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Just got a WOF from Apex (thanks for squeezing me in this close to shutdown @BMTHUG !), not a single issue with the M5. Given that an actual brake test machine was used rather than an assometer like East Auckland BMW the handbrake showed no issues (what a shock). Anyway last thought for the year before everything hits the fan (If you know, you know....)

Over the weekend I cleared out the skuttle panel drains, gave the door car membrane a good going over to make sure it was sealed, and replaced the door card clips with the ones with the foam seal. Perfect timing for the rain that came on Monday and no water seemed to come in, so hopefully that's all solved! Thanks for the tips Brent and Dan.

OE ones seem to last 20+ years and were probably heat cycled far more often being a new car at one point,. To me the issue with the aftermarket metal ones is the usual quality control gamble. They are quite a new product so haven't really been time tested for any other faults that may surface either. They are on Aliexpress for way cheaper atm and at that sort of price you can take the gamble.

Yeah true, didn't realize which type you had until you uploaded the photos. They do a version with the bolt-in style coils too, which is slightly more expensive for some reason though - Amazon / eBay.

Date: 10-15 Dec 2024 Distance: 216,280 kms 1. Remediation day. Front ARB Replacement - installed the ARB from the post above. Bushes were replaced recently. Diff Replacement - including front differential bushes. Fresh Penrite 75W90 Synthetic, new bungs. What Diff'rence Does It Make? PSU Reservoir replacement. Eliminating that annoying leak. New Power Steering Reservoir awaiting install. (Image: Jon Begley) Headlamps: Replaced both main beam bulbs D2S Xenon (headlight out). Left hand had been intermittent - it seemed to dislike the thought of the outside world! Tailgate stops: replaced tailgate stops to remedy leak into cargo area. They're a sh*t to get to! New Tailgate Bump Stop installed (Image: Jon Begley). Guess it's time for a thorough clean around the hatch, then. Cooling System Low: I'd had to put in about half a litre of coolant every 8 weeks or so. Jon noticed evidence of coolant loss. Yechhh - that'll be coolant on the outside, then... (Image: Jon Begley). Traced to both hard lines beneath the intake manifold. We'd replaced them in 2019/2020 with Rein items. Very disappointing that they'd failed already. Sourced new genuine BMW items from Continental Cars BMW Wellington. It was 23 months since last coolant flush, so after pressure testing, new genuine BMW Blue coolant 1:1 per factory recommendation with deionised water. Ready for new coolant pipes Oil Leaks: removed belts, front covers, oil filter housing. One thread had failed last time the job was done; this time the remaining three needed helicoil repair. Helicoil tools of trade Jon shows the battlefield after helicoil action Oil Leaks Continued... New filter housing gasket. On prepping for valve cover gasket set replacement (Elring 318.590 includes the grommets; I also bought new genuine BMW washers), Jon found that my valve cover was cracked. It's becoming a common 'feature' of M54's at this age. I was dispatched to Pick-A-Part to secure a suitable replacement. M54 Valve cover in the wild at Pick-A-Part Having located one, it took me 35 mins to successfully remove - not bad given I'm a geezer and out of practice. 35 mins later... Hairline crack found in two of the apertures - it'll have to do for the next four or five months, guess I'll be sourcing a brand new one. Bugger. Oh well, better than what was on my car... it's a temporary. Reinstallation.... Inlet manifold , covers, (the seals were still excellent, replaced when the starter motor was replaced recently), oil filter housing, alternator, belts, oil filter (Mann) and fresh Penrite HPR-5 5-40 Synthetic; Air Filter (Mann), Cabin Filter (Corteco) fitted. Ran up to temp, checked levels and for leaks. Tested OK. Multi-function Steering Wheel: more detail in a dedicated post below. Next Steps Now I'll prep the battery tray from the parts car, rust convert, etch, prime, and hit it with the gloss black Rustoleum all-in-one-paint. During the xmas break I'll get the old battery tray removed from our wagon, prep, rust-treat, paint, and install the freshly-painted replacement. I also need to treat minor surface rust beneath the car. I'll get it up on the rack, clean, then a couple of coats of Brunox, and then ColorPak Pro Series Rubberised Underseal. Finding a replacement high pressure steering line is on the todo list, as mine is weeping. And I'll work on the stereo prep. Get my 3D printer up and working, print some front speaker adaptor rings. And get some cost-effective faux-Dynamat from Aliexpress, start prepping the load area. Never-ending story, taking care of an older BMW. Still, even with just 190 bhp, the 325i touring is a fun drive. I also need to look into rebuilding Bilstein B8s. More on that soon. My thanks to Jon and Keren at Begley Motor Worx in Marton. Great professional service! Wouldn't be a big update without a punny musical reference, would it?

Another problem needing solving with this conversion is oil level measurement - the N54 never came with a physical dipstick, relying instead on checking the oil level via the oil level sensor. While it is possible to use a scan tool to measure the oil level, I'd prefer to have a quick and easy way of doing this on the go, leading me down the next rabbit hole - designing an in-cluster display to show the oil level (and any other interesting information, such as exact vehicle speed, oil/coolant temperature, etc). The design is based on an off-the-shelf SPI display, paired with a custom (own design) circuit board using a PIC32MK with a single CAN channel: 3D print a housing for the screen out of ABS (don't worry, this cluster isn't the actual cluster I'll be using in the vehicle, just a testing one): Test fitting and adjusting positioning with the cluster face loosely fitted:

This topic pops up regularly on all sorts of forums and FB groups and I genuinely don't get why it's still a debate. BMW genuine blue coolant concentrate still works out to roughly the same price as any quality aftermarket equivalents, so why would you bother/gamble with anything else? I guess this green Penrite stuff is the closest equivalent that you'd get off the shelf from SCA - $57 / 5L = $11.40 / L I picked up 4 bottles of BMW concentrate from the dealership the other week, I believe I paid around $120 so is $30 / 1.5L of concentrate. Add to that 5L of demineralized water for $10. Typical fill would be around 6L so you're looking at 2 x $30 + $10 / 6L = $11.60 / L Supposedly, the genuine coolant is made to a specific formulation that works well with the alloy used in the engine block/head and the plastic/rubber parts comprising the cooling system. There's all sorts of debate as to whether that's true, whether other aftermarket coolants made to the required specification do the same thing etc etc. I could understand the inclination to take a chance on that stuff if genuine cost twice as much but there's literally next to no difference in price. If you care about your car, just go genuine. This is the one rare instance when it doesn't cost you anything extra.