What have you done to your BMW today?
Discussion
325d gearbox service at 111000 asked them to have a look to see if it had been done before, car seemed fine no faults they said it was on the original pan oil was black showed no signs of any colour left, but they exclaimed the fill times? We're really short so the gearbox was in really good condition, just a relief to have it done gearbox is really smooth now don't even notice it changing
Court_S said:
d_a_n1979 said:
Autobox serviced today at Automatic Transmissions, Preston
Car drives uber smooth now
Grant at AT, Preston said the fluid was disgusting, very black/burnt etc and well due a change!
Worth bearing in mind seeing as the car had only done 56k miles, but is 20 years old...
So sod the 'Sealed for Life' b
ks that BMW state, stick with what ZF say 
I need to get the ZF6 in my 335i serviced. I helped a mate service the gearbox on his 530i but it was a bit of a pain in the arse so am happy paying someone else to do it.Car drives uber smooth now
Grant at AT, Preston said the fluid was disgusting, very black/burnt etc and well due a change!
Worth bearing in mind seeing as the car had only done 56k miles, but is 20 years old...
So sod the 'Sealed for Life' b
ks that BMW state, stick with what ZF say 
Todays jobs...
Front end stripped off (headlights out, front wheels off, arch liners off, front bumper off etc)
Headlight washer lines replaced with OEM BMW parts from BMW Germany; front 'pork chops' replaced with Eastern Bloc copies, 15mm front wheels spacers fitted and 12mm rear wheel spacers fitted; wheels sit so much better now & zero rubbing issues
Knackered & filthy!
Front end stripped off (headlights out, front wheels off, arch liners off, front bumper off etc)
Headlight washer lines replaced with OEM BMW parts from BMW Germany; front 'pork chops' replaced with Eastern Bloc copies, 15mm front wheels spacers fitted and 12mm rear wheel spacers fitted; wheels sit so much better now & zero rubbing issues
Knackered & filthy!
Court_S said:
I’ll have to have a gander, was a good morning out and I really enjoyed the factory tour and appreciate them loads more than I did.
I'm always a bit "where's Wally" with stuff, and I spotted it when they filmed an old Aston Martin and a TVR Chimaera arriving on their story. 
Your wheels looked ace, and I'd love to get one of my cars on something like that for sure.
cerb4.5lee said:
I'm always a bit "where's Wally" with stuff, and I spotted it when they filmed an old Aston Martin and a TVR Chimaera arriving on their story.
Your wheels looked ace, and I'd love to get one of my cars on something like that for sure.
Ha ha. I think I only recognised Scrump’s 996 (easy with the stickers….).Your wheels looked ace, and I'd love to get one of my cars on something like that for sure.
I parked up and the an E92 M3 parked up next to me….the want ace back!
cerb4.5lee said:
I'm always a bit "where's Wally" with stuff, and I spotted it when they filmed an old Aston Martin and a TVR Chimaera arriving on their story.
Your wheels looked ace, and I'd love to get one of my cars on something like that for sure.
Ha ha. I think I only recognised Scrump’s 996 (easy with the stickers….).Your wheels looked ace, and I'd love to get one of my cars on something like that for sure.
I parked up and the an E92 M3 parked up next to me….the want ace back!
I changed my (year 2000 e39) ignition switch today.
The car was cutting out at low speed - coming up to a stop at a junction, slowing to turn into a side road, etc.
I recalled that the switch could be responsible for all sorts of gremlins, and that, combined with the fact that my code reader was steadfastly refusing to give me any indication of something awry, I decided that it would be worth a £35 punt on ebay.
Ebay was not my first choice, though.
My first choice, after consulting RealOEM, was to go to my "spares" 2001 e39 and remove the ignition switch from it.
Switch was duly removed (10 mins), and I was happy that there was likely going to be a non-cost repair.
Back to the poorly e39, switch removal completed, but "spares" switch, despite looking, at first glance (to an idiot wanting to get his car back on the road), identical, would not locate in the carrier.
The side to side comparison makes clear the differences that throwing the non-working one on the passenger seat and trying to quickly install the replacement one, doesn't.
Bugger!
I was surprised to find that RealOEM was wrong!
My "spares" one ... as per RealOEM
The malfunctioning one removed from my car ends in 962, not 961
Ebay was chock full of the RealOEM ones, but I could only find a few that matched mine.
Anyway, I'm just back from a 10 mile shakedown run, including junctions, and the car seems to be behaving itself again!
If the replacement lasts 10% as long as the original (both branded Valeo), I'll be happy enough.
Finally, the 961 version is from a 2001 manual diesel, whereas the 962 was removed from a 2000 auto petrol.
The car was cutting out at low speed - coming up to a stop at a junction, slowing to turn into a side road, etc.
I recalled that the switch could be responsible for all sorts of gremlins, and that, combined with the fact that my code reader was steadfastly refusing to give me any indication of something awry, I decided that it would be worth a £35 punt on ebay.
Ebay was not my first choice, though.
My first choice, after consulting RealOEM, was to go to my "spares" 2001 e39 and remove the ignition switch from it.
Switch was duly removed (10 mins), and I was happy that there was likely going to be a non-cost repair.
Back to the poorly e39, switch removal completed, but "spares" switch, despite looking, at first glance (to an idiot wanting to get his car back on the road), identical, would not locate in the carrier.
The side to side comparison makes clear the differences that throwing the non-working one on the passenger seat and trying to quickly install the replacement one, doesn't.
Bugger!
I was surprised to find that RealOEM was wrong!
My "spares" one ... as per RealOEM
The malfunctioning one removed from my car ends in 962, not 961
Ebay was chock full of the RealOEM ones, but I could only find a few that matched mine.
Anyway, I'm just back from a 10 mile shakedown run, including junctions, and the car seems to be behaving itself again!
If the replacement lasts 10% as long as the original (both branded Valeo), I'll be happy enough.
Finally, the 961 version is from a 2001 manual diesel, whereas the 962 was removed from a 2000 auto petrol.
Mirinjawbro said:
can anyone confirm if bimmercode is worth it??
seems alot to buy the dongle and also the license
Not expensive at all, c£50 IRCseems alot to buy the dongle and also the license
£25 for the dongle and £25 for the app purchase which you then have for life, unlike Carly for BMW which is bloody expensive
Bimmercode worked great for me and my F01; able to code all sorts and code the battery to the car also etc
This is the dongle I bought & used; worked faultlessly:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bluetooth-Adapter-Automot...
d_a_n1979 said:
Not expensive at all, c£50 IRC
£25 for the dongle and £25 for the app purchase which you then have for life, unlike Carly for BMW which is bloody expensive
Bimmercode worked great for me and my F01; able to code all sorts and code the battery to the car also etc
This is the dongle I bought & used; worked faultlessly:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bluetooth-Adapter-Automot...
thanks alot will buy it now£25 for the dongle and £25 for the app purchase which you then have for life, unlike Carly for BMW which is bloody expensive
Bimmercode worked great for me and my F01; able to code all sorts and code the battery to the car also etc
This is the dongle I bought & used; worked faultlessly:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bluetooth-Adapter-Automot...
Mirinjawbro said:
can anyone confirm if bimmercode is worth it??
seems alot to buy the dongle and also the license
Depends whether you have the skills and patience to learn how to use the proper BMW tools, which are freely available and just require a compatible dongle (of which there are plenty for little outlay). The BMW stuff is the most powerful, but it's far from point & click so if you want an easy solution to change a few settings then you'll need to pay for one of the aftermarket apps. I don't have any particular experience of these so I can't offer any opinion on one over the other.seems alot to buy the dongle and also the license
pmorg4 said:
Mirinjawbro said:
can anyone confirm if bimmercode is worth it??
seems alot to buy the dongle and also the license
Depends whether you have the skills and patience to learn how to use the proper BMW tools, which are freely available and just require a compatible dongle (of which there are plenty for little outlay). The BMW stuff is the most powerful, but it's far from point & click so if you want an easy solution to change a few settings then you'll need to pay for one of the aftermarket apps. I don't have any particular experience of these so I can't offer any opinion on one over the other.seems alot to buy the dongle and also the license
For me though, the likes of Bimmercode & Carly for BMW, which are plug n play; deffo have their place and they're great to use and very straight forward etc
For the serious stuff, INPA / ISTA cannot be beaten
I use neither as a) I've no access to an MS laptop and b) haven't the patience
d_a_n1979 said:
Agree; INPA & ISTA are invaluable, if you know how to use them (or have someone you know that can use them)
For me though, the likes of Bimmercode & Carly for BMW, which are plug n play; deffo have their place and they're great to use and very straight forward etc
For the serious stuff, INPA / ISTA cannot be beaten
I use neither as a) I've no access to an MS laptop and b) haven't the patience
That’s my issue too. I have an old laptop but it’s hard getting hold of a hooky copy of Microsoft. For me though, the likes of Bimmercode & Carly for BMW, which are plug n play; deffo have their place and they're great to use and very straight forward etc
For the serious stuff, INPA / ISTA cannot be beaten
I use neither as a) I've no access to an MS laptop and b) haven't the patience
I use Carly which is easy to use through my phone.
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