E91 Straight Six Bearding

[ATM]

Swervin_Mervin said:

For reference I've got the Sachs springs (on the front, rear still original) on the B4s. Drives absolutely spot on.

No love for Koni dampers?

[Court_S]

Putting aside my issues with the Z4, has anyone replaced the A/C compressor themselves on an N52?

I’ve watched a few tutorials on YT; some empty the coolant and remove loads of hoses and the thermostat but one made it look like you could just about do it leaving that intact.

The A/C guy is popping in on Sunday to hopefully confirm my initial thoughts and give me a quote. I’m wondering if it’s worth tackling the bulk of the work myself and just getting him to regas it. It’ll be Sod’s Law that he’s super busy now and me doing the donkey work might just get it sorted faster.

[pmorg4]

Mika_98 said:

Ahh yes, cruise control failed to operate when these warning lights were on.
Would a wheel speed sensor trigger abs and other errors too?

Also forgot to mention, was also suggested there may be corrosion on the abs ring/s due to the car being sat for a week or two. Was advised they may need a clean but hoping to get process of elimination with the quicker checks/tasks

A wheel speed sensor failure will trigger failure warnings for ABS, DSC, flat tyre monitor, and prevent cruise control from working.

You need to read the codes to figure out which sensor has failed. Sensor failures are common at this age, luckily they are cheap and (usually) easy to replace.

[williskwl]

Replaced the panoramic sunroof seal this week, which went well and less road noise, hopefully this helps with the sunroof leak too.

The one sunroof drain (drivers side) I have: removed bottom plug, used sunroof drain brush wire from top and bottom, used low pressure air line. Dropped headlining removed sunroof drain pipe and did same there. Have also put drain unblocker syringed down the drain but it still doesn’t clear. Out the bottom.

For now I am working my way through the drain unblocker with the car pointing downhill in the hope that it gradually unblocks whatever is in there. Passenger side got unblocked straight away and two rear ones are fine.

Any suggestions for a new annoyance of one of the mirrors started creaking on closure?

[stevesuk]

We're thinking of selling ours because we've seen a megaspec X1 we're interested in, but the dealer doesn't want to take the E91 in part-ex.

Webuyanycar have offered £800, and I know when you actually take it to them, they chip you down further.

I was hoping to get £1500 or more - is that feasible? 2005 SE 325i with 130,000 miles. MOT until October. New brakes a couple of months ago, 4 new Continental tyres last year. Xenons, Logic7, pro nav... Everything works.

Edited by stevesuk on Saturday 22 June 13:04

[Court_S]

stevesuk said:

We're thinking of selling ours because we've seen a megaspec X1 we're interested in, but the dealer doesn't want to take the E91 in part-ex.

Webuyanycar have offered £800, and I know when you actually take it to them, they chip you down further.

I was hoping to get £1500 or more - is that feasible? 2005 SE 325i with 130,000 miles. MOT until October. New brakes a couple of months ago, 4 new Continental tyres last year. Xenons, Logic7, pro nav... Everything works.

Edited by stevesuk on Saturday 22 June 13:04

That’s easily worth £1,500 especially with a decent spec on it. I’d stick it up privately.

[Mr Tidy]

stevesuk said:

We're thinking of selling ours because we've seen a megaspec X1 we're interested in, but the dealer doesn't want to take the E91 in part-ex.

Webuyanycar have offered £800, and I know when you actually take it to them, they chip you down further.

I was hoping to get £1500 or more - is that feasible? 2005 SE 325i with 130,000 miles. MOT until October. New brakes a couple of months ago, 4 new Continental tyres last year. Xenons, Logic7, pro nav... Everything works.

Edited by stevesuk on Saturday 22 June 13:04

WBAC trying to cash in on desperate sellers as usual! They valued my 2005 330iSE at £800 last week even though it is a Cat N.

But your spec is really good. Xenons seem to be particularly rare on E9*s, although mine has them.

As Sam said I'd hope for at least £1,500 if you don't mind going down the private sale path and potentially dealing with some idiots.

Sightly off-topic but a couple of weeks ago I got chatting at my BMW Indy to the owner of a 2013 520d that needed a new Xenon headlamp and BMW had quoted £1,100. The Indy found a used one for £600, so your headlights are probably worth more than WBACs valuation of the car!

[stevesuk]

Just as I was saying everything was well, and were looking to sell the car, hopefully for a fairly decent price ... my wife came home and said that she thought the car felt sluggish, and would I drive it to see what I thought.

She was right, at lower revs, pick up did feel quite poor compared to normal.

Then we got to a stretch of dual carriageway, so I gave it some beans and accelerated up to the speed limit in second gear. Looked in the mirror, and it was emitting a James Bond style smoke screen. So much so, the cars behind us changed lanes.

Then... everything returned to normality. No more smoke, and pick-up/responsiveness has largely been restored.

Any ideas? Should I be putting a deposit down on the BMW X1 I found, and phoning the scrapman - or do we think maybe something was blocked and needed an Italian tune-up?

[JakeT]

Can’t say mine has done it but if it’s been pootling around town, I’d say a good clear out sorted it.

I’d keep the E91, but mainly because the X1 is based on the E91 mostly anyway.

[stevesuk]

JakeT said:

Can’t say mine has done it but if it’s been pootling around town, I’d say a good clear out sorted it.

She very rarely troubles it past 2,500 RPM in day to day driving - I just wonder if something had got blocked, and I free'd it in a dramatic fashion. But then it makes you think ... what was it that was blocked?

JakeT said:

I’d keep the E91, but mainly because the X1 is based on the E91 mostly anyway.

The first generation was yes - but the second generation is based on the 2 series platform. Quite a departure from classic BMWness... primarily front-wheel drive (although we're looking at the 4 wheel drive XLine), and a transverse mounted engine. Inside it though, everything seemed a lot more familiar - its like our E91 interior, with 15 years of evolution.

Will be sad to see the old one depart though - we'll have owned it for 15 years this December. Definitely got our moneys worth - with the exception of the electronic waterpump failing, nothing much else of note has broken on it.

[Mr Tidy]

stevesuk said:

JakeT said:

Can’t say mine has done it but if it’s been pootling around town, I’d say a good clear out sorted it.

She very rarely troubles it past 2,500 RPM in day to day driving - I just wonder if something had got blocked, and I free'd it in a dramatic fashion. But then it makes you think ... what was it that was blocked?

JakeT said:

Will be sad to see the old one depart though - we'll have owned it for 15 years this December. Definitely got our moneys worth - with the exception of the electronic waterpump failing, nothing much else of note has broken on it.

I've never had that problem in my 330i, but it does often get well past 2,500rpm! Having said that I don't do too many miles now I've stopped working, but after a 400 mile round trip a couple of weeks ago it is definitely running even better than usual.

I'd rather have an E91 than any X1, so I'd just keep it. Even if it throws up an unexpected bill every years or so (mine does) that is going to be cheaper than depreciation on a newer car! Well that's my justification for keeping my shed anyway.

[RiccardoG]

williskwl said:

.... used sunroof drain brush wire ...

Is there such a thing? Normally I use a semi-flexible electrical wire to clean up my sunroof drains, but its not great. Would be curious if there was a better solution.

[meddler]

Don't know if this is a known fact, but I just heard that BMW no longer makes the E91 boot badge (part 51147166076). Which is kinda annoying because mine has suddenly decided to fall apart.

Has anyone had luck sourcing an original one, or if not, a decent replica?

[Court_S]

meddler said:

Don't know if this is a known fact, but I just heard that BMW no longer makes the E91 boot badge (part 51147166076). Which is kinda annoying because mine has suddenly decided to fall apart.

Has anyone had luck sourcing an original one, or if not, a decent replica?

That’s annoying. I lucked out replacing mine last summer then!

Are there any eBay specials available?

[MajorMantra]

meddler said:

Don't know if this is a known fact, but I just heard that BMW no longer makes the E91 boot badge (part 51147166076). Which is kinda annoying because mine has suddenly decided to fall apart.

Has anyone had luck sourcing an original one, or if not, a decent replica?

That's particularly galling given my replacement has corroded (see a few pages back...).

And no, there are no replicas of the correct size afaik. It's unique to the E91.

[Swervin_Mervin]

I actually managed to get one a few months back, just before they stopped them.

But I haven't fitted it yet and now wondering whether I want to until I maybe ever reach a time where I might get the bodywork tarted up. Knowing there are none left ironically leaves me not wanting to fit the one I have

[meddler]

Swervin_Mervin said:

I actually managed to get one a few months back, just before they stopped them.

But I haven't fitted it yet and now wondering whether I want to until I maybe ever reach a time where I might get the bodywork tarted up. Knowing there are none left ironically leaves me not wanting to fit the one I have

I'll take it off your hands if you like

This is an annoying situation. A new boot badge was meant to complement my new exhaust tips

[williskwl]

I bought a couple of different types to try.

Like this kind of thing. Worked well in 3/4 drains https://www.amazon.com/Brush-sunroof-Cleaning-Frid...

RiccardoG said:

williskwl said:

.... used sunroof drain brush wire ...

Is there such a thing? Normally I use a semi-flexible electrical wire to clean up my sunroof drains, but its not great. Would be curious if there was a better solution.

[Maph7]

meddler said:

Don't know if this is a known fact, but I just heard that BMW no longer makes the E91 boot badge (part 51147166076). Which is kinda annoying because mine has suddenly decided to fall apart.

Has anyone had luck sourcing an original one, or if not, a decent replica?

BMW are out of order letting these go NLA so soon after production, newest E91 being 12 yrs old. Considering they are

The badge part of mine fell off a couple of weeks ago, leaving the chrome back plate on there. I tried finding one, but could only find tatty used ones or really expensive one at circa £160.

Cleaned up the chrome back plate and bought one of these: P/N 36136758569 on ebay for £6.25. It is a genuine 70mm self adhesive BMW wheel badge, slightly smaller than the original 72mm but looks good IMO. I have bought another one as a spare in case these go NLA as well.

[RiccardoG]

Strange, I generally find BMW excellent for older cars parts availability. Hope they're not changing that too now...