The £1,795 Family Whip | 2002 e39 BMW 520i
Discussion
So, after 4 years of having a family, I finally succumbed to common sense and got myself an actual family car.
The bizarre situation was brought on by the loss of my job through redundancy in October 2017 and, along with that, the loss of my company car. This left my wife, my 2 kids and I with an RS Clio 182 with only 2 seats and me with no desire to put more seats in.
The challenge was set, get a big car that's mechanically sound, has relatively low mileage and will carry the family around throughout the year, rugby lads to games in the winter and get me and the chaps to Le Mans in the summer... for less than £2,000. Easy. The list began with the usual suspects from around 2000 - 2004: Volvo V70 (D5/2.4), Merc E class, Saab 9-5, BMW e39 Touring. I quickly realised I didn't want a Saab, my dad already has a Volvo, the Mercs are rusty and the e39 is a seriously nice era for the BMW 5 series.
So off I trotted to go and see 2 cars that had caught my eye. A 520i MSport and a 520i SE, both with under 90,000 miles on the clock. I went to see the MSport first and was sure I'd be driving home in it the same day but to my bitter disappointment, it wasn't right for me. It had too many little issues to fix, something I'd be happy to do on my Clio 182 but not on the family barge, I needed something as close to immaculate as possible for a 15 year old car. Then came the SE, it looked great on paper and although the boy-racer in me wanted the MSport looks and suspension, I was very open to getting an SE. The car was far from showroom perfect but was in great shape for an 86,000 mile car that was 15 year of age; particularly the bodywork, wheels and interior. On the test drive I'd noticed the steering was a little heavy and what I believe was the front driver-side damper knocking but overall, this was a solid car... deposit paid, bank account raided, £1,795 handed over and car picked up:
After a spirited drive home... spirited is probably the wrong word to describe the kind of driving possible in a 170BHP 2.2ltr BMW with SE suspension. After a comfortable drive home, I could feel the steering was too heavy so checked the power steering fluid which was a little too low so I topped this up with ATF. I then gave the car a good clean and it was around this time the idea I had of selling off the Style 50 wheels and replacing them with Style 81 began to seem stupid, the wheels it came on are growing on me:
I have/had a few minor modifications in mind but in the 24 hours I've owned the car I'm liking the look of it as standard... in my experience, this feeling passes and I'll have modified the s
t out of it in 12 months time!
All of this car shopping was making me hungry so I popped to my local Asian supermarket and got some fresh veg and chicken and made a curry, I'm calling this one Chicken Bimma Masala, it was damn tasty:
During the trip to the Asian supermarket I realised the key fob didn't remotely open/lock the doors. Whilst the curry was simmering I engaged Google's support in how I could replace the battery, to my dismay the diamond key-fobs are bonded together and, when your battery dies you have to order a new one from BMW for an eye-watering sum. fk that! Google "change battery BMW diamond key fob DIY"... watched some videos... also fk that!! So I got on the blower to a locksmith locally who changed both batteries and fixed one of the fob's buttons for £15, all while the chicken was marinating and the curry sauce was simmering.
So all in all, it was a great curry experience, and the new family whip isn't too bad either.
The bizarre situation was brought on by the loss of my job through redundancy in October 2017 and, along with that, the loss of my company car. This left my wife, my 2 kids and I with an RS Clio 182 with only 2 seats and me with no desire to put more seats in.
The challenge was set, get a big car that's mechanically sound, has relatively low mileage and will carry the family around throughout the year, rugby lads to games in the winter and get me and the chaps to Le Mans in the summer... for less than £2,000. Easy. The list began with the usual suspects from around 2000 - 2004: Volvo V70 (D5/2.4), Merc E class, Saab 9-5, BMW e39 Touring. I quickly realised I didn't want a Saab, my dad already has a Volvo, the Mercs are rusty and the e39 is a seriously nice era for the BMW 5 series.
So off I trotted to go and see 2 cars that had caught my eye. A 520i MSport and a 520i SE, both with under 90,000 miles on the clock. I went to see the MSport first and was sure I'd be driving home in it the same day but to my bitter disappointment, it wasn't right for me. It had too many little issues to fix, something I'd be happy to do on my Clio 182 but not on the family barge, I needed something as close to immaculate as possible for a 15 year old car. Then came the SE, it looked great on paper and although the boy-racer in me wanted the MSport looks and suspension, I was very open to getting an SE. The car was far from showroom perfect but was in great shape for an 86,000 mile car that was 15 year of age; particularly the bodywork, wheels and interior. On the test drive I'd noticed the steering was a little heavy and what I believe was the front driver-side damper knocking but overall, this was a solid car... deposit paid, bank account raided, £1,795 handed over and car picked up:
After a spirited drive home... spirited is probably the wrong word to describe the kind of driving possible in a 170BHP 2.2ltr BMW with SE suspension. After a comfortable drive home, I could feel the steering was too heavy so checked the power steering fluid which was a little too low so I topped this up with ATF. I then gave the car a good clean and it was around this time the idea I had of selling off the Style 50 wheels and replacing them with Style 81 began to seem stupid, the wheels it came on are growing on me:
I have/had a few minor modifications in mind but in the 24 hours I've owned the car I'm liking the look of it as standard... in my experience, this feeling passes and I'll have modified the s
t out of it in 12 months time!All of this car shopping was making me hungry so I popped to my local Asian supermarket and got some fresh veg and chicken and made a curry, I'm calling this one Chicken Bimma Masala, it was damn tasty:
During the trip to the Asian supermarket I realised the key fob didn't remotely open/lock the doors. Whilst the curry was simmering I engaged Google's support in how I could replace the battery, to my dismay the diamond key-fobs are bonded together and, when your battery dies you have to order a new one from BMW for an eye-watering sum. f
k that! Google "change battery BMW diamond key fob DIY"... watched some videos... also fk that!! So I got on the blower to a locksmith locally who changed both batteries and fixed one of the fob's buttons for £15, all while the chicken was marinating and the curry sauce was simmering.So all in all, it was a great curry experience, and the new family whip isn't too bad either.
Edited by Potatoes on Friday 3rd November 12:05
Looks like a decent one that, and for a good price. M-sport wheel is nice too.
The steering does tend to be pretty heavy on these, but topping up the fluid is a good idea obviously - I remember being surprised by the weight on my E39 530i even coming from an E39 M5.
PS - Can you not call it a "whip" please? You're not Kanye West (presumably)
The steering does tend to be pretty heavy on these, but topping up the fluid is a good idea obviously - I remember being surprised by the weight on my E39 530i even coming from an E39 M5.
PS - Can you not call it a "whip" please? You're not Kanye West (presumably)
No way!! I have to find that post 
ETA: found it! Amazing
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
ETA: found it! Amazing
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
Edited by Potatoes on Friday 3rd November 19:57
If the PS fluid is disappearing, there's a list of causes/jobs/bodges:
Pipes at the bottom of the reservoir can leak, dripping the fluid onto the alternator and killing it. Check this first
Clean the cap, any breathing holes; some people replace the cap/reservoir
You can add the PS version of radweld - see here for example - worked well in mine!
Pipes at the bottom of the reservoir can leak, dripping the fluid onto the alternator and killing it. Check this first
Clean the cap, any breathing holes; some people replace the cap/reservoir
You can add the PS version of radweld - see here for example - worked well in mine!
defblade said:
If the PS fluid is disappearing, there's a list of causes/jobs/bodges:
Pipes at the bottom of the reservoir can leak, dripping the fluid onto the alternator and killing it. Check this first
Clean the cap, any breathing holes; some people replace the cap/reservoir
You can add the PS version of radweld - see here for example - worked well in mine!
Thanks, when I filled the fluid up I'd cleaned around the resevoir thinking that it was only the lid leaking. After reading your post I had a look, I can see where the pipe is leaking too. I'll look at potential aftermarket options or I'll get that fluid. Pipes at the bottom of the reservoir can leak, dripping the fluid onto the alternator and killing it. Check this first
Clean the cap, any breathing holes; some people replace the cap/reservoir
You can add the PS version of radweld - see here for example - worked well in mine!
It's now been 200 miles of trouble free ownership which is great but I'm picking up a few expected niggles that I'm going to need to work on.
First off, the rancid smell of burning oil in the cabin from time to time is doing my head in. It doesn't come too often and there's no obvious signs of leakage when the car is parked so I'm not too worried, I checked the oil level today and it's near max. Based on the smell being so strong, I made the assumption the leak was near the manifold guard from somewhere near the valve cover. I assumed right:
This seems to be a very common issue on the M54 engines and am eager to fix as the smell is horrible, I use re-circulated air to avoid it at the moment. The cabin air intake is solid, all seals are good but I do need to get some more filters for the cabin though, the current ones look rotten and won't be helping the smell:
I am a little more worried about the power steering fluid leaking from the bottom and the top of the reservoir, it doesn't seem to have dropped since I topped it up 200 miles ago but worry about the leak onto the alternator. I suspect I'll need some new seals and clips to stem the leak from the bottom and a new seal/lid to stem the leak from the top... still not ruling out looking at a complete new reservoir and pipe replacement though (st quality picture alert):
On the upside, the air intake filter seems fresh as a daisy, as does the rest of the engine:
All of this taking pictures of my engine bay was making me mighty thirsty so I cracked open 2.5 cans of beer and had a drink.
Cheers.
So all in all, a successful first 200 miles. I'm still waiting for find the issue with this car, my mind keeps going back to my original concern that there has to be a catch! I'm going to get under the car next and search for rust which I suspect will be present and to diagnose the knocking sound coming from the front suspension which could be anything from drop links to a worn damper... fingers crossed that's a cheap, easy DIY fix.
First off, the rancid smell of burning oil in the cabin from time to time is doing my head in. It doesn't come too often and there's no obvious signs of leakage when the car is parked so I'm not too worried, I checked the oil level today and it's near max. Based on the smell being so strong, I made the assumption the leak was near the manifold guard from somewhere near the valve cover. I assumed right:
This seems to be a very common issue on the M54 engines and am eager to fix as the smell is horrible, I use re-circulated air to avoid it at the moment. The cabin air intake is solid, all seals are good but I do need to get some more filters for the cabin though, the current ones look rotten and won't be helping the smell:
I am a little more worried about the power steering fluid leaking from the bottom and the top of the reservoir, it doesn't seem to have dropped since I topped it up 200 miles ago but worry about the leak onto the alternator. I suspect I'll need some new seals and clips to stem the leak from the bottom and a new seal/lid to stem the leak from the top... still not ruling out looking at a complete new reservoir and pipe replacement though (s
t quality picture alert):On the upside, the air intake filter seems fresh as a daisy, as does the rest of the engine:
All of this taking pictures of my engine bay was making me mighty thirsty so I cracked open 2.5 cans of beer and had a drink.
Cheers.
So all in all, a successful first 200 miles. I'm still waiting for find the issue with this car, my mind keeps going back to my original concern that there has to be a catch! I'm going to get under the car next and search for rust which I suspect will be present and to diagnose the knocking sound coming from the front suspension which could be anything from drop links to a worn damper... fingers crossed that's a cheap, easy DIY fix.
Edited by Potatoes on Monday 6th November 13:49
The rocker cover gasket is pretty easy, I've done it a couple of times on the M54, its definitely the source of your oil smell. Don't freak out if it doesn't seem to fix it immediately as it's pretty hard to clean off all the residue so a bit will need to burn off.
Regarding the PS reservoir, you can buy a new seal for the cap for a couple of quid (part no. 32411128333) and all you need to do with the pipe below is chop off the first 15mm and then stick on a new jubilee clip.
Realoem.com is a very useful btw.
Regarding the PS reservoir, you can buy a new seal for the cap for a couple of quid (part no. 32411128333) and all you need to do with the pipe below is chop off the first 15mm and then stick on a new jubilee clip.
Realoem.com is a very useful btw.
markirl said:
Regarding the PS reservoir, you can buy a new seal for the cap for a couple of quid (part no. 32411128333) and all you need to do with the pipe below is chop off the first 15mm and then stick on a new jubilee clip.
Realoem.com is a very useful btw.
Awesome, thanks Mark, seems sensible way to fix it rather than throwing parts at it. I'll give it a go.Realoem.com is a very useful btw.
Potatoes said:
markirl said:
Regarding the PS reservoir, you can buy a new seal for the cap for a couple of quid (part no. 32411128333) and all you need to do with the pipe below is chop off the first 15mm and then stick on a new jubilee clip.
Realoem.com is a very useful btw.
Awesome, thanks Mark, seems sensible way to fix it rather than throwing parts at it. I'll give it a go.Realoem.com is a very useful btw.
Had another few hours with the car today so got my tools together, some warm clothes on and ventured outside to pretend that I know what I'm doing. All was going well until I remembered I'd made myself a coffee so popped back inside to enjoy my coffee in front of Wheeler Dealers or American Pickers or something.
About half an hour later I remembered what I was meant to be doing, got the warm clothes back on and ventured outside. It was around this time I remembered I wanted to search something irrelevant on Google and popped back inside, made a coffee and searched Google for a bit.
Basically, my wife got fked off with me opening and closing the front door and sent me outside. Procrastinate no longer, I had to get on with the job at hand.
I'd had a call in the morning to say the seal for the power steering reservoir cap had arrived so I'd planned to pick that up in the afternoon but first I wanted to take a look under the front of the car for the oil leak, the front suspension knocking and to search for any rust and rot. I really like the way jacking points are so clear on the e39, you can't really go wrong! I jacked the car up and got underneath.
Suspension:
First off, you can tell not much has been done to the suspension, most parts look well used but in okay working order... for now. I'd initially worried it was the damper, but hoped it was worn drop links/bushes. I suspect having got underneath my fears of the damper being at fault are going to be realised when a professional takes a look. There's misting around the driver-side damper and, well it's quite bouncy so I suspect I'll be doing a front suspension refresh:
Drivers-Side:
Passenger-Side:
Depending on the professional diagnosis, I'll either refresh the dampers or do the lot (springs, dampers, bushes, drop links,...).
Oil Leak:
The leak I'd discovered near the manifold continues down to the subframe and has discoloured the drivers-side of the subframe (right hand side on image below), otherwise it looks okay at this end of the car, no big issues to worry about... unless I'm missing something (which would not be a surprise):
Power Steering Reservoir Leak
So, I'm feeling a little less worried about this. I'd given the reservoir tank and associated pipes a good clean last weekend to keep an eye on where the leaks might be coming from. It looks like the culprit is the rubber gasket in the lid rather than the pipes/jubilee clips. I headed down to BMW today, following an hilarious driver in a red Merc CLA who kept indicating the wrong way at junctions. I began to realise that if she indicated left, she was probably going right and vice versa... I've thought about that a lot actually, how can you get that wrong?! Bizarre...
Anyway, picked up the gasket for just over £4:
Headed home, got in, washed the lid, removed the old gasket, saw Top Gear was on Dave, cracked open a beer, put the new gasket in place and placed lid back onto the reservoir tank.
I'll be keeping an eye on the common leak points for the next few weeks to see if that's fixed it.
I'm going to give B&M Care a call this week, they've serviced this car for the majority of it's life based on the service book so am hoping they'll have a record of work done to the car so I can get a clearer picture of what's been done and what's likely to need to be done.
So, all in all, a productive day so far and now that I've had a few beers it'l continu top b profjps I'fm suehr!
LADS LADS LADS!
About half an hour later I remembered what I was meant to be doing, got the warm clothes back on and ventured outside. It was around this time I remembered I wanted to search something irrelevant on Google and popped back inside, made a coffee and searched Google for a bit.
Basically, my wife got f
ked off with me opening and closing the front door and sent me outside. Procrastinate no longer, I had to get on with the job at hand. I'd had a call in the morning to say the seal for the power steering reservoir cap had arrived so I'd planned to pick that up in the afternoon but first I wanted to take a look under the front of the car for the oil leak, the front suspension knocking and to search for any rust and rot. I really like the way jacking points are so clear on the e39, you can't really go wrong! I jacked the car up and got underneath.
Suspension:
First off, you can tell not much has been done to the suspension, most parts look well used but in okay working order... for now. I'd initially worried it was the damper, but hoped it was worn drop links/bushes. I suspect having got underneath my fears of the damper being at fault are going to be realised when a professional takes a look. There's misting around the driver-side damper and, well it's quite bouncy so I suspect I'll be doing a front suspension refresh:
Drivers-Side:
Passenger-Side:
Depending on the professional diagnosis, I'll either refresh the dampers or do the lot (springs, dampers, bushes, drop links,...).
Oil Leak:
The leak I'd discovered near the manifold continues down to the subframe and has discoloured the drivers-side of the subframe (right hand side on image below), otherwise it looks okay at this end of the car, no big issues to worry about... unless I'm missing something (which would not be a surprise):
Power Steering Reservoir Leak
So, I'm feeling a little less worried about this. I'd given the reservoir tank and associated pipes a good clean last weekend to keep an eye on where the leaks might be coming from. It looks like the culprit is the rubber gasket in the lid rather than the pipes/jubilee clips. I headed down to BMW today, following an hilarious driver in a red Merc CLA who kept indicating the wrong way at junctions. I began to realise that if she indicated left, she was probably going right and vice versa... I've thought about that a lot actually, how can you get that wrong?! Bizarre...
Anyway, picked up the gasket for just over £4:
Headed home, got in, washed the lid, removed the old gasket, saw Top Gear was on Dave, cracked open a beer, put the new gasket in place and placed lid back onto the reservoir tank.
I'll be keeping an eye on the common leak points for the next few weeks to see if that's fixed it.
I'm going to give B&M Care a call this week, they've serviced this car for the majority of it's life based on the service book so am hoping they'll have a record of work done to the car so I can get a clearer picture of what's been done and what's likely to need to be done.
So, all in all, a productive day so far and now that I've had a few beers it'l continu top b profjps I'fm suehr!
LADS LADS LADS!
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