aja540i

Lose the impact driver!! Proper torx socket and a half inch breaker bar should do it, extend the handle with a pipe if you need to.

Plus, eat more weetbix, and remember righty tighty, lefty loosey!

The radio amp is faulty. Keeps cutting out.

On occasion the head unit flickers.

CD works fine. Even the tape deck works fine.

Sat Nav is original and I havent updated as use Garmin on dashboard.

Question is... can I have the amp removed and replaced with standard amp from audio shop without a full rewire or recode?

Or to replace the head unit 16:9... dont modern ones have a built in amp, making the original factory one obselete?

I am after a nice sounding system but dont need fancy.

Who can folks recommend in Auckland to sort me out. The guys in Newmarket quoted $700 to remove old amp/cd changer/head unit and rewire (leaving in current speakers) and replace head unit. This estimate does not include the cost of the head unit... no fancy upgrades were requested, no fancy amps or woofers etc etc... just the labour to remove the old and replace with a simple headunti. Does this sound like the very top end of pricing or are there quality alternatives. I have no idea if this is a 7 hour job or not.

Yes, this is a 7 hour job in these cars! Took me a day and a half to do this in my e39.

Cheers

Needs to be a complete hid headlamp assembly, the reflectors are a different shape to suit hid bulbs. I failed a wof after doing a hid conversion because the ballasts were held in with cable ties and that wasnt "factory" even though i had the whole hid headlight units. I took it somewhere else and they gave it a wof.

Probably best to see ADL, they should be able make and balance a new one, or modify something you take them and balance that up. I just had one shortened for my e21, was about $400 all up (including new centre bearing)

Not 100 percent sure but i think the flywheel is different for the M10, i have a feeling if you swap the flywheel as well it may work but thats a lot of mucking araound!

None of you know whats involved at all. The inspection of the vehicle for a cert can take half an hour - 2 hours. The written report and documentation for the half hour- 2 hour inspection can take at least 1-2 hours to complete , edit and process.

This, plus the govt fee for the cert plate is around 400 from memory!

The m52 has other things done to it. But I can't see why a standard 318 with a m52 in it wouldn't pass cert. ]

This is why there is a cert system. Someone who is a trained mechanical engineer will look at it, drive it, and tell you exactly why a standard 318 with an m52 in it WONT pass a cert!

The system isnt perfect, but it works pretty well, and if you follow the rules it lets you do some pretty cool stuff!!

"Steel body panels" thats a rare beast indeed!

You will probably have to connect the motor back up and move the window to a position where you can reach the bolts, unless you can remove the motor and move the window by hand.(Or just hotwire the motor off a battery to move the window!)

Damn! If i hadnt just spent all my pocket money on a manual conversion i would be very keen! How much faster is your office now that its supercharged?

The way i read the op, it is only shaking when the brakes are applied. If it was hub rings or wheels etc it would shake all the time, getting worse as speed increased. If its fine when the brakes are 'off' then it stands to reason the problem is with the brakes. I would go back to the supplier and try to swap them.

I had that 6-speed in my e-bay watchlist too. A little over $1000USD for practically the whole conversion components. + Freight. My finger wasn't hovering over the BN/Offer but it was an attractive price considering the 6-speed on Trademe for 3.5K

Just out of interest, what are the manual trans options to bolt up to the M60b40? Any e34/e39 V8 + the ECU only? I've done some vague searching but haven't turned up much more than that. Those 540i/6's must be a lot of fun to drive.

Yes. They are!!

I could be wrong but i think all the v8s have a common bolt pattern, so any box should fit, the coding seems to be the most challenging part!!

You can test if they are warped with a dial indicator, or take them to a good brake place and get them machined anyway. If they are new you should be able to machine them once without making them too thin, but it may only fix them temporarily. When it happened to me it was a piss poor casting that had significantly different material thickness from one side of the casting to the other so when they heated up, they expanded unevenly and warped. Im not talking super hot either, i was driving up North towing an empty trailer at normal speeds! Good luck!!

http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/used-cars/bmw/auction-730122573.htm

You might get the one guy who knows they didnt make a 6 cylinder 316i, then you are up for a cert!! I wouldnt be surprised if you got away with it though!!

Needs a cert for the power increase, but much easier if everything is factory!!

M10b20 + 30 psi boost = much fun!! ( and empty pockets)

He's essentially changed his entire brake assembly with new bits. Don't think it would be that.

Unlikely, but not impossible! I had the exact same thing on my vr4 a few years ago, brand new discs and pads (ebc) the rotors warped in less than 200km!! It was a shitty casting and as soon as they got warm they warped, i had them machined and they did it again so i binned them within 500km!!

Not too sure on your motor but it would be 'normal' to put a tee in where the light sender is and run your gauge sender and switch off the tee.Might be a mission getting a tee with the right threads though ! Is it electric or mechanical? We used to have a lot of problems with the electric sender units and most guys ended up changing back to mechanical.

just on this subject... would these work in e39 brake lights?

http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/car-parts-accessories/performance/bulbs/auction-728572727.htm

I had similar led bulbs in a honda city turbo and it failed a wof because they werent bright enough!! Ok for indicators or side lights but brake lights you want to be seen!!!

You can either buy error free led bulbs or you can buy inline resistor packs that cancel tbe obc warnings. Repco and supercheap have them but they arent cheap!!

I can see there being some issues around sealing the stationary head and the moving block! The weakest part of most internal combustion engines and they want to make it a bearing surface as well, really interested to see how they solve that.

The butterflies in the bug catcher arent connected, i presume they are just locked half open, seems like a lot of work for nothing, but each to their own!

I kept the same diff in mine, at 100 in 6th its doing about 1800 rpm. Economy should be better, but im still enjoying it too much to worry about economy!! There are some coding issues that you will need to get sorted, best to talk to Ray, he's done a few now.

Plus, do it!!

I got mine from ebay, pretty cheap, looks good, fits perfectly, lights up. only took a week or so to arrive from Hong Kong.