danbullock

https://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/used-cars/bmw/auction-1574437192.htm This must have been on TM for around 5 years now if not longer... 10k for a tidy E36 years ago for 10k you think the guy is mental but now..

Well aphone call and a few emails to Pelican last Friday and they had the correct parts at my door by Monday morning. All fixed and no issues. The Wife has confidence in the car now (again) which was the hardest thing to over come. Not a tuff job really. Just don’t shear the rubber power steering mount like I did. Did the bleed procedure twice. Replaced all the o-rings on the quick connect hoses that I didn’t replace. I can recommend Seal Innovations in Penrose, good to deal with and have a large supply of o-rings and other seals. And just so we all know, 1.5ltrs of BMW coolant is only 1 cent dearer at the dealer, compared to the other local independent BMW Parts suppler. Plus, it appears the Penrite G48 coolant is approved coolant however it’s green. And just on those “quick connect” hoses, don’t try and twist them off, if you didn’t know like me, they have locating slots and ridges and only go straight on on and off. Now after picking up all the parts and running around in my e30, the power steering rack in that decided to sh*t the bed so It looks like I’m doing a new quick rack for that sigh.. it never ends ...

5er at Zebra Onehunga...

Back on topic... The fun fun fun continues.. Look what Pelican sent me instead of the pump and thermostat. Some poor bugger with a Porsche 997, somewhere in the world, is missing a USD$3.50 petrol flap cable. It probably costs NZD$35 here.

I’ve never owned run flats and the car came with decent Bridgestones. How do run flats work? How do you know when there is a puncture? Towie said it’s only so far you can go before the sidewalls start to disintegrate. So are they a “get me somewhere quick so I can buy another $300 runflat, that’s if that they have them in stock?” tire? I knew the water pump probably had to be replaced at some stage, just Murphy’s law, bad luck, my procrastination, wife’s car. Whats a summer holiday without a brakedown tale to tell the grandchildren one day anyway? Not all is lost, repacked into the E36 and it carved up the Brynderwyns proving the old girl still had it her.

I’ve come to experiance that driving a E91 with a n52 on a long journey, you are taking a huge risk of being stranded on the side of the road. Why? No temp gauge + 12 year old electric water pump and thermostat + Brynderwyn hills = expensive trip back to Auckland on the back of a tow truck, leaving the wife, toddler, 2 dogs and bags in Waipu, waiting to be picked up. Also, having no spare tire is not and ideal situation either. It’s fitted with non run-flat tires so we have a bottle of Slime and a electric pump but this is not a 100 % fix. The tow truck driver said he has towed heaps of BMWs just because of a flat tire. On a positive note, I ordered the pump and thermostat on Friday night from Pelican Parts and looks like they have arrived in Auckland today (Sunday) with expected delivery tomorrow. Not bad for this time of year. Any tips for a electric water pump repair? It has Active Steering, so this is bound to throw the situation into the Complicator.

Check the wiring from the sensors. My 328 would not start one day and after a week of phaffing about I contacted brent at bmworld. He suggested looking at the wiring on the crank sensor. He was spot on. I checked the cam sensor wiring as well and ditto, all the insulation was just crumbling at my finger tips, causing a short between the wires.

Just looking at Pick a Parts stock list. I see a 88 750i was entered yesterday at Takanini. Might be of interest for someone here.

Yeah I've just been thinking about that. I've come to realise that it happens more when its getting low on fuel. But once it fires up, there's no indication of the pump failing, and runs fine. Probably just jinxed myself now. I guess I'll pull the back seat up for now and see if it's making any noise next time it fails to start. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I've think I've got a EWS problem too. What's been happening every so often is that I'll go and start the car and it will crank over but not fire up. If I leave the key in the ignition and keep trying, it won't start. But if I remove the key out of the ignition and insert it back in, crank it, it will start. This says to me that the key antenna is faulting but if it is, would it not crank over too? Can anyone shed some light on this? My car is a 96 328i as well. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I brought this from Pelican parts, but I ordered the wrong one. This one is for the plastic heater core. The price was just over $250. Any interest before I send it back? $180. 021 995 444

Thats what i was thinking but unsure if minimal engine running time would cause this. It was parked all the way down the back in the corner of the caryard and I noticed the brake discs had fair bit of surface rust on them indicating not much usage. I think its been at this dealer for a few months dating by the length of shadows in the pictures (mid winter) so its probably had very little driving time in say 3 months.

Here is a picture of the oill filler hole and cap. your possibly right it could be a headgasket, but the oil on the dipstick was clean, and it didn't over heat, so I thought that there might be some other reason for this. I did a Carjam report on it and its had one NZ owner for the last 5 years so its bound to have money spent on it. But I don't think its a polished turd and with a little investigating you possibly could find some service and maintenance history. But anyway, Ive moved on, just thought i'd share my thoughts on it.

I went and had a look at this 328i Here are my thoughts if anyone is interested, Bodywork was fairly good condition with no dents or visible signs of repair work. Bonnet hinges were original. Front badge was missing. 17" Motorsport rims with 4 matching MY01s. Left front wheel looks like it has been repaired at some stage. Interior was in need of attention as the head lining was sagging and all the cloth was coming off the door trims. Rip on the rear passenger seat. This had been a non smokers car so it still had that 1990s BMW smell. There was a full set of floor mats. There is service history from Japan in the glove box but nothing from NZ apart from a few Testing station WOFs. I did notice a BMworkshop Botany sticker on the front windscreen. KMs were verified when imported into NZ with the certificate in the glove box too. Aircon went cold and heater went hot. All windows went up and down with no clunks. The LCD display on the OBC was working ok but needed looking at. The window washer reservoir pump was working but only a dribble came out of the jets. Under the bonnet, it looked clean on top but had a few oil leaks, quite a severe one at the front, leaking onto the Aircon pump. Oil on the dip stick was very clean but low. Diff also leaked oil. I couldn't see if the gearbox did. It did have a new radiator installed at some stage. Moisture was under the oil cap, a slight film of yellowy cakey substance on the cap and around the oil filler hole. This was a bit concerning, not sure if this is normal? On the test drive, engine started fine, with just a few seconds of lifter noise. The first change down from the auto was rather harsh, but then came right. All gears selected and worked fine. Front suspension was I thought a bit soft but no clunks. Couldn't get onto the motorway as there was F-all gas and didn't want to risk it. Headliner was touching my head,damn annoying. So in all a tidy car but I think with a bit of tlc, it could be very tidy one. But don't buy this car on what I have written here, go and have a look for yourself and make your own decision, the comments above are just my observations. Dan.

Amazing, looked at this car back in '06 when the exact same seller was trying to sell it on TM back then. He was stuck on $15k firm. Damn I should of brought it then. An increase in $9k in 5 years isn't bad. From what I remember the guy was a bit funny to deal with. Good luck to him,.. again.