My new SS Commodore... in a sharp german suit

[Olaf 3308]

161785km:  Vacuum pump replaced this week. (thanks Page European and Autosure Extreme).   Seems different sound - though as my ears are still full of fluid from the flu - I can't tell at the moment.  Brake pedal is more progressive.

Will see how this works with the fuming at idle.

Needs a damned good clean, so it does.

[Olaf 3308]

last week the good folks at Winger BMW kindly fitted my new NZ-legal plates, in place of the (cool, stylin', though not legal) German plates that were on the car when I bought it.  I went in looking for fasteners and brackets, to do the job myself... and came out with the job done, gratis!  And Winger BMW plate frames too.   A very nice touch, and they exceeded my expectations.

[Olaf 3308]

today I washed and waxed it, using Auto Glym products.  3 days, 3 cars.  (Volvo, then e46, now e60).  Neighbour said "they look like they've just been bought!  What are you using?".  @Barryn you can expect another call... 

Tomorrow, interior detail, then later on, oil and filter change.

Edited January 30, 2018 by Olaf

[Olaf 3308]

163945km:  Oil and Filter.  Hengst again, and Penrite HPR5 5W40.

What came out was more like very brown coffee, rather than black dirty oil.  It had only been in 5,511kms/6-odd months.   Filter looked good, doing it's job, no filings evident.

e60/e61 owners please note:  I also vacuumed out the housings around the wiper cowling, ended up removing the covers and cabin filters.  WOW - that was an electrical issue waiting to happen, with the amount of leaves and debris that had built up since I replaced the filters.  If you're running an e60/e61, and it spends any time parked outdoors (particularly near trees), please DO check this regularly.

Edited January 31, 2018 by Olaf
piccy

[kiwi535 538]

20 hours ago, Olaf said:

163945km:  Oil and Filter.  Hengst again, and Penrite HPR5 5W40.

What came out was more like very brown coffee, rather than black dirty oil.  It had only been in 5,511kms/6-odd months.   Filter looked good, doing it's job, no filings evident.

e60/e61 owners please note:  I also vacuumed out the housings around the wiper cowling, ended up removing the covers and cabin filters.  WOW - that was an electrical issue waiting to happen, with the amount of leaves and debris that had built up since I replaced the filters.  If you're running an e60/e61, and it spends any time parked outdoors (particularly near trees), please DO check this regularly.

probably true of ANY car parked outside a lot!

[Olaf 3308]

1561kms later (trip to Auckland and back), it’s running rather well ?

[Olaf 3308]

On 2/1/2018 at 7:24 PM, kiwi535 said:

probably true of ANY car parked outside a lot!

the e46 does not have this problem; completely different cabin filter and shroud design.  this is an e60 "design feature" 

Edited February 5, 2018 by Olaf

[kiwi535 538]

3 hours ago, Olaf said:

the e46 does not have this problem; completely different cabin filter and shroud design.  this is an e60 "design feature" 

the consequences may not be as dire for other cars but the pajero collects a lot of debris in the same area 

[Olaf 3308]

165xxxkm:  CEL.

Last week I had a CEL come up during the school run.  '! warning, reduced power' my son read out from the main display.  it felt a little different... just about at school and I accelerated out of an intersection... well, my right foot said 'go' and the car said 'wait, what?'.  I popped in to Page Euro, they did a quick scan... looking like lean codes, so it may have an air leak.  We reset the oil change counter reflecting the recent oil and filter, and reset the codes... monitoring.  If I get more, it'll be in for air leak diagnosis and repair.

Edited February 17, 2018 by Olaf

[Olaf 3308]

166605kms :  happy one year of ownership (my first V8).

So that year's gone by fast, 14,311kms, a decent chunk of change spent on maintenance, and many smiling miles driven.   Every time I drive it, it puts a smile on my dial.   Comfortable, quick, remarkably capable for a commode-sized car.

Next up:  bumper repaint (insurance - left a 'present', though left no note), 2mm stone chip in screen to be repaired (insurance), and source a new rim (slow leak from a crack).

I'd planned on giving her a 'birthday' today, another good wash.  Too busy with other stuff.  So here's a snap marking the occasion: 

[kiwi535 538]

any development of the CEL?

[Olaf 3308]

Just now, kiwi535 said:

any development of the CEL?

Thankfully, no reappearance of the CEL.   As yet.  

iDrive did did tell me to pull over due to low tyre pressure; I'd done the pressures just 4 days before and put in 2.4 bar in fronts... it was down to 2.0.  I aired-up, checked again in the morning and it was on 1.9.  Visit to Bridgestone Torrens Terrace, and he had to put it in the tank to find the leak... (cue rim shot):  crack, in the rim.  I'm keeping it aired-up, and parked so the weight is off that corner... now searching for a new rim!

[TermiPeteNZ 1316]

https://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/car-parts-accessories/wheels-tyres/alloy-wheels/auction-1570098599.htm

18" Style 135 Motorsports?? Nice looking wheel but I haven't checked/compared tyre sizes ...

[Olaf 3308]

166699kms.  With the assistance of Autosure Extreme MBI, I've purchased a box of these:

 

Yes folks, 32 hard, filthy, worn-out valve stem oil seals.  Not much said quickly, and not that pricey to buy.  A bunch of other gaskets and seals.  Collateral damage of one auxillary water pump (it's done behind the radiator by the left chassis rail); it fell to pieces during strip-down.  Good old BMW plastics, eh?  Rather it happened now in controlled circumstances, than out between towns in use!

For reference, if you're doing this job, factoring in BMW Auxiliary Water Pump - Pierburg 7.02078.37.0 would be useful.  I bought OEM Pierburg item.

I digress.  It's a long and complex job.  I got the car back yesterday after two weeks (I'd prefer it wasn't rushed, or they felt under time pressure).  Great to have it back.

More details coming.  I think I'll edit up a movie.

PS:  I also took Page European's recommendation, and had them run a Wurth Intake System Cleaner through it.  

Initial impressions - after all the work - are that it's running better.  I'm sure there'd have been a vacuum loss through the knackered guides, it builds vacuum on liftoff faster than before... wonder if the fuel economy is going to improve as a result of all this work?  Anyway, it's no longer making like puffing billy, which is a good thing.

Edited April 20, 2018 by Olaf
kms, and Wurth.

[Olaf 3308]

168621kms:  

Simple maintenance to enhance safety and lower driver stress in foul weather.  I was about to leave Auckland on Thursday morning for the trip back to Wellington.  My old wiper blades were 15 months old, the last Rain-X application had worn through, and the screen was getting smeary.  Not good.  A little remediation was called for, and I had a new set of blades in the boot.  While I gassed up under the generous canopy at BP Drury, I:

• Thoroghly cleaned, dried, and Rain-X'd the windscreen
• Replacd the Wiper Blades (genuine BMW) P/N 61610431438
• Filled the near-empty washer reservoir with BMW windscreen washer concentrate (yellow), and topped up with water.  

   
Fitting e60 Wiper blades: a trap for new players
Wiper blades box says (in pictograms) long blade on driver's side.  In NZ, the shorter one goes on Driver's side, long blade is for passenger side.  Furthermore, you can't fit them the wrong way around, you'll struggle to get the blade onto the connector.  

As I left BP Drury in the rain at 0700, I nearly broke into song with  'I can see clearly now', such was the clarity... though Mikey Havok had started with The Smiths on BFM.  No prizes for guessing which won out.... 
 

 

Gloomy rain, Morrissey's dulcet tones and irony-laden lyrics with Johnny Marr's jangly guitars, heated seats and steering wheel; a perfect winter's morning.  Damn, I'd left my Smiths CDs at home, so made do with The Foo Fighters, Them Crooked Vultures, David Bowie's Young Americans, Groove Armada etc, once out of range of Auckland broadcasts.

Back on subject, if you've not used Rain-X on your windscreen, you don't know what you're missing.  It breaks up rain on contact, beads it up.  Much better vision.

Overall fuel economy for the return trip to Auckland (including urban running in Auckland):  10.39 litres/100km.   The Drury to Wellington City leg 'returned' 9.03 litres/100kms (actual), and there was a bit under 1/8 of a tank remaining when I topped up at the Roadmaster in Wellington town.  World's biggest village? It's hardly a city, in reality ?

Happy days.

Edited June 21, 2018 by Olaf
grammar

[Gabe79 410]

Blast. I missed one line and sounded like an idiot. ❤️

Edited June 22, 2018 by Gabe79

[Olaf 3308]

On 6/22/2018 at 2:10 PM, Gabe79 said:

Blast. I missed one line and sounded like an idiot. ❤️

I'm sure that's a line from an obscure The Smiths song that I can't recall ?

[Olaf 3308]

31 July 2018.  169,986km.

• Replaced Transmission Mounts (gen BMW)
• Replaced Engine Mounts (OEM  Hutchinson)
• Replaced front radius rods L&R (OEM Lemforder)
• Replaced front control arms L&R (OEM Lemforder)
• Alignment.

Woah.  

Mounts?  Even starting the engine.... it's like butter!  I love engine mount/trans mount replacements.  At around 170k kms/10+ years, they're not performing as they did when new.  

Control Arms/Radius Rods?  Steering significantly improved, smoother lock-to-lock, and the car behaves significantly better over bumps (particularly in compression).  My old ones had had a bit of a minor graunch in the steering (particularly right hand side), that's grown in the last few months; the balljoints were reaching end of their useful life.  Replacement is great.   

I've only driven it at urban commuting speeds so far, it is transformed.  I'll update this post when I've had chance to drive it at highway speeds.

Next up:

• rear window trim seals
• sunroof seal
• Rotors
• Pads
• Lower oil pan & gasket

Edited March 23, 2019 by Olaf
grammar

[kiwi535 538]

you doing good things Richard

[Olaf 3308]

10 August 2018.  170,136km.

• Replaced rear window seals (upper, and lower).

Some outstanding service from Novus at 138 Adelaide Road, Wellington.  Big shout out to Reuben (member on here)!   My second experience with Novus, and again, very positive.

I decided to get someone else to do it, after my recent experiences with  the windscreen in my e46... it was the right move.

So here's what a typical aged seal looks like on an e60.  they're a trim part; you don't need to remove the glass to change them out.

A wrinkly old seal, yesterday 

 

PS:  if you're ordering the seals, there's two pieces.  bottom rail (which even has a velvet seal to the bottlid), and the top (which includes the sides).  There's the version (for top and bottom, respectively) for double-glazed/armoured, and the 'normal' version.

Edited August 13, 2018 by Olaf
saw a pair of seals, like

[Olaf 3308]

in a recent development, flying saucers were spotted in Wellington's Eastern Suburbs this morning.  The craft appeared to be made of aluminium and a ferrous metal painted to look like aluminium... despite its obvious weight, it flew, hovered, and generally disturbed BMW owners in the vicinity.

 

[Young Thrash Driver 1020]

Ha I was just reading about die Glocke

[GorGasm 563]

On 8/10/2018 at 7:06 PM, Olaf said:

10 August 2018.  170,136km.

• Replaced rear window seals (upper, and lower).

Some outstanding service from Novus at 138 Adelaide Road, Wellington.  Big shout out to Reuben (member on here)!   My second experience with Novus, and again, very positive.

I decided to get someone else to do it, after my recent experiences with  the windscreen in my e46... it was the right move.

So here's what a typical aged seal looks like on an e60.  they're a trim part; you don't need to remove the glass to change them out.

A wrinkly old seal, yesterday 

PS:  if you're ordering the seals, there's two pieces.  bottom rail (which even has a velvet seal to the bottlid), and the top (which includes the sides).  There's the version (for top and bottom, respectively) for double-glazed/armoured, and the 'normal' version.

The seals on my M5 were the same front and rear. I ended up doing it myself, it was surprisingly easy.  The hardest part was getting rid of the residue from the old seals which took about an hour.  Install took about 5 mins.

[Olaf 3308]

2 hours ago, GorGasm said:

The seals on my M5 were the same front and rear. I ended up doing it myself, it was surprisingly easy.  The hardest part was getting rid of the residue from the old seals which took about an hour.  Install took about 5 mins.

yeah, having suffered the bruised pride when cracked the new windscreen on my e46 recently, I decided I should pay the professionals to lower my risk.  It's a rational and cold decision. ?

[GorGasm 563]

Fair enough, I usually end up paying a guy for most of my stuff as well.  No shame there.