gjm

Thanks Jason - very much appreciated.

I guess ours isn't quite so bad by comparison... 10.1(ish) L/100km. That's a spot check on economy though so I'll keep an eye on it. ICVs and so on can make a difference.

What economy should we expect from a 1997 E36 318Ti automatic? I didn't expect it to be anything like as good as the 318i manual, but it is much, much worse. 66 litres used in 650km.

Do you mean the foot-operated go-faster switch?

I got a rad from Silverdale Radiators. Fast delivery - looks to be a quality product. Check the cost of shipping one from the US.

Great prices for quality kit.

P/n 1884358 (51711884358), specific to the E30. Anyone got one? I think I'm going to be into replacing hoses to and from the expansion tank too... Any suggestions for best way to do this without dropping dirt in fuel lines are welcome!

In which case I have a towbar that would suit... Up in Waikato, though. (Guess how I initially found this info? )

Towbar fitment varies depending on whether the car has a space-saver or standard spare wheel: the depth of the spare wheel well varies, and many towbar designs bolt through the bottom of the well.

For anyone with a similar problem, thicker springs pads could be a solution.

I spent a fair bit of time considering the merits of various engine swaps before deciding to stick with a 4-pot. It is typically lighter, better balances the car, leaves a lot more room in the engine bay (easier to work on) and means more space for future mods. It's simpler, so if I decide to do something silly with it, I'll have an easier platform to begin with. JMHO. And I couldn't afford this.

I was struggling with $61 for a pad sensor! just replaced them on the Merc - $1.20 each. The premium for local supply of genuine parts doesn't seem bad.

OK - it was always a long shot. Went to Repco where they wanted $279 for a 530CCA battery of appropriate dimensions, with a 3Y warranty. Same thing from Supercheap - $199. There is a difference... Which I didn't find until I fitted it. The clamping flange on the end of the battery is almost an inch up the side, unlike the original which is on the base, so I had to fabricate a clamp plate.

Before I head out and spend the GDP of a small South American country on a new battery for Miss M's 318Ti, does anyone have a good one they're not using? None of the usual battery suppliers are open in these twilight days of 2017, leaving Repco, SCA etc as possibly the only option. (It'd be nice if their fabled "60% off stocktake sale!" included batteries... ) Specs for suitable solutions seem to vary very slightly, depending on where you look, but a DIN55L or DIN66L with 500-600CCA should be fine. Fitted was a MF55-spec battery: LxWxH: 240x175x175mm (there's room for a little something taller, but length and width are important) 12V / 54Ah DIN 270A EN 450A SAE 500A Bosch Type 'A' terminal position: Here's hoping someone can help!

I'm getting slow in my old age! (Or something.) Looks like they are 51mm. I've sent a PM.

Oh well... An unloaded and disconnected 10.65V across the posts, hours after showing full charge, tells us everything we need to know. Anyone got a cheap, working battery available?

Sorry - forgot to do it today. Too much Christmas gin to think about it now! Tomorrow.

The imgur link is interesting. "Now. start the engine." Well, that'd be nice! Actually (and while I haven't tried today) the car will start when the battery has just been charged, and the other measurements could be very useful. It's an odd situation. I've had batteries die before, but not quite like this.

I was basing my 'dead battery' theory on what appears to be an accelerated rate of battery discharge. Just to check, I removed the battery from the car, left it in the sun for several hours to remove any surface charge, then put it on charge. Less than an hour later, the charger suggests 'charge complete'. This after the battery wouldn't turn the engine over earlier today - solenoid click, dimming of instrument lights, nothing more. For reference, I've checked for: Broken terminal Bulge or bump in the case Crack, rupture or other damage to the plastic Leaking Discoloration All negative. I'll low-rate charge the battery for a while, leave it to stand, then get Miss M to help do a load test. (She can turn the key - I'll watch the multimeter!)

I've taken the battery off the car to charge overnight - I'll do some more checks tomorrow. This one suggests three colours - green, black and white. White is "replace me!" There is an 'installed on' label, but none of the dates have been selected. It's not original, but could easily have been on the car for some time.

Car battery... A couple of times recently Miss M's car hasn't started. Click... Nothing. Flat battery. No worries - charge it up and off we go. It's only a problem if left for a few days. I'll look at possible causes of drain over Christmas. Yesterday, while doing some work on another car, I put the Miss-M-mobile battery on charge. 3-4A for most of the day. And... This morning it was a no-go situation. Click - nothing. The little inspection window on top of the battery is showing black, suggesting it needs charging. I suspect it's a dead 'un, but before I splash out (let's face it -students don't have money for car batteries) I thought I'd check the wisdom hereabaouts. Green is good, black is charge, and white is replace. Are we just a step away from seeing the white? Or is the discharge I'd expected to investigate enough to kill the battery overnight?

I may have a pair of 51mm struts... I'll try to remember to measure them.

What is it with people who want "recommendations for quality coilies to go superlow but won't cost mucho $$$ and keep a good ride"? Ain't no such thing. A decent set of shocks and springs will cost that; a decent set of coilovers will cost more. (Nothing wrong with a good coilover setup, of course.) Just saw someone looking for exactly this, but doesn't want to spend more than $500! "Why are BC Golds so expensive, bro..." A decent set of springs is going to cost $300+. These people have no idea of the damage they're doing to their cars, or the safety issues they present to themselves and others.

And... Regulator is fitted. Got a new one from Kerry @mosen euro parts which had a captive nut where the original had a fitted, threaded stud. Hardly an insurmountable problem. And the window goes up and down again.

Apparently the surf is pretty good, too.