved, the easiest is probably to take the car off the road and get the current one rebuilt. another way is i could swap the output shaft on the transmission but not totally sure if that is possible or not, probably end up more hassle figuring it out than its worth! Previously mentioned the fuel gauge on the cluster is also not working right. yet to see a fuel level gauge on the cluster fail on these E46, the senders are much more common on this era BMWs. Brimmed the tank and ran it 500miles (about 800km) till i was satisfied the tank will be pretty much empty. the sender is located inside the tank and a really messy job to do if the tank is full. Removed the seat base, and removed the inspection cover, and right away found the problem! must have had a resident mouse above the fuel tank at some point as newspaper (there is always newspaper!!!) and the wires to the sender chewed. took a loom cutting from the parts car, spliced it into the car and connected up to the gauge, and hey presto gauge is back in business! Lol at doing 800km in the tank and still showing 2/5ths on the gauge! put cover and seat back in, took it round the conrner to brim the tank again, an gauge now is back all the way on full and has been there ever since (about 200km into this tank so far lol) Got a E90 parts car in a while back with the same E90 Motorsport wheels that are on it. all four tyres are different (and mostly bald), just so happens one of the good ones is an RE003 which matches the front on the 320d, so i have decided to break the set and use that wheel as a full size spare to replace the space saver. And finally, had a spare hour so made up and installed a hardwire kit for my Beltronic. really don't need it in this car tbh but a nice little addition so the cigarette lighter cord no longer hangs across the radio! just used the power for the makeup mirror light above the sunvisor. the switch inside the visor itself was buggered anyways, so the light never worked. have been looking out for one for a while, hard to find e46 non-motorsport (and therefore beige) but also high enough spec to actually have the feature. usually there are no lights at all, or its an Msport car with black. so just a cut and splice this time, not my usual way to do it as not easily reversable but im sure life will go on !

2012 F20 BMW M135i in Alpine White with Alcantara interior. Only 78,XXX km. No modifications. Starting price (reserve) is set at the trade price. I’d rather someone who really wants one to have it at this price rather than a dealer! Reserve = $17500 Buy now = $19500 This car has been well loved and looked after. It is in very good condition: Just back from a groom at Elite Detailing Front bumper respray in January 2023 No curbing on wheels Always serviced at Wellington European (last service November 2022) Two keys Non-smoker/vaper Features: Turbocharged 3.0-litre straight six producing 315 bhp (235kW) 0-100km/h takes just 4.9 seconds Rear wheel drive 8 speed automatic gearbox BMW M Performance brakes with slotted disks (pads and disks replaced November 2022) NZ Maps and navigation Bluetooth telephone and audio Reversing camera and parking sensors Multiple safety features Automatic headlights, wipers etc Fully electric sports seats with inflatable side bolsters Lights package and comfort access Things to note: Rear tyres have 2.5mm tread remaining Front tyres were new in May 2022 (all Bridgestone Potenza Adrenalin RE003) Minor paint blemish on passenger side door (EDIT - now removed) https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/motors/cars/bmw/listing/3972642175?bof=34mdzS7x

Someone should buy this... so much pace and a fair bit of practicality for the price, had a ball with mine.

Dammit I have them on trademe for 650. https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/motors/car-parts-accessories/bmw/interior/listing/3975478981?bof=Jl2KuC1d Felt fair looking at other values and NZ being a smaller market for this kind of stuff and any less than that and it would have really hurt to let them go since part of me still wants them in my car.

Oh no I was a lowly FLIV. But we’re able to order any car we want including individual options like my colours and just pay the difference to our company car allowance.

Yes I’ll definitely come to some club nights. Sounds like fun. I was really lucky with my job and the cars I had and I’m missing that a bit!

Ganz herzlichen Dank!

Beggars can’t be choosers, but would there be a price premium for Brilliant over Zinno?

Nice work, glad you got her sorted!

Yeah the N43 is the 'reliable' version if such a thing exists. One i sold had 273,XXXkm on it with the original chain - NZ new manual, lived on the open road and fairly well serviced, opposite of most N4X engines. But yeah i dont see the point. If you do the chain then you have to all the coolant fittings, hoses, pcv, seals. List keeps going and bill goes up and they arent worth anything.

That bubbling tint though, that right there is +5 HP.

The N43 does not have valvetronic, so one less system to fail, that's a positive

Now that im pretty happy with the exterior and handling, aside from needing some bigger swaybars, Ive made a start on the interior. The overall goal for this car is to build what is my interpretation of the 135i cs that bmw never built, so I started tearing apart the interior today for some major changes coming very soon.

Nice! GLWS Dean

Another forum member listed his 2012 F20 m135i in the 'for sale' section. Might be worth having a look.

Time for a bit of an update... The OxfordG 525 turned out very nice and has now been sold to a lucky recipient, excluding my labour I even turned a very rare $299 profit lol... If it weren't for the fact that the X3 is the ideal daily for my work/play at the moment it would not have gone anywhere... Being rather time poor I farmed out the painting of the Topaz 540 to a mate of a mate who did come well regarded... the result was OK, but there is a bit of orange peel correction to be done at some point. It has been assembled, a replacement windscreen fitted, WOF'd and the a/c regassed. Lots of other stuff has been done when assembling such as rear parcel tray re-dye and interior clean, rear windscreen trim, side trims, M5 mirrors. Things to do include repairing an assembly scratch on the rear bumper I just can't unsee, perhaps alloy wheel refresh and new tyres maybe. I can't make up my mind which 540 msport to sell so I just may advertise both and see which one goes first... As a refresher this 2002 topaz one has had a fair bit done, just review this thread... timing chain guides and all stuff in there is the main feature (as is with the Biarritz too), and now the paint and interior. If anyone is interested now in either the 99 Biarittz Individual 540 or the 02 Topaz 540 then please message me. Prices negotiable and will depend on how much more I throw at these cars.... and I can fully expand on the extensive work done... The dark M5 style 65 wheels on Biarittz will not be sold, which ever car sells will come with style 66's as pictured. Oh yeah.. in other news, a 2000 e38 740i Msport has found its way here... much to be done in the e39/8 rescue centre... although my business model /community service of "buy cheap / spend heaps / sell for a massive loss" I realise is unsustainable... just ask the missus... 😂