Jun

Look at this forum, I assume you are from Wellington too. https://bimmersport.co.nz/forum/26-wellington/

We went to today’s British and European car day, nothing too exciting happened today. I guess the car was happy as my wife was there with it. more photos and videos here of the event: https://photos.app.goo.gl/pxbC9tMnpHcFaxUZ7

Powerhaus did more tests on our car. 2nd TK test, mechanic said our car did not even change the color, better than most cars he tested that didn’t even needed head gasket replaced. Overnight pressure test, no leaks. Test drive, etc. I told them not bother with a compression test, too impractical. My amateur fix has been inspected by the pros, we are clear to drive it 😅 I remember talking to Pete during the day while he gave me a ride home. I hope this is just a great story we can tell folks and our grandkids, it’s well worth the cost an expansion tank and some coolant. It seems to be a great story for a movie: me, Pete and Andrew didn’t script this… its a true story. So far it seems to be our car lives on, maybe the next custodian of the car can still bring it on the 100th BMW M anniversary day. Hope they read this story and remember to make the car happy or else it might try to kill itself again.

Date:28/12/2022 First test drive after replacing the expansion tank. So far everything looks good, very stable coolant temp at 79C as spec.

Date: 27/12/2022 I have replace the expansion tank today, so far which just stationary test no leaks. 5 minute job!…. Not 😅

Date: 21/12/2022 Germans always understate their performance including delivery times. This was supposed to be 6 weeks delivery time but got it yesterday (just a bit over a week). Well shops are closed for the Christmas break… so a good excuse to DIY this next week 😅 I have changed the oil and driven it to get a WOF. 30 mins running, 30 mins rest, 30 mins running… even gave it a bit of a kick through terrace tunnel… coolant level is good no leaks, oil looks visually normal no metal shaving… abnormal for M5 🤣. Been monitoring the coolant them via OBD scanner it’s really doing well 80c stable after 5 mins of warm up. Looking promising, so I fix this up and next year I get it pressure tested. I will also change the thermostat (even it’s clearly working) and also use those 10 new injectors on the shelves…. Also got paint custom mixed to fix that scratch near the sunroof

Date: 5/12/2022 to 9/12/2022 Went to Powerhaus and chatted with Reuben (owner and head mechanic). He said based my story and what I did it would seem the maybe ok. He will check it this week to confirm. I didn’t see any overheat, etc. just low coolant warning when I first started the car to drive it up to the flatbed. Reuben said when he scans it, there maybe a code for the overheat if it did overheat. He said it can generate a lot of smoke as the manifold is underneath the expansion tank, it doesn’t mean it lost coolant and had lots of smoke that it has already overheated. Powerhaus run a test to check of exhaust gases (I think locally its called a TK test). Anyway basic concept is to put the tester part of the cooling system and if it changes color there is exhaust gas inside the cooling system. This is usually used to confirm head gasket failure. So this means my head gaskets are in very good shape. My diagnosis: this may mean it didn’t got hot enough to damage the head gaskets, which likely means there are no lower damage (piston rings, cylinder, etc.) Powerhaus can’t run further test, as a pressure test will not work as I have a cracked expansion tank. They actually patched it, so it would hold up better when I drive it home. I saw the repair, it was actually done very well… better than my hack up jobs before. Since there are no expansion tank in the country, we opted to drive our car home which was less than 15 mins away during the night. So got everything ready with my tools, tow rope, etc. Turned the heater on max heat and started to drive home. I know the car works fine for about 15-20 mins as I tested it a days ago even with a crack on the expansion tank. They also have test driven the car and patched the crack, so I was confident we can drive home w/o any issues. So I have to just wait for new expansion tank. They also suggested to change the thermostat as sometimes it gets damaged on high temps. I will do that, but I think the thermostat is fine. During my drive home, I plug in a scanner. On my phone I can see the temp go up to 80 C in 10 mins or so. I also see the temp being stable at 80 C afterwards, so I think it is ok (my diagnosis, not Powerhaus). I will replace the thermostat regardless. They also advice to get the oil change as soon as practical, I will do that when we back from our trip. For now it is looking promising, so the plan is to replace the expansion tank, replace thermostat. Run a pressure test after. I may not opt anymore for them to open all 10 cylinders and borescope each to look at the cylinders if there is no issues after using the car after the repair.

Date: 4/12/2022 Sunday, a day after I went back to Powerhaus they are still closed by I decided to look at the car a bit more as my mind is much more clear after sleeping it off. Did the following checks: ✅ check any leaks underneath from overnight parking. Clean no leaks ✅ check coolant level, same as yesterday ✅ no weird sound after staring the engine, idle looks normal ✅ oil temp 75c after 10 mins, normal increase of temp ✅ 2k rpm sounds normal ✅ oil temp 85-90c 12 mins, still normal expected warm up ✅ 3-4 rpm sounds normal… like a race engine ✅ no new error codes ✅ no leaks underneath or on top under normal pressure It seems the crack on top of the expansion tank can hold pressure for about 15-20 mins

Date: 3/12/2022 - Going home time, not sure what time but it was about 2:00 pm Event was winding down, I started the car to warm it up (as these M cars are closer to race engines than normal cars). I then walked up to my friends to say goodbye and leave. I walk back to the car only to see the car locked itself. We then decided to just get my spare keys, as our house is not that far. Andrew Thomas gave me a ride home to get my spare keys. On our way back to the event venue. Our car’s coolant system failed and coolant started to drain, as it was idling more than 30 mins and I guess the cooling system of these older cars was aging. Before I could make it back, it started to smoke. Pete called me told me it was smoking, I thought he was just kidding me. But he was serious and asked me permission to break into the car by breaking the glass. Unable to break the glass, he was a poor criminal. He saw an opening on the sunroof. Pete eventually was successful in using a pole to reach the central lock and unlock the car. I sat there with many thoughts. Fire truck came to see if they needed to put a fire out. Pete told them what has happened, and car has been turned off. It didn’t turn into an emergency incident, but I felt really gutted as I don’t know what to tell Tina (wife/owner) who was home. We managed to tow the car to Powerhaus, but they are now closed for the weekend. Phil Hoyland (MP Vehicle Recovery) was great and very kind, as he really just offered his time and service as a helping hand. Pete and Andrew was great in giving me a lift and talking to me. Pete even called our previous mechanic (Jon Begley) who was far away now, asking for advice on the car. Anyway I got home and went back to Powerhaus where we dropped of our car. I got some of my camera gear and stuff out of the car. As I was leaving it over the weekend. But I couldn’t leave Tina’s car behind not knowing if its the end or not. So I got on to do some quick work on it, put in some water. Moved it, reviewed to the fix the error codes, etc. So far it seems promising, no error codes and the car is seems to be running normally aside from the small crack on the expansion tank. In hindsight I should have not left the car closed window after starting it. We have it set to auto lock after the car moves, it must be buggy as it can auto lock after just idling. I am not used to it, Tina reminded me that the car locked itself before. I forgot about it as it was a long time ago, as Tina was always with me. She would just unlock the car as she was sitting inside the car. However Tina wasn’t feeling well today, she really wanted to come and help the fund raiser. The only time I went to an event where she wasn’t there, the car tried to kill itself literally…. Locking it self, damaging the cooling system. I hope this is not the end of our adventures with our car, that there is an eventual good ending. Although I guess if it’s the last drive, then there is no more fitting day to do it than 50th M car anniversary. We are very stressed at the same time touched by the people who helped us.

I haven’t updated this thread for a while, we had an eventful 50th BMW M anniversary day on AND after the event. Some people here who are in my Facebook friends know about this. So this will be pretty much a reposting, I will cut it down into different post with dates on the top of each post. Date: 3/12/2022 - 50th BMW M Anniversary day It was a great day, also doing it for a good cause. Photos and videos this thread. We participated on the event, however my wife couldn’t make as she wasn’t feeling well, so I was by myself this time. This would be a very important detail later as the day unfolds. Here is our car on display.

Yes it’s ours, with a Porsche (likely replica) 356 at the back? Powerhaus is just doing some checks, getting the pros to double check my amateur mechanic fix 🤣. I need to update my thread here of the story that started after the 50th BMW M anniversary fund raiser. My FB friends know about it.

Don’t worry it seems to be just an M5 badge 🤣

It's not too bad. Saw it on the dealer parked. Aside from the shape of the wheel arch covers it seems to be ok.

Does this mean I can still dump my SMG clutch and kill the dual mass flywheel and still get new ones again? Purchased from FCP on 2020.

Me and my wife went to watch and took photos of some cars on Shelly Bay Seal Sprint. There was this nice blue M3 that was racing. By any chance the driver/owner is on bimmersport or knows him? More photos here of other cars that are not BMWs https://photos.app.goo.gl/3KXS1rtguZ4GZxPB9

It has been an uneventful few months. We still love the car. Really a Sunday car, I find the experience to be very visceral now, as our daily is a Model Y. So jumping into the M5 I can just hear everything especially the V10 intake sound. Contemplating on some minor mods, but it will have to wait. Here it is a few weeks ago at Southward Museum where it may end up when our custodian duties are done a few decades in the future

I just wanted for someone to be able to use the battery instead of going the the recyclers, as I think it really still in good shape. I really don't know what to price it. Did a few diagnostics back and forth between me, battery shop and mechanic. It wasn't clear what is wrong, so I took the easy out of replacing the battery with a new one after a few months of back and forth. It turned out it really wasn't the battery, so the battery shop bench testing was right the battery is almost as new still. Now it's back to the mechanic, but car has been working fine no issues error, etc. Still need to try figure out how to make the modules all panic consistently, happened once with the new battery so that rules out the battery being the issue.

I just put the trademe on auction, $100 start price and buy now at $200. So 10% off the winning price? Is this ok?

Sorry, happy for me to give a 10% discount from a bimmer sport forum member.

Wrong diagnosis, now I have 2 huge battery. Selling my 3+ year old battery, keeping the new battery. Special bimmersport 10% discount. https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/motors/car-parts-accessories/batteries-chargers/listing/3792577001

Hehehe, I do miss JDMs they are nice and practical. Yes just message me when you are in town.

Yes they are actually very practical, covers the sides etc. and relative cheap ($75) as well. I actually bought a floor mat for another car almost $300 for those 3D washable ones, then I saw this on the side. I do wish the color was light grey like in their photos it could have been a good match. For now I guess it's more practical than the OEM mats or those rubber mats from supercheap.... the color is just bugging me... I did try to put a small amount of bleach on the backside to see if it would change color..... fail the test site did not change color. This was the advertised photo....

PPI: I believe Jon of Auto38 is still working on cars but not full time. I also overheard last weekend he was flying somewhere to do a PPI. I can DM you his number if you want and see if can make an arrangement with him. He has done a lot of work on my car and Pete’s car. Trusted Dealer: Both me and m-tech guy purchased our M5 for Paul Kelly at Christchurch. In my opinion mine had the best condition and low mileage 54k at the time. M-tech car is high miles but he managed to negotiate for PK to do the rod bearings before purchasing. PK arranged our mechanical warranty which was hard as the car is more than 10 years old. From what I know the mechanic that does the M5 there personally owns a M5. Since my purchase I gotten to know another mechanic over there who became a friend. So maybe PK is a good dealer that understands M5, as to trusted always look after yourself. Example Car: Happy for me to show our car. Definitely good to see a few cars before your purchase. I saw a local car here during our hunt, which was bought off a BMW dealer mechanic. Then when I flew to PK I test drove 2 M5, however my wife has already made her mind which car to get prior hand. I just wanted to see back to back that our choice was actually the better car in person. You can also see the factory option in our car, I rarely see one that is optioned all the way like ours: ventilated seats, rear heated, extended leather, alcantara headliner, etc. There is a M5 here in Wellington that is NZ new, you can see the difference between it and a JDM spec like ours. Happy hunting, I think it’s one of the best parts of the ownership. Btw you can also purchase from Japan auctions. My JDM mechanic also imports cars, ex-Skyline racer. He gave me his account before to access the auctions, glad the process is not as easy as buying stuff from Amazon otherwise I would be bankrupt.

@treone is doing this with his 840i ownership, I think is of those "in theory it sounds great but in practice not much"

Some stuff came from Aliexpress arrived today, mostly for another car. But to be honest I am more excited to fit this on the M5. Although being Aliexpress, the color is not like what was in the photo of the website. The floor mat color is much more darker grey, I wish it was light grey (in there photo) which would match the interior better. What do you guys think, does it make the car look better? It actually fits well, so dirt and mud will be better protected. Is there any good way to make it lighter color? I told my wife I would bleach it, she said no the color will not be uniform and mentioned to me that I will throw the mat out because wouldn't be able to accept a mediocre job.