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BMW E39 528i daily

ducker85

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Time has come to get a new daily and I decided to get away from Holden. Euro or Japanese was my first question and with the price of the LS400 being twice what the E39s are, I got a E39. Not the best E39 around but its around the 190,00km mark. Has the update headlights and knock off M5 front n rear bumpers so that a start.

Things to do are; new intake boot, new control arms, new muffler and new window tint for now

Plan to drop it later 1/2 inch all round and get some nice 18's probably, upgrade the stereo and just drive it. I will mainly just log the cost of owning a 5er on here and see how it goes.

 

ducker85

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Changed the intake boot, it had a large tear in it (3" long) realized the MAF was unplugged so I reconnected that!! need to reset the ECU now. Looking at buying a front control arm kit atm but also after yesterdays rain I noticed the front passengers carpet is wet. So I need to chase that up too.

Intake boot cost $60
 

Gaiter

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Interested in this. Always thought about which way I would go after Holden and Aussie motoring dies (you know what I mean). Euro or Jap is pretty much the main question. Always liked the look of a nice BMW/Audi but am concerned about getting parts and mods, being they're Euro I've heard some unfavourable things about 1. Getting parts and 2. The price of these parts


Interested to see how you find it. $60 for intake boot is up there but Ive seen that sort of price before so not that bad.
 

wraith

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Looking good. Big fan of the E39. Will be the next car for us after the Volvo (7 seat family car) Parts are pretty reasonable if you know where to look. The internet has made life infinitely easier to find things.
 

ducker85

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$60 for intake boot is up there but Ive seen that sort of price before so not that bad.

Not really here's a V6 VT Commodire intake boot for $90 https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/281561734465 there's gonna be allot of online shopping with BMWs from what I've seen so far.

Wraith the Internet is making life easy atm there's like 15-20 different BMW forums to read from.

Traced the water back to the sun roof. Found the vent tubes etc but the sunroof doesn't work, so opening it to access the drain holes is going to be a pain. As I believe I need to remove the head liner.
 
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yZoH

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Another E39 on JC :love:

Looks tidy, I've had mine for 5years come December.

Running/maintenance costs haven't been any more than a Commodore.

When it comes to ordering parts it's more knowing the condition of your vehicle & preventative maintenance/being able to order the parts prior to them needing to be done.

The only time they may become expensive is if you ever need something NOW but even then you can find some good priced parts locally as well.

Looking forward to following this.

Cheers
Mat

In regards to the sunroof if the battery has been off/been flat for an extended period it may just need to be re-initialized.
 

ducker85

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Cheers Hozy I was waiting for you to chime in.

Spent yesterday looking at it and on Google. Water from the sunroof runs drop the A pillar. I don't want to fix the sunroof just the leak. The motor was clicking n grinding so I pull that out. The worm gear the sunroof motor drives is shot. The plan is to remove the glass in hope of gaining access to the drain hole. I can't find the front screws only the rear 4. Because I can't open the sunroof I can't take the screws out to remove the roof lining.

So I'm trying to find out more on removing the glass and I'll try again Wednesday.
 

ducker85

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Found the front screw and removed the sun roof's glass today. Most of the guided fell out by hand and most of the plastics are broken. Did the sunroof reset anyway and did notice the guide on one side trying to move. Put a little water in and found the spot it comes from. I think I'm going to have to fix the sunroof and while its open just clean the drain tubes out. Shouldn't be to hard.

Here's the water coming out about a inch away from the drain tube.

 

Gaiter

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That looks like a super nice fun issue to sort. Super tight space to work/look at, above your head for awkward maneuverability and water+electricity in close proximity of each other.

Do not envy you at all, hope you get it sorted but, always love that 'yes I fixed it!' feeling
 

ducker85

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So far I've changed the 4 front lower control/thrust arms. One was badly damaged and was causing some horrible noises/vibrations about 80kms. Still chipping away at the sunroof in between working and being lazy.

The front control arm kits cost me $230 and will need a front wheel alignment one day in the future now
 
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