Eagle

Yeah where we get them from.

TMS underdrive pulleys. Whoever bought these along with the Dinan CAI must of been listening to Scribe. I guess they blew all their money like him instead of fixing the massive OFHG leak, worn pulleys etc, then finally tried installing random ignition coils, cam, crank sensors in an attempt to fix their flogged out engine, or maybe just broke it in the process. Turners list these at $260-280 USD + shipping but looks great compared to our local option Are 2 obvious benefits - increased steering weight and rev matching\throttle response was also vastly improved, much more organic than the many remaps\throttle tuning ive tried. EDIT: I have removed these because the alternator pulley had a wobble. May test on someone else car with the secondary belt pulley.

After going through a credit card\Paypal dispute to crawl back some money from the ****s at Milian exhausts, i spotted a local guy on FB selling a M54B30 in 'limp mode' he had removed to do a LS swap. One of the first M54's made being a '99 build and came with a few goodies - a full M52\early M54 exhaust (minus the cats which someone had cut out), Dinan CAI (which i gave to @Vass as it was cut improperly on the side and filters are way overpriced) and TMS underdrive pulley kit (fitted) Was tossing up using the M52 setup but no cats, crappy pipe work and me not wanting to polish another entire exhaust i decided to join the M52 downpipes on my existing system. Not a hard job right? turns out some muppet at BMW decided to use 2 different exhaust pipe diameters after the down pipes, never noticed them being different but on the E46 at least they are - ~45mm and ~50mm ID and ~1.5-2mm thick. To make matters even worse the M52 setup is double walled to the cats unlike my single walled system in the same section, i assume they did this to quiet it down a bit given the lack of primary cats. After finding nothing locally i turned to Aliexpress which always delivers. I managed to get 51>50mm and 51>45mm pipe reducers which were a near perfect fitment. Obviously the 201? stainless quality and thickness isnt on the level as existing system, but i think it will hold up for my usage. No TIG currently available so trialed some SS 308 flux core. The stuff actually welds better than expected correctly positioning ie not upwards on axle stands, tidy enough for an exhaust and leak free but i may redo it properly with TIG and better steel if i can find the sizes. After installing a new stud fitting the M52 headers was very easy, frees up quite a bit of room, less heat, half the weight and best of all you cant see the ugly cats now. Got M52 heatshield and another 990mm O2 sensor for the front bank in an attempt to route it the same as the rear bank, it mostly worked but was still slightly short so went along side the valve cover slot as opposed to in it. I dont know how exactly the M52 stock setup routes which would of been nice to know. Sound wise they are noticeably deeper, like someone turned up bass a couple of notches. It has a small burble\resonance at 1.5-2k range when accelerating slowly but otherwise you'd assume it had an aftermarket muffler. Certainly wouldn't want it any louder given my car was already louder than what people say their stock E46 exhausts are, given the lack of sound deadening. Performance wise it certainly feels like it pulls stronger, more noticeable in the ~5500+ range where most M54 start feel flat. Throttle response feels better too, maybe with the pulleys maybe adding a touch of help or just placebo. I do have various Draggy runs from summer 2023 on the old setup so will do some more in the future.

Looks out of place for sure but at least it he didnt go pink or something even sillier

Id expect the wheel arches to have cracks or popped welds too, the seam sealer is good a hiding them.

Standard Gen1? 35W Philips D2S bulb 4200k is about $60 trade via the local supplier. Could probably get you a couple. Dont know what Gen 1 vs Gen 2 differences are. Never heard of Morimoto but personally i dont see the point in above given all the unknown variables and your working system.

M20 swap itself is less work being factory fitment. M52 makes more sense in performance per $ terms, but that M20 is way cooler keeps the E30 ethos.

They fitted some decent tyres, so at least they are ahead of your average 320i owner.

OE Hella is good but aftermarket Hella stuff tends to be the lower quality stuff made in the China.

Sporting the mandatory worn shift knob, a true a car dealer specialty, always included in most overpriced BMW classics to match the rest of your 20 years parts.

Id be surprised if anyone in NZ is running that. It's more unique, but i dont see the value where nearly 20k would get you alot in N54\N55 or maybe B58 world.

Id value a tidy condition one with no major issues at around 4k give or take. I dont think you'd get more than $1000 if it has timing related issues as that's a 2-3k job to do properly if you paying someone.

Haha yeah sorry, the 4's start blending to one another from the period. Lower mileage ones tend to be worse off these days. Typically jap imports that have used mostly for stop\start short trips so lots of heat cycles and higher run time. Very rarely maintained properly either which adds to the issue.

You really need to take it into someone to get diagnosed. Those engines are common for heatshield rattle on the turbo among other things.

https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/motors/cars/bmw/listing/4952145203?bof=FmxyLZgQ

Good to hear. Few other areas which can fail unfortunately so if you keeping the car be prepared. PIpes under the manifold are the hidden time bomb which can let go suddenly, so id be keeping an eye on the coolant level often if you not planning on doing an overhaul.

How your rear toe?

Check all the components that run off the belt with your ear to a screwdriver, pry par or something long and metal. It will be obvious whats the cause with a sound that loud.

Well neglected, must of run impure water for awhile.. Id probably use a wire brush and\or scotch pad. Lube the oring and bore with vaseline, rubber or silicon grease when installing

Yeah lots of genuine only bits for anything quality so expensive no matter who supplies it. Local dealer pricing isnt too bad, eg $~400 for a cam shaft sensor, Schmiedmann $350+shipping.

Only gripe with these engines are certain parts being very expensive - timing stuff and sensors mainly. Some of the M42 stuff is NLA too iirc.

Dont know what the quality of gear is like to justify a 4-5k price tag given the car aint worth more than 4k.

Yes I believe the heads swap. No doubt you need to mix and match various parts to make it work. Don't know anyone personally who's done it.

Earlier M42 is the easier swap as no modifications needed to fit (in\ex manifolds come to mind). Id say the M44 has more advantages over the M42 if leaving stock, but they are much the same. Finding a good M44 is likely easier.