Allanw

and it's absolutely legal, as it is on a passing lane.

And yet, you quoted "dross on the internet". He hasn't done any testing under controlled conditions. From what you've posted he doesn't even appear to have posted/measured the oil temp at the time of testing, or other test conditions. Speculative - you mean like stating that Daves "photo IS an example" of a poorly maintained car? And can we "speculate" that you're now saying the seals DO in fact fail, because of this bad maintenance? Funny it only affects those seals, and not the others in similar conditions. The o rings in mine were so hard, that I could break them into many tiny pieces with my fingers - they no longer stretched, they were like hard brittle plastic. They were poked. If they were the right material, they'd last as long as other o rings in similar conditions- they don't though. The o rings don't even make the main seal - the "teflon" rings do, and the o rings provide the tension in the back of the telfon seal, and seal the back of it onto the piston. The go flat, hard and end up coming out oval shaped, flat inside and outside, instead of round section at all. If these o rings were the correct material, they'd last as long as an oil seal or similar part in simlar conditions in an engine. I'd not expect the rear main seal to be as hard as these o rings after such a short time. The biggest two benefits our M54 had from changing the seals was there was no stumble when opening the throttle with a cold engine and a substantial torque increase at low rpm. The M54 retards the exhaust cam timing like crazy during cold starts for "emmisions" (to burn fuel in the exhaust and heat the cats - as stated in BMW literature), when the seals leak, the stumble is a common syptom, because it can't advance the exhaust cam fast enough to keep the engine smooth - it can cause really easy cold stalling, or really lurching takeoffs (for those of us with a proper gearbox). Rough cold idle is sometimes atributed to it as well. As the oil thins it can leak past the seals more, though the flow increases which helps to compensate to a degree. Some people have had seals go bad enough for a code to be logged, because it can't get the cams into the requested position. Changing the seals clears the code, so it obviously shows there is a possibility of them failing. Like Andy says - why NOT do them. It's only a little bit more work than doing the rocker cover gasket (which was still soft on mine BTW - I reused it and there's no evidence of leaks from before or after and I did the seals maybe 25 to 30K ago). Would you leave the gearbox oil in, just because BMW say it's lifetime fill, or the fuel filter like they say on some new models?

If they haven't been replaced with the correct kind, they're poked. BMW used the wrong o rings and they don't last long as all. Mine were poked at 115kms/10 years-ish when I got the car - I don't know how long before that, and it's had regular oil changes etc - inside is very clean. "Allegedly" Bmw continued to use the same o rings after the problem was discovered - even new/replacement vanos units continued with the old seals when BMW replaced units under warranty. The o rings had hardened up so mauch, they no longer exerted any pressure on the teflon seal, and the pistons literally slide out of the bore with no friction. The new ones were better, and use the correct o ring which doesn't start hardening instantly on contact with oil and heat.

You need BMW Scanner 1.4 to change the VIN in the cluster. You also need to buy one with milage less than your car has - the car will update to the highest milage at the next update point (every 100 kms or so). The VIN must match, or you'll have a tamper light. The cluster will also need to be coded to your car using NCS expert setup - this makes sure you have the correct speedo settings, and options suited to your car.. Every E39 owner who like to play should have both - I think I already gave you the link to the Xcar-360 site for BMW Scanner, and google "cable shack" for a reliable NCS setup with support if you need it - Jimmy is the dude who runs cable shack - he's on ebay too. Pixel ribbon replacement is easy, but that won't change the economy readout

I remember seeing the ZOOZ number plate around saint lukes or sandringham or somewhere, in the late late 90's Very nice

Not on this one It's the proper stock exhaust burble from those pipes that were on all the 325i SE's.

I was walking with a workmate to another building here at the hospital, and I was saying something about Dads E30. He thought I was joking when I paused and said "He's here! I can hear it" I looked around for a bit, and he'd just pulled out onto the road we watched him drive away My workmate thinks I'm a freak!

If you're getting hideous consumption in an E39, check this: http://bimmersport.co.nz/topic/47848-e39-obc-secret-menu-ktmp-coolant-temperature/?hl=%2Bsecret+%2Bobc+%2Bmenu The temp gauge on the E39 is about as useful as those blue and red lights on a Yaris - The read normal even when the engine is cold or hot. if it's running just a bit cold, it'll eat gas. It's like short trips eat gas, as the engine never gets to temp.

According to carjam, the odometer is in KMS (which is really simple to change on these - just software), but it's not the first time carjam has been wrong. The 535i was still only a 5 speed manual wasn't it (doesn't really matter - still not auto!)

so... fixed! No need for the Universal German Car Repair Procedure:

Big job! May as well supercharge it and do a manaul conversion too

Agree on the updates. Just because we don't reply heaps, doesn't mean we aren't interested/watching. I'd been fiddling with VW stuff, though not quit as in depth. Reading EEPROMs and altering IMMO pins etc, so it's cool to see stuff like this. Keep it up!

Code it to flash the indicators when locking, then set angels as additional turn signals. Easy (with BMW Scanner 1.4, or NCS). I ca do it for you... but the 10 hour drive is more expensive than the software costs: http://www.xcar360.com/bmw-scanner-1-4-0-car-diagnostic-interface-tool-code-reader.html US$29.99

but aren't in an E39

^^^ Everyone However, they are a pretty good car. The ecomomy difference in these compared to the V8's is actually pretty good, but they are not fast! Basically you either buy the 728i, or the 740i. Or V12... but that's whole different car (some said that once... ) The smaller V8's (3.0 and 3.5) have basically the same fuel costs and maintenance as the 740i (sometimes worse even!), without the go. The 728i probably goes better than most expect too - it's faster than the 3.0 V8 730i in most situations.

Most of the cheap angle eye LEDs will "strobe" during bulb checks, and its dangerous and looks ghey. Mine were about $20 from ebay 2 or 3 years ago. They strobed initially, so I fitted the LCM4 to stop it because the flashing while driving on dull day made a few people wave at me while looking blankly at me... and there is a possibility that someone may think you're giving way to them, and they pull into your path causing an accident... which could potentially be blamed on you. If you survive. The strobe occurs several times at start up and then every so often while driving (a minute???) one light, then the other. It looks arse. More expensive ones SOMETIMES don't (Mtec? don't, but are about $100 or something), but you need to check. "Error free" or "Can bus compatible" does NOT mean they won't strobe, it means they won't cause bulb out errors. You can code out the errors anyway, but the ONLY way to code out the strobe from the checks is to upgrade to an LCM4 from a late E39, or an E53 X5. You can also try a myriad of capacitors and relays etc, that work for SOME people. You can't code them as DRL's, you have to rewire them for that to happen. You can't really get enough light out of them to bother having them as DRL anyway - they basically look OFF unless it's a dull day. The fibreoptics in the lights don't allow enough light around, regardless of the bulb brightness. They'll never look like the more modern BMW's without a lot of work. You can set them as additional turn signals though.

I'd say 530i then 525i, in that order.

Oh yeah^^^^^ Massive essay

The engine size has very little to do with economy. The car weight makes the most difference. Even the V8's are very good if they're driving similarly. The 520i's don't save fuel at all in real life usage, and may even use more at times - more passengers etc, with it working harder. The facelift 520i's are actually a 2.2 which is WAY better than the earlier 2.0 ones. Be aware that Jap import pre-facelift 523i's are badged 525i, but aren't anything like a facelift 525i. Some facelifts are registered as year 2000, but are actually 2001 models. The 525i and 530i are good allrounders, with generally lower running costs than the V8's. I'd look at them, and not the 520i. Our 525i is factory manual, and I can tell you it's a FAR better drive than an auto one when you want to push it a bit. You can take advantage of the torque in the manual box, where the auto box will just downshift and rev, unless you stick it in tiptronic. However, if you're only after Auto, I wouldn't even consider the 2.0, unless it was way cheaper to buy or something - you won't be saving anything in running costs. My wife somehow manages to average around 11L/100kms, where I did 9.something while she was overseas, and I did the same run: drop kids off, drive across town to work and back again. She's a gas on, gas off, brake on, brake off, gas on etc driver . I drive faster, but l more consistant. I did a run from Whangarei to Warkworth by myself, and got it down to 7.0L/100kms, travelling at normal speeds, but trying to squeeze some economy out of it (by myself). On a run with the family in the car, I got 8.2L/100kms heading up to Bay of Islands - not really economical roads, so pretty good really. AC is ALWAYS on auto too. I'd expect a 530i to average a tiny bit higher consumption than a 525i, and i wouldn't be at all surprised if the 520i was at least as hungry, or even hungrier. Like in E30's, the 320i auto used more fuel than both the 318i and 325i in most circumstances. On Fuelly, which isn't enitely sceintific, but had a pile of data that should give a good enough "average" 6x 2003 520i average 11.6L/100kms over 100,000kms (one of them appears to be a 2004 E60 though, and there are no other facelift 520is on there, excpet 2003) 30x facelift 525i average 10.9L/100kms over 350,000kms 43x facelift 530i average 10.1L/100kms over 920,000kms 32x facelift 540i average 12.2L/100kms over 442,000kms So that suggests the 530i is the better allrounder, considering likely lower running costs, though if you like power, the 540i isn't going to kill you (unless the timing chain fails!)

Yeah - it stopped a while ago, and I'm damned it I can find it anywhere else on the site. Some of the other sites might still work though. You may find it'll become something they'll charge us for, like VW's erwin

Glenn from Botany Motor Worx is on here a fair bit. I have some vague recollection of MAF probelms, Crank Sensor Problems and variable turbo vane actuators being liekly culprits, though you'd need to see what codes were logged and what it shows during driving. There aren't too many diesels in NZ, so the knowledge base is going to be a lot smaller than overseas.

Glove box torch charging socket is an easy one.

I vote R32 conversion.

The 728i isn't as slow as most think, because it's geared lower to compensate. They are surprisingly cheap to run too. It's not like you're going to be driving it at high speed on an autobahn, so the acceleration is OK for most NZ conditions. Of course after a V8, it will be dissapointing. Basically with an E38, you either get the 728i, or a 740i (or 750i, if you're into that!). The 730i (V8) is slower and hungrier, and the 735i (V8) is as hungry as the 740i, slower and has the same maintainance costs. The late M52TU 2.8 (as a 2001 will be) is a lot better than the earlier E38 728i with the M52.

I though you were going to post something cool when it said Caddy: