Haz77

Got a front fog light out on my 2000 530 Motorsport, Had a girly look & cant see how it comes out, had a Google & some suggestion that the bumper needs to come off??!!! Anyway, to avoid breaking something or wasting all day trying, can anyone tell me just how to remove them? its the passenger side with the air intake. Cheers.

Can anyone tell me the "best" way to change broken / failed adjusters for a zenon angel eye E39, both adjusters, had a look an cant say Im keen on pulling the glass off, going in through the back looks reasonably achievable, any tips or which is the best vid - guide to follow? Also, where can I find a "how to" on actually removing the lights to begin with? Cheers.

Just had the wheel alignment etc done, report says "Lower front caster arm bushes getting worm & have movement, replace within next 12months" Guess I may as well get them changed while the rotors are being done.

Just ordered a pair of Zimmerman rotors & "road house" pads (apparently premium euro) $400 delivered from NZAD, not had time to check out mine so will see what they are like when they come off. Where is a good place to get new sensors, I have an ebay account.

So do those $200 Meyle/Akebono kikts pass the grade for worth buying or are they a waste of money? And I dont mean comparable to a skim, but in life expectancy / safety & quality etc I guess what I really mean is would you fit the $200us kit?

$1000, fitted by a workshop that is, allowing for Postage and 2-3hours labour, BMW Brake Kit Front (E39 530i 540i) - Brembo/Akebono 34116767059KT1 Rotors , pads, sensors, delivered $595nzd, throw in a couple of hours labour and that's pretty much $900. Skim mine $250, let the pads do there worst, maybe 10'kms - 1 more year out of them, pretty much the same kms per $. Will check mine out first, prefer to know what Im dealing with before I start dealing out the $$'s

Minds giving me your suppliers details?

OH! Ive contacted FPC as they dont list a 530 or a motorsport so will see what they offer. I was going to skim them at $80nz each because I thought new rotors would be at least $200nz each. Out of interest is swapping them just a case of unbolt the calliper, remove the rotor fixings, swap, re fit calliper & wipe it all down with brake cleaner?

Supplier is also saying 2pads = 1 rotor, they are recommending replacing both rotors & pads prob looking at $1000.00 installed. will take a look at them asap, measure the thickness, look for anything obvious wrong with them & see what pads Im running now before I go charging in to a 4 figure bill.

Thanks guys, food for thought, I actually told them It had a loose control arm bush as from past experience that is what it felt like, shaking through the steering when braking & cornering, they said they checked all & no problems, then they measured the disks & they have run out, I didn't ask exactly how much. 20'000kms ago when they fitted them they also measured them & they where fine. I am disappointed as I specifically went with parts from a trusted BMW specialist supplier rather than the other options available & they wernt the cheapest on offer so what you are telling me to do is actually what I did an the result is warped / failed rotors. I know where you are coming from but sorry, dont agree that just because they will warp again at some point makes them some how inherently unsafe, continuing to drive the car with warped rotors of course is unsafe but not using a part or repairing a part just because it will fail in a non critical way pretty much means dont own a car to me! If I am replacing them I would examine them for defects but unless it was blindingly obvious what is wrong then I know I'd be flogging a dead horse as who am I to know the tolerances or spec's for the part,,,, Possibly the supplier can sell me pads suited to these rotors so I can skim them & at least get some value out of them as it seems to be the consensus that the pads have caused the problem.

Thanks Guy's. To say Its not worth skimming the rotors when I would prob get another 20'kms out of them is a bit of a double negative to me when the alternative is to scrap them & replace both the rotors & pads, why not just skim them, kill them & then ditch them & the pads & start over, especially if the new set will be $2-300usd + fitting. waiting to hear what the supplier of my rotors thinks of this situation, the rotors where checked when fitted & had zero run out when new.

Hi, Had my E39 530 m-sport for 5years - 60'ks now & in that time ive had; The rotors it came with skimmed, New rotors fitted in feb '15 (20'ks ago) supplied by a reputable aftermarket BMW parts supplier, Now im told by the workshop that these now have run out which is causing a shake & need either skimming or replacing,,, My driving is probably slightly harder than Norman in his Holden cruise but im certainly not track racing or even thrashing around the roads or even braking hard out ever. Im running hard pads (no dust so I think ceramic?) & they have barely worn in the 60'kms ive had the car, Im told there is no obvious sign of a problem with the pads, My understanding is that BMW's run hard pads & soft rotors as this is the most efficient set up but is this amount of wear / regularity of warping to be expected?? The workshop are saying the pads must be to hard & I should skim the rotors & fit softer pads, Its going to cost $2-250 all up to skim the rotors in place + pads if I change them, effectively they are scrap as is so since this is a lost less than replacing I may as well go for it, even if they warp again in 10-15'kms due to being thinner. What do you all think, is there something else I should be looking at?? Cheers.

Thanks for the reply's guys, big help/ Will try cleaning out the hubs / tone wheel locations gently with compressed air and low pressure water first as this is $0 cost then I'll call by the local Auto elect & get a price for scan / fault diagnostic then decided wether to just send the module away or try to find the problem first.

Timaru

Hi, So for a while my ABS & ASC lights have been coming on while driving, normally when around town under 50kms & not while braking or just after stopping gently say to nip into a shop then re starting the car they are on. every so often they come on while doing 100kms on the highway but never while heavy braking or braking at speed. When I park up for more than a few hours they must reset & are off when I start the car. I have changed all 4 sensors & for about 3-400kms thought I had it solved but now they are again coming on. Any way a service fault check can tell me what the problem is etc? While reading up on how to change then etc I found some info suggesting that if the "Tone wheel" or "pulse generator" disk is dirty this can be the problem & TBH I think it is, the old sensors where REALLY dirty with dry dust / mud but just how can I clean these properly? To me it looks like the signal generator is actually the back seal of the wheel bearing which has ridges or pockets to create the signal but is there a drain or opening for the dirt / dust to get in ot out of this area? one post seemed to suggest cleaning with a wire bottle /rifle brush through the sensor hole another witha rag on a screw driver and another with an air gun, is there any chance of contaminating the wheel bearings & is there any ware for the dirt to go - get out?? like wise can you flush with water or such like through the sensor hole? I am sure this area is dirty as I travel on 1-2kms of shingle each time I drive the car & the dust gets EVERYWARE!! Any helps a big help,,,,,

Can you order me a pair?, told $270/pair & non ceramic pads at $130. OEM ATE rotors are only $44 more. Theres an ebay seller selling ATE rotor, pad & sensor sets out of germany for very good prices, might give that a go.

No, that was just for the pair of front rotors. So are OEM Brembo? Now informed OEM are ATE.

Ouch, OEM BMW rotors = $540.36pr ++ Even they said if the pads look ok / not to worn they would not always change them. Just waiting on a price for fronts only from a US ebay seller for a Brembo kit.

Just emailed Jeff Gray, will be interesting to see what they come back with.

You mean call a BMW dearship or can I get OE somewhere else?

Hi all, So looks like I need either new or skimmed rotors on the front of my E39 530imotorsport. Had them skimmed about 18months ago but got caught out by a small ford the other week & think they have warped again :-( Didnt replace the pads last time, the garage said they gave them a rub over some grit paper & they had been ok since, also I get NO BRAKE dust so Im guessing they could be ceramic pads. What are the options recommended for rotors / pads?, I called 4 suppliers & got at least 6 options for rotors from $67<$250 & about 60 for pads from $60 < $155!, also theres the TM seller & been quoted for Euro quality rotors by Miland BMW. I understand that skimming rotors is not "best pracice" but my mechanic said so long as your inside the limit stamped on the rotor then its ok but then the cost of skimming is not far from the price of some new anyway. I also understand that BMW use soft rotors & hard pads as this gives the best brake, Asian manufactures however use soft pads / hard rotors this is reflected in the prices options. Anyone used DBA rotors, told they are up there in quality?

Very simply, How do I tell if I have a 90 or a 120A alternator on my 2000 E39 530i motorsport?

Cheers guys, Did see that price & have been talking to Paul thats why I needed to know if the prob could be the pad or Abs sensor. The garage said they he thought that was about what he had paid for his a few years back, maybe he got them from a BMW dealer.

So,,, Need to know if this message is only sent by the brake pad sensor or if the ABS sensor runs the same warning? Cheers.

Also, are all the sensors the same or is each different? was thinking of getting 1 and just swapping them until I find the one causing the alarm.