My 2003 E39 530i Sport Champagne Edition II thread

[d_a_n1979 2,902]

11 hours ago, Mani59 said:

 

 

 

Thanks guys for your input.  Agreed, it is peace of mind and its something that needs to be done to help with the longevity and all that so its booked in for later this week to have the bits I mentioned above done at my local specialist.  Providing the snow melts and I can get out of the drive

 

I know they had a good look at the radiator when it was with them last time and said it was fine but I'll ask them to double check again.

 

Thanks!

 

As long as the rad isn't bowed at the bottom, it 'should' be fine... They are built well and do last well (the decent ones that is; Behr, Nissens or OEM BMW - which is Behr I think)...

[Mani59 49]

Thanks Dan, yes I believe it is the original Behr one (I would check but its still covered in snow).  I'll ask the guys to double check the condition again but it should be OK.

 

Thanks 

[Tuvoc 364]

17 hours ago, d_a_n1979 said:

 

As long as the rad isn't bowed at the bottom, it 'should' be fine... They are built well and do last well (the decent ones that is; Behr, Nissens or OEM BMW - which is Behr I think)...

 

Maybe better the devil you know.. lots of posts where people have replaced radiators only for them to fail in a very short time. Even if they are the OEM manufacturer, there is no guarantee that they are made to the same quality standards as the original ones were for BMW. The only fail-safe route is to buy from BMW if they are still in stock but that is an expensive option. Just my opinion of course.

Edited January 27 by Tuvoc

[d_a_n1979 2,902]

6 hours ago, Tuvoc said:

 

Maybe better the devil you know.. lots of posts where people have replaced radiators only for them to fail in a very short time. Even if they are the OEM manufacturer, there is no guarantee that they are made to the same quality standards as the original ones were for BMW. The only fail-safe route is to buy from BMW if they are still in stock but that is an expensive option. Just my opinion of course.

 

Wouldn't say fail safe is OEM BMW; the Nissens rad and Behr rads are just as good; and hell of a lot cheaper

 

Each to their own

[Toughguyhuh 29]

I recently replaced the original Behr radiator in my 530i and the replacement was a Mahler Behr (Mahler bought Behr from Hella). Sourced on ebay after pricing it up through various suppliers. It's very well made and was only £80 delivered. I was advised by some members here that Nissens rads are very good as well but had already bought the Behr one.

 

So it's not a very expensive option for peace of mind and was pretty easy to change out myself.

 

That's a beautiful car you have there, it's very special to have one with such low verified mileage and in such good condition.

 

I was thinking about doing a retrofit to mine with nav and hifi since I like the stock original look to my cars and then fit a Grom unit, but seeing as I have the low cluster in mine I don't think it's really worth it and I may go for an Android unit with "original" look. 

[Mani59 49]

Thanks guys for your input regarding the radiator.

 

10 hours ago, Toughguyhuh said:

I recently replaced the original Behr radiator in my 530i and the replacement was a Mahler Behr (Mahler bought Behr from Hella). Sourced on ebay after pricing it up through various suppliers. It's very well made and was only £80 delivered. I was advised by some members here that Nissens rads are very good as well but had already bought the Behr one.

 

So it's not a very expensive option for peace of mind and was pretty easy to change out myself.

 

That's a beautiful car you have there, it's very special to have one with such low verified mileage and in such good condition.

 

I was thinking about doing a retrofit to mine with nav and hifi since I like the stock original look to my cars and then fit a Grom unit, but seeing as I have the low cluster in mine I don't think it's really worth it and I may go for an Android unit with "original" look. 

 

Thanks!  

Regarding the aftermarket Android unit, you are right in that you can get some really good ones that do look at OEM as possible, something that was important to me too when I was looking at that option.  There are many experts on here that I am sure who will be able to advise much better than me but the below was what I read thoroughly:

 

 

 

 

[Michael:E39 15]

Be really interested to know how this refresh of the cooling system goes for you. As you know, this is on my E39 530i refurb schedule (see projects section). Not sure yet what I might be in for cost-wise. Broad idea of cost from your experience would be really handy (though I understand  perfectly if that’s being a bit pushy on my part). I’m figuring to get my radiator replaced at same time (in the hope some of the labour cost for that will get swallowed-up in overall labour charge). It seems widespread view that this job really is worthwhile for peace of mind. Possibly will  add value to car for eventual re-sale also. Cheers.

[Toughguyhuh 29]

16 hours ago, Mani59 said:

Thanks guys for your input regarding the radiator.

 

 

Thanks!  

Regarding the aftermarket Android unit, you are right in that you can get some really good ones that do look at OEM as possible, something that was important to me too when I was looking at that option.  There are many experts on here that I am sure who will be able to advise much better than me but the below was what I read thoroughly:

 

Thanks @Mani59, yes I've seen that post - and chuckled at the dig from @d_a_n1979 hehe

 

I'm going to hold off a little until I've sorted the gearbox issue and have some funds available. I'm planning on listening to FLAC files and also Spotify when I can't be bothered to change the files out. I wonder if the FM reception is any better on the units available these days? Otherwise I guess I'll just get a plug-in DAB unit which most seem to have as options.

 

For now I'm just fitting replacement speakers to start the stereo upgrade.

[Mani59 49]

 

On 28/01/2021 at 13:15, Toughguyhuh said:

 

Thanks @Mani59, yes I've seen that post - and chuckled at the dig from @d_a_n1979 hehe

 

I'm going to hold off a little until I've sorted the gearbox issue and have some funds available. I'm planning on listening to FLAC files and also Spotify when I can't be bothered to change the files out. I wonder if the FM reception is any better on the units available these days? Otherwise I guess I'll just get a plug-in DAB unit which most seem to have as options.

 

For now I'm just fitting replacement speakers to start the stereo upgrade.

 

Sounds like a good plan!  

 

 

On 28/01/2021 at 11:38, Michael:E39 said:

Be really interested to know how this refresh of the cooling system goes for you. As you know, this is on my E39 530i refurb schedule (see projects section). Not sure yet what I might be in for cost-wise. Broad idea of cost from your experience would be really handy (though I understand  perfectly if that’s being a bit pushy on my part). I’m figuring to get my radiator replaced at same time (in the hope some of the labour cost for that will get swallowed-up in overall labour charge). It seems widespread view that this job really is worthwhile for peace of mind. Possibly will  add value to car for eventual re-sale also. Cheers.

 

Well I had the cooling system refresh carried out and since there was nothing wrong with the old system, I cannot really say the car feels any different!  However I can say that I feel much better having had some of the key components of the cooling system replaced.  For me, I wanted to stick with BMW genuine parts (helping to keep the originality of the car) and that is what my BMW Independent Specialist recommended too.  So including their labour, it was about £550.00.  I could have done it cheaper using different parts but this was the easiest and most comfortable option for me.

 

The garage were really good in that they took some photos for me whilst carrying out the work as I try to document as much as possible:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks!

[Toughguyhuh 29]

That's very good of them to give you some photo records, sounds like a good garage.

 

As for feeling any difference in the car - probably only the feeling of knowing that everything keeping your engine healthy and at the perfect temp is brand new (and that you will have to be really unlucky to have any overheating issues in the next couple of years). That's worth the money!

[Michael:E39 15]

That sounds like an excellent price for peace of mind, especially with BMW parts. Well worth it I would say. And great that the garage not only kept the replaced parts for you to see, but photographed them too for your ‘history file’. I have to admit that one of my misgivings about getting my refurb work done through garages (as I have to) is not really being totally sure the work’s actually been done (at least for inaccessible parts). So, I’ll be requesting that whoever does the work follows the procedure your guys did. My concern and cynicism stems from the dealer from whom I bought the car who made  many claims about the car and the work he’d done which subsequently proved to be not quite the case. Thanks for the heads up on cost; it’ll give me a ballpark figure to work to. Thanks, it’s much appreciated.

[Mani59 49]

9 hours ago, Toughguyhuh said:

That's very good of them to give you some photo records, sounds like a good garage.

 

As for feeling any difference in the car - probably only the feeling of knowing that everything keeping your engine healthy and at the perfect temp is brand new (and that you will have to be really unlucky to have any overheating issues in the next couple of years). That's worth the money!

 

Thanks, yes I mentioned to them I am trying to document everything on the car so if they could take some photos of the work then that would help immensely and as you can see, they did which was great!  The history file is getting pretty thick now with all this work!

 

I have used them for work on my E46 over the last couple of years and they are a great BMW Independent Specialist.  

 

 

5 hours ago, Michael:E39 said:

That sounds like an excellent price for peace of mind, especially with BMW parts. Well worth it I would say. And great that the garage not only kept the replaced parts for you to see, but photographed them too for your ‘history file’. I have to admit that one of my misgivings about getting my refurb work done through garages (as I have to) is not really being totally sure the work’s actually been done (at least for inaccessible parts). So, I’ll be requesting that whoever does the work follows the procedure your guys did. My concern and cynicism stems from the dealer from whom I bought the car who made  many claims about the car and the work he’d done which subsequently proved to be not quite the case. Thanks for the heads up on cost; it’ll give me a ballpark figure to work to. Thanks, it’s much appreciated.

 

Thanks yeah for the peace of mind, I am really pleased it is done and that is another job ticked off the job list.  Now I can look forward to some visual improvement things like a professional detail on the car which is booked in for a few weeks time. 

 

Next mechanical things are a gearbox service (which I think you will be doing soon?) and replacing or fixing the rear water vapor barriers as mentioned by Dan.

 

The garage I use are great in that they do also send you a video if the find a problem and try to explain the issue as clearly as possible and before I authorise any work (much the same to a BMW dealer really).  The good thing is that I can download the videos and add them to my history folder with the invoice as proof that the work was carried out.

 

Yes I read your thread carefully and was a little surprised at the work you had to do given that it was mentioned when you purchased the car that a lot of work had already been done.  I think the positive to take away is that at least you are getting the work done and its added peace of mind that it is being done properly.  And it is a stunner!

 

Thanks!

[Mani59 49]

Hi all,

 

So the car has not been used for the last few days and I noticed quite a bit of condensation in the rear windows.  I also noticed that when I washed the car a few days ago, water was pooling inside the rear passenger side door which looks like the seal issue (carpets were dry).

 

I just did this test and it is exactly the same on the rear passenger door (all other doors are OK):

 

 

So my question is that is it the vapour barrier door seal that I need to replace (along with new butyl cord) or just reapply some new butyl cord tape stuff and leave the vapour barrier as is?

 

Thanks

Edited February 11 by Mani59

[d_a_n1979 2,902]

20 hours ago, Mani59 said:

Hi all,

 

So the car has not been used for the last few days and I noticed quite a bit of condensation in the rear windows.  I also noticed that when I washed the car a few days ago, water was pooling inside the rear passenger side door which looks like the seal issue (carpets were dry).

 

I just did this test and it is exactly the same on the rear passenger door (all other doors are OK):

 

 

So my question is that is it the vapour barrier door seal that I need to replace (along with new butyl cord) or just reapply some new butyl cord tape stuff and leave the vapour barrier as is?

 

Thanks

 

Yup; vapour barrier has come loose

 

Door card off (pop the clips carefully as they can snap); lift vapour barrier up out of the way (as long as it's not damaged); scrape old butyl tape off, clean residue off with WD40 or Autoglym Tar Remover. Dry off area, give light key with some sandpaper if you want; lay down new mastic tape, place vapour barrier down onto it and then press firmly to spread the tape out and create a good seal.

 

Refit door card; all done  

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/W4-Narrow-Mastic-Sealing-Strip/dp/B00J0X1BUQ/ref=sr_1_4?dchild=1&keywords=w4+mastic&qid=1613082676&sr=8-4

Edited February 12 by d_a_n1979

[Mani59 49]

Excellent, thanks Dan!  I shall get some tape ordered and then take a look at the vapour barrier when we get a break in the weather.

 

Thanks! 

[d_a_n1979 2,902]

1 hour ago, Mani59 said:

Excellent, thanks Dan!  I shall get some tape ordered and then take a look at the vapour barrier when we get a break in the weather.

 

Thanks! 

 

No worries. Keep your eye on the rear carpets. Unless you're forecast heavy rain, it's an easy enough job to do. 

 

Done mine before whilst it's been raining, just threw a large tarp over the car etc... 

[Mani59 49]

Thanks Dan, I shall report back when I have done it.

 

In the meantime, I decided to replace all 4 front parking sensors.  I'm not sure if it was the cold weather but they stopped working and there was no clicking sound coming from them anymore ( even the WD-40 trick did not work).

 

So 4 sensors ordered and replaced and they are now all working as they should.

 

Before:

 

Replaced:

 

 

Job done:

 

 

[d_a_n1979 2,902]

10 hours ago, Mani59 said:

Thanks Dan, I shall report back when I have done it.

 

In the meantime, I decided to replace all 4 front parking sensors.  I'm not sure if it was the cold weather but they stopped working and there was no clicking sound coming from them anymore ( even the WD-40 trick did not work).

 

So 4 sensors ordered and replaced and they are now all working as they should.

 

Before:

 

Replaced:

 

 

Job done:

 

 

 

Sometimes one bad sensor can knock out all 4...

 

So plug the old sensors back in, one at a time (the front corner connections are the easiest to use) and see which click/which don't and keep them as spares  

 

It's very rare that all 4 fail at once

[Mani59 49]

So this week was the first time the car was driven since the cooling system was refreshed and unfortunately, there appears to be a problem.  I noticed fluid/oil stains on my driveway (not permanent and since disappeared since taking the photo / within an hour) and then upon looking closer in the engine bay, there is some fluid on the engine floor.

 

Not sure if its oil or something related to the cooling system the garage was working on.

 

Coolant and engine oil levels appear to be OK.

 

I've emailed the independent specialist with all the photos and hopefully they can identify and fix the issue.  But super disappointing to have this issue straight after having the cooling system done.

 

 

Whites are reflections.

 

 

 

Thanks

 

 

Edited February 20 by Mani59

[d_a_n1979 2,902]

3 hours ago, Mani59 said:

So this week was the first time the car was driven since the cooling system was refreshed and unfortunately, there appears to be a problem.  I noticed fluid/oil stains on my driveway (not permanent and since disappeared since taking the photo / within an hour) and then upon looking closer in the engine bay, there is some fluid on the engine floor.

 

Not sure if its oil or something related to the cooling system the garage was working on.

 

Coolant and engine oil levels appear to be OK.

 

I've emailed the independent specialist with all the photos and hopefully they can identify and fix the issue.  But super disappointing to have this issue straight after having the cooling system done.

 

 

Whites are reflections.

 

 

 

Thanks

 

 

 

It could be simply that when they've bled the cooling system, it's dripped into the undertrays and because you've hardly used it, it's not had chance to run off etc... 

 

Keep your eye on it and see if you can see any obvious signs of leaks etc

[Mani59 49]

Thanks Dan for the advice, sounds very plausible! 

 

My only thinking is that that the car has been driven a total of 40 miles (ish) since I had the cooling system done.  10 miles returning from the garage to home on the day the cooling system was refreshed a couple of weeks ago (and then stood still for a couple of weeks). And then 15 miles earlier this week (after which, the leak was first spotted) and another 15 miles today which is when I took the photos / had a good look at the engine myself (it's been at my detailers the last few days).  So I was thinking should that not have been enough time for any fluids to clear?  It was a mix of dual carriage ways and country lanes.

 

I will keep an eye on it all and hope to hear back from the garage next week.  A good thing that the fluid stains have gone from my driveway by without any intervention from me and so were not permanent

 

Thanks!

Edited February 20 by Mani59

[d_a_n1979 2,902]

12 hours ago, Mani59 said:

Thanks Dan for the advice, sounds very plausible! 

 

My only thinking is that that the car has been driven a total of 40 miles (ish) since I had the cooling system done.  10 miles returning from the garage to home on the day the cooling system was refreshed a couple of weeks ago (and then stood still for a couple of weeks). And then 15 miles earlier this week (after which, the leak was first spotted) and another 15 miles today which is when I took the photos / had a good look at the engine myself (it's been at my detailers the last few days).  So I was thinking should that not have been enough time for any fluids to clear?  It was a mix of dual carriage ways and country lanes.

 

I will keep an eye on it all and hope to hear back from the garage next week.  A good thing that the fluid stains have gone from my driveway by without any intervention from me and so were not permanent

 

Thanks!

 

I'd say it's just undertray 'runoff' pal - The undertrays can hold quite a bit of grime; maybe worth getting them off and giving them a good clean if you can  

 

Wouldn't worry about it too much. Just keep your eyes on the fluids for the next week or so and if no further signs; it's fine  

[Pete Soulby 13]

Did your detailer do your engine bay?

[Mani59 49]

11 hours ago, d_a_n1979 said:

 

I'd say it's just undertray 'runoff' pal - The undertrays can hold quite a bit of grime; maybe worth getting them off and giving them a good clean if you can  

 

Wouldn't worry about it too much. Just keep your eyes on the fluids for the next week or so and if no further signs; it's fine  

 

Thanks Dan, good to hear your reassuring words.  Indeed, I'll keep an eye on it!

 

24 minutes ago, Pete Soulby said:

Did your detailer do your engine bay?

 

Hi Pete, no, he did not.  The leak was spotted before he started any work.

 

Thanks!

[Mani59 49]

Hi all,

 

So I thought I would come back and share the latest situation and fix.

 

The car was booked in with the specialist earlier this week and the good news was that they found the source of the leak.  The bad news was that it was the Transmission Oil Cooler that they suspected being at fault.  The undertray was covered in Transmission Fluid and so was the bottom of the radiator.

 

Anyway, after removing the Transmission Oil Cooler and running a compression test on it, they found a small hole that was causing the leak.

 

They then replaced the Transmission Oil Cooler and some seals, topped up the gearbox oil, replaced the coolant again, cleaned the undertray and so far, everything is dry!  I am really pleased to get the car back on the road so quickly so I do take my hat off to the garage!

 

I thought I would share some photos in case for future reference.  Not the best quality I am afraid since they were taken from a video they sent me.

 

Oil on undertray:

 

 

 

Oil dripping under the radiator:

 

 

Transmission oil cooler removed:

 

 

 

The tiny hole:

 

 

 

 

Thanks!