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181,400 kms. When I ordered the PCV off FCP I noticed spark plugs were on sale. Taking advantage of this, I bought a set of NGK spark plug and swapped them in a couple weekends ago. After a pretty simple install I took it for a test drive (no tickets this time!). As soon as I pulled out of the driveway it felt much better. Power delivery much smoother and overall a very happy feeling M62. The real test was how it ran on cold start, and I am pleased to report that the next cold start was flawless; she ran silky smooth from stone cold. I've been trying to solve this rough idle since I got the car in September. It's so satisfying to have it running right now. Now time to enjoy it and work on some cosmetics before the National BMW Festival in March.

Called it. Glad its sorted, but I wouldnt be happy to use them again with workmanship like that. They likely removed the plugs to do the vanos (makes engine a lot easier to turn engine over to get into the right place), so its on them for not torquing them up properly.

181,000 kms. Since I've had the car I've been battling a rough idle when cold, and more recently I've noticed an occasional small puff of blue smoke on startup. It did this at seemingly random intervals with no noticeable pattern. After a fair amount of reading online I decided my issue most likely stemmed from the PCV, which is located at the back of the engine. Rather than replacing the entire PCV unit (which never rarely fails), most people opt to replace the rubber diaphragm only which is far easier to remove. These rubber diaphragms are notorious for developing cracks or small holes which enables oil to seep through and thus create a puff of blue smoke on startup. I decided to try and tackle this job on my own with the aid of several online videos and armed with a flat head screwdriver (only required tool). At first access proved to be an issue, as most of the videos online were done using an E38 which has much more space at the back of the engine. I decided to remove all the plastic panels and other bits which freed up a lot more space. This made the job much easier and I was able to get access to the PCV, pop off the plastic cover and remove the old diaphragm (pictured below - I'll let you decide which one is the old). The old diaphragm was buggered, and fell to bits as I took it out. I installed the new diaphragm, put the car back together and took it for a test drive (pictured below - clearly much more powerful!). Upon start up it was still pretty rough and there was a small puff of smoke which was slightly disheartening, but most people say the system takes a few days to clear its throat. Once on the road the power deliver felt noticeably smoother and the engine overall happier. Over the next week or so there were probably 3-4 very small puffs of smoke on startup, which was completely eradicated after a week of driving. What's more, the cold idle was 100x smoother. Still slightly lumpy but a huge improvement. This is the most involved job I've ever done on a car by myself, which was satisfying and rewarding when it actually worked. I fixed something! This car is a great base to learn to wrench on cars in my opinion. It's great getting below the surface and discovering all of the other design elements of the car that 90% of owners will never see. Removing all of the plastic panels blocking access to the PCV was so methodical and beautifully simple (I'm sure not everything is this way!).

If anyone wants some real good wheel cleaner, CRC Mag Monster is on special at Repco for $99. Grab a spray bottle and dilute 50/50. Or just use straight if you want to go all out. https://www.repco.co.nz/en/car-care-panel/car-care/tyre-care/crc-9309-mag-monster-mag-wheel-cleaner-4l/p/A1336147 Beats Dragons Breathe and the like in my books.

Thanks, hope so as well. 2010 with 46,000kms and super tidy, full blown service showed no concerns at this stage.

Awesome @BozzaFC! Will you be taking it to the British & Euro show this coming Sunday?

After looking at a million options and different replacements for the Merc, we’ve settled on our first M car. Taking into account we wanted a rapid tourer that could do light daily easy driving it seemed a later car with adaptive suspension/ steering etc would best suit. My wife is not that tall and finds any 3 series too low in the seat, she likes to see the end the bonnet and the F series is just to low for her to be happy, interestingly the latest 3 is ok in this regard but really for the spec we want out of price range. Getting another 7 is just two big in F01 range and the F10 is about right considering we are moving from an E class. Next issue was engine, N63 V8 seemed like it would hand grenade at the look of a late oil change. And even if you got a good one, resale would be utter garbage. Wife didn’t want a diesel, couldn’t change that. 535i option, good balance of power,price, poise, however vehicle specs are generally pretty piss poor and not at same 550 level we really want. Probably get bored with it. Looked Audi S6 which are very nice but decided when the right F10 car came along we might get really interested. E class was more of what we had and that is a good car but we’re selling the E550 because it lacks a really driving connection so anything but a E63 was out and they are too similar to the 550 for me. E60 M5 was an option, yes they have problems but so do all M/ performance cars one way or another. Find the right one it would be an awesome car. Ultimately the lack of adaptive suspension, it’s transmission change and overall tech age made the extra cost of the F10 worthwhile to us. Had ‘our’ M5 come up late last week at Auckland BMW, just traded. Promising look of spec, and mileage (80k), looked black in the pics but is metallic Blue (Imperial-Blau brilliant metallic (A89)). On first seeing we where happy to see the colour of the car outside in sunlight. Lovely metallic fleck. Its a one owner NZ New, BMW full service history car. Less then 80k would have been nice but the provenance to me was more important overall. Previous owner had a E39 M5 prior to this and traded up to a new M5, condition is extremely good, clearly looked after. Here’s some pics from the ad, more to come at pickup tomorrow ?. Let the fun begin. Some of the options: soft close doors, electric boot, heated and cooled front seats with full comfort and bolster adjustment, surround view cameras, big arse engine ? with 560 odd horses

There's a 'late for work' ticket if ever I saw one! Fixed camera too, that's the one after Horokiwi just before Petone offramp. Bummer. Great result mate, this car's really coming together for you. I saw your 'ex-girlfriend Jane' the other day, still looking sharp though in need of a good wax. ?

Great result Boston

Spotted one of these on the motorway today, sounded EPIC... very cool car (and one of 8 in world??!) https://www.autoblog.com/2018/03/06/morgan-aero-gt-limited-edition/#slide-1337219

Adrian van Hooydonk is the man responsible for the grills. Side note: If anyone goes over to Germany to slap him, please do me a solid and detour to the AMG factory and also slap the guy that put 20 bolts on a 3 piece engine underbody tray with no oil service flap.

180,900 kms. Couple small jobs ticked off this week. Replaced faded side indicator bulbs as per WOF note. Replaced the nasty crumbling left headlight gasket with a fresh genuine BMW one.

This is a thread much the same as 100's of others on all car fora that never ends well. Everybody has a preference whether it be cost or ease of application. The brand of wax adds very little to the finish - it is there to protect. It is the prep and polish that needs to be top quality. Autoglym polish at 15 bucks a bottle suits those who must save money...like the Royal Family. I hear they even share the bath water every three days.