My E36 328i coupe
Discussion
WARNING! EXTREMELY LONG POST AHEAD.
Here we have my new car! I've wanted a 328i for a while so when the opportunity to change car arose I snapped it up!
My old steed
My new (and another one of my old)
I received loads of help and advice from Ph'ers and 6 months or so after starting the thread below I finally bought a car!
:- http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
Unfortunately the journey to buy it wasn't as smooth as it could have been...
Here we have my new car! I've wanted a 328i for a while so when the opportunity to change car arose I snapped it up!
My old steed
My new (and another one of my old)
I received loads of help and advice from Ph'ers and 6 months or so after starting the thread below I finally bought a car!
:- http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
Unfortunately the journey to buy it wasn't as smooth as it could have been...
The Nur said:
Well, to say the long, long, boring, awful journey to Prestatyn and back was a waste of time would be a lie. In the sense that the base objective was to venture to Prestatyn, purchase a car and then return to Swansea it was a huge success. In the sense that we ventured to Prestatyn, purchased a car and then managed to both return in the same car we set off in, it was a waste of time.
As mentioned the journey up was long, long, boring and awful. Rather than drive directly north, through the hilly bit in the middle of Wales and through the really quite terrible weather in the aforementioned hilly bit, we decided upon the motorway route. Down the M4, blah, blah, M5, M6 then west, or something along those lines. Traffic wasn't that bad until we approached Birmingham, when it ceased to move at all. After a good while we were freed but our light and fuel was diminishing faster than we had planned for. In a way this was the beginning of the end but being particularly excited to view the car blinded me to this, even though I had niggling doubts. The chap was very helpful on the phone. Seemed knowledgeable, appeased all my fears without prompting and didn't mind f we arrived late as he wasn't going out. In contrast to the other 328i I had looked to buy the guy was a revelation.
I should probably mention that we left Swansea at 18.30 with the intention of getting to Prestatyn for around 22.00, catching the last of the light in the process, leaving a calm drive back down quiet motorways at night. Lovely. Quite how we thought we would make the 270 miles in 3 and a bit hours without hitting a single bit of traffic or any other appreciable delay is beyond me, I put it down to blind enthusiasm on my part, I can make no excuses for Kelvin.
Having broken free of the jam in Birmingham, the pressure was on to make up time. The E.T.A on the sat-nav showed 22.30, we were on time, or so we thought. Time was going by and the seller was getting anxious, calling every hour or so to ensure that we were still coming, that we knew where we were going, that we weren't lost, etc. Even though we were making decent progress the two readings on the sat-nav display didn't quite match up. The distance remaining and the ETA just didn't seem to be shrinking/getting nearer... b
ks, the sat-nav is/is not on daylight savings time, we had been working off a wrong clock for 3 hours, even though we both had watches, phones and a clock on the dash... Again, quite how neither of us noticed this the whole way there is beyond me.
After the debacle that was our journey to Prestatyn we rocked up to this bloke's house at 23.30, fashionably late. The obligatory "We are on your road, which is your house?" phonecall had the fat mongoloid of the abode stood outside in the rain, waving furiously like a window licker at a jubilee celebration, his gut hanging from beneath his stained, too short, polo shirt like a spacehopper precariously perched upon the edge of a pair of jeans full of st with a wk blanket thrown over it. An attractive man he was not.
We begin to look over the car, admittedly the light was supplied by street lighting, torches and head torches but a bloody good look over was had (well, as bloody good a look over as could be had). Everything seemed above board, Nikasil recall completed at 50k, recent top mounts, struts etc on the rear, even talk of the copper lines having been renewed two years ago... The tear in the leather was, as advertised, right on the seam and looks like a job for my friendly neighbourhood car interior specialist... The bonnet has lacquer peeling, not too big a problem really, nothing that bothers me anyway. The rear arches are starting to bubble, a job for friendly neighbourhood bodywork dude, not a problem. So really, just little jobs that aren't really too pertinent to the everyday operation of the car. All the electrics work perfectly, the back/passenger seat/s look practically unused, and the car is generally very tidy. Top strip of pixels on the dash fading but they come back after 10 minutes so I can live with that for now. Looking good so far.
After a perusal of the documentation available with the car, (many mot's, 16 stamps in the book, receipts, etc) the time comes to have a cheeky test drive and see how she feels. On the test drive she felt great, the front end a little lighter than I was expecting. I was expecting the nose to feel very different to how it does for some reason, when moving the steering goes surprisingly light. The suspension felt good, no clunks, creaks, squeaks, rattles or anything else of that description or similar. The engine was strong, pleasingly vocal when prodded and the brakes were ok. The bloke had it on a limited mileage policy so I imagined at the time that a little use would free her up a bit, maybe a cheeky oil change and a filter.
We sign the V5 over, exchange pleasantries and set off, me in front with the sat-nav, Kelvin behind. We stop at a petrol station to fuel up for the way ahead and once again set off for home, a long 270 mile trip ahead.
About 30 miles in to the trip, I snap free from the excitement of a RWD virgin (except for a LWB Merc Sprinter about 7 years ago, and the occasional movement of my Grandfathers C class when I wash the car) to glance at the petrol gauge. In an alarmingly short amount of time it has made it's way to 3/4 full. Admittedly I had been enjoying the rev range for a little bit when the rain calmed a little and put it down to that, even though deep inside I knew that the amount used couldn't possibly relate to my driving. At the time I thought that perhaps the fuel gauge had over read slightly after filling and had now settled down. I dismiss negative thoughts for the time being and concentrate on controlling the back end as it gradually gets looser, looser and looser still, tramlining over the white lines during lane changes and giving no confidence on the bends of the motorway, taken at 70mph whilst really rather eager to get the hell home. Stupid boy.
Another short period of time goes by, I check the gauge again. I do a double take, wondering how another quarter tank of fuel could have made it's way out of the tank over a space of 35 miles. The weather had worsened by now, I had been taking my time, surely I am not responsible for this, and if so, what is? Kelvin and I carried on our occasional conversation over the two way radios we had brought with us for the trip. Joking about how bloody scary it was to drive in these conditions in a RWD car (that really likes wet junctions), trying not to think about the long trip ahead. Another 30 miles passes and I check the gauge again, again it reads a further 1/4 down. Something is definitely wrong. The back end is getting looser.
I pull in to the services and check underneath the car. No leaks of fuel, nothing at all visible that would suggest that there is anything wrong. Strange. After a quick debate about the merits of calling the RAC, I foolishly decide that I will top up, and try again. By this point, [please note that it is 2am and I am pretty exhausted, we had not meant for this trip to be this long, we were expecting to be be home by now...). I get into the car and notice the smell of petrol. Considering I had just filled the car and I normally drive a cabrio I thought the smell would diminish after a while.
After being fiscally raped for another £77 of fuel (bd motorway service station prices) we continue on, a few miles driving out of the garage and the cloud cover is broken, the rain stops and we hit dry(ish) road. Wonderful, although the back is still loose. The radio chirps up :- "Kirb, pull into the services ahead." The tone in his voice indicated that something was wrong.
My approach to the services was unusual as it was sideways. Thankfully the entrance to the services once you pull of the slip road was massive as once I turned to take the corner, my back end slid around 45 degrees nice and slowly, gliding to a gentle halt, making my bumhole take a nice chomp of the leather seat. Kelvin pulls up next to me, winds his window down and says "You've got a fk off massive fuel leak." Ahh, that explains a lot.
I pull in to the car park (not the garage), ring the RAC and do a little bit of a visual inspection. Nothing. There is rain water but that is to be expected, although there is definitely a sheen of petrol over the back of my car and all over Kelvin's from where he had been following me, wondering why I was kicking off so much spray
Needless to say he now needs to reapply his rain-ex 
So the car doesn't leak when standing, but only when moving, and it especially dumps fuel when being given revs, as you would expect. I imagine (or hope) it is a fuel sender or something like that that has split. Hopefully it shouldn't be too expensive.
Sitting waiting for the RAC we pieced together the chain of events of the night, piecing together why this happened and what. The degradation of traction? The increasing amounts of fuel being pissed on the tyres would definitely explain that, along with the dramatic exits from junctions and shimmying from side to side over cambers and lines in the road. Once we realised that I had essentially driven for 110 miles in the stting down rain with tyres covered in petrol at ~>.6<.8 leptons we broke down in tears laughing. I had been so stupid due to either tiredness, excitement or plain stupidity that I should have been ejected from the road backwards 109.9 miles ago but I wasn't, I was extremely lucky. In some ways I was very lucky last night, I didn't die or stuff the car! I was also very unlucky last night in that I managed to buy what looks like a great car with a huge fault that was practically invisible until I had bought it and buggered off.
The car is currently in a storage yard in Stafford, it is being delivered tomorrow. The RAC are nice chaps and seeing as I was in convoy with a mate who could give me a lift home they offered to put it in storage for the weekend and deliver it back on sunday, as the garages will all be closed by the time it would have got here today anyway. Why I didn't stop earlier, I do not know. I just don't. If I had stopped earlier I wouldn't have got over a hundred miles away from the seller and I could have taken it back. But now I can't.
Oh well, where's the socket set? I've got another shed to set to
ETA: and yes, I have unintentionally written the longest post on PH ever.
But today she was delivered to my drive, given a cheeky spruce up to remove the petrol residue and here she is :-As mentioned the journey up was long, long, boring and awful. Rather than drive directly north, through the hilly bit in the middle of Wales and through the really quite terrible weather in the aforementioned hilly bit, we decided upon the motorway route. Down the M4, blah, blah, M5, M6 then west, or something along those lines. Traffic wasn't that bad until we approached Birmingham, when it ceased to move at all. After a good while we were freed but our light and fuel was diminishing faster than we had planned for. In a way this was the beginning of the end but being particularly excited to view the car blinded me to this, even though I had niggling doubts. The chap was very helpful on the phone. Seemed knowledgeable, appeased all my fears without prompting and didn't mind f we arrived late as he wasn't going out. In contrast to the other 328i I had looked to buy the guy was a revelation.
I should probably mention that we left Swansea at 18.30 with the intention of getting to Prestatyn for around 22.00, catching the last of the light in the process, leaving a calm drive back down quiet motorways at night. Lovely. Quite how we thought we would make the 270 miles in 3 and a bit hours without hitting a single bit of traffic or any other appreciable delay is beyond me, I put it down to blind enthusiasm on my part, I can make no excuses for Kelvin.
Having broken free of the jam in Birmingham, the pressure was on to make up time. The E.T.A on the sat-nav showed 22.30, we were on time, or so we thought. Time was going by and the seller was getting anxious, calling every hour or so to ensure that we were still coming, that we knew where we were going, that we weren't lost, etc. Even though we were making decent progress the two readings on the sat-nav display didn't quite match up. The distance remaining and the ETA just didn't seem to be shrinking/getting nearer... b
ks, the sat-nav is/is not on daylight savings time, we had been working off a wrong clock for 3 hours, even though we both had watches, phones and a clock on the dash... Again, quite how neither of us noticed this the whole way there is beyond me.After the debacle that was our journey to Prestatyn we rocked up to this bloke's house at 23.30, fashionably late. The obligatory "We are on your road, which is your house?" phonecall had the fat mongoloid of the abode stood outside in the rain, waving furiously like a window licker at a jubilee celebration, his gut hanging from beneath his stained, too short, polo shirt like a spacehopper precariously perched upon the edge of a pair of jeans full of s
t with a wk blanket thrown over it. An attractive man he was not.We begin to look over the car, admittedly the light was supplied by street lighting, torches and head torches but a bloody good look over was had (well, as bloody good a look over as could be had). Everything seemed above board, Nikasil recall completed at 50k, recent top mounts, struts etc on the rear, even talk of the copper lines having been renewed two years ago... The tear in the leather was, as advertised, right on the seam and looks like a job for my friendly neighbourhood car interior specialist... The bonnet has lacquer peeling, not too big a problem really, nothing that bothers me anyway. The rear arches are starting to bubble, a job for friendly neighbourhood bodywork dude, not a problem. So really, just little jobs that aren't really too pertinent to the everyday operation of the car. All the electrics work perfectly, the back/passenger seat/s look practically unused, and the car is generally very tidy. Top strip of pixels on the dash fading but they come back after 10 minutes so I can live with that for now. Looking good so far.
After a perusal of the documentation available with the car, (many mot's, 16 stamps in the book, receipts, etc) the time comes to have a cheeky test drive and see how she feels. On the test drive she felt great, the front end a little lighter than I was expecting. I was expecting the nose to feel very different to how it does for some reason, when moving the steering goes surprisingly light. The suspension felt good, no clunks, creaks, squeaks, rattles or anything else of that description or similar. The engine was strong, pleasingly vocal when prodded and the brakes were ok. The bloke had it on a limited mileage policy so I imagined at the time that a little use would free her up a bit, maybe a cheeky oil change and a filter.
We sign the V5 over, exchange pleasantries and set off, me in front with the sat-nav, Kelvin behind. We stop at a petrol station to fuel up for the way ahead and once again set off for home, a long 270 mile trip ahead.
About 30 miles in to the trip, I snap free from the excitement of a RWD virgin (except for a LWB Merc Sprinter about 7 years ago, and the occasional movement of my Grandfathers C class when I wash the car) to glance at the petrol gauge. In an alarmingly short amount of time it has made it's way to 3/4 full. Admittedly I had been enjoying the rev range for a little bit when the rain calmed a little and put it down to that, even though deep inside I knew that the amount used couldn't possibly relate to my driving. At the time I thought that perhaps the fuel gauge had over read slightly after filling and had now settled down. I dismiss negative thoughts for the time being and concentrate on controlling the back end as it gradually gets looser, looser and looser still, tramlining over the white lines during lane changes and giving no confidence on the bends of the motorway, taken at 70mph whilst really rather eager to get the hell home. Stupid boy.
Another short period of time goes by, I check the gauge again. I do a double take, wondering how another quarter tank of fuel could have made it's way out of the tank over a space of 35 miles. The weather had worsened by now, I had been taking my time, surely I am not responsible for this, and if so, what is? Kelvin and I carried on our occasional conversation over the two way radios we had brought with us for the trip. Joking about how bloody scary it was to drive in these conditions in a RWD car (that really likes wet junctions), trying not to think about the long trip ahead. Another 30 miles passes and I check the gauge again, again it reads a further 1/4 down. Something is definitely wrong. The back end is getting looser.
I pull in to the services and check underneath the car. No leaks of fuel, nothing at all visible that would suggest that there is anything wrong. Strange. After a quick debate about the merits of calling the RAC, I foolishly decide that I will top up, and try again. By this point, [please note that it is 2am and I am pretty exhausted, we had not meant for this trip to be this long, we were expecting to be be home by now...). I get into the car and notice the smell of petrol. Considering I had just filled the car and I normally drive a cabrio I thought the smell would diminish after a while.
After being fiscally raped for another £77 of fuel (b
d motorway service station prices) we continue on, a few miles driving out of the garage and the cloud cover is broken, the rain stops and we hit dry(ish) road. Wonderful, although the back is still loose. The radio chirps up :- "Kirb, pull into the services ahead." The tone in his voice indicated that something was wrong.My approach to the services was unusual as it was sideways. Thankfully the entrance to the services once you pull of the slip road was massive as once I turned to take the corner, my back end slid around 45 degrees nice and slowly, gliding to a gentle halt, making my bumhole take a nice chomp of the leather seat. Kelvin pulls up next to me, winds his window down and says "You've got a f
k off massive fuel leak." Ahh, that explains a lot.I pull in to the car park (not the garage), ring the RAC and do a little bit of a visual inspection. Nothing. There is rain water but that is to be expected, although there is definitely a sheen of petrol over the back of my car and all over Kelvin's from where he had been following me, wondering why I was kicking off so much spray
Needless to say he now needs to reapply his rain-ex So the car doesn't leak when standing, but only when moving, and it especially dumps fuel when being given revs, as you would expect. I imagine (or hope) it is a fuel sender or something like that that has split. Hopefully it shouldn't be too expensive.
Sitting waiting for the RAC we pieced together the chain of events of the night, piecing together why this happened and what. The degradation of traction? The increasing amounts of fuel being pissed on the tyres would definitely explain that, along with the dramatic exits from junctions and shimmying from side to side over cambers and lines in the road. Once we realised that I had essentially driven for 110 miles in the s
tting down rain with tyres covered in petrol at ~>.6<.8 leptons we broke down in tears laughing. I had been so stupid due to either tiredness, excitement or plain stupidity that I should have been ejected from the road backwards 109.9 miles ago but I wasn't, I was extremely lucky. In some ways I was very lucky last night, I didn't die or stuff the car! I was also very unlucky last night in that I managed to buy what looks like a great car with a huge fault that was practically invisible until I had bought it and buggered off.The car is currently in a storage yard in Stafford, it is being delivered tomorrow. The RAC are nice chaps and seeing as I was in convoy with a mate who could give me a lift home they offered to put it in storage for the weekend and deliver it back on sunday, as the garages will all be closed by the time it would have got here today anyway. Why I didn't stop earlier, I do not know. I just don't. If I had stopped earlier I wouldn't have got over a hundred miles away from the seller and I could have taken it back. But now I can't.
Oh well, where's the socket set? I've got another shed to set to
ETA: and yes, I have unintentionally written the longest post on PH ever.
The Nur said:
Right, she is here. I have given her a cheeky wash to get the petrol residue off before it caused any lasting damage to the (surprisingly good) paint.
Then, obviously, it started to rain so these pictures aren't the best. The little plastic lens cover has come off the rear case for my phone so the lens has dust all over it so they offer a slightly blurry glimpse into what is in store for The Nur in the foreseeable future.
Note the tear on the seam of the seat bolster of the driver's seat.
Slight ding in the sunroof. About the size of a five pence piece.
Lacquer peel on the bonnet.
More lacquer peel. These photos pf the lacquer really don't show it very well. I shall take some more when it is dry.
More lacquer peel.
Small scratch on passenger side wing.
Little bit of discoloured trim.
Tiny bit of rust.
More rust.
This picture shows the paint match on the rear arch from where it has been done before. About 6 inches of lighter shade all the way around the arch until it gets to original paint. Could be worse.
Same as above.
As for scratches, thankfully there isn't anything to report. The drivers door has had car park dings in it but these have been taken out in a passable fashion, although they are still noticeable if you get the light at the right angle.
All in all, quite a relief if I am honest! I have been thinking the last two days that it will turn up and be a lot worse than it is. Admittedly it isn't perfect but I am happy with the condition it is in for the price.
Now to get that fuel leak fixed...
And so it begins...Then, obviously, it started to rain so these pictures aren't the best. The little plastic lens cover has come off the rear case for my phone so the lens has dust all over it so they offer a slightly blurry glimpse into what is in store for The Nur in the foreseeable future.
Note the tear on the seam of the seat bolster of the driver's seat.
Slight ding in the sunroof. About the size of a five pence piece.
Lacquer peel on the bonnet.
More lacquer peel. These photos pf the lacquer really don't show it very well. I shall take some more when it is dry.
More lacquer peel.
Small scratch on passenger side wing.
Little bit of discoloured trim.
Tiny bit of rust.
More rust.
This picture shows the paint match on the rear arch from where it has been done before. About 6 inches of lighter shade all the way around the arch until it gets to original paint. Could be worse.
Same as above.
As for scratches, thankfully there isn't anything to report. The drivers door has had car park dings in it but these have been taken out in a passable fashion, although they are still noticeable if you get the light at the right angle.
All in all, quite a relief if I am honest! I have been thinking the last two days that it will turn up and be a lot worse than it is. Admittedly it isn't perfect but I am happy with the condition it is in for the price.
Now to get that fuel leak fixed...
Does it have a receipt for water pump replacement? If it hnt been done it's a high risk for failure and it could well take the engine with it.
Some other freebie mods you can do...
1. Cdv delete. Google it, it makes a big difference to driving feel.
2. Golf tee back box mod. Only a tiny bit louder and only under proper load. Just gives it a nicer feel to be in.
Some other freebie mods you can do...
1. Cdv delete. Google it, it makes a big difference to driving feel.
2. Golf tee back box mod. Only a tiny bit louder and only under proper load. Just gives it a nicer feel to be in.
VinceFox said:
Does it have a receipt for water pump replacement? If it hnt been done it's a high risk for failure and it could well take the engine with it.
Some other freebie mods you can do...
1. Cdv delete. Google it, it makes a big difference to driving feel.
2. Golf tee back box mod. Only a tiny bit louder and only under proper load. Just gives it a nicer feel to be in.
It doesn't have the receipt for water pump replacement, no. I know the new pump isn't an expensive part but is it difficult to fit? I would quite like to have a go at it myself if it isn't too difficult and it would be nice to know it was safe for the near future.Some other freebie mods you can do...
1. Cdv delete. Google it, it makes a big difference to driving feel.
2. Golf tee back box mod. Only a tiny bit louder and only under proper load. Just gives it a nicer feel to be in.
I haven't started on the mods yet, I have had a good few recommended in the first pages of the "e36, what to look out for" thread but it is raining at the moment plus I haven't had the fuel leak sorted out so I wouldn't be able to test any of my little alterations. They shall be done though, I'm always after a bit more noise
This one covers the job nicely mate:
http://www.pelicanparts.com/BMW/techarticles/E36-W...
I recommend replacing it, my 328 now has a blown head gasket, and I suspect the little plastic water pump is the root cause of it all.
And chuck out the restrictive oval tube in your airbox too.
Your 328 looks like a tidy example, though nice of the seller to tell you about that fault before you set off eh..
What a wker
http://www.pelicanparts.com/BMW/techarticles/E36-W...
I recommend replacing it, my 328 now has a blown head gasket, and I suspect the little plastic water pump is the root cause of it all.
And chuck out the restrictive oval tube in your airbox too.
Your 328 looks like a tidy example, though nice of the seller to tell you about that fault before you set off eh..
What a wkergetawayturtle said:
This one covers the job nicely mate:
http://www.pelicanparts.com/BMW/techarticles/E36-W...
I recommend replacing it, my 328 now has a blown head gasket, and I suspect the little plastic water pump is the root cause of it all.
And chuck out the restrictive oval tube in your airbox too.
Your 328 looks like a tidy example, though nice of the seller to tell you about that fault before you set off eh.. What a wker
Cheers for that, that is spot on. Should be relatively easy.http://www.pelicanparts.com/BMW/techarticles/E36-W...
I recommend replacing it, my 328 now has a blown head gasket, and I suspect the little plastic water pump is the root cause of it all.
And chuck out the restrictive oval tube in your airbox too.
Your 328 looks like a tidy example, though nice of the seller to tell you about that fault before you set off eh..
What a wkerOval tube in the airbox you say? That will be gone tomorrow.
It was very nice of the seller to let me know before I attempted to drive home. Before we left his house we had told him we were going to drive through mid wales. On friday night. Through the storms, floods and all that jazz with a car that was dumping fuel and no mobile phone reception. b
d. Thankfully we changed our minds and went down the motorway, god knows what would have happened if we hadn't.I am mildly worried that he had the fuel leak investigated then decided that it was too expensive to consider fixing. Hopefully it isn't too severe.
The Nur said:
Cheers for that, that is spot on. Should be relatively easy.
Oval tube in the airbox you say? That will be gone tomorrow.
It was very nice of the seller to let me know before I attempted to drive home. Before we left his house we had told him we were going to drive through mid wales. On friday night. Through the storms, floods and all that jazz with a car that was dumping fuel and no mobile phone reception. bd. Thankfully we changed our minds and went down the motorway, god knows what would have happened if we hadn't.
I am mildly worried that he had the fuel leak investigated then decided that it was too expensive to consider fixing. Hopefully it isn't too severe.
I don't know how someone could just allow another person to drive away in a car which they knew had something dangerously wrong with it like that, I mean there is ommiting truths, then there is taking the piss. I've driven through mid wales before in the pissing rain, it does rather put you on edge Oval tube in the airbox you say? That will be gone tomorrow.
It was very nice of the seller to let me know before I attempted to drive home. Before we left his house we had told him we were going to drive through mid wales. On friday night. Through the storms, floods and all that jazz with a car that was dumping fuel and no mobile phone reception. b
d. Thankfully we changed our minds and went down the motorway, god knows what would have happened if we hadn't.I am mildly worried that he had the fuel leak investigated then decided that it was too expensive to consider fixing. Hopefully it isn't too severe.
Once from Aber to Telford, and another time from Swansea up to Aber. Nearly got wiped out on the A482 by a coach on my side of the road 
I doubt the fuel leak would be too severe. My old E30 had the hose worn out where it feeds into the engine block, the refreshing smell entering the cabin pretty quickly. Not reassuring for the date you have in the car..
Edited by getawayturtle on Wednesday 13th June 21:23
Right, she was taken away on a flatbed this morning for 1x fuel leak sorting, 1x water pump and 1x thermostat.
Also, she will be getting a very tidy set of part worns to tide me over a few weeks until I can properly replace the contaminated, mismatching ditchfinders that are already on the car. Which reminds me, yesterday I said that the rear tyres were mismatched. This was a mild understatement, each of the four tyres on the car are different brands and tread patterns, except the spare which is the same as the passenger side front, a p6000
But this is a step in the right direction, hopefully tomorrow I shall be behind the wheel again.
Also, she will be getting a very tidy set of part worns to tide me over a few weeks until I can properly replace the contaminated, mismatching ditchfinders that are already on the car. Which reminds me, yesterday I said that the rear tyres were mismatched. This was a mild understatement, each of the four tyres on the car are different brands and tread patterns, except the spare which is the same as the passenger side front, a p6000
But this is a step in the right direction, hopefully tomorrow I shall be behind the wheel again.
davidsp80 said:
update?
Well not much to report really at the moment, will take some fresh pictures tomorrow to show how she is.I had the wheel bearing sorted, she is now driving as she should but the the wet weather and the mismatched ditchfinders did try to put an end to my BMW experience the other night. Driving at about 1am through Brecon, the car was driving well, pulling cleanly, giving me confidence to push on, so I was. Perhaps my concentration was lacking but as I turned into a sweeping right hander the front went, then the other way and the back followed it round a full 270 degrees with the car coming to rest 90 degrees to the direction of travel having nearly completed the full rotation. Not having heard any noises that potentially indicated damage my first instinct was to get the bloody thing out of the road before someone hit me, so I promptly re-started it and drove off
The area I had stopped in had no light so if I was to have a look at the car I had to move on to where it wasn't pitch black.When I got to the next streetlight I stopped and got out. Walking round the back expecting to see that the bumper had gone or something equally as inconvenient, I was amazed to see just a tiny patch of mud in the corner of the bumper. Result, think I. I drive home and go to bed.
The next day I awake and almost immediately go to investigate the damage in the proper light. Approaching the car it is obvious I have put a small dent into the bottom of the left hand exhaust tip and covered it in mud, there is a mud scuff on the rear bumper and the rear left wheel had collected some mud too. Not bad I thought, bloody lucky that wasn't a few inched back and did some serious damage!
Thinking that was it I walked to the front of the car, where I noticed the mud on the front left of the bumper. Slowly I realised that the car had in fact spun the 270 degrees but actually come into contact with both sides of the road gently enough to leave a small dent in my exhaust tip, get some mud on my bumpers but still gently enough to not even scratch the paint. The realisation of quite how close that was settled in, a record 12 hours after the initial incident happened. I haven't washed the mud off yet, haven't had the chance, will take some pictures if the rain hasn't washed it off.
So yeah, pretty eventful.
Oh, and I have found out my 6 disk multichanger works perfectly, she does about 400 miles to a tank if driven sparingly and that I am completely unprepared to catch the back end on these tyres. But all in all, she is good. About 800 miles covered so far, no overheating, no strange noises, nothing. She is solid as a rock.
ETA: Oh and when I went to investigate the golf ball mod I realised the valve in my exhaust is stuck open anyway.
VinceFox said:
lucky escape. get some good tyres on it asap.
i had appalling ones on my 328i, proper former yugoslavian plastic crap. upgraded to falken 452s and have never fitted anything else ever since. go to camskill for best rates. and for feck's sake be careful!
I shall, don't you worry!i had appalling ones on my 328i, proper former yugoslavian plastic crap. upgraded to falken 452s and have never fitted anything else ever since. go to camskill for best rates. and for feck's sake be careful!
Funnily enough my mate recommended 452's yesterday to me. Seems that if I have been recommended the same tires twice over two days I may well give them a look! Cheers Vince
The Nur said:
VinceFox said:
lucky escape. get some good tyres on it asap.
i had appalling ones on my 328i, proper former yugoslavian plastic crap. upgraded to falken 452s and have never fitted anything else ever since. go to camskill for best rates. and for feck's sake be careful!
I shall, don't you worry!i had appalling ones on my 328i, proper former yugoslavian plastic crap. upgraded to falken 452s and have never fitted anything else ever since. go to camskill for best rates. and for feck's sake be careful!
Funnily enough my mate recommended 452's yesterday to me. Seems that if I have been recommended the same tires twice over two days I may well give them a look! Cheers Vince
The Nur said:
I was going to update with pictures etc but thumbsnap is being a complete arse.
ETA: Thumbsnap isn't being an arse, I am trying to be an arse and post files that are clearly too big.
Bloody hell Nur, we're waiting for pics here!ETA: Thumbsnap isn't being an arse, I am trying to be an arse and post files that are clearly too big.
Edited by The Nur on Thursday 5th July 14:35
Right. Here we go.
Muddy exhaust tips. Bugger.
The sum total of the damage to the rear involved a bumper pulled out of alignment, a dented exhaust tip and a really muddy rear wheel. You can also see the crappy paint match on the rear arch.
More of the same.
Muddy front bumper. Extremely lucky.
More crappy paint match. 5 series (?) wheels.
Original 3'er wheel spare.
So the other day after I span it I went out the following day to find an unround tyre with a suspected slow flat. Bugger. Filled it up with air, went to work, left work, flat tyre. Bugger. Couldn't be arsed to sort if the next day so I left it until yesterday, when I treated the car to a set of 4 new Falkens and a laser alignment, which has made the car feel bloody lovely even though I can feel that the tyres need scrubbing in.
My reasoning behind the new tyres and not changing the wheels was that I have the MOT coming up next month and the wheels that are on there now are growing on me so I think I shall leave them for the time being until I can replace them with something really nice, once the paint and rust has been sorted. Plus I think I shall leave spending any more money on it for the moment in case I crash it!
Muddy exhaust tips. Bugger.
The sum total of the damage to the rear involved a bumper pulled out of alignment, a dented exhaust tip and a really muddy rear wheel. You can also see the crappy paint match on the rear arch.
More of the same.
Muddy front bumper. Extremely lucky.
More crappy paint match. 5 series (?) wheels.
Original 3'er wheel spare.
So the other day after I span it I went out the following day to find an unround tyre with a suspected slow flat. Bugger. Filled it up with air, went to work, left work, flat tyre. Bugger. Couldn't be arsed to sort if the next day so I left it until yesterday, when I treated the car to a set of 4 new Falkens and a laser alignment, which has made the car feel bloody lovely even though I can feel that the tyres need scrubbing in.
My reasoning behind the new tyres and not changing the wheels was that I have the MOT coming up next month and the wheels that are on there now are growing on me so I think I shall leave them for the time being until I can replace them with something really nice, once the paint and rust has been sorted. Plus I think I shall leave spending any more money on it for the moment in case I crash it!
Quick update: My ropey old BMW has just flown through an M.O.T first time! Haven't been to get it yet but shall update here when I've got the sheet.
Happy doesn't quite describe it!
eta: Only 2 advisories! Corrosion on an offside rear brake pipe and an offside front hub assembly.
Happy doesn't quite describe it!
eta: Only 2 advisories! Corrosion on an offside rear brake pipe and an offside front hub assembly.
Edited by The Nur on Tuesday 28th August 12:14
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