Eagle

I don't think ive even dreamt of owning 4 BMW's. At this point you may as well buy 5 so you can drive a different one to work each day.

Yeah these cars are in the cheap to buy pricey to get up to scratch category. They are the best in their class for the period imo, but most are just worn out money sinks with the min WOF work done unless owned by true enthusiasts with money . Ordering parts overseas when applicable (FCP euro etc) and doing your own repairs goes along way, otherwise you'd going need a bit of cash if you plan on keeping it long term. The cooling system and transmission quite critical to keep in good working order as you don't usually get much if any warning when they start to fail, they can lead to big bills. There is plenty of info on the net about all the common issues and good repair guides for someone unfamiliar with these.

These engines leak from everywhere like most '90+ BMW designs. The passenger side has most of the plumbing - hoses, gaskets etc, lots of things to leak on that side. Oil filter housing gasket usually creates the biggest leak, then you got vanos lines, crankcase vent hoses, power steering hoses which drip from above, things like the sump gasket, crankshaft seal, dipstick o-ring are usually leaking somewhat at this age unless someone has replaced them. Best bet is the take off the cover off, go under the car and de grease\clean the entire area. Check back after some driving to get an idea of what leaking (which will probably be many things as most people don't bother to fix them) The entire subframe\suspension is alloy on these cars

Im sorry but it doesn't look like a ACS kit at all to me. It's likely someone has replaced your front and rear bumpers and added those AC emblems after it came out of the factory. The side skirts are factory, ACS ones noticeably protrude with additional lines. It appears to have some sort of aftermarket replica M sport style front bumper. Rear bumper looks M sport with an extra cutout of the right hand side for the additional exhaust tips (has it even got a muffler connected to those?) In terms of performance increase, the best thing you can do besides usual maintenance items is replace the vanos seals, this should give you a noticeable amount of low end torque back below 3000rpm.

Sounds like it has multiply issues so you'd have to scan it first to see where you are at. Its likely has the original transmission fluid and filter can cause issues and accelerate wear on known weak points such as the torque converter. Brakes could be many things like an ABS\DSC unit failure,sensors, master cylinder or leaks\air in the system.

No legal requirement for pad level warnings. No idea about the service interval myself.

Id say it is and starts wearing immediately unlike the older type which only became truly worn once you ran the pads low enough to cut the signal. The low light does come on fairly early, i tend run my pads down fairly low especially if are expensive compounds.

2 threads discussing brake rotors not far below your thread

E90 has a 2 stage sensor i think - one stage for condition\k's remaining in the OBD service menu and the another to trigger the light on the dash when they are low. I suppose you could reuse it but the condition estimate probably wont be accurate im assuming, but it should reset in the OBD service menu I just cut the sensors after the plug, join and solder the 2 wire together and hide them where you can't see. It's an idiot feature really, no one who does their own maintenance work needs it.

Not M50 engines but ive come across a few older BMW's with hydraulic tensioners that were clearly fatigued (maybe leaked out fluid) . Is the belt is good and the correct size? What ive always done in a pinch is drop the belt size maybe 10-15 to compensate

No idea

Indeed. I do wind them out and torque them back in most of the way with my M12 ratchet once they are loosened

Seats are fooked anyway

Yeah i was wondering how you were going to crack them when i saw the handbrake shoes removed. A decent compact impact should work if you could make one appear.

Beat up 530i just arrived at pick a part Mangere if you something fast. Its sitting right in an inch of mud though.

Doing anything to the evils under the intake?

Mercedes considered a W18 in response to BMW's experimental V16. The M120 was the response for M70 which was BMW response to top the M119 5.5L V8. I think the M120 has held up very well unlike the M70\M73

Hopefully he removed that stupid american feature

Yeah could possibly be the module im not sure. Others can probably confirm the location etc as i haven't played around much with E39 audio, i would think its below or behind the amp etc, possibly hidden behind the carpet. I don't think having no nav would change the location but you can remove the screen easy enough and check for the plug. Yes if you dont have the 17 pin plug in the dash then you will need to run the extended harness.

Thought it looked familiar. 240k is not even close to being high k's.

M54 return is at the filter. Suppose you could re purpose the old fuel return line for regulator vacuum or rip the hard vacuum line off an E46 etc and re route to suit

Makes sense given the Commodore was always a decade behind the 5 series. These days i wouldn't to have a decent crash in anything older than BMW E38\E39.

Yes you can't claim exemption but certain businesses will refund you the VAT as above.

Most places have never charged me tax regardless but some places ive ordered stuff from in the UK will charge VAT for domestic export deliveries. but you could get VAT refunded upon proof of export via license

Probably just DOT 4. Penrite is what i use now, i wish the 4.4L was around back in the day as it would of saved me a sh*t tonne of $