Allanw

And NOT doing when it needs doing, leads to wallet-emptying noises. Dude up here was told his needed doing, and he left the workshop saying he'd "save up some money and get it done soon". A month or so later, nasty crunching banging noises happen't as the engine lunched itself . MUCH bigger repair bill then!

Still got the 11 year old one in the E39... ... and it's been run flat twice

How much are we talking. Some M54's are known to use abit of oil, though not usually anything startling. The Oil separator in the breather system is known to crap out, and feed a bit of oil into the intake. Water wise, it shouldn't lose anything really noticable. There is probably a trace of dried up coolant somewhere (or maybe even wet coolant!).

Of course... if you're a good driver, you'd obeying the road rules... or at least the ones that makes sense and apply to the situation: If you're on a road where you're likely to encounter a tractor, you'd be travelling at a speed where you can stop in half the distance you are able to see , and on the best of roads, in the distance you can see.

Sorry - a bit Of topic: So (assuming the bulbs aren't blown), be damn hard to not know what gear you're in with the dash display I actually really like the car. Mrs would kill me if it suddenly appeared next to the Audi A3 3.2 wreck that appeared while she was out, and I was home sick

The cardboard test is a crock to be fair though. When started dead cold, it should whirl around for a little bit, then free up. When it's REALLY hot (so it's engaged), it should eat a newspaper (assuming you don't destroy the fan) When engaged on a V8 due to temps, it should howl as you accellerate from a stop, but should free up very quickly (as air is pushed into the front of the car). It's only designed to be engaged when there is little airflow into the front of the car, though the V* ones are far more enthusiast about engaging than the 6 cylinder ones. If it's whirling around, howling ALL the time, be VERY careful driving it, as the fans can explode causing a shitload of damage!

Lucky you didn't $1 reserve it

I could hear a slight supercharger-like whine between some other noises. Sounds like a Honda cambelt, when you don't trust the honda tensioner and do it just a touch tighter... then wish you hadn't, when you start the engine.... Are these things known to wear the sprockets a bit, maybe???

Good man. Also useful for "SPOTTED" threads - just used it on another forum today

Airbag changed before facelift. Facelift changed late 2000 (september) when the model year changes over. Airbags were an oddball date. Dkonsta - what makes you think yours is dual stage?

Having a "current WOF" doesn't gaurantee an insurance payout. It's the responsibility of the owner/driver to ensure the vehicle is up to a warrantable standard at all times.

fixed.

Must have been someone clever at an insurance company, who could see the value of the car dropping every minute it sat anywhere. By the time it did the usual process, It'd be worth almost nothing, and mostly unusable. Picking insurance will be shelling out some coin, and needs to recover wht they can!

Maybe PM aja540i - he's spoken to a helpful guy about his E21 I think.

Permit for oil???? I've brought it some VERY specific oils a few times (all for gearboxes, wierdly)... but was never a problem.. Ooops Must remember to look genuinely confused/blank if ever questioned on it I like boxes like that arriving... just don't like paying for them!

I should think he charges extra if you make him keep the jap one

I really think scan it, like Glenn says... it might be something REALLY easy... Anything else is just guess work for the meantime. (Also - if you have it scanned, the fault code doesn't always point to a faulty item - it needs to be interpreted and diagnosed - O2 sensor out of range codes can actually be a split hose, rather than a faulty sensor)

It's always hard to hear nioises properly in videos, but that sounds like a backfire to me - wierd. Are you sure it's mechanical, or could it be popping in the exhaust (or intake)? I'd check very carefully for an intake boot leak, though I don't think it is that - it's just VERY common. I'd also plug it in and look at the live data, to see if there are any readings out of spec - such as Vanos advance, mixture etc. You don't appear to be getting a malfunction light, so I assume it's not registering as a misfire. Does it do that as soon as you start it cold, or does it take maybe 10 to 30 seconds before it starts running wierd? Also, if you start it cold, and drive off instantly, does it do it? (like start, put it in drive and go - no waiting) Does it ONLY do it at idle? it you hold the revs at say 1000 or 1500 with no load (park), does it still do it? The thing with an M54, is they retard the exhaust timing like crazy when cold to heat the cats up (dump unburnt fuel into the exhaust). They have been known to get bad enough to cause stalls, though it affects the 3.0 the most. Bad Vanos seals can cause this, though you don't normally get the popping or knocking (I really can't be sure from the video what the noise is). It could even be a coil pack, or spark plug that stuggles to ignite the cold start fuel mixture, but is fine when the engine is warmed up. Even an exhaust leak can cause popping as air ges sucked into the exhaust, but shouldn't affect the revs like that.

Probably better to buy new - using an old one can be more trouble than they're worth.

You're assuming they haven't lost it...

You can buy genuine BMW retrofit kits in the UK/Europe (I got one for ours). it comes with a basic form of self-levelling. It's almost impossible to retrofit the full E39 self levelling system. Ebay, or ebay.de The Xenons are OK, the halogens are complete crap on the E39. neither is stunning, though the xenons are vastly superior. Self-levelling and washers with xenons are required to "work if fitted", but are not actually required in the UK - the wording is funny.

Our E39 is polybushed right through the front - no harshness and certainly doesn't feel any harder than the standard bushes were (and they were poked). Best thing about polybushes, is the are easy to get in and out - no press, so can usually be done on the car. Often cheaper the new OEM type too If they going to worry about BS like that, they'd need to worry about lower profile tyres, aftermarket rims, cheap-ass tyres and worn (but not leaking or rooted) shocks too. They don't though.

Wrong thread bro.

Tell her to slow down to 75, and cross the centreline on every corner using only secondary roads with poor visibility. It'll take longer to get anywhere, but the cops will pay ABSOLUTELY NO ATTENTION to her whatsoever I honk at ANYONE crossing onto my side, and it's not that unusual for it to be a cop car taking a shortcut around town along my road. None have turned around yet... It would be nice if they did - I have a dash cam