Well I have BF&I in abundance so I shall give it a shot, cheers.

Can it be done? Do I need to remove the blower units first? The drivers side is flaoting around with no sealing foam left allowing all the blown airs to escape. There is not enough space to collapse it to get it out without dragging it past the sections it attaches to. Any new foam seals won't stand a chance of surviving the abuse. How is it done?

Smiler wrote:

I understand that these keys are numbered with up to four being available to each vehicle. Something to do with remembering settings for memory seats etc... I have two 'number 1' keys. I bought a new one to replace the old one when it became too far gone but before I was aware of the numbering. If I got the old key reconditioned would using two number 1 keys cause synching issues?

Marshall8hp wrote:

Yep, you can only have one of them synced at a time.

Nuts, I suspected as such. Ta.

I understand that these keys are numbered with up to four being available to each vehicle. Something to do with remembering settings for memory seats etc... I have two 'number 1' keys. I bought a new one to replace the old one when it became too far gone but before I was aware of the numbering. If I got the old key reconditioned would using two number 1 keys cause synching issues?

Thanks for the tip. The new seats have airbags, the old didn't. The mirrors don't currently auto-dip. I shall look forward to seeing what happens.

Awesome, thanks for the help. :)

Looking very tidy.

Hello folks,

I have recently purchased a set of good condition Napa leather electric memory seats from a year 2000 Vogue to replace the manual seats in my 1996 DSE.

I have the highline BECM so I should just need the sub-loom from the BECM to the seat stations. But there seem to be a number of options. Does anyone know which flavour I require?

Also, will I need the services of a Nanocom to switch on that part of the BECM?

Regards,

Si.

Pretty much.

Well it has all become rather academic. A trip to ikea to earn the required brownie point with the missus to sanction such an extravagant purchase resulted in a burst radiator so the funds have been spent.

So just to add to the options, where does the Napa leather interior sit in the hierarchy of seats?

No, I have since seen another set. With red piping. Special edition perhaps? A bit of an unknown quantity, my colleagues 5-bar seats are more comfortable than my 3-bar seats. The drivers seat base looks a little worn as expected so would look to swap in from a passenger seat but if they are a rare special edition I'll probably not find one.

I have found a 6-bar seat set. I thought there were only 3 and 5 bar sets?

Excellent, thanks very much. So the extra airbags in later seats won't upset the SRS system (or just won't plug into anything).

Ta very much,

Si.

Hello folks,

Are the interiors interchangeable across all years of the P38?

My door cards are getting very tired and are missing too many mounting clips now (tabs pulled out of the back) meaning they flap a bit so I am looking to replace them. Before I assume I just want to confirm that the slightly different looking (smoothed grab handles) later door cards will line up and fit straight onto my older vehicles doors.

ALso, I have a cream interior. I don't know what the official colour name is but is it the same as sandstone? Did they change the colour when they altered the interior? Just asking as if there was a colour change I shall look for a full interior as the drivers seat is saggy and my colleagues 5 bar seats are noticeably more comfortable.

Regards,

Si.

Thanks for the replies, all good stuff! He will be in work again Monday so we'll do a bit of investigating.

Thanks for the info regarding seat looms, I'll keep an eye out at the breakers and hope I get lucky. Annoyingly there was a Vogue SE down there a couple of years ago that had already had it's seats unbolted and would have potentially still had the looms in place.

Thanks for that, just to clarify, his vehicle does NOT have a sunroof or headlamp washers. But it does have cruise control. So that means it still has a highline BECM?

His HEVAC unit looked to have a buttun in the front screen position but without a symbol on it. I assumed it was a blanking plug, unless it is just part of the facia moulding to blend in with the rear screen button.

I will keep an eye out for the seat looms, just in case I decide to go full tart with mine. It needs new door cards anyway so if a full interior comes up when I can afford it but with electric seats at least I know I can fit them.

Cheers,

Si.

Thanks for the replies.

It has HEVAC and air-con and cruise control. But it does not have sunroof, headlamp washwipe, heated seats or stereo steering wheel controls. I do not know about the trip computer.

As for the wiring looms, my DSE does not have the wiring in place for electric seats (other than the heater elements) so there would appear to be some variation in the looms.

Good to hear that the screen is controlled by the HEVAC unit and that the wiring is likely to be in place. That will make him happy.

Hello folks,

My colleague has taken the plunge and bought himself a P38. It is a well maintained 99/00 DT. It doesn't quite have as many extras as my older DSE. According to Martys Nanocom mine has the highline BECM fitted. Would a 99/00 DT be likely to have a highline BECM? Would it be likely to have any of the wiring in place for extra equipment such as heated front screen? He is looking to keep this vehicle long term so it would be nice to know what options are potentially open to him for improvements.

Regards,

Si.

Been dailying my '96 DSE for nearly four years now and put 40K on her. The slow start when hot is common and put down to stretched timing chains. Stretched chains doesn't seem to effect normal performance. I looked into replacing mine but the bill for all the parts is quite big, plus whatever else you disturb and the special timing tools you require. In the end I fitted a hot-start module that basically gives a false signal to the ECU when starting to say the engine is cold so that it energises the glow plugs. Starts fine now.

If your pump starts to leak by the way don't panic straight away, I managed to reseal mine without removing it (and so losing the timing). Wish I'd known how to do it when I had my 5 series BMW Tourer with the same engine.