Allanw

You usually sign to say the car is in OK condition when you buy the warranty. Places like insurance and warratny companies don't much like fraud.

I could probably almost talk Dad into selling his car for those dollars!!!!! 1990 325i SE manual, 230-240K, he's had it for over 15 years!

Weirdest hing is that I adjust the miroor EVERYtime I use the car, because the Mrs usually uses it. This time, I was taking off the dash cam, and just bumped it - fell straight off! The stuff we put up with, just because some german decided attaching it to the roof wasn't fancy enough.

IF the head has to come off, its best to get the bolt holes time-serted before even TRYing to glue the head back down. Don't fear though, it may never have happened. I once drove a Subaru about 40 kms at speed (mostly open road, a fair amount of thrashing at times) after the radiator had split (After I discovered the coolant was all gone, and dried onto the drivers side of the car, I recalled the noise of it happening!), it started pinking like hell climbing the hill to my house, and I had to put 6L of water in after in cooled down. It just had a new radiator, and continued on running mint until I left the company, when that car had about 360kms on from memory. The High OBC coolant warning/gong is set to either 125C or 135C from memory. The plastic impellors on these aren't that bad. Mine was mint, after 130K and 14 odd years. but I put in a new pump from Milland, and it was metal anyway. FYI: the following is "TOO MUCH INFORMATION" about the bug your Mrs possibly has!!!! There is a nasty Norovirus on the rampage. Luckily (working at a Hospital) I get buttloads of sick leave that accumulates... but I also get to try new experiences and sicknesses all the time! I had all week off, because I had Vomiting from 2AM monday, until late morning, then the squirts followed - ebbing and flowing until the violent cresendo on Thursday afternoon where I was wondering how much an emergency septic tank service cost.... seriously. You do NOT build immunity to it - it can go around and around within the people she/you are in contact with, So wash hands, wash everything she gets "grubby" and grab some hand sanitizer and use it often. Wipe the toilets down with disinfectant, plus try to vomit in a sink that's easy to clean - it means you aren't putting both ends near the same receptacle. It's really nasty, and I truely hope she feels better soon, and that you don't get it! Good luck!

Broke off the rear view mirror... and glued it back on. Couldn't find black mirror adhesive anywhere though had to go with clear.

Nice. Even has the "cheap" gearbox Hmmm... Violet is kinda blue... You should be allowed into the "Blue BMW with Style 42 wheels" club

^ This. If it been parked under trees or something, they clog. There are little duckbill things that fill up..... actually, Even E30's had the same issues - I remember doing Dads 15 or so years ago wait there.... From Bimmer forums: But also, as mentioned above, it is supposed to drain in a similar fashion to the E46 the other Allan (tim 325) speaks of.

Ha, it turns out (I've discovered after using this a lot...) that you don't have to unlock the OBC eveytime. Once it's unlocked, it seems to stay unlocked unless you lock it, or possibly if you reset things (disconnect battery, recode IKE etc) Today I jumped in, chose option 7 and it was right there! Easy!

Oh yeah... for coolant... I couldn't decide, so got BMW stuff. It's not that expensive. If you go aftermarket, be wary of the long life ones and fancy labels. Some of them are not suitable. If it were me, I'd go to the warehouse and buy the "autohaus" basic stuff (I use it in the Model A), or something similar. People waffle on about what coolant is "right", but at the end of the day, BMW specs say their coolant and just about any water (Most NZ tap water complies). In reality, most workshops (not speacialist) use the coolant they buy in the big drum (whatever it is) and tap water. You can always run straight water for a week or so, to check for problems, then drain it, put in BMW stuff and re-bleed.

The needle moving means it IS hot (At least 115C), if it getting up to red, it getting hot hot. E39 gauges are VERY buffered. To BMW's credit, the coolant temp sensor is low in the cooling system (on the M54 at least), so at least it does still read as the level gets low (most cars have them mounted high, so coolant loss means the gauge doesn't even SHOW the temperature increase!). The fact it crept on the gauge up makes me wonder if it was already getting hot (the gauge won't move remember, until 115C) and the radiator let go from the additional pressure, rather than the radiator causing the overheat. Bleeding the M54 is piss easy. Open the bleed screws (top hose side of thermostat housing and top of radiator/expansion tank). Tipp in correct amount of coolant. start adding water. When it dribbles out of a bleed screw, close it off (not tight). Then do the other. Next, turn the heater up to max, fan onto low, leave ignition on, but engine off. Secondary pump will run. Coolant will squirt out the little orifice in the top of the expansion tank opening. Keep the level up in the expansion tank by adding water. Gently open the thermostat bleeder and let any air out, then check the expansion tank one. If you get a lot of foam at any time, shut it off, and wait a while for it to settle. Once the coolant stream is constant/bubble free in the tank, and the level is nearly up to normal, start the engine and leave it to run for a while. Once you're happy, put the cap on (important), make sure the bleed screws are snug (they're plastic, DON'T overtighten!) and go for a drive (round and round the block is good, take your phone! Leave the windows down too - leave the heater at the same settings it was on). When you drive it, watch the KTMP (http://bimmersport.co.nz/topic/47848-e39-obc-secret-menu-ktmp-coolant-temperature/) and watch for anything funny. The temp can fluctuate, but it info is in that thread. If all is well, keep it running for a bit to get the engine properly "hot" (as in normal), then go home, shut it down and leave the bonnet up to cool down WAY faster. Once it's cold (overnight is good, but at least 3 or 4 hours) check the coolant level (it may need a little bit added). for the next couple of trips, I always check the coolant before leaving, and then once it's cold again. That's a lot of words, for what is really very simple on the M54 E39's

Hmmm... ever seen the crash test results of a Great Wall ute?????

Nah... Bosch is definitely the Light Lord... Abs light, Traction light, Stability light, Airbag light.....

Hmmm... I might buy one. They should be cheap, being an old english POS.

I'm not sure how my sister managed to go from an E39 into a Prado... it feels like its going to tip over in her driveway. At least she's working on her husband to get an X5 next. He keeps saying the Prado has been a good truck. Which is true... it hasn't cracked a head... Yet! Slow as a wet week though! They did take the Prado off road once. Destroyed the bumper too

Here is a shitty screen shot of a factory M54 chart from some E85 literature: 1&2 are B30, 3&4 are B25. They have a pretty good torque curve for an "old tech" revvy 6 cylinder (though I can see why ours stuggles away from the "give way" at the end of the road in 2nd at 1200 rpm!). PS... anyone want to swap an M54B25 for an M54B30??? All I need to do is bolt it in, and update the DME software

Get the part number and Email Paul at Milland to get a price. They shouldn't be much.

Probably more effective to move to a better neighbourhood. Even though the locals would probably be able to overcome the "antitheft device", they would be more likely to report that cars presence to the Police, than to try to steal it.

If you don't code out the cold checks, you can have "strobing" of the lights when the cold checks are done - the current may be enough to light the LEDs, but an incandescent wouldn't have even thought about lighting up. Looks pretty nasty when it does it - random looking blinking. Not all models can code out all the checks either. I changed my E39 LCM to a later version (LCM4, from and E53 X5) to enable the disabling ( ) of the angel eye cold checks. Also, common replacement LED units simply do NOT have the same "amount" of light... they look bright, but won't light up much of an area type thing... That's why I stuck with incandescent on the Model A Ford - the LEDs looked brighter, but were harder to see, especially in sun.

the "fine" would have been the last years license fee he hadn't paid. When they cancel the rego, you are still liable for the outstanding license fee. It doesn't stop the cancellation though. They send letters. Since it takes all of 3 minutes, and is FREE to put them on hold, I really don't understand how it "accidently" happens...

Go Manual! Are your ears painted on????? I think you'll find the manual conversion cost is much closer to the $4500 repair price you'd be OK with, than the rebuild cost you'e been quoted..... ... AND it probably allows for the towing to Ray, and maybe some petrol for the trip home again afterwards

Did you do all 4 barriers behind the doors? (the rears are the usual suspects, but they can all leak) What did you seal them with??? If not done well, they can come off again - butyl tape is the "correct" way, though I used butyl sealer in a mastic gun (So I can get them off agin, if required)

I was going to post in the "What did you do t your BMW?" thread, that I had possiblky just driven NZ's rarest E39...... tell them properly what you have now We generally have manuals, and after driving aja540i's one again... I'd have to have a manual 540i too - the auto just is NOT the same

The place is FULL of internet myths. Open road cars have other issues to town cars... but it seems people are only worried about engines.

Silver Fox's graph is how our M54 FELT before I did the Vanos seals. With the Vanos deleted, there's nothing to boost the low end, as the Vanos does - I guess.