wrs

Looking for a good set of E36 half shafts from 320i, 323i, 325i or 328i to suit med-case diff. Need left and right.

Pretty sure they're different to 2.8L (at least different stroke, possibly different rods and piston deck height). Actually came from a M50B25TU so inlet manifold is also the small type.

Have stripped down a M50B25 donor engine ready to become a M50B32 rebuild. The M50 crank, rods and pistons are available to anyone who wants them - just pay freight. Also have a M54B30 block left over as the donor for the M54 crank and rods for my new stroker build - again, just pay freight. The M54B30 head and rocker cover re already gone. If there's no interest then they'll be off to the metal recyclers.

Mine failed a warrant a few years ago because there was a new guy at VTNZ who was a bit anal about very minor rubbing on both sides despite having passed for years prior. I made up and fitted 3mm thick plastic clip-on washers to each side by releasing the boot and pulling it back from the rack then clipping the spacer on over the main drive rod between the rack and knuckle. This limits the amount of turn by about 10mm so there is no rubbing. Added a bit of underseal over the rub marks and never had a problem since, even with Mr anal doing the inspections. I you can buy premade ones like below but I can't remember where from - thought it was VAC or Achilles but they're not shown on their website (they only have solid ones). Obviously the guys below could be a source if you can't make your own.

Ah bugger, wish I had the cash to buy as I really need an interior like this to complete my conversion - just purchased a house though with a 74 interior so I'll be poor forever trying to make it live-able.

And.... Nick got it.

Probably not. The aerial will likely either read open or a short - don't know anything about GPS aerials. A quick Google search suggests 50 ohms is a pretty common impedance. Since a 50 ohm resistor is a few cents it's worth a try buying one and connecting to the aerial input.

I have a M54B30 I'm taking the rotating assembly from. I'm not sure what the state of the block and head is but you'd be welcome to them if you're prepared to take the gamble on freight and them being no good. If they're of some use I'd be open to some beers...

If you can find out what the aerial impedance is supposed to be you may be able to connect a resistor across the input on the Nav System. The error might be as simple as is the correct impedance present at the antenna input - might get lucky, If it work you can cut the cable close to the plug and permanently connect the resistor to the wire end + heatshrink etc... If you can't find out what the impedance is you could try common types like 50/75/100 ohms...

Has none + there's a wait-list.

As per title, looking for a M54B30 engine in good condition - long engine ok.

Went with Koni adjustable inserts into standard early model front mounts (with the M3 style swaybar connection) and OE Koni adjustable replacements for the rear from Stocks with Eibach springs all round from a Bilstein B12 kit. It lowered the car to near stock M3 stance within a few mm. I also changed to M3 swaybars and also M3 top hats to increase castor and camber. Massive difference in performance and didn't require a cert for the suspension change because it's all OE equivalent. Thanks to 3Pedals for the advice during the research phase...

Nope, and yes, he appears to be someone who wanted to charge a lot for nothing. I went with Autocerts but he came to Napier. Was $750 all up including travel - cheaper than me going there, especially when I had an initial fail which I managed to resolve in 45 minutes while he was still in town...

Keep in mind anything adjustable or not provable as OE equivalent will likely require certification so factor in an additional $750+ If doing a manual conversion, most kits come with with a brake pedal / clutch pedal combo. The minute you touch the brake pedal you now need certification (if detected by the person doing a warrant) - additional cost. Manual conversion may also require driveshaft hoops depending on the certifier. Because of where I live and the rather limited certification options I was forced to do 2 hoops...

Had this issue many years ago. It would happen any time I put the car through a carwash. The issue is due the the join between the air conditioning area and the enclosure for the ECU electronics not having a water baffle. If you get extreme rain or high water ingress into the air conditioner fan area it can't drain away fast enough when the drain tube is even slightly blocked. The water builds up in the air conditioning area and overflows into the ECU enclosure, especially if it's raining really hard and you do hard RH turns. I found this not long after purchasing an E36 - water killed my ECU. Luckily the local BMW (Hastings) let me pilfer parts from other broken ECU's to get mine going. I added a small aluminum baffle between the air conditioning area and ECU enclosure, bogged in with urethane sealant which stopped the water flowing through. Since then I've had no further problems in 18 years. It also means if the air conditioner area drain ever blocks up I'm unlikely to get a flooded ECU...

Given I got similar parts for my car a couple of years ago I suspect these parts will easily be available from BMW. I got the coupe door seals and top window ledge moldings for a 1992 E36 - they had to manufacture them and it took 3 months but I still got the factory original parts. Yours are for a much newer car and should be easy to get by comparison. Given the age of my car and the fact they had to do a specific manufacturing run to make the parts + ship to NZ the cost was actually pretty darn reasonable.

Done, gone-burgers a week or so ago. The bits are still sitting on the drive next to where I park my car. Rubbish day tomorrow so I night pick them up and put them in the bin to go out... Actually, I hope you don't mean the car ?? 😉

I drove my donor diff to Auckland from Napier for Kayne to do my conversion. It's awesome and I've never looked back. You want a good diff, take to Kayne... Shipping would have been way cheaper but it was a good drive 🙂

Nope, the main shaft is broken - the problem has absolutely nothing to do with the barrel spinning (see photos above showing the broken main shaft). If it was a barrel problem I'd be happy. It's not!! It's spinning because the main shaft is broken, period, no other problem - please read and view the photo's above... This is a 30 year old car and the problem is not the usual barrel related issue.

Will you sell bits separately?

Have decided not to use RFID or a smart key as these can be easy to duplicate unless high levels of encryption or time of flight measurement are used. Instead I'm going to use a USB memory key with a SHA256 encrypted code stored on it based of the USB memory device serial and other hardware characteristics plus my secret key. The ARM will have the secret key stored in it and will be able to create the encrypted key data it expects to get from the USB stick based on the USB stick's hardware credentials. This way any USB stick can be used and a new one can be created at any time without having to update the car end. This way any USB memory stick can be used as long as it's prepared in a PC with my secret key used to encode the data kept on the USB stick. That way nobody else can duplicate the key unless they now my secret key. It also means anyone else can us the same method and have their own secret key for encryption. Ultra high plug/unplug count USB3 type A sockets are available (>20k) which will replace the key slot. By using a USB stick that's really small and light and unplugs from my key-ring it can sit in the USB socket with no fatigue from vibration while the key-ring can sit in the console. If the USB key is plugged in then ACC will be active immediately. Then a single press of the Start/Stop button then holding the start button for 2s OR just holding the button for 2.5s will put the ignition into RUN followed by START. Removing the USB stick will immediately put everything into STOP.

No, it's the main shaft - appears I need photo's to prove it. How it should be: How it is - main shaft sheared in two. This is non-repairable and the way the steering column goes together it's most likely a replacement part can't be extracted / fitted. Even if it could it would be old and fatigued.

Yes, way overkill but it's now my minimum platform for anything. I'd likely use a Teensy 4.0 under-clocked from 600MHz down to 24-40MHz with core undervolt as well. The Teensy 3.6/4.0/4.1 are my small platform devices now with the Xylinx Zynq 7020 / 7100 being my usual. Would be possible to have multiple configuration options with hardware jumper selecting...

Thanks but mine is ok - it's the inner mechanism that's broken (see above) and it looks like the broken bits can't be replaced easily. Everyone I've talked to says the whole mechanism needs to be replaced which means breaking the shear bolts. Not keep on this - possibly quite expensive to go new and second-hand parts probably won't have decent life. Today I hack-sawed the bottom of the steering lock area off and extracted the bits that the spring pushes up to lock the steering wheel. Now there's no possibility of it ever engaging while driving. The key area is now a completely hollow tube. I've also discovered another set of switch contacts on the ignition block that create a fused 12V supply for the park light system when everything else is off. So I need to add another relay to cater for this switch. I was going to try to implement the system using discrete logic but have now decided to use a low-power ARM chip instead. It needs 25mA @ 3.3V which equates to about 9mA draw from the battery. That's probably only a little more than the self-discharge rate of the battery and won't be a problem unless the car is parked up for 4 months+. I'm also flipping and flopping between a proximity key and pin keypad and can't decide yet which way to go. Using a pin means I'll have to give the pin to people for servicing the car. If using an ARM uP I can always create a service pin which can be enabled and disabled as required so my pin is something only I know.

Thanks, already have a PN532 kit left over from some old projects and had discounted using because it's way too big and too power hungry. The fobs aren't very pretty either. Was hoping to find something good looking in-line with BMW styling. Arduino stuff can be a bit flaky too and libraries often need to be modified to work properly. I only briefly flirted with the PN532 kit - got it working ok but didn't test it in anger for stability or functionality. My preference is also for a proximity type key similar to what's used in fairly new cars (the type you keep in your pocket). However, happy to collaborate or do all the work and you can piggy-back off what I do. In my case I need something fairly urgently so I can replace the screwdriver with a proper solution. Do you have any specific needs? After starting to design the logic for sequencing the start/stop button functionality I've revised the original as I've found a minor improvement: Security 1. Use a Nearfield RFID device plugged into a hole/slot on the dashboard. 2. Use a proximity RF security device like many modern card so you can keep your key in your pocket (likely my preferred). 3. Keypad with pin code. Either of these enables the electronics that start the car. Then there's two modes the system could operate in; Auto ACC and non Auto ACC - a switch on the dash will select between the modes. Non Auto ACC Mode: 1. The electronics get enabled by the security device. 2. Press the Start/Stop Button once - ACC position activated. 3. Press the Start/Stop Button a second time - the RUN position is activated, hold for 2 seconds more to start, skip step 4. 4. Hold the Start/Stop Button for 2s, engine cranks, internal engine running signal activated. 5. Hold the Start/Stop button for 2s, switch off RUN and ACC if the internal engine running signal is active. Now only 2 presses to start. Auto ACC Mode: 1. The electronics get enabled by the security device and the ACC position is immediately activated. 2. Press the Start/Stop Button once - the RUN position is activated, hold for 2 seconds more to start, skip step 3. 3. Hold the Start/Stop Button for 2s, engine cranks, internal engine running signal activated. 4. Hold the Start/Stop button for 2s, switch off RUN and ACC if the internal engine running signal is active. Now only one press to start.