2002 E39 530i Touring - Japanese import

[d_a_n1979]

aaron_2000 said:

Every time I come on this thread, I can't get over how clean and crisp it looks

Thanks... I have issues I know haha

Cars now booked in for Monday 07th Oct to get the rear bumper sorted and Steelgate rear PDC sensors sprayed and fitted

[d_a_n1979]

x4 17x8 Style 66s dropped off today to have the old crappy tyres removed, so I can do a basic refurb on them in readiness for winter tyres and the season  

A perfect fit in the back of my tourer  



Will update tomorrow with more pics of the rear subframe bushes work

[d_a_n1979]

Rear subframe bushes replaced; all 4 looked fine, but the front 2 were both split/torn, the rear 2 seemed to be in ok condition. All original BMW bushes

All 4 replaced with Meyle HD bushes; took 3 hours all in, using the correct Laser BMW E39 touring rear subframe bush tool

Old bushes:



Meyle HD bushes and their part numbers:



A quick shot of the underneath of the car to show how clean it is still

[andykid77]

That is one gorgeous looking tourer....definitely what i'd love to have on my drive.

[d_a_n1979]

andykid77 said:

That is one gorgeous looking tourer....definitely what i'd love to have on my drive.

Thank you

[d_a_n1979]

To report back, the car now drives superbly. It did have a bit of waywardness about it on rough country/B roads, but that’s gone now, so the bushes were due for a change

It’s still very stiff at the rear, but that’s how these are with their stiff rear dampers, to work with the load capabilities and the rear air bags etc... The boot base can be a bit ‘crashy’ over potholes, so I’ll apply some foam tape to make its closing tighter and hopefully stop the movement it has; as slight as it is, it still makes a noise.

Winter alloys (17” Style 66s) dropped off to have the crappy tyres removed, so I can give them a quick, basic refurb in Rover Gun Metallic Grey and then will get new winter tyres fitted (still to order them, but will update with what I’ve ordered as soon as I sort that).

Steelmate rear parking sensors arrived today, they’ll get sprayed and fitted when my car goes into my pals body shop on 7th Oct to get the rear bumper sorted

[d_a_n1979]

Winter tyres ordered; I've gone with Avon /WV7 Snow winter tyres in 235/45/17 XL flavour for my 17" Style 66 alloys

Found them on the MyTyres eBay shop at their cheapest price, £300 for all 4 delivered They were c£88 on Camskill and c£80 on Tyreleader

[tobinen]

That's a good price.

If we have any bad weather this winter I'm looking forward to see how my Vredestein all-seasons behave though I am in two minds about keeping it for a lot longer

[d_a_n1979]

tobinen said:

That's a good price.

If we have any bad weather this winter I'm looking forward to see how my Vredestein all-seasons behave though I am in two minds about keeping it for a lot longer

Yeah; I was looking at the Avons, the Uniroyals (c£100 a corner) and the Vredestein Winters (c£120 a corner) but for the limited mileage I do, the Avon's will be spot on and they get good reviews too

The furthest I do over winter is a trip to Dunkeld every December and then the 2nd week of Feb; every year we've been up, bar this Feb 2019, we've had heavy snow and lots of cold, so for those trips alone, the winter tyres make sense Plus, I travel up/down rough country roads, with lots of standing water and then 2 junctions of the M6 to training and back, so again, they come in great for that. The country roads rarely get gritted too if the weathers cold!

[tobinen]

How long did it take you to change the oil filter housing gasket? If the weather's good this weekend I'm having a go.

2-3 hours is what I'm expecting. Do I need a oil tray underneath?

[d_a_n1979]

tobinen said:

How long did it take you to change the oil filter housing gasket? If the weather's good this weekend I'm having a go.

2-3 hours is what I'm expecting. Do I need a oil tray underneath?

About an hour; it's just the alternator off that can be a bit fiddly. I just used rags to catch any loose oil, but it was midst oil change anyways, so the oil had been dropped beforehand

Just make sure that you get the new gasket seated properly; if it isn't and you pinch it, it'll leak even worse

[manmaths]

Super jealous!

What a lovely motor. Looks classy and clean as a whistle.

Love the alcantara.

Health to enjoy

[Gallons Per Mile]

Very nice. That interior is lovely too. From your post on my thread - I see how you're doing all the same things I'd do if it were mine. Much approval from here

[d_a_n1979]

Gallons Per Mile said:

Very nice. That interior is lovely too. From your post on my thread - I see how you're doing all the same things I'd do if it were mine. Much approval from here

Thanks

Yeah, as I said, expensive hobby

Enjoyable though

[d_a_n1979]

manmaths said:

Super jealous!

What a lovely motor. Looks classy and clean as a whistle.

Love the alcantara.

Health to enjoy

Thinks; it's a lovely place to be

Once the body work I want doing to it is done (rear bumper in a few weeks then probably a full front end respray come early 2020); it'll look like new

It's not major; but the bonnet has quite a few stone chips and the paint is a bit flat, same with the front bumper. So just makes sense to get it all done (and the wing mirror caps) at the same time

I'll just get the winter driving and weather out of the way first

[d_a_n1979]

Quick refurb of the 17x8 Style 66s yesterday and Monday. All cleaned, sanded back, keyed and sprayed in Rover Gun Metallic Grey and with 2/3 coats of lacquer. They're not perfect, but they're clean looking and will be perfect for winter wheels/tyres



Pic of the Avon WV7 winter tyres too

[Nunga]

Smart looking winter wheels! Love this wagon, I think it is one of a few cars that are in the sweet spot of practicality, good looks and handy performance. It’s a shame they just cost so much more in Germany.

[d_a_n1979]

Nunga said:

Smart looking winter wheels! Love this wagon, I think it is one of a few cars that are in the sweet spot of practicality, good looks and handy performance. It’s a shame they just cost so much more in Germany.

Thanks

The alloys will do for winter; they're far from perfect, but they're freshly resprayed and look smart enough to be used in the wetter/colder/rougher weather and they'll save my Style 37s from any undue wear and tear (that's if I've not sold them by then)

What would the price of a car like this, in this spec/condition be like in Germany? Would have thought there's a fair few more there to choose from (albeit mines a Japanese Import) etc

[d_a_n1979]

The touring has had a quick Chemical Guys snow foam and wash today (in between rain showers) and a thorough hoovering inside.

It’s into the body shop tomorrow to get the rear bumper sorted and Steelmate parking sensors retrofitted...

Can’t have it into the shop all filthy inside and out haha

I’ll get the winter tyres fitted to the refurbed Style 66s this week too, will take advantage of the wife’s Racing Jazz and get them to my pal for him to fit & balance them sometime this week, in time to collect both alloys and my car later in this week.

Will report back then with pictures

[d_a_n1979]

Collected the car from the body shop today; rear bumper sorted and resprayed and the Steelmate rear PDC kit installed:














Their usual Auto sparky is recovering from a heart attack, so I'll get the auto sparky I know to connect it all up now, the wirings all fitted and tidy, but I've no idea re auto electrics, so would rather have a pro finish the install properly for me