E38 740i timing chain guides

[jforward 0]

Hi,

Just new here. I use to own a 1994 e38 AC Schnitzer 740i and am looking at another e38 1998 740i.

The car im looking at has done approx 145km but doesnt seem to have any history of having the timing chain and guides done. It had a full dealership history upto approx 110km, and after that just basic services plus having Cam cover gaskets and Timing cover gaskets done within the last 3 months. 

From what I can gather it has the non vanos M62B44 engine because of the 1997 date of production.

If anyone has information about whether it would be best to get the maintenance done ASAP, or would it be safe to drive it for a while until the dreaded cold start rattle starts.

Any information would be appreciated.

Thanks in Advance

 

 

 

 

[Eagle 1702]

Preventative measure is usually doing the chain tensioner. Its nice having piece of mind with new guides but they can last along time (or not) So nany variables to their longevity which are hard to truly know most of the time. The Non vanos M62 guides seems to hold up better as they ran a cooler t-stat, less cats and no vanos probably help to some degree,  smaller sample size though compared to vanos so not going to see\hear about them as much if they fail.

Id replace the tensioner and run it. You get plenty of warning when they start to go.

[jforward 0]

Hi, thanks for the reply. Much appreciated. 
For planning purposes would anyone know a good shop or person who could do the guides at a later date on the North Shore? I have asked a couple of shops already for an estimate but no one has replied yet…

Any other important things to look out for before buying an e38?

Cheers again in advance 

[Eagle 1702]

Transmissions are real weak point in my opinion -  Cost of a rebuild is ~5k if it fails bad enough, they can fail suddenly too. They were all the 'lifetime' fluid those days so most didnt get serviced which contributed to the weaknesses. Plenty online about them.

Rest is the usual wear and tear and old car problems namely plastics and electrical failures. ABS module is probably the biggest electrical $ item to sort, other stuff isnt usually too bad.

[jforward 0]

Awesome thanks. So would you suggest a fluid and filter change on the transmission as a preventive measure to?

Appreciate all the advice. 

[Eagle 1702]

Yep. ZF's recommends 80-100,000 or 8 years for normal use, which ever comes first. First drain and fill you drop the pan, inspect, clean magnets etc and change filter and gasket. Depending on how bad the fluid looks you typically do 1-2 more drain and fills to get most of the old fluid out. Buying a 20L container of suitable ATF (eg Penrite ATF FS) is the cheapest way to go.