E61 V8 Bearding

[d_a_n1979]

StuntmanMike said:

Anyone know what oil is used in the diff on a 550? And how much?

75W90 IIRC

Get 2 1l bottles and that'll be enough

I use this Mike: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Castrol-Syntrax-Longlif...

I'm sure the E60 diffs are the same 75W90 fluids as the E39; I used it my E65 too

[StuntmanMike]

Cheers dan. Going to order engine oil tomorrow, may as well do the diff while I’m at it.

[ATM]

Isn't it a case off fill till it dribbles out of the fill hole just like gearboxes?

[helix402]

ATM said:

Isn't it a case off fill till it dribbles out of the fill hole just like gearboxes?

Spot on.

[smashie]

ATM said:

This seller now has 2 of these for sale.

This one is priced at 9 grand. Is it previously owned by anyone from this thread?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/284008016284

Previously owned by me.
Know all the good and bad points. That’s up for a hell of a lot more than I px’d it for. No one wanted it for a few hundred more than I was offered in px so someone is gonna get ripped off. It’s gonna need new cats.

[d_a_n1979]

smashie said:

Previously owned by me.
Know all the good and bad points. That’s up for a hell of a lot more than I px’d it for. No one wanted it for a few hundred more than I was offered in px so someone is gonna get ripped off. It’s gonna need new cats.

Typical 'dealer'...

Hopefully someone will research it before they buy it and see this; they can at least contact you then and ask questions

[ATM]

smashie said:

ATM said:

This seller now has 2 of these for sale.

This one is priced at 9 grand. Is it previously owned by anyone from this thread?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/284008016284

Previously owned by me.
Know all the good and bad points. That’s up for a hell of a lot more than I px’d it for. No one wanted it for a few hundred more than I was offered in px so someone is gonna get ripped off. It’s gonna need new cats.

I thought it might be yours. Can't be many silver 06 se touring knocking about.

[smashie]

ATM said:

I thought it might be yours. Can't be many silver 06 se touring knocking about.

Well that is up for more than I paid for it over 5 years ago and a hell of lot more than I px'd it for. Would have let it go for about a 3rd of that if anyone had offered, but no one did when I put it on the BMW groups.
I see they have re-sprayed the rear nearside plastic part of wheel arch I managed to scrape.
Seeing as it will probably need 2 new cats, I wonder if they have fixed it or if they just turn off the EML prior to MOT (what I used to do). EML would stay off for about 20 miles before coming back on again. but that's long enough for an MOT. The garage I took it too was pretty sure that the cats had holes in them which I would put down to oil seepage prior to the engine block and piston replacement, so not a cheap fix (£400 from dismantler or £3k new).

[__CA__]

2007, 27k miles, £15k, Japanese import...

https://www.seymourpope.com/used-vehicle-details/B...

[james_zy]

Strong money for a car that is 13 years old, even if it has done only 26k odd miles (pre LCI too).

I wonder who the market is for these super low mileage cars - the white Japanese import one has sat there for a while, as has the one at £18k at Hexagon. If you are a collector, you get the E61 M5. If you want it as a daily, then you want to be able to put miles on without thinking about it, therefore your target is a well depreciated but well maintained car.

[ATM]

mondeoman said:

ATM said:

d_a_n1979 said:

mondeoman said:

Whats the market like for these now - I want to get rid of my 2009 550i Sport Touring, but cant get a handle on what price to pitch it at...

One sold recently and was listed on eBay; if you go into advanced and select 'sold' and search BMW 550i you'll be able to pull it up; think it was listed for c£8k and had been extremely well looked after & maintained etc

I think I remember yours Mondeo. It started off at 13k and slowly went down over months and months. What you planning to get next?

I'm thinking RRS V8, maybe. This one was totally reliable, just want a change now.

mondeoman

You got yours for sale anywhere?
Still got it?

[WarnieV6GT]

I have a 545i Sport that has done 94k. Its now leaking oil from the cam covers and possibly the alternator bracket seal. Valve stem seals seem OK as I get no smoke.

Its a very well specced car and has been well looked after all its life so I'd like to get the engine sorted rather than keep running it and selling it for peanuts when it finally breaks.

Can anyone recommend a garage in the midlands area that can take the work on for a decent price? I'm in the position where I don't need the car so could leave it with someone to work on as and when they please.

I'd want the valve stem seals done as well as the alternator bracket seal. Is it worth doing the chains or would they be ok as I only do 3-4k a year in it ?

[Patrick Bateman]

Why do the valve stem seals if you get no smoke?

I'd expect the chain to be fine at those miles too.

[WarnieV6GT]

Patrick Bateman said:

Why do the valve stem seals if you get no smoke?

I'd expect the chain to be fine at those miles too.

Because it's just a matter of time with these. If the cam covers and chain covers are coming off (both are leaking on the right bank) then I'd be foolish not to do them.

That's good regarding the chain.

[Patrick Bateman]

Surely if you have zero smoke issues just now it's going to still be a while before anything rears its head to a noticeable degree? Can't see it being the sort of thing that fails suddenly.

I mean it's your money of course but the gaskets and alternator bracket seal will be a small fortune in itself. Could go another 40/50k miles before the valve stem seals get to the point where they actually need done. The 745i I had may have smoked a bit if you left it to idle for a while then booted it but nothing terrible and that was on 140k miles when I got shot.

[ATM]

I'd try some oil additive which helps gaskets and seals. It might be snake oil but it's worth a punt.

[BigMacDaddy]

ATM said:

I'd try some oil additive which helps gaskets and seals. It might be snake oil but it's worth a punt.

My 550 doesn't use any oil that I can tell (never seems to drop on the dipstick at least) but it did occasionally emit a brief whiff through the air vents of what smelled like burning oil when coming to a stop after a long drive, I assume from a few drops landing on a hot surface somewhere under the bonnet. I added a bottle of the Lucas seal rejuvenator stuff to the engine and drove it a few hundred miles before the last oil change, and it doesn't seem to do it any more. Or it could just be that the new oil doesn't smell as much when it burning of course

[WarnieV6GT]

ATM said:

I'd try some oil additive which helps gaskets and seals. It might be snake oil but it's worth a punt.

I have put in some seal conditioner.

It might just be the valve covers but if im getting the valve covers done then I might as well tackle the valve stem seals.

I've found a company called PMP in Nuneaton that will do them for £790 + vat. That will include new gaskets for valve cover and front chain covers.

If the values of these were dropping then I wouldn't bother, but there's very fee 545i Sports for sale, let alone any with the spec this one has.

[BigMacDaddy]

WarnieV6GT said:

I have put in some seal conditioner.

It might just be the valve covers but if im getting the valve covers done then I might as well tackle the valve stem seals.

I've found a company called PMP in Nuneaton that will do them for £790 + vat. That will include new gaskets for valve cover and front chain covers.

If the values of these were dropping then I wouldn't bother, but there's very fee 545i Sports for sale, let alone any with the spec this one has.

I'm not even sure I'd let falling values put me off even if they were tbh; they're such cracking cars I'd probably still get them done when they eventually need doing. The odd big bill every now and then has to be expected on a car of this ilk, but I'm sure they won't work out costing me any more than running a newer, no doubt more expensive and probably less enjoyable car in the long run. Plus hopefully once they're done they won't need doing again for many, many years.

[ATM]

BigMacDaddy said:

WarnieV6GT said:

I have put in some seal conditioner.

It might just be the valve covers but if im getting the valve covers done then I might as well tackle the valve stem seals.

I've found a company called PMP in Nuneaton that will do them for £790 + vat. That will include new gaskets for valve cover and front chain covers.

If the values of these were dropping then I wouldn't bother, but there's very fee 545i Sports for sale, let alone any with the spec this one has.

I'm not even sure I'd let falling values put me off even if they were tbh; they're such cracking cars I'd probably still get them done when they eventually need doing. The odd big bill every now and then has to be expected on a car of this ilk, but I'm sure they won't work out costing me any more than running a newer, no doubt more expensive and probably less enjoyable car in the long run. Plus hopefully once they're done they won't need doing again for many, many years.

The values are not strong. I think they're still dropping. But what can you replace with? Even BMW don't make any NA v8 cars after this. So this is their last NA v8 other than the e90 m3. And obviously no Touring. The only option is the x5 from 2006 or 2007.

Will these find some value in a few years - who knows.