Finally upgraded to the E39!

[Aryana]

There's a member in Europe, who get them pretty often and posted in the classified section. eBay has some too.
Your E39 is CLEAN, Aryana.

Thanks! I'll be doing my best to keep it that way!

[Jose E34]

Thanks. I would love to tint but CA doesn't allow the front side windows and I don't want just the rear tinted.

Ahh. That sucks. Rules they make up now a days.. well the car is still going to look good regardless.

[nightowl490]

Jose, the clicking noise you are hearing..............is it a tick tick tick.... That is the top of the motor until oil reaches it. Does it do it every single start or just every so often? MINE does the same thing but not every single start. I believe this is normal engine noise until oil pressure hit top of the engine. Keep an eye on oil and I plan on moving from Kendall Synthetic to another oil to see if this assists the tick tick tick....... Keep me posted

[Aryana]

Installed the Audiovox DICE MediaBridge today. Found it at a local stereo shop for $159, which was cheaper than anything online and I didn't have to wait to have it shipped (part number A-MBR-1500-BMW).

Instead of routing the cables through the car like the instructions wanted, I decided to install the DICE module in the trunk. I didn't want to run the cable for their microphone from the trunk up to the headliner either, so I glued the microphone behind the trim piece in the OEM overhead location, and spliced into the 3-pin connector for the BMW OEM microphone wiring.

Next was to find out where the wires terminated in the trunk. E39s built after 03/02 have a 54 pin male connector instead of the female DB25 in the trunk for the ULF Bluetooth module. I got really lucky and the first two pins I tested were the right ones going up front to the mic! That never happens to me...but after tapping into these pins, I just plugged it into the DICE module and it worked.

After it all booted up, I tested Pandora, made some calls, and even Siri works. All the steering wheel buttons work too. I'm pleased and think installing the module in the trunk makes way more sense and was almost plug and play with no hassle of running any wires through the car.

Only used 2 of the 3 available pins for the overhead mic:


3M VHB tape mounted the module nicely:

[Aryana]

100,020 miles today, so I removed and replace all 6 spark plugs. Pulled out original BMW NGK BKR6EQUP and replaced with the same ones.

Didn't look too bad for 100k miles over 10 years. I expected worse.



Also upgraded my DISA valve to the German Auto Solutions setup. I have all my old parts that are in almost perfect shape (even managed to save the clip). The retaining pin still fits real tight into the valve as well.

If anyone wants them, send me a PM and they're yours for the price of postage.

[OnTheFence]

100k and the DISA was perfectly fine.
This is one of the most overhyped problems on the forums.
I replaced my DISA at 120k miles and my old one was perfectly fine.
Waste of money.

[kowalczuk]

lovely hope you enjoy it as much as the other one !

[AnotherGeezer]

100k and the DISA was perfectly fine.
This is one of the most overhyped problems on the forums.
I replaced my DISA at 120k miles and my old one was perfectly fine.
Waste of money.

Still doesn't hurt to at least check it. Might need a new o-ring if you don't swap it out but a DISA failure that involves parts coming apart could prove catastrophic. I replaced mine at 125k and found the pin loose as well as a non-operational flapper.

[Aryana]

This whole car is a waste of money, LOL! The DISA valve upgrade cost less than a tank of gas and I plan on putting 300k+ miles on this engine. I managed to put 332k on my last M50b25 and it was still running strong after 21 years. I saw more than a few plastic bits/parts get really brittle and break on that engine.

Now I don't have to worry about the plastic falling apart and getting sucked into the engine over the next 10 years.

But don't worry, I'm used to wasting money replacing perfectly good parts before they fail on all my vehicles. I haven't had to pull over to the side of the road in any of them yet, so yeah...I will enjoy the new metal valve as much as the old plastic one.

60 year old airplane with almost 5k hours
14 year old sport bike with 70k miles
17 year old 4wheeler that gets hammered on the trail
12 year old cruiser that still looks brand new after 20k miles
10 year old Bimmer that is a young baby compared to what it replaced (1992 E34 with 332k miles)

[carlova789]

100k and the DISA was perfectly fine.
This is one of the most overhyped problems on the forums.
I replaced my DISA at 120k miles and my old one was perfectly fine.
Waste of money.

Mine failed at like 130k

[Aryana]

I decided to replace the 2 pre-cat oxygen sensors at 100k miles. I thought I read somewhere that the 2 post-cat sensors are just to make sure the cats are working and that the pre-cat sensors are the ones used to adjust the engine mgmt/fuel mixture? Is that right? I'm thinking about not changing the post-cat sensors since I don't think new ones will do much for me.

[Aryana]

Documenting more upgrades for this car in case I sell it someday...

Burned out Xenon bulb and when I went to change it the plastic headlight adjuster broke.

Took out both headlights, cleaned them up, and did the "ship in a bottle" removal and replacement of the headlight adjusters with upgraded aluminum ones.

Also replaced the rubber seal from the housing to the hood. And decided to replace both headlights together as recommended to keep the color even on both sides.

[Aryana]

Well after spending $3k in parts to get the preventative maintanance dialed in on the engine, suspension, & body, it's time to throw some money at some fun stuff.

I bought a Dinan cold air intake & throttle body...should have it installed next week.

Anyone get the Stage 3 engine flash from Dinan and can provide some feedback?

Thinking about getting the software flash & Dinan rexhaust at the same time down the road. Probably get a M-tech rear bumper at the same time too.

This car has cost a bunch in parts but it's been worth it IMO. Had a nice sunset today right after a quick wash/wax so I snapped a couple iPhone photos.

[Mannyf540]

Beautiful pics !!

[Jason726]

Removed the ash tray and replaced it with the coin tray too.

What's under the sliding armrest that prevented them from putting more storage in the center console?

You've a very nice E39! I also like the idea of swapping a coin tray for the ash tray, though it would be better to not lose the 12V outloet.

To answer your question about the armrest (I know others have chimed in already), I am attaching a link with part numbers and how to. Maybe it can save you some time searching the classifieds. It is one that I have added to my list of future projects for my touring.

http://www.bmwtips.com/tipsntricks/Armrest/armrest.htm

[Aryana]

Thank you! I hope to try my best to keep it in good shape for as long as possible.

Those part numbers are most helpful, thanks for the link.

[Aryana]

Replaced the front thrust arm bushings last night. Shake is gone! Harbor freight hydraulic puller + BMW sleeves made it stress free.

[OnTheFence]

You replaced the rubber instead of spending $250 on 2 new thrust arms, correct?
Can you post a link to the tools you used?

[Aryana]

Yes. I suspected that my ball joints were fine, but the rubber bushings had failed so I just replaced the bushings. Once I unbolted the thrust arm from the subframe, I was able to verify that the ball joint was in good shape and that the bushings were the problem. Had the ball joints exhibited any radial or axial play, I would have stopped and bought the arms as well.

$82.95 for the front bushings (this is the 6 cyl part, 8 cyl uses a different part) - PN 31 12 9 068 753 at http://www.bavauto.com
$52.49 for the 5 ton hydraulic puller - Item #95326 at http://www.harborfreight.com (I used a 25% off coupon, it was $69.99 list price)
$34.00 for the press sleeves - PN 83 30 0 491 942 at my BMW dealer http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum...7#post27141297
$5 for the press cap that I bought from the local steel supply house and hollowed out with my lathe. You could just buy a 1 1/2" socket weld pipe cap instead as shown on the Besian site instructions if you don't want to fabricate anything: http://beisansystems.com/procedures/..._procedure.htm

So for $175 I ended up fixing my problem and now I have the tools to do it again next time for only $83.

It took me only a little more than an hour to do both sides using a variation of the Besian instructions. Instead of using the puller jaws directly on the thrust arm, I used the large BMW sleeve to protect the arm from getting damaged. In addition, I pressed the old bushing out until there was only 1/4" remaining inside the arm, and left it there as I pressed the new bushing in. This allows the large sleeve to stay in place while the puller does its magic. I don't know if any of this makes sense, but the puller made the job so easy. I can't imagine trying to do this with a hand crank puller.

I originally wanted to modify sections of pipe and weld them to the puller to create a hand held press so that you just slipped it over the arm and pumped, but that will have to wait for next time.

[Aryana]

Just installed the Dinan CAI, high flow throttle body arrives next week.

I don't think the CAI installed alone has resulted in any power increase, but it sure sounds a lot nicer and I like fit and finish of the Dinan system in comparison to the stock box.

Will see how it all feels when the stage 3 software + throttle body + CAI are all installed together. I know, I know...it's a waste of money. Well so is buying a E39, LOL!!! I could have just bought a Toyota if I wanted to save money.

[tmvE39E53Z32TT]

Need to finish it off with a Dinan exhaust and tranny software.
I bought my bimmers with all the Dinan parts installed already. I wouldn't know anything about "saving" money on them

[Aryana]

Funny you mention that...I was just debating if I should get the dual tip version that installs under my existing bumper, or get the single outlet version that requires the M-Tech bumper. I'm leaning towards the single outlet with the M-Tech bumper!

http://www.dinancars.com/products/5-...ar-Bumper.aspx

Sport_muffler-02.jpg

[tmvE39E53Z32TT]

You can trim the bumper to show the tip. However, M-tech bumper would be much better.

[Aryana]

It looks pretty damn good in your sig...I can't pass it up.

[tmvE39E53Z32TT]

It looks pretty damn good in your sig...I can't pass it up.

Larger pic with new wheels. Looking to sell my M-Pars too.