hunter

Reviewing what is left to do on the car to refresh items that haven't been in my care, the main points are; - cooling system (except Radiator, which was replaced 18 months ago) - Vanos service/rebuild (got the big x8r kit) - PCV system - water pump - thermostat - water pump pulley - various temp sensors - related gaskets - fan clutch So as it 'tis the season I've ordered bits or bits have just been delivered for all of the above, thanks Santa

That big brake kit 🤩

Last week I had the lights protected by Obsessive Car Detailing in Auckland. Great team and you can't see the film unless you're really, really looking. I installed the headlights last Sunday afternoon (11 December) after the 24 hours waiting time for the protectant film to fully set in place. They look amazing both off and on. the Auto levelling works as it should and they are adjusted pretty well but will need some fine-tuning at some stage to ensure the aim is in spec. After a short drive in the rain on Sunday, I noted some very light condensation in the left-hand side. This dissipated pretty quickly but was concerning as it meant the seal wasn't weather-tight. I decided to remove the light, separate it again, and reseal it from scratch. Upon removal, I could see I hadn't been liberal enough with the sealant on this light and it had rolled rather than bulged when I had pushed the lens home. ( I've also read that Xenon and LED units don't get as hot as Halogens, so won't evaporate moisture to the same level. The sealant was heated up in small sections and scraped out using a plastic trim tool. An all-new more liberal bead of sealant was laid in the channel and the light reassembled. The light is back in the car now and working great, fingers are crossed that the condensation doesn't return as I don't fancy pulling it apart again This closes the lighting chapter in project E39.

i take exception to this

Sunday garage session. Completed my xenon rebuild today. Light two was a bit more work as I had to replace one of the xenon reflectors. These aren’t available new but managed to get a second hand one from BM WORLD LTD the spare light put up a fight when I came to dismantle it. Being a 06/2001 build it uses epoxy rather than butyl to bind the lens to the body. Out came the power tools. Sorted. Refurbished light is all back together (tested at each assembly phase) and now awaiting an appointment to have paint protection film applied.

Wtb. Left hand e39 facelift headlight for parts. Specifically the the halo reflector on the left hand low beam. I don’t need the rest of the light so as long as reflectors are ok. After taking apart my light I noticed the reflector for the halos has significant marring on it and is affecting the performance of the halo.

Great day today, with a new Left-hand steering knuckle upfront the car is aligned to Spec again. probably the first time since I've had it (3 years) that has it been this "true". Big thanks again to @Eagle for the mechanical assist. The car is also sporting new sway bar bishes and brake lines. Few more maintenance items to replace before a big south island trip next year as well as completing the Xenon project

Xenon light project kickoff today. Separation aided by Vidal Sassoon.

took the opportunity today while the family was out of the house to rebuild the flappy and "getting louder" DISA valve using the German Auto Solution (GAS) rebuild kit. This has some advertised design improvements of the aged OEM unit, so will see how it performs. The process was easy due to detailed (47 steps) instructions on the GAS website, hardest bit was cleaning the old seal out of the base of the unit.

Digging out my service history today, there were no alignment records provided prior to my ownership, had asked Coombes too, none there....

Yeah mate. It’s always been off spec one way or another. Here is an old sheet from after new suspension install. Last November. But they’ve always made a good job of makin it even in the past. Might be worth replacing the steering knuckle on the left too as the main areas mentioned in what could be wrong was knuckle, too hat , shock

Yeah I mentioned it’s been looked at by someone in the know recently but they said they were wonky so I had them adjust it. wasn’t mentioned if the camber pins have been touched. concern now is the report above says it’s different left to right. So not happy about that and now being able to adjust it other than putting the right side back out of spec. But then atleast it would equal.

Having alignment issues. Left is out whilst right is now in spec. Went to get the car aligned this today. To make sure steering was straight after the work above. worth noting that In my ownership I’ve never had an alignment go well first time. There’s always been corrections that need doing to ensure the steering wheel is “straight” on the road. in this instance It was noted by Coombes that the front shocks weren’t installed properly as they were out of rotation (how it was described to me)and needed to be set right before the alignment could be done. This was done and the car aligned. Now the left remains out of spec. Possibly due to “something bent “ FML. 🤦‍♂️ the left has more camber than the right hand front Advice from the tech is it’s possibly something at the top of the strut (strut top, replaced last year) or perhaps the wheel carrier, causing this or even the shock itself (also replaced last year) I haven’t had any accidents I’m With no real way of telling what could be wrong im left with the proposition of replacing more bits. It’s stressing me out tbh. Any advice or experience would be appreciated. I’ll upload the alignment sheets a bit later.

Big week for the car this week with a new wheel carrier, right lower control arm, rear carrier ball joint and integral links and Vanos oil line. Turns out my clicking was actually coming from 2 (TWO!) busted sleeves in the carrier. one on the lower control arm and one on the Thrust arm. massive thanks to @Eagle for the installation help. some other niggles have presented themselves such as the DISA needs a rebuild and worn sway bar bushings. Parts on order! in other project new, I have all the bits for my headlight rebuild on the Xenon’s, just need some free time to do it.

WTB - good condition e39 wheel carrier, front Right-hand side. part# 2 in the pic. have seen a few crappy ones so if you have one please send pics of it.

Yes. I’d like to take a ballpoint separator to their squishy bits as a lesson on the right tool 😆

Nick doesn’t have any either. There is one locally here in hams on TM. just saw a response from the seller. might go check it out this week.

Nick doesn’t have any either. There is one locally here in hams on TM. just saw a response from the seller. might go check it out this week.

Mosens has nothing sadly. BMworld has one so might have to mission up for that. Else new ones is ~500 landed from Pelican.

Massive Thanks to @Eagle who gave me a hand this weekend to diagnose the clicking from the the front end. removal of the lower control arm showed a broken sleeve in the steering knuckle. With a piece missing from the bottom of the sleeve and the rest of the bottom of the sleeve falling out onto the driveway it was obvious to see where the noise was coming from. So am now looking for a good condition steering knuckle (wheel carrier) as I don’t want to muck around with re-sleeving.

Awesome man. I’ll pm you to tee up a time.

A while since my last update. few mini projects on the go; - Driver seat refurb is holding up well and is super comfy - Xenon project is bubbling along. new lenses arrived yesterday. still need to buy butyl sealant & a heat gun. - Style 66 project. I have a full set of 5 wheels now after buying individual wheels from all over the place, worked out much cheaper than a full set all at once from recent sellers. you just have to be patient. these will eventually be repainted and have new tires. - Suspension - to finish this off, I need to do rear Integral links and carrier bushings, have the parts & saving for some time to pay someone to do it as its fiddly. Not urgent will do before Christmas.

This is an interesting observation. i noted when i replaced mine in the E39 i noted it sits higher than the original height. I also noted that the strut mouints removed form the front where different in design. this was due to one being replaced at some stage. i would say its 5-10 mm difference. did the arcticle mention if the OEM ones were still the same design (lower profile). i love how my car rides but still think the front end sits too high when compared to the back end. I think they are the same between various models too (3,5,1 series) as long as you dont have EDC

Hundred percent Olaf, I can vouch for this approach this is exactly what I did for my E39 drives like new, handles like new and it’s all OEM spec.