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I've whored this car around a little on AI, but I'LL DO IT AGAIN: 2002 BMW M5 with 32k miles. Recent mods: Shark injected  Britalman Exhaust Intravee II ipod integration Updated "MKIV" BMW Nav system w/ DVD Blacked out ovals (not shown) Ordered but not installed: RogueEngineering Short Shift Kit New stock wheels (current ones are chromed and ugly) That'll be all of the modifications for a while. The car itself is a ton of fun. It's a riot. With almost 400lb ft of torque and 400 crank hp, the ability to spin the tires (with DSC off) at any point in the RPM range in almost any gear is just giggly-fun. It's one of those cars that is completely point and shoot. Sorry for the long line of images, but I firmly believe the E39 M5 is going to prove to be one of the "last great" BMWs; before iDrive, the heavy duty electronics, and the heavy design changes. It's a classic beautiful car that hauls rear end. usurper fucked around with this message at 23:22 on Apr 1, 2008 |
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Apr 1, 2008 23:08
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AriocTheVagrant posted:EDIT: The wheels on my new e39 are in need of some restoration- nothing absurd, but I'm a perfectionist. I've heard of a Baltimore-Washington area mobile wheel restoration service that does really great work- any recommendations from Baltimore/DC goons? I do have a recommendation. http://www.wheelcollision.com/ You want to drag your wheels to Wheel Collision in Bath, PA. They do complete reconditioning, finishing, and straightening for a ton of wheel types (and especially BMW). I had some bent chrome wheels on my M5, and was looking to get back to the stock "black diamond" look. They found a used stock set for me, completely stripped them, straightened and refinished them. I had some new Pilot Sport PS2s shipped there directly from tire rack and:  WC gets recommendations on many BMW/Porsche boards, and I've had nothing but good service from them.
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Apr 23, 2008 02:13
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Nermal. posted:I have decided to purchase my dream car and grab an E39 M5. I can grab a 2001-2003 with between 40k and 60k miles on it for the price range I'm in. Now, I have heard some nightmarish stories about reliability on the E39 540i from close friends. Can one assume the M5 will be even worse? I have wanted this car since it came out... but not if I'm going to be driving, an engine light come on once a month, taking it in and finding out it's some carbon fiber super tuned m-racing part that is going to cost a couple thousand to replace. I have a 2003 E39 M5 that I've had for a little over a year now. I wanted to echo a few of Xenoid's comments and add some of my own. There is a considerable amount of difference between the 540 and the M5. The M5 (E39 and now E60) was/is the fastest 4 door sedan made today. It's a highly complex, very expensive piece of engineering. And due to that, repairs can get awfully expensive very quickly. Financially you need to be prepared for that. This isn't a car you "squeak" into and not leave yourself some overhead cash available for fixes. I do 90% of my own work on the car for consumables (brakes, suspension, bushings, etc, etc.), but there's also a lot on this car you can't really do yourself - specifically engine related issues - that you'll have to visit a dealer for. There's definitely an "M Tax" on the M5. For example, I had a front caliper piston rusted out. Boot was cut from a previous owner and the caliper wouldn't push in for new pads. Here's the 540 price for a replacement front caliper:  Here's the M5 price:  This is similar in many many M5 parts. Way more so that the difference for the parts for my E36 M3. The only other common failure area outside of the ones Xenoid listed include failing cam position sensors ($100+labor). Nothing horrible, but annoying to replace. All in all, it's the best car I've ever owned. It's incredibly fun. Very fast. Makes a fantastic noise. And in my opinion still is one of the best looking BMWs (and best looking sedan period).
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May 22, 2008 15:32
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Doctor Grape Ape posted:So I installed my UUC Red Tranny mounts last night and took it for a spin and there is quite a bit of vibration around 1500rpm and they transmit a lot of road noise while on the interstate. It's possible that I over torqued them and that's the problem, but I'd like to know if anyone else has an experience with them. I knew there would be a little bit more NVH, but this is far beyond what I expected. I was going to reply to you the last time you posted about this, but I figured you tried them out somewhere. You didn't over torque them, they're racing spec bushings. They're meant to be like that. Get the black ones that UUC sells, or stock. Rob @ UUC must have 8/10 of those orders come back on those. I also don't think you'll need those enforcers. They're overkill.
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Jun 29, 2008 16:14
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Adnuo posted:If it's normal for these engines to burn a bit of oil when pushed, I have no problem feeding it oil as often as it likes. However, from the reading I've done here and a few other BMW DIY havens, it seems that burning oil can also point to a few other problems, notably VANOS failure. So BMW gods, can anyone shed some light? I've owned 3 BMWs, and they've all burned oil. '99 328i, '95 M3, '03 M5. I think we have a similar driving style, and my oil usage in the 328 and M3 match yours. Usually about 1/2 qt every 2500-3000 miles. Nothing too significant. The M5 burns much more (probably 1 qt every 2500-3000 miles). Did you top off a 1/2 quart twice during this last oil change? If you're seeing an increase in oil usage, it could point to a whole lot of things. If it's consistent usage, I wouldn't worry too much about it. I agree with wolrah - Mobil 1 5w-30 doesn't match the BMW Castrol 5w-30. I don't think it's makes a massive amount of difference with the 330, but at your next change, I'd make the switch. The M5 is notoriously more picky on oil, I only use the BMW 5w-30 (Castrol).
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Jul 1, 2008 15:29
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Guinness posted:And maybe it's just me, but blue like that doesn't belong in any car interior ever, especially a BMW. Both are absolutely vomit-inducing. Blech. Same color interior options on the E39 M5 as well - I always thought it was hideous, but there are a lot of folks out there who love that combo. Especially over Avus or LeMans Blue exteriors. \/\/\/\/ I agree. Except for the totally awesome plaid interiors on early 911's \/\/\/\/ 
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Aug 6, 2008 19:16
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wwb posted:I'll try and figure out where I can jack up the car to have a look at the other stuff. How tricky is bleeding the brakes? Just a quick comment. If this problem has been there since your last brake service, then I would agree to look into the possibility of having air in the brake lines. It sounds like this has started recently and gotten worse? If so, look for something mechanical: pads, rotors, bushings. I doubt it would be anything having to do with the brake fluid. My guess is that you have some pads that are getting to the end of their life, and/or a frozen brake caliper. VVVVVV Tire pressures can definitely add to a steering wobble - but typically at higher speeds and both under braking as well as general cruising. Can't hurt, though. At the end of pad-life, you can get all sorts of weirdness. usurper fucked around with this message at 14:14 on Sep 3, 2008 |
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Sep 3, 2008 13:31
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Arwox posted:Yes the window does have a brake light. That's a stock M3 wing. I thought the design changed by '98, though. My '95 (sold) had the same setup, and those same screws were causing rust damage around the holes. My car ALSO had 2 'third' brake lights - back window and the wing. I was thinking that this was a dealer installed option, but by looking at the paint it looks like this was installed at the factory. I ended up selling the M3 before it got too bad. I did get a quote to have that wing pulled, those 4 holes filled/bondo'd and the deck painted: Somewhere around $500-700, if I recall.
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Sep 7, 2008 12:57
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Xenoid posted:Oops I guess I was thinking in terms of dollars of hours of work when I read it a few days ago. I hadn't read it since then. Still he says "I believe the job pays just over 40 hours with additional cost from machine shop cleaning and further inspection." so that's at least $5000 in labour (at a $125/hr dealer) so far, excluding the machine shop and final inspection costs. Whoever is paying for this is a moron. He could have gotten an LS2 put in there for less. It's certainly what I would consider doing if my engine were to blow. I'm not going to touch the carbon buildup issue, but this is a mix of engineering fault, as well as improper maintenance. There have been select reports of engines using 91+ octane gas showing heavy carbon buildup, but not many. Most cars with this problem have suspect backgrounds. Facts are that the carbon build-up issue in the cylinders should not occur with proper octane gas and revs > 3k. Regarding the CES light showing up for the Secondary Air System fault, it's a worry. This doesn't seem to be easily solvable through preventative maintenance. It doesn't effect engine life or performance, but will throw error codes due to this channel being blocked during cold-starts. Other than re-chipping the car with a different firmware to ignore this problem (creating terrible emissions for 20-30 seconds on cold mornings), there doesn't seem to be much else out there to handle this. As for the E39 chips, the Jim Conforti Shark Injector is not fluff. It's available for the E36 and E39. <$400 http://www.bimmerzone.com/BMW_Shark_Injector.htm It's no joke on my E39 M5. Dyno gains are impressive:  And the "butt dyno" gives a totally different, fantastic feel for this car.
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Nov 14, 2008 15:09
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Mad Dragon posted:Get the widescreen. I don't even know if you can get new mkII units. You definitely want the wide-screen NAV. maxallen is correct, but they made that widescreen switch mid-year I believe. There's still a tape deck in the widescreen, that upper eject button will have that screen slide down 3-4" and there's a hidden tape deck back there. Pretty sure that the CD option is a 6-disc trunk unit in ALL of these versions. That part shouldn't matter as you'll quickly want an Intravee / Alpine iPod connector setup to hook an iPod directly into that display. It works really well.
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Jan 26, 2009 15:05
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CornHolio posted:So I've been hearing this ticking coming from my engine compartment lately. It's still been really cold here, so that may have something to do with it, but it seems to happen even when the car's fully warmed up. The VANOS noise is more of a marbles noise than a tick. More like a rubbing noise. You didn't mention what car, but when I had my '95 M3 the biggest thing that would affect any ticking noise was the oil level. I used to keep that oil level a little higher on the dipstick and wouldn't hear too much, when it fell, that tick would get louder and louder.
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Feb 16, 2009 21:32
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CornHolio posted:yeah I figured it out, I just put a jack under it. Thanks. Actually, that bolt does have a couple of flat sides on it right above that rubber boot. I hear of a lot of guys who take a standard wrench against a grinder to thin it out for this use. My regular wrench fits in there just fine - that will allow you to crank that bolt down without spinning.
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Mar 29, 2009 15:36
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miklm posted:Cut the carpet. If you don't want to cut the carpet, there's a small walk through (remove speakers, pull on carpet) on the Pelican Tech article: http://www.pelicanparts.com/bmw/techarticles/101-Projects-62-Rear-Shock-Mounts/101-Projects-62-Rear-Shock-Mounts.htm Arwox posted:My e36 1998 M3 is confusing me. Have you replaced your diff fluid recently? Or messed with it? Steering wheel shake could be the LSD having fits and mucking with the rear wheel turning? Could also account for the heaviness in acceleration? Other thoughts are a stuck front brake caliper or something to do with the front wheel bearings. I'd drive around until it happens, then get home and get the car up in the air and see if you can feel some resistance on one of the wheels. I'd start with the front calipers/bearings though. That seems somewhat logical. Squeeky noise is power steering pump or fluid failure. Join the club, I think my PS hoses are leaking on my M5.
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Oct 28, 2009 15:53
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peterjmatt posted:VVV Edit: BMWs are in fact bad in the snow. Proper tires help a lot, but compared to almost every other car I've ever driven in snow (in a life spent in Boston and Denver) BMWs are some of the worst. They're still drivable, but as a general rule sporty, rear wheel drive cars equipped with open diffs don't make good snow cars. I agree to a point, but don't want to discourage people from buying rear wheel drive vehicles because of this statement. BMW is no worse than any other RWD vehicle, and I think it's a lot better in this regard than other brands. I've had an E36M3 and now my E39M5, and with Blizzaks on both cars. Both cars are incredibly capable in the snow with the proper tires and some precaution. DSC does a decent job of keeping things straight (when I want), and there's no difference in stopping regardless of what wheels are driving the vehicle.
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Dec 17, 2009 02:29
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KaiserBen posted:Ok, went to look at the M5 again. 75k miles, in absolutely beautiful shape with full service records, looks to be in great mechanical shape. Made the VANOS noise for ~5sec on a warm start, didn't hear it after that. Sounds like an old diesel idling, but a bit quieter. Wheels have some curb rash, but nothing serious, rear tires are a bit worn (~2mm from the wear bars while the fronts are 5-6mm). He has 2 spare wheels (one each F/R) that he's including, both are brand new. Everything electronic is in good shape, it all works, etc. That diesel idle is a normal S62 idle sound in the E39 M5. Mine does the same. $17k sounds slightly high for a 2000, but that Dinan Stage II is probably the reason for the slightly higher cost. Although $17k all-in-all isn't bad. I'd get a full PPI done by a decent shop to verify what you're saying.
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Jun 8, 2010 03:18
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