BreakMyWindow

Thanks but i got a full set of the standard issue nkg's for $60 usd when i ordered all my thermostat and valve cover seal parts.

Its not as clean as my 540i was under the rocker cover. Bit of sludge but nothing extreme. The spark plugs were covered in oil though. My guess is that the gasket seals were original.

Decided to re-seal the valve cover tonight while it's all apart. Here's a few pics of all the chaos. Just to get enough clearance to remove the cover I had to tie up the coil wiring harness, and move the water valve unit up about 30mm. Not a fun job with the engine in the car. Thermostat housing off. Bitch of a job to try and get on right with out seeing if the o -rings pinch. Removing the inlet manifold. 45 + nuts and bolts to remove, plus a few hose clips. Cleaning the Oil residue out, before pic More oil residue and oil to clean off before the cover can go back on Throttle bodies cleaned, and gasket mating surfaces cleaned up

managed to get my 4;3 on board working again, and it was only to the tune of $60 The Rotary optical encoder (knob dial/button for scrolling menu options) was replaced. This was a generic part that i sourced from element14. Let me know if you want the part number. The internal spring mecahanism was stuffed, so scrolling worked, but you couldn't acknowledge anything with the push button. As for all the rest of the buttons on the onboard monitor, i simply removed the front cover, removed the circuit board, and cleaned the buttons, and contact points on the circuit board with CRC MAF cleaner (it's all I had) I guess it was either luck, or they were really dirty, but they all started working again upon re-installation. Steering wheel controls work now too!

Thanks Jochen, will do.

Yeah, i was using vasoline, which is a no no (petrolium jelly) Had I have got the o rings in without pinching or breaking them, leaks would only just be around the corner. I ended up removing the inlet plenum chamber last night so i can get good visibility if the o rings pinch or break when re-inserting the thermo. housing. I've ordered enough o rings to give this another go 3 times over. What a fiddly engine the s62 engine is when it's installed in the car! Out of curiosity, has anyone had their s62 fired up with the plenum removed? so just the throttle bodies exposed. I'm not wanting to re-assemble the plenum on to the motor until i've checked throughly for leaks, and bled the cooling system of leaks. The S62 runs fine with the air intake tubes, and maf cables unplugged, so i'm thinking it should be fine.

Yep that's normal. Sounds like a vacum cleaner in slow motion.

Epic fail on the thermostat change. Have done the procedure 3 times now but cannot get the damn o rings to seal that connect the thermo. Housing to the water pipes, and heat exchanger. Such a pig of a job!!

Bmw mags all sold to the first person expressing their interest.

If you end up replacing the edc shocks with something else to match the lowering springs, I would steer clear of bilstein HD. I used these in my 540i and the ride was very crashy. Pretty good on smooth motorways though.

It appears I have a rather odd system in the M5. Has the Mk2 4:3 onboard monitor, but no dsp, and no hifi - just 6 speakers - I couldnt see an amp in the boot with the 9pin and 26pin connector for the 10 speaker arrangement. There is also a seperate MID in the rear centre console, that has the ability to change stations, switch between radio, tape and cd. The OBC functions can also be displayed. Thinking that I did have the amp, I was just going to install a small old-school Alpine 2 channel amp to power a sub to fill in the low end. I have done this on my previous 540i that had the 10 speaker hifi system, and was happy with it, as im not cranking it up passed 11 like i used to when i was younger. So with the stereo I have in the M5, i'm wondering how many watts continuous is being powered to the 6 speakers? Im thinking about just replacing the front 5.25 woofers and tweeters with some mid-range Alpine component units. I'm not going to bother though if the output is something really measly like <5 watts rms per channel.

$1 reserves on the piles of various car mags I have on tardme : http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=598601178 http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=598597783

Cheers!That took hours and hours of careful masking. Still yet to finish that model!

All mags in good condition. Includes the special Total BMW M issue. $50 MUST pick up from auckland area. Cheers. http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/189/bmwmags.jpg/ Also have a huge collection of other car mags including : Wheels, performance car (UK), top gear (NZ) NZ performance car, high performance imports, fast fours etc etc PM if interested.

All parts required to replace the thermostat, as well as the valve cover gaskets and seals have arrived. It appears that the o-rings connecting the thermo housing to the water pipes in the valley area can be a royal PITA. Good thing I've got some extra o-rings on order in case I break some during installation.

Nice! Am definatley keen to read/see more about this beast. It seems quite common to turbo the old m30 or if you're well off an s36 or s38. Props to ya for having a tinker on the M42 and M50! Someone should gift you an m60 to turbo

Down low the s62 feels slightly better then the m62tu. But passed 4000rpm there is a significant difference. My 540i had the same 3.15 final drive ratio also.

from a 528i to the 540i is a 100hp difference, along with an extra 140nm. 540i vs m5 100hp and 60nm or so extra, so the difference should be less apparent then the 528i vs 540i. I remember test driving my 540i when owning my 528i and I can't say the difference was night and day like between the 540i and M5. Must be the manual transmission?

Steve, are you using an M30 3.5l for your e34 weapon?

Bit of an update. With some decent weather on the wkend, i managed to open the taps up. But only when the engine fully warmed up which means coolant temp needs to be at least 78deg. With the stuck open thermostat, it means that the engine will go down to as low as 72 deg on the mway cruising. I cant get over how quick the M5 is for such a large barge of a car. When my 540i was up to 140km (flooring from about 70km/h) the M5 is just about to go in to 4th gear doing approx 170km/h. The car is currently at a panel and paint shop getting the stone chips.. now called rust chips repaired. Have received my orders placed for the parts required to replace the thermostat, and valve cover gaskets. Once done I will be getting it scanned to check for any other problems. Driving it suggests that there can't be much else wrong, it pulls from down low, and all the way to the redline. Not a big fan of the short shift, as it makes shifting when cold a PITA, but after some research this seems to be quite common. Once she's back from the panel and paint shop, and It's had a cut and polish I'll post some pics up.

I looked at going the manual conversion with M5 LSD + SC kit for my 540i. But I ended up just going with an M5. The complete SC kit is about 5k USD + shipping and taxes. Although you could probably get just the compressor, and the rest of the bits seperately for cheaper. Manual conversion, with a new clutch kit, and new bushes for the rear end about 6 - 7k depending on how thorough you want to be, and what clutch you go with. Probably a good idea to look at an uprated clutch and flywheel if you're SC'ing. Don't forget brakes too :-) One thing i've noticed is from going to manual after driving an auto v8 for the passed 5 years, it does take getting used too. The auto and the V8 in the 540i go together so nicely. If it were me, I'd just keep it as it is, and spend some $ on the SC kit, and upgrading the brakes and suspension. LSD also.

Reasons for the K&N? I ran one in my M62tu and was more hassle then it was worth. The oils used can cause havoc with the MAF sensor. P.S if you want Bosch genuine MAF sensor's www.maf-shop.com do them for a really competative price! shipping is pretty decent too.

That is a nice car! But i'd get a PPI done on it. So much to go wrong with it. Suspension i reckon should be decent considering age and mileage. I was reading in TBMW mag that the E60 touring air pump system for the rear end can leak due to corrosion of the lines from the air-bags to the compressor, probably not applicable in this one unless it's come from a country that has alot of snow, and consequently, salt layed down...

Which gaskets? The 2 that connect the plenum to the throttle bodies? or the gasket and o-rings which sit between the plenum and plenum cover?

1. E24 M6 with the staggered BBS style 5 split rims. 2. E39 M5 3. E60 M-spec - Although they were not received well when first released, they today still look incredibly modern, and are well proportioned.