Herbmiester

My centres didn't rust but as Matt says the black coating wears off. Performance wise the setup I used was very good, hard driving over the Rimutakas saw no fade whatsoever and a customer used the same setup on his track day 335i. Said it took a lot of laps to get the pedal to go soft. That said as an everyday setup It worked great. 

I got mine off Amazon on a freight free to NZ deal. Jacinda missed the GST as well. Happy days. 

16 hours ago, _ethrty-Andy_ said:

im not an idiot, mate.

Ive met Scott before, he is not the sort of driver you describe.

Even if he was, No road car, ever, should be getting 18,000km from a set of tyres, much less a set of brake pads and rotors.

It is an alignment issue for sure. maybe bent arms etc and alignment needs to compensate.

If its not and BMW consider 18,000km normal life from a 30d, thats incredible.

I only get about 20k from a set of tyres and that's pretty much across most cars I own, but my E70 is a tire eater and I have had it aligned twice . The reason is simple. I live in the country and I drive so many corners to get to and from a main road, 52 per trip and I have make 3 runs on average a day. so that's over 300 corners a day. For reference the road is Whiteman's Valley and its the reason I first bought a BMW. 

On 12/24/2021 at 12:52 AM, HalfJobHarry said:

I'm not sure the BMW dealer is the gold standard to compare against ....I dunno.... i read stuff like "pin holes in intercoolers" but miss cracked charge pipe.... it's all very sus. I may be old fashioned, but I think if you're paying a professional for a job, if they are not comfortable with the process they should say so, or you should expect sensible and methodical diagnostics to be carried out

At the time there was literally no where else to go and as mentioned smoke machines have their limitations. Not a lot of familiarity with those engines in wellington at the time and as mentioned again, the crack was tiny no way the human eye would spot it unless you started pulling it, even I couldn't see it until a mate came round and used a great deal of physical force.  As to the pin holed intercooler its was a real thing, you are welcome to inspect next time your in Wellington. 

I never really got the whole Alpina thing, I know some covert them, but for me an M car is more desirable and more saleable when I want to move on. Plus you have to explain to most people what an Alpina is and if you dont like the Alpina wheels, which I dont, then the rest is just a different take on luxury, not better in my eyes but again those that love Alpina will see it differently.  

20 hours ago, HalfJobHarry said:

Smoke test needs to be pressurized...or you have to pressurize your intake tract. I cooked up something following some DIYs elsewhere two plastic caps that go over my inlet pipes. One of them has a connection to my air compressor. I compress up the entire intake tract to about 16 psi (the seal around the caps themselves gives up at that point. You can see it working as the 'bellows' on the inlet pipes expand out . that said it's not fool proof as you might be running more than 16psi (but not stock! 8psi).  

Very poor a garage missed a clear and common boost leak...cracked charge pipe is one of the most , if not the most common N54 boost leaks. 

To be fair they were not that familiar with the N54 engine and I know Wellington BMW failed to find a similar issue in a friends 135i. As you said its not foolproof.

While I know a lot of younger guys who have come out of the Japanese car scene are totally manual focussed for every day driving the Auto is better and as mentioned much faster in a straight line.

I ordered a replacement from Amazon but got a strange message saying I was refunded and with a warrant due soon I need one fairly urgently. 

Again E34 540i, such an nice blend of old school charm and modern features. I do love a tidy E36 Coupe and E92 Coupes are very good looking cars. 

9 hours ago, otto densem said:

I've got a used n52 pump from a 525i, would like to get rid of it... $120?

Thanks I have now found one.

8 hours ago, polley said:

Yeah, odd they could find pin holes in a intercooler but not a cracked boost pipe.

Crack was tiny, when I took the pipe off I couldn't see it, pin holes were obvious and smoke came out of them, saw that myself. Replaced charge pipe problem fixed, there was no visible leak from the CP.

8 hours ago, polley said:

Smoke test should of shown that up? 

Mechanic tried that. 

If anyone is reading this and wondering what the issue was it was a cracked charge pipe. In hindsight I should have known.

1 hour ago, Olaf said:

very interested to see how this goes, mate.  I also have been captivated by the charms of the N57B30.

  Lots of grunt in the 225kw version and combined with the Zf 8 speed forward progression is effortless.

3 hours ago, balancerider said:

Would be cautious about the EGR delete @Herbmiester - You might have a pretty expensive driveway ornament if the govt decide that they want to enforce emissions testing

I may just delete it in software. As far as emissions go it does make for cleaner exhaust in some situations but you end up with a less efficient engine especially when the intake gets clogged and less efficiency equals more fuel burned.

I have decided after trawling through UK forums to fit a deisel specific Provent brand catch can. They seem ver popular in Aussie as well for Land Cruisers, Hilux's etc. https://www.trademe.co.nz/3349980490 

Having seen what a mess the intake system on an N57 can look like I dont want to have a repeat. I am also now seriously considering deleting the EGR as well. There is a fair bit of talk that the crap going back into the system from the EGR shortens the life of the N57/47 engines.

On 11/10/2021 at 9:25 AM, Eire72 said:

Where can i get an LSD for my 2007 335i n54 ?

M factory diffs are popular in the US, less expensive than a Quaife etc. 

After some digging around the net it would seem like the PCV is the issue. Sadly BMW wants you to buy a complete cam cover unit to get a new PCV unit. There do seem to be a few options to just replace the PCV and I will try and track down one of those kits. 

https://www.aliexpress.com/i/4000929307290.html

I have ordered one via Aliexpress but will continue looking for one closer to home. 

Interestingly one of the symptoms was that the car would surge at idle or very low engine revs. I initially thought this was the GP controller as there is a code for it but it appears it is a common issue with the PCV. It look simple enough to rig up a catch can as well so might just do that as well.

On 11/11/2021 at 10:38 PM, 40dx5 said:

Hi, having very similar issues on my 40D. I changed the egr and reset the adaptations but still no change. Did you get this sorted in the end?

A bit long winded but it looks like I have 2 issues . Faulty PCV valve and a faulty Glow plug controller. My auto sparky thinks the GP controller might be affecting other things but cant be sure. The stuffed PCV is the real issue. I have found a solution and will post up soon.

Was wondering about a catch can, was very worthwhile on the N54 335i.

Just now, Palazzo said:

Worn turbo seals I’ve seen in the past have poured blue smoke out.

No smoke but will get someone to drive behind me to be sure.

So after having a few issues with the X540D, I pulled the intake off to replace the glow plug controller and found that even though the intake was cleaned about 5k ago it was filled with carbonised oil residue. I can see a fair amount of oil coming from the where the PCV breather hose connects the valve cover so I am assuming the PCV is stuffed. However I can't help but wonder could it be a blown turbo seal? While I think its unlikely I am unsure. Does anyone have any thoughts here? Can I easily replace the PCV unit? 

On 11/12/2021 at 5:12 PM, The Bimmer said:

I have spare EGR Valve.

Thanks, I have replaced the EGR and it runs a lot better now. except for oil in the intake which is either a turbo seal or bad PCV.

Sold

On 10/21/2021 at 4:01 PM, Driftit said:

Every E34 I have driven in NZ has long worn out suspension.

Going to sell my E34 525td soon.  Great commuter.

Ah yes, my one is now on the way to becoming good again.