hotwire

Re wheels. I had the same concern about fitting 18's to the E39. I figured that as the M5 came factory fitted that they should be ok. This proved the case, a little more harsh than the original 15's but not overly.

What sort of supplier did you call? A sparky, Repco, SC?? Some websites are somewhat vague with some listings, Battery Town included. It aint rocket science though. Your current DIN 53 (some brands DIN 55) is a mainstream battery, DIN 63/66 is the next size up if you want a bigger one.

^^^^^^ Ditto but i probably have 20l of Magnatec from Repco's sporadic $25 deals. Considering its nearly 3 containers to change oil in both cars... Oh, & I got a 20l drum the other day for the race car, only cause I couldn't get the grade in 5l containers. That said - it is much more economical.

There is variation with pricing but not always comparing apples with apples as far as quality. I would rate Hella Endurant the one of the best to go for - see a Battery Town stockist. The car will be equipped to cater for bigger batteries - they are sized depending on spec & fuel type. The next size up from yours does jump in price significantly.

Great photos to try & sell a car...not!

Mmmm nice car Martyyn. So this was the one you used to have Paul?

Oil sender wire, if later model sender, will have a plug to attach to the sender, A wire release clip to depress from memory to release it.

No Problem, so is it at the front as Will suggests?

I was under the impression (because I had questioned him early in the thread) that the engine had the standard distributor, hence being able to adjust timing. I stand corrected but I thought I remembered early 325's as not being Motronic. Agree with your comments though

Ok, so cant remember on the E34 - does it have the warning text along the bottom of the cluster? Is that where you are seeing the message? I thought I remembered them having the check control panel as E30/28 etc As far as oil pressure light - it is a red warning light as in any other car. Earth the sender wire & see if it illuminates, If not, wiring or bulb issue. If it does have the text in the dash as I allude to above, yes if the oil pressure lamp circuit is not working, it will show the "oil pressure" as well as the "oil level" as it will be seeing neither.

I would always by choice run on 98. We only have 95 locally so 98 only gets used when I am passing a 98 station. I would still get the ign timing checked, yes it needs doing with a timing light - Simple job. It may still be a tad over advanced. If pre ignition is very slight - it may not be obvious. I doubt any damage has been caused at this stage.

Great news! Re oil pressure light - your statement is confusing - you have no oil light but you are seeing oil pressure warning on the dash??

You will normally get a short prime, not 3 secs as with others though. Cant recall now - did it infact have spark in the end?

Yes the diaphram on the rail is the pressure regulator & is the return line. Simple to confirm the supply hose - assuming the pump is working, key on & see which hose fuel is supplied from.

Being Jap I bet it would have had. The units are often removed completely if not converted to run here. Where positioned in the Jap car leaves access to the boot more restricted. Can be removed & unplugged without leaving signs of having been there.

^^^ Ok, that is the video module running the monitor.

Not hard to bleed the system manually. Bleed the cylinder first then each line from each wheel

What are you saying - you want to replace the monitor with aftermarket? Why? If car is post 09/01, it will have a world tuner - see the thread on here for reset procedure. Was the monitor turned off when you were trying the radio? Jap Nav can be chucked out & replaced with Euro spec

Maybe touch base with a few specialist transmission repair businesses to get some feedback on possible causes for the symptoms.

No Martin, it needs to be Mk3 or 4 to run 16:9 Yours is/was a Jap unit version II - a completely different unit Edit, yours would have been in a cabinet mounted under the parcel shelf. Quite probably has been removed.

Get/test the battery properly. If it is infact .03 amp discharge on sleep mode (after about 20 mins) then that is ok. Might be prudent to confirm that with a multi meter. Where are you getting your losing 4 amps a day claim from - how are you coming by that? Very unusual for an OEM battery to prematurely fail. From what you say - it has already been replaced a few years ago with its second? That would make two in 7 years. The originals usually last more than that. If you can phisically fit a bigger battery, (they normally cater for varying sizes) then do so. Bear in mind though - it wont fix an underlying issue, only delay the inevitable. If the car is going to have random use between sitting - it will go flat. I have a garage queen that does exactly that at times. As Paul says above - Hella Endurant are about the best around if replacement is required.

Yum & stunning photography Josh.

Ahh, my advice heeded A much better look. Now a Mk4 to finish it...

^^^^^^ And E38 & E39 & E53 & Range Rover.....

sh*t Ben, you have the BMW bug now huh Bit simpler than the 540 to work on. Got the same alloys as my E12 too