Ahmedsinc

Probably due to the VIN still showing the chassis as an M3. I guess it's the equivalent of repowering a 328i with a B20, or a 540i with an M60B30. Still an I6 / V8 in a car designed to carry such an engine, but as the new powerplant has fewer CCs and less power it doesn't require certing. Morally the seller should specify it does not have an S50, but I'm unsure if it's a legal requirement. Bloody should be though! Wonder if it has any ///M driveline or suspension left at all??

S54?? Somehow I was anticipating an S62 Looks like you're really getting stuck in now dude, keep it up!

What you're saying makes sense. Oil would have been about as cold as it could get. Definitely explains the good reading on cyl 1, poor readings on 2-6 then poor on all 6 on second pass. All spark plugs were removed before testing, throttle butterfly wide open. But wouldn't the springs force the valve back to closed? Will give me a little more confidence in the engine but I'm probably not going to be happy til I can see all 6 within an acceptable range. Thanks gents, will have another go this weekend and report back

@Neal I'm not saying all alloy jacks are bad. The item in question was rated to 3 ton and was lifting just over 1/3rd it's rated capacity when it failed. Jack was less than 4 months old, DIY use only and had fluid checked before it was used. Not a cheap unit either, have vague memories of it costing upwards of $400. Base of diff housing would have been about 2 1/2 feet off the ground, jack groaned then spewed its oil out on the floor and down came the cat. Happily we didn't get the stands in place nor had we removed the wheels. Might have just been a bad seal but it's scared me off them for life.

Thanks for the input guys! So bearing in mind that the engine is on a stand, how the hell would I get the lifters back down?

Closest I've ever been to losing my ticket was a $280 fine & 35 demerits over 10 years ago. It's only a 3 month stand down, man up & take it on the chin. Yeah it'll be a pain in the ass but it's not that long. Does seem to be a bit dramatic selling the car though - why not park it up and put the rego on hold for the 14 weeks it'll take to get your green card back? Perfect time to take care of all those preventative maintenance projects the M54s seem to generate

Have seen a couple of those ally units crap out, one over time and the other while lifting a '74 XJ6 at the diff. Needless to say it got ripped apart and taken to the scrappies fairly quickly. Never seen a workshop use an alloy jack......just sayin'

Nearly impossible to find any useful information from the LTSANZVTNZ or whatever the hell they call themselves now. Classic Car Magazine is about the only people that seem to know, even the AA couldn't tell me!

Wanted to give the project M54 one last look over before I start meddling with it last week. Borrowed a reasonable quality German tester from the FiL, set it up and got 210psi from cylinder 1. Great start, or so we thought. Cylinders 2 - 6 varied between 7 - 39psi. Seemed strange to get such a poo result, so initially wondered if the head had majorly cracked. Went back to cylinder 1 and this time recorded 63psi Cyls 2- 6 ranged from 19 - 75 lb. Took rocker cover off & cranked engine a few times to observe free movement of cams and oil geysering up from the front of the head. Took the tester back to the inlaws place, set it up on his old pushrod 4 cylinder engine and came back with 180 psi +/- 6 lb across all four pots, so we're sure the tester isn't faulty. Is there something I'm missing here? (besides compression??) Given that the engine has sat in the shed on a stand for 8 months (turned over manually every two weeks), and that it came from a car that took a fairly heavy hit to the front left corner would there be any reason for such an odd result? PS pump and reservoir damaged in crash, radiator, fan and associated hoses toasted but no visual signs of damage to block, head or intake. We're both scratching our heads over this, got any ideas guys??

Depending on where in Auckland you are, head down to Wallace Heron Engineering supplies in Pukekohe. Picked up a low profile 3 ton 500mm lift for about $250ish not long ago. Seems to be good so far. Think the brand name is Big Red or something like that

Have got a BM53 Becker tuner unit that I'm not going to use anymore. PM me if interested

Funny, only info I can find online suggests 'classic' in NZ is 40 years old

Anyone know if 188mm crown wheels all use the same tooth width across E30-36-39-46?

Agreed, looking to move to Koni or KYB depending on budget once engine build is done. As needs must, though!

Think his handle is FIAT131R ??

Yup, lotsa smoke comes out & it's impossible to put back in!

Not sure I see the point in lifting the ride height. Taller springs do not necessarily mean softer. There are places around that can source OEM without going through the stealerships. As for what brand shock on your car, I have absolutely no idea. Google will though. Bear in mind that the M-sport suspension is a factory option, so I'm not sure I follow you on 'going to standard ride height'. Again, talk to George Stocks, they also carry H&R and Koni springs. Price wise you'll get what you pay for. Also, the experts will be able to tell you exactly what you can and cannot do, as well as pricing. Good luck!

Ring Stocks for Koni, they'll be able to tell you whats best. I currently use Bilsteins paired with Eibach springs in my E36, comfortable ride quality but a little too low for my liking. Autolign are the NZ agents for Bilstein, not cheap though. If you're just after factory spec ride quality why not use OEM struts? I'm not sure there's too much difference in spring rate from std to msport springs, just different ride heights (someone wanna chime in and confirm here?) Replace shocks with quality items (OEM, Koni, Bilstein etc), redo front top hats and rear mounting plates, have a pro check out your bushes & ball joints and I think you'll enjoy the results. Just don't buy Monroe. They suck!

I'm certainly not knocking the guys efforts, and it is certainly true that there are probably more M5s in NZ than factory manual 540i. Realistically though, it appears he's attempting to recoup some of the money spent on what is an unarguably lovely car, but a fairly unremarkable one. Maybe, just maybe, there is someone in the country willing to spend 30 large on a whip like this, but I suspect the target market is just too small. Does pose an interesting question though - just what is a genuine manual E39 540i worth here? It's not like there are many around to benchmark a price from Would a range of 13-16k be reasonable for a sub 100,000km, non Motorsport optioned car? Still feel it's a shame that no production E39s ever got an LSD from factory. Guess that's one for the E34s!

Have had an old Escort suffer from tyre bulge, and I can assure you the vibration is speed sensitive and constant. Id've thought a sticking caliper would also cause the car to pull in the same direction as the dodgy brake? Steering box failing? Strut mount bearings failing? Loose adjuster on tie rod? (Lock nut loosening and retightening of its own accord, producing intermittent symptoms?) Redid CAB on my car a couple years back, felt more like a combination of warped rotors and unbalanced wheels. Again, symptoms were speed sensitive and always present. Sounds like a proper head scratcher man!!

Crate engine or not, for $30k there's no choice between an M5 or a 540i. Throwing that sort of money at an otherwise unremarkable production car makes no sense to me, unless it's restoring a classic. I understand why he's set his price at the level he has, but I'll be utterly astounded if it sells for anything more than 55% of asking. Mad!

Manifolds will have to come out regardless of whether you repair or replace. Can see no reason why an aftermarket flexi would't work. Have heard it's an engine out job to get to them though.

Yup, exactly what I've been doing. Just seems strange that both motors I've tried don't thrust the cog forward to engage the ring gear. When energized the motors just spin, no 'clunk' sound as the cog drives forward

Was on Tardme last night, was at ellis uttings in panmure IIRC Asking similar dollars to the 325i too

oooh, they're gonna look great!