Allanw

Lucky someone knows! Thanks Glenn!

Not sure that's any better, considering initial context......

The gauge doesn't move from normal, until the coolant on the sensor is HOT - it will show normal until at least 115C, probably 120C. Also, be aware that the gauge ONLY reads the temperature of the coolant it is in - if the coolant no longer touches the sender, it often just reads normalish. The sender is very low in the M54, so it's not too likely to happen, but the gauge climbing means things are getting HOT! The OBC in our E39 is set to gong for high coolant temp at 130C or 135C, so you don't really want to get that far. I'd stop driving it if it were mine. If you have coolant loss, you've got a leak somewhere probably, and the overheating and lack of heating in the cabin will probably be because of air - certainly the heater will be. You do NOT want to overheat an M54 badly, because you'll need a headgasket done, and that usually involves fitting timeserts to the block - which is REALLY difficult to do with the engine in the car on a 3 series, because the back holes are far enough back that the scuttle gets in the way of a straight drilling line. On an M54 powered E39, the easy way to bleed the air out, is to turn the ignition on but engine off, heater on highest temp, fan on lowest speed, top up the coolant, and bleed bubbles out the bleed screws - while keeping the level as close to correct as possible. I assume the 3 series has the same auxilliary coolant pump. This might help too: http://bimmersport.co.nz/topic/47848-e39-obc-secret-menu-ktmp-coolant-temperature/?hl=%2Bsecret+%2Bobc+%2Bmenu

Pull the radiator and check it. The legs on the small knobby connector where you leak is can break off, and cause the leak. They have an oring in there. The bottoms of the radiator can bow out under pressure, and if that's happening, its new radiator time. Check it quite thoroughly, because the radiators have a limited life anyway.

Bet it made him feel like a real man.

The Government pays them to have more kids, and bring them up the same way... Thanks Labour!

5 day weekend for me

The E39 MUST have a decent battery, otherwise they can have a fair few weird issues. If the starter is clicking (ie power to the solenoid, and the main live) when you try to crank, that suggests a starter fault. If you don't get clicking, it can be any number of things, and a scan MAY help identify something, such as an intermittant key code issue (which leaving the battery off overnight can SOMETIMES help).

What version of windows are you running? Mine works fine on WIndows 7, 32 or 64. I haven't setup my BMW Scanner for a while, but I seem to recall plugging it in, then manually installing the drivers via device manager, then installing the software and cranking it up. The software itself won't open until you plug into a car. That was my www.xcar360.com BMW Scanner. INPA from cable-shack has great support, though I didn't get mine there, Jimmy reads another forum I read.

No heating here yet. Got down to 14C inside last night... Double glazing, or even curtains would probably bump that up a bit though

Sounds like the AA - know about as much about cars as my Mum.

NICE! That really looks good - Interior looks way nicer than black too. I started a list of things to do 1: Clean exhaust tips

buy a ribbon cable off ebay Took me about 1.5 hours to do... with a 3 year old "helping".

and it burns...

Ooooooooooooooooh! I was thinking Unimog, or trabant, right up until you said that! Local collector up here has one, that was smuggled through switzerland to the UK and then shipped over here. Any one of them is a great idea. If you can't shift it, you can give it to me.

NO TIME! It's all about post count - quantity, not quality! Outside of internet forums, I have no life! The emergency contacts in my wallet require internet access. My will leaves money to my ISP and hosting. I really drive a Mazda Demio Auto

That's true - the TU was a massive improvement too, the M54 gains a better low end torque curve, which blitzes the M52 non TU... which possibly doesn't have a torque curve with a slushbox and E39 strapped on. I don't think the TU was used for long in the E39 was it??? The 3.0 is the 6 cylinder to get, because it doesn't really use more gas than the others anyway.

Remember the Jap import prefacelift "525i" is really a 523i is disguise - the facelift M54 525i is a far superior performer.

Wurth Calendars

yep... and people who drive with park lights on... doesn't help the front end visibility at all! I once nearly hit a chick while she was walking. She was on the side of our country road, on the inside of a blind sharp corner. wearing a black top with a white stripe up one side... I swear she looked like the roadside. I didn't see her until she jumped into the drain

On the M54, it only changes the intake from a long path to a short path (kind of) to aid either low end torque, or high end power. It shouldn't affect the idle stability (on an M54) They can cause vacuum leaks however! They were known to disintegrate and the metal pin from the end, and some plastic parts lunched a few engines over the years! For the N52, I have no clue, having never worked on one. There are a number of intake cleaner you can spray into the intake when running - I've used Wurth system cleaner on a number of cars - the jap ones always blew PILES of smoke as the oil residue washed through and was burnt. On our E39, and VW Touran, I got NOTHING, no smoke at all - I assume because of the complex oil breather systems actually working!

Hey Kids! A lesson in drugs: Stay away from them!

Veyron, Ron

Just wait till the new X5 come out with a factory installed cracked head. Then we know they've swaped diesel technology both ways