Allanw

The M54 retards the cam timing like crazy at cold starts to dump heat into the cats - if the Vanos seals are stuffed (and they pretty much ALL are, unless replaced with aftermarket) it struggles to maintain the timing and also shift the timing to the required angle when you use the throttle. Our Vanos seals were so bad, the car was super easy to stall when cold (manual, obviously & only 115K on it back then), because it couldn't pull the cam timing back fast enough to make any torque. You NEED to check the DISA anyway - if it's rattly, it can lunch your engine if it falls apart.

Just coz you might have been interested, even though Sedan (and it's way too late now anyway!): I put Dads E30 up for sale nearly 2 years ago. It went on Trademe for $8500 no reserve, and $9300 buy now (IIRC) - first caller was a complete muppet - thought it should be cheaper because he may have to spend money on such an old car! Second caller was a "suitable" owner -, older professional gent, collects cars, offered $8K right now, sight unseen, no questions - us in Whangarei, him in CHCH. Money went in that night, collected a month later. So certainly they are out there, but don't come up often. I think Dads would have been what you're looking for (if you want to keep it reasonably "grandpa spec"), and you may find just a touch more cash get's something really good, over something a bit average. None of them are very mint anymore, but there are some real stunners out there - I think they're going to appreciate more and more. A lot of E30's are just old shitters now - still OK cars, fun to drive etc, but the real original stunners are going to be the ones going up in value as real classics. Good luck with the search anyway!

Flickr for me too.

What??? So you ended up with 3 total??? Wishful thinking, was it? Mine is cracked... but it's not the only leak anyway Why hasn't someone made (affordable) alloy ones, yet?

You two will be able to start the Bimmersport Leaf sub-forum possibly fairly soon! I'll be very careful NOT to say out loud where I work... but we have purchased some Renault Zoe electrics... apparently GREAT range... but apparently they aren't compatible with ANY of the fast chargers within our district We also have no charging facilities, so the first one was delivered and is parked under a building. Of course... we also got an electric mitsi van, to carry patients people from the carpark to the hospital entrance... it was too quiet... so they "had to add a flashing light!" It doesn't seem noticably louder to me!

When you hit something, you don't get a "BANG" and a soft cushion... your steering wheel farts and you whack you face on it.

The LCM can be changed to whatever milage, but not the cluster... but it WILL change UP, as you drive and it updates, like you said above. Whichever milage is the highest, is what your car will change to at the next update time (every 100kms??). Since you probably have BMW Scanner 1.4, you can change the VIN and milage to suit the car. I installed an LCM4 from an E53 X5 into our E39, so I could code out the cold checks for the LED angel eye bulbs..... and now I'm running halogens anyway The VIN in the LCM and the cluster must match to avoid a tamper light. If you get a light, you can match them, and it'll go away. Dealers aren't supposed to be able to code used modules... so if they get it wrong, it stays wrong :-)

It probably looks much better in real life, (and without the doors - like Olaf says!). I do like the leather... but not the firewood dash.

The taiwanese replacements are as well finished as the genuine BMW standard ones... but they are stronger and last longer.... weird.

Actually... they probably ARE I reckon most Kiwis keep their tyres until they fail a WOF.

ahhh, the 535i. Sound, Fuel consumption and expenses of a 540i Speed of a 530i. Nearly. I suspect too, the manual box livens it up a lot though. Again, our manual M54 525i is like night and day, compared to an auto 525i. I'd pick a manual 525i over an auto 530i even (again , but I have 3 cars, all manual now). Plus, upgrading properly from a 2.5 to 3.0 is easier/cheaper than doing a manual conversion properly. If anyone wants to pay over the odds for a manual E39, they can have ours for $5K I'll even throw in $$$ worth of brand new DMF and clutch kit etc, that it doesn't need yet! At least ours has some options... but not as tidy as that one - poor thing - ravaged by being the taxi for 3 little boys!

But Brent... it's an NZ New one, so would have been perfectly serviced.... BAHAHAHAHAHA! Yeah right!

Every new car has the "model year" identified in the VIN - that would be a sensible starting point. Again, my '72 Beetle was NZ new, and was first registered in 1974 - It's registered as a 1972 model - it is! Our E39 was built November 2000, registered overseas in Feb 2001, and is STILL registered as a 2000 model! It's a 2001 model year, and either way, should already be a 2001 registration based what NZTA says (year of first registration), AND the fact it's a 2001 "model year" - the first facelift year. Then you get hese cars that sit around before being registered, and are registered late, and labelled as later models than they are, because they were never registered previously. In reality, it's the dealer/ person first registering, who is responsible for registering them correctly, and they don't always. At the same time, NZTA is retarded, for even thinking year of first registration was ever a good idea, when the manufacturer leaves the model year in the VIN for all too see - Model year should be the year it's registered as, year of first registration can be stored too, and the rego ALREADY shows the month/year of first registration in NZ.

Don't touch the speed/offset, imp etc. They're all a bit different it seems. "Time/Days" is how many days between inspections, as long as a "with time inspection" setting is on. If you set it at 365, you should get an inspection light every year anyway. I believe "Litres" should be the litres conumed between services. (i.e. you average 10L/100km, 1500L will give you 15K kms.) default = 2450??? Since you have have the "KM SI", set that at 15K too which should also set the SI lights to count down to 15K services. "Litres SI" seems to be the numbers of litres consumed so far?? I'm guessing/googling that one! Does it deplete with driving? On our E39, it only has "Time/Days" and "Litres" available for the SI - I just calculated how many litres we use over 15K and put that in. Seems to work well. I still have the "Time/Days" set at 720, but we also do about 14K per year, and the "inspecton" light just annoys me anyway - I like the SI lights that count down and don't sneak up on you suddenly.

easiest way is with bmw scanner 1.4 - it's recorded in Litres of fuel consumed.

My M54 expansion tank didn't explode until 160 kms The radiator will be the next to go Everything else is done. Ours has High OBC and tells you when the coolant has escaped anyway... and my Mrs stops and phones me EVERY time it "BONGS" at her

Our one seriously has an uneven lack of compresson when it does it - Someone said it had to be the lifters? My Subaru wouldn't stop until the end of my road, and it had NO compression when I cranked! I thought it had broken a cambelt again (that car broke 3!) Anyway - EVERYbody needs to run the engine longer!

savebarn used to have hand cranked gear pumps pretty cheap.

Yeah - pretty much. (I'm makiing some assumptons here, like the starter is actually engaging with the engine and turning it etc) It's not really good for the starter or battery, but foot flat down, crank it for 20 seconds or so at a time then give it a little rest. once it starts to run a bit, you let off the throttle, but may have to use the throttle to keep it running. If it doesn't start running, but you can hear the compression coming back (the RRRrrrRRRRrrrRRRRrrr-like nrmal noise, then try crankiing with your foot off the gas and see if it runs) If it runs, but rough: after about 30 to 60 seconds at about 1500 rpm, shut it off completely, then immediatly restart, if it's smooth, take it for a gentle run up to temp before parking it. Then never do it again My understadning is that the short run, on cold/thick oil, creates really high oil pressure in the system, then shutting it off means that oil pushes into the lifters and they pump up, stoppng the valves closing properly??? Hotwire on here said he see's it fairly often on AA call outs. Basically any time you start the car, you want it to runs for a couple of minutes at least, or wash it after it's been driven, then put it away before it cools all the way down.

Was the engine cold, you started it for about 20 seconds or so, to back up etc, then turned it off and left it sitting??? If yes: It may have pumped the lifters up and is holding valves open - I can make our E39 M54 do it. I push it out of the garage to wash it. If I wash it, then start it, drive in and switch off - gauranteed no start, and it sounds like no compression (whiiiiirs, but no firing). Extended cranking and it slowly starts to get compression and fires. If you run it longer, it doesn't happen. In ours, once it's done it, you hold the throttle wide open, and crank it for quite a while and it will start up rough then get better. Foot gas on the throttle means it shouldn't inject much fuel. I've had a couple of cars that do it... although ones used to wait until the end of my road, and would stall, with no compression and I'd have to sit there cranking for about a minute! (company car!)

Is it cranking slower than normal? Did you have the radio on while washing? You sure the battery isn't flat It doesn't take much for it to result in a non-start.

I dunno if you can swap them. If you got the matching springs and shocks, should be fine... but there weren't many "aftermarket" options for mine, and I sure didn't want the steel body Munroes that apparently are available. Mine has the S704, I got alloy Sachs ones, from Milland. The originals were 100% shagged at 115kms, and I suspect they had been for a long time. This pic is AFTER I fitted new shocks, and fitted 10mm spacers to the top hats, front and rear to lift it up. My rough calcs/guess say the 10mm spacer should give somewhere near 20mm of extra lift (since the height is added close to half way between the inner pivot point and the arc of the wheel travel). I didn't measure though: Partly machined spacer: Before I fitted the spacer and shocks, it was pretty low, and the shocks were so poked, it took about 300kms to wear 10mm off the factory mudflaps I fitted! I've never heard a definite dfference between the 2, but mine is a non-motorsport car, with the suspension S704 optioned (luckily for me, they sprung for heaps of goodies, then couldn't afford an autobox )

Bad landing??? Sorry

I think the REALLY nice ones are desired by certain people, and some of them will pay good money. 18 months ago, I got $8K for Dads 4 door Manual 325i SE, from the second caller (the first was a time wasting knob). I think I could have held out for more, but the purchaser was "suitable" to Dad (another old bloke), and Dad already had a replacement car. A few months earlier, another manual 325i SE (with an ///M badge!) sold for just over $10K. This car isn't a patch on Dads, and his wasn't immaculate but very, very tidy. This guy is talking about "rough around the edges" cars... his is one. The wheels, exhaust, dash and seat are real let downs, and appears to be a non- AC model, based on the front valance. As far as E30's go, it really looks to be a good one, but it's not up there with the best survivors. I'm not sure that coupes are worth particularly more either??? unless motorsport. Graeme is probably right - $6K and everybody would be talking about how easy it is to change the wheels and make a good car of it.

Hahaha! Or nipping past a 911 when he finally moves over, so you can get past before the passing lane finishes without clipping his front bumper... with your trailer. I can confirm its a workhorse. I don't even KNOW how much of MY crap has been hauled in that thing! Most of it will never be able to go that fast again though! I even saw a table saw in there not too long ago.