More unreliable German rubbish - yay! E61 530d
Discussion
Well, after sacking off a few cars in the fleet due to the sale of my business I've finally picked up something I've fancied for a while - an E61 530d.
I was looking for a bit of a Swiss army knife - something that'll keep up with the traffic, can carry a fair bit of load (annual December booze cruise to Germany and tip runs) and is comfy enough for long jaunts to visit the new business owner and my partner's family in Scotland.
Enter a battered, 177,000 mile pre-LCI 6 pot tractor with a (very un-co operative) slushmatic gearbox!
First impressions were good - it seemed to move fairly well, no obvious issues and the rather large load space was a gift from the beardy chap upstairs himself.
Of course, these things often start well - it was only once I'd lived with it for a few weeks did a number of issues present themselves.
First up, gear shifting was pretty poor - and the RPMs seem to fluctuate when cruising at a steady speed. A tactical Google revealed that a twitching tachometer is usually a fubar'd torque converter - a sod to replace, and a job that requires sending your torque converter away for a rebuild as there's a few types used on these. Lovely.
The cause is the lockup clutch being worn out - these gearboxes (the whole ZF 6HP range, it seems) lock up in every gear to save fuel - putting massive stress on the lockup clutch as time goes on.
I set about changing the gearbox fluid with the recommended stuff - not a terrible job, but working with a plastic sump and associated parts is always a bit nerve racking. Refilling is a royal pain in the dick - needing the engine idling while you're working under the car to get the level set correctly.
Changing the fluid has resolved the poor changes, but the TC lockup clutch is definitely shot as the RPM issue is exactly the same.
Never mind - a job for later!
Next, DPF issues were somewhat expected given the age of the vehicle - what I didn't expect is the fact the car seems to have the LCI exhaust system with combined catalytic converter and DPF.
A bit of prodding with the diagnostic tools I had showed it was just an end of life failure - even after a forced regeneration it wasn't long until it was back in limp mode despite all parameters being met and readings being correct.
With a new unit fitted we're cleared for lift-off - and touch wood no issues to report after a couple of thousand miles.
Finally, turning over was quite slow of a cold morning - so an absolutely massive Yuasa HSB020 battery has replaced the rather weedy original.
These cars do require programming in this respect as they have an intelligent charge controller - but this wasn't much of an issue with the INPA and DIS tools.
Here she is, with the obligatory tinsel for the upcoming Germany trip:
Issues still to be fixed:
- Intermittent parking sensor failure (seems worse in wet weather)
- Boot very heavy to lift (suspect struts)
- Runflats are incredibly loud, shall be switching to 'ordinary' tyres when the time comes (holding off as they're a matching set of Firestone items)
- Alloys leak like a sieve; seems a common issue in this era of BMW. No cracks - just corrosion around the bead
Thanks for reading, updates shall follow as always
I was looking for a bit of a Swiss army knife - something that'll keep up with the traffic, can carry a fair bit of load (annual December booze cruise to Germany and tip runs) and is comfy enough for long jaunts to visit the new business owner and my partner's family in Scotland.
Enter a battered, 177,000 mile pre-LCI 6 pot tractor with a (very un-co operative) slushmatic gearbox!
First impressions were good - it seemed to move fairly well, no obvious issues and the rather large load space was a gift from the beardy chap upstairs himself.
Of course, these things often start well - it was only once I'd lived with it for a few weeks did a number of issues present themselves.
First up, gear shifting was pretty poor - and the RPMs seem to fluctuate when cruising at a steady speed. A tactical Google revealed that a twitching tachometer is usually a fubar'd torque converter - a sod to replace, and a job that requires sending your torque converter away for a rebuild as there's a few types used on these. Lovely.
The cause is the lockup clutch being worn out - these gearboxes (the whole ZF 6HP range, it seems) lock up in every gear to save fuel - putting massive stress on the lockup clutch as time goes on.
I set about changing the gearbox fluid with the recommended stuff - not a terrible job, but working with a plastic sump and associated parts is always a bit nerve racking. Refilling is a royal pain in the dick - needing the engine idling while you're working under the car to get the level set correctly.
Changing the fluid has resolved the poor changes, but the TC lockup clutch is definitely shot as the RPM issue is exactly the same.
Never mind - a job for later!
Next, DPF issues were somewhat expected given the age of the vehicle - what I didn't expect is the fact the car seems to have the LCI exhaust system with combined catalytic converter and DPF.
A bit of prodding with the diagnostic tools I had showed it was just an end of life failure - even after a forced regeneration it wasn't long until it was back in limp mode despite all parameters being met and readings being correct.
With a new unit fitted we're cleared for lift-off - and touch wood no issues to report after a couple of thousand miles.
Finally, turning over was quite slow of a cold morning - so an absolutely massive Yuasa HSB020 battery has replaced the rather weedy original.
These cars do require programming in this respect as they have an intelligent charge controller - but this wasn't much of an issue with the INPA and DIS tools.
Here she is, with the obligatory tinsel for the upcoming Germany trip:
Issues still to be fixed:
- Intermittent parking sensor failure (seems worse in wet weather)
- Boot very heavy to lift (suspect struts)
- Runflats are incredibly loud, shall be switching to 'ordinary' tyres when the time comes (holding off as they're a matching set of Firestone items)
- Alloys leak like a sieve; seems a common issue in this era of BMW. No cracks - just corrosion around the bead
Thanks for reading, updates shall follow as always
They're great all rounders! I've had mine nearly 3 years now and as a family car I'd struggle to replace it without spending a lot more money. Mines approaching 96k miles and I bought it on 59k miles from BMW and have had no issues apart from practically running out of diesel which forced the cat light on and is now permanently on. However, it passed its MOT with the light on as there are no problems with the emissions. I'll get it turned off at its next service. I found it eats through the rears but this time I got the tracking done so seems to be a bit better. They're reasonably quick and very comfortable. Any plans for a remap?
^^^^ This
I run a E46 330d, but a mate has a F11 535d. we chat about fault finding all the time. He spent a huge amount of money on fault chasing with regards to the DPF, only to find out that a change of thermostats (plural!) made the issue go away.
The car ran colder, I think about 62 °C from memory, and so the ECU thinks the engine is still cold so keeps injecting more fuel, which equals more soot, which the regen never properly clears. A £900 DPF bill on top of the £250 for the 2 thermostats.
I run a E46 330d, but a mate has a F11 535d. we chat about fault finding all the time. He spent a huge amount of money on fault chasing with regards to the DPF, only to find out that a change of thermostats (plural!) made the issue go away.
The car ran colder, I think about 62 °C from memory, and so the ECU thinks the engine is still cold so keeps injecting more fuel, which equals more soot, which the regen never properly clears. A £900 DPF bill on top of the £250 for the 2 thermostats.
Out of curiosity, where did you get the BMW diag tools from? I'm hoping they'll work on an '02 Massive Cooper.
Lovely car, I had an E60 for all of 4 days before it threw its hand in but it was a superb thing to drive. Really did enjoy it. Was only a 520D like but would definitely have another.
Lovely car, I had an E60 for all of 4 days before it threw its hand in but it was a superb thing to drive. Really did enjoy it. Was only a 520D like but would definitely have another.
The tools came from Cable Shack - https://www.cable-shack.co.uk/ - and seem absolutely great. I am fairly sure they'll work with your Maxi 
As for thread updates, I have absolutely none unfortunately - the ever-fat, ever-comfy E61 happily plodded over to Germany and back, down to Southampton via Luton and back and many small trips inbetween without fuss.
The torque converter lockup clutch being faulty (denoted by RPM pulsing by around 200 either way when cruising, common to the 6HP26 gearbox) seems to be slowly getting worse, but I'll sort that soon.
For any others with a ZF 6HP26, Sussex Autos will refurbish your torque converter on a 24 hour turnaround for around £250.
Thanks for all your help and input so far - the DPF issue came back again despite all pre-requisite conditions being met for regen... can't say what happened next but hopefully that's it sorted for good.
As for thread updates, I have absolutely none unfortunately - the ever-fat, ever-comfy E61 happily plodded over to Germany and back, down to Southampton via Luton and back and many small trips inbetween without fuss.
The torque converter lockup clutch being faulty (denoted by RPM pulsing by around 200 either way when cruising, common to the 6HP26 gearbox) seems to be slowly getting worse, but I'll sort that soon.
For any others with a ZF 6HP26, Sussex Autos will refurbish your torque converter on a 24 hour turnaround for around £250.
Thanks for all your help and input so far - the DPF issue came back again despite all pre-requisite conditions being met for regen... can't say what happened next but hopefully that's it sorted for good.
I have a couple of spare bits laying around for these after I offloaded my E61 to be gone to the far side of Europe for parts.
Rear suspension airbag
Clock Spring
Angel eye set, not sure if right one as theres about 6000 different choices for these
Not sure if anything else but if you need those drop me a PM. I had fitted one of the airbags and had no problems in the year before the rest of the car died.
Rear suspension airbag
Clock Spring
Angel eye set, not sure if right one as theres about 6000 different choices for these
Not sure if anything else but if you need those drop me a PM. I had fitted one of the airbags and had no problems in the year before the rest of the car died.
An update - after over half a year of reliable service, predictably something went wrong...
Just a broken spring - nothing too bad. I know the top mount on that side is goosed, so a pair of springs and top mounts (always done in pairs, of course) on the way and the rest of the suspension cleaned up while I'm in there.
Annoyingly, they're a bit of a sod to clean - without getting into 'detailer' levels of care, this is the best I could manage:
Still, better than it was before. New springs due from Autodoc on Tuesday / Wednesday (a bit tougher to find over here in the correct length without spending silly money), thought I may as well save a few quid as I'm not driving much at the moment anyway.
Just a broken spring - nothing too bad. I know the top mount on that side is goosed, so a pair of springs and top mounts (always done in pairs, of course) on the way and the rest of the suspension cleaned up while I'm in there.
Annoyingly, they're a bit of a sod to clean - without getting into 'detailer' levels of care, this is the best I could manage:
Still, better than it was before. New springs due from Autodoc on Tuesday / Wednesday (a bit tougher to find over here in the correct length without spending silly money), thought I may as well save a few quid as I'm not driving much at the moment anyway.
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