E39 - what to look out for?
Discussion
Generally the cooling system is a known weak point - cracked radiator ends specifically.
They can rust.
Electrics can be iffy. Make sure everything works including the fan speed control.
Other than that at this age and a relatively heavy car you are looking at suspension bushes and brakes if they haven't been done recently.
Don't discount the E60 either. If you are after a V8 the 545i is great value at the moment.
They can rust.
Electrics can be iffy. Make sure everything works including the fan speed control.
Other than that at this age and a relatively heavy car you are looking at suspension bushes and brakes if they haven't been done recently.
Don't discount the E60 either. If you are after a V8 the 545i is great value at the moment.
Chocolate radiators, as mentioned above, (but £300 replaced by my indie, so not wallet breaking.)
They often benefit significantly from a suspension refresh, and laser alignment, but mine has lasted a good few years since it was done, so I forget the cost.
WRT "make sure everything works", my mirrors have never folded, and it doesn't seem to have affected anything else. TV won't work anymore (analogue) although I think there are digital converters available. Traffic Master is discontinued too, so don't worry about that. My powered tailgate stopped working due to a small hydraulic leak, so I just cleaned it up and unplugged it.
Great cars, love mine. The surest sign of quality: Carpeted Door Pockets.
They often benefit significantly from a suspension refresh, and laser alignment, but mine has lasted a good few years since it was done, so I forget the cost.
WRT "make sure everything works", my mirrors have never folded, and it doesn't seem to have affected anything else. TV won't work anymore (analogue) although I think there are digital converters available. Traffic Master is discontinued too, so don't worry about that. My powered tailgate stopped working due to a small hydraulic leak, so I just cleaned it up and unplugged it.
Great cars, love mine. The surest sign of quality: Carpeted Door Pockets.
essayer said:
Be wary of odd autobox behaviour..thuds, hunting, jerky changes etc
Mine made a bit of thunk, and went into limp home mode. My indie did a fluid change, and it's been fine for the last 3 and a bit years.Admittedly, I might have been lucky. This is one case in perhaps many.
rust rust rust - jacking points on sills, floorpans, rear panel under boot, bootlid, filler bowl, leading edge of bonnet. Check under the rear carpet for wetness- if it's damp then walk away, the floors rust from the inside out and rear door membranes are prone to failing with no obvious symptoms. The carpets have about 3 inches of foam underneath which acts like a big sponge so once the floor has a visible puddle there will be literally gallons of water under there.
mechanicals are easy to work on and parts readily available. Good diagnostics so electricals aren't too difficult to sort. Relatively complex cars but loads of DIY stuff on the web with fixes to common problems and how-to's, especially as these cars were popular in the states and they love writing a good (English) DIY guide over there.
The 6 pot has a reputation of drinking oil but often its a combination of oil leaks from the cam cover and oil filter housing, and blocked CCV system. Both easy enough to sort.
VANOS seals go hard and lead to a slight loss of MPG and lumpy idle but again, an easy enough DIY, especially on the M54.
DISA valve is a flawed design and can result in a metal pin falling into the intake system, similar to the swirl flap issue on deisels, a rebuild kit is available though to remedy this and is easy to do.
Suspension bushes prone to wear, especially front control arms, leads to the infamous "e39 shimmy" due to the design of the front suspension which uses two separate control arms rather than a single lower wishbone.
If you don't mind getting the spanners out then go for it, if you have to rely on a garage to fix stuff then it's not going to be cheap. Lovely old barges if you get a good one.
mechanicals are easy to work on and parts readily available. Good diagnostics so electricals aren't too difficult to sort. Relatively complex cars but loads of DIY stuff on the web with fixes to common problems and how-to's, especially as these cars were popular in the states and they love writing a good (English) DIY guide over there.
The 6 pot has a reputation of drinking oil but often its a combination of oil leaks from the cam cover and oil filter housing, and blocked CCV system. Both easy enough to sort.
VANOS seals go hard and lead to a slight loss of MPG and lumpy idle but again, an easy enough DIY, especially on the M54.
DISA valve is a flawed design and can result in a metal pin falling into the intake system, similar to the swirl flap issue on deisels, a rebuild kit is available though to remedy this and is easy to do.
Suspension bushes prone to wear, especially front control arms, leads to the infamous "e39 shimmy" due to the design of the front suspension which uses two separate control arms rather than a single lower wishbone.
If you don't mind getting the spanners out then go for it, if you have to rely on a garage to fix stuff then it's not going to be cheap. Lovely old barges if you get a good one.
Edited by lufbramatt on Wednesday 5th April 15:10
Mainly rust, remove the jacking point pads and have a good look in there and around the sills
Parking sensors
A/C compressors
Oil vapour return path down in the dipstick tube
CCV system
Cracked cam covers
Cooling fan clutch
Radiator leaks
Vanos seals
Rear light loom where it passes from body into the boot lid
Water ingress
Auto Boxes
Lamda sensors
ABS computer (speedo not working, ABS light on, ESP light on)
Rust can really finish them off chassis wise whilst not showing many signs on the outer body
Parking sensors
A/C compressors
Oil vapour return path down in the dipstick tube
CCV system
Cracked cam covers
Cooling fan clutch
Radiator leaks
Vanos seals
Rear light loom where it passes from body into the boot lid
Water ingress
Auto Boxes
Lamda sensors
ABS computer (speedo not working, ABS light on, ESP light on)
Rust can really finish them off chassis wise whilst not showing many signs on the outer body
Yes rear brake lines are a good shout.
Mine had had them done prior to my ownership but I ended up re-doing them a couple of months ago in cunifer as the garage (well respected BMW indie) had done them in copper and not routed them correctly so they were pinched between the tank and the inner sill. It is possible to do them without dropping the tank and just lowering one side of the subframe. I put details of pipe lengths and fittings on the BMW5 forum. took me a morning to do both with the car on axle stands so shouldn't be too big a job for a proper garage.
Mine had had them done prior to my ownership but I ended up re-doing them a couple of months ago in cunifer as the garage (well respected BMW indie) had done them in copper and not routed them correctly so they were pinched between the tank and the inner sill. It is possible to do them without dropping the tank and just lowering one side of the subframe. I put details of pipe lengths and fittings on the BMW5 forum. took me a morning to do both with the car on axle stands so shouldn't be too big a job for a proper garage.
Edited by lufbramatt on Wednesday 5th April 16:51
Depends on two things - how long you want it to last, and whether you can work on cars yourself. Also, how much you're going to spend.
These cars were great when new, but they're bangers now. A few nice ones, but most aren't. It doesn't matter how old they are - you're better off with a well maintained sub 100'000 mile R reg 523i than a 2003 530i shed. The newer they are, the more there is to go wrong - after late 1998 there's the s
t cooling system with those sodding push fit hoses, flaky ABS block and the later ones seem to rust more than early ones.
T he pre 9/98 ones have a much simpler cooling system (basically E34 style), single vanos that never seemed to go wrong, ditto the ABS block. An earlier 528i is a great car.
I wouldn't worry too much about 'refreshing' bits of it unless you like spending money. You can get an up together prosaic model like a 523i for 500 quid - they're just old unwanted 26 mpg cars. Go and look at one you like the look of and if it drives okay, isn't terminally rusty and doesn't piss oil or coolant out, that'll do.
Don't waste money fixing stuff that hasn't broken yet but keep and eye on levels and fix stuff as it goes wrong whilst being prepared to bin it if it sts itself.
These cars were great when new, but they're bangers now. A few nice ones, but most aren't. It doesn't matter how old they are - you're better off with a well maintained sub 100'000 mile R reg 523i than a 2003 530i shed. The newer they are, the more there is to go wrong - after late 1998 there's the s
t cooling system with those sodding push fit hoses, flaky ABS block and the later ones seem to rust more than early ones.T he pre 9/98 ones have a much simpler cooling system (basically E34 style), single vanos that never seemed to go wrong, ditto the ABS block. An earlier 528i is a great car.
I wouldn't worry too much about 'refreshing' bits of it unless you like spending money. You can get an up together prosaic model like a 523i for 500 quid - they're just old unwanted 26 mpg cars. Go and look at one you like the look of and if it drives okay, isn't terminally rusty and doesn't piss oil or coolant out, that'll do.
Don't waste money fixing stuff that hasn't broken yet but keep and eye on levels and fix stuff as it goes wrong whilst being prepared to bin it if it s
ts itself. Many thanks for all the feedback, lots to check by the looks of it!
Appreciate it's an old car and will have old car issues, it's more the model specifics I'm wary of and which ones to run from and which ones might be of use. The one I'm considering was registered in '97 so hopefully the simpler/more reliable cooling system??
Do the hoses look different, seemingly the latter ones are simply push fit?
Cheers
Appreciate it's an old car and will have old car issues, it's more the model specifics I'm wary of and which ones to run from and which ones might be of use. The one I'm considering was registered in '97 so hopefully the simpler/more reliable cooling system??
Do the hoses look different, seemingly the latter ones are simply push fit?
Cheers
Cooling and electrics were the problems for mine (2001 525i)
Cooling was simple to do, with the right tools and how to guide, as were electrics. What sent mine to the breakers was the integral battery in the alarm and remaining key both going; all I could see coming were more and more electrical gremlins. Well, that and the possibility of a 645 V8 coupe for £7,500...
Cooling was simple to do, with the right tools and how to guide, as were electrics. What sent mine to the breakers was the integral battery in the alarm and remaining key both going; all I could see coming were more and more electrical gremlins. Well, that and the possibility of a 645 V8 coupe for £7,500...
acme said:
Many thanks for all the feedback, lots to check by the looks of it!
Appreciate it's an old car and will have old car issues, it's more the model specifics I'm wary of and which ones to run from and which ones might be of use. The one I'm considering was registered in '97 so hopefully the simpler/more reliable cooling system??
Do the hoses look different, seemingly the latter ones are simply push fit?
Cheers
1997 is indeed the early cooling system. A rad can be swapped in 25 minutes and the header tank is integral - chances are, it's still on the original. The hoses are secured with worm drive Jubilee clips. It will have the ABS block that never goes wrong, and the E36 style key with replaceable batteries.Appreciate it's an old car and will have old car issues, it's more the model specifics I'm wary of and which ones to run from and which ones might be of use. The one I'm considering was registered in '97 so hopefully the simpler/more reliable cooling system??
Do the hoses look different, seemingly the latter ones are simply push fit?
Cheers
My first E39 was an Oxford green 520i Auto on a P plate back in 2004/5. Not fast but a very nice thing to waft along in. Much nicer than the manual.
iSore said:
1997 is indeed the early cooling system. A rad can be swapped in 25 minutes and the header tank is integral - chances are, it's still on the original. The hoses are secured with worm drive Jubilee clips. It will have the ABS block that never goes wrong, and the E36 style key with replaceable batteries.
My first E39 was an Oxford green 520i Auto on a P plate back in 2004/5. Not fast but a very nice thing to waft along in. Much nicer than the manual.
Thanks, that's odd isn't it the header tank being integral?! My first E39 was an Oxford green 520i Auto on a P plate back in 2004/5. Not fast but a very nice thing to waft along in. Much nicer than the manual.
Certainly sounds like an earlier one, a mate's coming with me who had an E36 M3 (GT model!) so hopefully he'll recognise the key.
If you can stretch to a post 2000 530 do so, it will save lots of issues.
It won't save all as you can see from the above.
Having said that, if it has no rust, has had the cooling system updated and the suspension bushes changed, or you budget for the above, they are a lovely car to drive.
On top of that, check the electrics, check the warning lights come on & go off as they should (specifically come on to indicate they are not blanked off) check the electrics, check the warning lights, check the electrics, check the warning lights........ You get the idea.
It won't save all as you can see from the above.
Having said that, if it has no rust, has had the cooling system updated and the suspension bushes changed, or you budget for the above, they are a lovely car to drive.
On top of that, check the electrics, check the warning lights come on & go off as they should (specifically come on to indicate they are not blanked off) check the electrics, check the warning lights, check the electrics, check the warning lights........ You get the idea.
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