E61 V8 Bearding

[ATM]

So did the car not drive well before?

[ATM]

pewe said:

If you're trying to put it back to standard I'd be inclined to reinstate the rear air suspension.
My local Indie pointed out the rear end was designed to work with air suspension so advised me to stick with that.

I'm not sure how much I buy into this.

I think the main benefit of air is the self levelling feature. So if you are regularly loading up the boot or for towing maybe its useful. Or even carting round fatter folk in the back seat. The headlamps on the E61 do not self level because the car assumes the boot will do it.

Moving on to air in general I know a guy who has owned 3 Porsche Cayenne. He gets them off his wealthy mate who buys them brand new and runs them or 3 or 4 years then shifts them on. He told me that a few years ago this wealthy guy went to some Porsche event and got to drive several Cayenne on test track with different setups. The main take away was that he prefers steel springs to air springs. So this is hardly conclusive but interesting none the less. Everything I have read about the Cayenne says air is better but have many people actually tried with and without back to back? Ok I rambling now but you get the idea.

When we see cars modified with air ride suspension we laugh and say that's rubbish. Is it rubbish - I honestly don't know.

Like I said earlier I think it depends on how you will use the car. If the boot space is occasional use only maybe simple steel springs will be fine. And for the sportier drive - if that's really a concern - steel might be best. I'm guessing steel will be cheaper too.

[ATM]

My car has the air and it has been fine - no problems - touching wood.

I remember reading something that the compressor can fail because a spring can start to deteriorate and then the pump needs to run constantly. I think the tell tale sign is if the car sags at the rear when left for a while parked. Mine is only used very occasionally and it never seems to drop at all.

Also I believe there was some form of adapter for sale which fits to the level sensor and fools it into thinking the car is higher than it is and therefore the car lowers it. I had mine lowered via the ECU but then at some point the ECU was reset and it lost this lower setting.

[ATM]

E61 fans

I bought a cheap and cheerful, hopefully, OBD reader from Aldi and the results are in. I have 9 in total:

P0444
P0300
P0301
P0306
P0303
P0307
P0302
P0597
P0304

So the 300 numbers are misfires detected. 300 is generic and the other designate the cylinder number. That just leaves

444 - EVAP Emission Control System Purge Valve
597 - Cruise Control Circuit Open

So if this means anything to anyone here please let me know.

TIA

[ATM]

I had a bit of judder under braking which turned out to be rear discs.

[ATM]

Out in the country

[ATM]

davejfk said:

Very up for that Peter.

I'm off tomorrow (in my 550i of course!) to Tuscany for a couple of weeks but maybe when I'm back. Keep your fingers crossed for me that the mechanical fairies play ball...

Good solid cars these. Mine just keeps on trucking. Occasionally starts running on 7 or 6 so I have to turn it off and back on again. I did have a header tank / expansion tank split which stranded me. So if yours is original I'd buy a new one and just leave it in the boot just in case. Only around 40 quid.

[ATM]

Ordered plugs and coils from Autodoc. Then got an email saying they didn't have the plugs and offered me an alternative. I said no thanks I'll take the refund. I'd chosen NGK plugs and NGK coils and the alternative plugs they offered me where some unknown brand. Now I'm back to the drawing board. I'm wandering if I should give Euro Car Parts a go next. Autodoc had around 50 [maybe a slight exaggeration] different plugs listed for this car so I was a bit overwhelmed.

[ATM]

d_a_n1979 said:

Get them off eBay UK or via C3BMW

Can anyone recommend a good plug and a good coil to choose? I've read stuff about Chinese copies of branded coils which are rubbish.

[ATM]

Very difficult to say. I don't see profit in these cars. They are just too niche. I think about replacing mine but what with. The engine really is the gem of the ball and perfectly fine with the old school auto if you ask Me. Way more power than you need which can haul the thing to speeds quickly enough to still give excitement from such a big heavy car.

I have no idea what mine is worth as it is tatty and I also have water in the boot but no pan roof so yes common fault on these I'd assume. I also have some rot in my boot lid and some electrical gremlins in the lights only which might just be the wiring near the hinges which can wear through.

I know the manual car sold recently for 10k I think which I would say is the higher end of the market for these. But maybe I am wrong and they will be sought after. I just don't know.

I would say buy one to enjoy but don't expect profit.

[ATM]

Owen Snell said:

BTW, I agree completely about the engine / box combo, it's great. I was expecting a bit of a slug from some reviews, but found it worked really well.

I had mine serviced after a few years of owning it with new fluid and sump and it realty improved the shifts. If I had known the difference in advance I would have done it much much sooner. I'm even thinking about doing a DIY fluid change. My plan is to try to extract some fluid via the dip stick using a pump and then replace with fresh new fluid.

[ATM]

pewe said:

if the roof drains block at any time

As mentioned I get water in the battery tray but no idea how to fix this. Never more than 2 inches so maybe it can get out once at that level. Has anyone here accessed their roof drains and if so how?

[ATM]

DogTheQCarHunter said:

ATM said:

I know the manual car sold recently for 10k I think which I would say is the higher end of the market for these. But maybe I am wrong and they will be sought after. I just don't know.

I would say buy one to enjoy but don't expect profit.

Which one was that?

Yours

[ATM]

Have swapped mine many times with other cars I own and it just works without following any procedure as if the battery had not been out at all. Plug and Play. I only have 1 key.

When my central locking stopped working I suspect it was the antenna in the boot spoiler. I had been using the car as a mobile tool box and therefore it was left open for quite a while. I suspect more moisture had got into the antenna and the central locking from the key stopped working. But after a few days with the boot closed it started working again.

So I suspect the central locking fault is unrelated to the battery change but that's just a hunch.

Edited by ATM on Thursday 27th April 14:13

[ATM]

ATM said:

Can anyone recommend a good plug and a good coil to choose? I've read stuff about Chinese copies of branded coils which are rubbish.

Finally ordered some Bosch coils and fancy NGK Iridium plugs. The coils have arrived and have some fancy seals on the boxes as if to prove they're authentic but surely a determined copy outfit could just copy these too. I'm still waiting for the plugs. Haa anyone tried this job? The Internet suggests having a good selection of extensions for your ratchet. I don't even know if I have a spark plug socket as I've not changed plugs since I had a Fiat Cinquecento.

[ATM]

Looks like it's just held in by interference looking at these new ones

[ATM]

Plugs arrived

[ATM]

Plugs and coils now fitted. Engine purring lovely now. Drives totally different. Can't recommend it enough.

[ATM]

ATM said:

E61 fans

I bought a cheap and cheerful, hopefully, OBD reader from Aldi and the results are in. I have 9 in total:

P0444
P0300
P0301
P0306
P0303
P0307
P0302
P0597
P0304

So the 300 numbers are misfires detected. 300 is generic and the other designate the cylinder number. That just leaves

444 - EVAP Emission Control System Purge Valve
597 - Cruise Control Circuit Open

So if this means anything to anyone here please let me know.

TIA

So my car had another juddering fit at the traffic lights today and I had to turn it off and on. Will clear all the existing codes using my Aldi scan tool and then see what's what. Above is an earlier post showing the original codes from before I changed all the coils and plugs.

[ATM]

Quavers said:

Does anybody know if UK cars have secondary air injection system?

I think they are the same as any where else.