E60 530d Daily Hack. *Refusing to buy a newer car*
Discussion
Hi Gents,
Welcome to my thread. This isn't going to be a huge build (I don't think) - but rather something that was meant to be a daily beater and is gradually growing the more and more I fall in love with it.
Big, comfy, 270bhp, 42mpg combined RWD daily!
This is slightly disjointed but i'm not very good at documenting/taking photos as I do stuff - hopefully I will be better now!
So, I bought a 530d SE on a 53 plate 2 years ago. FBMWSH and 90k, for the mighty sum of 4k. I do about 20k a year so needed something that would eat up the miles whilst still being a bit fun. Originally I planned on keeping this standard and having a toy seperately, but the more I drove this thing the more I fell in love with it.
Bought it, got it home. Gave it a clean, chucked some spare wheels on as the 16s weren't cutting it
The following day took it to my mates just over the Welsh border for a remap and so I could sort my swirl flaps out. Had pre-ordered the kit as I knew I wanted this model
So swirl flaps deleted, EGR blanked, remap done.
No DPF as pre-dpf.
Instantly 100% better to drive!!
Wheels were awful, 2 had cracked. Got rid and got some (similar) Japanese lightweight equivalents. BMW wheels are the worst for cracking. New wheel specs 19x8.5 and 19x.9.5 - 20mm front spacers 10mm rear.
Chucked the wheels on, replaced the crank pulley as it was shot.
Bought some prosport coilovers, used them before. Always been the best out of the "cheap" units available. Chucked them on
The wheel colour wasn't doing it for me, gave them to my mate who powdercoated them. Colour is his own blend of hyper silver.
Looking sorry for herself on the original wheels
got the tyres on...
Better!
Painted the brake calipers, cleaned them up and regreased all 4:
then just drove it for a while and did some maintenance bits (new brakes & fluid, full service etc)..I go all over the place with work! Some random pics...
A guy I know came out and mopped the whole car. Did a sterling job - paintwork is suprisingly good!
Missus drove the car once and scuffed the bumper....had it sorted by another friend
Then I lost a load of recent photos....
I've since had all the window trims off and used BMW shadowline tape to black them out.
Next step is hybrid turbo as mine is slowly dying. I also want to tint the windows and might end up throwing some money at it (new bumpers/wheels etc).
Some of my previous cars:
Welcome to my thread. This isn't going to be a huge build (I don't think) - but rather something that was meant to be a daily beater and is gradually growing the more and more I fall in love with it.
Big, comfy, 270bhp, 42mpg combined RWD daily!
This is slightly disjointed but i'm not very good at documenting/taking photos as I do stuff - hopefully I will be better now!
So, I bought a 530d SE on a 53 plate 2 years ago. FBMWSH and 90k, for the mighty sum of 4k. I do about 20k a year so needed something that would eat up the miles whilst still being a bit fun. Originally I planned on keeping this standard and having a toy seperately, but the more I drove this thing the more I fell in love with it.
Bought it, got it home. Gave it a clean, chucked some spare wheels on as the 16s weren't cutting it
The following day took it to my mates just over the Welsh border for a remap and so I could sort my swirl flaps out. Had pre-ordered the kit as I knew I wanted this model
So swirl flaps deleted, EGR blanked, remap done.
No DPF as pre-dpf.
Instantly 100% better to drive!!
Wheels were awful, 2 had cracked. Got rid and got some (similar) Japanese lightweight equivalents. BMW wheels are the worst for cracking. New wheel specs 19x8.5 and 19x.9.5 - 20mm front spacers 10mm rear.
Chucked the wheels on, replaced the crank pulley as it was shot.
Bought some prosport coilovers, used them before. Always been the best out of the "cheap" units available. Chucked them on
The wheel colour wasn't doing it for me, gave them to my mate who powdercoated them. Colour is his own blend of hyper silver.
Looking sorry for herself on the original wheels
got the tyres on...
Better!
Painted the brake calipers, cleaned them up and regreased all 4:
then just drove it for a while and did some maintenance bits (new brakes & fluid, full service etc)..I go all over the place with work! Some random pics...
A guy I know came out and mopped the whole car. Did a sterling job - paintwork is suprisingly good!
Missus drove the car once and scuffed the bumper....had it sorted by another friend
Then I lost a load of recent photos....
I've since had all the window trims off and used BMW shadowline tape to black them out.
Next step is hybrid turbo as mine is slowly dying. I also want to tint the windows and might end up throwing some money at it (new bumpers/wheels etc).
Some of my previous cars:
Edited by bullawayo on Tuesday 25th July 11:30
Edited by bullawayo on Tuesday 25th July 15:39
giblets_ said:
They really get under your skin.
My E60 LCI is the only car I have ever regret selling.
I bought an SE as I wasn't really bothered about it. Could have held out for an msport but my only criteria was a 530d in manual with good service history.My E60 LCI is the only car I have ever regret selling.
I've driven a few other cars since with the intention of buying a 2014/15 plate instead. However, none of them tick the boxes that this does. They are either not as fast, not as comfortable, not as economical or a combination of the 3.
I'm 6"6 and obviously that is a factor for me too. I feel ultimately comfortable in this.
As i'm incapable of leaving cars alone i'm now looking at futureproofing this and keeping it for a few years. It owes me nothing and has given me 40k of trouble free mileage. I fancy a hybrid turbo and a few other bits.
EDIT: *TROUBLE FREE MILEAGE*
Had a blow out this morning after catching a nail on the M4. managed to hold it in a straight line. An hour later, mobile tyre guy arrived and replaced both rears. Annoying but no harm done.
Edited by bullawayo on Tuesday 25th July 13:18
Edited by bullawayo on Tuesday 25th July 13:19
Cambs_Stuart said:
Love the wheels on that audi estate.
Thanks, super rare. Great car that was! Sold it on 240k and it was still going strong. PD130 engines are incredible.Some more photos from over the last few months....
The love is endless....
Rolling road pic...
Removing far too much for an air filter!
Sub wiring....
Paintwork...
Headlights needed sorting, a couple of hours later they were a lot better
And dechromed window surrounds. Needs tints now!
culpz said:
My mate in work has a silver one of these that's a few years newer. He's had it for ages now and it's also been remapped. He keeps saying he wants to get rid but just can't seem to sell it. He's has had a few issues with it but i think it's a better-the-devil-you-know mentality he's got with it now. Plus, he's replaced so much on it over the years that it's practically a new car with not much else to go wrong! 
I do love the look of yours OP. The wheels and the lows do look rather smart in my eyes. Not everyone's cup of tea, i'm fully aware, but i really like it. I'm a fan of the OEM+ look and styling aswell. I do love the idea of a big, comfy and quick saloon that's lowered with some decent alloys on it. I've always wanted to do that with an old Lexus of some sort. I'm sure my time will come eventually. Looking forward to more updates
Agree on all of the above. To be fair aside from the crank pulley mine has been great, but that is a wear and tear on these. Otherwise its just been service items.I do love the look of yours OP. The wheels and the lows do look rather smart in my eyes. Not everyone's cup of tea, i'm fully aware, but i really like it. I'm a fan of the OEM+ look and styling aswell. I do love the idea of a big, comfy and quick saloon that's lowered with some decent alloys on it. I've always wanted to do that with an old Lexus of some sort. I'm sure my time will come eventually. Looking forward to more updates
Rough running costs until now, excluding servicing are as follows:
Car 4000
Wheels 400
Coilovers 300
Remap + EGR 200 (good friend)
Swirl flap mod 40
Crank pulley 100
Shadowline trim for windows 20
Sub/amp Free (mine already)
Decat 150
Backbox delete 150
Video of exhaust:
https://youtu.be/mLqeOZUibPQ
Sounds good for a diesel. Only noisy on WOT
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BMW-E46-E39-E60-E61-M3-M...
Link to shadowline tape. Its good stuff, even if slightly expensive. I've used hardly any of the roll and done all the parts I needed to.
Link to shadowline tape. Its good stuff, even if slightly expensive. I've used hardly any of the roll and done all the parts I needed to.
Thanks Gents, I also agree a light tint would look good. Will be booking it in once i've paid my holiday off from last week.
Need to do the glowplugs/glowplug controller as i've left it a little while and the constant errors are becoming annoying. Rear pads/discs need doing aswell. Had the brake pad warning light come up on the dash, currently just cut the sensor by the rear pad and looped it out as it will be done within the next couple of weeks and I check them daily anyway. Still got a fair bit of meat left on them
Need to do the glowplugs/glowplug controller as i've left it a little while and the constant errors are becoming annoying. Rear pads/discs need doing aswell. Had the brake pad warning light come up on the dash, currently just cut the sensor by the rear pad and looped it out as it will be done within the next couple of weeks and I check them daily anyway. Still got a fair bit of meat left on them
Some minor updates....
Did the engine breather. Mine was pretty bad, gone with a vortex unit. Apologies for the state of the drive, I half heartadly pressure washed it...turns out its worse than before! lol
Gave the old girl a clean...
Been looking at msport front bumpers. Genuine ones (in decent condition) go for about £400. I refuse to pay that, but do want something similar. Found a company in germany who do an m5 style ABS bumper for £200 delivered to the UK. Might be worth a punt. As averse as I usually am to replica bumpers, I can't warrant spending £400 on a second hand msport unit. plus I fancy something a little different.
In other news, the recent blow out I had on my nearside rear wheel, and subsequent tyre/balancing, isn't entirely happy. I have developed wheel wobble at 70ish which was not present before my little incident. Will get the wheel rebalanced to see if it makes any difference. Should it not I will check to make sure I haven't bent the wheel!
Did the engine breather. Mine was pretty bad, gone with a vortex unit. Apologies for the state of the drive, I half heartadly pressure washed it...turns out its worse than before! lol
Gave the old girl a clean...
Been looking at msport front bumpers. Genuine ones (in decent condition) go for about £400. I refuse to pay that, but do want something similar. Found a company in germany who do an m5 style ABS bumper for £200 delivered to the UK. Might be worth a punt. As averse as I usually am to replica bumpers, I can't warrant spending £400 on a second hand msport unit. plus I fancy something a little different.
In other news, the recent blow out I had on my nearside rear wheel, and subsequent tyre/balancing, isn't entirely happy. I have developed wheel wobble at 70ish which was not present before my little incident. Will get the wheel rebalanced to see if it makes any difference. Should it not I will check to make sure I haven't bent the wheel!
Zaim said:
Thought this wonderful business park looked familiar. Just seen this in the car park, in one of the few times I visit. Looks good.
As per other conversations, I know it would be easier to just buy an msport, but thats not the point...
I bought this car without realising how much I would like it, and began a fair bit of maintenance work.
As such, and now because i'm in a situation of "better the devil you know", I think the car deserves a bit of money thrown at it. As i'm an engineer I do a lot of miles and its given me no issues whatsoever.
Speaking of bumpers...some **** in a focus ST170 was insistent on trying to keep up with/race me down a pretty quick B road over the weekend. Eagerly trying to stay with me from a set of traffic lights, he let off the clutch to early and dinged my rear bumper. No real harm done, asked him what he was doing.
Either way, asked for cash to repair (this will be going into the msport bumper fund):
Been smashing the miles recently for work as per usual. Consistently seeing 550 miles to a tank now. Still impressed by the MPG given its a 3.0d turbo:
A bit of maintenance also, I noticed I was starting to get a whirring symptomatic of a wheel bearing. As it usually occured when I was turning right at medium speed, I presumed it would be the front nearside that was the issue. Jacked it up, turns out it was in fact the front offside. Not seen that before, as usually its whilst the weight is on the wheel, not the nearside.
Either way, new bearing ordered and thrown in. 30 minute job, went well...
Did some more bits at the weekend...
Installation of cree LED headlights to replace my HID kit. Heard good things about these on the E60 Owners Club FB group, and must say i'm incredibly impressed. Needed to modify the bulb carrier to make it work, but came out well.
Front end removed:
Modified bulb carrier:
One fitted to test:
Whilst it was apart I also painted my Y-bar. Could have gone either way but actually happy with the result:
In other news my clutch has started slipping so I will be ordering a new one with flywheel shortly.
My cast manifold replacement has also arrived from the Bay of E so that will be going on soon when I get a chance.
Installation of cree LED headlights to replace my HID kit. Heard good things about these on the E60 Owners Club FB group, and must say i'm incredibly impressed. Needed to modify the bulb carrier to make it work, but came out well.
Front end removed:
Modified bulb carrier:
One fitted to test:
Whilst it was apart I also painted my Y-bar. Could have gone either way but actually happy with the result:
In other news my clutch has started slipping so I will be ordering a new one with flywheel shortly.
My cast manifold replacement has also arrived from the Bay of E so that will be going on soon when I get a chance.
OllieJT said:
Cracking, love a thread like this. What's the current mileage?
130k. Internally everything is good, and I change the oil every 5k as advised by a BMW Tech friend.He said as long as I keep to 5k oil changes the internals should have no issues, and it will achieve moon miles. So far so good!
I will be getting a hybrid turbo in the next couple of months as that's one of the only things that could cause detonation aside from the block. Should see me going for another 100k quite happily as long as I keep on top of bushes/brakes etc.
Zaim said:
Aye that's me. Back in there today and parked just opposite. Had some suspension work since I was last in.
Do like what you've done with the 5. Looks just right on the wheels and the detailing.
Yeah I had a nose around yours over lunch. Mines a right state at the moment, driven 1500 miles this last week and it’s coated! Thanks for your kind words though, it’s nowhere near where it will be yet Do like what you've done with the 5. Looks just right on the wheels and the detailing.
shalmaneser said:
What LED inserts are those? Are they specifically for use with HIDs are are they halogen replacements?
Cree bulbs. Mine are halogen replacements.Regarding Cree LED or HID...these are at least 5x better than the original HID kit that I had in. Less glare, crisper light. Highly recommended.
Link:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2-H7-360W-Upgrade-CREE-...
So after smashing some more miles I gave the old girl a clean tonight. Annoying that the rear bumper ding is so easy to spot when its clean..shall be going soon though for a replacement!
Y Bar looking better than anticipated!
And new led headlights
I fitted aux and coded it recently. Also added a sport button (meant to improve throttle response but I don't think it does anything really!!
And my average mpg over the last few thousand miles (60/40 motorway b roads)
Y Bar looking better than anticipated!
And new led headlights
I fitted aux and coded it recently. Also added a sport button (meant to improve throttle response but I don't think it does anything really!!
And my average mpg over the last few thousand miles (60/40 motorway b roads)
Did my glow plugs and controller this weekend. Luckily went ok and I didn't snap any plugs.
prep work involved having the inlet manifold off on Friday, plus gassing' all the glowplugs, putting it back together.
Then saturday morning I ran the car up to get it hot, stripped it down again and for a second time plusgassed. Left it to soak for 30 mins then started (delicately) removing the glowplugs.
They are set to 20nm from factory so I set my torque wrench at 25nm when removing. Luckily it all went ok!
Some photos...
Shiny bosch units
Old ones (phew)
Next up was to replace the controller. What an absolute pain in the a**e!! Access is hideous. With a few bendy sockets I managed to get it free and replace. These historically fail after around circa 100k, so it was time to replace (my Carly app was showing 4 glow plugs failed before I removed them, after checking ohms only one had failed so the controller was definitely duff!)
And back together....
This instantly sorted my smoke on startup, and it seems to be running a lot better too. Good stuff!
Next up is cracked exhaust manifold replacement. I just purchased an injector pulling tool for m57 engines. I did try and get a couple out whilst I had the intake manifold off, but they put up a bit of a fight. Annoyingly to access properly on the 30d' BMW engines you have to remove all the injectors...sigh
prep work involved having the inlet manifold off on Friday, plus gassing' all the glowplugs, putting it back together.
Then saturday morning I ran the car up to get it hot, stripped it down again and for a second time plusgassed. Left it to soak for 30 mins then started (delicately) removing the glowplugs.
They are set to 20nm from factory so I set my torque wrench at 25nm when removing. Luckily it all went ok!
Some photos...
Shiny bosch units
Old ones (phew)
Next up was to replace the controller. What an absolute pain in the a**e!! Access is hideous. With a few bendy sockets I managed to get it free and replace. These historically fail after around circa 100k, so it was time to replace (my Carly app was showing 4 glow plugs failed before I removed them, after checking ohms only one had failed so the controller was definitely duff!)
And back together....
This instantly sorted my smoke on startup, and it seems to be running a lot better too. Good stuff!
Next up is cracked exhaust manifold replacement. I just purchased an injector pulling tool for m57 engines. I did try and get a couple out whilst I had the intake manifold off, but they put up a bit of a fight. Annoyingly to access properly on the 30d' BMW engines you have to remove all the injectors...sigh
ok so had a pretty major day on this Sunday. Left my home in Basingstoke at 6am to get up to Nottingham. One of my friends (a fellow E60 owners club admin) is a BMW tech so helped me begin working through a few things...
Lovely day for it!
E60 land...
Bmw bits everywhere!
Up on the ramp
Stripdown,,
Old propshaft "donut" bush..mine was ruined! sounded like a marraka
New clutch and fly...(my original one actually had quite a bit of meat left..but the torque has taken its toll!)
Then all back together, onto my manifold. I knew it was blowing...I didn't realise the weld had completely given way!
New one...cast single piece
Engine looked well inside which is reassuring after 130k. Turbo has no play aswell, which I wasn't expecting.
It all went back together, also did the following:
- Air Filter
- Vacuum hoses
- Drivebelt
Drives a lot better now.
Next up - Gearbox/Dill oil (was meant to do on Sunday but run out of time). And both thermostats...
Lovely day for it!
E60 land...
Bmw bits everywhere!
Up on the ramp
Stripdown,,
Old propshaft "donut" bush..mine was ruined! sounded like a marraka
New clutch and fly...(my original one actually had quite a bit of meat left..but the torque has taken its toll!)
Then all back together, onto my manifold. I knew it was blowing...I didn't realise the weld had completely given way!
New one...cast single piece
Engine looked well inside which is reassuring after 130k. Turbo has no play aswell, which I wasn't expecting.
It all went back together, also did the following:
- Air Filter
- Vacuum hoses
- Drivebelt
Drives a lot better now.
Next up - Gearbox/Dill oil (was meant to do on Sunday but run out of time). And both thermostats...
Jaybmw said:
Tell me more about the prosports you've got on there. I'm looking at bc for mine but there fairly saucy price wise. I ran my e36 and e46 on jom blueline coilovers and I liked them alot.. changed both my stats recently. The first rad one was easy the 2nd one was not so easy
Prosports are great. I’ve ran so many sets of coilovers over the years, varying from low to high end and for the money these take some beating. Should I ever upgrade I would go to BCs also as I ran them on my Impreza and they were great.To be honest though these are performing so well I can’t ever see it happening. Rides firm but not crashy and they’ve massively helped handling. I bought the blue version as , if I remember correctly, there were 2 versions and these were slightly more expensive. Worth it though!!
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