Thanks everybody for your starter motor feedback!




Weird, FCP doesn't have a core charge for the brand new Bosch unit. Only a $50 core charge for the Bosch reman or $300!! core charge for the original BMW version. Super weird.

I will share my direct experience with a large commercial/retail publicly held corporation:

Commercial customers (Shade tree mechanics) did not like that their customer could see our house brand name on the battery. Their customer would say, "I can get this same battery name for 40% less at the retailer down the road!"

So, the largeCo I worked for started paying Bosch to put their name on the exact same batteries but only when sold to commercial partners. These batteries were 'Bosch.'

Same. Damn. Battery. Now, I believe two things:

Shit parts exist.

Three companies in the world make automotive batteries

And don't get me started on windshield wipers. :tantrum: WHY in teh F.. do we have THREE dofferent sized wipers?! That's just out of f'in hand. :p:

Turns out I can satisfy 6 BMW's from 1988 to 2012 with (only) four sizes.Thank Gawd. (I hate buying wipers)

Ah thx, did not notice the T20 screw... and I don't want an Android head unit because to use the OE DSP setup requires expensive add-ons and some of the posts here about that thing are not very positive. I'm using a $12 bluetooth cassette adapter to stream from my phone that works surprisingly well, even after my attempt to replace the LCD screen ended up damaging the connections so it's dead, hence the request for a spare. As long as the OE head unit still works without the screen, I'll keep using it.

Ordered a new $27 xenon lamp ballast/igniter last month off the ebay and got around to installing it today in hopes of fixing the dim driver-side headlight (replaced both bulbs awhile back), but it's either defective or has a bad bulb connector which looks quite different from the OE one because the bulb would not light. Put the old one back in... and I might go back to the pull-a-part because for once one of the recent E53s has xenon headlights that nobody's molested, at least as of yesterday, to grab the ballasts.

Also replaced the broken headlight mount with another ebay buy.

I have one of these ready to go into the E38. Handsfree Bluetooth as well as setting up the cool functions like DRL, running lights, etc.

I'd get a BlueBus in a heartbeat but it's too expensive for me when I factor in the exchange rate and freight. I can get a decent Android head-unit for the same price... :(

That's definitely an option once I replace the nav head unit. I bought a new LCD panel but I broke something replacing it and the panel won't turn on, and neither will the original one which worked but was half-dead.

My innocent question:

Can I buy one of these for you? Or like.. I *have* one.. what would happen if I 'sold' mine to you? Would Aussie.Gov be like, "F you, Mate!"? Cause if this thing is as cool as I expect.. you should have one... screw the guv-mint.

Dang Dude!! You are the best - that is way above and beyond the call of duty! :D

It would be "above board" to get one into NZ sans sales taxes etc. (since it's just under the NZD$400 limit for such things) - so no need to do anything "dodgy". It's really just the exchange rate and freight that bite - and the exchange rate will get better after your November election! I can wait!
:stickpoke

It's not actually that bad, cost-wise - I can actually afford it, but I'm too much of a tight-arse to spend that much cash on a "nice-to-have" item when I have to spend time/money on other items related to maint. ;)

Car is running great and no current issues but at over 270,000kms, I can see an alternator (still original), a starter motor (still original), a turbo-charger and boost control actuator (still original), new tyres (again) and a new battery (again) in the foreseeable future. :rolleyes:

And... I read that the BlueBus doesn't work well with the Samsung Galaxy S7. Guess which smart-phone I have.... :rolleyes:

But like I said... you are the BEST for even thinking that out loud! Talk about feeling part of a great community... :thumbup:

My front cv axle boot repair kit from FCP arrived today, as did the EBay tool that grabs the threads and pulls the axle back through the hub/carrier. This is a job that requires a lot of procrastination for me, so to make myself feel better I put the injector harness clips back on. I only could find 7 of them so I left cylinder 5 off since it’s easier to get to. I’ll see if eBay has a source for these little wire ass-pain generators.

The car ran fine for years with them on backwards, and not at all for the past several months, but I feel better with them on. I pulled the coil covers and disconnected the coils to get just enough slack in the harness so I could work it off and get the clips on without drama.