Mad_Max

Yeah that's the exact problem right there, small claims/disputes tribunal never really rule on anything on the truest sense of what's "legal", but more who's out of pocket, and it's wrong. If you have entered into an agreement (especially through TardeMe) then, as the law stands. you are the one legally entitled to the goods. Yeah let's see you say this when you go to buy a house, sign the contract, then the vendor/real estate agent rings you and say "bad luck, someone else offered $10k more - even though you had a contract, you're missing out". Or a dealership/car yard next time you go to upgrade cars, rings you once the contract is signed and says the same thing. Bet you won't be playing this tune in that situation. Property sector has laws against this. So does the business sector. And every other sector. I've been involved in contract law for 15 years or so in the construction industry, and will tell you right now - you try pulling this s**t in any of those sectors, your arse is in a sling big time, you simply can't do it without copping the penalties. At the end of the day, if what we are being told is true and accurate, and the seller had entered into written and verbal agreements with person A, then person B's offer should never have been accepted, even if it was cash on the spot, that day. it is immoral and, in so many other ways, completely illegal. So many people around these days that have no morals/honesty/integrity left........ End rant.

Why have I only just seen this lol? Got one in an E34 525i, was supposedly running until fuel pump issues. And possibly an early one from an E3 2.5S, haven't sussed that one out yet, it may be toast but may be an option. Let me know if you're still hunting for one.

Agree completely with you Graham, sadly not the first time "deals" like this have been attempted on this site and someone has been shafted - it happened to me recently as well. Most disappointing when it happens for the one that missed out, and goes to show that there are ones out there that are not true to their word. Seller has got to be thankful this didn't happen overseas, where they would get sued for this sort of action, especially given the agreement was allegedly in writing as well as verbal. Reality is that people that do this sort of thing usually don't last long in public forums.

Location and prices?

So a fair bit of research later, thinking I might bite the bullet and try one of the cheap Chinese Android things, Dynavin and Avin Avant and 3 to 4 times the price. With an IBus adaptor and the app to run it through the head unit, I can keep all the original MID info and have it on the display (as the BC button doesn't work), plus modify a few basic settings within the car without coding (so no need to use NCS, ISTA/P etc) - total cost of the extra IBus adaptor and the app is around $60, and a cheap Android head unit landed here can be around $260-$350 so won't be a huge loss if it doesn't last much longer than 12 months.

Not sure about the head swap, lots of variables come into play such as cam size, lobe separation angle, the displacement of the head itself, valve size and geometry, timing gear swap and so on...... not sure you'd get all that much power for a whole lot of work and (probably) a huge expense.... M62B46 did come out in E53 X5's, I'm not sure precisely what year they started but I think it was from about '01 to '03.

I've got Ista/P if you need to use it, along with NCS Expert and NCS Dummy and a few other programs. And there will be people on here who can probably tell you what the coding is that needs to be done, so shouldn't be hard. I'm in Invercargill too so easy to sort.

I'm pretty sure I've got one down here in Invers.... and travel to Dunedin at least once a fortnight (was up there yesterday and all weekend, and may be back up this weekend lol) so can drop it off no worries if you can wait? Would have to check condition for you and pray this weather turns a lot better so I can remove it lol but pretty sure it's not in too bad a shape.

And at 2:36, the Fences and Hedges team make their debut.......

I've got a complete motor sitting in a parts car that was "allegedly" running until the fuel pump gave up if you're not in a rush for it. Car is sitting in a friends paddock at the moment, getting it to where I could pull the motor would be the holdup (and the weather down south), if you need one urgently there's a few sponsors on here that might be able to help (and they are all up north too I think). If there's no major rush I'll go scope out getting it to the concrete pad as the thing needs stripped anyway and gotten rid of.

Everything bar the turbo oil feed line has been ordered, just need to track one down and then should be all set once everything arrives. Today's life hack - I tried this on mine so should work on yours, instead of climbing in the other side first, just hold the unlock key down if the car is locked - that should unlock the doors then drop the windows. Then you can open from the drivers side inner door handle ?Probably best if this isn't done while it's raining (unless you wanna wash the inside as well lol) but it works for me, saves a trip around to another door lol.

Sounds like it's definitely an electrical issue, I'm not 100% up to play with common failures on the E30's but would suggest start by checking the basics - fuse is connecting good (not loose in the fusebox), check the voltage at the motor, check for continuity between the motor and ground, and any earthing wires at the motor. Might be the switch itself is playing up or the motor itself is possibly had it. Hopefully someone with a bit more knowledge will chime in and give better suggestions, if not the above may be a starting point to try and eliminate things without just replacing everything.

sh*t there's some great info in there, quite a bit to read and absorb. Gives a wide variety of options...... interesting.......

Thanks man, much help. Yeah that's the plan, gonna put an order in tonight for all these parts including the manifold and will go over everything, clean and inspect it while it's apart, then I know it's done. Hahaha think my handle has just completely let go in sympathy of yours....... fingers crossed the new one turns up soon........ it was just holding on until earlier this afternoon. And managed to download a copy of the ETK so I can have the laptop outside, to make life easier...... just in case it's needed lol. Should be all good now I know what I'm looking at ?

If you don't need them desperate urgently (only cause pouring rain down here) I may be able to get calipers and all the mounting hardware off an E39 540i (possibly rears, might just be fronts, have to check), or everything (front and rear) off an E38 740i - all will be second hand if that's any use?

That's great info, thanks man really appreciate it. And yeah I'll be yelling out if there's anything I'm not sure about. Have decided to order in another exhaust manifold, and will replace the oil feed line to the turbo at the same time for peace of mind. Also going to change the thermostat to try get it to operating temp more consistently. It definitely feels a bit better now the basics are done, and I plan on keeping it for a while so better to do the preventative stuff now. Still trying to hunt out part numbers for the CCV/PCV/whatever it's called, I suspect everyone's talking about either part 11 or 15 on this diagram? https://bimmercat.com/bmw/en/search/selectCar/E53/SAV/BMW+X5+3%2E0d+M57N/ECE/11_3935 New door handle carrier is on it's way so will start ticking a lot of these little maintenance jobs off the list every chance I get to get back on top of it all. I'm hoping the manifold will be the worst of it, once everything is sorted it's probably then time to look at getting a tune for it lol.

It's done now, and yeah wasn't as bad as people claim. The hardest part was definitely bleeding the system afterwards, I mean, I had to go get the laptop and find the right section in ISTA then wait for it to do it's thing ???. So difficult........ That would be awesome if you've got the numbers Jon, let me know how you get on.

Finally got around to scanning it again, glow plugs 1 and 5 had errors....... funny that they didn't show when I scanned the car before I bought it. But will look into it another time, far too much on the go atm lol. Oil and filter changed today, so one less thing on the list to do. Do either of you have any part numbers or an idea where to look in the ETK for the CCV/PCV/CVV (whatever it's called)? Having trouble finding any listing for it at all, let alone part numbers to cross reference. This is probably next on the list before trans service, transfer case service, then diffs. Everything else I've seen under in so far has been in damn fine condition given the k's it's done. Apart from a few little creaks inside the cab when not on a decent surface, I can't fault this thing at all, and am sure with some TLC it'll do me the next few years easily. Oil and filter changed today, I noticed earlier that the whistle I have when cold is a lot less noticeable than it was since changing the air filter, so perhaps the old one might've been that restricted (or a cover isn't quite fully sealing but is closer now) - so may just be air getting into a random tiny gap causing the noise. Will be interesting to see how a cold start goes tomorrow with the whistle.

Yeah I did see them, bit more than I'd want to spend at this stage. I have been looking at some of the android units and some seem to be ok, little bit of work to get them set up and working properly but should be doable. Had a look, while they look like a decent unit, yes they can get hella expensive, and I didn't see too many positive reviews of them - but that might've been the older versions, not the latest ones. Will keep both the Dynavin and Avant systems in mind, seems the first thing I need to do is pop mine out and see what plugs it has as that could be an issue as well......

You were dead right, bonnet sensor is unplugged and alarm hasn't played up since, so will be swapping it out with another one and see if that fixes the issue. Oil, air and fuel filters turned up today, air filter already changed - what a PITA! Thankfully, somewhat slim hands helped lol. But what a difference, only taken it for a short cruise but immediately feels more responsive and economy seems to have improved as well, old one was black as hell....... shop vacc'd the area once the filter was out to clean up all the debris before fitting the new filter. So oil and fuel next, then trans, diffs and finally transfer case and I think that's about it short term. Now just need to find a 12v power supply in the roof that I can use lol.

Yeah got one on the way, removed the inner trim on Thursday night to confirm it was the carrier. Doesn't look too hard to do thankfully so will get that sorted. I've got 2018 version of INPA, probably should scan it and see if it comes up with anything, just been too busy lately to spend time sorting it lol. Yes was thinking that's what it is, a few times I've unlocked it and wiggled the bonnet sensor and it's behaved itself afterwards so will unplug it for now and see it that stops the alarm. Other than that, oil, air and fuel filters have been ordered, oil purchased, new wiper blades and headlight bulbs sorted, so just about ready to rock when I get a day to spend on it.

Oh good s**t, yeah just in time for the weekend too...... so given that today is POETS day, crack a beer and celebrate the hard work, well done.

Damn, might start looking into a tune as well now hahaha. Yeah finding someone down here that will service it properly and not charge what it will cost to replace it is the issue, but will have a hunt around as there may be someone in Dunedin that will do it (given I'm up there often enough). Surprised no one mentioned replacing the drivers door carrier assembly...... as that decided to give out last night.... the rain sensor seems to have stopped...... and the alarm has started going off at random times for no apparent reason........ just hoping this isn't the start of a nightmare ???. I'm still stoked with everything else, managed 7.8l/100k coming back from Dunedin last night with a bootload of stuff which I think is reasonable, so if this is the worst of the issues this thing has, it was well worth the money spent.

Cool, CV boots aren't a major item so that's not worrying. Hopefully being an '06 with the M57TU issues like gearboxes are well sorted by now lol. What's it like decatted and tuned? I was playing with the idea of a tune for it but have heard the boxes can't handle much more than 500nm torque so that kinda put me off the idea. There wasn't any error codes for glow plugs when I first scanned it but might be worth scanning again to double check. I'm thinking I'll change the CCV/PCV anyway as suggested, just for peace of mind. I'm half thinking about putting a water trap on the fuel line as well, for added insurance, though that may be further down the track. Right, off to start gathering filters and fluids, and might attack it all this weekend (if it ever stops raining hahaha).

Thanks, yeah was thinking the smoke on start up was glow plugs but it starts just fine so I'm not panicked. Will check the manifold first chance I get, would that possibly also be the source of the whistle? Seems like a plausible explanation as the whistle gets noticeably quieter when it's warmed up. I did read online? operating manual? that apparently the diesel smell is normal on start up, and given I'm in Southland 5 degrees ambient air temp is basically summertime lol. The smell has been far worse when air temps are way down which is why I was suspecting the auxiliary heater. But will investigate the manifold first of all. Will add PCV/CCV to the list, definitely a good idea to do it given the unknown history, thank you. And fuel filter will be getting done regularly, they are cheap insurance along with oil and air. Ok good to know, it hasn't gone over 1/2 so not a major concern, will keep my eyes on it.