Allanw

Dizzy Cap? If it's blowing your muffler, you probably have fuel making it past a cylinder (no/poor spark) and being ignited in the exhaust. If you have moisture in the dizzy cap or a dodgy lead.plug etc, that will do it. The high revs at idle ccould be a temp sensor, or the Idle Control Valve (ICV) needs cleaning or replacing.

I like Shueys comments

I've never seen one Manual E39's are hard enough to find anyway - I think there have been more M5's for sales than "normal" ones - that's why I jumped on our 525i. I'd LOVE a manual 530i touring. The manual REALLY makes a difference - really livens them up. You could always have a manual conversion done

They do look like a Kia, with 2 kidney grilles stuck on with hot glue. Those great wall utes make me think of a robotic grasshopper each time I see one.

Found another: Looks a bit like the Lexus, except someone has superglued a whole lot of extra crap on it. Looks like some girl got a bit carried away at an asian car accessories supermarket.

Apparently they only work on US/Canadian spec cars :-(

Me too - they just look "right". Shame my Mrs hates them. I was seriously trying to work out how to do a manual conversion on a 728i with the M52TU. The 728i is cheap to run (but obvioulsly not a rocketship), and the 740i is the next one up worth considering. The ones in between are pretty much as hungry as the 740i, but slower! if you're going to maintain a V8, it may as well be the big one!

Is that removable? You could take it off when ever you get home, and everyone could wipe their feet on it at the front door... ... Sneaky Japs think of EVRYTHING!

I did Dads one, with a home made slide hammer. Big threaded rod some big nuts and big washers. I also had the stuff sitting around to do it, and a hoist which makes it easy - on axle stands (NOT a jack - you'll lose a limb!) would be a pain in the arse. TBH, I'd pay $250, if I had to do it again. Took fricken AGES with the slide hammer and mashed a couple of fingers too. If you like to do it your self (I do too) you could buy the tool with the money you would spend on labour - you do end up with a tool you'll probably NEVER use again though Like my E39 rear ball joint tool

Could it be leaking all the time, and the fan is pushing the coolant out somewhere when it's on?

I don't think that would help your tax problems! Your expenses would be up a bit though $12K just to start

Sway bar drop links

It does look a bit less fugly....

The no dust thing is really appealing! I'm on tank water, and like you say.;.. NO RAIN - where I am seems to get even less than town does up here. I don't think I've washed the wheels for 2 months and they look like I've powdercoated them black...maybe I should just spray some laquer over them and be done Thanks for the report

Or anything with a "Bangle-Butt"

LINKY

Thread ender: There's nothing that makes up for it's ugly either. I'd rather drive the Multipla above - at least it seats 6, and probably has lots of quirky "features" like stuff that doesn't work, or drops off. The Prius really has nothing - total crap.

^ WHS, plus they look to flat - not dishy.

Sounds good :-) Have a good look underneath. The sills are prone to rot on the UK forums, and the stuff they have issues with is bizarre! Rotted out rear brake lines are common, and some of the engine and gearboxes look pretty scary, stuck bolts on calipers and suspension etc I would seriously be more tempted by the 530i that Brunch has for sale too: Visit My Website, as mentioned above. It looks really nice!

not to mention where right under "MPH" it says "UK" It appears to have spent nearly 10 years on UK salted roads, being registered here in 2011... I wonder how it looks underneath...

Looking good! Nice to watch someone else spending all their $, so I don't have to. Now, onto more important things... How many bottles of Grange have you been through, and how much is left?

Ha! After continually replacing injectors and a few clutches... or cracked heads if they are pre D4D (I think the D4D's don't crack heads like the previous ones all do). If you're going down that track, you'd actually be better off with a Nissan, or even Mitsi, scarily enough! The X5 was never touted as a serious offroad machine - it is really just a jacked up 4x4 5 series underneath it all.

AWESOME! lucky bugger!

I think the older cars are so cheap, because most of them are about to crumble from rust - There are guys scrapping E39 M5 because of rust! Sometimes the sills disappear entirely and the jacking points are GONE! Some of the trouble they have, are things like rear brake lines split from corrosion and stuck caliper bolts and stuff that we just don't get. All that salt makes EVERYTHING under the car look manky

Bummer... You know an M54 powered E46 with just an M badge may be just the thing then Or a 318i badge