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Ultimate Mango posted:Question about the GDCS: how proactively must it be replaced, and based on time or miles? I have an 08 E61 (535 wagon, first year with the n54), so it is six years old now but only has 45k miles. It's not leaking or having any issues at all, but if this thread is accurate I would expect the cooling system impeller to detonate itself randomly at any time. Bmw enthusiast conventional wisdom says GDCS replacement is mileage based. Between 60k and 100k miles, depending on how paranoid you are. Also, I believe BMW only extended the warranty on the high pressure fuel pump (HPFP) on the N54. The rest of the engine is only covered under the 4/50 warranty.
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Jun 6, 2014 03:13
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I plan on replacing the cooling system once a month starting with this weekend
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Jun 6, 2014 03:15
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FWIW, one of the long-time BMW specialist shops in my area says that about 100k is the point when you should proactively replace the GDCS. They start giving people the heads up at about 80k but don't push it too hard until closer to 100k.
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Jun 6, 2014 03:23
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revmoo posted:The biggest difference is the interior, which is night and day different and better. I think the interior on my e46 was better than the interior on my e90.
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Jun 6, 2014 03:50
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Guinness posted:FWIW, one of the long-time BMW specialist shops in my area says that about 100k is the point when you should proactively replace the GDCS. They start giving people the heads up at about 80k but don't push it too hard until closer to 100k. I was driving down the highway and rolled over 100k. A little ways down the road I saw my coolant warning light come on. Anecdote.
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Jun 6, 2014 04:43
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The leather in my E93 is perfect and the interior has no marks or bruises. How do I keep it that way? I'm giving the rubber of the convertible top loving treatment every few months to keep it in tip top shape. What do people who care do to keep the leather everything on the inside healthy?
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Jun 6, 2014 04:43
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Tab8715 posted:What the hell breaks on a 7-Series exactly? Everyone else's hearts as they realize their car is a product of mediocrity, built by and targeted towards plebians.
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Jun 6, 2014 05:00
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Guinness posted:FWIW, one of the long-time BMW specialist shops in my area says that about 100k is the point when you should proactively replace the GDCS. They start giving people the heads up at about 80k but don't push it too hard until closer to 100k. Okay who here is an actual plastics engineer. If the issue is that the pump housing or impeller get brittle and break, why would that be miles based rather than time based? I suppose weekly replacement of all wear parts would ensure it is kept in good working order. I must say that it was nice having extended warranty but as soon as that's out the local place will be so much less expensive than dealer service and repair. Hilariously I just got new tires and for $20 the shop sold an unlimited year, 70,000 mile warranty which includes the rotation and balance as often as needed, and hazard coverage. As long as it's not a total scam it may be a decade before I pay for tires for that car. In other news, my other car has been at the bmw dealer for three days. So they can look at a problem with the goddamned rear view mirror (GDRVM). Seriously.
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Jun 6, 2014 06:25
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Popete posted:Anyone have a ballpark on getting the car painted? It's crossed my mind as I love Laguna Seca as well. If it's not too much I could bite the bullet and have it stripped and rust spots fixed then totally repainted. My car is mechanically in fantastic shape, especially for having nearly 160,000 miles on it. I'm thinking of a full suspension refresh and probably new bushings all over soon though. (seriously I have the best mechanic ever and I will never go anywhere else. Thomas & Thomas European Auto Repair in Seattle, Phinney Ridge neighborhood.) Kenshin fucked around with this message at 06:57 on Jun 6, 2014 |
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Jun 6, 2014 06:31
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$1000-1500? Are they going to buy spray paint from the hardware store to do the car? That is way, way too cheap, even for a "deal" for a buddy.
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Jun 6, 2014 06:42
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Pretty Boy Floyd posted:$1000-1500? Are they going to buy spray paint from the hardware store to do the car? That is way, way too cheap, even for a "deal" for a buddy.
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Jun 6, 2014 06:57
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Do I need to run this special blue BMW coolant in my S52 (E36 M3)? I was planning on the normal green stuff. What could go wrong with that?
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Jun 6, 2014 06:57
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Do what it wants or it will explode.
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Jun 6, 2014 06:59
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Cojawfee posted:Do what it wants or it will explode. The ceremony and sacrifice makes the magical blue coolant work. Make sure you use the right breed of chicken and three black candles. But yes, give it the specified fluid, tolerances are the product of German engineering and at least one slide rule.
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Jun 6, 2014 07:01
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Ultimate Mango posted:Okay who here is an actual plastics engineer. If the issue is that the pump housing or impeller get brittle and break, why would that be miles based rather than time based? I suppose weekly replacement of all wear parts would ensure it is kept in good working order. I'm no plastics engineer, but the problem here isn't all that complicated; it's heat cycles. The thermal cycling stresses the parts in question and ultimately causes them to break. It would go a long ways to explain why they seem to fail like clockwork too. Pretty Boy Floyd posted:$1000-1500? Are they going to buy spray paint from the hardware store to do the car? That is way, way too cheap, even for a "deal" for a buddy. Just for information's sake, the cost of properly stripping and painting a car is about ten times this much...$10-15k. So unless you REALLY like your car, it isn't worth it. Cojawfee posted:Do what it wants or it will explode. I just can't see why you wouldn't use genuine BMW coolant...it's pretty much the same cost as a bottle of the green stuff.
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Jun 6, 2014 07:10
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MrChips posted:Just for information's sake, the cost of properly stripping and painting a car is about ten times this much...$10-15k. So unless you REALLY like your car, it isn't worth it. http://cars.costhelper.com/auto-painting.html On the other hand, I'm not sure if I care about my car $1,000 worth or $3,500 worth. Guess I'll have to get a real quote from my guy and find out how thorough a job it is. Kenshin fucked around with this message at 07:38 on Jun 6, 2014 |
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Jun 6, 2014 07:35
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Ultimate Mango posted:Okay who here is an actual plastics engineer. If the issue is that the pump housing or impeller get brittle and break, why would that be miles based rather than time based? I suppose weekly replacement of all wear parts would ensure it is kept in good working order. I always figured it was the heat cycling that wore out the plastics. Those engines get crazy hot. Hotter than any car I've owned.
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Jun 6, 2014 07:37
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Ultimate Mango posted:Okay who here is an actual plastics engineer. If the issue is that the pump housing or impeller get brittle and break, why would that be miles based rather than time based? I suppose weekly replacement of all wear parts would ensure it is kept in good working order. Yeah, it's cycle based, so number of engine starts, maybe with a bit of total engine hours thrown in too due to creep. Really, the only way to be sure is weekly overhauls. You might want to consider having a spare engine to swap in/out so you can fix one whilst using the other if you've got a busy schedule.
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Jun 6, 2014 08:32
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There's no temperature gauge on my car! I'm lucky that it threw some codes. I'm afraid by the time a warning light comes on for too hot it'd be toast already. Anyways it's an '06 with a little over 90,000 miles. Not one of the turbo ones, a 325.
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Jun 6, 2014 09:01
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I just had to replace the GDCS on my wifes 2006 530xi e61. It was original to the car, and the waterpump/something failed at 195k km. Luckily I had most of it in the house as I knew it was time, but was doing other things instead. Since its an x drive, the bav auto videos don't help much. You can't drop the sway bar to get at the hose clamps at the back of the pump, so you have to all the hard stuff from the top. Your turbo e61, I would change the waterpump etc at 60k miles, 100k km. Thats when we bought ours, and had the transmission sleeve done. To be safe, I should have done the cooling system then, but, it lasted 95k km before making GBS threads the bed, and thats with a cross country trip during the summer in there. Ours actually overheated, and went to limp mode. I was out of town, so my wife still drove it home instead of getting a tow. Im happy to say the limp mode worked as it didn't blow a head gasket. It did overheat some of the plastic in the cooling hoses, especially the head to thermostat one. It crumbled when I pulled it out, and I needed to get a new one of those. The pump itself looks fine, supposedly its the electronics that fail. Also could have been the thermostat sticking. I did get a code after all that work, but it was coolant too low. I just cleared the code and will continue to ignore things.
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Jun 6, 2014 17:20
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Hey meatpimp, search before self-diagnosing issues on well-documented vehicles. I've been trying to track down a rattle in the back of my E39 that's been there since I changed the brakes and installed a larger rear sway bar. I've been thinking it's probably the bar or end links, but everything was nicely tight back there. I took off one of the rear wheels and started tapping around and found the noise -- the inner brake pads. The tabs that go into the piston were too loose on both sides and allowed the inner pads to rattle. Bent the tabs out and the rattle is gone. Then I had the bright idea to do a google search of the issue and see that it's super common and the fix is to bend the tabs out. If I would have seen that before, I probably would have fixed it weeks ago.
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Jun 6, 2014 19:37
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EVERYWHERE 
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Get a friend to drive it around while you hold onto the rear bumper on a creeper. edit: oh, you got it. Reading comprehension!
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Jun 6, 2014 19:40
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meatpimp posted:Hey meatpimp, search before self-diagnosing issues on well-documented vehicles. Yup, very common. My car did the same when I bought it. Easy to verify because you can usually slam on the brake to get it to stop for a bit.
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Jun 6, 2014 20:33
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The blower motor in my E30 stopped blowing. I found this fuse diagram and the key says it's number 3 in here, is that right before I start loving with poo poo?
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Jun 6, 2014 20:53
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Now that the brake pad rattle is gone, my secondary annoyance from the rear is more prominent -- a chirping/ticking when going around corners coming from the outside wheel. It doesn't sound like bearings, it's much more soft/insignificant, sounds like a heat shield rubbing in one spot. Is there a common problem with this, too?
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Jun 6, 2014 21:55
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rscott posted:The blower motor in my E30 stopped blowing. I found this fuse diagram and the key says it's number 3 in here, is that right before I start loving with poo poo? I think that is correct. I would just check if any are blown.
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Jun 6, 2014 21:59
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Dantu posted:I think the interior on my e46 was better than the interior on my e90. The E46 is nicer inside IMHO than the current 2/3 series as well. The newer entry level models have really gone downhill and that makes me sad. The M235i I sat in at the car show a few months ago was less luxurious inside than the current Mazda3. Guess that's what you get for looking at poormobiles 
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Jun 7, 2014 03:25
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I just put a nissens radiator in my e39 and I am wondering if it should mount on the bottom in anyway. There is a decent amount of play in the front and back movement of the radiator. Is this how it's supposed to be?
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Jun 7, 2014 04:47
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Check the old radiator for spacers or rubber inserts, they are not usually included with the new rad
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Jun 7, 2014 05:05
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Yep, that was it. I found them, threw the car on the lift and my friend got on a ladder and removed the fastenings for the cowl and radiator. We were able to push them into place with everything still hooked up. Car seems to be running fine now, but I'm still getting g the check coolant level sign. On the other hand, the expansion tank bobber indicated it was overfilled. We did a pretty patient bleed. Am I missing something?
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Jun 7, 2014 07:30
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If the e39 is like the e36, it might be a bad coolant level sensor, but it's more likely that you didn't hold your tongue right when bleeding it. It's a dark art. (Drive it, thrash it a little to shake any air pockets loose, raise the front, bleed it again) televiper fucked around with this message at 09:38 on Jun 7, 2014 |
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Jun 7, 2014 09:35
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televiper posted:
That it is. I've replaced cooling parts a couple of times in the wife's E39 (L6) and found that filling it, then driving it a bit, and recheck when it cooled down was the least frustrating method.
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Jun 7, 2014 14:26
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If I'm at 78k/10 years on an E46 should I replace suspension of cooling system first? I have already done suspension like CAs, CABs, TRs. I mean more shocks+struts and some other bushings (I am pretty sure they are done by now it has been a very rough 78k on lots of bad roads and my car rides like crap). I don't drive a lot anymore (public transport commuting) and it would probably take me 3-4 years to hit 100k. The OCD answer is "both" but money is an object and I live in an apartment and have no work space, I used to do all work myself but it is too much hassle living here now so I will just suck it up and have a shop install parts I buy, so money is a concern and I'm not gonna do both right away unless they both catastropically fail at the same time. Infinotize fucked around with this message at 19:21 on Jun 7, 2014 |
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Jun 7, 2014 19:16
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I'm at 81k/10 years on my E46 and cooling system is higher on my list than suspension, though both are on the short list. The suspension won't leave you stranded like the GDCS.
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Jun 7, 2014 19:24
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Drove the car from the south bay to San Francisco 35 miles up 101 with no problem.I drove it into a parking deck with the AC on and it overheate to 3/4. I pushed it into a spot, but now I'm wondering what to do. Bleed it there? I'm guessing that is the only thing that it could realistically need. Edit: maybe it's because I topped off the coolant reserve tank with water this morning and didn't subsequently bleed. Pretty Boy Floyd fucked around with this message at 20:33 on Jun 7, 2014 |
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Jun 7, 2014 20:26
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Linedance posted:2001 was the last year of the e38, so I'd hope they would have worked out the bugs by then... Or is BMW not like other manufacturers in that regard...? Do you think they just stopped upgrading their flagship line year after year with the latest technologies? You're talking about buying the most expensive, tricked out, technology packed BMW available at the time. The amount of poo poo that can and will break is horrifyingly long, especially if you get one without extremely detailed maintenance records and a VERY thorough PPI. There's a saying about the 7 series that the only people who should drive them are either filthy rich or BMW mechanics. Seeing as you're looking at a 10+ year old car and don't know about the problems that plague them, I'm thinking you're neither. Size down to a 5 series or an E55, and enjoy frankly what is a better car and not having 10k+ repair bills looming over your head. Pretty Boy Floyd posted:Drove the car from the south bay to San Francisco 35 miles up 101 with no problem.I drove it into a parking deck with the AC on and it overheate to 3/4. I pushed it into a spot, but now I'm wondering what to do. Bleed it there? I'm guessing that is the only thing that it could realistically need. Bleed it is the likely option. Other thing to look at is to make sure your radiator fan is kicking on since this happened at (basically) idle. Infinotize posted:Words about Suspension vs Cooling System... Do the cooling system, like yesterday. Honestly, if you can borrow a friend's driveway, you can do the cooling system in a day. It's not overly difficult unless you have an automatic and have to deal with a fan wrench. Other things for you to think about doing are tensioners and belts if they haven't been done, as you'll never have more room to work than when you take the cooling system out.
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Jun 9, 2014 03:52
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Viper_3000 posted:Bleed it is the likely option. Other thing to look at is to make sure your radiator fan is kicking on since this happened at (basically) idle. Didn't really happen at idle, but good idea on checking the radiator fan. I haven't had any trouble since. I suspect the circling around a parking deck in first and stopping and starting exposed an air bubble. I bled it before we got going again, and will give it a serious front-end-jacked-up bleed this week. As for the other guy (and anyone else), do your cooling system immediately. It is very easy work and needs no lift or anything like that. Might as well do your belts and tensioners while you're in there, too. Seriously, though, the job is pretty plug and play and my friend and I did it without any manuals, guides or anything. The only annoyance we had was the fan nut, and we figured out it was reverse threaded by spinning the starter for a second. I figured I had a few more months on mine, but I didn't. Don't get stranded like I did.
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Jun 9, 2014 04:20
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Viper_3000 posted:Do you think they just stopped upgrading their flagship line year after year with the latest technologies? You're talking about buying the most expensive, tricked out, technology packed BMW available at the time. The amount of poo poo that can and will break is horrifyingly long, especially if you get one without extremely detailed maintenance records and a VERY thorough PPI. There's a saying about the 7 series that the only people who should drive them are either filthy rich or BMW mechanics. Seeing as you're looking at a 10+ year old car and don't know about the problems that plague them, I'm thinking you're neither. Thanks for the reality check, I think I needed to hear that. I suppose there's a reason the upscale airport limo companies use 5s and Es, not 7s and Ses. That should have been a good clue.
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Jun 9, 2014 05:59
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Linedance posted:
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Jun 9, 2014 18:23
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Hey BMW people. I'm thinking about giving up on my S60R given the need to replace the transmission, and possibly moving on to a BMW. I want a sports sedan whatever I do, and everyone says the M3 and M5 are the best. My question is, can I get one in the $18-22k range which is likely to cost me less than $2000/yr in repairs? I am not counting consumables (tires, brakes, fluids, maintenance) in that number, but I do mean as an average number. I want something that isn't very likely to throw a $5k repair bill at me like my R is fixing to do. Note that I would most likely be taking the car to an independent mechanic for most repairs, not doing it myself. My main things are, I want something that handles well, is fun to drive, and moderately fast. My R has plenty of straight-line speed for me at ~5.8 sec 0-60, but its handling is not the best and it has somewhat numb steering. It doesn't have to be an M car, I hear the 540i for example handles similar to an M5 but is just down a bit on power. I do not want something which is going to attract extra attention like a Boxster, S2000, etc. I realize this is the BMW topic, but if there's an Audi or Merc or whatever which would fit the bill better that's fine, but since my primary target is good handling and good feel in a sedan. Note that I'm not excluding things like the M3 coupe, I'm just saying sedan because I don't want a roadster or similar style 2 door sports car. Another thing is, I'm a fat goony goon so something with decently roomy seats is a must. I have yet to actually test drive any M cars (I'm working on finding the time and arranging it) so if their seats are extra constrictive they may have to be off the list on that basis.
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Jun 10, 2014 02:16
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