charles28

Really? I can't find much on google about this happening, found more about E39's catching on fire found one video of a Golf on fire, but have you seen this happen first hand?

Hmm think I've had as many VW's as BMW's 2x Mk2 Gti 8v, 2x Mk3 VR6, 1x Mk4 Gti, 1x Mk5 GTX (same engine as GTI) Even the old Mk4 Gti is more fun than my E39 in all honesty, but its manual and seems to be at 18-20psi boost, which i assume is better than usual

The edition 30 and Pirelli Models have a bigger turbo etc, in fact the same engine as the S3 of the same year, with a simple remap they make 220kw. But that said, a simple remap will take yours to 188kw and 411nm of torque, having driven one with this done, I highly recommend it. http://www.goapr.co.nz/products/ecu_upgrade_8golfgti.html

I still have a new spare Cam follower if you want one cheap

Yeah, its an expensive exercise buying an e39 owned by the average person, in the long term.

I suggest that you still remove the DISA and check it. You will need to scan the car to see what the error relates to, even a cheap tool like this works well. http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/OBD2-Creator-C110-V3-8-BMW-Trouble-Code-Reader-Diagnostic-ABS-Scan-Tool-/221267900788?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_15&hash=item3384983974 I've found it quite useful, as it soon adds up if you have to keep taking it somewhere to get it scanned. Your car (Same as mine) is at the age where little things will go wrong more often.

Actually, this seems to be the source of the coolant leak here.

yeah they are yeah they are not cheap at all. Ended up getting that one from The dealer, with a trade discount, but even then it wasn't cheap, but importing my own seemed like it was going to cost just as much due to shipping.

So, another issue It looks like the radiator is leaking, i guess between plastic end tank and the core.

I would get it checked over, paying careful attention to oil and coolant leaks. Most can be fixed quite cheap, but a leaky sump gasket for example can be 9-10 Hours labour.

Yeah, I was the first to do it on my E39 530i (same engine etc). at 139,000k the oil was in poor condition, i'd be getting the tranny oil checked to get an idea of what state the trans is in.

At least being high k's it might have had a lot of the common issues sorted already. I'd be wanting to ensure the transmission had been serviced before now though. The ZF transmission is a good one, but no transmission oil is good for 210,000k, at least that I know of.

I found the biggest issues for mine were the hoses from the oil separator, all of them were split/cracked and leaking.

Gave the little car a wash and cleaned the wheels etc.

I had seen videos about this product online and it looked to work well, so I ordered some. (From United Car Care). All I did is spray on, wait 10 mins, hose off, did all of my 3 cars at the same time. My cars have not been cleaned in months, (never have time) the wheels were all rather dirty.. Obviously it hasn't done a perfect job using this method, but it still made quite a difference. Before: During: (The Iron particles etc are converted into a Purple Liquid). After:

Sort of , the E39 needs a new sump gasket, 9-10 Hours work i've been told.

About a week ago the heater core started leaking, causing the windscreen to fog up in a matter of seconds and the smell of coolant was evident. So I ordered a replacement. Got to work stripping the car down (Required removing the dash) and some bolts on the firewall etc. About 12 Hours of work later the job is complete, what a horrible job to have to do.

Had a go at cleaning the exhaust tips. before: After: yeah still room for improvement, but its something.

Yeah, its no Mk5, but its not terrible. I did a 0-100 test in it, seems to be 7.5 - 7.8 seconds. (this was before i cleaned the throttle body and MAF.)As far as I can tell the only modification is a Remus catback exhaust (not loud at all). My E39's is about the same, as is my Mk3 Golf VR6's I'm going to change the cambelt, waterpump etc next week, diagnose an issue the car has when its fully warmed up (Popping/backfiring on deceleration) which will likely be a Vac leak or Temp sensor etc. Once I know all is well with it, I am going to install a K03S or K04 turbo with a remapped ECU, for about 200-210hp. (Stock its only 150hp)

Yeah i had a Mk5 GTi about 2 years ago for 8 months, nice car, but had a lot of road noise, DSG gearbox was good, but in the back of my mind always worried about a 10k repair bill lol

Hehe i'd say it probably needs new PCV pipes etc, probably cracked, ruined etc like they were on my E39. I might get some nice aftermarket Silicon ones that will out live the car

I commute 400k's a week, so thought that I'd stop using the E39 for this, as its chewing up around 12L/100k due to heavy traffic etc and has some issues (such as oil leaks, running rough when cold etc to fix). I purchased This old Golf GTi from turners. Its a 1998 Mk4 Golf Gti with manual transmission, 196,000k on the clock. I got it for $2700, its had 1 NZ owner and seems to be fairly well looked after, as far as an old cheap car like this goes at least. One of the reasons the price was cheap , no WOF, but a carjam checked showed that it hadn't been taken through for a WOF and failed. I picked up the car up and dropped it at the local garage by work for a WOF check, it failed, but only on Strut mounts and 2 bulbs, later that day it had a new WOF and I drove it home. One issue I did notice, was a fluctuating idle, (rpm needle would bounce after slowing down and stopping at an intersection). A quick google and I discovered this was most likely a dirty throttle body. Sure enough.. Before: After: I took it for a good drive, idle issue resolved. Now to use it for work and see how much fuel I use etc. (will report back later). I will be doing a stage 1 remap on it soon (buying a remapped ecu from the UK) as its only $300 incl the ECU with the immo removed. Not a bad car to drive really, I like having a manual gearbox again. The recaro seats are decent too.

That fuel usage is probably about right in heavy Auckland traffic, my 530i uses plenty, (basically the same engine but an older model in a bigger heavier car) and 50% of my commute is open road driving, but I still use about 11.5L/100k. My smaller V6 Golf also uses plenty.. big engine in busy city traffic is never going to be all that economical. If yours has the 6 speed manual gearbox it will use a bit less than the automatic version. You can get your japanese system converted to NZ, one of the forum sponsors does this (Auto Gravity). http://www.fuelly.com/car/bmw/130i for an idea of other peoples usage.

You pretty much need to replace the parts showing on this picture. http://www.ecstuning.com/BMW-E39-530i-M54_3.0L/Engine/Cooling/ES1596865/ I've fixed 3 oil leaks on my 530i, but theres still more... valve cover gasket, oil separator system and hoses, oil filter housing gasket were all leaking.

probably not comparable, but the Msport suspension is no issue for me around Christchurch with my 530i I do a lot of road trips, ie Nelson, Queenstown, etc.