gjm

Not driven the fast Audi... Did have a drive in a 10-year-old Mercedes S65 recently. OMFG... 600hp and limited to 'just' 1000Nm. Sure it's fast (funny, that!), but it's the comfort and the ease with which it drives slowly that made it even more astonishing.

The new software adapts better to detected browsers, meaning Tapatalk isn't needed.

Ta.

The 'Other European Cars' sub-forum should resolve to http://bimmersport.co.nz/forum/32-other-european-cars/, but for some reason redirects to http://www.eurosport.org.nz/.

Check the coolant level regularly and ensure it's not overfilled. It could be accumulated condensation in the exhaust as a result of sitting for a while in cold weather.

Oil typically causes black or blue smoke, so this is probably a water (coolant) related issue. Are you losing coolant? Has the engine overheated at all? Where does the temperature needle normally sit? Looks like moisture is being burned off. Check cylinder compression or preferably get a leakdown test done... Could be head gasket related, or (hopefully not) a tiny crack in the cylinder head.

Another not-TradeMe, but another great build. https://www.mecum.com/lots/CA0816-244391/1979-bmw-320i-resto-mod/

Ask Andy - Ethrty320. He was breaking one (or more) E36s.

http://bimmersport.co.nz/topic/56139-sold-17x85-et13-acs-type-2-reps/

Saw that on the conversion I did. I'll see if I can find the details. It's fixable.

Unfortunately the old software was kinda end-of-life (my perception - I've not spoken to James) and getting support for it may have proven difficult. Hence the change. (Change... I appreciate you'd not necessarily agree with 'upgrade'! )

Not possible. They're different... Give it some time and James a chance to tweak the software.

Easy fix. At the top right of the page is a link to 'Mark site read'. Click that, and everything is read. Only new stuff will show when you hit 'Unread content' (formerly known as new posts, or whatever).

I posted in the Forum questions bit. The is the same software I'm moderating elsewhere. Loads of functionality.

Sweet!

Could just be air in the system. Bleed it, then bleed it again.

The rear door is the one that has me kinda stumped. Conceptually, at least - I've not gone poking around to look at it. When locked, the locking pin is down as you'd expect. And (assuming the sequence of alarm fob/key/correct door lock) is found, the rear door unlocks and the pic rises. It's just that it doesn't seem possible to unlock the rear door once it has been locked via the central locking. Something I have just remembered: sometimes,when the doors have been locked, you can hop in the driver's seat, insert the key into the ignition, press the button on the alarm fob and then all the doors will unlock. I had wondered if autoWATCH system was designed to work in conjunction with the EWS II in the car, but that doesn't make much sense if you have to be inside the car and the key in the ignition for it to function.

Interesting (if you like that sort of thing) little problem with locking the car. Separate to the ignition key, there is a remote alarm fob, with a single button, on the keyring. One push - one siren blip and light flash - and the alarm is activated. there is also an immobiliser component to this. However, the doors do not lock. A second push - two siren blips and two light flashes - and the alarm is off. If you're fairly quick, you can get in and start the car. Take a little too long, and once you have turned the key to position 2 you need to press the alarm fob button again to release the immobiliser. Locking the car is another conundrum. I have yet to successfully lock the driver's door. Using the key in the driver's door lock will sometimes lock the other three doors, the boot and the filler cap. You can however still open the driver's door. This activity does not set the alarm, but may set the immobiliser. The driver's door lock action doesn't feel 'correct' and is certainly not as precise as the lock on the passenger side. If you then unlock the car from the driver's door (bearing in mind the door wasn't locked anyway) it may or may not unlock the other doors. And if you try to start the car it may or may not start, even following deactivating the immobiliser as described above. In this situation, take the keys out of the car, go to the passenger side front door, unlock the car, come back to the driver's side and the car will generally start (after deactivating the immobiliser). However... We have found ourselves in the situation where the driver's side rear door does not unlock, and the locking pin is ineffective. You can lift it, but it is as though it is completely disconnected - it has no effect and flops down again when released - and it is not possible to open the door. It may be coincidental but the driver's door handle has to be lifted to the very top of it's travel to open the door, which means lifting the handle, pressing the locking button on the inside of the door, and slamming it closed with the handle up is pretty difficult. Someone has had the driver's side rear door card off at some point. We've worked around this so far but I obviously want to sort it. Aside from being a bit pedantic about having my cars 'right', I guess it's a kinda sorta security issue... I've had a read of the Bentley manual and I think we are dealing with the EWS II - I've had the key apart and aside from the CR2025 battery which is dead so the LED doesn't light up, there's a chip in there. The alarm fob is from autoWATCH, a Kiwi company based in Auckland with other agencies across the country. Someone with more disposable income than I seem to have would probably visit them and ask them to sort things out! Any suggestions? I've provided as much info as I can remember, but questions may jog my memory. Or I can find out more.

It's Cordoba Rot. Like most reds, it seems to suffr from lacquer peel. Still, we can make it look pretty nice with some work. I have asked another well-known forum member about fog lights (no prizes for guessing who!), and he's having a look for us, but thanks for the offer - I'll let you know how we get on.

When you consider E30s are advertised with higher asking prices now, it shows that there are great bargains to be had.

17x8.5 et13. Popular on E36s, apparently, even if they don't fit properly without significant modifications. Better on an E34.

As Miss M hasn't yet started her thread, I'll kick it off. Here's how it was when it came home. Wheels too big - wrong offset - meant the arches have been rolled, stretched and deformed. So we fitted some smaller 17x7 et47 Style 73s: Comparatively, they look a little lost! Much nicer to drive though. There's a set of ACS 17x7 et38 that we might use. We'll have a look at reshaping the arches in due course. Usual 'bought a used car' servicing completed. Thermostat replaced - temp gauge wasn't getting out of cold while travelling at normal speeds. Sorted. It's been fitted with red (colour) superlow springs. We've swapped the rears for some from an Eibach Pro-Kit which has lifted the rear ride height a little, and feels nicer on the road. Once the weather stops being so miserable we'll sort the front end, too. The rear shocks probably need replacing. They'll pass a WoF, but that just means they're not leaking. Front struts look to be fairly recent Monroes, so they'll stay. Other stuff... Front windscreen has a coupe of good-sized cracks so it'll be replaced. Paintwork is a bit shabby, but there's not much that can economically be done about that, so we'll tidy it but nothing more. For instance, we'll clean the rest of the clear coat (lacquer) from the sun roof panel, polish the paint and apply a clear wrap. There's a little dent in one door. Looks like it should push out. Interior is pretty tidy. One door card is a bit shabby, but again it's not critical and will wait. Seats are all in good condition. The a/c controls are now illuminated since I replaced the bulb. The headlight switch is imprecise and not illuminated - that'll be sorted, too. Don't think fog lights were fitted originally and there's no switch to use them, but the blanks are missing from the front. Plan to try fitting fog lights and fit the switch when sorting the headlight knob. We get a fair bit of fog here so they may actually be useful. In daily use, it's pretty economical and uses under 7.5 litres of fuel per 100km. No plans for endless modification. Might fit rear discs (the 318i came with drums), and explore making it stop and handle as well as practical, much as we were going to with the E30 plans.

Getrag 250G holds a total of 1.25 litres of fluid. Not much, really... I have 8 liters of Penrite ATF-FS in the garage, waiting for the next change in the 320d. That said, I've used it in the 500SE and 190E too... I'll check of course, but it should be suitable for the 250G: it is suitable for any gearbox where Dexron II, III or VI is specified. It's specification exceeds Dexron III. I may get something a little cheaper (but still appropriate specification) to use to flush the gearbox first. Not a pumped flush, just a drain, use for 100km or so, and replace. The car has covered over 225000km and I doubt anyone has given it a thought. Such is all-too-often the case with a 'filled for life' statement from the manufacturer.

It's Sunday! And I think Kayne is out of the country anyway... Edit: He's been at Manfeild.

The Redline website offers some slightly different information (although it concurs in the case of Miss M's car): "Respected BMW tech expert confidently recommend MTL for every BMW manual gearbox (early boxes right up to currect day) without complaints and many years of success. The early gearboxes (through 1985) take our MTL, a 70W80 GL-4 fluid. From 1986 to 1992, it is a bit trickier in that there are three different transmissions identified by a label on the passenger side of the bell housing. That with a green label and a 17mm hex drain plug uses MT-90, a red label and 17mm plug uses D4 ATF, and that with no label and a 15mm drain plug uses MTL."