E61 V8 Bearding

[ATM]

alistair267 said:

ATM said:

Well its just us two now so we need to have each other's backs. Especially when the 545i owners start chiming in about 500cc making no difference in their real world.

Do you happen to know how many 550 Tourings were made? I haven't been able to find the answer

There is mine, yours and a couple more. I've only ever seen one other. Have a look here -

https://www.howmanyleft.co.uk/?utf8=%E2%9C%93&...

[alistair267]

ATM said:

There is mine, yours and a couple more. I've only ever seen one other. Have a look here -

https://www.howmanyleft.co.uk/?utf8=%E2%9C%93&...

Thanks, even fewer than I thought

[ATM]

alistair267 said:

ATM said:

There is mine, yours and a couple more. I've only ever seen one other. Have a look here -

https://www.howmanyleft.co.uk/?utf8=%E2%9C%93&...

Thanks, even fewer than I thought

I've had people shouting across at me at traffic lights because they have seen the badge and dont believe it and want confirmation so trust me they are rare.

Mine was even in a BMW magazine in 2006. I recently bought a copy. I keep posting pics of this but F it.

[BigMacDaddy]

ATM said:

There is mine, yours and a couple more.

And mine!!

Edited by BigMacDaddy on Wednesday 23 October 08:27

[ATM]

BigMacDaddy said:

And mine!!

Edited by BigMacDaddy on Wednesday 23 October 08:27

Where the F did you come from and what's that exhaust?

[alistair267]

We are up to three! What colour is yours BigMac?

ATM: good work getting your hands on the magazine, nice thing to have with the car

[ATM]

alistair267 said:

good work getting your hands on the magazine, nice thing to have with the car

I'll post some pics of the full article if I can remember where I put it.

[BigMacDaddy]

ATM said:

Where the F did you come from and what's that exhaust?

I've had the car for a couple of years now, only sporadic posts though
One of the backboxes on the original exhaust had developed an annoying rattle, so I had it removed and a replacement single box fitted in its place. Still nice and subtle when pootling about but a little more V8 growl gets out when pressing on now!

alistair267 said:

We are up to three! What colour is yours BigMac?

It's "Tiefseeblau Metallic" which my rudimentary German tells me is deep-sea blue. It's an SE with just about every conceivable option ticked, which unfortunately includes "Smoker Delete Pack", meaning it has no 12v sockets up front so I've had to get creative with an old torch and the glove-box charging socket . Also the HUD packed up a couple of months ago and I've not had much success getting it working, although it did remove my only real excuse for not fitting one of the Android nav units so it's got one of those in there now as well.

Cracking cars, honestly don't know what I'd replace it with if it came to it?

[smashie]

ATM said:

Well its just us two now so we need to have each other's backs. Especially when the 545i owners start chiming in about 500cc making no difference in their real world.

Still got my 550. Going in for MOT on Saturday. Not sure if it will pass as done nothing to it apart from oil and filter service since last mot. Only done 3000 miles though.

[ATM]

smashie said:

ATM said:

Well its just us two now so we need to have each other's backs. Especially when the 545i owners start chiming in about 500cc making no difference in their real world.

Still got my 550. Going in for MOT on Saturday. Not sure if it will pass as done nothing to it apart from oil and filter service since last mot. Only done 3000 miles though.

It will be fine. Mine has had nothing much more for the last 2 or 3 years. These cars are tough.

[smashie]

It passed, once I got the engine management light off. Whilst doing so also managed to immobilise the car and the garage has to get their scanner on it so I could start the car again. Carly is now being binned,

[ATM]

Good man. Not sure what you need Carly for. My car just keeps on trucking.

[smashie]

ATM said:

Good man. Not sure what you need Carly for. My car just keeps on trucking.

Because the engine mgmt light comes on. It’s either the sensors for the car or the car itself. One garage told me it was the cat, but I’m not so sure, although it is possible as I previously had a score in one of my cylinders and now have new block and pistons so had quite a bit of oil going through which probably did them no good.
Whilst I can still reset the light, I’m not too bothered getting it fixed.

[alistair267]

The previous owner removed the run flat tyres and it rides very well considering its on 19"s.

However the solution to a spare tyre has been a full size alloy in the boot, which is not very convenient when you have a lot of stuff to carry. Spacesaver ordered off eBay arrived today, job done. I have a jack etc

Going to tackle the broken thigh support motor in the drivers seat over the weekend

[ATM]

alistair267 said:

The previous owner removed the run flat tyres and it rides very well considering its on 19"s.

However the solution to a spare tyre has been a full size alloy in the boot, which is not very convenient when you have a lot of stuff to carry. Spacesaver ordered off eBay arrived today, job done. I have a jack etc

Going to tackle the broken thigh support motor in the drivers seat over the weekend

My mate got a brand new 520d in 2008 / 2009 as a company car. He got a basic spec M sport with the 19 inch wheels. It was a 58 reg. His car did not have run flats and it came like this from BMW. I think he had a can of gunk and a little compressor in the boot - not sure.

[gizlaroc]

The cans of gunk and compressor work really well. Unless you have a massive rip in the sidewall, which is highly unlikely, they will get you where you need to go.

One of the guys on the old BM3W.co.uk forum did 3 laps of the 'ring in his M3 at full speed with that stuff, far bigger balls than me, but shows how good it is.

[helix402]

If anyone needs to repair their tailgate wiring, the clips/rivets holding the metal guides on will break.

This is the part no for new ones:

[alistair267]

helix402 said:

If anyone needs to repair their tailgate wiring, the clips/rivets holding the metal guides on will break.

This is the part no for new ones:

Thanks, that's really helpful. Touch wood I seem to be ok at the moment.

[ATM]

alistair267 said:

helix402 said:

If anyone needs to repair their tailgate wiring, the clips/rivets holding the metal guides on will break.

This is the part no for new ones:

Thanks, that's really helpful. Touch wood I seem to be ok at the moment.

My radio has poor reception. My central locking plays up if I use the boot or leave it open for too long. Then it starts working again after a week or so. So I just dont use the boot.

[pewe]

Just as a matter of interest I had my supplying garage repair the tailgate wiring.
It took their specialist c.5 hours to fix so be warned.
I did see a repair kit on LLL Parts, Autodoc or similar when searching for tailgate struts today.

The grabbing brake issue has been solved but only after replacing calipers, suspension arms, pads, discs etc.etc.
My gut feel is flexi hoses deteriorate internally allowing the pressurised fluid to reach the caliper but not totally release.
As a relatively cheap option I would suggest others suffering a similar problem replace the flexis first!
The rest I've put down to preventative maintenance...