Allanw

I dunno anything speficificfic about E46 Compacts, but on an E39, you could potentially have an incorrectly coded module turning the brakes on dim as tail lights, or a bad earth feeding current back through circuits and tricking the LCM into thinking things aren't working the way it should. If the tail lights are blown, lots of BMW's will light up the brakes at half brighness to compensate. Same with front, the indicators glow at half.

Arse! I'd have talked the Mrs into that, I'm sure..... probably not fast enough though!

You can remove the fan, and drop it down inside the shroud, VERY carefully, and the shroud can stay on. It's a little fiddly, but slightly easier than removing the shroud. When refitting the thermostat, I like to use a very little bit of neutral cure sealant and the rubber gasket, tighten it up, the leave it to set overnight, before filling and bleeding the system. If you aren't confident to do it yourself, it's probably not expensive to have done - perhaps it could be done when you get the oil leak sorted??? or was that on the 520i???

If it ever drops down, or isn'tsolid at 12 after about 5 minutes, there is something wrong with the thermostat - Like I say - for it to read 11 oclock, it would only be running at about 60-70 degrees - it will richen the mixture at that point. It's a common E39 thing. Scanning won't show anything, unless the thermostat electronics are poked (which is common too). Check the OBC - you can't screw anything dramatic up - especially if you follow the instructions. I'd be looking to replace the thermstat based on what you've said. They crap out one way or another pretty often anyway!

I have that too, but also the weird text at the top of the page, and in the attachments section. On home laptop Win 7 and XP at work is the same. The smilies appear to be working less than normal too.

Yup - then the kink off to the left is where she reversed up, So I could get out.... You know, with all these videos popping up, BMW drivers look like Wankers

I like how he tries turning more..... it was already to late dude. I have no sympathy for him. If you're crossing the centreline on corners, you're doing it wrong. I actually have a dash cam for people who cross the centre line. SO many poor drivers can't stay in their own lane, or on their own side of the road. I've had one nearly head-on accident from someone on the wrong side - fortunately I stopped before she hit me. This photo is why I'll never use LUMLEY Insurance - apparently this was 50/50 liability: I'd hate to think what would have happened if I drove like she did! Now I have the camera, so I have video evidence when I file the police report

You may find the thermostat is poked and it's not warming up correctly (the dash gauge won't reflect this is most situations - it shows normal from about 70-75C, upto 115C at least). Our 525i manual gets 10.4 in our normal around town commute stuff (Kindy, library etc) and I can get 7.0 on a run (though usually more like 8L/100kms with the family and all the gear. You can check the coolant temp (KTMP) on the secret OBC menu. An M54 powered E39 should be running in the 90's most of the time, generally mid to high 90's, but as low as high 80's if being driven hard. You can Google how to do it, depends on whether you have high or low obc (text display or picture of a car under speedo)

Even if they DID have cheap stuff, I wouldn't buy it on principle. The stuff wasn't as cheap as I got it anyway, from a different chinese website, that I found on google. It's like they think we're idiots

You must owe you boy now! Think how much more the car is worth without that dodgy noise

No no, not SA, SE. The NZ New SE's are German assembled, so don't have the rust issues that the SA ones sometimes have. The SA ones have nothing on a 325i SE when it comes to options!

No, but the V12's take a bit more (almost 2x 6 cylinder engines in there, joined at the hip ) But you must admit...... It's hard not to lavish $$$ and attention onto a car as impressive as an 8 series!

Oh Yeah, If you buy one up here, I could put you in contact with out IT department - they had several hundred PC's to "recycle", last I heard they were running out of places to stack them.

If you want a REALLY well specced E30 - those SE's are the ones to get. I don't know Ray, but we did have a little discussion on his original for sale thread for it (though I can't find it now). It's the same as my fathers one, same colour and everything. They are really loaded with little things that you don't don't get on an average E30. Reading light rear view mirror, lined boot lid, rear headrests, headlight range adjustment (that won't work though), illuminated manual gear knob, "sport" steering wheel (still bus size), full OBC, "premium" sound, electric sunroof and all 4 windows, Touring/SE side skirts, ski flap, painted boot spoiler, proper full length twin exhaust with big outlets, shadowline, colour coded bumpers/mirrors/lower grille inserts/sills, oil cooler, and a probably a shiltoad I can't remember. Proper German made too Did you say one of those other cars had ONE shock replaced??? That's a half-assed repair right there! Also, leaking power steering fluid - could be the rack - common on E30's You can get them rebuilt, which isn't cheap, but the mod they do means they last a long time. Dads was done at about 95,000 kms, and is still fine now, at about 225 kms. Look for a good one - they aren't much more expensive to buy than an average one.

To a certain extent, that's true of any 8 series

Come on! Go get some pics today. I reckon it will look awsome with all the black, and probably livens it up no end. Must be worth at least another 20HP too.

Bummer dude. Engine is liekly to be fine - they are surprisingly hardy! You car isn't that low... I can't beleive some monkey actually left that thing like that. Bare minimum it should be ramped up the the edge to protect tyres - it was an accident waiting to happen, one way or another. Tell them there is a lot of oil for them to clean up too!

No, they are glaringly bright during the day, so you can't see the car properly, because you can't look at it. They should be dimmer, more diffuse, or a dipped design. Newer Euros with DRL are not glaring at all.

It won't be EFI :-( not if NZ new. I can look at it if need be - do you know what suburb they are in??? I had a few as rentals - the petrol motors are pretty good, not so much the diesels - they are all known for cracking heads, the 2.8 is still pretty common, and is worse in the vans than the hiluxes (!). The 3.0 is better, but still considered common. We had one that had a new petrol engine at 390,000, after some loser drove on, even though the coolant light was on, and one had done 490,000 and was still fine - they had been well serviced, with regular oil changes etc, and stuff like brakes, clutches, suspension etc. The newer D4D's can be a real time bomb for some owners anyway. The 2.4P's aren't too hungry, if driven sensibly, but do suck through it when pushed - like most vans. They're quite a coarse motor (as it's under you) but will pull up to about 5500 happily and are very good down low - more torque and power at similar revs to the 2.8 diesel. To be honest though - you're far better off with a jap import one - they tend not to rust like the NZ assembled ones (I don't know when they stopped doing that actually - might have been in the late 90's). Our NZ new ones rust has terrible rust problems all over the place - mostly the windscreens, front pillars and sill etc as mentioned above. The tailgates crack around the handle and start to rust too, and are a pain to fix. You just can't stop it once it starts. If it's really tidy now, it's probably OK if you rust proof here and there. The jap ones are more likely to be diesels, or 2.0 petrols though. The thing is, repairing the head on a diesel is going to be around $3500 if you pay to have it done, less if you do the labour. Repairing rust will be ongoing and will eventually scrap the van. If I wanted a Hiace in particular, I'd probably find a 3.0 TD manual and keep some money aside for the head when it cracks. The cooling system needs to be kept up to scratch, but it'll probably still crack at about 200-225K I think is common, although my mates 3.0 Surf did it at 160 kms. Otherwise if you want to go easy on the capital spending, the petrol is the way to go, and second hand petrol engines were way cheaper. Just as an aside, my mate up here with the electronics shop ended up buying a 2.4P Misti L300 - they were better value for money for him at the time (I think he spent about 9K for a 2004 with about 100K on it), but it's only a low roof SWB. And that might be a bit more than you're looking to spend. The diesels tend to cost more, which is weird, because they pop a bit too often too. Left me know if you want me to have a quick look sometime.

I think they're just here to spam us with links to their website for chinasinoy It'll start soon - already has on the UK forum. Both posts have links to the same website other post This EXACT post was made on the UK forum, then the two next posts are just "helpful" links to a chinese car scanner website

I think they're just here to spam us with links to their website for chinasinoy It'll start soon - already has on the UK forum. Both posts have links to the same website other post No replies so far.

Low Beams I find it funny that people drive with front fogs on, without fog. They actually cut your long range vision, as they create more light close to the car and your eyes close the Iris slightly. People THINK they can see better, as there is more light. It's just in the wrong places. The stupid ones are the HSV's with "DRL" that are really blinding and intense, but don't actually let the driver see anything. It just makes it harder for everone else to drive. Typical aussie car thing - doesn't work properly!

Haha Sweet! If you start it at a good time in a morning, you don't have to rush. Let me know if you want to come up though. I think I spent 3 hours doing it, including "help" from my boy. I'd recomment some nail polish remover to help soften the residue from the old cable, and a fibreglass pencil from RS or similar - it helps to clean up the surfaces, but BE GENTLE! Another option for the trim is to "brush" the trim. I painted my Honda wood trim Black, then left it to harden for a week or so (it does take a while). Then got a bristle hearth brush and did long even strokes along the length (snigger) to give it a dulled finish, but with light horizontal lines. Looked not too bad, and you can do as much or as little as you like to suit!