Arma

Very vivid! How easily does plastidipp come off the paint - e.g. will a small scratch cause it to peel everywhere? I really like what you did with the wheels. Did you DIY or have it taken somewhere? If taken somewhere, how much would that cost if you don't mind me asking (plastidipping the wheels like that)?

Have you posted it? Still waiting for mine

So had those parts I got from Pelican installed today, amongst some other things. Brand new GRAF water pump installed (with metal impeller) Thermostat w/ housing replaced with brand new one - old one was leaking coolant and causing car to run cold -> why my fuel consumption has been through the roof Alternator belt replaced Put in new upper radiator mounts (one was missing!) Engine oil and filter changed - EXCELLIUM 5w30 Handbrake shoes and disc rotors deglazed, shoes and cables adjusted Gauge stays nicely at 12 oclock now while driving . Glenn noticed a couple things when looking into the parking brake issue: The rear disc pads were fitted onto worn rotors. The handbrake shoes have never been adjusted and were still at factory settings; the handbrake cables were cranked up causing the handbrake shoes to wear unevenly. The adjustments done today will not bring the parking brakes to 100%, but it's better than it was, just needs to be pulled harder. Since the discs are worn I'll probably have them changed when I go to change my rear brake pads (which squeak and produce hella dust!) Other than that, all seems well for now.

I'd be keen for this - will pm you.

Is this the same one I saw in your garage the other day? How much for the steering wheel?

Left the 530i with Glenn at Botany Motorworxx to have the cooling parts installed (thermostat, waterpump, upper rad hose), change engine oil and filter, and check on the parking brakes which were not holding well.

Any idea where to get these? Like the one in the image, the front bumper lip thing. Or is that part of that bumper? Looks decent:

What offset are they? Just wondering if they'd fit an e39, using maybe 265's (or 275's) - i think they might be a bit too wide up front.. likely would need spacers. Anyway, out of curiosity how much are you looking for them?

Yup it's pretty much lack of holding power. Will check out / fix soon. Thanks.

Sounds like a nasty rental place. Hope you get the refund mate and, as Allan said above, if you don't then just dispute the whole amount!

No idea where you find these e39 m5s. That's a nice color, too bad . Anyway, this should be interesting so gonna watch this space!

I'd be keen for one. Will PM you, cheers.

Get it scanned. My 520i had similar problems and it turned out to be a camshaft position sensor. Some fault codes should show up during the scan.

Yup, shipping is decent if you pick the parts smartly - enough parts but light enough to not qualify for the more expensive shipping options. e.g. if I added a radiator to my package above, the shipping cost would have doubled - if I really needed a radiator then I may as well take advantage of the shipping cost to throw a few more items in until I've got just enough to be within the boundaries of that shipping price .

Total came to about US$247 including shipping, so a little over NZD$300. I was quoted almost $200 just for the thermostat here in NZ , so saved a fair bit by getting overseas. OEM water pump would probably cost something stupid here too (not sure). Was considering getting the high performance water pump from Pelican but that was like US $200 and I couldn't justify getting it.

Crazy and stupid, even though his driving skills were really good. Apparently he died in the passenger seat of that same m5 sometime later due to a crash.

Some toys just arrived from Pelican Parts. Hopefully will solve the fuel consumption issue, thermostat needed replacement - was getting over 14L/100km highway cruising! While at it, figured may as well replace some of the other parts as well that I can chuck in with the shipping package I chose: Wahler thermostat GRAF Waterpump (metal impeller) Upper radiator hose Water pump belt Upper radiator rubber mounts (one of mine was missing) All OEM except I think the water pump, which has metal impeller opposed to the OEM composite ones I think? Mine might still have the ones with plastic impeller still in it, unless it was replaced - haven't checked. Was going to order a fan clutch but ended up not doing so, hopefully that's still in OK condition.

Welcome! There are a few parts sources here in NZ but if you are looking for brand new parts then I've found having some parts shipped over is cheaper. Things to look out for would vary depending on which bimmer your looking at - so people who know more than me would be able to fill you on that. I have two e39s and know a few people who do too and from my experience parts in the cooling system may need replacing at some point if it is an old car: water pump, radiator, radiator hose (usually upper one), fan clutch. Also camshaft position sensors (inlet and exhaust) can become faulty - these will show up in a scan - I've had to replace these in both my e39s. I had to do a gearbox overhaul for one of my e39s (expensive) but I don't think that is a common problem and would be dependent on the car / how well it was maintained I think. I'm not a mechanic so can only say from what I've experienced - if you're going for an e39 make sure it was looked after or make sure you're willing to put in the money to bring it back to a happy condition if it wasn't - I'd assume the same applies for other bimmer models. What model e39 were you looking at?

Sweet thanks for the replies guys. Got a new thermostat, water pump and radiator hose coming in from pelican parts so will get the brakes looked at in the workshop when those r being replaced

Problems just like to pile on me . Anyway, noticed earlier today that the parking brake/hand brake on my 530i doesn't actually stop the car at all (slightly slows it down, but car still moves forward with no squeaking sound). Only the parking gear seems to be holding the car in place when it is stopped. When car is in gear and handbrake is locked, the car still moves forward. Is the handbrake completely stuffed? Or should i have some hope that it could be something small? Ive never driven this car rough so no idea what happened - i came across this problem accidentally.

Turns out the nut did indeed come loose. Most likely was not tightened when windscreen was replaced, and then became loose when the dude hit the wiper. Phew. Thanks for the help guys.

I hope it's just a lose nut Hope it doesn't rain today, so I can actually drive the car to you.

So was driving down Queen St while it was raining its ass off and some idiot decided to come and wipe the windshields of all the cars stopped at the traffic light. He came and wiped mine before I could tell him to stop and it must've hit the driver side wiper blade and now the blade doesn't turn, only the passenger side turns... argh! (He ran off, and it was kind of hailing so I didn't chase - didn't realize the problem till the wiper blade spin came to its next interval anyway) Could it be a connection came off or something that stops the blade from spinning? I have no idea where the connections are or how it works. I can still move it freely with my hand but the electrics just not working. The blade still looks fine.. just doesn't spin. Hoping I won't need to get the whole unit replaced, god knows how much that'll cost in NZ. Any inputs guys? Anything I can check? This is for my e39 530i. Will probably take it in to have it checked tomorrow (coming to you Glenn!) Thanks in advance

What differences, if any, are there compared to the BKR6EQUP ones, other than longer lasting?

BMW 530i 2001 M-Sport Thought I'd make a page to keep track of things I do to the new e39 530i I bought off Tristan last month. It was already tidy, with small things here and there that would need addressing due to age. I plan to sort out all problems so it runs like new and then begin doing some simple mods to start with for aesthetics and eventually performance My maintenance spreadsheet can be viewed here (the maintenance list is copied below): Bonnie FMN675 - BMW 530i 2001 Maintenance List Goals In no particular order or date Manual conversion.. one day Forced induction.. one day Performance/track savvy brakes. 18" wheels (need to decide brand/style) Bigger sway bars (e.g. m5 rear) Slightly whiter low beam lights to match the white angel eyes (don't like the dull yellow) Restore paint fades and any small dings / paint scratches all around the car Some small stains on the driver side seat that I'm going to try to remove (any ideas anyone?) Decent sub woofer so that there is actually some bass in the sound system Upgrade the head unit / TV with Dynavin or something similar to retain the screen. Upgrade from the stock speakers to perhaps 6.5" ones (Exact model to be decided) Replace spark plugs. Some people say NGK iridium ones are decent, but I'm inclined to stay with the stock NGK (BKR6EQUP) ones specified by BMW. Considering getting the m5 side mirrors Guibo/prop shaft thing seems to be slowly splitting. Will need to be replaced in the future LED interior lights LED license plate lights Rain sensor needs fixing/replacing Fix some of the seals around the car, because sometimes I can hear a bit of wind noise when on the motorway. Thermostat housing leaking coolant so needs replacing While doing Thermostat, may as well replace water pump and alternator belt as well Upper radiator hoses can go off, so while other cooling parts done, replace that too Small power steering hose under the ATF fluid reservoir SEEMS to be leaking. - fix/replace. Fix oil filter housing gasket oil leak Fix vanos supply hose oil leak Fix new waterpump coolant leak Repairs/Maintenance Done 97000 kms - Rattling Disa valve replaced 97000 kms - Faulty exhaust camshaft position sensor replaced 97000 kms - New induction hose located next to Disa valve installed (old one kind of tore when replacing disa valve) 98000 kms - Rear sway bar links replaced (new links installed) 98000 kms - Broken rear sway bar brackets replaced (1 new bracket, 1 used bracket installed) 100300 kms - Engine oil and filter changed - EXCELLIUM 5w30 100300 kms - Thermostat replaced with brand new OEM Thermostat 100300 kms - Water pump replaced with brand new GRAF Water pump (with Metal Impeller) 100300 kms - Upper radiator hose replaced with brand new one 100300 kms - Handbrake shoes and disc rotors deglazed 100300 kms - Handbrake shoes adjusted 100300 kms - Handbrake cables adjusted 106000 kms - Front subframe replaced. Loose control arm wore out the previous one. 106000 kms - New front left control arm installed 106000 kms - New rear left ball joint installed 110800 kms - New front right tie-rod installed 111400 kms - 6 brand new Bosch spark plugs installed 111600 kms - New thermostat installed to replace leaking one 111600 kms - New rocker cover gaskets installed 111600 kms - New low pressure power steering hose installed 111600 kms - Transmission oil level check and top up 111900 kms - Added center resonators to exhaust system to get rid of droning inside the car. 112900 kms - M5 front bumper upgrade with brake cooling ducts 112900 kms - Headlight upgrade from facelift Halogens to facelift Xenons 112900 kms - Brand new foglights + housings 112900 kms - All headlight and foglight bulbs changed to white bulbs 112900 kms - Full respray of Bonnet, guards and front and rear bumpers 112900 kms - Upper and lower radiator hose replacement 112900 kms - Brand new gloss black kidney grills 113400 kms - Brand new OEM radiator installed 113400 kms - Exhaust camshaft position sensor o-ring replaced (oil leak fix) 113400 kms - Brand new rear OEM rotors and Hawk HPS 5.0 performance brake pads 113400 kms - Brand new front Hawk HPS performance brake pads 113400 kms - Cooling system pressure tested. No leaks (famous last words). 113700 kms - WOF passed 113750 kms - Interior light LED upgrade - White (blue tint) LED's all around 114000 kms - Front tyres replaced. Front left: Bridgestone RE001 ~7.5mm tread. Front right: Bridgestone Potenza RE002 (Brand new) 114100 kms - Left number plate light bulb replaced 114300 kms - Oil service. New oil filter, housing o-ring, drain plug washer + full oil replacement Castrol Edge Titanium 5w30 117500 kms - FULL TRANSMISSION SERVICE - Transmission filter, pan gasket replaced with brand new parts + 6L of new oil 117500 kms - Diagnostic scan run: No errors. 117600 kms - Rear Tyres replaced with brand new Bridgestone Potenza S001 255/45/R17's 117700 kms - Brand new water pump and expansion tank installed 117700 kms - All lower hoses connecting to expansion tank replaced with brand new (P/N: 11531438632, 11531438633) 117700 kms - Old coolant flushed out and brand new BMW coolant (blue) used. ## COOLING SYSTEM OVERHAUL COMPLETE ## 124500 kms - Transmission (ZF5HP19 - A5S-325Z) replaced with one from a 2004 330i. New transmission mileage: ~97000km 131100 kms - Engine oil and filter service. Castrol Edge Titanium 5w30. 131100 kms - Thermostat replacement due to coolant leak 134000 kms - Idler pulley and drive belt tensioner pulley replaced 134000 kms - Exhaust cam sensor o-ring replaced (oil leak fix) Mods Done: 2 x 10" Soundstream Sub woofers + after market amp installed in boot. After market twin pipe exhaust tips Centre exhaust muffler removed Hawk performance brake pads all round Xenon headlight upgrade M5 front bumper with brake cooling ducts Interior LED lights upgrade Photos of car Soundstream subs