Eagle

Long service internals don't help longevity but from what ive seen its more due to internal engine tolerances being relaxed for fuel economy reasons, added complexities etc. Im sure some of it is also down to new buyers not breaking in the a new engine correctly.

Well you can get Goodyear Eagle F1 Directional 5 instead for $725. Triplemax's are probably fine for the average person especially compared with your average Chinese etc crap, but depends on what your expectations in regards to performance and tire life are. I say the majority here favor performance and would spend the few hundred extra.

Hyperdrive.co.nz have some deals on atm. Michellin PS4's are what i always recommend for the price, they are currently $852 for all 4 with the buy 3 and get 1 free deal.

Hard to guess without it being pinpointed to an area. Does it change when revved? Maybe check the fan clutch\blades.

I know Mercedes dealers use that same Behr radiator nipple and they actual list it unlike BMW. I was got one many years ago for my E38 for approx $20.

Avoid the the 4 cylinders in these cars unless you like potential money pits. If you want a 4 cylinder BMW that fairly reliable then you'd have to buy an older 3 series with M10, M43 or M44 engine. Sixes are better but do have some expensive faults that can occur. Plenty of info from members on here and net about N52 engine.

E28 - First born E34 - Staunch older brother E39 - Favourite child E60 - Misfit F10 - Cybernetically enhanced F90 - Version 2.0

Luckily it wasnt always the case.

Maybe the N40 engine ones are better. Lady at my old work had a E87 118i manual with that engine in it, looked fairly clean, she hadn't spent much on it with over 200,000km on the clock. NZ New with mostly open road driving though, opposite fate of your typical 4 cylinder jap import.

Too bad it's in the south.

Yeah much respect for him still supporting the forum and offering the discount after all these years.

Neuton tyres are a budget brand tyre no doubt and but no would know how much worse they are than the Bridgestones unless you used both new in the same conditions. Id be swapping out the runflats for conventional tyres in your situation (i believe most do this). The higher cost, lesser ride quality and grip negate the puncture benefits for the average persons use. You can get a factory tyre inflator kit from BMW etc for temporary puncture repair.

Open diff can spin both wheels. The test ive used is have someone hold one wheel while you spin the other wheel, if its an lsd then the held wheel should want to overcome held resistance and want to turn in the same direction as the spinning wheel, it shouldn't be able to be moved in the opposite direction of the spinning wheel.

+1. K's mean jack on a 14 year old car.

As above but be sure your car is level, run it through the gears and it check at right temperature (between 30-50 degrees) to ensure accurate reading

A lot car but a lot of potential money pits. Id be scared to own it or drive it much in case it breaks. V12's have never been BMW forte though, hardly performs much better than the Mercedes 6.0L V12 from 1991.

Id check battery voltage and connections first. Otherwise it maybe something stuck or bad internally, jacking it up may of disrupted something. Try giving it a few taps with the ignition on or undo it from the block and see it if gear is actually extending with the key on

Head in floor well job are never nice but id agree with you on that one too. The E39 is fairly easy by comparison and is one of the reasons ive always preferred the 5 series over the 3, those extra inches sure make things much easier when it comes to working space. Fixed my passengers seat twist - 2x cable sleeves needed shortening for height and 1x for recline.

With all the silicon you pulled out no one would be surprised. Shame on the PO.

Depends if it had actually failed internally or it just needs a clean, they shouldn't compress when filled with oil. Easy enough to inspect since you are cleaning them all but 2 new ones would be good for piece of mind. Never heard of anyone rebuilding them myself, buying a whole new one would be better i would of thought.

Now thats retro

BMW 6's an above are usually above average from what ive encountered. This one from some sh*t box Honda is one worst examples ive personally come across in recent times.

What sort of dye did you use? In my book its under yearly maintenance for all models esp the manuals.

Yeah that's BMW parts catalogs have always stated. Easy enough to confirm via engine bay or a head under the car. Can't miss that monstrosity.

Stops to car from starting without foot on clutch. Doesn't bother some people but i hate most of idiot features.