Project E39

[hunter 408]

Alignment done today

took a while as the car seemed out of spec on the machine at BMW but everything is even side to side and its aligned "closer" than the last alignment on old susspension 

Thanks to the diligence at Coombes they kept it overnight to double check it today to make sure it was right, and cause they know im fussy  

Picked it up lunch time today, went for a quick blat out Te Kowhai and back throuhg past hamilton Zoo, forthose that don't know the area, its got a very good undulations and corners, but not too far from work.

The ride height still needs to settle (not as low as a club members E39 withthe same suspension), not sure how long this will take but the handling is exceptional, far , far more direct and adept at handling corners.

Edited November 4, 2021 by hunter

[hqstu 780]

On 11/4/2021 at 3:06 PM, hunter said:

The ride height still needs to settle

New springs - give it 20 years or so..

[Eagle 1676]

Ive found ride height always raises after a full refresh compared to before. Being new springs you may need to wait a little longer but most E39's etc are driving around on worn suspension. 

[hunter 408]

10 hours ago, Eagle said:

Ive found ride height always raises after a full refresh compared to before. Being new springs you may need to wait a little longer but most E39's etc are driving around on worn suspension. 

Yeah man, most are shot, However the one car i'm comparing to had a full refresh a a couple of years ago. Might go to Raglan today for a cruise give the new gear a decent workout.

[BreakMyWindow 1878]

I didn’t notice a change of ride height when i did all the susp late last year. I didn’t replace springs though. 
 

There’s factory ride height specs you can look up I think. Maybe sitting a tad higher on the 18”s?

[hunter 408]

26 minutes ago, BreakMyWindow said:

I didn’t notice a change of ride height when i did all the susp late last year. I didn’t replace springs though. 
 

There’s factory ride height specs you can look up I think. Maybe sitting a tad higher on the 18”s?

Yeah I’ve got the bmw “spec” measurement’s somewhere and will measure it later today. They are taken from bottom of rim to wheel arch centre. 
im not too worried for now as it’s so new and cause I’m not a stance boi and it handles mean as!

[hunter 408]

Got all the interior back in. First time in 6 months it’s all been back together. Went for a blast to raglan today. Great weather and the car performs great on the open road. Good times. 

Edited November 7, 2021 by hunter

[hunter 408]

aaaaaand now i've got ASC, ABS and Trans Failsafe Prog error -doh

After these shows up last weekend, HQSTU helped me clear them

Last night they came back in rush hour traffic this time with a dead speedo. Ive limped the car home (not far from where the error kicked in )

Today we will try scanning again and possibly replacing the rear wheel speed sensor to eliminate that fault (speedo)

Fingers crossed it is only a sensor and not the whole ABS module....im thinking it might be the latter though 😫

[adro 1084]

58 minutes ago, hunter said:

aaaaaand now i've got ASC, ABS and Trans Failsafe Prog error -doh

After these shows up last weekend, HQSTU helped me clear them

Last night they came back in rush hour traffic this time with a dead speedo. Ive limped the car home (not far from where the error kicked in )

Today we will try scanning again and possibly replacing the rear wheel speed sensor to eliminate that fault (speedo)

Fingers crossed it is only a sensor and not the whole ABS module....im thinking it might be the latter though 😫

My fingers are crossed for you too. At least it’s not a gearbox. 

[hunter 408]

I now have a new used Abs module onboard. ( yay for friends who have friends who have parts cars and euro garages, who have ABS modules with the same serial number as me )
Installed this arvo drove home no issues so far, fingers crossed. 

[hunter 408]

Todays BMW NZ Car club run was a real goodie. Hamilton to Cambridge the loooong way round. 

 

[hunter 408]

I’m looking at a trans service. Does anyone know of this will fit my car. 2001 530i

https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/bmw-auto-trans-filter-kit-zf-24152333915

real OEM points to this part number but the reference to 5hp-19 has me question comparability. 🤔 

also what trans oil is best for a car that done 165kms

 

[BreakMyWindow 1878]

20 minutes ago, hunter said:

I’m looking at a trans service. Does anyone know of this will fit my car. 2001 530i

https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/bmw-auto-trans-filter-kit-zf-24152333915

real OEM points to this part number but the reference to 5hp-19 has me question comparability. 🤔 

also what trans oil is best for a car that done 165kms

 

Yep that kit will work, the same one i used to fit to the spare trans i had for my old 530i touring.

Penrite do a fluid that’s approved by zf for this trans. Can be found at repco. 
 

Torque converter rebuild will be knocking on the door soon i think. Common problem with these ones.

[hunter 408]

22 minutes ago, BreakMyWindow said:

Yep that kit will work, the same one i used to fit to the spare trans i had for my old 530i touring.

Penrite do a fluid that’s approved by zf for this trans. Can be found at repco. 
 

Torque converter rebuild will be knocking on the door soon i think. Common problem with these ones.

Cheers mate. 
have you done the rebuild, what’d  it cost?

what are symptoms you’ve experienced cat shifts fine most of the time. At times it feels jerky into and out of 3rd. Particularly after the abs module triggering trans fail safe. Not that I drove it far in that mode maybe 2kms to home. 

[Eagle 1676]

Penrite ATF FS is what you want. I usually buy a 20L which does 4x drain and fills on these. Probably can get you one at trade price if you like.

Id recommend doing the filter and fluid, driving around for a week and doing another drain and fill. This gets rid of most of the old fluid and less likely to upset anything. After that a transmission adaption reset in INPA etc should have it shifting noticeably better.

PS - Saw you driving pass Repco that other day.

 

[hunter 408]

2 minutes ago, Eagle said:

Penrite ATF FS is what you want. I usually buy a 20L which does 4x drain and fills on these. Probably can get you one at trade price if you like.

Id recommend doing the filter and fluid, driving around for a week and doing another drain and fill. This gets rid of most of the old fluid and less likely to upset anything. After that a transmission adaption reset in INPA etc should have it shifting noticeably better.

PS - Saw you driving pass Repco that other day.

 

Good advice mate.

Trade price would be great. Pm me the details. 👍 

 

[hunter 408]

Got some bits from FCP last week among them is Trans filter kit and new center consol cubby, with roller door.

The original roller door fell in to many peices one day when i opened it. Ordering a new OE spec one was easy enough, however when it arrived it was not quite black and had a rubberised coating, different from the original.

Thankfully these items are a 3 eice design (chassis, bucket, roller door) and i was able to use the new roller door and buket with the original chassis for a new cubby that doesnt look out of place - some times it's the  small wins.

and i've some how slighty curbed one of my polished lips, barely noticable, but i know it's there 😐

[hunter 408]

Wondering why my car was losing a bit of coolant each month. Not a huge amount but enough to notice a slight drop in the level. 

Had a peek in the filler tank today with a light, hello o ring what are you doing down there.  Lol.

 New Genuine radiator cap acquired. 
I can see by comparing the 2 caps my original was actually breaking down, with missing prices of plastic from the lower section. 
This is how that little o ring fell off. I guess the plastic fragments from the cap are somewhere in the cooling system, or have been flushed when I got a new radiator last year. 🤷‍♂️
to be in the safe side will do a coolant replacement this week. 

[hunter 408]

New cap working well, car no longer makes odd sucking sounds (now i know what it was)

Flush at Coombes was successful and showed no sings of wierd stuff in the coolant.

Also purchased some new spot lights, OE quality but not genuine (they are just holders for nice bulbs arefterall) got a pair for 190 ish NZD shipped from Aussie.

These replace the pitted and very old exisitng ones, one being non standard  and not fitting correctly.

Next up maintenance , maintenance maintenance and Xenon Headlights later in the year - considering buying new unless anyone has some very good condition E39 Xenons

 

[BreakMyWindow 1878]

3 hours ago, hunter said:

New cap working well, car no longer makes odd sucking sounds (now i know what it was)

Flush at Coombes was successful and showed no sings of wierd stuff in the coolant.

Also purchased some new spot lights, OE quality but not genuine (they are just holders for nice bulbs arefterall) got a pair for 190 ish NZD shipped from Aussie.

These replace the pitted and very old exisitng ones, one being non standard  and not fitting correctly.

Next up maintenance , maintenance maintenance and Xenon Headlights later in the year - considering buying new unless anyone has some very good condition E39 Xenons

 

I've had good luck getting e39 xenon units via ebay uk. They will more than likely need new adjusters and a good wetsand polishing session. I think the last pair i got for my old touring were $280 landed.

 

[hunter 408]

1 minute ago, BreakMyWindow said:

I've had good luck getting e39 xenon units via ebay uk. They will more than likely need new adjusters and a good wetsand polishing session. I think the last pair i got for my old touring were $280 landed.

 

Cheers Martin. i'm really on the fence about 2nd hand ones and doing more polishing but will take a look. 

wary of hairline cracks and pitting that cant be removed...

[hunter 408]

Car has been very stable after last round of maintenance. 
 

a great trip to tokaanu for the BMW car club annual meet up at Braxmere. Aside for a stone that was lodged in the back of the rotor hat for half the trip all was performing perfectly. 
 

Off up North this week for the Autumn fling again with the BMW car club. 3 days of northland B road bliss.

In project news I’m on the hunt for a single style 66 front wheel.  
 

 

Edited April 26, 2022 by hunter

[hunter 408]

The BMW Car Club Trip up North was fantastic, with many new twisties to explore at pace. all in all ~18 cars all up.

A fair amount of roadwork too, meant that the stones in the hub issue returned twice. 

I also have some metallic rattle & a grind coming from somewhere on the bottom of the car when it's warm and I'm turning hard left or right and moving slowly (that's when I can hear it) eg pulling into my garage.

Jacking the car up yesterday and removing the front wheels I thought I'd solved at least part of the issue when I found 2 tar clad stones stuck between the spring pad ( and right beneath the lowest coil) and the shock in the front suspension, this would account for the grinding noise when manoeuvring, sure enough, removing these and a heap of other stones, mean the grinding noise has gone but the metallic rattle remains. sounds like it's near the back of the engine, but hard to tell with sound bouncing around the garage.

Kerry Mosen is going to put it up on his hoist next week and have a decent look for me. 

 

***update***

removing the undertray yesterday revealed not only were ~5 of the 8 or so screws not properly fastened but one of the larger brackets the tray attaches to was about to fall off due to a loose screw.
This was repositioned and tightened. the tray was fully installed with all fasteners done up and additional metallic rattles are now gone.

However, I will have a small click when steering when the car is hot (well up to temp) and at low speeds can hear what sounds like fragments of something rattling in a cylinde, around the wheel. think stone in an empty tin can if you rolled it slowly on the ground.

I suspect stone fragments or something else in the back of the brake hat/hub from where several stones were stuck in there. removing the wheel shows nothing obvious. 

***Update 2***

Noise was determined to be a wheel bearing, drivers side failing. Have ordered 2 fronts from https://www.schmiedmann.com/

 

Edited May 17, 2022 by hunter
update

[hunter 408]

Front Wheel bearings replaced, like to do things in pairs, amazing shipping from Schmeidmann less than a week to NZ.

Wheel bearing noise is gone...

 

BUT  click in suspension/wheel area remains, suspect one of the new control arms, and end links have gone bung, the saving grace is I got it all from FCP so will be covered by the warranty there.

Only does it when turning left, it's not the brakes, as the calliper and pad were removed and checked yesterday too.

Will have to put up with it for now and see if it gets more obvious.

[Eagle 1676]

To rule out anything sway bar related you can disconnect or remove the links and go for a slow drive. If its still there its not that.