Eagle

They are a solid car and 290,000 is nothing for one of these, much more reliable than anything that came after. Fuel economy is their weak point but typically offset by low purchase price.

As above but id check the wheel balance and tyres first. You can swap the front wheels to the rear vise versa and see if there is any difference.

Sounds like a clutch issue to me. Nothing to loose by changing the fluid given its cheap but so are 2nd hand gearboxes

Id you were in Hamilton id lend you mine but personally id pay someone to press them in with the arm removed, it would cost next to nothing and much time and effort

Thinking outside your city pays off after all

Interior looks like it has some mold+worn seats combo going on or something

My father has had his 1997 Range Rover DSE since new which has 220,000km on the intercooled M51 with automatic. Engine and transmission have always serviced and both been near flawless. It has a bit of turbo lag combined with a 2 ton chassis makes it sluggish off the mark till boost comes in a 3000rpm. I know they sell ecu chips which up the power a fair wack but probably with increased stress. I think the M51 was perfectly adequate engine for its time and designed car but wouldn't think it would be worth it in an engine swap situation. Lance (melopuf) had a E36 manual with the same engine fitted and he loved it till it was written off (was doing 15s 1\4 mile iirc)

In short yes. I could write an essay on it but doing it in a FS thread seems a bit ott. We can start another thread if you like. I will say you are comparing 3 diff engines but the M60 is objectively the most reliable BMW V8 produced whilst m62tu is the worst of the 3. I agree E34's bottomed out ages ago and are going up if anything, E39's have also but id put money on the V8's to still have some decline (earlier ones do seem to be getting quite close in theory)

Haha. I suppose I could go both ways but no I wouldnt wish e60 v8 issues on anyone. Once they have stopped depreciating they may be worth another look

Schadenfreude

Yeah i suppose it comes down to how long they actually last for. I guess if your not racking up the k's they may be ok. All my E39 daily control arms are Meyle (done 50,000 now) but many Lemforder items like the rear ball joints, Integral links etc are around the same price so saw no reason not to choose them in that situation

Is that one of those ebay kits?

The pictured valve should have a rod which opens and closes the the butterfly valve when vacuum is applied thru it.. Id say if anything has failed its likely the rubber diaphragm in inside the valve and someone may of disconnected the setup Performance wise its not going to make a huge difference anyway if its working or not.

Dont think your issue is the DISA either The later M4X engines had the DISA designed as an everything in one unit Yours would probably be like the attached picture which has all the parts separated out. I don't think these engines had the rattle issues like the later ones as they used a metal valve inside the manifold (controlled number 6 on the diagram) of the shitty plastic one. Either way you can probably est the solenoid and diaphragm in a similar way to the later ones

93% I did guess 3 correctly though.

That's a skill in my book, good one to have when it comes to cars. No money is a bit vague but sure you are doing ok.. I don't think your quite upto the level of getting winz to pay for your car repairs yet?.

No skill and no money, both usually go hand in hand. 318i or 320i are your typical badge bunny cars after all

I recall having a similar issue with the flange breaking off. Can't exactly what I did but i think I levered and broke it apart with a stubby screw driver and pick

Certainly better at breaking down these days

Mosen euro parts in Hamilton would probably have a pump in the ($50-100 at a guess).

Get someone with mechanical experience to go with you if you take a look.

We all knew it was coming. I mean once you start to make cars like this it's guaranteed really.

Id probably thread longer bolts into the adapter holes with a flat plate etc or something for leverage and then some heat from gas torch Otherwise puller as you said or run a tap into the inside it if possible

https://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/car-parts-accessories/wheels-tyres/alloy-wheels/listing-1702122830.htm?rsqid=85a18fa2c2084686bfbdc8630915f6d0 Not ideal offset but should be fine with 235 tyre. Least they are fairly cheap.

Holden were way behind BMW back then. Carved up so many Holdens with my old E34 on the road and track I've lost count.