The 'sensible' daily E61 535d

[Steve93]

With my 9000 project being held up needing the occasional part from Sweden, I've kind of missed my target for a nice semi practical summer daily driver. My shed Astra convertible MOT had run out and daily driving the 4.6 P38 through summer with it's questionable cooling system was out also...I did the right thing and bought another car

I've had a hankering for an E61 for about a year now, I had my mind set on a 530d or a 535d. Spotted a couple cars, first being a 530d LCI but I knew I'd be annoyed I didn't go for the 535. Next one was a massive spec with HUD etc which seemed good, but it had an aftermarket intercooler fitted and remapped....I didn't really want to be buying something already modified because I had no idea of the quality of the map or the parts fitted.

Undeterred a couple days later I spotted an LCI 535d M sport in the exact colour I wanted with the shadowline option, black interior including headlining and apparently unmapped. Bit higher in the miles, but full service history with all oil changes done at 6k intervals over the past 5 years of the previous owner having it. An hour long phonecall with the seller and a few walk round videos to show the marks/dents/age related stuff and a day was booked off work to make the 400 mile journey

After a 2am start, copious amounts of caffeine and a 100l tank of fuel in my friends Touareg, I was the new owner of a space grey 535d. Picture below of the first fuel stop 2 miles after picking the car up...I also had to fill the tank on the Touareg again at this point
PXL_20250502_114751660 by Steve, on Flickr

Journey home was thankfully uneventful with the Touareg needing a further top up of fuel at Dundee while the BMW still had half a tank at this point. Noted a slight wheel vibration at speed, either wheel balance or these are known to buckle front hubs, either way not a huge issue. Arriving home at 11pm it was fair to say I was a bit tired.

It's reasonably specced, missing a couple of things I wanted, but the price, colour and the rest of the spec sold it to me.

First job as with any new car to me is a full service/filter change to Mahle stuff, so stayed back at work late one evening to get that done.
PXL_20250506_171615776~3 by Steve, on Flickr
PXL_20250506_173336008 by Steve, on Flickr

Spent a few hours giving it a once over with a clay mitt, a quick polish and some decent wax to make my life easier for the next few washes
PXL_20250510_182213210~2 by Steve, on Flickr
PXL_20250510_182233433~2 by Steve, on Flickr

I will put some genuine effort into cleaning it soon

Next up was the gearbox service. I don't just do the filter/oil on these, I always drop the valve body and do the tubes, sleeve and grommet.
PXL_20250531_121559567 by Steve, on Flickr
IMG-20250531-WA0006 by Steve, on Flickr
IMG-20250531-WA0011 by Steve, on Flickr

Genuine ZF stuff used.

Decided to drop the intercooler and check the boost hose seals as I noticed some oil drips around the connections...It was literally 4 torx screws once the undertray was removed...gave me a chance to clear all the grime out from around the bottom of it too, save it corroding the alloy any further
IMG-20250531-WA0002 by Steve, on Flickr

So that was todays job, replacing all the boost pipe seals...found some new front ARB bushes in the box of parts the previous owner handed me so it seemed rude not to fit them while the tray was off again
PXL_20250608_102031516 by Steve, on Flickr

While I was at it I noticed the vacuum lines for the turbos looked rather crispy and brittle....found a 3m length of black silicone vacuum line in the junk pi....I mean parts store and found out I underestimated just how much vacuum lines the car has. So I had to dig further and found another 3m of red silicone hose...Oh well Guess I'll order another roll of black hose otherwise It'll irritate me every time I open the bonnet
IMG-20250608-WA0005 by Steve, on Flickr

Second last job for the day was to fit the new badge...the one the car came with bothered me because it looked like it was 535 d rather than 535d....small detail but enough to annoy me and for £9 for a new one it couldn't hurt
IMG-20250608-WA0003 by Steve, on Flickr

Last job was to get Bimmercode working on the laptop so I could code my new battery, being 110AH instead of the factory fitted 90AH...this sent me on a adventure down the rabbit hole setting the beeps for the alarm arming etc and finally having the key left behind warning switched on (it only bothers me because my partners E92 does it and this didn't) also switched on the speed readout in the centre of the dash for no reason other than I could...I will be venturing into expert mode to try and code out the SOS system, it comes up with SOS failure everytime I start the car, not a huge issue, but I'd rather it didn't.

Few things to do in the near future, see a PDR company if they can take the small creases out of the OSR wheel arch...they haven't broken the paint so fingers crossed. get the headlight lenses refurbed (adaptive headlights so replacing just for crazed lenses is not an option) I may do the timing chain in the not too distant, easier on this one being an M57 so the chains are at the front rather than an N57. I also have to figure out how repair the fibre optic cable for the LDW camera...or find a replacement cable.

[Jakg]

Steve93 said:

I will be venturing into expert mode to try and code out the SOS system, it comes up with SOS failure everytime I start the car, not a huge issue, but I'd rather it didn't.

It's possible there's an actual fault on the MOST loop that's causing this in case you want to fix it properly. In my (limited) experience you only need to start coding it out if there's been some retrofitting going on.

[danb79]

Superb motor; these have gotten better with age. They're a great looking touring

Re chains; do they need to be touched? The M57s fairly bomb proof and it sounds like it's been well looked after

[Jakg]

danb79 said:

Re chains; do they need to be touched? The M57s fairly bomb proof and it sounds like it's been well looked after

They are mostly reliable but ~2008 35d/3.0sd/twin turbo's not so much especially in the X5. Currently rebuilding the one in my X5...

[Steve93]

Jakg said:

It's possible there's an actual fault on the MOST loop that's causing this in case you want to fix it properly. In my (limited) experience you only need to start coding it out if there's been some retrofitting going on.

I had a look into it, and it seems that if you have a MOST loop system down you lose the Bluetooth and the radio etc too. Both of these are working so I think there may be a fault in the part of the TCU that has the SOS system in it? I may dig into it a bit further just for good practice though.

With the chains, it's mainly N57's that have the issue, M57's are not exempt and can still have issues, but it's far less common. Apparently stop start and 20k mile oil changes aren't a good mix...who knew.

And then to rub salt into the wound they put the chain at the rear of the engine.

[drdino]

SOS call failure is usually due to the backup battery that's dead, which can be replaced.

[Jakg]

drdino said:

SOS call failure is usually due to the backup battery that's dead, which can be replaced.

I *think* that's for later F-series models.

Steve93 said:

I had a look into it, and it seems that if you have a MOST loop system down you lose the Bluetooth and the radio etc too. Both of these are working so I think there may be a fault in the part of the TCU that has the SOS system in it? I may dig into it a bit further just for good practice though.

My E93 had an SOS warning because the TCU module was dead - no other symptoms. Replaced and all good.
My E91 & E71 had SOS warnings because of retrofits - so coded out.

[bobski1]

did the gearbox service come as a kit? Mine is due soon and never done gearbox service before

[alex.baker89]

Absolutely fantastic piece of kit. I still lust after one of these - either the 530d or 530i petrol (the M54 without HPFP issues).

This would be an ideal replacement for my wallet damaging, fuel drinking B8 S4 Avant. I actually bought an E60 saloon before the S4, but had it for only a week. Was a super rare 6 speed manual 530i in Diamondschwarz, with the same 14-way comfort seats as the E65 7 series which were some of the best seats BMW has ever made.

Drove it back from Scotland, stuck it on the ramp with the local specialists...

Rotten as a pear. All the rust was hidden by the plastic undertrays.

Trailered away from a loss-making eBay sale 4-days later. Sad times.

Still looking for another but in touring form.

P.S. - have you watched Sreten's YouTube channel, M539 Restorations? If not, worth watching as he is a guru of mostly Bangle-era BMWs. I think he managed to replace lenses on adaptive headlights as there's a way to cut them off and replace. Refurbing never usually lasts long until they fog up again.

Edited by alex.baker89 on Tuesday 10th June 09:34

[AlexGSi2000]

Great cars the e60/61 platform.

I've had a couple over the years, the last being an LCI 20d - not the quickest, sounded like a tractor but a good solid car that never complained over the 4 years I owned it.

Sold for an f11 530d which I just cant gel with compared to the e60.

[alex.baker89]

AlexGSi2000 said:

Great cars the e60/61 platform.

I've had a couple over the years, the last being an LCI 20d - not the quickest, sounded like a tractor but a good solid car that never complained over the 4 years I owned it.

Sold for an f11 530d which I just cant gel with compared to the e60.

Interesting what you say about the F11 530d. My Dad loved his and regrets not owning it now. I know what you mean though - E60/61 is just better somehow.

[Rowe]

Rare car, especially in that condition.

Many will say I'm stupid, but this generation of E series was peak BMW for me. Even now, I think an E6X still looks fresh (perhaps that's me getting older though).

There aren't many cars you can step out of feeling fresh and comfortable, but the E6x is definitely one of them.

[Steve93]

bobski1 said:

did the gearbox service come as a kit? Mine is due soon and never done gearbox service before

You can buy a genuine ZF kit from gearbox oils online. That's where I got kits for both cars

With the TCU failure, I may buy a second hand working TCU and see how it goes. Worst case I'll follow the scary guides on coding it out

I wish I had gone the E6x route earlier to be honest, about 5 years ago I had the chance at either a 93 TTiD or an E60 530d....I foolishly took the TTiD, which to be fair has given me 5 years of partially trouble free motoring, but the interior and general feel of the BMW is leagues ahead (which is a shame because the 93 is a good looking car and the twin turbo 1.9 punches well above its weight)

I did briefly look at 530d F chassis cars, but I knew fine I'd be in constant fear of chain issues and the ones in budget were all SE trim with not many options ticked.

[Scootersp]

bobski1 said:

did the gearbox service come as a kit? Mine is due soon and never done gearbox service before

Me too, great video link here of the procedure on a 635D but must be almost identical on the 535d.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JKHlQsGUbs0