So is this the part where i make a thead about my 540i Msport touring?

[NLu]

and dennis i might take you up on that offer since finding touring rear door cards that have roller sunshades in the USA is very difficult

I thought all M-tech touring came with rear window sunshades?

[Redshift]

I thought all M-tech touring came with rear window sunshades?

Mine did at least.

[joekitch]

I thought all M-tech touring came with rear window sunshades?

not by default, no
if you run the vin number i provided earlier through bmwvin, and check the options, you'll see it doesnt have pdc, nav, dsp, or the roller sunvisors
not having pdc is actually a pretty big pain because if i want to retrofit it, you basically cannot find an mtech touring rear bumper with pdc. the touring rear bumpers are different from the sedan. nobody makes aftermarket ones and good luck ever finding one OEM. so i'll have to drill it



almost forgot;

[jp5Touring]

Did you sleep last night ? Like a little kid on Christmas.

[joekitch]

Did you sleep last night ? Like a little kid on Christmas.

slept fine, i'm a product of the internet so i like hype.
also; any excuse to use stuff from majora's mask is ok by me.

[geargrinder]

I thought all M-tech touring came with rear window sunshades?

me too but i can believe otherwise as well. I got it. but I could give a crap really, useless feature for me cuz no have stinky screaming babies to worry about.

[joekitch]

me too but i can believe otherwise as well. I got it. but I could give a crap really, useless feature for me cuz no have stinky screaming babies to worry about.

its nice for what is essentially removable tint, though. stacked on top of an actual tint job and some shades stick into the rear quarter windows and it can really cut down on interior temps in the summer....which is why i was looking into it the retrofit, but only if the right parts come along and i can just swap the door cards/trim with no extra work

[geargrinder]

Hmm maybe right. Maybe should try it when I use my front window reflecti thing next time.

[joekitch]

Hmm maybe right. Maybe should try it when I use my front window reflecti thing next time.

its a little tricky though, the roller sunshades are nice because they look professional, but there isnt any OEM sunshade for the rear side windows in the touring or the rear hatch window, but there are aftermarket kits over in the UK which provide those pieces
http://www.blinds4cars.com/acatalog/...un-Blinds.html
its $190 for the touring and does include shades for the regular side windows, if you dont feel like fooling with the roller sunshade thing.
i had this setup on my e91 + 40% tint + some eclipse roller sunshades for the front and with the windows/sunroof cracked my interior temp rarely climbed above 95 or 100, which is positively balmy compared to what it can sometimes hit on hot days in direct sun, probably saves the hell out of my interior too

[Mpowered02]

its nice for what is essentially removable tint, though. stacked on top of an actual tint job and some shades stick into the rear quarter windows and it can really cut down on interior temps in the summer....which is why i was looking into it the retrofit, but only if the right parts come along and i can just swap the door cards/trim with no extra work

I have the rear roller sunshades on my E34. Cool option, but on my E34 I find them pretty useless. But then again...that's probably because my E34 is in Manila and has super dark tint on all the windows as a necessity. The tint already provides all the privacy my family could ever need. I can see benefit of the roller sunshades on a car that has minimal/light tint...and if you roll with kids, etc in the back...

[joekitch]

alright, arrived right around 6:30pm after i realized the dude was on the OTHER END of the walmart parking lot. whoops.
it was dead on the truck, dead battery, his jumper cables were too short so i had to run into walmart and get some 20ft cables to jump start it.



IMG_20150724_184759.jpg




anyway, pics, and a list of issues i discovered only after it got here and i gave it a once-over.



IMG_20150724_185628.jpg


IMG_20150724_190654.jpg




being me, i went through the car with a sort of fine toothed comb but also being me, i turned the engine off while i did so....and the battery discharged enough that it wouldn't start again, so i had to get ANOTHER jump start from the family member that transported me there.


IMG_20150724_194820.jpg



The journey home was short and filled with very intense listening of every facet of the car. i'm pretty sure one of the wheel bearings is going out because i'm hearing something that sounds like a card in a bicycle wheel that's tied with speed, not rpm. also the brake pedal is quite spongy compared to my e91, although that may just be how an e39 is.

At home, it's hooked up to a trickle charger and will remain so overnight


IMG_20150724_201316.jpg




a couple things i noted that the PPI did not.
-the valve cover gasket is actually leaking oil a decent amount, very noticeable oil burning smell and a bit of smoke from the back of the engine

-driver seat twist when using the raise/lower function of the seat bottom


-keyfob completely dead, cant lock or unlock



-POSSIBLE parasitic drain? dead car after 7 days on the truck seems rather short.



-Rear gas struts busted, both main hatch AND mini-hatch



-windshield wiper fluid leaking heavily, line completely busted, leaking down the driver side rear wheel well liner and also down the hood when the hood opens (possibly break in line to the hood squirters?)



-missing driver side grill chrome bits



-some rock chips on bumper and hood, not certain if they've been there from the beginning or from transport



-"card in bicycle wheel" sound while driving, tied to speed and NOT rpm, noticeable at 20+ mph


i'll get it registered monday but i will not be driving it until i get the valve cover gasket sorted and a transmission fluid change

[joekitch]

more concerning things;
the car's been sitting for about 17 hours without the engine on, but the expansion tank is completely empty. i didn't see any low coolant warning on the drive back yesterday and there have been no drips overnight, also no abnormal smoke out the tailpipe which might have indicated burning coolant.....

edit: just ran it with the AC at full blast to drive the temperature up on purpose, seemed sluggish to do so which is a good sign
checked the expansion tank after running, the level bob had gone up and there was SOME coolant in there, hooray.
however i saw some little drops of *something* on the inside of the engine bay belly pan, below and a little forward (towards the rear of the car) of the expansion tank. i'm guessing it's coolant but i cant see from where its coming.

and the level of the expansion tank when cold is way too low, so i'll top it off and identify the leak

[geargrinder]

Dont fill expansion tank to the brim, right? The top of the little red peener just should be even w the top of the fill neck, no more.

No lights is suspicious. As in disconnected or broken level sensor. Should be screaming at you if the coolant is truly empty. Check to see if there is a disconnected connector on bottom of exp tank (the AUC air quality sensor is down there too and also will have a wire to it so dont get it confused w that).

You are better off putting the charger on the battery directly, not on the jump posts - open trunk hatch and then its behind the right side cover after you swing the subwoofer out. I would also use a better full size smart charger but if its what you got its what you got.

Sadly typical remote purchase situation. Tons of little stuff not caught in a remote PPI, and generously attributed condition (ie the bumper and other cosmetics). Bummer. Good luck obv. Plenty of support here for sorting out the troubles obv.

[joekitch]

well, i might hold off on the transmission service, turns out my old jack is way too tall to fit under the car unless i use ramps, and if i DO use ramps and get the front up, the rear diff jack point becomes basically inaccessible because its super low and very far forward of the rear bumper

time to bite the bullet and get a proper low profile jack i guess

edit:
and while under there, joy of joys, looks like i have the very beginnings of a rear main seal leak

[DennisCooper]

Hi Joe,

Just answered on your post in the main E39 section !

There was a full set of rear Touring cards with the sunblinds/shades and all the bits needed for a retrofit a few weeks ago for like around £230 to buy. Listing isn't there anymore but will keep a lookout. Another good aspect is I do know some of the BMW breakers over on bmw5.co.uk so can put in a request to let me know if/when they come up. If there is something over here that's needed, drop me a line and I'll help as best I can.

Cheers, Dennis!

[E39n00b]

As you may know already, the perceived valve cover gasket leak could very well be the upper timing chain cover.
Word of advice, if you replace the valve cover gasket and decide to knock out the upper TC cover gasket, get the vanos solenoid socket.
Dont try to remove it without it. Removing it makes the job way easier.

Also.... the eclipse shade is cool (no pun intended) but you could also consider tinting the windshield.
I've had 3 cars now with 15% all the way around with 70% on the windshield. Still blocks 99% UV but nearly impossible to see if someone doesnt point it out.
Most people still dont notice even after I tell them. Just a thought......

[joekitch]

windshield tinting is illegal in MA, you can only have a sunvisor strip at the top.
and the legal limit on the other windows is 35%, which isnt much

[tinius]

...there are aftermarket kits over in the UK which provide those pieces
http://www.blinds4cars.com/acatalog/...un-Blinds.html. Its $190 for the touring and does include shades for the regular side windows, if you dont feel like fooling with the roller sunshade thing.

I posted a write-up on the sun blinds here and some follow-on comments here.

They're available for $118 shipped from an eBay vendor in CA here. And I have a Flickr album with more detailed photos here.

[joekitch]

haven't updated this thread in a while
here's what i have poured into it since it arrived in my driveway in july.
i have a moratorium on mods and non-critical fixes until i figure out if i'm moving somewhere else soon.
[not shown, $1300 to ship the thing]

540i spent so far.jpg

i keep meaning to revert back to OEM angel eyes but i'm procrastinating hardcore. the previous owner soldered aftermarket angel eyes directly onto the loom so i had to research exactly what the OEM plug is, and the contacts that fit into the plug. i have them now but....procrastination...

[joekitch]

touring specific update:
planning for a cross country road trip and as such, i'm looking into getting a class 2 hitch added to the touring, so i started doing a boatload of research and centralized it all here:
https://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/s...-cross-country