Olaf

no, though Ive used www.myus.com for more than a year - I rate them.

Oh yeah, "Durex Fiesta Green". Loving it - "Hard to get one like this" - meaning nobody wanted an LHD 850 in the first place, so you'll not find many on offer in godzone. "investment". hmmm, more accurately it's "expenditure"! Hasn't made it to 'Sales 201' in the Dealer's correspondence course yet.

yeah it was interesting in that it was all ad-speak, and completely devoid of any info on the state of the vehicle! nice copy though, sell hard.

at least this ad will give you a laff: http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/used-cars/toyota/auction-784189558.htm and its 4x4 with lpg!

I merely googled "bilstein Z056A00" and found: https://www.google.co.nz/search?q=bilstein+Z056A00&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&channel=sb&gfe_rd=cr&ei=kksyVLOwBOjC8geonYHwAg seems to indicate it's a pro-kit(?) for 6 cyl e36. HTH

Guys, Plast-x is a polish/compund, not a coating. You're going to have to get some elbow-grease going to get some fine finishing going on. I used my Mothers Headlight Kit on Saturday, found the same thick coating which I disturbed in some places. Overall I found that despite the polishing (on the end of my dewalt batty drill) and subsequent wet sanding and final (heavy) polishing, my lenses appear to be wearing 12 years of use with the factory xenons on the inside as well. That is, there is very fine cracking in the acrylic due to heat cycling etc. It's not going to come out from any sanding! I got a slightly better finish (more even) than I started out with, after sealing. Water beads off the lens more easily, no noticable vision difference at night. I guess they weren't so bad to start with. YMMV. Photos later.

In essence, it seems that most headlight restorer kits use foam-backed wet-and-dry paper or varying grades (used with water to lube), and a plastic polish. Some include a UV sealer. I bought a kit a while ago - Mothers powerball - based on a bargain price (I normally go with Meguiars product). I've also bought a UV sealer. About to give this a go soon, will post pics. EDIT: FYI the restore kit recommends using the polish/powerball first. then if pitting remains evident, use the wet-and-dry. 800, 1000, 1500, 2000 grits respectively. I guess those of you already in possession of some plastic polish and wet and dry in the above grades, could just get on with it. Oh, that's me - I already had plast-x in the basement!

well, it looks as though it went smoothly! well done.

if it's horses, get thee a truck license and buy a four wheel horse float Mind you, if they're living at your lifestyle block you can borrow a trailer when you need to. tough choice between the commode wagon and the e39 Touring.... 528 or 530.... I guess the diesels are rare as rockinghorse sh*t here, shame. Nice quandry to be in, though! Whoever suggested a mercedes ML, I missed the requirement "must be (exceptionally )troublesome and representative of the manufacturer's lesser-regarded output" I'll get me coat!

If you're just driving on unsealed roads (rather than off-road) and your towing needs don't include muddy paddocks, the commodore wagon is all you need and will return surprisingly good fuel economy on trips. It handles better on-road and on unsealed roads than most of the SUVs/4WDs, is cheaper and simpler to service (made by Australians for Australians), and engineered for harsh conditions like thousands of kilometers of unsealed roads without speedlimits, or even taxi use in Sydney/police duty in Auckland or Brisbane.. If you must have 4x4 get a proper one, life starts at Suzuki for lightweight (Vitara or Jimmy), the Toyota (Surf/HiLux/Prado/Cruiser), or Nissan (Navara/Terrano/Pathfinder/Patrol), Mitsubishi (Pajero/Challenger). 'Good' is of course a relative thing, Land Rover product devalues quickly because they break and are heinously expensive to fix. You can add LPG to the commodore if you really want, though with round-town at 10 or 11l/100kms, and trips returning 8l/100km, do you really need to be figuring out conversion payback figures? None of the soft-roaders are engineered to be truly durable (eg 350,000kms plus service life) like your e46 diesel, so anything less than a commodore or 'proper' 4x4 is likely to dissappoint. What are you likely to be towing, BTW? cheers

nice score. love those wheels on e34 tourings. hang on to this one #8 )

preaching to the choir on this thread, mate. still, as funny (eg attracting derision) as Volvo's may seem, I still rate the 850-T5 as one of the ultimate sleepers in terms of discreet fast wagons. Yes I'm biased, I own one. this M3 touring and subject of this thread is of course on a whole 'nother level

petrol with an LPG conversion - which is still petrol - and in most cases still runs on petrol as well, should run same taxation. Land Cruiser or Prado and be done with it. Petrol versions cheaper, ripe for LPG conversion. Get a Rockgas card, discounted LPG. Bone up on where LPG is sold in your area, though. Perhaps a Commodore Wagon? You probably don't a four wheel drive, just something that manages country roads and can tow.

just put on some weight. more girth and mass will hold you in the standard seats. works for me!

I recently picked up a couple of Jonnesway 3/8" ratchets from BNT recently, a stubby (moulded grip), and a polished standard 72 tooth. I'm very impressed, nice feel, little enough play so that I don't feel I've bought cheap shite when using them.

I fixed that up for ya I'm guessing those BMW suspension engineers in Munich are kicking themselves for not having gotten 'stretched Falkens' TUV approved.

I've enjoyed reading my way through your thread. good to see one of these getting some thorough remedial maintenence work done to get it back to near new. my $0.02 for free: - the CSi front - the black looks great, stay with it - if you can't stay with the rims you already have, these Alpinas (IMHO) are the only other wheels that look any good on these cars, though the ACS are acceptable

you can get that with any japanese car with an angle grinder. it's still stoopid. no need to compromise the safety ride and handling of your BMW (or any car for that matter), get some springs made for your application. cutting springs is one way to enter the darwin awards; sadly you might take non-entrants with you. best avoided.

my mate and fellow spanner weilder has plenty of Bahco, I think the sockets, extensions, and ratchets are very good. the matte-finish is nicely non-slip and easy to handle, and they're handling a bit of rattle-gun and air-ratchet abuse as well. spanners a bit bendy compared with my Aigos, but effective nonetheless.

My kit is built up of many sources over the years. Nobody regrets buying quality. I managed 'reasonable quality' most of the time. Spanners: Aigo R&OE metric set, very traditional design (read heavy and well-ribbed) and made in Japan, had them 25 years and they're still going strong, augmented by Powerbuilt and Craftsman for those funky euro sizes like 16 and 18mm. Recently added King Tony offset ring spanner set, bought in preference over Teng as it was 25 bucks cheaper and had a more useful couple of sizes. It's not beautifully finished, but is very serviceable. I have Craftsman flare nut spanners that have had light duty over 20 years and look new. Sockets: I have plenty of Craftsman (unconditionally guarenteed forever), some Halfords (time served in UK), Powerbuilt, and odds n ends from Proto, Sidchrome, Koken, King Tony, repco. Recently acquired Jonnesway (impressive finish and reasonable pricing from BNT) sockets. latest acquisition: Powerbuilt flex socket set 3/8" on rail, beautiful. Ratchets - mostly craftsman. You can't go past a good ratchet. Screwdrivers: Belzer (unobtanium these days), Witte, Snap On (indestructible and likely to outlast me), and the Powerbuilt seem pretty strong-tipped these days. Sets? Here's my 2c worth: Get a couple of good quality ammo boxes military surplus. 5.56 box for 1/4", 50 cal for 3/8". They're strong, easy to carry, and have a O-ring seal. Buy cheap socket rails in 1/4, and 3/8. lay out your sockest on the rails in order, make a list of the gaps - go buy them (on sale). Now you know/can see if anything's missing. No need to throw out your baby (your current tools) with the bathwater. Always have a rag in your toolboxes to clean your kit before putting it away - then its ready to go next time. Sizes? All of them. As somebody else said, you're going to need the lot working on Euros. 1/4 and 1/2, though I've been finding the really tight stuff 1/2" is just too big - 3/8 is called for also. Torx, Deep, standard and even flex sockets. Wobble extensions and Universal Joints. Brands? Of the brands I've isted above, they're all very seviceable. Never broken a socket. Plating has chipped on a couple of sockets through abuse on rattle gun or very long bar. Buying in NZ, Powerbuilt, Teng, King Tony, Jonnesway, even Repco seem pretty reaasonable. Facom and Stahlwille look beaut, but not justified on my budget. I like Koken but am too tight to buy a set. Rather than select a fave brand, I'd find a good tool supplier and stick wth him. When I started acquisitions I had a tool rep who had me on his monthly calling list - I was in an office environment rather than a workshop, but he knew what I wanted and my money was good enough for him, and I got good kit at good prices. Hope you enjoyed my brain-dump.

a man who is sick of the vulva is surely tired.

I'm sure Hutt Autos would do the whole job - however the car was in someone else's workshop. I was very happy with the work done - with the exception being a broken shifter gaitor. The OP is in Auckualofa, hence my note that the Wellington businesses will be little use. Hopefully my (rather lengthy) post indicates that a trans rebuild at around $4k including labour is to be expected (allowing of course for location, trans type, and damage), and that I was very happy with the outcome. Simply dismayed with the need. If I was to do it again I'd send it in to Jon at JK Southern Euro and go manual conversion

I'm in Wellington, so the companies won't be much use, though can relate my experience on a smaller BMW lunching its trans. Around 10 hours labour - clean the engine bay and underside, pull the trans, running the trans out to the rebuilder, and reinstalling the trans, re-fitting. The recond trans was about $2800, from memory. This was outsourced by the BMW independant workshop to Hutt Automatics, acknowledged as being the transmission specialists in Wellington. The trans cooler was replaced, as well as the trans to cooler hoses. the torque converter was flushed by Hutt Autos. These were good practice precautionary measures, as the destruction within my trans had scattered shrapnel throughout the system. There was 8L of synthetic ATF (Penrite was used) of the correct grade. That must have come from gold containers and been poured by scantilly clad supermodels, such was its cost. (yes I was suffering some sticker shock, and the disapprovement of my better half, at this point). In addition, some repair work was also undertaken: replace cam box gasket (supplied), the bolt seals, oil filter housing to block seal, replace one of the PS reservoir hoses, serpentine belt, and the serpentine pulleys. There were fluids topped up associated with the PS and OIl Filter housing works - CHF 11 and Engine Oil. Once government stealing tax (GST) was added, I was out of pocket $5300. The car shifts better than the 6 month old XR6 Falcon rental with under 20,000kms on the clock that I had driven for 2 weeks while the work was getting done. 18 months later it's still shifting beautifully. My impression was that the BMW trans was not particularly more expensive to rebuild - for the unit - than say a mitsubishi or nissan or ford transmission. The transmission parts costs may vary by some percentage between brands, the labour - in hours - is around the same to strip down, replace parts, and rebuild. There seems to be a range of $2,500 to $4,000 generally for a trans rebuild for parts and labour. One of my colleagues had had a Magna trans done, and that ran him $3200 incl GST; another a Maxima $2,800, Honda Oddessey $2,900. Given I had additional parts supplied, additional items done, and it's a BMW, the price - though high - did not seem astronomical when broken down. Yes, my family had to eat noodles for a month. What shits me is the three month warranty one gets after shelling out so much. Still, if it was warrantied like a motor for say 2 years and 20,000kms I guess the cost would be even higher. You need to understand if that's $6k for the trans and the assocated labour and sundry parts to remove, install, and test, before you can make that call.

nice work! as my e46 touring lives outdoors, I'll apply same theory. thanks for sharing!

would be good to know the status for imports. While BMW NZ may not be keen to foot the cost on a vehicle they've not sold new, surely the global parent would be covering on basis on maintaining brand quality and safety. It's not like BMW NZ don't make good coin from parts and service sales on imports; I've certainly felt like I'd had a kidney extracted on the occasions I've purchased parts from my local Official BMW dealer.