03 e39 540i Motorsport

[KwS 2429]

Black leather is literally the most common interior in the e39. Can probably pick a base up in good shape from a wrecker or pick a park for minimal cost and almost no effort.

Makes way more sense unless you're recolouring it for the sake of learning a new skill. 

[lemusa 86]

Will see if anything comes up. The two cars at pick a part both had rubbish rear seats otherwise I would of grabbed one. Learning is half the fun and I have no experience with leather care. $100 of product and I can repair my current seat and have the gear on the shelf to patch up any future problems.

[Olaf 3341]

On 8/16/2020 at 10:45 PM, KwS said:

Black leather is literally the most common interior in the e39. Can probably pick a base up in good shape from a wrecker or pick a park for minimal cost and almost no effort.

Makes way more sense unless you're recolouring it for the sake of learning a new skill. 

How much does one pay for a good condition black leather seat base for an e39 from a wrecker?

[KwS 2429]

1 minute ago, Olaf said:

How much does one pay for a good condition black leather seat base for an e39 from a wrecker?

Buggered if I know, I don't need to buy one, hence the "probably" in my post.

[Olaf 3341]

Okay, but it still makes "way more sense"?  As I'd still need to clean and condition a used seat from a wrecker or pick-a-part, in addition to my time spent gathering tools and driving to and from pick-a-part (or a wrecker) to un-bolt and pay for a seat base.  And then I'd need to remove the scuffed one from my car, clean years of accumulated crap from beneath it, and install the one from pick-a-part (or a wrecker).

In my world it makes way more sense to do less work and wipe on some leather toner with a sponge and save myself time, effort, and "probably" money.

And as you rightly point out, I'll have the gear on the shelf that allows me to take care of things like leather steering wheels in a way that I can't with a surplus scuffed leather seat base.  

Of course, your mileage may vary.  

[lemusa 86]

Cheer up fella's! If I spot a good seat prior to doing something about it myself I'll go that route but I'll let you know what I end up doing either way so someone can claim victory.

My FCP order is currently stuck in Honolulu. Hoping to have before the weekend but losing hope. I've also decided I'm going to order a chain tensioner as I've watched too many scary youtube videos ?

[KwS 2429]

3 hours ago, Olaf said:

Okay, but it still makes "way more sense"?  As I'd still need to clean and condition a used seat from a wrecker or pick-a-part, in addition to my time spent gathering tools and driving to and from pick-a-part (or a wrecker) to un-bolt and pay for a seat base.  And then I'd need to remove the scuffed one from my car, clean years of accumulated crap from beneath it, and install the one from pick-a-part (or a wrecker).

In my world it makes way more sense to do less work and wipe on some leather toner with a sponge and save myself time, effort, and "probably" money.

And as you rightly point out, I'll have the gear on the shelf that allows me to take care of things like leather steering wheels in a way that I can't with a surplus scuffed leather seat base.  

Of course, your mileage may vary.  

Jesus, you'll argue about anything, won't you?

Do what you gonna do OP. I'd be keen to see how well a leather repair kit works if you do try it. 

[Olaf 3341]

We share particularly different viewpoints at times.  If you interpret that as an argument, seek help.  And for the record, I'm not Jesus.

[BreakMyWindow 1878]

5 hours ago, Olaf said:

Okay, but it still makes "way more sense"?  As I'd still need to clean and condition a used seat from a wrecker or pick-a-part, in addition to my time spent gathering tools and driving to and from pick-a-part (or a wrecker) to un-bolt and pay for a seat base.  And then I'd need to remove the scuffed one from my car, clean years of accumulated crap from beneath it, and install the one from pick-a-part (or a wrecker).

In my world it makes way more sense to do less work and wipe on some leather toner with a sponge and save myself time, effort, and "probably" money.

And as you rightly point out, I'll have the gear on the shelf that allows me to take care of things like leather steering wheels in a way that I can't with a surplus scuffed leather seat base.  

Of course, your mileage may vary.  

To do a proper long lasting repair (that is questionable in this case due to the location of the seat damage and high traffic it sees) you'd need to strip off the leathers urethane coating, prep/sand the area, sponge on the paint, followed by air brushing it in for even coverage, then air brush a protective urethane coating over it. It will look really obvious unless you get the colour match spot on factoring in for UV fading. 

You need no tools to remove a seat base, they're clipped in. You pull up on both sides and wiggle it out. A good used one wouldn't be more than $100. Pick a part is luck of the draw but I have seen tidy ones there when I was restoring my e39 touring.

[Olaf 3341]

Interesting.  Ive had great success with cracking and scuffs in black leather seat bases using the kit indicated, without resorting to airbrushing.  2.5 years before re-application I'd call a success.  YMMV.

 

[hqstu 780]

On 8/16/2020 at 6:42 PM, Young Thrash Driver said:

hilarious ebay sticker I added to hqstus car

I did attempt removal of the PO's brain fart idea of an enhancement, but it was well stuck, so I left it...

[hqstu 780]

6 hours ago, Olaf said:

How much does one pay for a good condition black leather seat base for an e39 from a wrecker?

$40 last time I bought one (Mosen's), a good clean with sugar soap, a bit of your favorite preserving product, and good as...

[qube 3570]

its not really a true forum without differing opinions on seemingly trivial matters.

all is well

[KwS 2429]

1 hour ago, qube said:

its not really a true forum without differing opinions on seemingly trivial matters.

all is well

Out of all the forums I'm on I don't think there are many that are as abrasive and toxic as this one. It's no wonder we have such low new member signup and retention. 

[qube 3570]

Also that its quite a specific/specialised forum and tbh there is not a whole lot happening in terms of new/exciting stuff so people (mostly long time members) just tend to banter about the little bit of content that we do get.

new member sign up probably because there is no promotion or marketing, and low retention because there isnt much reason to stay. Some people join to say hi and make an effort to post, informative or not. And some join to ask a question and bugger off again till next time. 
 

To really bring this forum back to life needs leadership, management, and some kind of direction, just like any company or business. At the moment we are just a local lunchbar selling pies and can drinks ticking along slowly, not some michelin star restaurant that is innovative and forward thinking. 
 

getting a but off topic sorry

[Young Thrash Driver 1020]

3 hours ago, qube said:

its not really a true forum without differing opinions on seemingly trivial matters.

all is well

Yeah, for example I liked the faded M badge because it showed it was original and not an ebay special. And then I stuck an ebay sticker on anyway. ? I do like the OP's 540, doing some good work there!

[Eagle 1679]

9 hours ago, lemusa said:

Cheer up fella's! If I spot a good seat prior to doing something about it myself I'll go that route but I'll let you know what I end up doing either way so someone can claim victory.

My FCP order is currently stuck in Honolulu. Hoping to have before the weekend but losing hope. I've also decided I'm going to order a chain tensioner as I've watched too many scary youtube videos ?

Ive got one you can have for free but its probably not practical to give it to you.

[lemusa 86]

2 hours ago, qube said:

Also that its quite a specific/specialised forum and tbh there is not a whole lot happening in terms of new/exciting stuff so people (mostly long time members) just tend to banter about the little bit of content that we do get.

new member sign up probably because there is no promotion or marketing, and low retention because there isnt much reason to stay. Some people join to say hi and make an effort to post, informative or not. And some join to ask a question and bugger off again till next time. 
 

To really bring this forum back to life needs leadership, management, and some kind of direction, just like any company or business. At the moment we are just a local lunchbar selling pies and can drinks ticking along slowly, not some michelin star restaurant that is innovative and forward thinking. 
 

getting a but off topic sorry

I only made this thread because @adro said I should ?. As far as the forum goes I quite like the small community. Obviously I'm fairly new but the people here all seem civilized and there's a reasonably high standard of grammar used. Unlike Facebook for example.

1 hour ago, Young Thrash Driver said:

Yeah, for example I liked the faded M badge because it showed it was original and not an ebay special. And then I stuck an ebay sticker on anyway. ? I do like the OP's 540, doing some good work there!

Thanks. So I should keep the faded badge for the purity?

19 minutes ago, Eagle said:

Ive got one you can have for free but its probably not practical to give it to you.

Thanks but shipping would be a killer. Perhaps you could cut out a square of the area I need? ?

[Young Thrash Driver 1020]

The rear seat could probably be stripped and just the leather cover shipped?

Re: the badge, do what floats your boat. I'd consider a 316i badge ? having a faded badge can look tatty, I'll agree with that.

[lemusa 86]

I think you're over estimating my upholstery skills haha. I'm a little bit torn on the badge. I like the M only and 540i only but not the combo. Seeing as the M is faded I might take that off first.

[lemusa 86]

All set for the weekend. Still can't get over how reasonable priced FCP is.

Also brought one of these, thought I'd have a crack at an M5 bumper conversion.

[lemusa 86]

Fairly productive evening tonight. Got the oil and filter changed as well as plugs, air filter, cabin filters and windscreen seal. Plugs didn't look too bad but just idling in the garage I noticed a significant change in throttle response off idle. Enough that I'm convinced there is no placebo effect anyway! I filled it up with 100 plus from NPD prior as well. Not sure if I'll see any gains but I hadn't put any petrol in it since I got it so I have no idea what was in it. Hoping to get fuel filter done tomorrow, in hindsight I should have done that while I had the fuel light on ?‍♂️

Cylinders 3 and 4 had a bit of oil around them so looks like I'll be in for a new gasket in the not too distant future. Bit weird cos they were very recently replaced so maybe something got pinched. The history with the car only had 1 coil replacement recorded but looks like 5 have been replaced.

While I was changing oil I pulled the undertray and had a good look around for sources of my leaks. There was more fluid than I hoped to see but the main source appears to be power steering. I trimmed the hoses down at the resovoir as there was an obvious leak there which was running down the hoses but I think the banjo seals are buggered so I'll probably add a line kit to my shopping list. It doesn't look like that will be much fun to replace...

There is an oil leak on the front somewhere. I can see some out of the cam sensor on bank 2 but I don't think it's bad enough to explain the build up on the undertray. I've cleaned the undertray with degreaser so will pull it again in a month or so and see how bad it really is. I think rear main is also leaking but I have no intention of tackling that. Oil's cheap enough haha.

The windscreen seal went in ok. Wasn't the easiest job but soapy water helped. Found it was a lot easier to position the glass side of the seal first then push it in. I'm also happy that the new seal covers the shitty masking line from the roof respray. Forgot to take a before photo but the rubber was probably 50% missing.

Also fitted the center console box thing. The colour isn't a perfect match which was a bit of a disappointment but looks tidier than what I had.

Also full transparency...my fix for the quarter window sunshade didn't hold up to my 3 year old daughter who was "supervising" from the back seat ? It at least has enough tension left in it that it will stay clipped in place so I can live with it for a while. And she now knows that Daddy's car is fragile. 

[Olaf 3341]

NPD100?  now you're just showing off!  Can't wait for this to get to Welly.  Great progress, good to see it's going well for you.

[lemusa 86]

I drive a diesel daily so had to check out this magical 100+ and see what it's all about. Are there any annual meets up in Welly? I don't have any close contacts there so would only drive up with a mate for a decent weekend of cars and beers. Have a long to do list to complete first though.

p.s. The new headlight ballast died on the weekend so have sent back on warranty. Would of had less than an hour on it. Hopefully they can diagnose and replace with no drama.

[lemusa 86]

So apparently the ballast has to go back to the supplier before they can release the replacement. They offered to sell me a replacement and then credit it back once the warranty process is complete but I'll give it a week and see what happens. Cameron at BM Parts has been super cool to deal with though so they get my recommendation. Also going to take the car to Eurocare next week for a scan and see if they can nail down what's causing the ABS trifecta. I'm assuming the ABS module but my speedo etc are still working fine so I'm not 100% sure. I have a spare module from my old car so hopefully that's compatible if it is the module.

Pic was taken about 10mins after the low beam headlight warning came back on ?