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Glenn @B.M.W Ltd, does the 3 series Haynes manual for e36 cover the M42? If so, I'll take it please.

@B.M.W Ltd no worries, my first pictures were poor and totally different angles ?

@B.M.W Ltd Cheers Glenn - bugger - will get it sorted

@B.M.W Ltd this one? need it to mount a painted ABS plastic spoiler on the boot https://www.bunnings.co.nz/bear-outdoor-mounting-tape-16mmx1-8m-auto-trim_p0729873 I did find this one for $29.90 + gst for 18m length https://panelstore.co.nz/products/3m-automotive-acrylic-plus-attachment-tape-06382-black

@B.M.W Ltdare you looking to sell the 1/43 M3 GT-R? I could be interested if you PM a price. If not - nice model, looks much better quality than the one I already have.

@B.M.W Ltd yeah , strange the owner before me had the shop do the fluid and filter but not the seals under the mechatronics unit. I guess they weren't BMW specialist. So by all adaptions you mean transmission adaptions or transmission and the other ECU adaptions too in power train. Cheers

@B.M.W Ltd Thanks

@B.M.W Ltd its got a M54 engine

If you don't want to change the fluid and take the cover off then Glenn (B.M.W. Ltd)'s method above is spot on, not too hard a way to check your ratio and pretty reliable. Might not tell you if it's definately an LSD as wheels will turn together for an open case diff in the same way if there is nothing binding in the diff or axles, but will definately give you an accurate measure of your ratio. Tags on diffs often get changed or lost, so it's not always 100% that the tag reflects whats inside the diff housing. Seen some sneaky ones where "S" tags have been put on open case LSDs to sell them, never the other way around though.

http://bimmersport.co.nz/search/?&q=B.M.W LTD&page=2&search_and_or=or&sortby=relevancy

@B.M.W LtdApparently the OBD2 scanner can reset lots of service/maintenance including TPMS - think I'll just ask the seller the question. Hate the idea of buying and asking for refunds if it does not work I'm in the Franklin area btw.... and thanks for the reply.....

I cleaned and tested all the injectors when I replaced the orings, and also used a bottle of injector cleaner in the tank. There are no exhaust leaks. @B.M.W Ltd - do you have any advice on what it could be?

@B.M.W Ltd In your opinion, do you think something like timecerts or helicoils would be good options for a performance engine build, even if the block tested fine?

John, as we discussed, there are videos out there showing imperically that helicoils work far better than timeserts, are cheaper and easier to install. Have a watch of the half hour video I posted in another thread (yeah sorry, it's not a 5 minute job but the guy does a good job explaining what he's doing and why), helicoils FTW every time. Given you now know my history, I have always used, and will always use, helicoils and this video shows why. I've never, ever had a helicoil fail, pull out, or be hard to install. Do some research into the two, helicoils will give you rated pull out strengths etc. etc. Timeserts just tell you "well they should be strong enough" - they don't actually give out any figures that they will stand by. Also, note in the linked thread, Glenn @B.M.W Ltd states very clearly "Just a heads up...if you don't insert them accurately the block will be ruined. The head bolts will pull them out. Most motor re conditioners have their own special set ups to do these accurately and even they can get it wrong... ask me how I know", just another precaution....... As I discussed with you on Wednesday night, do a lot of research before doing anything like this, everyone has opinions based on their experience, some advice given is great, some just needs to be taken with a grain of salt as that person's experience. Either way, helicoil or timesert, there is a chance the block can be damaged. Again though, this is just my opinion, and, like Glenn, more than happy to give you a call whenever suits you to discuss before you decide which way to go.

Yeah I solved that problem by not adopting any more BMWs ? @Arata get this thing compression checked. The symptoms are not convincing for HG failure. Also listen to B.M.W LTD, he's a grumpy old bastard ? but that's because he's been fixing these things since forever.

Hi B.M.W Ltd. Not really sure I'm sorry I'm not a pro mechanic I'm just a dirty chef lol. But if I find anything that I need or use any tools/equipment I'll list up all with more details.

@B.M.W Ltd just one of those Bluetooth viecar things. I have cleared the fault code, the check engine light is off for now . I'm using torque lite, think I need to get the upgrade for live data. What am I checking for?

FIXED! So it turns out the distributor was definitely out of whack, and needed to be re-adjusted, which is annoying as it's such a simple fix but because l-jetronic e30s aren't well-documented nobody mentions this in any guide. Here's where I put it, the tape mark on the side of the distributor is once again the mark where #1 cylinder spark plug wire is. Once again, huge thanks to the people on this forum who helped, especially Glenn from @B.M.W Ltd.

Ok so today, I, unfortunately, got interrupted a few times and only got a small number of things done. I spoke to Glenn @B.M.W Ltd and he was extremely patient and helpful, he gave me some important advice on what I needed to do and I've done some of what he said already, so a huge thank you to him for speaking with me so thoroughly, an absolute legend. Here's where I'm at, I double-checked the #1 wire for resistance using this as a guide: I did this to make sure the wire labeled #1 was in fact #1 and not messed with by a previous owner, a really great idea courtesy of Glenn. It passed this test, #1 wire was connected to Cylinder #1's spark plug. I tried to do this with continuity, but it didn't work, so I switched to the way it's done in the video above. I then placed the engine at TDC and the Rotor arm faces here and turns clockwise, the tape mark on the side of the distributor is where the #1 Spark plug wire would come from on the cap. ( I ran out of twink but this way you can see it dead on and the mark all in one) Is this too worn to work? Does the timing look to be about right? I also noticed there was a vacuum line not going to this, I didn't check if it had one going to it other than the one missing, but if it only has one outlet then it's missing its vacuum advance line, is this potentially causing a no start, I didn't remove it so I imagine I bought it (running btw) without this. (just want to remind you, that I did for spark on cylinder 1 and it's there) I then did this test This was to see if my cap was faulty, I left all other wires connected, besides the #1 wire. I got no readings, even if I put one of the probes on the contact point for #1 on the inside and on the outside of #1 where the wire could connect, I got nothing in either test. I'm not versed at all when it comes to caps or rotors so my style of cap might not be susceptible to this test, or the fact that it's still connected to other wires maybe interfering. Either way, I'd love to hear your thoughts if you know anything more about Caps + Rotors. (just want to remind you, that I did for spark on cylinder 1 and it's there) I then was asked by someone to see if the cam lobe was up in cylinder #1 when at tdc, it's not (at least I think) here's that photo: Was asked the same but when the rotor arm is towards cylinder #6 and to slightly crank it, here's that video: So yeah, not too much progress today, but I thought I'd keep this updated so that if anyone has similar issues they can see what I did to (hopefully ahaha) fix this. Any input is greatly appreciated. Thank for the help already too.

@B.M.W Ltd you said it hadn't even had it's first oil change yet. What are the service intervals for these? Hyundai is doing some nice blues nowadays.

Thanks again for the chat @B.M.W Ltd. My interest in cars is fairly recent and I'm still learning, so I really do appreciate people like you going out of your way to give me advice. @M3AN Thanks again for the offer. After giving it some more thought for now I'm going to hold off on flashing the car until I've done a bit more research and sorted any potential issues with the battery or other components.

Very good point from @B.M.W Ltd there - something I was warned about when I put a fully aluminium radiator in but had since forgotten. Don't offer it up as a possible explanation though.

It was a slow leak but yep, once it got low if made funky sounds. Got the rack back in... wouldn't say it slid right in but a little bit of 'encouragement' sorted it... about 1.6 turns from centre to lock on each side so I think it's close enough to correct. Tie rods and temp alignment with a measuring tape and string tomorrow before a trip to a proper shop next week... assuming no leaks! Thanks to @B.M.W Ltd, @C-130 Hercules and @aja540i for chiming in so quickly with your helpful advice!

OK, the oil change is done! By god that was an ordeal though. The whole slabs-of-wood thing was a total ball-ache as I knew it would be, and resulted in a sub-optimal draining because I couldn't get the back raised as much as the front (I stuffed up on the jack specs). On the upside, I did manage to get the front high enough to fit my axle stands underneath as failsafes (i.e. not positioned in a good spot to take actual load, but sitting underneath a strong enough point to save my life, albeit it would do a bit of damage to the underbelly pan but that'd still beat having my skull crushed). Things I learned: The oil was pretty dirty. Not the worst I've seen (i.e. when I was a teenager with no income and my old beater cars would have pretty nasty black looking waste oil). Don't know what the last owner's mechanics put in it, or if they just lied and didn't change the oil... but if I believe their windscreen sticker then the oil was changed only 6200km ago. Seems a bit suss to me. Maybe the previous owner flogged it particularly hard or tracked it. I also noticed when I drained my oil drain pan that it seemed like the bottom layer of oil on the bottom of the pan was particularly viscous compared to the rest of the waste oil I'd poured out. Hard to know as it had had 2 hours worth of cooling. I stuffed up when I bought the smaller jack (I went for a 1350kg one for using on the rear of the car, mainly out of stupid cheapskatedness) - I thought its max lifting height was the same as my bigger jack, but I mis-read the label - its max height is 50mm lower. So that meant I couldn't get more than 1 wood-slab under the rear wheels, and that meant the rear of the car was 90mm lower than the front. As I waited for the oil to finish draining, I thought about ways to get the back end level with the front, thought of a couple of ways, and nearly tried one before realising that as I had no wheel-chocks, it would be suicidal as the rear would be off the blocks momentarily and the car could (worst-case) roll forward or backward. The garage floor is level, but who wants to take the risk? (and stupid of me for not buying chocks in any case). I was surprised how far down that filter-housing cavity goes (the small 8-10mm hole that holds a seemingly infinitely deep pool of old oil. Next time I'll get a turkey-baster. Even though today's lifting method didn't optimally drain the sumps completely, now that I know how bad the old oil was, I'm still glad I did it. I'm going on a road trip WLG to AKL early next week and I couldn't find any (competent) mechanics who could change the oil before then - so this is still a better situation than I was in before hopefully. Other stuff I did - I pre-filled the oil filter housing with a similar amount of fresh oil to the amount of old oil that I'd had to soak up. I also primed the oil filter with fresh oil. I filled it with 8.6L of oil, didn't go for the full 8.8L as I estimate that there might be 100mL still lurking in the sump due to the back end being lower than the front, and I figured I'd probably put about 100mL into the filter housing and the filter itself when priming it. I've never hated the no-dipstick thing more, than when I had to start the engine!! It's a real moment of truth eh! But unlike some of the Youtube videos of this oil change, where their engine makes a pretty horrid rattle for a few seconds after initial startup, mine sounded fine.. So I took it for a (ridiculously gentle) drive then when the oil was hot enough and the iDrive started saying "measuring oil level", found a flat level street and idled whilst it did that. And boom, I got it pretty spot on - it's exactly halfway between min and max, with no warnings to add more. I turned the engine off on that same flat street, oil at approx 100ºC and restarted it to get another measurement - same result. Drove it back home and tidied everything up. Started it again to put it in the garage and let it take another reading - same result. Will give it a few days then add another 200mL or so to see if I can get it closer to the max line (if only to dilute that old crappy ~100mL of oil I couldn't get out!) So the main lesson learned is that my way was a sucky way to do it, but that I'm still glad I got it done so my car has at least 98% fresh oil in it, and a fresh filter - better than nothing, and really great to break the seal on this job, which I was finding daunting - it's so different changing the oil on a high tech expensive (for me) vehicle like this, compared to the old dungers I worked on in my teens and twenties. Service-time is coming up in a months or so, so I'll get the oil changed again then, and that should hopefully get the last of the previous owner's crappy oil out. I know it probably seems retarded to change the oil so soon before a service, but I knew the old oil would be sh** and I didn't want to torture my new baby any longer, given that I'm going on a 2000km road trip. Thanks heaps for all the pointers about jacking - the fact that I went ahead and did it my way anyway does *not* mean that I dismissed or didn't value your advice - I specifically posted about my jacking plans to get your valuable feedback (and avoid death). I took it all onboard and thought carefully about your suggestions but was constrained mainly due to timeframes vs availability of better jacks/etc. I think next time I want to be able to get it onto 4x axle stands, to get more of the oil out. Will check out those links @B.M.W Ltd - cheers. Thankyou all for your help and for making it all the way through this long post ?

Thank you B.M.W Ltd. The dealer just contacted me and offered to have it fixed at a mechanic close to me. Good on them! Hopefully they can diagnose it with no CEL!