charles28

That sucks man, it really needs to go to a panel beaters for assessment though. Its hard to estimate the cost from the pictures, as you can't see whats underneath

I Ordered a new expansion tank from Jeff Gray, was none in stock here in Christchurch, so its coming down from AKL overnight. I'd criticize them for having no stock in CHCH if the company I work for didn't have the same problem of not having stock in Christchurch of what you need when you need it. So hopefully tomorrow night its a runner *Fingers Crossed*

I replaced the upper radiator hose, as the original was leaking a bit (did a pressure test). (Discovered this when doing oil filter housing gasket). Was no other leaks, so left it at that for now, well until I looked at the expansion tank wrong and it broke heh. The previous owner had replaced the radiator but nothing else it would seem. In the near ish future I plan to replace the other radiator hose, Thermostat and Water Pump. When I replaced the oil filter housing gasket, I noticed it had turned into a solid piece of plastic and wasn't doing its job at all. The goal for now is to have the car driveable so I can use it for a few weeks and see what other issues come up.

Thanks for that, makes me feel better about it being broken, i didn't even try and take the hose off it either, only at the radiator end.. probably pulled on the hose a little when I re-attached it to the radiator, looks like it doesn't take much to break.

Tomorrow i'll attempt to buy a new expansion tank from Christchurch BMW dealership. Its the original one, so its past its use by date anyway.. the giveaway is the factory hose clamp. Its clear to me that it can't be repaired, at least not for long..

Ohwell, hopefully CHCH Bmw have one in stock when I call them in the morning. Its the original expansion tank from new, the give away is the factory hose clamp, so it was due to be changed anyway I guess.

The metal piece showing can easily be pushed and pulled out of the expansion tank, I assume this metal piece showing is not meant to come out and that I need a new expansion tank. Its the one that goes from the tank to the radiator (Small thin hose) as per pic.

Well.. the car started.. But within a few minutes I had coolant all over the place. It seemed that the small hose that connects to the Expansion Tank is the issue. Ie: It can easily be pushed and pulled out of the expansion tank, I assume this metal piece showing is not meant to come out and that I need a new expansion tank.

My vanos seals finally arrived yesterday afternoon. When I got home from work I got into it, it took me longer then I thought it would, removing the old seals took more effort then I expected, the top one was no issue, it was the one underneath that kept giving me grief. But eventually I got those removed, cleaned up everything (that took a while, the vanos unit had all sorts of nasty sludge etc on it). Installing the new seals wasn't hard at all. By 11pm the car was all put back together, but annoyingly I cracked a piece of the radiator shroud, although its only cosmetic its still annoying. I just need check over it all and its ready to run finally. The new valve cover seemed to fit nicely compared to the old worn out warped one, so that's a good sign.

I got a 2002 530i Motorsport as it was cheaper and easier to find then a facelift motorsport 540i (most seem to be pre facelift). As long as the cars in good mechanical condition it should go well, but most will need a new Disa, Vanos seals, vacuum leaks fixed etc.

Hey man, it was this http://www.ebay.com/itm/221312247783?_trksid=p2059210.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT Yeah been driving partners Mk3 Golf VR6 around, its not too bad, but i prefer the refinement of the 5 Series

Day 20 since I ordered the Vanos Seals from Beisan Systems.. still no sign of them.. Have just ordered more from the UK, another brand, but made from the same material as the Beisan ones..but with cheaper shipping and include new bolts and sealant for the valve cover. So hopefully I have one or the other turn up in the next week... I have owned the car for a Month and driven it for about 1 hour..

I got around to checking the Valve cover for warp-age. The picture shows the part that wasn't actually leaking as such, but you can see the gap under the ruler which should not be there.. I tried to take a picture of the other side, but not enough light and you can't see.

Interesting Issue.. I worried about the same thing and got a cheap 2006 Daihatsu Sirion. 2 Months later I hated the car so much I sold it again and daily drive a 2.8L V6 Golf.. or the 530i (when it works) I do 400-500K's a week, usually 80k a day.. $107 a week in the Golf.

Still waiting for Vanos seals to arrive.. seems to be taking a long time, were sent on 25/08 Have done as much work as I can now, vanos unit removed, old seals removed..

I would have looked at it for you, but I had to do some homework as you never see 750i SWB's come up for sale annoyingly.

Its a 750IL Chassis number DH61168 Vehicle code GK22 Series E38 Model 750iL ( 750iL M73 ) Body type saloon Assume its http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/used-cars/bmw/auction-777749434.htm

today I borrowed a generic tool from my mechanic to hold the water pump pulley. It worked! so I finally have the fan clutch and shrould removed. I then got to removing the vanos unit and found that the Torx T30 I purchased does not fit, perhaps because its a Torx Plus rather then Normal Torx. (1/4inch drive version) I found another T30 that does fit, but its a crap one that goes on a cheap screwdriver that broke as soon as I tried to undo the bolt (Another Left hand threaded one too). This was the T30 I had that i couldn't use http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=768985825 And now its quite clear it doesn't really look the same.. Ohwell.. Repco or somewhere tomorrow for one that fits

Yeah, but was waiting for someone to ask this lol. This isn't the 1st fan clutch I've removed, did it a lot of times on my old E30's etc. But its a fair question for sure

Yeah i'm fairly certain I did that correctly, did the entire job 2x also. The leak always seemed to be in the same place (same as original leak when I got it), its probably cracked rather then warped, despite not being able to see a crack yet. Interestingly the gasket didn't seem that old either, but I replaced it anyway (incl spark plug ones). I suspect the last owner tried replacing the gasket also and had no joy, as by now that old gasket should have been as hard as plastic.

Progress very Slow. New Valve Cover - Arrived today Vanos Gasket and washers, arrived last week. Vanos seals. - not arrived, but should turn up any day. After work I thought i'd get a head start and get the job started, however the easiest part of the job (removing the fan clutch nut) is not going to plan. I usually found I could put on the 32mm Wrench, wack it really hard with a Hammer (Mallet type) and break the nut sieze and un do it. (while being careful not to smash it into the thermostat housing). However after about 30 attempts it still wouldn't work. I tried to wedge things against the water pump pulley bolts to get leverage and failed and noticed that some of the 10mm nuts are actually loose.. heh. I then gave up and ordered the correct tool on ebay which will probably take 2 weeks to turn up.. So.. next update... probably when that tool arrives.. Ohh.. I ordered some new cup holders too..in typical E39 fashion they were ruined

Loads of Cheap E38 728i's about, but they can barely out accelerate a push bike, ok maybe thats a bit harsh. Just buy the one you like, the older 735i and 535i are quite similar parts wise.

Odd, no problem for me, I use Google Chrome

I ordered a brand new valve cover today. I re-did the gasket etc last night, it still leaked in the same place again, so it has to be that its warped or cracked. I also ordered some new Vanos Seals, might aswell do that since I have to take off the valve cover again for the 3rd time

Did you buy a second hand one or go new? if so what did it cost? looks like about $400 USD incl shipping to bring on in to NZ