Olaf

Awesome, Gabe. Outstanding example of the helpfulness in this online community. good on yer, mate.

HI Logan, I'm speaking only as a keen photographer who has a mild dislike of HDR; I'm not suggesting the use of HDR for the sale picture is a vendor trying to hide or misrepresent anything. They might qualify for a 'dubious artistic selection' merit badge; nothing more.

your o-rings *should* be alright; clean them and check in good light that the surfaces are undamaged (not scored). Your gasket... maybe. Looking at your image it doesn't appear you've thoroughly cleaned the mating surface. Your used-once gasket may be compromised by gunge underneath it, or possibly deformed by clamping forces onto large-sized grit (who knows?). You could carefully remove the gasket and clean it, thoroughly clean the mating surfaces, and give it a try (I avoided saying 'crack'). Neither your o-rings or gasket have been repeatedly heat-cycled, so you should be okay. If in doubt, new gasket; save you doing the job again. HTH

wow. just wow.

Err, Gentlemen. I should like to take this opportunity to suggest - in the most politest terms - that HDR is not a 'happening thing'. The only exception being when you can't tell it's HDR. The acid test is that if it looks like Trump (over-orange, over yellow, over-green, over-blue... perhaps there's a tie sellotaped to the front like a kindergarten collage, or hipster mixed-media artwork), there's no subtlety, the image is broken and searing your eyeballs. 'Bit like Trump, really. Now, back to the car. It's a good looking wagon. Even with an acid-trip Instagram filter! @TermiPeteNZ and @treone have amongst the freshest experience in owning/operating similar wagons here. The thread quoted above is a good one. Friends will let friends buy X5's, but friends should not encourage friends to image stack whacky HDR output.

it's not just you.

good point.

100,000kms is playing it safe on M54's, they're good for 120-140k kms.

Volvos are around 140,000kms.

yep change can be challenging. keep trying. It took me a few tries, I got it in the end. you can do it too, Dave! I will concede that on my iPhone it's horrible.

oh, okay. I get it. you want to buy an e30 in Wellington. You want the sympathy close to potentially lower your outlay below the (small, commpressed, wellington) market! I've gotta head into the attic later, I'll see if there's an e30 in there.

HI Charl. I've turned out my pockets, and even checked down the back of the couch. I haven't found any spare e30's for you. I can't help wondering though, if money's tight, why would you be seeking a facelift e30 with no rust - given the scene tax attached to e30's in any condition? If you need cheap to purchase (BMW) transport, the e36 and e46 are it. Good luck with your unicorn search!

M20's are simple, though head issues are common where the cooling system has been neglected. M30's were stonking at the time, though are heavy, inefficient, and slow these days. M54 less likely to survive an overheat than an M20 or M30.

545i: 83k, NZ New, $16, 995 http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/used-cars/bmw/auction-1351844180.htm 545i: 90k, import, $12,000 http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/used-cars/bmw/auction-1366810919.htm

PS - it's not a motorsport, is it? The red one I mentioned was a motorsport. I think Msport is worth 1.5 or 2 grand. NZ navigation nice. It's got the good fruit; dynamic drive, adaptive headlights, sports seats and steering wheel.

I think it's a little pricey, has been on the market for a while. Looks tidy, autosure extreme is a good thing.... providing the maintenance is up to date it should be transferred. There was an LCI NZ New 535D sedan approved used very early this year for $23k from memory. It was red. I think it'd be a pretty cool car. If you could get it for $21k it could be reasonable buying. Or just buy a 545i with low mileage and autosure extreme and take your wife on an overseas holiday. EDIT: PS - I've spent quite a bit on mine since buying (tyres, shocks & all bushes, coils, transmission service, diff service, oil service; to continue the good work done under Pete's stewarship, and ensure good service life ahead); every single time I get in it and drive it, it puts a smile on my face. IMHO the e60 is a really good drive. Quiet, comfortable, capable, and brisk.

Hi Dave, and welcome to Bimmersport! I can't help you with the tech question, though I'm sure there'll be someone along soon who has the answer. I'm sure your e30'll be the fastest in the valley! cheers Olaf

but he promised no sarcasm or hyperbole! I'm thinking "recall notice". If the author chose not to take it back to the dealer to have the nut tightened, he's an idiot. Just reading those paragraphs convinced me that he's suffering from an acute and extended cramp of his right wrist, and it's severly impeding blood flow to his head.

I expected nothing less #8 ) Do you have a press brake and guillotine in that workshop too? Tidy beads, looks trick.

Hi Duncan. It went very well. We did drain and refill with Fuchs Dex VI fully synthetic. The old fluid was dirty brown, thankfully not burnt or black. The words were "it was time for this service". It shifted better from the get-go. Snappier shifting, subtly improved. I drove it for three weeks, about 300kms? And then we did the new pan, new bolts, new mechatronic sleeve, new fill plug, and a fresh fill of Fuchs Dex VI. Workshop commented that the interim drain and fill made a difference; the fresh detergents moved some of the deeper muck, they noted that the drain showed varnish deposits suspended in the fluid for the drain. It's now shifting better again, it seems 'more intelligent' if you like, changes up or down more readily, working to keep the engine in the right rev range. I'm stoked, and there's a good peace of mind having done some key maintenance that most people avoid. I chose to have the differential fluid replaced with full synthetic at the same time; replaced the drain and fill plugs too. There are seals built in to the plugs, they're not expensive, so might as well replace them. Hope that helps!

nice fab work, Lee! great work.

yeah, they listen exclusively to Indie music.

Lee, I'm loving your new Samosa shifter. nice integration work! Tell us how it changes your experience behind the wheel. It's still standard gate, but shorter/narrower? Right then, I'm going to see if there's an Onion Bhaji variant for the 545i.

it's entirely possible that @BM WORLD has them available

in terms of washing a car... I always take a car for a drive, after washing. Get rid of any water sitting on the brakes, move the car so that any water sitting in drainage channels has a chance to drain in a different position, and (most importantly) allows the car to warm up and dry out. I can get these same symptoms on my Volvo 855-T5 when there's a vacuum leak.