M3AN

Allan's right @Jacko, for the sake of a few bucks do the seals whilst it's out.

Gold.

Did you test voltage with the car running? It's not clear. Alternator test: start car and use positive terminal & good ground with a multimeter and you should get 14+ volts. Anything less and your alternator is on the way out. If the above passes only then move on to parasitic loss tests: not sure what you know already but you really want to use an auto-ranging multimeter (or know how to use a manual one properly), only ever use the ground side of the battery, not the hot side (i.e put your multimeter between the battery and black cable, not the red one), make sure nothing is in an accessory socket and all doors are closed (ideally the trunk will be closed too if you can access the battery from the rear seat), establish what the draw is then start pulling fuses until it drops off. Remember you'll always have some residual draw (antitheft, ECU's, clocks, radios etc) but that should only be ~30 or 40 mA. Do NOT try and start the car, turn on the wipers or headlights or anything with an amperage that exceeds that of the fuse in you multimetre or you'll fry things and start fires. Good luck - if a good battery is draining in four nights then you'll find the draw easily enough, it's massive.

I suspect he's being processed now... might not have internet access!

A "quick look" isn't a proper diag so your options won't become clear until that happens. Did they plug it in or just stand there, look at it and go umm, err? Or were you drinking free coffee when they checked it out? If it's a coil or plug or some other (eventual) consumable then the dealer's not liable unless they knew about it or should have known about it BUT, it's worth giving them a call, they may be willing to work with you and you won't know unless you ask. Insurance, unless they're mugs. won't replace all the coils if only one is bad unless BMW insist they're all done together (and that's a conversation between BMW and Provident, don't get in the middle of it). BMW are unlikely to insist they're all done together. But in the end if they're not all bad you don't need them all replaced. If more go bad you've still got nearly 3 years of coverage remaining. I'd: * Check that Provident will pay for a proper diag - BMW won't do this for less than $100 and a free "quick look" is worthless tbh,. * Once you have the proper diag see how much insurance will cover. * If there's a gap between what you want done and insurance will cover then give the original dealer a call and see what you can negotiate Keep in mind that replacing a coil (either yourself or at an independant) may actually cost less than your excess.

Para Rubber sell fuel grade hose? Interesting. My answer would have been: any hydraulics shop.

This.

Yes, I got mine from germanplates.com (on multiple occasions actually - I have 6 or 8 of them). NZ law states that plates must be manufactured by a government approved supplier (of which there is only one) therefore any other plate (including stickers some people use) are technically illegal (but just try fitting a standard front plate to a LaFerrari or countless other cars). It doesn't matter what features or dis/similarities any non-offical plate has. I've never disputed their (il)legality but I've also never had a problem with them. I've been using them since 2002. My brother used the car occasionally when I was living in Europe and got pinged twice. Go figure. The probably I have with the current system is that the retail price for personalised plates in NZ is propped up by an artificial monopoly created to fill government coffers - it's a vanity tax which is BS.

It's encouraging to see some people still doing it properly, nice one. But I bet that hurt... $$$... !

It must take a lot of buggery to write off a lump of steel, well done, didn't know you lent that way.

So 1 litre is a "top up" in a 500 hp car then! Horsepower ain't free, that's for sure.

It also might pay to give Kayne Barry a call. He might not be the best person to do it, or even be in a position to do it at all but it's a sure bet he'll be able to give you some reliable recommendations. On the other hand, if BM Workshop are happy to use Taylor Auto then that's a pretty good endorsement.

Jeepers, looks like a meteorite fell on it!

The elephant in the room is Facebook, not the application criteria - I can't even get that far.

Do tell us @Toast, how have you come to ending up actually needing one of these?

Yes, start a project thread, we're always keen for that shiz.

4k? lolwtf?!?! Even 2.5k is criminal. 1k landed sounds expensive but relative to the others it's a right bargain. And you can be assured that the Ross one will be far better than a cast original. 360* timing marks will probably also come in handy.

Picked up my strut bar from the Powdercoaters. Happy.

Got the front strut bar back from the powdercoaters today, I don't think I've ever been this impressed with matt black, it looks awesome! Better than I expected TBH. Big shout out to Craig and the team at Mikestan Powdercoating they're a real pleasure to do business with and it only cost me $40. I didn't actually get the strut caps done because they didn't look like they needed it, they seemed much darker than the bar. I'll reserve judgement until I check them again in the sunlight tomorrow but I may end up taking them in as well. And still no codes!

Almost assured to be a difference, they're 'harmonic dampers' and are tuned to a specific crankshaft vibration frequency range. The change from 3.0 to 3.2 would almost certainly alter the range. What do they cost? There are heaps of aftermarket ones... http://precisionintl.com/Engine.aspx?ID=210&EID=41302&Category=54 https://store.vacmotorsports.com/vac---s50b30-euro-crankshaft-harmonic-damper-kit-by-ati-p2814.aspx http://www.atiracing.com/links/pr/BMW-damper/index.htm https://rossperformanceparts.com/product/bmw-s50-b30-euro-metal-jacket-harmonic-damper/

Swapped the alu radiator out of the 328 for an OEM one, the alu one is going into the M3 because one of the end tanks on that rad has a hairline crack. Interestingly the alu radiator is actually higher than the OEM one and probably 10% greater volume which is good. The OEM one is actually different to the original in the 328 (still has the separate expansion tank) because it doesn't have bottom mounts for the trans cooler, weird. I drilled holes for the top mounts but nothing to drill into at the bottom except fresh air. End result is fine anyway, trans cooler fits well hanging from the top mounts. It's a tricky job if you don't want to dump litres of perfectly good coolant. I reckon I lost about a litre which isn't too bad. Found why the coolant level sensor wasn't working... totally disintegrated. Not sure where the bits are! So that's plugged and disconnected, not essential. To be frank, I don't think BMW could have designed a more convoluted and complicated cooling system than on the E36. I'm very glad they completely redesigned it (sensibly) for the M3. It's probably not bled properly but I'll find out tomorrow when I take it for a drive.

Oh, and I replaced the level sensor and pump in the windscreen wiper reservoir since both had failed. Paid $5 for a new pump from China rather than the $50+ people want locally - even if I need to replace it every 2 years I'll still be ahead in another 15 years. Both work flawlessly now so no WoF issues expected from that (no pump = failed WoF). Is there a good way to clean/decalcify the washer lines?

I installed the refurbished injectors (PITA) and new fuel filter and took her out for a spin... and wow, the beast is back! I'm actually quite stunned with how the car feels, drives and sounds now, it's almost a different machine. And no codes! First, there's no hesitation, idle is smoother, there's no unburnt fuel smell in the engine bay and the exhaust smells almost neutral (used to smell rich). The pickup on throttle is far quicker and the sound on WOT is rabid, the good old M3 rasp is back in spades. I'm quite surprised at how much better it feels (and sounds - I didn't expect that). The injectors really needed a service, 2 were at ~85% flow and another 3 were at ~90% flow which really is far from optimal. The amount of sediment that came out of the lines and filter was also quite impressive (i.e bad). Injectors went into place quickly enough but getting the back two clips on (6th injector and fuel rail clips) took me as long as the rest of the job, really difficult access. But hey, the engine bay isn't full of fuel so that's a good sign. Phil at InjectorTech (http://www.injectortech.co.nz/) did a really good job and even fixed a broken injector for me, nice one, highly recommended. Fuel filter was a cinch once I worked out how to decouple the Dorman connectors (I think that's what they are). No tube and clamp setup here like a "normal" e36, mine (and I suspect all M3's) has fancy-pants couplings. The good thing is they go back on so easily with a reassuring 'click' to confirm they're engaged and sealed. It actually took me longer to get the (extended) under panel off and back on than it did to swap out the filter. Front bumper is also back on with all new fixings and cracked front fog lamp swapped with a good one out of the 328. So, back on the road after ~6 weeks and well deserving of a good wash and clean which she'll get tomorrow. Front strut bar is at the powder coaters for a matt black finish rather than the shiny anodised finish it has now. Next? Install the alu radiator which I need to get out of the 328 first. Have the replacement for the 328 and now the M3 is up and running I might tackle that this weekend. Then? Probably a steering rack swap from purple tag to Z3 which I have sitting in the garage.

You're correct because apparently the Waitakeres are for used automotive fluids, not solid parts. Arseholes.

No, I wasn't making a small or insignificant distinction, I was calling you out for making a verifiably incorrect claim. You were wrong, period. No hair to split there.