E61 V8 Bearding

[gizlaroc]

Good effort!

What do you use to clean the leather?

[maniak91]

gizlaroc said:

Good effort!

What do you use to clean the leather?

I used a leather brush from Colourlock and this https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Meguiars-All-Purpose-Cl...

But you have to be really careful with it, leave it too long or scrub to hard, paint will come off the leather. After cleaning, i immediately applied some leather conditioner, and they were ok.

[gizlaroc]

Good choice.

I always use All Purpose Cleaner too, but tend to buy it from the supermarket for £1 or so.

But definitely the best stuff imho.

I never bother with conditioner, just makes it go shiny again much quicker.

[alistair267]

I also treated mine to a trip to the hand car wash, but failed to take any photos.

I need to attack the leather in mine - the light colour is beginning to look a little worn in, a bit discoloured and could do with some attention. Any specific tips other than a leather brush and the all purpose cleaner? It's not something I've ever done before. Maniak, your seats have come up very well, I really like the colour.

On the to do list for mine:

- Freshen up the seats
- Odd noise coming from the front suspension particularly when going over speed bumps. Something may need a refresh
- Needs a diagnostic to see which door handle is causing the comfort access to drain all the battery (if it is indeed that, I have taken out the fuse for the comfort access for the moment)
- Respray front bumper which is looking every one of its 109,000 miles

Had a trip into central London yesterday, it does amuse me how the old V8 can sail into the ULEZ without problem. Longer run to Oxfordshire planned for this weekend, will be good to get it out of London away from 20mph limits and endless speed bumps

[maniak91]

alistair267 said:

I also treated mine to a trip to the hand car wash, but failed to take any photos.

I need to attack the leather in mine - the light colour is beginning to look a little worn in, a bit discoloured and could do with some attention. Any specific tips other than a leather brush and the all purpose cleaner? It's not something I've ever done before. Maniak, your seats have come up very well, I really like the colour.

Thank you

That's all you need: Leather brush, APC Meguiars cleaner and a microfiber towel. Be sure it foams (not that it's just wet) when you scrub, and immediately clean with the microfiber. Work in small areas for best results. If you leave it too long, it might attack the paint. Also, if your seats are already worn/discolored, it will attack that area, not much you can do there. I would recommend some sort of leather conditioner/moisturizer for the seats after you finish, just to stop the cleaner to dry the leather out, and also it creates a film protection on the leather.
Give it a go in a inconspicuous area, and if it's ok, take your time doing the whole seat.

This is my end result, will get some better pics once i get the new mats i ordered. Will start with the mechanical problems next, and finish with a good overall polish.

[gizlaroc]

I'm not sure on conditioning afterwards.

This leather is spray painted anyway, with a clearcoat too, so it won't soak into the leather anyway, it just sits as a film on top.

I picked up the E91 on Saturday and I did the leather in that yesterday, just using an all purpose cleaner and then leaving it. The seats were grubby and had lost the factory matte finish.
This was the results....

Edited by gizlaroc on Monday 9th March 19:45

[Patrick Bateman]

It's a marmite colour (those who dislike it are just plain wrong) but it doesn't half lift the interior of an e9x compared to black leather.

I feel of all the generations of BMW's, the e9x and e6x era fare worst with plain black interiors.

[gizlaroc]

I will be honest, I have never been a fan of the colour, I bought this car as it was offered to me at trade and it is a good enough price to be a third car if my daughter doesn't want it.
However, now I have it I really like the colour in the flesh.

[john_1983]

I'm starting to have some issues with my rear wiper. Instead of moving from 9 to 3 o'clock IYSWIM, it now only goes from 10 to 2 o'clock.

I tried spraying some lithium grease around the spindle, any other ideas on what may be the issue? It is slower as well, but it's the stopping and returning at 2 o'clock I find a bit strange

[ATM]

john_1983 said:

I'm starting to have some issues with my rear wiper. Instead of moving from 9 to 3 o'clock IYSWIM, it now only goes from 10 to 2 o'clock.

I tried spraying some lithium grease around the spindle, any other ideas on what may be the issue? It is slower as well, but it's the stopping and returning at 2 o'clock I find a bit strange

I had this on my E91. I sprayed lube into the glass and worked it in by hand. It was incredibly stiff to move by hand. That made me realise why it wasn't working.

[Hashtaggggg]

john_1983 said:

I'm starting to have some issues with my rear wiper. Instead of moving from 9 to 3 o'clock IYSWIM, it now only goes from 10 to 2 o'clock.

I tried spraying some lithium grease around the spindle, any other ideas on what may be the issue? It is slower as well, but it's the stopping and returning at 2 o'clock I find a bit strange

Take it to pieces, give everything a good clean and grease the spindle

[john_1983]

That's my plan for the weekend. Does the stiffness mean the wiper stops at 2 o'clock for the return sweep? I thought it would continue until 3 o'clock if it could push through the resistance

[JakeT]

The stiffness will make it park anywhere.

As mentioned, the best bet is to remove the wiper arm, and the trim on the rear window. Then pull out the spindle and glass latch combo. Remove some more bits (a nut and circlip I think) and knock out the shaft. Get some 1500grit and WD-40 on the shaft and and inside of the spindle too. Then add grease (I used red rubber grease since I had it in the garage) and stick it all back together.

I sorted the rear wiper on my E91 after it stopped parking properly. Same bits as an E61. You should be able to move the rear wiper when the glass is up with very little resistance.

[john_1983]

Ended up doing it last night after finding a guide online, even after penetrating fluid the spindle needed some gentle persuasion with a hammer to be released.

Much better now, wiper nice and quick and parks at 9 o'clock. But it still only goes as far as 2 o'clock before changing direction - is this normal? I can't remember, but I thought it went right round

[ATM]

john_1983 said:

Ended up doing it last night after finding a guide online, even after penetrating fluid the spindle needed some gentle persuasion with a hammer to be released.

Much better now, wiper nice and quick and parks at 9 o'clock. But it still only goes as far as 2 o'clock before changing direction - is this normal? I can't remember, but I thought it went right round

Not right

3 o'clock to 9 o'clock.

Have you tried operating the motor with the glass hatch open and observed how it behaves?

I did this on my E91 but I've not had to mess with the E61.

[gizlaroc]

The spindle gets corrosion on it and this happens, I would just get a new spindle for it.

[alistair267]

maniak91 said:

That's all you need: Leather brush, APC Meguiars cleaner and a microfiber towel. Be sure it foams (not that it's just wet) when you scrub, and immediately clean with the microfiber. Work in small areas for best results. If you leave it too long, it might attack the paint. Also, if your seats are already worn/discolored, it will attack that area, not much you can do there. I would recommend some sort of leather conditioner/moisturizer for the seats after you finish, just to stop the cleaner to dry the leather out, and also it creates a film protection on the leather.
Give it a go in a inconspicuous area, and if it's ok, take your time doing the whole seat.

Many thanks, I will let you know how I get on once I get round to doing it

[smashie]

Seriously considering that it may be time to change the 550. What do you reckon I could get for it being upfront saying that the engine mgmt light comes on due to the cats. Will stay off long enough to pass mot. 2006 SE model.

[ATM]

Absolutely no idea. There was a 56 reg sport on ebay recently for 6500 I think. That had something like 150000 miles though. The 2007 sport from 4990 has been for sale for a couple of months now I think but not sure. Link below.

Not really sure mileage affects the value on these because they are so rare but buyers will always find a reason to tell you the car is worth nothing while they still want to buy it.

Mine still feels pretty solid even though its getting on a bit. I cant image these big v8 engines are particularly stressed pottering around. We hardly give them a good workout on public roads.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/143545278432

[maniak91]

ATM said:

Absolutely no idea. There was a 56 reg sport on ebay recently for 6500 I think. That had something like 150000 miles though. The 2007 sport from 4990 has been for sale for a couple of months now I think but not sure. Link below.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/143545278432

I think that's a very well priced car for what it is. People are just afraid of running cost on them.


I replaced a few parking sensors today and got the PDC working again, replaced the rear window switch and took apart the spindle and cleaned and greased it, now my wiper also works again. I had some 19" styling 218 laying around in my garage, so decided to put those on. Needs some spacers on the rear and a bit of lowering, but i think they suit the car.