New E39 owner. Few problems

[Turbo-Tastic]

Just bought a 540i touring 6sp manual, and have a few little questions. I'll be taking it to a garage to get fixed, but would like to have a little background knowledge so I dont get shafted

1) The ACS and ABS lights come on sometime when I go over a bump, and stay on. This leads me to think its a faulty connection etc somewhere, but wondered if its a common fault?? If so, how easy to fix?

2) The washer jets are useless Passenger one doesn't even squirt, and drivers side just about makes it onto the screen. Not good this time of year. Any ideas??

3) Occaisonally, there is a "judder/knock" from the rear. Could be worn balljoint/bush etc, again, is this a common failure?

4) Occaisonally, there is a a wobble during braking from motorway speeds (coming off at junction etc), not massive, but enough to notice. Any suggestions of what to check?

5) And lastly, it seems to use an awful lot of petrol I think I may have under estimated my ability to drive it sensibly. An LPG system is looking likely, any suggestions or recommended places??

6) Anyone from Midlands (South Cov/Warwick area) know of a good independant BMW garage? Dont really want to take it to main dealer.

Cheers all,

Ed

[matt21]

In answer to question 6) OSC Motorsport in Rugby is good. I, and many of my friends use him, and he is very knowledgable, passionate and honest in my experience.

[Speed addicted]

1) ABS sounds like a bad wheel sensor, they look like bolts with wires coming out the back and face into the wheel hubs. Damage to these wires would cause the problem or a duff sensor.

2) I think that you can pull the pump off the bottle and clean the inlet (my X5 is pretty poor compared to the last one) but I'm not completely sure.

3) And 4) Sounds like suspension bushes, get a good garage to have a look.

5) How many miles do you do because an LPG system will take a while to recoup the initial cost.

[Pork_n_Beem]

Under the bonnet behind the sound insulation there are connections to the jets, sometimes they get pushed off when its very cold, you just have to push them back on.

[Turbo-Tastic]

matt21 said:

In answer to question 6) OSC Motorsport in Rugby is good. I, and many of my friends use him, and he is very knowledgable, passionate and honest in my experience.

Are they a BMW specialist? The reason I ask is I have learned from previous BMW's that when paying to replace the rear axle bushes, its better to go somewhere that has the right tool (both sides in 90mins), than pay another garage a days labour to strip the rear end, and hack out the old bushes

Speed addicted said:

1) ABS sounds like a bad wheel sensor, they look like bolts with wires coming out the back and face into the wheel hubs. Damage to these wires would cause the problem or a duff sensor.

2) I think that you can pull the pump off the bottle and clean the inlet (my X5 is pretty poor compared to the last one) but I'm not completely sure.

3) And 4) Sounds like suspension bushes, get a good garage to have a look.

5) How many miles do you do because an LPG system will take a while to recoup the initial cost.

1) Yes, that is what a few people have said now, cheers

3&4) Will do, when I find a garage

5) From other research, I'm going to see how I get on with the car for a few months, then if its a keeper (cant see why not, it is ACE ) then I'll look into LPG at the time

Pork_n_Beem said:

Under the bonnet behind the sound insulation there are connections to the jets, sometimes they get pushed off when its very cold, you just have to push them back on.

It was exactly that Both washers now work perfectly Thanks very much

[matt21]

Turbo-Tastic said:

matt21 said:

In answer to question 6) OSC Motorsport in Rugby is good. I, and many of my friends use him, and he is very knowledgable, passionate and honest in my experience.

Are they a BMW specialist? The reason I ask is I have learned from previous BMW's that when paying to replace the rear axle bushes, its better to go somewhere that has the right tool (both sides in 90mins), than pay another garage a days labour to strip the rear end, and hack out the old bushes

Speed addicted said:

1) ABS sounds like a bad wheel sensor, they look like bolts with wires coming out the back and face into the wheel hubs. Damage to these wires would cause the problem or a duff sensor.

2) I think that you can pull the pump off the bottle and clean the inlet (my X5 is pretty poor compared to the last one) but I'm not completely sure.

3) And 4) Sounds like suspension bushes, get a good garage to have a look.

5) How many miles do you do because an LPG system will take a while to recoup the initial cost.

1) Yes, that is what a few people have said now, cheers

3&4) Will do, when I find a garage

5) From other research, I'm going to see how I get on with the car for a few months, then if its a keeper (cant see why not, it is ACE ) then I'll look into LPG at the time

Pork_n_Beem said:

Under the bonnet behind the sound insulation there are connections to the jets, sometimes they get pushed off when its very cold, you just have to push them back on.

It was exactly that Both washers now work perfectly Thanks very much

Yes BMW mechanic for 20yrs +. Incidently I took my car there for that same work, the rear bushes were £176 all in, BMW main dealer wanted £310. As you mentioned the fact they had the equipment was the reason I used them.

[Turbo-Tastic]

matt21 said:

Turbo-Tastic said:

matt21 said:

In answer to question 6) OSC Motorsport in Rugby is good. I, and many of my friends use him, and he is very knowledgable, passionate and honest in my experience.

Are they a BMW specialist? The reason I ask is I have learned from previous BMW's that when paying to replace the rear axle bushes, its better to go somewhere that has the right tool (both sides in 90mins), than pay another garage a days labour to strip the rear end, and hack out the old bushes

Yes BMW mechanic for 20yrs +. Incidently I took my car there for that same work, the rear bushes were £176 all in, BMW main dealer wanted £310. As you mentioned the fact they had the equipment was the reason I used them.

Perfect, exactly what I wanted Thanks very much

[matt21]

Turbo-Tastic said:

matt21 said:

Turbo-Tastic said:

matt21 said:

In answer to question 6) OSC Motorsport in Rugby is good. I, and many of my friends use him, and he is very knowledgable, passionate and honest in my experience.

Are they a BMW specialist? The reason I ask is I have learned from previous BMW's that when paying to replace the rear axle bushes, its better to go somewhere that has the right tool (both sides in 90mins), than pay another garage a days labour to strip the rear end, and hack out the old bushes

Yes BMW mechanic for 20yrs +. Incidently I took my car there for that same work, the rear bushes were £176 all in, BMW main dealer wanted £310. As you mentioned the fact they had the equipment was the reason I used them.

Perfect, exactly what I wanted Thanks very much

Ask for Onka (the boss) and say the guy from Barby with the blue 530i recommended him, he'll look after you

[Pork_n_Beem]

Turbo-Tastic said:

Pork_n_Beem said:

Under the bonnet behind the sound insulation there are connections to the jets, sometimes they get pushed off when its very cold, you just have to push them back on.

Turbo-Tastic said:

It was exactly that Both washers now work perfectly Thanks very much

Hope you have a good run with it, have 221K on my e39 its a 3.0D touring brilliant car and dread the time i finally have to part with it. The only parts i have changed are dampers, both air springs, turbo, front exhaust, hedgehog and rear cradle bushes (the big ones) and i borrowed a tool of the e39 forum and did it myself, its actual quite easy but even though i have much more mileage only two actually needed replacing, think it was the rears

Edited by Pork_n_Beem on Monday 28th December 21:19

[fluffnik]

Turbo-Tastic said:

3) Occaisonally, there is a "judder/knock" from the rear. Could be worn balljoint/bush etc, again, is this a common failure?

Sound like a subframe bush to me.

Turbo-Tastic said:

4) Occaisonally, there is a a wobble during braking from motorway speeds (coming off at junction etc), not massive, but enough to notice. Any suggestions of what to check?

Could be a top link oil filled bush on the way out - drive on a corrugated surface at ~45mph, if it sets up a gentle wobble, that's the culprit...

Enjoy!

[Pickled Piper]

try http://www.allenpmw.co.uk/ if they are not too far.

I used them a couple of years back. Absolutely superb, meticulously attended to every squeak and rattle. Didn't take the mickey with charges either.

The only reason I don't use them now is because they are based in Pershore, Worcestershire and it takes me an hour to get there.

pp

[Jon_Bmw]

Hello, from another e39 manual 540i touring owner.

Where are the pictures then? They are a fairly rare old bus in Manual form.

The poor MPG is probably partially down to the very cold weather at the moment. Mine has dropped from around 24-27mpg(summer) down to around 18-25.

[Turbo-Tastic]

fluffnik said:

Turbo-Tastic said:

3) Occaisonally, there is a "judder/knock" from the rear. Could be worn balljoint/bush etc, again, is this a common failure?

Sound like a subframe bush to me.

Turbo-Tastic said:

4) Occaisonally, there is a a wobble during braking from motorway speeds (coming off at junction etc), not massive, but enough to notice. Any suggestions of what to check?

Could be a top link oil filled bush on the way out - drive on a corrugated surface at ~45mph, if it sets up a gentle wobble, that's the culprit...

Enjoy!

Many thanks I will

Going to be making some calls in the new year about getting these little faults sorted

Pickled Piper said:

try http://www.allenpmw.co.uk/ if they are not too far.

I used them a couple of years back. Absolutely superb, meticulously attended to every squeak and rattle. Didn't take the mickey with charges either.

The only reason I don't use them now is because they are based in Pershore, Worcestershire and it takes me an hour to get there.

pp

Ahh, they are 45mins in the other direction to OSC Motorsport which are 45mins away!! Now I dont know what to do

Jon_Bmw said:

Hello, from another e39 manual 540i touring owner.

Where are the pictures then? They are a fairly rare old bus in Manual form.

The poor MPG is probably partially down to the very cold weather at the moment. Mine has dropped from around 24-27mpg(summer) down to around 18-25.

Oh, I know how rare these are in manual I'm actually thinking of building a supercharged saloon version (either 5sp or 6sp) for a drift car. I've got my Nissan 200SX, but thats only a wheezy turbo 4cylinder, which has nothing on a big supercharged V8

pics

[SJobson]

I can recommend Autotech in Warwick - they are BMW specialists and I've been using them for about 4 years now. http://autotechwarwick.com/

[Turbo-Tastic]

SJobson said:

I can recommend Autotech in Warwick - they are BMW specialists and I've been using them for about 4 years now. http://autotechwarwick.com/

Perfect. Abso-bloody-lutely prefect

[dave_s13]

fluffnik said:

Turbo-Tastic said:

3) Occaisonally, there is a "judder/knock" from the rear. Could be worn balljoint/bush etc, again, is this a common failure?

Sound like a subframe bush to me.

Common failure on the touring, mine did it (same year as yours).

There's a chap over on BMWLand forum that will hire you out the extraction tool (I think it was 30 quid). The bushes are quid each from BMW!, exact same ones from ECP are 50 odd.

AFAIK it's virtually impossible to do them without the tool so you'll need it.

All in this job cost me about £300 but you can pay twice that, or more, if you want to!!

From al the faults you've listed, if you're using a specialist garage) I'd say you probably need to budget around the 1k mark to get it spot on.

Oh and I didn't use a BMW specialist (they still have a fairly hefty hourly rate). My usual back street spanner monkey, who's bloody great, did the bushes on mine.

Edited by dave_s13 on Thursday 31st December 19:00

[dave_s13]

What MPG is your OBC reporting by the way?

I had an auto and was doing 18-19mpg.....hence why I sold it! Great car though.

[Mustard]

Pickled Piper said:

try http://www.allenpmw.co.uk/ if they are not too far.

I used them a couple of years back. Absolutely superb, meticulously attended to every squeak and rattle. Didn't take the mickey with charges either.

The only reason I don't use them now is because they are based in Pershore, Worcestershire and it takes me an hour to get there.

pp

from me, normally takes about 2 weeks to get a booking though these days! E39's seem to make up the bulk of his business judging by the workshop last time I went

[Turbo-Tastic]

dave_s13 said:

Common failure on the touring, mine did it (same year as yours).

There's a chap over on BMWLand forum that will hire you out the extraction tool (I think it was 30 quid). The bushes are quid each from BMW!, exact same ones from ECP are 50 odd.

AFAIK it's virtually impossible to do them without the tool so you'll need it.

All in this job cost me about £300 but you can pay twice that, or more, if you want to!!

From al the faults you've listed, if you're using a specialist garage) I'd say you probably need to budget around the 1k mark to get it spot on.

Oh and I didn't use a BMW specialist (they still have a fairly hefty hourly rate). My usual back street spanner monkey, who's bloody great, did the bushes on mine.

Edited by dave_s13 on Thursday 31st December 19:00

I've seen the bush tool for hire on ebay etc, thought about it, but seems a lot of hassle, getting the tool, then getting the bush, then finding a garage, when there is a BMW speciaist only down the road from me (that one in warwick, listed a little further up)

Unfortunatly, my brother has stolen my E39 to move house with this week, leaving me my old Nissan S13 to get about in. So I cant take the 540 anywhere to get any quotes, but will do that when I get a chance

dave_s13 said:

What MPG is your OBC reporting by the way?

I had an auto and was doing 18-19mpg.....hence why I sold it! Great car though.

Erm, about 27/28 on a run, about 22 round town. Not great I admit, but I'm no that bothered to be honest I love it too much

Mustard said:

Pickled Piper said:

try http://www.allenpmw.co.uk/ if they are not too far.

I used them a couple of years back. Absolutely superb, meticulously attended to every squeak and rattle. Didn't take the mickey with charges either.

The only reason I don't use them now is because they are based in Pershore, Worcestershire and it takes me an hour to get there.

pp

from me, normally takes about 2 weeks to get a booking though these days! E39's seem to make up the bulk of his business judging by the workshop last time I went

As I said above, will try that place in Warwick, look like they know what they're doing, and I can drop the car off with them and leave it til its sorted. Where as getting a lift back from Pershore or Rugby could be a bit of a pain in the bum. I have enough of that hassle getting my Nissan worked on, as the garage I use is in Derby!!

[matt21]

I agree it makes sense to go to your local but Rugby would offer a loan car if you ever need to use them. Have a fleet of lovely 4-pot E46's