Hi All

[Denz 0]

Hi, My name is Mike and im from Hamilton and looking at moving into the BMW world.

My father has a 300,000km 97 E39 525i with a cracked head, its in decent condition body wise and has some nice 18" Style 65 wheels (probably replica), im hoping I can get a new engine put in it from one of the boards sponsors and get it up and running.

The suspension has all been re done lately, no crash damage and the auto box was fine last time I checked, all the kms have been open road.

Is there a set life expectancy on the autos?

Anything else I should watch out for? There are no other known problems with it and from what I can find the engine (radiator has already been replaced) and rear ball joints are what normally goes on this car.

If I get the car a new engine, a good polish, fixing the curbing on the wheels and some tints are in order.

Edit:

Two more things to add / ask, I heard to service these cars you need to have some sort of key to re set the service count down, are these easy to get as I wish do do all the servicing myself. Two, the LCD that displays the oil service count down doesnt fully display, cheap fix?

Edited August 3, 2010 by Denz

[westy 614]

Hello.

[Grant 4]

I love Hamilton.

Welcome.

[bimmer boy 21]

Hey man, welcome.

Sounds like you got a kinda cool project on your hands. I say do it man..

As for the 'special key' to reset your service lights isnt a bit issue at all. Most mechanics have them and you can get them online, it can also be done with a paperclip..

Auto gear boxes should be fine and should last a very long time but thats all dependent on how the car has been treated over the years..

You will find on E39's that the cooling system can be a bit of a bitch sometimes, mostly just on the 6 cylinder versions. The clear expansion tank on the side of the radiator tends to leak over time along with a few other places the cooling system can leak but not a huge issue as long as you dont neglect the car.

Window regulators are another common fail on E39's I have just recently learnt, not cheap if your going Brand new OEM..

But aside a few issues like everycar they are nice cars.

They didnt win World Car of the Year for several years in a row for no reason haha

Keep us updated!

[pjay 8]

Welcome and maaaaate: http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Motors/C...n-308284555.htm

[Denz 0]

Cheers guys. I know about the over heating issue unfortunatly. My father has killed 3 525i's over the years, one crashed two cracked heads but this e39 is to nice to let die. Is there a way to prevent it, im not to concerned about getting some aftermarket parts if it will solve the problem, its going to be my second car for a bit potentialy but eventualy I want it to be my daily.

Id love to put a different engine into it but to be honest if I was going to go blown itd be a turbo/ supercharged 1UZ but I know realisticaly it wouldnt happen so I dont entertain the fact ( or stuff it an LS1 swap).

The paper clip is good to know! Ive done the cambelt and a lot of work on my MR2 so im used to working hard even to change the oil so I look forward to working on what seems like a much easier format.

Edited August 4, 2010 by Denz

[[email protected] 0]

Welcome.

Ha, I was going to say put a 1UZ into it as a joke, but read further and you said that as a suggestion.

Do it!

[Denz 0]

If the garage I have at my flat wasn't used as a washing line and had some room maybe id do it.

Do these cars benefit from exhausts or anything simple?

[[email protected] 0]

With the stock motors yeah, but you need to do extractors to really get the gains.

You would be looking at least $1000-1500+ for decent exhaust system, if not more. Depends what quality you want.

You can also retune the stock ECUs to get the most out of the new exhaust.