Allanw

Haha! I just spent a LOT of my "spare" time converting one Touran from 2.0 auto to 3.2 VR6 manual 4WD... YES - I understand the difficulties. ? I suggested to my wife that I do the work, and then sell it... but she's not super keen. Make an offer ?

I thought about PMing you before I even listed it ? There is a crack towards the rear that I gooed up - I suspect there is a crack at the front too - I put some silicone on the gasket, but it still dribbles out at times. It'll want another cover, either new or good used. Gabe has one for sale still - just check it's the right one - there are two types. I was going to put a new one on, but we decided to move to a 7 seater - we have a pair of VW Tourans now (Nerd alert!)

Time has come to sell our trusty steed. We've had it since 2011, at about 115kms. It's been my wifes family-mobile. It's now done nearly 178,000. We are located in WHANGAREI. It's a factory manual, so no dodgy wiring or clutch setups. It does currently require a clutch replacement though, but it comes with a LUK DMF Repset; DMF flywheel, clutch plate, pressure plate, release bearing, flywheel bolts, alignment tool and I also sourced other required parts, like the trans input seal, engine rear main seal and carrier gasket, trans mounts, spigot bearing, release bearing guide tube, release lever pivot etc. All included - nearly $2K to buy here now. It's drivable, and has had no slippage issues, but the bite point is very high - I'd recommend replacement soon, and no drag racing on the way home! ? We've been driving it until last week with no problems. New car is being used now. It also requires a rocker cover, as it leaks onto the AC compressor and the exhaust. The headliner is sagging, and there is damage on both front corners, as shown in the photos One was turning and scraping a rock, the bad side, the bumper was caught on a parking stop and bent out, breaking the corner - It's not from an impact. I have a brand new aftermarket bumper (included, if you can fit it inside), though finding a matching colour used one would be easier. There are a number of shopping trolley and parking dings - the worst on the rear right door - visible in the photos. There is a patch peeling on the passenger front door, about the size of an old 50c piece. There are a few areas that have been touched up with touchup paint etc, like scrapes on the sill and some marks on the wheel arches. The interior is tidy enough, with a few typical E39 failures, like broken rear coin tray, sagging fabrics etc. The car has been our family car, and has a number of battle scars. It's rough around the edges, but has been well maintained on Castrol Edge 0W-40 A3/B4 every 12-15K (I reduced the interval in the dash software). It's a MUCH better carmechanically than it looks cosmetically! Last year, it had 4x new Mintex rotors, and "Posi-Quiet" reduced dust ceramic pads. New water pump earlier last year, and an expansion tank. It's NEVER been overheated (High OBC has a coolant level warning) and I changed to a mechanical thermostat years ago, and recalibrated the temp gauge to show useful information (the stock gauge is a waste of time!). Earlier in our ownwership, it had a suspension rebuild using the correct aluminium parts, and a number of powerflex bushes. The rear shocks are original, but the front were new Sachs. When we got it, the headlights were poor, and the originals halogens are terrible lights anyway, so I fitted a brand new BMW Xenon retrofit kit - 2 brand new headlights. There is a self levelling retrofit kit too, but I never fitted it, and never have people flash at me (it's manually adjustable on the dash anwyay). It already had the factory fitted Celis tail lights. The LCM is upgraded to an LCM4, so you can code it to run LED angle eyes without the strobing of the cold checks, though it doesn't have LEDS currently. The Vanos seals were done early on, and still appear fine - I used the Beisan kit and it really made a difference to the cold starts, smoothed out the power delivery and stopped the car being easy to stall. The Disa Valve was replaced with a brand new one also - it had a faulty one from new! So it works now, and isn't threatening to lunch the engine. OIl filter housing gasket has been replaced. Front and rear screen surrounds were replaced with new. Another common E39 issue; the ABS module was replaced with a BRAND NEW item a few years back, so will be good for a long time. I didn't see the point in repairing, when the warranty was so limited. I repalced the ignition swithch just prior to this too - another common fault. There are probably other things I have missed. Other than the rocker cover leaking, everything has been replaced and repaired as required with quality brand new parts. It's had a set of Bridgestone MY-02's fitted early this year (always ran Potenzas prior to that), so tyres are pretty much new 235/45R17's on 2 piece style 42's. There are a few random little spares I have too, that I'll include. Also have BMW Scanner 1.4 and a set of INPA CD's and a cable. The AC works very well. Has 3 tether clips on the parcel shelf. Windows are tinted (legally) with 3m carbon somthing??? Car Folie did them - it REALLY cuts out the heat and is really black coloured - not that cheap looking crap. The car has been my wifes, so I've had to make sure it was reliable to stay in her good books! She is also amazing at stopping and calling me if ANY warning lights pop up, so it's never been driven with any problems, like so may people do, and wonder why they kill things! If I had somewhere safe to keep it, I'd probably keep it for my boys to learn to drive in, but it's not practical for me. The car is well specced for a 525i. It's a proper M54 525i (not the earlier jap spec 523i) and goes well with the manual trans - they are much more lively than the autos. VIN WBADT32030BF59439 525I (EUR) M54B25 Engine, 141Kw Manual 5 speed Steel Blue Metallic, Grey Leather Interior Prod. Date 2000-11-23, making it a 2001 model, but it's registered as a 2000. EU2 emissions standard (no SAI) Dynamic stability control DSC Multifunction steering wheel Electric Rear sunblind Comfort seats, electric, with memory Front adjustable Armrest Lumbar support, driver and passenger Park Distance Control (PDC) (was front and rear, but is coded to rear only now and the front sensors are gone) Fog lights Dual Zone Climate air conditioning On-board computer OBC, with High Cluster Aluminium interior Trim HiFi speaker system with BMW 6 CD changer S704A M Sports suspension (Which I have actually added 10mm spacers to RAISE the car! These ca be moved if desired which will drop it around 15 to 20mm?) I'd prefer it went to someone who will do the things it needs, and look after it - It's a great car, but we've used it well! The tyres ($800) and the DMF/clutch ($1600) and parts ($350) make up most of the price anyway, so It's a bit like having the car for free with a bunch of new parts ? Let's try for $3500 but offers will be kept in mind. PM me for more info, detailed pictures, or for phone number etc. Allan.

Nice! We could have watched it on our VHS players!

Mine is supposed to have 42 PSI: 'specially since it has a fat-arse cast iron VR6 in the front now ? : I'm continually amazed at people who just put 30PSI in everything! ?

Do you have a shotgun? Having 3 boys, I'm going to miss out on that time: when the boyfriend comes over for the first parental introduction, and hears the sound of a pump action, just before the front door swings open.....

Start it up, and drive off straight away... well after like 30 seconds - it's better for the engine anyway. You may find it doesn't happen as much. the 3.0 in particular, can have roughness and even stalling issues if the Vanos is bad enough - usually reported by people who leave it to idle, or pull straight into slow traffic (anecdotal, of course). They retard the exhaust timing heavily on cold starts to heat the cats faster, and they can struggle to control the cam timing, because of the thick oil (high pressure, but low flow to the extremities). Our M54B25 was never "rough" on a cold idle, but it was noticeable smoother after doing the Vanos seals. If it were me, I'd probably not sweat it too much, until the seals were done, ans see if it's still an issue. Out of interest, what grade oil are you running? 0W-something?

Are your Vanos seals done? Do you let it idle for a while when you start, or pretty much drive straight off (gently)?

Try to find a set of Contour seats Use her pregnancy as an excuse to spend the extra, but hurry up! You don't have much time!

I removed the front shields from our E39. After sealing of our road, it was getting a stone EVERY day... on BRAND NEW rotors! Then after removing them, I discovered the light rattle I'd had for years... was from the shields! Gone now! ?

It doesn't affect warmup - just high temps - when the port is blocked, the incoming water is entirely sucked in by the pump from the radiator. If the port is open it cycles around from the head down to the pump, and the thermostat opens a little to let some cooler coolant in that mixes into this flow.

Hahaha! Yes you do... Sorry. You could buy my E39 and dismantle it to check it all :-) I had to fit it enough times already, to get it leak free. I'll help where I can, but I'm just not taking it off again I'll even leave the new clutch and flywheel in the boot if you buy it! Setup is: block | paper gasket | thermostat | adapter | M54 housing.... The paper gasket = crap! I used a quality silicone and set it up correctly before assembly. the first two times (paper gasket) it leaked/weeped, and with no gasket it's fine... it's been on a few years. The thermostat is held against the block by the adapter, and I'm pretty sure there is an oring in there, between the adapter and thermostat??? The zionsville setup isn't quite the engineering masterpiece they seem to think it is. They go on about the 110C mechanical thermostat... but that's only the V8's, the M54 is 97C. I did have the original thermostat the kit came with, but I think I threw it out a few months ago. The hole meant there was enough coolant flow to cool the engine on long downhill decents, and in winter, it never got past low 80's with the somewhat short trips we do. Once I replaced the thermostat to one without the hole, it would warm up to 90C well before the first morning stop and hold constant temps between 90 and 93C.

Sorry - can't help much more without pulling the car apart (not happening ). I wonder if they have different expansion rates/ratios?

Have you measured the depth in the actual head? Are they different by the same amount as the stats? The housing holds the stat directly on the block, I'm sure. It's a long time since I saw it in the flesh, but I think the M54 'stat has a much longer spring on the plate??? I wonder if it blocks eariler, relative to thermostat position, then has more opening travel after blocking the port - as in, it blocks the port earlier, to force coolant from the radiator in faster, to pull it down from 97 to 87 quickly. I do know, the hottest ours ever got was up to 95C, and I assume the 'stat was WIDE open then. I couldn't hear the viscous fan, so I assume the radiator coolant temp was low enough to hold it there. It never goes past 92C unless I do something to provoke it (like a hiding, then sit with no air movement for a while).

pretty sure M50 and M52 use the same thermostat??? (not M52TU though), but the temp varies depending year etc. Anyway, mine is 11537511083 I don't think the other housings fit, unless you modify it quite a bit. The M54 plastic housings have a tiny bleed hole that let the air out easily, from the inlet to the outlet. You also need to make sure the plate on the back of the thermostat is the correct depth - it's what forces coolant out to the radiator when then thermostat is wide open. If it doesn't shut onto the hole in the block, coolant can recirculate in the block, as it does with a partially open thermostat.

As was explained to me one time... Sometimes the "paperwork" is started before the physical item actually arrives in the country, so it can LOOK like its at customs, when it hasn't actually arrived in NZ yet. So it can say "held for clearance", but they then wait four days for it to get to them. They can do duty/GST calculations if the paperwork is sent ahead/is believable, but won't clear it entirely, until it physically arrives and can be x-ray, sniffed for lollies drugs etc. Who knows... might be true

There are a few uphills though. Have you thought about supercharging again, yet?

I get email updates that say when the discounts are. It's not always cheap, but I check there often, when I'm looking for things.

https://www.micksgarage.com/ Mine were NZ$210.63, but today, with NO voucher, they're NZ$313.12 shipped, for all 4. (so includes NZ$39.46 shipping currently). with a 25% voucher, it'd be down to NZ$244.71 shipped. Sometimes the parts are discounted as well as being able to use the voucher too. There is a current 10% Easter voucher I think, but I've ordered for a mate a few weeks back with a 17% voucher (st paddys day) and previous occasions with a 20 and a 25% voucher. One of those times, I got 2x PAIRS (4 bars) of roof racks, for NZ$243 shipped :-)

Micks garage again... shipping to NZ is just under NZ$40 :-) 4 Mintex discs for the E39 were NZ$210 SHIPPED wait for a 17%, 20% or 25% off voucher if you can :-)

Dads original E30 battery actually lasted longer than it's alternator! The battery would drain enough to stop it starting after 7 to 9 days. We replaced the 9 year old battery, and it was fine for a few months, but then the same thing - even though the alternator appeared to be charging. The alternator was rebuilt by a local auto sparkie, and it was fine after... It was just never charging the battery quite right, and would eventually run the battery down, then the sitting pushed it past the point of cranking fast enough to start. So I suggest checking the voltages (as above), but running the alternator up on a test rig may show something too (or fit another one anyway). Keep the new battery charged with a decent charger too - leaving it under charged will shorten it's life.

That is probably a very late E39 - the earlier ones I'm fairly sure were japanese OR rest of world, I think they changed in 2002 or 2003... but don't take that as gospel!

The US uses a different AM frequency step... coz you use AM all the time anyway

I'd worry more about that on NZ new - at least the import has to pass compliance, NZ new just has to pass a WOF - plenty of dodgy cars on NZ roads after "repairs"! Or a trip down 90 mile beach. In NZ, it's only de-reged if it was water damaged and insurance claimed. If insurance can't be claimed, it's the hose, a dehumidifier for a week, then onto Trademe, or (more likely) Turners.