Lubed

If we read through your previous posts its seems your not comparing apples with apples, the OP car was serviced by JC BMW in Takapuna and not the JC BMW workshop in Wairau which you speak of that has been closed for many years now . While I can understand your disappointment with previous dealings I feel it some what unfair to be painting both workshops with the same brush . Intended or not your comments are disservice to the hard working people at JC BMW Takapuna .

Being this is a public forum and your part of the admin on this site then its best we keep to the facts. I currently work in the JC BMW workshop and have done for the past 14yrs along with a number of other long term techs who are still very passionate and dedicated to the product. My colleages and I are some of the people who were doing pre delivery inspections on new E46 M3,s so its fare to say there is a lot of experienced guys in the shop more than capeable of working on these cars. Your comments about the dealership once being taken over by Sime Darby are simply not true with so many long term staff still onboard.

Who does not love a good old fashioned misinformed dealership beat up? come on lads lets keep to the truths and enough of the dribble.

Possibly Glen misread the thread title, hence some of the faults pointed out such as the high pressure fuel pump do not apply since the 325i has the n52 and does not have direct fuel injection and therefore no high pressure pump fitted.

OP is referring to the 325i so no issues with injectors, fuel pumps, stem seals , valve gear so its not all doom and gloom.

Those last few kms up to Turoa are quite steep and engines are working hard, producing high exhaust temps. Possible current or previous oil leak burning off hot exhaust manifold?

Sounds like compression leaking past a loose spark plug, first check plug torques.

Looks like the plastic clip that comes on new hydraulic lifters that seals the oil supply hole, obviously is supposed to be removed before fitting. Must have found its way in when the rocker cover was off at some stage then been flushed into the sump.

Before you condemn the engine with worst case scenario how about dry the plugs out as suggested then after reinstalling plugs start the engine at full throttle to allow as much air in as possible to lean the mixture out on start up.

While the m54 does fail when overheated they are not as delicate as made out and have be known to suffer no damage after being run for minutes after dumping all there coolant such as in the event of a burst hose/expansion tank /radiator. Keep in mind when your reading the temp on your cluster that the boiling point with a sealed cooling system under pressure and with the correct mix of antifreeze is close to 130 C.

Don't take it the wrong way but you must be the king of misinformation. How will intake cleaning foam or spark plugs fix what is most likely to be leaking stem seals?

Has the radiator been opened up and inspected internally to confirm to your theory of the damage? is it possible it may be a different fault?

Looks like one of the rubber spacers that go on the locating pins on the under side the manifold cover.

I have been working on these engines from there release in 2001 and in that time have never seen a crankshaft seal fail, for those with no experience looking for oil leaks on the n42 it is very easy to make an incorrect diagnosis thinking a rear main is leaking when fact it is the sump gasket. It is possible your engine has multiple leaks, as others have mentioned take it to someone with experience for a proper diagnosis.

The most common leaks in that area are the crankcase breather valve and pipes, oil filter housing gaskets, dipstick o-ring ,sump gasket. You will get a better idea if you remove the reinforcing plate and undertray

No need to panic just do that simple test. Remove the plug from the pressure sensor and bridge the plug terminals with ignition on, if the light comes on the cluster then its a pressure sensor fault. If no light then test your cluster our wiring, step by step process and nothing to freak out over. Also something to think about is oil pressure sensors fail after getting wet, has the engine been washed recently?

A quick simple test would be to pull the plug off the oil pressure sensor and bridge the terminals with ignition on, if the oil light comes on you know its a faulty pressure sensor. If not then start checking power supplies and wiring.

It strikes me as very odd that in this economic climate where typically people will bend over backwards to get work through the door, and then 9 different mechanics want nothing to do with your car. Given the nature of the repairs required it would be easy money for any workshop.

A very common rattle from E39 front suspension occurs when small stones get trapped behind the disc backing plate,between the plate and the hub.The noise is most pronounced when driving over a short sharp bump, could be a good place to start.

This thread has turned into a classic name and shame "Guess Who" edition with all these hints being dropped about who the workshop is.

The incorrect headlight pattern is most likely due to incorrectly fitted bulbs,check the light pattern on a wall and if you do not see a sharp defined light cut off then remove the bulbs and rotate them 180 then recheck.

It sounds like it may be the trans park lock lever inside the trans unloading which can be a normal noise if the car is placed into park before lifting the hand brake.Next time you park on a incline try pulling the hand brake firmly then removing your foot from the brake allowing the vehicals weight to go onto the hand brake then move the shifter into park.

Another thing to look at would be checking for a blowen head gasket given the symtoms you have discribed.If you have access to a cooling system pressure tester then you can carry out a accurate test for a leaking gasket by removing the spark plugs then apply pressure overnight then checking for coolant in the cylinders the following day, in particular cylinder No 6.

I dont come cheap ha ha...I can pedal a bike to work at the moment and east auck is a bit too far.

Check your fuel tank ventilation valve is not sticking open, I have seen these valves fail before then the engine runs on the vapours being sucked through from the tank after ignition being switched off.