Ahmedsinc

If you can eyeball it and give me an idea how much clearance there is along the full linkage that would be a lifesaver! If you could also give me a guesstimate of how big the gap between #1 runner and the block where the runner meets the merge pipe would be a huge help too

When using a set of S50 pipes on an E36 M5x, how much clearance is there between the steering linkage and the headers? Thanks

Nice bit of thinking there man, good to see it seems to have cured your smoking habit

All good preventative maintenance items mate. Really pleased it turned out to be a reasonably easy fix P.S - I don't have a sister

Probably a dumb question, but do the 4HP / 5HP use a bolt on bellhousing? Or are they a one piece casting? I only ask because the rotten old Jatco on my E36 had a removable bellhousing. Would make life very simple - use the M70 bellhousing, 5hp trans & E34 TCU. IF it works out to be that easy, which I doubt

Quick look through Wiki shows the 5hp-30 was used on E31, E32, E34, E38, E39; M60, M62 & the M73. Apparently they were used from 1992-2001. Also in Rolls Royce & the DB7 Aston Martin. Should hopefully broaden your scope a bit. Top gear on the 5hp is 0.79 vs 0.72 on the 4hp so your final gearing should remain basically identical to what you have now, saves effing around finding another diff

In all honesty John, the wheels are probably out of Vellington by now. An old school friend of mines father was a senior constable at the Papakura station here in Auckland 15+ years ago. He told us of a car conversion ring he helped shut down, their M.O. was to steal the car, take to a suitably equipped location, strip wheels & parts and then move them (usually in a furniture mover type trailer) to another city where they'd be onsold through the black markets. Generic engine parts (turbos, exhausts, seats, stereos etc) were flicked locally but the bigger stuff, including wheel sets, were normally sent elsewhere. From memory their operation was fairly successful, I recall him saying it took them a good couple of years before they could shut them down. I really feel for you though, I've had two cars stolen & stripped, plus 5 or 6 vehicle break ins. Sorry to be the pessimist in the conversation, but I'm all too familiar with false hopes of recovering prized possessions that some lowlife toerag has stolen from you.

And we have a winner for creepiest ad on reTardme for 2014!

Meh, means the engine is barely out of its run-in period. Begin worrying when the first digit on your odo is higher than 8

Does anyone have the camshaft alignment tools for the M52TU / M54? Edit: Don't need the lock blocks, just the gadgets to get both cams back to 0*

Given the oxygen sensors are around $350 for the pair (via pelican parts, no idea what they'll cost locally) I strongly suggest running the car through a scan first. The likelihood is your Lambdas are fine, and it's a lot of cash to spill on parts that probably don't need replacing. Your money, your call of course, but a $50-60 scan from an experienced tech will accurately isolate the problem, instead of throwing money around chasing ghosts. Good luck, hopefully you get your issue solved quicker than mine

^^^^ Listen to this guy. Step 1 - GET IT SCANNED Step 2 - replace all likely causes of intake vacuum leaks. Rocker gasket, CCV, DISA valve, secondary air pump (if you're unlucky enough to have one) oil breather lines etc Step 3 - If that hasn't solved it, then go for the obscure stuff - injector o-rings, manifold gasket, secondary air rail o-rings etc. Could also need the Vanos seals replaced too. I spent about 4 months tracking an intake vacuum leak that appears to have been the rocker gasket. Replaced a bunch of stuff that was borderline as well. Admittedly I do have the ability to scan for codes M54s are chronic for intake leaks, the first sign of trouble is the 227 & 228 fault codes triggering the engine check light (Lambda Control Tolerance Bank 1 & 2) Once the DME detects unmetered air it goes to a 'safe' fuel map, overfuelling the engine, leading to the fault codes. Blaming it directly on the 02 probes suggests your monkey mechanic isn't familiar with these cars. Take it to Glenn @ Botany Motor Worx or BM Workshop for a proper diagnostic and take it from there

Nice work mate! Replace the thermostat asap. Would hate to see al your hard work undone by another overheat. Could probably find an o-ring but for all the hassle it'll just be easier to get a whole new one - also gives you 5% more peace of mind

Bare, dude. There will be a couple of dowels mounted to the block on opposing corners to help align the head

Had a thought - if you don't have the proper tap to clean the block threads, use an old head bolt with the thread ground off opposing sides. Works just as well (if a little slow & tedious) and also means you cannot accidentally cut / cross threads. Just make sure you use a flapper wheel instead of a grinding disc, doesn't leave any burrs / wings that way

Why do these always pop up when I haz no moniez for toys!

Looks like you've got a job to do for the holidays! Depending on how bad it's gotten you might want to add a new radiator to the shopping list. Once they go it's nearly impossible to get all the goo out of the radiator passages. Could also be that the oil & water sludge is causing the thermostat to stick open when it's trying to close, hence the gauge needle reading low. Park it up and replace the gasket, get the head skimmed & crack tested etc... If you keep driving it like that the sludge can build to the point where the water pump can no longer drive the sludge through the engine and you'll end u with a cracked head and / or a seized engine. Now would also be the perfect time for an M20B25 conversion

Anyone know of any buyers around Auckland and what sort of prices they pay? Have two from the E39 & will have the ones out of the E36 to get rid of shortly too

Fixed

Quite honestly, I think a lot of people believe cars to be worth a lot more than they really are. http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/used-cars/bmw/auction-817537764.htm ^ Is about what I think they're worth really. Granted it has no extras, but it's a 14 year old car that will need attention. http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/used-cars/bmw/auction-822079617.htm ^ As opposed to this. Mate, you're f**kin' dreamin! http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/used-cars/bmw/auction-803107884.htm ^ I nearly drowned on the coffee I was sipping on at the time (one of those awkward snort-laugh-involuntary inhale situations) when I saw this. Yeah, it's fairly rare - but $9500 for a car with over a quarter million km and a heap of dents because ya can't drive?!?! The original car is probably a pretty good buy if you don't mind putting a few hours and new parts into it.

If the temp gueage is going down to 25% I'd be investigating your thermostat and / or the temp sensor. Needle should always be at 12 - though it may be different for E21? (Buggered if I can think of why though) Head gaskets can let go without sending water into the bore though, so that could still be the problem. I would have expected a little water / oil blending but if the gasket split managed to avoid the oil passages that could explain it. If your car has a viscous type fan clutch check that too. Climbing temps while stationary / crawling suggests air isn't being pulled through the rad core

Mates rates FTW!

13 year old car with 225,000km Price seems about right to me

Dead link? There's a diagram in the vanos section showing the M52B28TU cams as 228*, intake & exhaust. At the start of the pdf it lists the M52 as having 9mm lift. That training manual confirms the B30 intake cam as having 9.7mm lift, and so far it appears inlet is 240* and exhaust 244*, 9mm 9 hours searching so far, my eyeballs are bleeding & my fingers are worn to stumps. Any confirmed data would be awesome!