M3AN

Ouch. Which colour?

Edit

Alternator, power steering, water pump + any pulleys (+air pump if the E30 has one). I'm not sure on the E30 layout but any pulleys need to be added to your list. Edit: pulleys have bearings.

They're not "far superior" and let's not make it a big debate! By a lot of measures the E46 is certainly better but if you're looking for driving experience and lap times then they're hardly separable, many will prefer the E36. The E36 M3 might become a classic, the E46 probably won't.

Take belts off and spin pulleys by hand, often you can hear the symptoms that way if they're giving out. Do you know if any have not been replaced? With an E30 they'll all be past their due date. If bearings have collapsed the pulley will grind, if the lube has gone/died they tend to squeal or whistle (before they collapse and grind). Could also be water pump, alternator or air pump - I'm not sure on an E30 which of these are belt driven through! Remove belts and run engine (briefly) to verify.

^ Check the dates on the posts. Old thread. But yes, if enthusiasts and experts disagree with the price or description then they should voice that politely. It can only help the seller make a better pitch and therefore quicker sale.

Don't be mean guys. His situation is shitty enough. He's heard the advice and told us all he has limited options. Some times you just need to throw money at a short term solution based on circumstances.

I'm sorry guys, you're correct. I've removed my ranty posts.

Look, don't get me wrong guys, I do understand and I don't want to seem objectionable - and most certainly I don't want to be offensive! I could care less what BMW do nowadays, I gave up caring about their cars (except some of the M cars) in about 2004. They're a commodity now unfortunately. Any offence was not intended and I apologise if it was construed. I don't agree with the current convention, I think it's more complicated than necessary and believe it requires a level of interpretation and understanding that's beyond most, even the enthusiast. As suggested earlier, there's a better way of achieving BMW's marketing aims if they want to play with numbers - use kw's - X4 215 (or whatever) is more powerful than X4 175 etc.

I hope that didn't take you too long... the speed of your typing doesn't affect my comprehension. Which 4.0 litre engine? Seems some guesswork is involved. At least a capacity based designation was absolute and comprehensible by all. This system seems to be useful for German engineers, BMW nerds and pretentious pricks, that's all. Not offended at all, that would be silly. Just concerned that BMW have chosen to ignore their roots, and their enthusiast base by transitioning to a "marketing" language from a "practical" language without providing a knowledge pathway for their faithful. That's just poor form.

And I'm not suggesting there should be a literal connection between designation and displacement. But the designation should be meaningful to people other than BMW's marketing department.

Totally agree with all of this Ron. But proliferation is the main problem. If we only had to deal with trucks, buses, tractors and farm utes then it would be tolerable. But that's not the reality any more. We're having to deal with an explosion of unnecessarily large road trucks. Not cool. Europe has learned, hopefully we will too and sooner rather than later. All 2 ton vehicles are taxed out of practicality in Europe and they no longer hog the road (or the carparks). People still seem to get by just fine. They're an entirely unnecessary obsession in an urban environment.

You obviously can't see. I'll "spell it out" it for you: X - 4 - ///M - 4 - 0 -i Now, if it started with an "M", it would actually start with an "M". See my logic there? And if "40" means "3 litre" then how the f are people meant to work that out? It's seriously stupid as are arguments trying to defend it. It's far more sensible to say - "it's marketing rubbish with no real world meaning because, unless you have inside knowledge, it's impossible to decode". Which could be cool, if you're a BMW groupie. And let's be honest, none of us wants a proliferation of BMW groupies. Least of all on this forum.

Fair call! I genuinely hope you enjoyed your break and I'm pretty sure it was well deserved. Don't take my criticism too personally - I'm sure you don't, my guess is you have thick skin! I'll stand by my criticism all day, every day though. Sometimes your 'contributions' seem to be intended to deliberately obfuscate practical, meaningful information. And that's not cool for an enthusiasts' forum. Glad you're back, I enjoy the banter.

/rant

/rant

Their Motorsport division should revoke authority to use the ///M - it's undermining brand value. If it doesn't start with ///M then ///M can't be used. Period. X4 40i is fine (I assume it's a 4.0 litre?). Anybody that cares knows that sticking on some plastic or suspension bits doesn't deserve an ///M badge.

Well, you need to listen to Glenn before me! But if there's mayo on the cap and mayo in the radiator, if I hadn't seen Glenn's comment, my guess would be head gasket gone in a big, big way to cause that.

Whoa, sorry to see that dude. Can transmission fluid actually leak into the coolant Glenn? Of course I don't know how these systems work but didn't think these systems were in any way linked. My first guess was emulsified oil, it could be that colour but I wouldn't think that consistency. What does it look like under the oil cap and on dipstick? Hopefully not that colour!

Safer cars, safer roads and better driver education will all make more of a difference than a 4km/h tolerance. There is absolutely no (as in zero: pun intended) data to prove a lower threshold makes any difference whatsoever. They're even talking about increasing the speed limit beyond the 4km/h threshold on some roads. Some of these are roads where the threshold is enforced the most. That makes a mockery of the threshold. The 4km/h threshold is a revenue collection joke.

Ha! Perhaps he should have proofed his own work?

It was a standard Holden Commodore, one of these: EEW804

No, was driving. Remembered the number though for future reference. Not sure how much help it will be. It was actually molded to the contours of the bumper too, looked like a pro job.

So, today I saw a marked patrol car with a sticker/decal/adhesive front plate... legit? Normal NZ font and size but 100% an adhesive decal, absolutely no aluminium. Can't attest to its reflective qualities as it was the middle of the day. But WTF?

Ferrari is the DD remember folks? It's a shitty one though, only a 599 not the 599XX so heck, dime a dozen.