Allanw

Nope, mine were fine, but I fitted a genuine xenon retrofit kit with complete new lights, so hope i never have to do it!

You can also replace the adjusters without opening the lights right up. Some good googling should find a better one, but this: 1. Remove lights from the car. Lights are held in place with 4 bolts (8mm i think). Remove all 4 bolts and disconnect all connectors. Pull lights out and pay attention to the plastic strip under the lights, you dont want to brake that. 2. Remove all bulbs. Angel eye and turn signal, just twist the bulb holder and pull out. Low an high beams, remove rubber cover and twist the bulb holder. 3. Remove auto adjusters screws. 3 torx screws. 4. Remove auto adjusting unit. To remove that, look inside the light through high beam hole. You will see auto adjusters arm, push that arm to low beam side, to unclip the adjuster from the holder, it should pop out easily. Dont brake that. 5.Look through the high beam hole to turn indicator side and you will see the horisontal adjuster (it might be snapped in half). On the bottom of the adjuster, there is a torx screw. remove that. Use the adjusting bolt to unscrew the adjuster completely and take it out from the light cluster. Note the way, how the adjuster is inside the light. Keep the adjuster holder. you will need it for the new adjuster. 6. Look through the angel eye bulb hole. It is hard to spot, but there is another torx screw. Undo that and use the vertical adjusting bolt to undo the adjuster completely. Remove the adjuster and holder from the light cluster. Note how the adjuster is inside the light. Keep the adjuster holder. 7. Now. install new horisontal adjuster through the high beam hole. Try to get it to the right position and use adjusting bolt to screw it in. 8. Install horisontal adjusters holder and screw it in its place, but do not snap adjuster in to it yet. 9. Now the hard part. Put the new vertical adjuster onto its holder and use top observation panel in the light cluster to put it in the light. Try to move it to the right position with your fingers and use adjusting bolt to screw it in. 10. Screw the vertical adjusters torx screw in place through the angel eye bulb hole. 11. Snap horisontal adjusters arm into the holder. 12. Reinstall automatic adjuster (screw both adjusters in, using adjusting bolts to make it easier to install auto adjuster.). 13. Put the bulbs back in. 14. Fit the lights to the car and get them aimed. is from HERE

Sweetbix.

The OTHER Allans link shows the ballast bracket, I was actually referring to the lower mount brackets - You can actually use the pre facelift brackets, but there is 1 screw you can't put in. It's been done PLENTY of times, but if you can get the brackets too, do it. They are attached to the bottom of the lights anyway, so will probably come with used lights. Schmiedmann has white indicator genuine hella xenons with ballasts for just under $1300 a pair, shipped. This image is the lower light brackets from a pre facelift. Facelift has an additional mounting hole somewhere:

The ballasts attach to the rear of the lights, so you'll need the whole set. If you go from PFL to facelift lights, you'll need to wiring adapters for the angeleyes etc too. Ideally, you should have the bracket off the bottom of the light enclosure too. I got my genuine retrofit kit landed in NZ for about NZ$900, but they come with orange indicators, which I prefer on my steel blue car (the clears I had for a while looked cheap), but on a black car, the orange would look gash! The LCM MAY have been coded to suit the halogens, but more likely it just doesn't cause an issue, and isn't doing cold checks The xenons have no cold checks, only ignition checks for the HID, but the current on the halogens would be high enough to trick it anyway, I think. No cold checks means no low beam warning - you could unplug a low beam and see if you get cold check warnings. The self levelling can be hooked straight up to halogens, so it's probably still functionaing - they use the same motors. Do you have the adjuster wheel on the dash? You shouldn't if it really had factory xenons. If you fit the Xenons, and any errors come up, the LCM can be coded to suit anyway (I can do it for you, but I'm in Whangarei, and you probably have the round under bonnet connector that I currently have no adapter for). Self levelling on factory xenons has 2 sensors (right rear, and front left from memory). You CANNOT retrofit that system with serious work - the factory Xenon retrofit kit uses a more basic version of self levelling which only has a right rear sensor. Your LCM may have been changed at some stage, but it's probably an auto levelling type at least, if you aren't having errors come up.

+1!

No TV at my house, so no ads. We've got a LOT of DVD's though - they're way cheaper on Amazon UK, than the warehouse etc. Strangely enough, when we visit people, we watch the ads and not usually the TV

It doesn't have that weird bit where the headlight links to the grille, and doesn't look quite as droopy, but that may be the angle. It doesn't have the tacked on busy looking bits in the lower ar intakes either.

Euro, 100% The Jap/US one does look weird, especially with a NZ plate jammed in it. It always reminds me of those Jap plate metal plate holders that get left under the plates on some cars (like E30's). It looks like an afterthough, where the euro one looks like the "proper" design.

Saw this 850CSi on Thursday, just leaving Kawakawa. Apparently he was in a hurry! Pulled out where I would normally think someone was stupid to even think about passing... except he's in an 850 CSi, so he was past with craploads of room to spare..... I was in a Mitsi Outlander, so only got one more glance of the car a moment later, as he disappeared, never to be seen again. Sounded awesome. Lucky I took the piccie when I did!

Looks a metric-buttload better than the 3, though I think I need to reverse final judgement until there's more pics :-)

Well done! I'm sure you'll like the 8 :-) They're not that hungry either.

Result!

Buy the new one - they don't actually last all that long - a used one could fail anytime.

Always a good move! They are known to fall apart and lunch engines - the little pin falls out and gets munched up. Mine had a holey diaphragm, and wasn't doing anything I don't think. It was probably like it for a REALLY long time, as the mechanism wasn't worn at all! Fixing up the hole made a massive difference. probably as much as the Vanos seals did.

Pick a colour, and paint the whole lot, including the rear console. That way you don't have wood. A mate of mine painted his body colour (Orient Blue? Montreal Blue?) and it looks really smart - wouldn't work for all colours though.

And I thought my mortgage payments were high! That covers it though! My parents know some people that have a HUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGE house. I seem to recall it being over 3000m2! Don't think I accidentally added a 0 there either - I really Mean 3000! We would have a Rumpus Room - they have a "function" room - it's over 200m2. We have a lounge, with a nice big window for taking in the view. They have a "viewing room" as it's on a peninsula mostly surrounded by water, which is floor to ceiling glass 270 degrees around the round walls of the room, with massive high celings. We have a guest bedroom. They have a guest wing. It's slightly bigger than my house - 250M2 We have Alpacas, they have Alpacas, Guanacos, Ostriches (awesome eggs for Pavs BTW!) and donkeys. How many live there??? 2 people! They have an elevator for when they get old (plus he has a bad leg, from a motorcycle accident). They don't do functions or anything, but do have a couple of baches they rent out when they can be bothered. They also have an art studio for "her", which is a 3 bedroom house! Funnily enough, they aren't pretentious and don't give a crap what anyone thinks. They can afford anything they want, but they drive a Nissan Murano It's nice to see how the other half live!

A mate of mine owns a shop that does repairs, and a lot of repairs under warranty (pretty sure he does LG - he can get me a new LG TV). More often than not, it is big expensive parts that need replacing. For some reason, the companies do replace the parts... which are often only a few hundred dollars less than a new TV! Plus they're paying for labour. He MAY have parts around, but doesn't keep much. Chances are, the seller has had it looked at, and the tech said it was something more (perhaps why they say it's the PDP - it's not uncommon for them to crap out, and they're usually the most expensive part - sometimes more than the TV cost new!). I can ask him, if you PM me model numbers and the bits you want to try.

My Suzuki Cappuccino was 660cc and 67 BHP (claimed - some guys dynoed their stock cars, and got close to that... at the wheels!). It was fairly easy to get 120 BHP from them with just a turbo/injector upgrade and a decent exhaust :-) though I think it's actually bored to 720cc

Holy crap that's rough! You'd think someone would look after all cars, but especially an M3. Can you send me the front and rear lights, so I can burn them please. I like Daytona Violet, but looks like there's no point in saving any of the existing paint - may as well do what you want!

I thought I already replied to this thread and said this - If it's a 2.0 auto, they are slow!

I'd do the timing belt, and check it's on right. They need to be done every 4-5 years, regardless of milage, and the milage varies, but I wouldn't leave it to 100K.

I did a group buy a year ago, for genuine Hella lights for $640 a pair of halogens from Clarke at Hella NZ. I actually ended up selling mine on, and buying a genuine BMW xenon retrofit kit, with everything to fit them, including new lights and self levelling sensor and looms etc for about $900 (they made it in without customs being charged!). You can also fit the facelift grilles, they are much bigger, but actually fit the same hole in the bonnet, they just overlap it more.

Writing sucks. Talking is way easier!

E39 suspension doesn't last long anyway, so with that milage, it's probably either really poked, or it's had work already. Watch for mushroomed front strut towers, particularly on M-Tech II suspension equiped cars.