Allanw

At 145K, it may have it's original suspension, which is likely to be rooted. E39's do eat suspension, and Ideally the whole lot should be rebuilt together, as one worn part can lead to other parts taking more stress etc. The M5's suffer from Vanos problems too, sometimes. A 14 year old car may require cooling system parts, seals/gaskets, window surrounds, lock actuators, drivers door seal, brakes, belts/tensioners, power steering hoses, dash pixels, etc. The Generic E39 bits are OK, but some of the M5 specific stuff can be a bit eye watering! The cooling system bits don't suffer from the same heat stress either, as they only have 87C thermostas, instead of running well into the 90's + on the I6 and even higher on the "pleb" V8's ( ). I'd love an E39 M5, but am WAY to tight to buy one or part with the cash for the parts Just about any "everyday" E39 probably requires 2-3K spent on parts just to bring them up to scratch mechanically, unless it's owned by someone who knows what they're doing, AND is willing to spend the money to maintain it (NOT common!). Edit: If I did buy an E39 M5, I'd want to put standard bumpers and a hidden exhaust etc on it, just to be a bit Wolf in sheeps clothing

Not onto something - just thinking It really could be SO many things! I wonder about Vanos, but that usually affects the M54B30 the worst at cold idle - people report they start to run a bit rough, then can stall all by themselves. Has the Vanos had new seals? Does it run rough, then stall, or just stop dead. Is it the instant you let your foot off the gas, or does it idle for a bit first? When you say it struggles to start, does in not wind over properly, or does it miss and fart and have trouble getting going, unless you wait abit??? Weird things I've had similar involve oil pressure and hydraulic lifters, and Vanos could be affected by cold/thick oil. I had a suabru where I could drive home, leave it to cool down, start it for 20 or 30 seconds, turn it off then leave it over night. Next morning, I'd start it fine, drive to the end of my road and it would stall. It wouldn' start unless I held my foot down and cranked and cranked it, and it had no compression initially - just woulnd over like all valves were open - the hydraulic lifters would pressurize up and stop the valves closing completely - I could make it happen like clockwork! If I didn't do the 20 second run, it would never do it. It could be something Vanos related, where the cam isn't returned to the correct angle in time or similar - once it's warmed a tiny bit more, it's not an issue??? Also, the IAC valve as mentioned above, could be more sticky when cold - they can have oil residue in them that softens with heat - if they are sticky, the ECU can overdrive them to close, and it closes too much, but it can't pull it back in time. Not a bad thing to clean out anyway - they can cause issues! It's probably only something you can discover by watching real time data though.

I'd be tempted! The brakes are only really a problem if you go too fast too much and need to slow down Question... Why has the blower been rebuilt?

And the manifold wouldn't have to come off Part might cost the same though

Does it star back up stright away, or does it take some cranking? Does it sound normal while cranking?

Haha! Yeah. I'd probably do it... but I'm mad. It'd probably only take me 6 months. I ALWAYS have a spare car, in case I decide to do something myself

Very couple of hours, easy The V8's a bit more involved!

They're in Auckland - that IS parked!

No special tools needed for the M54 6cyl Arma - That vanos hose leak will just be 2 aluminium washers and about 10 minutes work max. Really easy. However, if the seals have never been done with the correct type, they'll be knackered

Drain the power steering reservoir, trim a small amount off the hose ends, and put them back on with new clamps (quality - not those tridon crap ones!). Don't over tighten either - that's as bad as being too loose and may distort or break the fittings. Get a new O ring for the cap too - they leak.

What posts? No, really.

A photo and a complaint at the local police should be enough - you are NOT allowed to park blocking a driveway - even your own, apparently!

I spoke to the local AMI manager personally, and they agreed to a value with me and put it as a fixed value, that didn't depreciate. I don't know if they can still do that though - It was about 3 years ago.

Welcome! Make sure you get those pics up! .,.,..

Bugger, can't see pictures at work :-( Welcome though!

Maybe it's been for sale for 7 years and he's just realised it's not worth 65K. In 8 more years, it'll be down to mid 20's...

They must have just installed Oracle... ...That never seems to go well.

Vanos seals won't cause you to leak oil - the oil that makes it past the seals will end up back in the sump. the gasket or aluminium sealing washers could have been leaking, but they don't really affect the operation of the Vanos (unless the leak is huge, but then you'd have more issues than Vanos!). Usually worn Vanos seals eventually lead to a hunting idle, as the oil pressure stuggles to maintain a constant advance point for the cams. How long ago did you change the seals? Our M54 idled fine before and after, though it was easily stalled, and the idle would hunt a lot while riding the clutch, reversing and the likes, before I did them. You might be paying more attention, looking for faults, because you've made changes, or the car maybe adjusting to things still.

Yep, no TV at our place for about 7 years now. When we stay with friends, the most interesting thing on TV - ads

Alpina Conversion costs about 82 bucks, might have to hunt down an E39 version

580i Touring Maybe Julian could put it in his 540i. THEN supercharge it.

Awesome!

Good E30 conversion

I'd give him a grand for it

True! He's VERY helpful, and listens to what you want. The dealer I called was trying to price the wrong part repeatedly, and that's when I found out Paul can get them. Cheaper AND correct!