aja540i

I think the e36 318is in manual is an underrated car, just enough power that you can actually use it all without dying, safe enough for a first car (airbag models) and reliable and cheap enough to keep on the road as a daily driver. Also a great car for someone who wants to learn a bit of DIY. I also really enjoyed my Honda City turbo but i really wouldn't recommend for a first car, complete death trap! and i doubt you can find a decent one anymore. Its been a while since i was looking but the early new minis must have fallen into this price range by now and there are a few manuals around.

Or...

Got It from a wreck at SD european, with wiring module etc.

The Westfalia bar i got (genuine BMW) for my E61 had a seperate steel plate bolted behind it with 2 attachment points for safety chains, it was laser cut and folded 8 mm plate and looked professionally made.

I decided on the BE ones because they use a similar compound to the original BMW recipe so any wear will show up with oil analysis (which i will do at every oil change) they also have a non stick coating which was one of the things BMW did to reduce the wear on the bearings and i believe they also have a slightly larger clearance which allows for more oil between the crank and bearing, which should also reduce wear. I would have stuck with BMW but the new part number is a harder compound so doesn't wear the same and won't show up in oil analysis until it is too late. There are other options out there, but i had to make a decision and that's the way i went. I ordered from Turners because they offer a kit that allows you to order all the parts you need to do the job, most of which were genuine BMW, i didn't get the oil from them because it blows the shipping cost out and they offer the new Shell BMW oil. I am sticking with Castrol to keep my analysis reports consistent.

I once drove a car that had a blown head gasket, it eventually stopped when the cylinder head got so hot the distributor cap MELTED and started drooping onto the rotor! It takes a lot more than 5 minutes to do that.

E39 528 touring towing a trailer with an E39 540 sedan on it heading out of Auckland this morning, I figured there's a good chance it was someone on here....

They should have one that will work for you, I bought direct from Dension website. Mine is a gateway 500 something....

I ended up using Bavarian motors in Glenfield because I supplied the parts including BE bearings from Turner. Ended up costing about the same as what CCBMW quoted me.

Finished installing a Dension Gateway in the M5, gives me bluetooth streaming and ipod connection and lets me keep the cd changer. Uses Idrive controller and steering wheel buttons but loses voice control, i have never used that so no great loss. Disconnected and removed the original TCU, I was going to remove the original bluetooth aerials but they are a complete ballache to get at so they can stay for now.

From memory i don't think they had any part numbers on them, i tried to find some so i could list them on Trade Me, but i can put up some photos.

I have a couple of sets, one set that i bought for my 540i and fully rebuilt but they didn't fit, off set wasn't quite right so i suspect they may be for a 6 cylinder e39, and another set that i bought , which should be for a v8 e39 but are quite second hand and need a rebuild.

BMW did mine and it was $5K approx, i assume they did everything required at the time, i know it was clutch plates, pressure plate, flywheel and release bearing at minimum. Mine is a UK import but all the servicing in NZ had been done by Team McMillan BMW so i rang them and the guy in the service department told me everything they had done to it. Mine has also done wedding car duties with an M5 sedan.

Good effort, sounds like you need to book it in for a new clutch though, mine had similar symptoms before it got done, it will just get worse until its sorted.

It's just the crank pulley so everything is slightly under driven, less than 10 %, i can't see it being enough to actually damage anything considering the rev range of the S85 anyway. My main concern would be the water pump being under driven, but it doesn't have a temp gauge so it can't overheat can it!

It can be recycled but not into new cars, the fibres get shorter every time it is recycled, and the resin is heated up to remove it and doesn't get re-used, not sure what they get used for next but you could make a few of them from an i3!

I ran it in for about 600 Km, then did an oil and filter change. I haven't noticed any difference in power, but we are talking about the difference between 507 and a few more than 507 so i'm not sure if it would be noticeable, and to be honest when you are using all the powers there are more important things to concentrate on!!

I wonder what scrap carbon fibre is worth these days?

I ended up spending about 7 Including a power steering hose that was leaking, Earnst at Bavarian motors did the work.

Continental BMW quoted me about 5k for rod bearing replacement, I doubt you could get it done properly for less than that. I spent about 7k but did other stuff at the same time. Mine had 150km on it and it was bordering on damaging the crank, I certainly wouldnt buy one with that sort of mileage that hadnt had them done.

A few more bits and pieces... E46 compact left rear window seal $5 brand new old stock. E39 silver trim centre console, missing the latch that holds it open / closed, free to a good home. E36 318is coupe M42 factory air box, even has an old filter in it! free to a good home. E34 headlight, indicator lens damaged, has adjuster motor, free to a good home. Brake cooling duct, i believe for E39, new old stock $5

"we're going to clear more cookies than a fat kid at a birthday party" Never thought i would get to use a line from Big mouth on a BMW forum, but there you go...

Yeah, i figured. It was still painful to watch.

I struggle to believe that he bought that car without investigating the common issues or the costs to repair them beforehand, if its true then it was just stupid. I also can't comprehend why he decided it was a good idea to drive it to the mechanic in the state it was in, a towtruck would have cost less than the tank of gas.