hotwire 352 Report post Posted May 12, 2015 Great score! Has cleaned up nicely. That blue is looking much more appealing having been cleaned. I could certainly imaging it growing on you. I would though - update the monitor to 16:9 Whoever has towed the car by the control arm deserves having a rope around them & being towed! 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BreakMyWindow 1874 Report post Posted May 12, 2015 Agree Alpina softlines with a mild suspension drop would look the biz. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kulgan 1042 Report post Posted May 12, 2015 Imagine cleaning the Alpina'ss though! The RC's are bad enough... And that bent link! Alignment out much lol. Agree Alpina softlines with a mild suspension drop would look the biz. This would be my end goal. So it could look like this Or this. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Apex 693 Report post Posted May 13, 2015 My neighbour as a kid had that exact looking car. Was done by BMW NZ and he had it new. Was lush. Had 18" wheels when 16" wheels were considered big. I wonder where it ended up. I knew that blue interior would look good all cleaned up. Keep up the good work.. Is it bad I am actually jealous that you get to clean it, its quite enjoyable taking years of crap off a car. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
qube 3570 Report post Posted May 13, 2015 How come the headlights are different in those two cars? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KwS 2425 Report post Posted May 13, 2015 top one is facelift 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kulgan 1042 Report post Posted May 13, 2015 How come the headlights are different in those two cars? 95 to 97 had the flat bottomed lights the 98 to 01 had the facelift lights. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
qube 3570 Report post Posted May 13, 2015 ah ha i see! i also just noticed (looking back at your pictures and your sig) that your two e38's have the different headlights too. i cant decide which is better Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kulgan 1042 Report post Posted May 14, 2015 (edited) Spent most of today taking off the window tints as they were apparently to dark to pass the WOF. Went and saw a window tinter to ask if there was a easy way to do this and he said just rip it if then use paint grease remover to soften the glue and gently scrape it off the windows. Did this on three of the side windows and got fed up. What a prick of a job. I figured there had to be a easier way so I googled it. And there is a easier way. Much easier. Get yours or your wifes hairdryer and heat a corner of the tint. Gently and slowly peel back the tint heating it as you go. 95%of the glue came away on the tint leaving me a very few small bits that were easy to clean. I'm so glad I found this before I started in the back window. So, All the tint removed today. Booked it into the local auto electrician for next week to get the steering angle sensor reset. Edited May 14, 2015 by kulgan Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
qube 3570 Report post Posted May 14, 2015 it doesnt look that dark in the pics? are you gonna get it re-tinted? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kulgan 1042 Report post Posted May 14, 2015 it doesnt look that dark in the pics? are you gonna get it re-tinted? The window tint guy said they were ok but the testing station failed them. They were old and looking pretty sad anyway. I'll definitely get them tinted again. I think it looks good on the silver car. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jeffbebe 1559 Report post Posted May 14, 2015 Agree Alpina softlines with a mild suspension drop would look the biz.Better start saving! The last set of 18"+ deep dish softlines I saw for sale went for around US$4k. Plus... Get in line!! Haha Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kulgan 1042 Report post Posted May 21, 2015 (edited) Little update. Had it in to the auto electrician today to have the Steering angle sensor reset. Cleared the codes and it immediately came back so the sensor has an internal fault and cant be reset. Damn. Have to order a new one and it needs to be coded to the car and can only be done at a BMW dealership. Bonus was having it out for a drive today in the cold weather and remembering it has heated seats. What a nice little extra. My passenger and I roasted our derrieres whist cruising around town. Edited May 21, 2015 by kulgan 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gaz 1060 Report post Posted May 21, 2015 Bonus was having it out for a drive today in the cold weather and remembering it has heated seats. What a nice little extra. My passenger and I roasted our derrieres whist cruising around town. Best option ever on leather seats 2 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
allan 295 Report post Posted May 21, 2015 Found this might give you some idea of what is required These on ebay http://www.ebay.com/bhp/bmw-steering-angle-sensor best of luck. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
M5V8 337 Report post Posted May 21, 2015 was that checker pattern inlaid in the door wood trim standard? looks very bespoke. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BreakMyWindow 1874 Report post Posted May 22, 2015 Best option ever on leather seats Good for keeping takeaways warm too. 3 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kulgan 1042 Report post Posted May 22, 2015 (edited) Found this might give you some idea of what is required These on ebay http://www.ebay.com/bhp/bmw-steering-angle-sensor best of luck. Cheers for that. I found this one on amazon. http://www.amazon.com/BMW-Stability-Control-Steering-Original/dp/B00KCXZM5I/ref=pd_sim_sbs_263_1/181-1686327-0781463?ie=UTF8&refRID=0ZEZB7R7V4BT723BFC64 was that checker pattern inlaid in the door wood trim standard? looks very bespoke. It was an optional extra for individuals. Very rare in the E38's. Good for keeping takeaways warm too. ha ha. Hadn't thought of that. Edited May 22, 2015 by kulgan Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DC3 46 Report post Posted May 22, 2015 Looks like you got a great car there Dave, cleaning it up and making it your own. There's an article in the April BMWCar mag on the very same model which is worth a look. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kulgan 1042 Report post Posted May 22, 2015 Looks like you got a great car there Dave, cleaning it up and making it your own. There's an article in the April BMWCar mag on the very same model which is worth a look. Cheers. That was a good read. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kulgan 1042 Report post Posted May 25, 2015 3 Auto electricians later and none can reset the Steering angle sensor. Apparently the cars to old for their new computers. It'll be a trip over to the BMW dealership in Palmerston north next week. Frustrating... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
andrewm 236 Report post Posted May 25, 2015 3 Auto electricians later and none can reset the Steering angle sensor. Apparently the cars to old for their new computers. It'll be a trip over to the BMW dealership in Palmerston north next week. Frustrating... No one on the board near you with a cable and bmw diagnostic software? Does it stay on or does it come on shortly after driving? I had steering angle errors after changing control arms and the steering wheel was a few degress off until I got an alignment then it went away permanently, bmw e39 should be similar. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kulgan 1042 Report post Posted May 25, 2015 No one on the board near you with a cable and bmw diagnostic software? Does it stay on or does it come on shortly after driving? I had steering angle errors after changing control arms and the steering wheel was a few degress off until I got an alignment then it went away permanently, bmw e39 should be similar. It's on permanently. I have changed a bent control arm so I guess a alignment should be mandatory. I'll book it in and see if it makes a difference. Thanks. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
andrewm 236 Report post Posted May 25, 2015 Ah when I had steering angle issues the light would come on after a minute of driving each time. I've read about people with it permanently on just running the steering angle calibration in INPA and getting rid of it. Cheaper to get a cable and download INPA than a trip to the dealership and you get the cable to keep, as long as you have a laptop. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kulgan 1042 Report post Posted May 28, 2015 Wheel allignment done yesterday after work. Drives nice and straight though to be honest it did before..lol They couldn't plug thier machine in to reset the Steering angle sensor so it looks like it'll be a trip to Palmerston North after all. Not that taking the car for a long drive will be a chore..ha ha. I'm going to look at getting a cheap laptop,cable and INPA. This ole dogs gonna have to learn some new tricks. So far it's cost me at least $50 every time I've had it plugged into someones computer only to be told they cant do anything with it. One place was able to see and clear all the codes but couldn't reset the sensor. Asked them what the other codes were and he said they didn't seem important so he just cleared them. Duh... Makes a lot of sense to get that laptop and INPA now. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
