Jump to content

Eagle

Members
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Content Count

    3823

  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    84

Posts posted by Eagle

  2. Posted · Report reply

    22 minutes ago, Harper said:

    90% of these are probably driving around with pretty significant vacuum leaks

    Haha yep. Amazing what EFI can compensate for. Carburetors just sh*t the bed if anything is off.

    22 minutes ago, Harper said:

    I wish there was a decent RHD catless header option for these that wasn't $3500. Every time I see them it hurts and these are the EU2 version which is probably the best iteration. Compared to the S54 headers these just look so lame

    Not sure if he is still in business but Bertz customs in the UK appears to be the best price vs quality ones i ever saw They were about ~1500NZD for memory + shipping.

    22 minutes ago, Harper said:

    Had a look at the top end. Surprisingly clean.

    Every NZ new or UK import BMW ive owned looked like this, asian ones werent bad per se but generally never as good (much darker). 

    • Like 1

  3. Posted · Report reply

    1 minute ago, Vass said:

    Weirdly, the leather Msport seats in my old 325ci felt much better than these alcantara ones. Would have thought they'd be the same apart from the covers but those felt way more plush and didn't screw my back up nearly as much.

    I'll need to dig through your build threads to see what all is involved in getting aftermarket seats installed. Would those technically require cert at all? Aftermarket seat rails and all? Haven't looked into it properly yet.

    I'm quietly holding out hope for some decent E63 M6 seats becoming available at some point, those look to be the best straight swap plug-and-play solution out there. Hella rare though and asking for silly money whenever they do come up though. 

    Ive got a cloth sport ones in my E36 that isnt as bad as my leather ones but its still not that great. New bolsters may help, most seats have been quashed\foam has failed to some extend. Ive never had an issue with E39 ones, but @hunter redid his alcantara ones and they are noticeably more comfortable and support much better than worn stuff thats around. 

    Yeah need a cert for seats (seat belt anchor point changed iirc). There are bases that use a modified stock\base rail (Brey-Krause) but they are cheap and not sure if they would need to be certed or not. I just take my out for the WOF since its easy in a coupe. Current one me close to 1k seat+base which is fairly cheap considering what @Harper and others have spent. I dont care about passenger one so it made it much cheaper  I think the genuine E46 base\rails for Recaro seats are hard to find now, the place in Japan i got them from delisted the drivers ones ordered it. NZKW do their generic E36\E46 one and im sure there are other around.

    Its a bit of mission finding and figuring out what you want and not usually cheap, but once you find the right seat its like your favourite pair of pants etc.

    • Like 2

  5. Posted · Report reply

    2 minutes ago, gsr_04 said:

    It's surprising that there aren't any shops that have a bushing removal tool for hire in Auckland!

    There probably is but most shops don't really need them as they would just use generic tools\parts to do the job. I do the majority bushings with the above, wheel bearing press kit, ball joint press kit and various 1\2" sockets.  

    • Like 1

  7. Posted · Report reply

    8 hours ago, Apex said:

    They should really put an hours timer on them like a digger.

    Should be a WOF fail over a certain age. Crazy how you run a 20 years old spare wheel\tyre but fail on 100 other bs things.

    8 hours ago, Apex said:

    Agree with generalizing, but like everything else in life, when the stereotype fits the narrative 95% of the time you can only really laugh and if you get offended you are likley the stereotype trying to justify your decisions.

    My compact was imported 2008 from Japan, 63,000km and who knows how many hours being a ecobox. A simple old style BMW design goes along way imo just like an imported corolla etc. Even came fitted with 2008 Japanese Bridgestones, great if having traction isnt your thing.

  9. Posted · Report reply

    Annoying. Neglected cars always seem to be the ones that have ongoing problems. Hopefully these are the last of them

    Yeah E46 msport seats are probably the worse BMW seats ive experienced on longer trips. Worn bolsters dont help but ive never had any issues with other old BMW seats. My Recaro is a joy to sit in and worth every $.

    • Like 1

  12. Posted · Report reply

    With the 90's era stuff at least the asian imports were generally in better cosmetic condition mainly paint and bodywork, cloth interiors are always a mixed bag and why i dont like them. NZ new engines and ancillaries and always felt stronger\less worn to me. Also depends when it was imported too, some big ranges from 3-4 years after build date to near or over a decade.     

  13. Posted · Report reply

    5 hours ago, mmario said:

    How useful is an air compressor ? I don't have one yet.

    Are the likes of the Supercheap/Repco ones ok for a home noob mechanic or do you need to spend more coin ?

    As useful as you want it to be. Lots of tools run on air.

    I think the cheap ones generally hold up you change the oil out for something decent and keep them maintained, probably all made in the same bunch of factories. 

    I bought one of these over 10 years ago and was still running fine before sold it and upgraded. It was too small for tools but ok for occasional compressed air blasting and inflated, anything below 50L tank size isnt going to run much for long - https://collingwoodscrosscountry.co.nz/product/dek2024-air-compressor/

    Id go for something 2nd hand though as you can get something bigger\more powerful for a lot less money (if you have the room), or just save on similar specs. 

  15. Posted · Report reply

    2 hours ago, Driftit said:

    I would always pick an E34 over a E39 these days.  It's not 2010 anymore.  The E39's are all flogged time bombs.  Most of the flogged time bomb E34's are long gone to the wreckers and only the loved ones remain.
    sh*t in 2010 most of the E39's had had zero maintenance.  Imagine them now.

    Still plenty of tidy E39's around though especially later facelift stuff. E34's are the more durable engines, drivetrains and cost less to maintain and stand more a chance to survive. I see plenty of low k E34 540i's which are probably still rocking mostly original parts.   

    https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/motors/cars/bmw/325i/listing/4393895444

    Interesting to see what this goes for

  20. Posted · Report reply

    30 minutes ago, Willem said:

    I'm not sure whether this car has a N54 (Eagle) or N55 (balance-rider) engine.

    @balancerider is correct

    30 minutes ago, Willem said:

    As far as the present owner knows the gearbox has not had an oil change around 80 k, if true not good.

    Not great but ive changed fluid on quite few older models with 'lifetime fluid', all had done over 200,000km. If its shifting good then i think you'd be fine with a service. 

    30 minutes ago, Willem said:

    Long story short, this sounds like a good time for the owner to sell it and a bad time for someone to buy it unless at a price that that maintenance can easily be done sooner rather than later. (what do you guys think is 14500 reasonable?

    I dont really keep track of what these are actually selling for so cant help with that . With what's known about it id say its average example in general. so . They tend to be fairly cheap for a reason when they reach that age\mileage, not many people spending money on refreshing and doing preventative repairs on cars like this. You do get a fair bit of car for the money which is the appealing part i suppose.  Everyone is different when it comes to acceptable maintenance costs, but if you have to pay someone to work on it then id say a mechanical warranty is needed along with the above.

    • Like 1

  21. Posted · Report reply

    2 hours ago, balancerider said:

    May well be due a set of shocks and springs (rear air suspension) at 10 years

    It did mention they had been replaced, springs im assuming

    17 hours ago, Hanna said:

    Does anybody dare to predict when the drive-train is going to be too worn to maintain?

    Drivetrain should be one of the more durable bits. Transmission can develop issues but much of that depends if its been serviced and how its been used.

    Id say the engine ancillaries are the weak link as far as costs. If you google N54 engine problems you will get an idea what can happen. Most of the rest is just normal wear and tear which a pre purchase inspection and service history should reveal.  

  23. Posted · Report reply

    Some people got a phobia against anything green. As long as its HOAT type and you dont mix you wont have an issue. Penrite is OEM approved.

    Mercedes had a water quality document i read along time ago and most NZ water was acceptable for mineral etc content iirc. 

    • Like 2

  24. Posted · Report reply

    Cant help with what to choose but any model can have electrical problems, some better than others but with modern cars being complex these days its luck of the draw imo. Getting a PPI done on a good example and budgeting for some preventative maintenance is the main thing.

    Cars you are looking at are 10+ years old so id argue the k's aren't that reliable of an indicator. You can have high running hours, lots of stop\starts and short trips but low millage. The best vehicles ive owned were NZ new ones that were mostly used on long distance highway driving\had higher k's. Heat is the enemy so a cooler engine and less heat cycles goes along way imo. Higher k's have a more likely hood of parts being replaced\service history, although cosmetically generally are worse off to varying degrees.

     

     

    • Like 1
×
×
  • Create New...