The 'Oh crap, I won it' E39 530i

[swampy442]

Finally I've got a conundrum - The auto box works faultlessly, I checked the fluid level earlier (took a breaker bar to get the fill plug out, doesn't bode well) and it was low and clearly past its best.

Ive serviced every auto box Ive ever had without issue, bar one, the V12 Merc which failed shortly afterwards. Some say change the oil, some say leave it alone. What do I do?

[swampy442]

JakeT said:

the gearbox oil has never been changed. It's on 254,000 miles now.

U WOT M9??

So if I do leave it, what do I top it up with? Thats another reason why I drop and change the oil, so I know whats in there is good.

[swampy442]

B'stard Child said:

I’d change fluid and filter but pay very careful attention to getting the level right - when I did the ZF box on my E38 it too three days of top ups after cold starts to get the level up to the correct place from memory 500ml then 250ml then another 250 ml was added (you don’t have much time before the box hits 30 deg either)

I’m convinced that box failures after fluid changes are down to level being too low or the box was already buggered and nothing was going to save it.

Thats a fair point, this one is already low on fluid even when its warm so I've gotta make a call fast I think

[swampy442]

B'stard Child said:

They'd come up fine with wet and dry and then a compound IMO

I tried a bit of wet and dry on the other side and it just made it cloudier. The lens is also pretty brittle

[swampy442]

Those lights are in far better condition than mine

[swampy442]

Morning all 😊 So for fluid, is it good old Dex III?

[swampy442]

Morning all 😊 So for fluid, is it good old Dex III?

[swampy442]

Looking that up LT 71141 is a spec and there’s lots of equivalent and comparable fluids out there.

I’m gonna go for it and change the fluid. Look out for the ‘I’m stuck on the A15 with a failed gearbox’ post

[swampy442]

Thanks for all the information, very helpful

[swampy442]

pits said:

With regards to the inner rear lights, sand with 1200,1500,2000 then wipe them clean and just clear coat them, don't bother polishing as there is little to no need, I have seen much worse.

As for other parts, you mentioned that you have noticed a lot of original parts still on there, a standard E39 service kit at this age.
Water pump
Thermostat
Radiatior
Top hose
Bottom hoses, including the ones that run along the bottom of the radiator cowling
Make sure all the above are Behr items, do not put cheap rubbish on as you will be ripping it all out when it fails
Tensioners and idlers
Rocker cover gasket set (BMW) , try not to crack it when you remove it.
Vanos seals (easy to do as the unit pops off)
CCV kit, get a Meyle one this will definitely need doing
Oil filter housing seal.
DISA valve rebuild kit

Do it all in one day in this order
Remove fan
Radiator and hoses out.
Alternator off
Oil filter housing off
CCV removal
Rocker cover off
Vanos unit off and do seals
Vanos back on and rocker cover back on
CCV kit on
Oil filter housing seal on
Disa valve
Alternator,
Radiator

You can do them all at different times, but with the radiator out the way it is so much easier and quicker.

As for gearbox, if it has made it past 140k miles, I would leave it, though I do have a manual conversion kit on the shelf.

Its a tough one because, whilst its all running sweetly I dont want to disturb anything. But its had new rad, new belts, new tensioners, the Vanos doesn't leak neither does the oil filter. Granted the cam cover is leaking, Ill google what the CCV is/does and Ill check the DISA out.

[swampy442]

lufbramatt said:

^ +1, did exactly that to mine, not too bad a job, loads of space to work once the rad cowling is out of the way.

I'd also add the two hoses to the power steering reservoir to that list, and the big O-ring in the reservoir lid. the hoses perish and the weeping fluid makes a right mess as they age.

Could also do the injector O-rings, about a fiver for a set of 12, the originals will be hard and brittle.

The power steering res is leaking, looks like its had a hose 'repair' in the past, Ill see how the injector seals look as well.

[swampy442]

I've bottled the gearbox service in favour of a top up It was best part of a litre down when hot, so I topped it last night, Ill leave it a day and check the cold level again tonight.

Also in the camp of 'replace everything rubber on the car' Rear sub frame bushes. I work on an air field, when driving on that surface it sets up a horrid bounce and wobble from the rear, I thought it was shocks but when I jacked the back end up last night to put the car on stands, the whole car was bouncing on the sub frame. bks.

On the up side it looks a painless enough job to do without removing the subframe, if you have the right tool.

[swampy442]

We’re the bushes fairly straight forward?

[swampy442]

Im 6ft 5 and work on planes so Im used to be in unusual positions lol.

Gearbox top done, took 3 attempts and 2 litres of fluid but its done

[swampy442]

pits said:

Vanos system don't leak, they fail over time and the O rings need replacing, it is also the oil filter housing that leaks, its way down the engine block, I get the whole not wanting to disturb things but these are all things that will fail sooner rather than later. As mentioned, if power steering pot is leaking, get a new pot it is a serviceable item, but I would do a fluid change with the old pot on first, syringe and fluid is a good way to do it.

Haven't had chance to go looking for the stalk yet, I have been balls deep in my Defender

No rush, thank you. The power steering res isnt leaking the hose attached to it is

[swampy442]

Once again thanks for all the kind words and input As I appeared on the Pistonheads Facebook page this weekend I felt galvanised to doing more bits.

Front thrust/track control arms changed. Haynes manual 2 spanners out of 5. Only issue I had was because like a lot of suspension bits on the car the arms appear to be original, so in trying to remove the ball joints I pulled the steel bush out of the aluminium hub.
No big deal, some freeze spray and a bit of heat, pressed back in no worries.
And guess what, the car is much nicer to drive, just need to sort the rear sub frame bushes out.






Also as a complete bonus, fixed the ABS warning! Created a workaround for the broken wire, light out, happy days. My thoughts of an ABS module repair are a can thats kicked down the road for now.

Edited by swampy442 on Monday 22 March 18:26

[swampy442]

hman said:

It’s a £3000 car - the fact you paid £1898 just means you’ll be paying £1102 in bits to get it right.

Prepare for radiator failure, fan blade explosion, cam cover splitting, oil breathers collapsing, seat belt pretensioner dying, air con pipes leaking, abs module packing in, and get the rusty sills sorted before the jacking points collapse.

I did the same as you several years ago with a 525i msport e39, paid £1600 and got shot of it 6 months later (just covering my outgoings on it) because when it worked it was great but it was only a matter of time before something else was going to stop working.

Good luck

Thanks for the comment. I said in an earlier post, the rad, belts and tensioner (well the top one) have been replaced. The A/C work fine for now, the breather system looks in good shape, the ABS problem I had has been cured. The rust on the sills is nowhere near the jacking points, which are solid, in fact despite being caked in Somerset's finest crap the underside is very clean.

[swampy442]

I had to make an essential trip to Wolverhampton today, So gave big 5 a run out, drives so much better now those front arms are done!

2 observations - the heating issue is still there, still full hot regardless of selection. Bit of probing on me weekly error code trawl shows the unit in the car appears to be operating correctly (selected temps match the buttons pressed, sending signals to the valve) so I have 2 options, the pipework to the valve is wrong/ the valve is wrong. Unless anyone has another place to look?

Second, fuel economy. Yes its an old school auto 3 litre, but the average for a 200 and a bit round trip was 23. It does need a good service but is that normal?

Other than that, still my daily commuter, exhaust still makes a really annoying rattling noise, Im very happy with it

[swampy442]

d_a_n1979 said:

Did you say it's an eBay special valve you've fitted?

It was, and you did tell me. Buy cheap buy twice and all that. I just cant believe it doesn't work out of the box, at least for a short time. Was there any set up you had to do (set heater to X degrees, plug in valve etc)

[swampy442]

d_a_n1979 said:

Nope; remove (when cold as less coolant will be lost then); bin the crappy one, fit new Febi (or known OEM working one) and top up coolant with 100ml or so, start car and let it come up to temp... Check all heater settings

Thats fair enough, ill look for a quality valve.

How hard is it to find a front exhaust section for this car? Answer is quite lol. Its driving me insane with the rattle, you cant hear a thing in the car, outside its like a constant ringing.