E39 M5 restoration project Version 2.0

[M3_Power 636]

Beautiful!!

[BreakMyWindow 1870]

Got a repeating dtc for the bank 2 exhaust cam sensor. Swapped it out for a spare I had from my other M5. Never had any errors on the spare sensors but it's probably on borrowed time.

Car was running like a bag of d1cks when the dtc showed up. Hopefully a quick fix.

Next up is front discs and pads, the twilight track day didn't help but they were already nearing the end of their life. Will post up some pics when I do the job.

[BreakMyWindow 1870]

Had a re-occuring fault code to do with the e-box fan which is a small electric fan that draws in air from the outside and in to the box where the DME lives.

With a pretty intense summer this year I though it'd be a good idea to replace it. I tried activating the old one in DIS but I could not hear it running. Did the same one with the new one in place and it hummed away nicely.

Nothing broken during the process and all back together now.

Next job, front discs, pads and wear sensor.

[BreakMyWindow 1870]

Front discs, pads and wear sensor all replaced.

[Olaf 3235]

got your money's worth outa those pads!

out of interest (in the 'could I ever afford to run/maintain an e39 M5)... what sort of money (ballpark) do BMW rotors, pads, wear sensors for the front, run you ?

[BreakMyWindow 1870]

With bmwccnz discount it was $1200.00 all up.

[Lewis91 114]

With bmwccnz discount it was $1200.00 all up.

From Jerry Clayton yeah?

Thought I saw some large brakes for a chap called Martin haha

[dkonsta1 109]

Not too bad for original M5 stuff...

Sent from my SM-G925I using Tapatalk

[BreakMyWindow 1870]

Yeah genuine bmw brakes are the best bet imo for this kind of car.

[Michael. 2312]

Wow that little venting fan for the DME is so cool.

Quite a good idea too.

What are you doing with the old unit?

[Olaf 3235]

With bmwccnz discount it was $1200.00 all up.

thanks for that. given they're factor, big-ass floating rotors, not excessive. I'll put an M5 on my santa/lotto win list. #8 )

[BreakMyWindow 1870]

Wow that little venting fan for the DME is so cool.

Quite a good idea too.

What are you doing with the old unit?

I tested it with a 9v batt and it appears to be dead, probably just the elec motor. It's yours if you want it.

[BreakMyWindow 1870]

Uh oh.

A noise has cropped up in the past 1000kms and I've decided to investigate. An interesting rattle that occurs only under high load in higher gears.

[jeffbebe 1559]

I hate new noises.

[Rubix 434]

Flywheel? Maybe even heat shielding came loose somewhere? Obviously there's a bit more vibration under high load in a higher gear so something may have just come loose..Hopefully not anything serious.

[BreakMyWindow 1870]

Yeah i need a hoist to go over any loose heat shields, exhaust clamps etc.

Doesn't affect drive ability, just a heinous rattle sound..

[Michael. 2312]

Annoying. Probably a good time to sell it.

Jk

[M3AN 4015]

"Heinous rattle"? It's a lost cause, give it away more likely.

[BreakMyWindow 1870]

Think I may have found a source of the rattle..

The header exhaust section connecting to the cats is of double-walled construction. The PO had removed the cats and replaced with straight piping. If I knock the exhaust around this area I can hear metal on metal rattling inside the exhaust. Bit of a pain as it means the exhaust needs to be cut, investigated and repaired.

I did a lot of research on the rattling and it seemed to point to the early signs of head gasket failure, the type of failure where the gasket gets cracked in between the cylinders. I decided to do a compression test on the engine this morning and can confirm all is well.

Results, Cylinder 1-8 in PSI

206

217

217

216

206

206

206

203

[M M 250]

I did a lot of research on the rattling and it seemed to point to the early signs of head gasket failure, the type of failure where the gasket gets cracked in between the cylinders. I decided to do a compression test on the engine this morning and can confirm all is well.

Forgive me, but I fail to see the relation. Could you explain?

[BreakMyWindow 1870]

Based on research this is more of an issue with the s54 engines. There is about 4mm of material between the cylinders of the s54 and s62 engines, so there is not much gasket material there either. The cause of this could be several reasons... lean mixture, faulty gasket material etc

The rattling sound, under medium throttle in higher gears at lower revs produced a rattling type sound for many of the S54 owners, and I could only find 2 concrete examples of other s62 engines with the same symptoms that turned out to be the result of HG failure between the cylinders. I was lucky enough to find a sound clip of the rattling sound from one of the S62's with HG failure. I've added this as a play list with my sound clip to compare the sound, and it was quite the same.

S62 head gasket failure :

S54 head gasket failure :

[BM WORLD 1258]

I had a m54b30 with gasket like that a few years back , low compression on number 3 and 4 cylinders

but not loosing any coolant etc .

engine had been hot I guess , various signs or hoses and coolant plastics been replaced .

car ran ok then would start to miss fire then the engine check light would come on.

[M M 250]

Right, I understand.

[BreakMyWindow 1870]

Wheel alignment done!

[Michael. 2312]

yay P&S Auto, they're a pretty good bunch down there.