Been tinkering with mine today and took this pic...I need to get all 3 of mine lined up on the Westwood one sunny day soon for a nice shot
Not much progress this month, the car's going to be looked at on Monday because of an irregular idle. I hope it's not the injectors!
@Wilseus i have a front style 66 alloy (8j x 17) that you're welcome to have if you want a spare. Good condition and not buckled. I'm in Milton Keynes, approx 3-4 miles from M1, jct 14
I got the car back today. It had actually cut out at the motorway services last weekend so it was fairly evident that something was wrong. It wasn't the injectors, some of the vacuum hoses had perished and fallen off, and the boost sensor had failed. It turns out that because of that, the turbo had basically not been working this whole time! Needless to say, it now drives like a completely different car and will pull hard when floored, even at motorway speeds. It feels miles quicker than my 328i did, which had the same BHP in a lighter car. I guess this is due to the different power delivery, but it still surprised me.
Hello all. I've not been on here much at all lately, to be honest I been so busy with work that I have had very little time for car related things! I hope to be on here much more in future though, as I have given up Facebook which is a monumental, toxic waste of time. In the meantime, while I wanted to keep the E39 fairly stock, I decided to swap the stereo for an Android unit: I know strictly it's designed for the X5, hence the slope at the top but to be honest it's not very noticeable when you're using it. These units have been heavily criticised but I have had no major problems and for the price I can't really complain. I could do a review of it if anyone is interested. Also, the car has been modestly remapped: ~220bhp / 480Nm. It pulls all the way to the red line now, nice. My other piece of E39 related news is that I ended up having to have the turbocharger completely rebuilt. The actuator kept sticking and after I sent it off to a turbo place, they told me there was also impact damage in the compressor because the previous owner fitted a performance air filter which might have let in more air, but also let in more muck. So the moral of this tale is: don't fit a performance air filter to a turbo engine! This car has cost me a small fortune in maintenance, but I don't care. It's the best car I have ever owned, and I firmly believe that they don't make them like this anymore!
The E39 has gone to a body shop today to have the tatty panels resprayed and the underneath cleaned and sealed. It's going to cost a fair bit (probably over £1000) but worth it I think. I just hope it's not absolutely rotten underneath like so many E39s are. I've seen some pretty horrific ones on YouTube!
I got new pressed aluminium "German style" number plates delivered yesterday. They originally came on Monday but they got the number wrong! Anyway I think they suit the car well. The wing mirrors and the pillars are still a bit tatty though, and there are some marks on the bumpers. Replacing that removable trim should solve most of the latter, but I'm not sure how best to tackle the mirrors. Remove and paint myself, or just replace them? And the black paint on the pillars is peeling off at the bottom. I think they are aluminium, I guess I can just grind off the corrosion, then mask and paint them. Maybe I will need to smooth some filler on them and sand first?
I think that B pillar corrosion will go higher up the trim than at first appears. Not sure what the best solution would be...sand and cover with a suitable wrap? I put German style plates on my e34 which I bought from Olli all those years ago, but went the full Monty with them. Used to get funny looks from Her Majesty's finest as I drove past.....they weren't sure if it was an import, although it was RHD. I'll see if I can resurrect a pic when I'm on the desktop.....
Found one. Only for show purposes, Officer..... MOT expired 3.2021, so might even still be alive somewhere https://www.check-mot.service.gov.uk/
I really don't think there is much on the road that is better looking than a well sorted E39! Props to you! @slim_boy_fat I've never seen photos of your E39, looks lovely!
Thanks, that was taken 9 years ago when I 'upgraded' to an e60. The only thing that let the e39 down was the headlights - totally inadequate and the reason I changed the units for 'angel eye' ones with xenons, which made a BIG difference to night-time driving. Standard ones were potentially dangerous.....
Looking good Wilseus. Your E39 is 21 years old just like mine and can pick up a variety of issues that require what many people would consider an illogical amount of money, time and passion to correct and maintain. I am pleased that your BMW rewards you enough that you are like me and have taken on the challenge and kept an excellent car on the road instead of driving another of the gadget filled blobs that populate our roads. I bought rare manual 525i quite cheap 9 years ago and after remedying leaks and other problems soon realised that I have an original unmolested car that has required time and research but very little cash to maintain. Xenon headlight upgrade was welcomed as the only modification. Now only 114k and completely original factory paint over rust free chassis and body led me to believe this would continue until I had a very nasty shock this week whilst washing her - rust bubbling through front wheel arch! The £700 to fit and paint a new BMW wing can wait a year or two while I do my best DIY job to halt the rust and make good. Followed by removing all plastic liners and rust proof the chassis and inside wings. I am also working on the black aluminium driver's oor mirror bracket. Enjoy your BMWs.