"What did you do to your E39 today V2.0."

[computiNATEor]

Finished up basic undercarriage maintenance, neutralizing any small rust spots at weld seams and then covering with Por-15. Then I used rubberized asphalt to add another layer to what BMW already has there. Next I'm thinking of trying the ceramic coating again on the exhaust. I'll have to do a better job of cleaning it this time around since the ceramic paint became splotchy and didn't't take the last time around. This is on the 528i that I'm going to give to my daughter next year.

I'd like to hear how you ceramic coated the headers.

What makes all of this worse, I'm in the middle of a custom facelift headlight build with Morimoto D2S4.0, lcm iv, RGBW angels etc & a Big brake kit.

What big brake kit do you have in the works?

[XAlt]

Guys with southern cars, check your spare tire compartment. Even if the battery tray is spotless, you might find something there.

My car probably hasn't had a lead acid battery since 2010 but those 8 years were enough for surface rust buildup. I just put in a Group 65 and risk a buildup of semi-corrosive explosive gas, oh well.

[gmak]

Computinateor:

I didn't ceramic coat the headers. I used ceramic pain (VHT, IIRC) from the flange down to the muffler / scuba tank. Ceramic coating of the headers should include the inside or it just leads to the same problems of metal deterioration beneath the surface - or so I've been told

[RuskiE39]

Did it go to a forum member?

Unfortunately not.

[computiNATEor]

Computinateor:

I didn't ceramic coat the headers. I used ceramic pain (VHT, IIRC) from the flange down to the muffler / scuba tank. Ceramic coating of the headers should include the inside or it just leads to the same problems of metal deterioration beneath the surface - or so I've been told

Ah, gotcha. Was there a noticeable drop in exterior temperature with the paint? I'd like to reduce under hood temps (to preserve ABS lines and help radiator efficiency); is ceramic paint effective at this, or should I pursue header coatings?

[Sewciu]

Vanos seals from Beisan on M52TU finished just as the mosquitos were getting thirsty!

[Jason5driver]

Sold the 530 today sad day, but now I have extra funds for guides and other things for the 540

[amancuso]

Yesterday, I swapped out the busted-in-six-places center console in the M5.

[ross1]

Struggled mightily with the front strut pinch bolt, well corroded in it's aluminum home. Slathered it well with anti-seize paste on re-assembly for next time.
Why couldn't the Germans have done this?

[will308]

New shiny parts for the 530's cooling system, Stewart water pump, Behr radiator, Mahle thermostat, BMW power steering reservoir, assorted hoses, belts and clamps and an oil change, air filter and cabin filters.

[dannyzabolotny]

Struggled mightily with the front strut pinch bolt, well corroded in it's aluminum home. Slathered it well with anti-seize paste on re-assembly for next time.
Why couldn't the Germans have done this?

I'm sure living in Chicago has something to do with it... swapping the struts on my California/Arizona 540it was a breeze, everything came apart with just a ratchet, no breaker bars or pry bars needed.

[MehMan]

Turbo charge pipe burst open. Nicht gut.

Duct tape didn't last long.



A couple of days and two trips(because the internet lied about the hose size, shockingly) to a local hydraulics shop that had three ply silicone hoses in stock, got it fixed.



Bam, instant 25 HP.

[RuskiE39]

Getting ready to pull the trigger on an early birthday present m5 front bumper for myself. Anyone have any seller recommendations? I'm pretty sure they all fit the same anyways, huh...

[dannyzabolotny]

Getting ready to pull the trigger on an early birthday present m5 front bumper for myself. Anyone have any seller recommendations? I'm pretty sure they all fit the same anyways, huh...

Try to find a used OEM one from a partout or something, the replicas never fit right (as I'm sure you know from your experiences with the 530i).

[cnsorial]

Getting ready to pull the trigger on an early birthday present m5 front bumper for myself. Anyone have any seller recommendations? I'm pretty sure they all fit the same anyways, huh...

Yea. I don't think there's any difference between the umnitza or ddm ones compared to the eBay ones. May be worth it to get a CCA discount and go OEM


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[Xteve16110]

I don't want to admit I was wrong to my wife and sell it lol.

Good man!
My partner tells me mine is a money pit all the time lol...
I tell her it'll either this, or a motorcycle, or an aircraft.
At least she's a bit of a petrol head too, so she can appreciate it.

Absinthe makes the tart grow fonder

Hear it everyday.

[dannyzabolotny]

My girlfriend doesn't complain about my cars because ultimately my expenses for several BMWs is still lower than 6 years of a constant monthly payment on a $20k+ car. Plus with an old car I can run the cheapest liability insurance which decreases costs even further. We ran the numbers back when I had my Range Rover and deduced that I could daily drive the Range Rover for many years and it would still be cheaper (and nicer to drive) than our brand new Hyundai that we're still paying off.

[amancuso]

My girlfriend doesn't complain about my cars because ultimately my expenses for several BMWs is still lower than 6 years of a constant monthly payment on a $20k+ car. Plus with an old car I can run the cheapest liability insurance which decreases costs even further. We ran the numbers back when I had my Range Rover and deduced that I could daily drive the Range Rover for many years and it would still be cheaper (and nicer to drive) than our brand new Hyundai that we're still paying off.

You've got a point there! Luckily for us, we're fortunate to have all of our vehicles paid for at the moment. So Now it's just maintenance (The 3 newest still have factory warranty!)

[joekitch]

our brand new Hyundai.

i am so very, very sorry
hyundai has been improving but they have a very long way to go

[StRaNgEdAyS]

You've got a point there! Luckily for us, we're fortunate to have all of our vehicles paid for at the moment. So Now it's just maintenance (The 3 newest still have factory warranty!)

I'm fortunate that I don't have any personal debt.... Not even a credit card

Absinthe makes the tart grow fonder

[DustenA]

My girlfriend doesn't complain about my cars because ultimately my expenses for several BMWs is still lower than 6 years of a constant monthly payment on a $20k+ car. Plus with an old car I can run the cheapest liability insurance which decreases costs even further. We ran the numbers back when I had my Range Rover and deduced that I could daily drive the Range Rover for many years and it would still be cheaper (and nicer to drive) than our brand new Hyundai that we're still paying off.

Mine isn't complaining about cost. I own 9 cars, 5 ate nothing more than toys that see less than 2000 miles a year. She complains that I bought this car for my commute sweating it'd be reliable(previous owner screwed me good) and it's not. That's why she's pissed.

i am so very, very sorry
hyundai has been improving but they have a very long way to go

Weird. I have 70k on a 2015 hyundai sonata sport with zero issues. Routine maintenance and rear brakes. Nothing more. It's daily driven 120 miles a day.

[DustenA]

I washed it today. I also pulled the passenger door panel investigating why my auto up doesn't work. Turns out the strip at the top is faulty. I also replaced some broken clips.

[amancuso]

I'm fortunate that I don't have any personal debt.... Not even a credit card

Absinthe makes the tart grow fonder

Same here! Best way to live!

[computiNATEor]

Same here! Best way to live!

I read somewhere that if you have no debt and $10 in your pocket, you're richer than 25% of America. Kinda scary.

[dannyzabolotny]

i am so very, very sorry
hyundai has been improving but they have a very long way to go

It's a 2013 Elantra GT, so it's not the worst. I mean, it's totally gutless and the transmission is determined to suck all the fun out of driving it, but it's reasonably comfortable, has a decent sound system, and is dead reliable. It's basically my girlfriend's car at this point.

I'm fortunate that I don't have any personal debt.... Not even a credit card

Nice! I wish I would have been smarter about credit cards when I first got them... I went a little nuts and now I have two credit cards with rather high balances that I'm paying off bit by bit. I also used a personal loan to buy my first decent E39 for $6k, so that's still being paid off as well.

If I had to do it all over again I'd just be more patient and save up the cash for an E39 instead of getting a loan for it, but I was 22 and quickly needed a second car when my girlfriend got a job that made sharing one car impossible. Oh well. On the bright side, I should be free of all debts within a year or two, as long as I avoid using credit cards and whatnot.

Mine isn't complaining about cost. I own 9 cars, 5 ate nothing more than toys that see less than 2000 miles a year. She complains that I bought this car for my commute sweating it'd be reliable(previous owner screwed me good) and it's not. That's why she's pissed.

Weird. I have 70k on a 2015 hyundai sonata sport with zero issues. Routine maintenance and rear brakes. Nothing more. It's daily driven 120 miles a day.

Ah, I see. It's rather unfortunate that the previous owner of your E39 was so dishonest about it, I hate people like that. I've been daily driving an E39 for a while now with almost no issues, even though I usually buy them with pretty high mileage (I'm at 190k now on the 540it and my previous 540i/6 had nearly 200k). I've had to replace a radiator and overhaul the suspension but neither of those prevented me from getting to work. In fact, I haven't missed a single day of work in over 2 years because of driving supposedly "unreliable" German cars.