Eagle

10,000km\1 year is a good compromise for most driving assuming a good quality oil I dont what your suburban roads are like, but city driving is typically worse for engine wear as you are doing more idling\engine run time, start\stopping, low rpm driving etc. Modern diesels tend to suffer carbon build up issues from people doing this and not enough highway\higher rpm driving to help keep it clean. 80,000-100,000km is a good time to change the transmission fluid. Seems to be what manufacture ZF recommends as well 100,000km\8 years.

Given the extent you have gone to it should be a very very long time. The M54 isn't too bad for leaks in my book and most are easy fixes anyway. I bet and you got a lot of new sensors etc. It would be interesting to see a before and after engine re-build dyno. If i ever do mine in the future i think ill have to do it.

Sounds like drivetrain slop made worse by the diff ratio. Once you do the subframe, rear bushings and swap the diff it should be much improved.. I assume you preloaded the center support bearing? Damn. At least you figured it out. Worse case you may have to pull the transmission back slightly. I reckon you can tick that one off having done 100km and gotten it nice and hot.

Agreed. The amount of effort and hours you have put into is certainly commendable. Basically a bench test by starting it without the flywheel, not a problem. When you say lubed what are we talking about here?. Bendix and pinion cleaned?. Could record the noise next time you start it. Im assuming you dont think its engine related? By lurching and you saying its bucking forward and back when accelerating in lower gears?, when going on\off the throttle? or is a just an initially lurch when re-applying throttle?. Yeah first gear can be a little jerky on\off throttle a low speeds with drivetrain movement and im sure that 3.38 diff doesnt help. New clutch and flywheel shouldn't give any issues assuming they are working correctly. Sounds like one of those things you really want to drive it yourself to experience.

Less is more, just need to lower your standards. Just ask all the flippers on trademe.

I interpret that as when applied to threads. So if the threads arent fully clean it will still cure. That the stuff ive got https://www.henkel-adhesives.com/cn/en/product/threadlockers/loctite_2701.html

Will have a shortly and PM you. I looked it up once but forgot the actual number. Basically ultra high temp\locking compound iirc. Have to use heat to remove it. Im sure the usual 243 will handle the job though temperature wise.

Their fees aren't cheap so that's surely factored in. I dont expect much from them given they selling mostly average cars in large volumes. If the person documenting the car doesn't say anything then the person at the keyboard can't do too much.

BMW still only have ~2mm of wear from max to min as far aware, so as you suggest they are probably well worn.

Yeah i can't wait to get mine installed in a few weeks hopefully

It probably is the German\BMW equivalent. Loctite works very well to seal threads once and resists anything ive thrown at it once cured, bit like plastic is you have ever removed big bits of it. I think ive got a few bottles of the green retaining compound if you never want to take it off again.

Anecdotal evidence says no Here's some technical info (raising part may not apply depending on the design) - https://cmpautoengineering.com/en-nz/pages/cmp-solid-subframe-raising-bushes-the-pros-cons

Put your vin number in here and it will give you the part numbers and sizes: http://bmwfans.info/parts-catalog A reputable shop should tell you what brands they are using for that quote if asked. If you haven't got any tools or knowledge then its probably more costly to do the job yourself. Id suggest getting the correct parts yourself and finding someone to install them. Doing front and rear rotors shouldn't take anymore than 3 hrs at normal pace, say 4 hours max if you do flush the brake fluid, use scan tool to reset intervals and retract hand brake. Not sure about Wellington prices but average workshop labor here is $100-150 p\h. Say approximately a $500-$700 job incl fluids and sundries. https://www.micksgarage.com/home - One of few places which have cheap shipping on rotors and have decent brands.

Struts and shocks will certainly need replacing if they haven't been done (rarely ever are). Definitely want to do bump stops at the same time, maybe the mounts, not sure how long they last on these.

Valvetronic motor and sensor are the most common failure points but there are others. You'll need someone whos what they are doing to test\diagnose it properly. Otherwise you just have throw parts at it and hope. Also the right scan tool to re-calibrate the system it depending on what's replaced. It will probably cost 1\2 the cars value to fix if you are paying someone. Id just sell the car, they have too many problems.

Photo is pretty poor but looks like its missing a self tapping screw (typically 8mm). Wreckers etc would have plenty so just get some new ones.

Need a up skirt shot to determine that one

Yeah it looks like a dog. Anything with the N42\46 isn't worth saving in my book, the majority of them seem to be in poor running states due to understandable neglect. Such a massive degrade compared to the M44, probably cheaper to swap one those in.

Haha yeah no doubt you need a some traction aids. I dont trust the self adjusting clutch so im a bit paranoid launching it hard or excessively, i forgot to turn TC fully off on my first run and smelt it, but still did a 6.6s surprisingly. Once i redo the subframe and install the E36 M3 clutch setup i may do another launch set and call it a day.

Here are my results from Draggy. Mostly did a few runs of each and was pretty consistent. 21 degrees outside, half tank of 95, spare wheel and my launching skills are average\scared of breaking the clutch. 0-60 - 2.85. 0-100 (1st>2nd) - 6.5s. 80-120s - 4.47s (2nd>3rd gear) 5.09s (3rd gear) 100-200 (5th gear just under 3k) 19.63s. 1\4 mile - 14.8s Seems in spec from what ive seen online given all the variables at play and older engine.

Type 3's are one of those wheels that look good on just about anything.

An actual cooling system refresh - all hoses with new clamps and new fans blades to boot. Ive never replaced so many parts at once.

Pretty sure the loom is completely different on the ZF and why no one swaps them in.

Yep. No one can advise you on your problem accurately over the internet, even we could you don't have the ability to do any checks or repairs yourself. The transmission may already be too far gone if its slipping and a service may not fix anything. It may stay the same for 2000km or 10km, we can't know. Its up to you whether you want to do risk driving it or not. Take to a workshop if you care about it or take a gamble and drive it. The NZ comment was in regards to the cars value, i have no idea where you are or what a car like that costs, but here its a $2000 or less car so not worth fixing if something like a transmission fails. Its a poor choice of car for reliability and they don't tend to be looked after either. Preventative servicing is critical to avoid problems, transmissions can be working fine one day and give you problems the next.

Depends how much you care about the car. Ideally you would stop driving it and find out what causing it. A car like that in NZ you'd drive it home, because if it is the transmission the repair is worth more than the cars value.