Eagle

Tightening bolts etc like that via rattle gun is incompetence/inexperience like you said. Average alignment shop doesn't have the best tool selection but you provided tools, no excuse regardless. Bad luck i think, maybe you got more cowboys down there in Christchurch. I tend to use only one alignment shop + dealer here in Hamilton because ive never had an issue in over decade. F\L toe is a bit poor. Guess you going back in BMW once you get it all sorted\certed anyway.

Yeah if it has spark then pull all the plugs, fuel pump relay and crank it over without them for a bit and retest. Pump could also be priming but not supplying correct pressure at rail. Pulling the fuel return at the rail if is the basic way to check.

I get thr feeling that japanese stuff was more common place and probably cheaper back in the day. Aigo spanners used to common and cheap, now they fetch good money 2nd hand. Used quality hand tools are one of the best things you can buy with money, they don't tend to lose value, last forever and never become obsolete.

I just like stuff that holds up for life and feels good to use, just like id buy a quality used car over a cheap new one any day. Started off using my father Koken set hes had since 70's, still perfect and been used quite a by me over the years. BMW's are pretty good but when you working in tight awkward areas undoing stuff in more comes into play, those tool test channels like Project Farm etc give you a idea.

Is it getting spark? Pull plug\coil, make sure its no flooded then ground it and crank. Bad CPS shouldnt trigger the fuel pump and or coils. Slight bump in rpm on the gauge when cranking too is another basic test but easy enough to do the proper resistance check on the M60 with a multimeter.

If you knew were to get them in the past there were some good deals via i-tools in Wellington eg $349 for m18 high torque.

Toolpro ratchets suck and fail easy like most of the cheap brands. Plenty of good second hand stuff around ive bought Koken and Snap-on ones for around $50 and can they can be rebuild for around that price if needed.

Lives down the road from me. Seen it for sale for the road. Not bad but nothing really special about it. Good thing for buyers its still basically the same price as it was nearly a decade ago.

Shipping cost for 2x bump stops converted to NZD. FCP (not to mention the always way overpriced genuine parts) - $67 Rockauto - $27 Spareto - $48 Schmedimann - $36 Turners - $28 (better than i though) They also have the most balanced shipping cost calculator ive found. All the others adding certain items that weight nothing\arent large ramp the shipping cost up considerably, near doubling alot of the time. You could probably email to sort this but i cant be fooked with that rigmarole.

Both are i suppose but technically not as good as they once were. Britool is the more cheaper brand now days. That same ratchet cost about $400 here in NZD, no way id pay that for one given they are made in Taiwan). Ive got Bahco ratchet spanners and screwdrivers which i cant fault. I dont think id bother with anything fuller for any use in my experience. I dont find the difference price between typical higher end Taiwanese stuff (Toptul, King Tony, Genius Gearwrench etc etc) and mid range that much for your basic tool kits. In saying that every brand has their good and bad stuff for the price depending on your needs. I always keep an eye out for quality 2nd hand stuff on trademe or facebook as too you can pickup some good bargains.

Yeah just about everything, crank bolts or axle nuts may or not work vehicle dependent but will do everything else in most cases. If you don't have a rattle gun and can only buy one then its certainly the one to get in the Milwaukee range. The M12 3\8" fuel ratchet is mostly my Japanese front of engine tool time saver, BMW's i tend to work on i can use the impact in most spots or just use hand tools easy enough. https://www.primetools.co.uk/product/britool-hallmark-prxl-12pc-extra-long-flat-ratchet-ring-spanner-set-8-19mm/ I bought this from the same place for around $~350 landed at the time. Was the only set i could find (at the time) that wasn't crazily priced. They don't feel as nice as higher end Taiwanese, US etc ones but they have held up nearly 6 years of full time use without issue. https://www.tooljunction.co.nz/products/toptul-flat-type-extra-long-double-ring-wrench?variant=41195417501845&currency=NZD Ive got one of these which i used to use before the above. Does the job of cracking fasteners before you switch to normal ratchet spanner or wrench https://www.primetools.co.uk/product/facom-sxl-161-12-dr-extendable-ratchet-264-397mm/ Not really a must but have but i use it all the time for any thing 1\2" related, suspension and turning engines over being the main ones. Ability to extend to give breaker bar like leverage then shrink when in tighter spaces is very handy.

Comes down to what you are working on in my experience. A basic tool set you all you needed on 80's BMW's. I could go on forever but a set of extra long double ring ratchetting spanners is one of my most used tool (almost essential on stupid Japanese etc designed FWD engines) EDIT: + M18 mid torque rattle gun.

Swapped out the fronts and wallowing\slop is gone. Should be even better with new rack and alignment. Yeah should be a good normal usage test. They going to take awhile to catch to worn OE ones so im sure they adequate for your usage. Im giving my old fronts to a mate on 100,000km OE ones.

Any photos of them without the center caps? Could be just me but i feel like would look better.

I forgot about RockAuto. Yeah you are right they are sometimes cheaper, but their selection is pretty poor for decent quality parts. Their shipping prices are calculated very inconsistent too i find so only good for one offs or a few small items if they happen to have them.

Spareto for the most part these days. Schmeidmann for BMW stuff. Both way cheaper any US store. FCP is are more expensive and still use USPS i assume? (they suck compared to Fedex and DHL)

Not sure what you coded you values to, but yeah i think the point is the have warning\be scared as opposed to having none\instant overheat. I coded mine (cant remember values) it drops down 11 o'clock mark a lot more with my driving, ecu orders the thermostat to low ~80's under bigger loads for safety (ideally should be around that all the time but emissions, mpg, and other bs) Given the total extent of your work i reckon you have done well. Being able to ID and fix mistakes properly before any damage is closely second to not making them in my book. Dont think you have actually broken or really damaged anything either? so its a nice lesson rather than a painful one.

Air freight seems faster than ever though. DHL have been delivering stuff to me in 4 days from Europe.

That's what i thought about mine and its true to certain extent, but as above. I see the 100k mark for replacements mentioned a fair bit. All the 90's-00's BMW's with <100k etc on original equipment ive driven had worn (in my opinion) dampers, so im inclined believe that for a general rule if they have never been replaced. Will see how big of difference it makes when the front ones go on this weekend. Had the steel non msport ones on my E39 530i before i went to mspec stuff. Obviously miles ahead of the worn OE 230,000km shocks they replaced. I drove mostly expressway on them for around 60-70,000k. One was misting when i sold them but they still felt ok, certainly not as good as the replacements but with spring and swaybar changes i couldnt compare.

Ah sorry must of got mixed up with Sachs. I find B6's too harsh in general for our roads, running them and firmer springs would ruin this car i reckon. Koni are decent but a bit overpriced for what they are, suppose you can adjust dampening somewhat to compensate for wear and a plus, but rebuilding them here cost the same as new ones overseas which always annoyed me. B4's cost me $780 NZD from Spareto. Bilstein\Koni's are around $~1500 landed iirc The rear's have settled in nicely with ride quality and handling restored. Got new fronts coming so will see how long this set last for this time without excessive speed bumps and more open road. They are still very usable compared to what on the average NZ older car, they just out of their optimal performance range. As ive been preaching for years only replacing one axle always shows up the weaker one. @hunter is running Genuine OE Sachs on his E39, i have no doubt they will outlast most offerings on the market. No doubt they have better\more consistent performance too compared to aftermarket Sachs which arent known to last long either.

Not sure what profile Dunlop uses but a different shaped tyre may also help in the future.

Sedan has plastic trim inserts around the car unlike coupes with just the pin like indent. That M3 would look ok on a coupe im guessing. Ive seen msport ones mixed up and once you see you cannot unsee, looks odd.

Yeah i did them to get my castor reading back to spec as it was reading low. Never felt any difference otherwise.

Ive got some loose Meyle HD front control arm bushings floating around, near new, bought a set to use the brackets for Z4M ones. $20 + shipping you you want them. I think these along with the ones you mention above are the ones that give the best results + sway bar bushings\links.

Nice. Can't of been cheap with shipping prices these days. Guess you are doing all the other suspension bushings now or at some point? or at least the RTABS?. E46 got to be the last BMW that doesnt cost very much to sort suspension wise.