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Hi all, just joined. currently have a 2001 540i, 220,000km. thankfully previous owner had done ALOT of work on it with the exception of the timing chain guides which I'm currently working through ( fun times >.<). have had multiple e30/e36 3 series in the past and this is my first venture into 5 series, but soo far loving it. apologies for the photos im not the best with a camera lol.

Stunning car, not surprised it went so quickly. Should have pulled finger instead of watching the cricket.

Anyone following this guy? https://www.youtube.com/c/M539Restorations Lots of respect to him as this is not his day job but he takes exceptional care when working and putting things together. He's also not trying to be deliberately silly or stupid like other Youtubers chasing the million subscriber mark. I quite enjoy watching his videos even though I don't own an E46, E31 or E38, watching him take these apart and putting them together again is very therapeutic.

How dare you betray the mighty colour of Estoril blue!?

A super tidy manual 325/8i in an interesting colour has always been worth about that. Stunning car

WTB Getrag 420g, anyone know of any available in NZ? or is ebay + kiwiship still best option?

Want to buy alpina (prefer replica, caz I am not printing money), style 32 and most important style 128!!! R19, R20. At least R18. PM me. 🙏🙏🙏

I actually considered buying this to use as a round about to match my M3.

Thats crazy talk 🤣

Welcome along, you'll find a few of us on here sharing the joys of owning an e39 540... lots of reading...

Ehhh, at least 18s, sorry bro(

Great looking car for a very reasonable price. Not surprised it sold so quick

This one?

After pi55ing around trying to change headlight adjusters, a trip to Pick a part for something else netted a pair of PFL headlights with new adjusters already installed, swapped over my polished and clear coated lenses, and bulbs, and threw them in, job done!! Now to sort the air bag light.....

Cheers mate, big shout out to you for accommodating a quick check over, awesome to meet another bimmer member. Great drive home, out at the circuit watching a mate race already.

Some more progress over the last few days ... dropped the front subframe and suspension while I wait for the certifier to come and check the reinforcement welding. Can't wait for water restrictions to be over so I can water blast this stuff !! Before removing the subframe I used my laser level to record positions of the steering rack (recording on the garage wall) for height and fore/aft as this is the major area of concern. Also I have locations done previously for the bottom of subframe etc. Now a milestone piece of work ... putting the engine and trans into the hole !!! The good news is that there will be no more fabrication needed than what I expected ... a new subframe for sure and then the real fun of either making a new wet sump or if I come into some money a dry sump setup !? (over capitilising I know !!) ... will just have to see whats possible / practical to get the steering rack into the right / factory location. Will investigate all options to get things to hang together at this point. Will need some customisation around the cabin air intake tray thing also as the motor sits very high. This is positioned so the bonnet can close also without some weird top fuel bulge TLDR: There is hope but its not going to be easy, or cheap. Should I have done a LS or 2J or something instead, probably

27 November 2020. 180622kms 1. Annual Service to keep current for MBI. Oil & Filter (Penrite HPR5 & Hengst filter) Brake fluid flush & pressure bleed Genuine BMW coolant and demineralised water (I do annual as a precaution on N62 coolant tube) Removed cabin filters, wash filter boxes; vacuum out debris; remove & clean drains. Reassembled with new cabin filter. Checked sunroof drains front and rear Replaced air filter Checked belts, hoses, underbonnet fluid levels. Lubed boot lid and bonnet hinges Replaced wiper blades Tyre pressures checked (nail removed left rear tyre). Scanned and reset service items. The craftsman's workshop, Auto 38 in Newtown! I've only done 3583kms in this car in the last year. Between Covid, lockdown etc, there hasn't been as much need or opportunity for use. It still puts a smile on my face every time I drive it. Next steps: Give it a damned good clean, clay, wax. Sort out the headlamp lens fogging - it's come back after a year Replace serpentine tensioner and pulley Replace rocker cover gaskets. They're starting to leak again, wondering if they were actually replaced when the valve stem seals were done at 166699kms in Apr 2018.🙄 One wouldn't expect these to fail in just 2.5 years. It's worth noting that oil consumption is ~0 since the valve stem seals were done.

Had 30min free so migrated the site to a new host, let me know of any issues. Hopefully this thread creates

The topcoat I applied to the wheels had wrinkled up for some reason, so spent another day sanding and priming... Haven't tried again yet... I got stuck into oil and coolant leaks last Sunday and have completed the redundant trans oil cooler and associated coolant pipes removal, as well as plugged the back of the alternator to cure that coolant leak. Also put in a new radiator and replaced the vanos solenoid oil gaskets. I think these along with the rear main seal were the source of the oil leaks. Also changed a power steer hose from reservoir to cooler, the other reservoir pipe is on the way so will change that when it arrives. Needless to say a lot of cleaning along the way.... M5 mirrors have been painted (I broke the $$glass trying to incorrectly get it out, but insurance has saved the day...), but in meantime have painted the existing LH mirror cover. I haven't changed the coolant yet as I have yet to crack open the block drains, but will have another go when new plugs and crush washers arrive... But on a 30 minute drive, happy to report no leaks of any sort and cooling system up to pressure and all good. Next up the coolant, as well as oil, oil filter, air filter change.

It'll be a good start to a project car, it appears to be straight and honest just needs some love. Elbow grease, a DA, and swinging of a spanner will solve a lot of it pretty simply. With things like the tyres/shocks they just become good excuses to upgrade! Reality is half the 130s out there selling for over 10k will have the same faults, just owners that are none the wiser. Should do an experiment, run around all the 130s in dealers yards and look for oil leaks and green coolant. $50 its more than half of em

Big shout out to Jacko for taking time out to look at the 130i and provide such thorough feedback. Managed to negotiate a price and have secured the car Have a list of jobs to do over Xmas, will no doubt be asking some "how to" questions on the Forum Cheers, John

That top photo is awesome! The style 32's look bloody good at that width on an E36.

Painful getting pics up here off phone @gofaster but heres a run down on it and pic dump (have more and a couple of vids (tick before and after) if you want anything specific) Its a straight car, no obvious accident damage or evidence of a respray. The front bumper and the gaps are due to the previous owner trying to rip the bumper off on kerbs... Paint looks like its been washed with a steelo, but its not deep. Few minor stone chips but nothing bad, its just every panel is dull with scratches. With a solid cut and polish it'd come up shiney. Lots of evidence of UV damage - headlights, rubbers, rear badge etc... but nothing end of world or not fixable. Bonnet release cable feels stretched, really got to yank on it. Interior is OK condition, bit battered, it needs a massive clean and tidy up but it'd tidy up OK. Headlining is falling down at the back. Looks different (and is pretty rare) in this spec. Front end feels very loose (it might just be stock vs mine though as it was back to back test), I suspect a flogged bush or two, and there are tell tale signs of dicky alignment. Tyres are bridgestone RFTs, the same ones all the jap imports have and all look old (probably came from japan with em). Front right wouldnt pass a warrant due to inner camber wear Brakes look old, but work fine and feel good, lots of rotor life left. Steering reservoir is leaking bad. Shocks look original, but all the suspension parts look clean and still have BMW p/n stickers on em. Battery was dead flat when went to start. Engine had the worst lifter tick I've ever ever heard which was a little concerning, however it went away after an italian tune up which is good. I suspect its been sitting for a long time. Engine has all the classic oil leaks, other than the sump (or if it is leaking the sump is minor), rocker cover gasket is toast and so is the oil filter/cooler ones. They have been toast for awhile and its made a mess (and smells oily after above tune up) Has green coolant in it (horror!), and it was a smidge low. Clutch feels good, if a little light (might just be my memory as mine is a SMF etc), DMF and release bearing are silent, and engine feels strong. Shift action is pretty good, no obviously flogged bushes. Engine sound deadening is dead... Engine pulls well and sounds good though. Exhaust sounds nice, not to sure whats done to it, tips arent factory but muffler looks factory. With some love it'd be a nice car, but it'll take some love and coin to get it there. I suspect it was mint in 2014 when it came out of Japan and has been a bit neglected in NZ by the previous owner (its a trade in). It might be worth trying botany BM workshop to see if they have any service history. If it was my project - Waterblast the f**k out of it, lots of pollen and dirt (and spiders) everywhere. Full cut and polish and birthday with new bits (like BMW badge at the back, its sad!) Clean up interior and stick roof lining back up New tyres New front end bushes, shocks and an alignment Every single oil gasket on the engine. New belt/idler/tensioner as they will all be poked due to the oil leak(s) (and the belts like to be ingested by the crank when they go!) New waterpump and thermostat, full coolant flush. Probably new starter (its at the K's where starters fail) and a new battery Sort the O ring on power steering reservoir No warranties given, your mileage may vary, wash rinse and repeat if necessary

Looks great! Love the E92 shape.

Another fun update on this sh*t-show: Dealer advised (after having the car another 8 days with almost no progress) that the car is now dumping transmission fluid and the transmission has to come out... He's asked us to file a claim under our MBI as its a new fault but they will cover the excess, which sounded dodgy to me, so I had a pretty frank and honest discussion with the MBI provider who was happy to raise the claim... So its now going to a transmission shop. We do have an F10 535i loaner in the meantime, but its huge and a real boat to be honest. Suffice to say, the Honeymoon period with the Audi was very brief indeed - only positive is we are getting some major service items out of the way 😐