turbolizard

Get yourself an adjustable strap wrench - they are really useful to have in the tool box and pretty cheap. They are a handle with a piece of rubber belt attached (like a strip of cam belt without the teeth). The loose end threads back through the handle, pull the strap tight, grip the whole thing and turn. Once you own one you will find a new use for it every week.

I got Brembo from BNT also (Mt Maunganui) - prices were pretty reasonable.

Yep - pretty amazing coincidence. Thanks for your advice. There is a lot of conflicting information out there and the various tyre experts do not agree - you talked a lot of sense, with reasons to back up your views. After our discussion I got a local price on Adrenaline RE001 ($330), but the guy there tried very hard to sell me on Toyo T1R at $290. I have still not finally decided and wondered if I should throw Dunlop SP Sport Maxx into the mix as they have a higher load rating and are directional so I can flip them. I was starting to lean that way due to the load rating, but Apex says above that they are discontinued too - arrggggh. As it is Goodyear will probably lose a loyal customer by droppung the GSD3 - I would have been happy to try the new Goodyear, but they do not come in the right size - frustrating. As others have pointed out above - staggered not always a plus.

I currently have 255/40 17 Goodyear Eagle F1 GSD3 on the rear of a 540i6. I like them. Rear camber wears the inside of the tyres, so I get them flipped to get more life. This is possible because they are directional. Unfortunately, they are basically no longer available. In the past I have also used Continetal SportContact2. These were also good, but really expensive, and could not be flipped as they are assymetric. However, wear was not really that bad compared to flipped GSD3. They just cost too much. I have seen some reviews of the new Eagle F1 assymmetric that suggests they work better with rear camber than GSD3 despite being assymetric - perhaps beefier sidewall or tread on inside?? Dealer suggets I use Dunlop Direzza as a (directional) replacement. I'm tempted to try Eagle F1 assymmetric - anyone have any thoughts, or even better - experience, on this issue? Also, if you have new GSD3 in 255/40 17 in your garage I'm keen to talk.

If you cannot get the heatshrink on due to the layout of the loom then "Liquid Electrical Tape" is pretty useful after the joint is soldered. This stuff is like liquid plastic (or really thick paint) with some sort of solvent. It drys flexible and will build up a nice coating with 2 or 3 coats. You can get it at marine stores.

Strangely, I was in Yosemite last Thursday and took some similar photos on my phone. It was a spur of the moment visit and the autumn weather was fantastic. On Friday I was up at Tahoe, warm and perfect day with some of the snow from the previous weekend on the ground. Stumbled on a car show at at the North end (Kings Beach), where there were some very nice rods and a fantastic 57 Chev with LS1.

There is at least one 1994 NZ new that is not technoviolet - it is in my garage... Mine is Oxford Green with light grey interior, rear spoiler, shadowline etc and on Style 5's with the stagger. Similar to others, it has no badges. It is a nicely speced car and still feels tight as a drum. I have put over 100,000km on it since I bought it with 140k on it. It is a really great car, easy to maintain, easy on gas (in my opinion - uses less than my turbo Legacy) and worth more to me than to the rest of the market so is not for sale. In the past I have had thoughts of selling it to buy an e39 M5, but for the 10k I might get today I would keep mine. I think the estimates of 10-15k are probably about right - but just try finding someone (other than your uncle) who has one they are willing to sell. Not easy.

Has anyone done this (changing LEDs) to the face of a stereo head unit? I have blue lighting in my head unit and would like it to be orange like the rest of my instruments. Even if it was not so bright it would be better.

I have had a similar problem with my e34 540, only ever after it has been running, and much more likely to be a problem on a hot day. All the lights come up, battery is good, but starter does NOTHING. I suspect a relay or solenoid but have not found it, although I have not looked hard as it was a very rare problem (say once a year). It started a couple of years ago and has recently got worse so I'm getting more interested in what is going on. It gets embarrasing having to ask for a push (it is a manual and starts easy with a push).

Can someone explain why strectched tyres are so popular? I'm not trying to bag anyones look, I'm just curious - to me the look and performance of the car would be better with the same tyres and narrower rims. Most appearance modifications are based in performance. For example, spoilers, lowering etc are based on mods that increase race car performance, even if the actual performance on a road car makes only a cosmetic difference. Wide wheels are a racing derived appearance modification but very stretched tyres are not normal on race cars and it is detrimental to performance. Is the aim just to get the biggest possible rim lip on the car and too bad about the tyres, or is it a cool look all in itself? As I said at the start - I just don't get it and I have been a car enthusiat for many years - I know this means I'm now old as.

I am scrapping the darkest regions of my memory banks here but I think there can be a problem with internal seals within the gearbox that allow pressurised fluid to get places it should not be, causing problems like this. Some ZF auto gearboxes are affected if I remember right. Hopefully someoone with more recent experience may be able to assist.

In the end I put a new Sony head unit in, so that I could still use the Sony Bus (Unilink) to run my CD changer and the original amp etc without much work. It was relatively easy to reconfigure the wiring for a new unit. It is all working again now and I'm pretty happy with an easy fix, until this new Sony head unit dies I guess. I got one that is basically black and has conservative styling so it fits in OK. The only thing I don't like is the display and buttons don't match the rest of the instruments so well (blue not orange) and are too bright. Thanks for the helpful pointers guys.

Will check antenna amp as described but guessing I may need new head unit (at least). What other units might fit with minimum mods? Anything with unilink to run CD I guess. Not looking forward to doing much re-wiring. If it becomes a lot of effort I might be better with a more complete upgrade, although I prefer total stock appearing.

Thanks for the ideas. I have been playing around with the audio today and it has other faults too. I guess I have not been paying full attention to the faults as I now cannot get the radio to work with another wire plugged into the antenna input, on FM or AM. Front channels are also playing up. Did a bit more reading today on head unit which is Sony XR-U550, with CD changer in boot. Seems like these have died in many other cars too - I may have to rethink.

The FM reception in my OEM radio has stopped working. AM and CD is fine. Does anyone know if this is likely a fault in the head unit or in the antenna? From reading elsewhere I understand there is some kind of antenna amplifier in the car and wonder if that might be the problem, as it is only the FM that stopped working. I know it would probably be easier, cheaper and better to just buy a new head unit but the car is an NZ new e34 540 6speed and I would like to keep it original if I can.

My wife always gets the 540. I am left with 94 Legacy GT.

I have aan e34 540 and did a couple of things that greatly improved the steering. 1. I tightened the adjusting nut on the steering column that allows the wheel to telescope in and out - this helped a bit. 2. I adjusted the steering box to remove backlash on centre. This made a huge difference to straight line tracking and turn in. I think I may have had to jack the engine off the mounts to do this as it was quite hard to get to but was well worth the effort. I found some info on the net describing what to do - will try and find for you if you cannot. I'm not absolutely certain this also applies to e39 540, but recirculating ball steering is used on the v8 e39 so there is a good chance.

I was initially put off the concept of the M5 because of stuff like electronic damping, which is hugely expensive to repair if it has problems. The fact that my e34 just has the stock sport suspension actually made it more appealing to me when I bought it. However, I had also figured a e39 540 manual might be quite a $$$ saving compared to M5 if I could find one (initial purchase and servicing). Perhaps driving an M5 would settle it - I have not tried one. When I got my e34 540 I was pretty sure I would be happy with an auto, until I drove the manual. I am sure an M5 is hard to put aside after you have tried it.

Interesting thoughts on 540 vs. M5. My current car is an e34 540 6 speed that I have owned for 4 years and I have been very happy with what it delivers and what it has cost me. It is easy to work on and parts cost is not too bad for regular stuff. I have to admit to being a bit terrified of M5 parts costs and doing work on it myself, which I have no concern on my e34.

Does anyone know of any e39 540 with 6 speed manual in NZ? These seem to be quite common in the USA but I have never seen one here - I would be real interested in one as a less complex alternative to M5.