Allanw

Needs to be daily'd

I'd need a lot more info before "judging" either place, but my random thoughts are along the lines of: Are they using the same oil? Is the oil to spec? Are they actually doing the same job. One may just do the oil and filter, and nothing else. The other might do the oil, filter, filter housing cap O-ring, sump plug washer, and a quick check over for faults or upcoming problems, trans fluid level check, diff oil level check and brake fluidlevel check. So, depending on what they're quoting for, the cheaper one could be the actual ripoff. If you had the cheaper service done, and then the diff destroyed itself because it was low on oil, would you go back and complain they hadn't checked it? (rhetorical - some people do!) We have a specialist mechanical business in the family, and they only do the "proper" job, or won't do it, simply because people will come back complaining about the bit they didn't pay to have done. So I'd want to know: Is the more expensive one doing a better job than the cheaper one? Is a BMW 3 series a ripoff, when a Chery is cheaper? We have a mechanic up here that charges $35 an hour. My father in law goes there because it's "cheap". I would NEVER go there, because it's cheap. FIL pays bucket loads for stuff, because he gets this "cheap" guy to fit used parts (sometimes 3 times).

I spied a pre-facelift E30 TURBO on Whareora Road in Whangas today - I was on my bike with my 4yo boy on the back. Anyone on here???? I think not, but they may have been "out of zone". Sounded good too, and not being driven like a mong either, which is a change for that kind of car arouund here

That could be dripping down from further up - the expansion tank should NOT be that full! If the pressure gets high enough, it will try to pump out the excess. Drop the level down - siphon with a small tube in fine, but don't drink coolant! (it's poisonuos). The radiators on these things aren't stunning though - especially if it's the original one!

Your 530i will need the dual stage airbag (if you're thinking of putting it in the E39 ). I have the facelift type wheel you could use (came off our 525i): like this It's pretty tidy (not poked, but not mint) I could probably get it to the north shore sometime and you could give the man $250 when you get to collect it sometime

Not all alignments are the same either! I have our E39 done, and wasn't happy. I went elsewhere, discussed exactly what I wanted (good tire life, good handling, not a race car setup). It came back with VISIBLY less camber on the rear (car actually looks higher!) and handles WAY better, because the tires are actually touching the road properly. The inside of the tires are no longer scrubbing either! Make sure the place you use does a REAL alignment, not just a "toe adjustment", and that they do it in the right order. SOmeone on here might be able to suggest a place close to you that is capable enough enough to do it right.

Hmmm... sounds like you need a manual conversion too

You can roll it in glitter though.

I'll give you $100 for the car At least drive it until it gets shocking :-) If you think it's residual in the manifold, you could get some intake cleaner (I like Wurth Sytem Cleaner) and flush it out a bit. Sounds like it's something a bit more though.

I think he may have learnt from last time she found out... Her saying: "Get rid of this crap out of the driveway" Does NOT mean: "Rent a storage shed and move this extremely useful and desirable collection of car parts from the driveway into it" Women don't say what they actually MEAN! Am I right Andrew???

"Mark Community Read" is here: V (roughly) At the bottom of the page .

But not as much as buying a replacement to "save" the cost of repairs. I find it hilarious when people sell a $3000 car, because it needs $1000 spent on it, then buy an $8000 car, that still needs $1000 spent on it 6 months later... Good economics! Only cost $5000 to save... nothing Hehe. That's pretty much why I brought the E39 instead of something newer (we just needed more space). BMW have always been very good with recalls - I remember taking Dads E30 in, well out of warranty for the cooling system recall. Similar service. It's quite funny really, considering how old the cars are at the time of the recall - You really just ecpect the bare minimum to be done.

Plus he's owned (or still does) pretty much every E21 north of the bridge anyway In fact, he probably still owns the majority of them... 3??? (well 1+1+.25+.25+.25+.25 = 3) and thats not counting anything kept in storage units that his Mrs doesn't know about... yet.

Posts that have been "liked" have the names of those who "liked" it listed now - I had never seen them before, until a couple of days ago.

It's only money... You can keep anything going forever with enough of it. And it's cheaper to keep and old car going, than buying a brand new one I get tempted to buy something with mega miles, just to show people who think 100K is too much. Mrs old Impreza was really well looked after, and had 325K on when we sold it. It wasn't immaculate, but certainly looked tidy enough. I'd have driven that thing anywhere without notice - If I'd had to drive the length of the country, we'd have just jumped in and gone. I'd have kept it if the kids could have been gotten in and out easilyer! There's an E39 528i with 475K on it, on tardme currently.

And it's not *that* hard to convert it to a 540i..... ...manual....

You mean like the guy who rocks up in a manual V8 VT commodore and thinks he'll blitz everyone on the back straight, pulls into someone elses path to do so, and THEN realises the standard ratios are all wrong and gets passed by a guy caning around in an 1800 Pulsar hatch??? Man, that was funny ALL day! Last time I was there was when a VT Commodore was under warranty though...

Oooohhh. the stuff I want could fill an entire container! I need to find a decent people mover I like, then import all the manual conversion parts from the UK. Not any time soon though

Not actually today... but got this book: ... on Fishpond for 5 bucks. Freighted.

Ooof... they don't like air. The Subaru in my VW Van sounds supercharged after I let too much air through the system... the lines go from the rear right up to the front and since I left a clamp loose by accident, after I emptied the first 5L in, I had to run up and turn it off! Whines all the time now though, from running dry-ish for too long . At least you didn't do that! On a postive note... the dirt floor in my barn is far less dusty now .

Total guess here, based on what I've seen in other cars: I'd think this would be an issue caused at the top of the steering column - example: my VW van; if you put a Porsche steering wheel on, the back of the wheel doesn't hold the top bush in tight enough, and the column can go up and down, then the bush moves up too far, and the wheel gets a bit floppy. My Porsche steering wheel has a spacer added on the rear to keep the bush in place, and it's all tight. The rubber donut (as you show) doesn't do anything to position the column on my Van... though I'd repalce yours too - may have had a lot of unusual flexing from the movement. Maybe there is a worn bush, or a similar "design" to the VW at the top end???

If the inspector is too dim to adjust the dash dial, he should NOT be inspecting cars - he's clearly not clever enough to work out what should be considered a failure or pass on such a wide range of vehicles they are likely to inspect. Ours were set low once, and my WOF guy just asked "does this have headlight adjustment?" I said yes, dialled it back to 0, and all was fine. The "focus" can be out, if the bulb isn't seated correctly, or is a really nasty/cheap bulb - the filament ends up in the wrong place, and can upset the cutoff etc.

Haha! It's not the worst that's happened. At least you're not dead set on proving yourself to be a wanaker - that has. And you didn't accidently show off where you find your "outdoor porn" - that has too...

Ripco have a kit too.

375 days might be a bit excessive though Welcome though We sometimes bite, but we're not infected with anything.