Common Issues...

[jturko]

I just bought a 2000 bmw 540i, i absolutely love it... no problems so far, fast, luxury and very nice car to drive, bought it off a friend who garaged kept year round and barely drove it, and when he did it was sunny out. The only problem is the engine light is on. he said hes had it checked out and its a faulty sensor. i read some reviews on the car and some people and the bad and the good. just wondering if there's anything i can do to stop any of the common problems from happening. (timing chain, oil leaks etc.) Thanks for the info!

[larrym3711]

The best way to avoid common problems is "preventive maintenance" for the more common problems with the E39. For now you need to get the error being reported via connecting an OBD diagnostic reader and report the codes here for advice on corrective action needed. Other posters can direct you to various links listing the most common maintenance concerns for your future use. Welcome to the forum !

larrym3711
2001 540iA Sport

[edjack]

just wondering if there's anything i can do to stop any of the common problems from happening.

In a word, no. All cars, regardless of brand, have their own failure modes, and they must be addressed as they manifest themselves.

The timing chain will outlast the car. There have been a few cases where the timing chain guides have failed. I have not read of any preventative measures for this condition. If it happens, the guides must be replaced.

The cooling system components will fail from age since they have a good deal of plastic content. A prudent approach is to replace all components, including hoses, at 90-100k mile intervals to prevent a catastrophic failure.

The E39 can be a rather maintenance-intensive car. If you are an experienced amateur automotive mechanic, with a very good selection of hand tools, you can address these issues.

If not, you will be at the mercy of the local European repair shop. Let's hope they are trustworthy and competent. Many are not, and the owner suffers, esp in the wallet.

[larrym3711]

I would also recommend joining a BMW car club (if there is one in your area ). You will find lots of advice and good times with the group's activities. In particular, even if you are a good wrencher and like to do your own work, you should find some source of BMW repair skills.....frequently an Indy of some variety. There may be times when it is prudent to use that resource when things get beyond your skills, tools, talent, or time.

larrym3711
2001 540iA Sport

[geargrinder]

just wondering if there's anything i can do to stop any of the common problems from happening.

In a word, no. All cars, regardless of brand, have their own failure modes, and they must be addressed as they manifest themselves.

The timing chain will outlast the car. There have been a few cases where the timing chain guides have failed. I have not read of any preventative measures for this condition. If it happens, the guides must be replaced.

The cooling system components will fail from age since they have a good deal of plastic content. A prudent approach is to replace all components, including hoses, at 90-100k mile intervals to prevent a catastrophic failure.

The E39 can be a rather maintenance-intensive car. If you are an experienced amateur automotive mechanic, with a very good selection of hand tools, you can address these issues.

If not, you will be at the mercy of the local European repair shop. Let's hope they are trustworthy and competent. Many are not, and the owner suffers, esp in the wallet.

Agree w/ all of this, but as I just posted on one of the guides thread Ed, the only thing I suspect is replacing the chain tensioner might be the nearest thing to an actionable preventive-maintenance item for the chain guides. I suspect when that gets sloppy, it will whip around and eat the guides faster. Granted its a theory at this point but I don't think it's a bad one. And to be clear - I'm not saying that guarantees no issues, just that the only thing you can do for chain guide prevention is that, plus, frequent, quality oil changes.

Also, to OP - sadly garages and shops are full of cars that had owners or sellers declare "meh just some kind of sensor or something" when the CEL/MIL went off. Yep. Could just be a loose gas cap. Also could be something much more concerning. Never coast on it without confirmation.

[edjack]

I second your theory about the tensioner, but have no data to back it up.

I also wonder what effect the VANOS has on the chain, as it is constantly tugging on it as the timing changes, and can introduce vibration in the chain. I note this, because I have seen no reports of guide failure in the non-VANOS V8.

[Cyrix2k]

Agree w/ all of this, but as I just posted on one of the guides thread Ed, the only thing I suspect is replacing the chain tensioner might be the nearest thing to an actionable preventive-maintenance item for the chain guides. I suspect when that gets sloppy, it will whip around and eat the guides faster. Granted its a theory at this point but I don't think it's a bad one. And to be clear - I'm not saying that guarantees no issues, just that the only thing you can do for chain guide prevention is that, plus, frequent, quality oil changes.

Also, to OP - sadly garages and shops are full of cars that had owners or sellers declare "meh just some kind of sensor or something" when the CEL/MIL went off. Yep. Could just be a loose gas cap. Also could be something much more concerning. Never coast on it without confirmation.
I would not replace the tensioner on a high mileage car. The spring is only there to hold the chain in place until the oil comes up to pressure - when the tensioner is replaced, it WILL allow the chain to move and can cause sudden failure of the timing guides/time system. IMO, it's like transmission fluid - it's best to leave well enough alone unless you are willing to replace the guides.

BTW, I have found the largest problem areas on my car to be the drivetrain (driveshaft, differential, axles) and suspension. The engine has been mostly trouble free although I've replaced the water pump twice (original water pump lasted 140k, the next one died early with 24k miles, and the third is still going strong). Overall, my 540 has been a great vehicle to own and it's still running well at 219k miles.

[geargrinder]

I also wonder what effect the VANOS has on the chain, as it is constantly tugging on it as the timing changes, and can introduce vibration in the chain. I note this, because I have seen no reports of guide failure in the non-VANOS V8.

Good point. The M62's sure do seem to be bulletproof in that regard.


I would not replace the tensioner on a high mileage car. The spring is only there to hold the chain in place until the oil comes up to pressure - when the tensioner is replaced, it WILL allow the chain to move and can cause sudden failure of the timing guides/time system. IMO, it's like transmission fluid - it's best to leave well enough alone unless you are willing to replace the guides.

BTW, I have found the largest problem areas on my car to be the drivetrain (driveshaft, differential, axles) and suspension. The engine has been mostly trouble free although I've replaced the water pump twice (original water pump lasted 140k, the next one died early with 24k miles, and the third is still going strong). Overall, my 540 has been a great vehicle to own and it's still running well at 219k miles.

Huh. Well I am well familiar with the don't-change-high-miles-tranny-fluid camp, but, I am definitely not in it for sure (my experience IS that sometimes a 2nd drain/fill flush cycle is good and even maybe required for sure to get all the old crap that's still in valve bodies, but I think the "don't disturb the sludge" policy is ridick caveman shadetree mechanic dumb stuff...), so I guess it makes sense I don't see eye to eye on the tensioner. If you remove the tensioner after running the motor, the chain should be hydraulically tensioned, there should be NO forces acting to turn the chain/valvetrain as you gently slide old one out, new one in, boom, done. And like not changing fluid, I don't believe it's good advice to not replace one that is slack and rattling on cold startup.

[Cyrix2k]

Good point. The M62's sure do seem to be bulletproof in that regard.



Huh. Well I am well familiar with the don't-change-high-miles-tranny-fluid camp, but, I am definitely not in it for sure (my experience IS that sometimes a 2nd drain/fill flush cycle is good and even maybe required for sure to get all the old crap that's still in valve bodies, but I think the "don't disturb the sludge" policy is ridick caveman shadetree mechanic dumb stuff...), so I guess it makes sense I don't see eye to eye on the tensioner. If you remove the tensioner after running the motor, the chain should be hydraulically tensioned, there should be NO forces acting to turn the chain/valvetrain as you gently slide old one out, new one in, boom, done. And like not changing fluid, I don't believe it's good advice to not replace one that is slack and rattling on cold startup.
The problem occurs on startup. The chain is only under spring tension once the tensioner is replaced until it is filled with oil which allows the chain to move around on that first start, damaging the old, brittle guides. I have a more in depth post about this somewhere - a member recently replaced his old tensioner and the result was exactly what I said above.

The ATF issue exists for a couple reasons. One is the deposit theory. The other is that old fluid that doesn't lubricate particularly well allows worn clutches to grab better than new fluid. Most people don't replace the fluid until after trouble rears its ugly head and damage is done. At that point, you're better off leaving the old fluid alone and running it until it dies as new fluid only serves to accelerate the failure.

[larrym3711]

+1 for gear grinder. My own experience has been that transmission fluid changes ( actually flushes ) has been very positive on two cars now. Both cars are well over 100,000 miles and the tranny works like a new one on both. Fluid changes via pan drop and refill is safer but less thorough than flushes, and the use of premium fluid is highly recommended in any case.

I believe that nearly all who have changed the timing chain tensioner have had good results , and while a very small chance of chain jump is theoretically possible , the probability of that happening is very small. The benefit of having a taught timing chain far outweighs that slight chain jump chance.

larrym3711
2001 540iA Sport

[auaq]

I was just on google searching for threads regarding M62 timing chain guide failures/symptoms/repairs/DIY/etc. The problem is that there are so many of those threads but nobody has really specified whether discussion is of the M62 or M62tu only. So, this begs the question, which one of the two is more prone to the failure? Let us assume if the tu motor is more prone than the non-tu then my next question is why? There has to be some other or additional reasons as to why they fail aside from just saying lack of oil changes or bad/poor design and material of the guides. Edjack has mentioned of Vanos as being a possible instigator. On that subject, is the Vanos a simple I/O switch or PWM on M62tu?

[Cyrix2k]

+1 for gear grinder. My own experience has been that transmission fluid changes ( actually flushes ) has been very positive on two cars now. Both cars are well over 100,000 miles and the tranny works like a new one on both. Fluid changes via pan drop and refill is safer but less thorough than flushes, and the use of premium fluid is highly recommended in any case.

I believe that nearly all who have changed the timing chain tensioner have had good results , and while a very small chance of chain jump is theoretically possible , the probability of that happening is very small. The benefit of having a taught timing chain far outweighs that slight chain jump chance.

larrym3711
2001 540iA Sport
100k is nothing. Most recommendations are not to mess with trans fluid after 100k-150k miles on the same fluid. With the tensioner, it's not a timing jump that's the issue, it's the state of the timing guides. It is not a good idea to subject them to any more stress than necessary as they seem to get very brittle with age. When left undisturbed, they seem to be fine.

I was just on google searching for threads regarding M62 timing chain guide failures/symptoms/repairs/DIY/etc. The problem is that there are so many of those threads but nobody has really specified whether discussion is of the M62 or M62tu only. So, this begs the question, which one of the two is more prone to the failure? Let us assume if the tu motor is more prone than the non-tu then my next question is why? There has to be some other or additional reasons as to why they fail aside from just saying lack of oil changes or bad/poor design and material of the guides. Edjack has mentioned of Vanos as being a possible instigator. On that subject, is the Vanos a simple I/O switch or PWM on M62tu?
vanos. There's been an ongoing discussion of that being at fault for a while.

[auaq]

Okay, so the Vanos motor or M62tu is more prone or that the M62 non-vanos does not fail at all. Still wanting to know if it operates through PWM or simply switched one time only from fully retarded to fully advanced position and vice versa.

[Cyrix2k]

Okay, so the Vanos motor or M62tu is more prone or that the M62 non-vanos does not fail at all. Still wanting to know if it operates through PWM or simply switched one time only from fully retarded to fully advanced position and vice versa.There's been limited reports of the M62 failing. The M62TU appears to fail far more often and this is confirmed in the e38 section. No idea on the vanos, although I'd suspect it's PWM given the age.

[auaq]

There's been limited reports of the M62 failing. The M62TU appears to fail far more often and this is confirmed in the e38 section. No idea on the vanos, although I'd suspect it's PWM given the age.

Yeah, I've seen it in the E38 section a lot. All I know is that the single vanos is simply an I/O switch whereas the double one is PWM. I'm just not too sure of the single vanos in the M62tu engines. The reason I'm asking about it in regarding the guide failure is if it's got something to do with how the Vanos works/operates. Is it possible that during the course of live cam timing is there some kind of a binding effect or a sudden tension yet instant timing change on the primary chain against the u-shaped guide that causes it to break down? I am referring the primary chain as the one that drives the intake cam driven off by crankshaft and the secondary chain will be the one that drives the exhaust cam driven off by the intake cam.

[geargrinder]

The problem occurs on startup. The chain is only under spring tension once the tensioner is replaced until it is filled with oil which allows the chain to move around on that first start, damaging the old, brittle guides. I have a more in depth post about this somewhere - a member recently replaced his old tensioner and the result was exactly what I said above.

Yeah, not buying it. An old tensioner in theory has a wanked spring AND will (like ALL tensioners) leak down and one would assume leak down worse than a new one... So an old wanked tensioner on cold starts after long parking periods is gonna be way looser than a new one w/ a new spring... (of course if you really worry about it, you can pre-soak it in oil like guys do w/ lifters...) If the dudes guides were so bad that touching the tensioner blew them out then I suspect it only accelerated the event by a few hundred miles, and they were hanging by a thread in there.

I will say I do know what you are saying on old tranny fluid, but I think the vast majority of time guys are better off taking the sludge out and putting good stuff in.
IMO the occasional "I changed fluid and my tranny died" events are one of the following:

the dislodged-sludge issue, which is really an 'incomplete flush' issue and can be cured by another flush or two. seen it, had it happen to me, and turn out great afterwards
underfill issues - can be tricky to properly fill some of modern sophisticated autos and get the TC loaded and valve bodies etc. to the proper level - seen this as well and also had it happen to me even w/ an experienced tech on hand. topped off and everything was great.
and then the very very rare situation where the tranny truly can't take the fresh fluid and is unrecoverable after something happens from flushing. in which case you probably just accelerated the inevitable by a few hundo miles again.


A lot of dudes and techs give up after first sign the tranny has crapped out so while they might be in category 1 or 2, the apocryphal urban legend suddenly becomes that it was #3 and there was nothing else to be done and the old f@rt geezers are ranting "shouldn't have changed that fluid, see! we told you!!!!"

I do realize there are people who are on such a shoestring budget and maintenance philosophy that they just want as many miles as possible out of the tranny, and for a guy w/ a super beater on a shoestring, OK... don't touch it... But in my universe, I would always rather try to do the right thing, with the potential benefit of running it another 80k miles, and accept the 2% risk that I could have one of these trannies that is so-much on its last legs that it craps out unrecoverably from having new fluid put in.

But I know you aren't real big on changing your opinion about things, so lets just agree to disagree on both... don't want to turn OP's thread into "yet another oil thread" situation about either tranny floood or tensioners...

- - - Updated - - -


Still wanting to know if it operates through PWM or simply switched one time only from fully retarded to fully advanced position and vice versa.

Good question. I would like to know this as well. I know the I6 early single-VANOS is the light switch mode. Hmmmm. {goes to dig through PDF's...}

- - - Updated - - -

OKey Dokey here we gokey - Cyrix is right in his suspish:

"The system is continuously variable within its range of adjustment providing optimized camshaft positioning for all engine operating conditions"

"Both camshafts are adjusted simultaneously within 20° (maximum) of the camshafts rotational axis. This equates to a maximum span of 40° crankshaft rotation. The camshaft spread angles for both banks are as follows."

494908

- - - Updated - - -

"VANOS CONTROL SOLENOID & CHECK VALVE: The VANOS solenoid is a two wire,pulse width modulated, oil pressure control valve. The valve has four ports;
1. Input Supply Port - Engine Oil Pressure
2. Output Retard Port - To rear of piston/helical gear (retarded camshaft position)
3. Output Advance Port - To front of piston/helical gear (advanced camshaft position)
4. Vent - Released oil pressure"

[auaq]

Ah. Good to know that they are PWM and extend upto 20*.