What have you done to your BMW today?

[danb79]

HelterSkelter said:

danb79 said:

Rear suspension replaced today inc new drop links etc

Will button up the interior tomorrow and re-torque all the bolts etc

Ah, i remember doing that job on mine last year in the freezing cold. A right faff removing all the rear interior and filler neck!

Haha I’m well versed in removing the rear interior; this is my 4th E39 saloon. Got it down to 10mins now

I’ve never removed the fuel filler; never needed to. Just remove the wheel arch liner and you’ve all the access you need. However, I use long ratchet spanner’s and they do make the job easier, although I did break my 16mm one. Has lifetime warranty, so the new one is on its way

[g3org3y]

First long drive in the X5 since its big repairs, 3hr round trip and it didn't piss out any oil or coolant.

[cerb4.5lee]

g3org3y said:

First long drive in the X5 since its big repairs, 3hr round trip and it didn't piss out any oil or coolant.

Nice one!

[Snubs]

Spent a wodge of money on the M4. What started out as BMW Cotswolds giving me a call to say my MOT (~£55) was due bloomed into so much more. I'm a fan of preventative maintenance particularly with a high performance car, so i asked them to change the engine oil and filters while they were at it, so that was another £240 or so. Then the big ticket item of servicing the DCT transmission. I understand it's one of the 'sealed for life' transmissions that it would actually be madness to leave as such. According to the internet it should be serviced at 50-60,000 miles (mine's about 54,000) or every 5 years. Given mine is nine years old and I see no evidence of it having been done to date, it seemed like the time is now. I think that was about £520. I'd also noticed the rear tyres were done for (no idea how that happened officer), so before taking it to BMW i got a local bod to change it from the OEM Michelins to Bridgestone Potenza Sports. I see they won the Evo tyre of the year 2025 which was tested on a 135i, so a similar car in many respects. A friend has the same car and he thought switching to Dunlops made a big improvement, but i think it's always hard to tell going straight from worn tyres to new. I also got them to check the rear handbrake drums as they do love to squeak when setting off if the car's been sat. I've had it looked at before by a local indy who sorted it, but then the problem started to come back. I don't know if it's just mine or a bit of a design flaw. Oh and i also asked them to check all the under bonnet drains that get blocked by leaves at this time of year.

All-in-all probably about £1,500 spent when only the tyres and MOT were necessary. But I doubt I'll need to get the transmission serviced again in my ownership and i prefer to spend more in preventative maintenance and not bother with a fairly expensive warranty. Here's a gratuitous new tyre pic:

Edited by Snubs on Monday 10th November 13:09

Edited by Snubs on Monday 10th November 13:10

[cerb4.5lee]

Snubs said:

Then the big ticket item of servicing the DCT transmission. I understand it's one of the 'sealed for life' transmissions that it would actually be madness to leave as such. According to the internet it should be serviced at 50-60,000 miles (mine's about 54,000) or every 5 years. Given mine is nine years old and I see no evidence of it having been done to date, it seemed like the time is now. I think that was about £520.

I could do with doing that with mine to be honest, because I've noticed the gearbox slipping more than ever. It used to do it occasionally, but now there's a big delay between flooring the throttle and actually getting the power now though.

[QuartzDad]

MOT pass for our 118d. It's done a grand total of 3,349 miles this year, must take it for an Italian tune up soon.

[g3org3y]

cerb4.5lee said:

g3org3y said:

First long drive in the X5 since its big repairs, 3hr round trip and it didn't piss out any oil or coolant.

Nice one!

Low expectations after the recent calamities!

[Chris Stott]

Changed the air filter on my E53.

What a ball ache of a job… used the garage at the villa my mate looks after…. He comes to have a look and says ‘you’d have been quicker yo take the whole engine out’… It felt like I had done.

[danb79]

For now, done…











I’ll fit the genuine BMW front undertray and rear M5 ARB when they land (coming from BMW Germany)

[g3org3y]

danb79 said:

For now, done

Christmas mug.

In November.

[danb79]

g3org3y said:

danb79 said:

For now, done

Christmas mug.

In November.

Haha at my pals and it was one of only 2 clean; a brew is a brew

[Ricky997GT]

thinking of doing an oil change. would this extractor be okay?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/M-J-COMFY-LIFE-Manual-Vac...

[danb79]

Ricky997GT said:

thinking of doing an oil change. would this extractor be okay?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/M-J-COMFY-LIFE-Manual-Vac...

This is the one I use and it’s been faultless since 2020:

DAYUAN 9L Manual Vacuum Fluid and Oil Extractor Brake Bleeder Hand Pump with 4 Tubes https://amzn.eu/d/ck09t9x

I know the link for yours is cheaper; I had a few of the cheaper ones and the vacuum pressure wasn’t great and I found they leaked as well.

Mine cost me £65 in 2020; so it’s nearly £20 cheaper now!

This is it in action a month or so back doing the oil change on our F31; took all of 20mins to do it (ensure the oil it hot and it takes no time at all)

[Swervin_Mervin]

danb79 said:

Ricky997GT said:

thinking of doing an oil change. would this extractor be okay?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/M-J-COMFY-LIFE-Manual-Vac...

This is the one I use and it s been faultless since 2020:

DAYUAN 9L Manual Vacuum Fluid and Oil Extractor Brake Bleeder Hand Pump with 4 Tubes https://amzn.eu/d/ck09t9x

I know the link for yours is cheaper; I had a few of the cheaper ones and the vacuum pressure wasn t great and I found they leaked as well.

Mine cost me £65 in 2020; so it s nearly £20 cheaper now!

This is it in action a month or so back doing the oil change on our F31; took all of 20mins to do it (ensure the oil it hot and it takes no time at all)

Interesting! I'd assumed you couldn't use these on modern BMW without a dipstick.

[Ricky997GT]

Swervin_Mervin said:

danb79 said:

Ricky997GT said:

thinking of doing an oil change. would this extractor be okay?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/M-J-COMFY-LIFE-Manual-Vac...

This is the one I use and it s been faultless since 2020:

DAYUAN 9L Manual Vacuum Fluid and Oil Extractor Brake Bleeder Hand Pump with 4 Tubes https://amzn.eu/d/ck09t9x

I know the link for yours is cheaper; I had a few of the cheaper ones and the vacuum pressure wasn t great and I found they leaked as well.

Mine cost me £65 in 2020; so it s nearly £20 cheaper now!

This is it in action a month or so back doing the oil change on our F31; took all of 20mins to do it (ensure the oil it hot and it takes no time at all)

Interesting! I'd assumed you couldn't use these on modern BMW without a dipstick.

think the diesels have a dipstick still?

[danb79]

Swervin_Mervin said:

danb79 said:

Ricky997GT said:

thinking of doing an oil change. would this extractor be okay?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/M-J-COMFY-LIFE-Manual-Vac...

This is the one I use and it s been faultless since 2020:

DAYUAN 9L Manual Vacuum Fluid and Oil Extractor Brake Bleeder Hand Pump with 4 Tubes https://amzn.eu/d/ck09t9x

I know the link for yours is cheaper; I had a few of the cheaper ones and the vacuum pressure wasn t great and I found they leaked as well.

Mine cost me £65 in 2020; so it s nearly £20 cheaper now!

This is it in action a month or so back doing the oil change on our F31; took all of 20mins to do it (ensure the oil it hot and it takes no time at all)

Interesting! I'd assumed you couldn't use these on modern BMW without a dipstick.

Petrols no, diesels yes; thankfully!

[Alex_225]

Only a couple of weeks into BMW ownership for me so I've cleaned the car but taken it to a meet and taken some pictures. Really loving the 650 so far though. Looking forward to going for a longer run.

[Swervin_Mervin]

danb79 said:

Swervin_Mervin said:

danb79 said:

Ricky997GT said:

thinking of doing an oil change. would this extractor be okay?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/M-J-COMFY-LIFE-Manual-Vac...

This is the one I use and it s been faultless since 2020:

DAYUAN 9L Manual Vacuum Fluid and Oil Extractor Brake Bleeder Hand Pump with 4 Tubes https://amzn.eu/d/ck09t9x

I know the link for yours is cheaper; I had a few of the cheaper ones and the vacuum pressure wasn t great and I found they leaked as well.

Mine cost me £65 in 2020; so it s nearly £20 cheaper now!

This is it in action a month or so back doing the oil change on our F31; took all of 20mins to do it (ensure the oil it hot and it takes no time at all)

Interesting! I'd assumed you couldn't use these on modern BMW without a dipstick.

Petrols no, diesels yes; thankfully!

Bugger

[bodhi]

danb79 said:

Petrols no, diesels yes; thankfully!

Yes the ones that need an eye kept on in terms of oil level make it hardest for you to do that.

Slow clap BMW...

[Deep Thought]

Alex_225 said:

Only a couple of weeks into BMW ownership for me so I've cleaned the car but taken it to a meet and taken some pictures. Really loving the 650 so far though. Looking forward to going for a longer run.

Thats beautiful.