350chevy

Just made a phone call to Jeff Greys. My replacement part should be here by 2pm. this means I only lost 2 hours of work pay for the time I took off this morning. At least I can cancel the rental van I booked without any charge. I should be able to get the car up and running by 4pm. Wife has told the group to shop for an extra hour to give me time to fit the top hose and bleed the the system.

Got early this morning and arrived at Jeffs Grey's BMW only to find the part had not arrived from Auckland. I gave the parts guy my cell phone number and asked him to call me once it arrived. I also explained yesterday that I needed to get the car back on road by midday Thursday as my daughter has 8 friends coming down by train from Masterton and they staying with us for 3 days and are going to the Winter Jam concert We needed the BMW and my station wagon to pick everyone up from the railway station at 3pm (Today). Received a phone call from the parts department and they said "Quote" The part was not picked up yesterday from BMW Auckland as someone forgot to call the courier and it will not be here until tomorrow unless they get it on "next Flight" out of Auckland. I asked them to do this and then was told “it still may not arrive until tomorrowâ€. NOT HAPPY. This is the third bad experience I have had from Jeff Grays. 2 with parts delivery and 1 with being charged over $120 to reset an airbag fault light. I removed the passenger’s seat airbag connector plug without disconnecting the battery first, so it only needed resetting. I told them this and it did not need checking first and just resetting but they did any how. NOT HAPPY. So my saga continues and I am going to have rent a minivan to get everyone back this afternoon.

Thanks Glenn, I'll let you know by posting here tomorrow the result. All sounds so simple!!

Thanks Glen, I got AVS to order the part from Greys but it was the wrong part. Turns out the bleeder screw and plastic holder unit is part of the top hose. Greys have ordered this and it will here in my hot little hands tomorrow morning. Any pointers on bleeding the system? Steve

Morning, I have 1999 BMW 525i. The wife got home yesterday and noticed steam coming from the front of the car. I told her not to drive it until I could see what was up with it when I got home. We had been to Masterton the day before and I thought I got a whiff of that sweet smell of antifreeze but could not see any leaks, so thought it came from the overflow. (Silly me) I started up the engine after refilling the radiator, turned the heater on to full heat and after a while noticed water leaking the bleeder screw on the Thermostat top hose unit. I called a good friend who talk me through a couple tests and he mentioned that was a common fault with this model where the Thermostat top hose unit cracks where the bleeder screws goes in. Is this correct? This car had the radiator and water pump replaced 6 months ago and had all new BMW parts installed including the thermostat after the original W\P ceramic propeller let go. I am hoping the only issue this time is the cracked “Thermostat top hose unit and hoping it is a common issue to put my mind at rest. All replies greatly received. Steve

Hi everyone, I managed to fix the driver’s window on Saturday. Turns out (Wife forgot to tell me) that her BMW was left out over night and the driver’s window froze to the felt trim. So when she opened the window. It pulled itself out of the 2 bottom bracket rubbers. I ended up making a couple replacements and these worked nicely. The whole operation only took me 20mins. Many thanks for the good advice from everyone, it all helped in making this an easy repair. Steve

Guys, you both are awesome . I give it a crack this weekend. Steve

Can the SRS light be reset by me? Can I "short out pins on the Diagnostic loam to reset the SRS light" or I do have to take it back to Greys BMW in Wellington? Can I buy BMW Airbag Diagnostic and Reset Tool for a E39? Are you based in Wellington by any chance? Sorry for the hundred questions - Steve

Thanks Glenn, What about the curtain airbag, do I have to do anything special before removing the door card to get to the window? The last time I did something simple turned out to be a mare. I removed the left hand front seat and had to get Greys BMW to reset the air bag light. Recons it took them 40 mins and $105 later. I could not see anything on any forum about resetting the error light myself. Hence my resistance at this stage to rush into this small fault.

Hi, my driver’s window decided not to work late last night, I pressed the down button, heard a pop and then nothing. I want to remove the side panel off the door to check the fault but it has a side curtain air bag installed. My question is, do I have to do anything special before removing the side panel? I have been told the small plastic holding clips will break but can be glued back on. I am hesitant to remove the side panel from the door without knowing anything about the airbag. Again someone said I disconnect the main battery and let the car sit over night before taking off the side panel? They also said the issue with the E30 windows is a common easily fixed fault? Hope someone can help. Steve

Hi Jochen, Thankyou very much for the detailed information you listed. Grant has also given me some very useful information to get me going. Am trying to talk the wife into doing a few mods. having done up a few up "8's" in the past, she is not that keen due the high cost. I will wear her down. - BOYS need their toys!! Haha Steve

sorry, I meant "many thanks Nick", just noticed it was you who answered my question regarding PK. Steve

Thanks for the reply Grant, Being new, what is PM? Steve

Nice to be part of a cool site!! I have an update on the central locking issue. Ended up taking my car to Amsterdam Cars Ltd in Lower Hutt, Very helpful guys, but were unable to assist. Ended up taking it to Jeff Gray BMW. Guy was good and did not charge. Turns out I was resetting the code correctly, just pointing the key in the wrong direction. I pointed the key to the motor while re-setting the code and you have to point the key at the Revision Mirror where the pick up Sensor is located while re=programming. So only question one remains un-answered for. I am a very happy chappie!

Hi, New owner in Wellington of a dark blue 1999 E39 525i and love it. (Has the builtin TV, Nav) Question 1). Is there any way you can change the radio frequency from the standard Jap settings to NZ. I was told this could be done without a band expander and just by reprogramming the radio itself Question 2). When I brought the car, the central locking did not work. The car dealer told me the keys only last 5-6 years and would need replacing. I am a computer engineer and got our service dept to check and replace the batteries, the lights on both keys now work. I also tried to re sync keys using instructions I found on this site. Still no go. The car dealer then told my wife that the car battery had gone dead flat and remained this way for a month & replaced it with a new one just before we brought it. Would this have anything to do with it? I also found another blog that mentioned the Fuel lock is the same circuit and to check the fuse, this appears OK? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Great people, great site!! Steve