MadMMX

Yes. Man you should see the array of hardware they have inside the armored ones. There are fire suppression systems, oxygen tanks, tyre sidewalls have armour plating and they need two batteries the size of lorry batteries in the boot to power up all the security systems. !!!

Easiest option is probably to look on Ebay UK. Lots of E36 parts. The airbox shouldn;t be too difficult but the exhaust it heavy. Cheers,

It is true though mainly when stuck in the traffic jams. One the open roads no major issue. Have one myself but don't really use it as a day runner. Has anyone been able to find a fix for this ? Oil Cooler ..etc ?? Both fans + coolant don't seem to do the trick. Cheers,

Cool man, Congrats. The 164 has an impressive pedigree and specs. Cheers,

Rangerover - what type of parts are you looking for ? Personally have found parts to be much cheaper from UK. Cheers,

A lot of the xtrail 2.0 and 2.5's have a serious engine issue which involves grinding the engine head and gasket replacement and sometimes sourcing a new engine altogether and the problem recur res. Had a friend go through problems with one and apparently its a pretty common problem with x-trails. Better to do a little research on the xtrail gasket issue. Cheers,

Ah small world. Dropped in their the other day to give an advanced payment for an office function we're having at Habarana lodge. Actually am currently at lodge. Small world. Cheers,

Hey Rangerover, Yours wouldn't be the black e46 parked at JK would it ? Cheers,

Cool scene - was my pleasure. Feel free to use the diags anytime Cheers,

Actually was referring to the Z3 on sale Not the new Z4 track monster. Actually there are a few Z4s around here but hardly see them on the road. Check out this 5.0 litre Z3. http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.a...p;f=181&h=0

Hmm Interesting but that asking price is way too much for something that old. Is it a 2 litre or a bigger engine ?

Actually RR - you're quite write about the options. Mine was basic when I got it. HOWEVER - BMW has retrofit kits for everything example the Bluetooth and Xenon Auto leveling was added on myself. Actually the above list is all the bits I actually have in mine and it didn't cost the earth to add them. The bluetooth is supercool cause its completely integrated into the car audio and uses the display of the radio to show the phonebook of the phone ..etc and also has voice recognition actually allows you to speak no's and commands directly without any pre-training But really the options are endless on the E46 - and all can be added in at any point and if you have a good bmw dealer - he can source all the genuine wiring harnesses at really decent prices like for the electrochromic mirror and multifunction. The car actually also has a lot of customizable features - which presteige doesn't really show you - like setting up your remote key to unlock only the drivers side on one press and the rest of the locks on the second, activating the clown nose without the full security kit - changing the fuel consumption meter on the obc to read km's per litre instead of the standard ltrs per 100kms All doable with the DIS. PM me if you want to check those out Cheers,

Hey RangeRover, Did you fit the swirlflap blanking plates ? Cheers,

Just to Comment on the Apples and Oranges argument I can comment on the E46 Standard Options on any E46 would be : 6 Airbags, ABS with Stability / Traction Control, All 4 ventilated Disk brakes, Heated Rear view mirrors, Individual Programmable Remote Keys (ie - each key remembers your tuned radio stations, Rear view mirror positions, if you have electric seats - your preferred positions ...etc.e.tc) Valet Key (that wont open the Boot and cubby) Height adjustable front lights, 6 speaker audio systems - most with 6 cd changers 16" wheels (alloys and steel) minimum size. And the service intervals are for Diesel - 16000 kms and Petrols - 25000 kms(Facelift). Automatic climate control, Automatic heated rear window, First aid kit under the seat, hazard triangles ...etc Options would include Electric Rear Roller Blind, Onboard trip computer with fuel consumption available range ..etc ..etc, Multifunction steering wheel with cruise control, Xenon Interior lights, Electrochromic (self adjusting) rear view mirror, Ipod integration, rain & light sensors with auto lights and auto wipers, self leveling xenon lights with integrated washers, Blue tooth phone integration with charging / signal boosters in the bumper / voice recognition / voice dialing, park distance control ....etc etc, Real Myrtle wood trim The average standard BM will have at least 6 - 12 processing units (computers) in the car liked together using their own protocol called I-bus - excluding the main ECU that controls the engine. Generally with BM's you wouldn't talk about A/C, Power steering / central locking / Power windows / Power mirrors because its a given that all of those are there. Find me a civic that can have that many standard factory accessories, not to mention the options. By the way the add for the E46 is actually a 4 pot facelift 318i which is std at 143 BHP. Fuel consumption on the facelift 318i is a minimum of 8.5 in colombo and about 12 outstation and the engine is actually a 2000cc Cheers,

machan, Cleaning the injectors on the diesel is a little more complex - especially with the pre-facelift apparently as they are a pig to remove. There are some specialized tools - pullers to actually get the injectors out. Also may be a good option to replace the heater plugs when doing this ?? Also generally better to replace the o-rings when removing and refitting the injectors. Cheers,

Agree The general opinion is that BMW's are to be driven and Mercs are to be driven in Mind you BMW usually year on year take home a cartload of awards for their engines on the lines of efficiency - they are generally pretty environmentally friendly and fuel efficient.

Guys, To my knowledge the HRV only came with a 1.6 engine - two models the non vtec and the vtec. From the wiki Engine(s) Gasoline: 1590 cc F4 16 valve SOHC 77 kW (103 BHP) VTEC SOHC 91 kW (122 BHP) Cheers,

Simple - DON'T TOUCH with a POLE !! Too many horror stories

HI Rukster, Out of curiosity what method did Pre*** use to clean the injectors ? Cheers,

HI rangerover My diesel was a pre facelift and I moved to a petrol facelift 318i. However I have taken the manifold off my current car to replace the pcv and its not really a very difficult proposition. The removal procedure is detailed with pictures in the TIS DVD. Have heard of the swirl flap issue extensively and friends in the UK definitely get their facelift 320d's de-flapped For peace of mind without a doubt I would remove them as some of the stories I've read are terrible. In fact it seems that BMW themselves have modified the newer swirlflaps to all plastic ones as of 2006 or something. Actually the manifold removal doesn't require very extensive mechanical skills. (I certainly don't claim to be an expert ) just a bit of dutch courage when pulling parts out and a good memory as to where the screws and nuts you pulled out came from. Give me the first 7 digits of your engine no - (like KJ88664) and I should be able to pull out the manifold removal procedure from the TIS and post it here. Alternatively you can give this to your usual garage mechanic - sit with the chap and watch like a hawk and get him to do this. Removal on the BM's is strangely more simpler than most jap cars that I've touched - also possibly due to the good documentation available for them. Cheers,

Be extremely careful here. What is the car and the engine ? Don't get taken in by a certain P*T S**P always recommending this. They busted a friends Vitara engine by going to do this once and tried to claim total ignorance afterward. He actually was initiating legal action against them !

Shouldn't be the case as the engines are all certified to run on anything over 87 octane. You only loose some pickup. Best to check the records and see when the last time stuff like the fuel filter / air filter / plugs ..etc were changed. The fuel filter does get clogged over time and when they clean it out you get some nasty black colour goop coming out of it. Our petrol does tend to clog it and its fairly pricey - about 15-18k but its worth changing it once in 2 years. Of course always better to run 95 as you get better pickup and gas mileage Cheers,

Actually totally agree with this comment. You may be surprised. When I first started going to Pre***ge many years ago I was also very apprehensive. However I did find that the labour charges were not what I thought them out to be (in a good way) However the labour on some jobs is pretty high (eg - to replace the gearbox shift oil seal on my E46 the oil seal itself from uk cost 2 pounds but the labour was 24k - the reason for this being that you needed to remove the complete exhaust and the propeller shaft..etc to get at it) so for this type of job its always prudent to request a quote from them before hand. However I was actually sent their by our Kelaniya friend when I retrofitted my OBC (on board trip computer) stalk as it needed programming - he told me that he would have to charge 12k to program it as his DIS had been bought in partnership and every time he used it to program he needed to pay his partner X amount of money. But he suggested I go to the agent and they did it for 2k !! I was actually pretty surprised at the time. I do find that for stuff like servicing and all its worth taking it there and you also get the benefit of the records being kept at the agent. Of course this was before I managed to hook up my own DIS at home and now can program all the hidden options without any worry of cost Probably worth asking them how much it would cost - but then again I'm not sure they would like you taking the injectors away and getting them cleaned and bringing them back for them to fit. They have their own method of cleaning which I believe involves just soaking the injectors in fluid or something - but no ultrasonic cleaning. Cheers,

Hmm If you post your engine model or the first 7 digits of your engine no (eg - KJ88664) can pull the TIS procedure (which is pictorial) and post it ?? Really not a difficult job ? Cheers,

Hi VVTi, Great to hear that all went smoothly. Honestly the difference in pickup is really worth it. And the economy is also good. I thought since my car actually hasn't done a lot of running that there wouldn't be too much of a difference and was I surprised or what. Chap is really knowledgeable and it was a pleasure chatting with him. Actually pulling the BMW petrol injectors is a pretty simple process even for the not so mechanically inclined and its really worth doing it properly (ultrasonically). Think back to all the cash I busted before on Valvoline and other additive cleaners before and smile. Nothing ever gave this type of boost and sustained. Its been over 3 months since I them cleaned and the engine is ultra smooth. He was suggesting that maybe this is a good thing to repeat once in two years or once a year and I guess he's probably right. I now understand why BMW only recommends cleaning the injectors ultrasonically. They specifically discourage the use of petrol additives. He was also sharing the horror stories of how D*M*'s tried to substitute the original cleaning fluid with petrol to save cost and ended up busting their machine Cheers, PS:- Don't think the Kelaniya chap will like you getting him to pull the injectors and taking them elsewhere for a clean ??