charles28

Maybe the hose from the CCV to the Dipstick Tube, Dipstick Tube O-Ring.. or one of the other useless plastic hoses attached to the CCV (I have been having the same issue). Oil filter housing gasket is another one potentially..

Nice car, i had a 2.5L Turbo version years ago, fantastic car

Cool, yeah its not a really bad leak, just annoying, i want to keep the garage floor clean so the missus doesn't complain

yeah there is, in fact it most likely is that. Am ordering a new O-Ring for the dipstick tube now, but I'll have to try and check those other hoses, they are all made of crap plastic as usual

Oil leaks still an issue. It seems to be leaking around this bit. (Pic from Under Passenger Side of car) Pic from under the bonnet Further up where the oil filter housing etc is is dry and no sign of leakage any more, so at least that job was successful. I assume that part showing in the pic is where the Oil separator and Dipstick tube etc go in to. I suspect pipe 2 or 4, mostly likely 4 is the issue, ie http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?model=DT62&mospid=47546&btnr=11_2194&hg=11&fg=15 Interestingly the car has no suction/vacuum , as in if you take off the oil cap and put a plastic bag over it, it doesn't try to suck it in at all. (engine running) If you take the dip stick out and put your thumb on that you can also feel no suction (Engine running of course). This most made me think too. http://forum.bmw5.co.uk/topic/40237-oil-leak-530i-sport-cured-and-big-tip/

One of the next things on the agenda is to fix the front bumper. Crack on the top Crack right at the bottom by the passenger side wheel arch, its not as bad as it looks on this extreme close up though. (Similar size to the other crack really). I have emailed the pics to a plastic welder to find out if its repairable and the cost etc. I will remove the bumper myself and take it there, but will probably touch up the paint myself to save money.

Clocked up 1000k's now since replacing valve cover, vanos seals, oil filter housing gasket etc. During this time the car left a few small spots of oil, gave me various warnings about low oil level, but the oil level is fine, so the sensor must be on its way out, the oil levels still on full 1000k later (I did top it up after replacing vanos seals). Gave the car a quick wash, did some small paint touch ups. recently I removed the M5 Badge and Chrome Strips around the car. So now it looks normal again.

Doh http://www.topgear.com/uk/photos/20-saddest-scrappage-scheme-victims-2014-09-30 Was some nice cars

Naa i was too lazy to look, so was going buy sight unseen, but wouldn't have paid much more for it anyway due to not seeing it

They often sell quite cheap, ie 30 mins ago http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=784272213 $1510 I got out bidded and couldn't get back on trademe to out bid the winner (customer)

I'd be interested in your opinion of the E34 540i, since you also have an E39 530i, i've been tempted to look at a cheap one for sale in CHCH

Legally you are not required to do anything, buying old cars comes with risks, as we all know, since many of us have been on the receiving end too and didn't expect the last owner to cough up

Had the check oil level warning yet again, checked oil and its fine..

I'll jack it up on the weekend and go hard with de-greaser and clean it up best I can. I'm please the CCV system appears to be working, as that's an annoying job to do too. I spilt a bit of oil when i removed the vanos bolts (Hex ones), I probably missed some of it when cleaning up.

Yeah there's a little bit of oil around it, not sure that there's enough that its the main issue, but for the sake of $2 its worth trying. I guess some of it could be left over from fixing the other oil leaks too. I'll keep a close eye on the oil level and see what else drops onto the garage floor and where from exactly. I'm fairly certain my valve cover is no longer an issue.

The last owner was a complete muppet, drove it around leaking power steering fluid, coolant, oil from Oil Filter Housing Gasket, Oil leaking around valve cover onto exhaust making a burning smell, all while claiming the car was in excellent condition and well serviced.. The odd thing is I never noticed the burning smell when I test drove it and he had just driven it from work to Lyttelton, and claimed he used it for work everyday. I suspect he steam cleaned under the engine on his way home before I look at the car too, as within 2 days of owning it I could tell it had some serious oil leaks going on, I failed to check over the car carefully and it drives very well. When i looked at the car it was almost dark, (the only time available to view) hehe I guess it was all a setup. He's a shady car dealer and works at a big dealership in Christchurch too, owned the car for a year and claimed it was his partners car, the ownership details showed that he was correct as far as that goes.

Some more pics, hopefully its from something else. I don't get the oil smell from the valve cover anymore, at least no where near as bad, I can't see any fresh oil leaks onto the exhaust. The jack pad under the car is wet with oil. I changed the oil and filter after doing the OFHG, lost a bit when I did the vanos seals, topped up with about 500ml at that time, today topping it up with another 500ml seems to have it near the full mark again.

I have already replaced the valve cover, oil filter housing gasket and had cleaned the bottom of the engine.

So, after all my hard work, the car is still leaking oil.. I noticed some drips of oil under the car in the garage, it also came up with a warning about low oil level on the way home from work. Time to take it to the Waimak and set it on fire perhaps? To my untrained eye it looks like the Oil Pan gasket? Which is one hell of a job for me to do at home I'm assuming. There doesn't appear to be any CCV (Oil Separator) issues, plastic bag test passed (didn't suck into oil filler at all.) Thumb over dipstick hole, didn't try and suck my thumb in at all.. (Yes the engine was running

Good choice, they have enough power for an everyday car. I do 400-500k a week, I did look at some 540i's but struggled to find a good one here in Christchurch, or one that wasn't 4-5k over priced. It seemed like it was going to cost me 2x what I paid for the 530i to get a Facelift Motorsport. 530i vs 540i http://www.zeperfs.com/en/match1125-501.htm

I have the Cage, it has the Silver finish, I'll post up a bit of it later and work out what its worth

Sorted.. got one at bmw today

The car finally runs again.. Installed new expansion tank after work, added new coolant, bled system etc. The only thing is now I have no coolant level sensor, as I assumed it came with the expansion tank. But i'll keep an eye on things anyway. Annoyingly my old expansion tank is already at he land fill..with the old sensor that still worked fine..

I replaced my expansion tank, didn't think about keeping the sensor from the old one and now its at the dump, doh. Any one got one to sell me?

Tonight I got around to installing a new cup holder. I was expecting it to be annoying in some way, but it took 2 Minutes. (2 Screws to undo) This was the condition of the factory one: I got a cheap one from Ebay for $35 including shipping that claims to be stronger and better made then the original. This was the condition of the old one once I removed it (Only 2 Screws) New one installed: Its not as dirty as the pictures suggest, the camera flash is rather unforgiving.