Leaderboard

Hi all, Here’s my Topaz blue 2002 E39 540i M Sport. Picked this up from @hqstu three months ago and have since completed over 6,000km. The condition of this vehicle is a testament to extensive work completed by HQSTU previously documented on his e38/39 Central DHB post. Certainly surprises people when you tell them it now has over 296,000km on clock. With all the big jobs already completed by HQSTU very little work has been required. Replaced number 8 coil with genuine BMW coil but after another coil failed the following month I decided to replace the remaining 7 original coils with new matching Bosch coils, this time from FCP. Replaced the rain light sensor (RLS) to restore function of the auto wipers, $32 from Pick a Part. A few other things to sort. There’s always something to fix on a 20 year old BMW.

Spotted this Volvo bus fitted with E39 facelift headlights. A rather expensive choice of headlights for a bus.

Speaking of... parked next to this slammed beauty the other day over here in Esto land, complete with that bumper I like so much. Seems to line up pretty well. A bit too low for my liking but did look pretty sharp, possibly on air suspension even. Would have been keen to chat to the owner but didn't feel like waiting around like a complete creep. I'm also reminded every day why I'd never consider having a nice car over on these shores... Couldn't bear putting any significant amount of care and effort into something only to watch it be eaten away by rust. Anyhow, whilst I'm over here, quietly exploring the possibility of putting together a few pallets of manual swap bits and shipping them over. Manual gearbox prices over here are veeery tempting, just need to figure out if the import costs would make the endeavor not worth the hassle. Got a very reasonable quote on shipping and handling on this end for a partial container load, now need to figure out what the import costs, duties and port handling stuff might run me back on the NZ side. If anyone's been through the process or has any contacts in the imports / customs broker fields, I'd be very keen to hear about it. Cheers

Oh mean man. Thanks. will PM about that I got the tires from Capital Tires in Hamilton CBD. they bettered a price I got from beaurepairs incl my work discount. So was stoked with that.

The engine is only aspect. You add the all the electronics, tired suspension, heavy cars etc, you see why very few people truly refresh them and spend the barely min on them, you rarely see any with big k's. Obviously you can do much the work yourself if you have the skills\tools and get parts overseas, but they never be what id call cheap to properly refresh.

Yip the local suppie, High pressure injection being deleted Removed HPFP, add cover Removed index 12's Add SS blank plugs and hold downs, similar to the stock ones. Then forced into HP injector hole N54 Maxx ECU adapter on its way from Sweden, allowing me to run stock engine harness up to the adapter, then into Maxx Race ECU. Its NOT child labour, its work experience....time to strip the rears

I've done the valve stem seals in my E61 550 and the alternator bracket but not the coolant transfer pipe. If you end up wanting to do that work yourself I'm in the 04 and have a Valve Stem Seal tool kit similar to the AGA one I'd consider renting out. I think the worst part of doing the alternator bracket was actually getting the alternator itself out and in again If you need a hand with either I don't mind popping over for a couple of hours on the weekend either.

I'm pleased it's going well for you Taylor, albeit a few coils and a RLS... great photos. Keen to keep updated, and yes there is always something... but I think you've started from an OK base 😎 Cheers.

$2000 ORC. WTAF - very sneaky that the 'price' excludes this outrageous bit of dealer profiteering

yea they are factory n54 with dct , the e89 z4 35i where only offered as dct or manual , no automatic option call me for a history lesson

Finally some progress that gets things installed back in the car !! Clear coated all of the trim pieces last week and they look pretty good. Completed the front speaker wiring (in the doors at least) so could finally put the new leather door cards in. The colour came out pretty similar to the grey of the dash funnily enough, could have been a little lighter to give more contrast but I think it should look pretty clean when all done. Will get the head unit wiring taken care of next so I can complete the front cross over installs. Got the climate control module removed (surprisingly nothing broke, had to pull it SO hard !) so I can install the new centre mounted head unit frame.

Thanks @Karter16 !! Certainly looks fairly valueline

Certifier came out on Thursday and was happy so am free to bond the roof on now. Popped some epoxy primer over the bare welded areas today, and where I had ground a spot for the welders earth. As far as the roof itself, I wet sanded (400 grit) the clear coat to remove the orange peel and reduce the fish eyes. Applied additional clear to the fish eyes which i will sand back flat tomorrow ready for some more coats of clear. If we can't get it good enough straight off the gun then I will be sanding and buffing before final trim and bonding to the car.

Want to buy light switch as shown here Located Wellington

Tidy looking T2 spotted. I also saw what looked like a 135i - ‘CRBN’ that looked like it meant business. By the look of it, I could tell that there was something mean under the hood. Quite unlike all the E90’s you see with stickers, DTM’s, and M badges. Wouldn’t be surprised if it was a member’s car.

Your steering issues sound scary as hell. I'm kind of keen to deal with stuff like valve steam seals, alternator gasket, coolant transfer pipe, etc. to get some experience, but I'm fairly sure I'm not gonna wanna do it twice. I dunno man, V8's just have a special place in my heart. I think the S65 is the only other engine I'm interested in. It seems worth investing in learning to DIY the N62 because there are so many bargains out there with different form factors - 550i, 550i touring, 750i, X5. Heaps of really good deals because people have been quoted $4k from a dealer to fix one or few of the above issues. Of course it's pretty easy for me to say this - having never done any of these tricky jobs! I've done that. It helped a little bit, but I still made the habit of treating 1/4 like 0 😀