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

[Manny G.]

today I decided to look into just how badly my headlight adjusters were broken. All 4 were indeed broken , and my bonus surprise, the entire reflector housing inside the passenger side headlight is cracked in half... making the high beam and low beam 2 individual parts.



.... oh and the headlights are '03 production so baking them open wont happen. I'll be practicing playing Operation before taking the JB Weld to the inside of the headlight being that they're Euro Hella housings.

going to order these and be done with it.
s-l1600.jpg

[BarryM]

the entire reflector housing inside the passenger side headlight is cracked in half....... before taking the JB Weld to the inside of the headlight. ]

Take some photos of this as I can’t imagine it’s possible!


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[Manny G.]

Take some photos of this as I can’t imagine it’s possible!


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I'll try.. Im not all that great at taking pictures while I work on my cars, having my phone too handy becomes very distracting.

Here is a picture of the crack I'll be trying to do surgery on.

IMG_20190320_151827.jpg

[BimmrMeUpSnotty]

How the heck did it crack in half like that? Manny, I’ll look through my spare headlight bits, I have a whole pile of halogen bits too, let me know if you want one, specify which side that is.

[BimmrMeUpSnotty]

Oh, just noticed that you won’t be opening it up. I’ve done so on the housing that are unbakeable, it’s more work, plus you need to buy new lenses.
let me know where you sourced those metal adjusters, I should have just gone that route on my last headlight operation.

[Manny G.]

Oh, just noticed that you won’t be opening it up. I’ve done so on the housing that are unbakeable, it’s more work, plus you need to buy new lenses.
let me know where you sourced those metal adjusters, I should have just gone that route on my last headlight operation.

ALL metal adjusters are here:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/BMW-E39-5-S...MAAOSwFnxac2ac

The lenses on my headlights are MINT, I really dont want to rip them off.. I'm going to try and go at it the hard way keeping in mind that its the hard way, sometimes that makes it easier lol.

As for how it happened,... thinking back, I think it happened one cold night in NJ about 5 years ago when one of my high beams went out driving through a dark area, i tried to pull over and change the bulb while it was maybe 15-20 degrees out, and while fighting the cold and the frustrating amount of space left to slip the bulb back in, I probably pushed too hard. I remember hearing a crack, then forgetting all about it until I recently had the lenses refinished and clear coated, and had such a hard time adjusting that side.

[computiNATEor]

Today I found the (mainly) driver's side front had been pelted with small rock damage. I did NOT hear this happen while driving it...pretty much the front bumper, hood, and even the leading front fenders in front of the wheel wells...and a few chips as far back as the driver's side read door. With e few exceptions they are small, like the tip of a ballpoint pen. I'm sickened, as the car was NOT like this 2 days ago and the paint was in immaculate condition for its age....it either happened on I80 or some nefarious type with a blower "cleaning" a parking lot....grr....WHY?

Use the tips seen in this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uz-zW-cLdUs

[RuskiE39]

Yesterday I got the driver side valve cover all ready for removal, I also disconnected the driver side motor mount in preparation to lift the engine a tad so that I can inspect the header bolts and make sure they are torqued down fully. Before wrapping up the day I crawled underneath and visually confirmed that I can access at least (3) of the lower rear bolts from under the car which is some good news. One of the header heater plates did have to be removed but it was only held in place by 3 small screws and easily accessible to remove.

When I return home from work tonight I will remove the valve cover to get some extra clearance and proceed with checking all the bolts and then wrap up the VCG and that should be all the oil leaks for this ol M62TU (and exhaust leaks lawd willing). Then it's onto the power steering leak which appears to just be the crush washer at the pump end.

Update - After looking closer at the area that my exhaust shop guy told me the was leaking (driver side cylinder closet to firewall) had clear signs of black soot. I was able to get an 11 mm wrench onto the bolt and surprisingly enough both bolts were loose! I was able tighten them down nice and tight, nothing else was loose and I was able to reach all the header bolts without lifting the engine any.

Tomorrow morning I will get the valve cover on (yes the valve cover needs to be off to reach the bolts from the engine bay) and hopefully all will be good! Then it's off to get my new tires installed. Super stoked for the results...

[zener]

Bought Styling 81's and sold my 66's.



Still haven't decided what 19" wheels I should get for the summer though...

[lucas999]

Went to replace the CCV, and ended up removing the intake manifold in a fit of rage. What other things should I plan on replacing while I've got the manifold off? I've got new vacuum caps on already, and plan on getting a new manifold gasket. Anything else? I'm considering replacing the heater core hoses, but the look/feel in pretty good shape, and since the E39 will soon be retired from daily-driver status, I'm not sure its worth it, especially since the coolant is all new.

IMG_1178.jpgIMG_1184.jpg

[RuskiE39]

Went to the beach then went to the lake lol.

[98OrientBlue]

hood.jpg
had hood repainted, replaced nostrils with shiny new ones, new headlight covers w smoked corners.

[mattmar1]

OFHG and VCG, OFHG was kaput, found the VCG had been replaced by PO, but nary a drop of sealant had been used in the repair. dry as a bone now.

[RuskiE39]

Anyone happen to know off the top of their heads what the correct rechargeable key fob battery is? Mine finally died.

[bossman1]

Anyone happen to know off the top of their heads what the correct rechargeable key fob battery is? Mine finally died.

If im not mistaken it is LIR 2025. And involves cutting open remote.

[RuskiE39]

If im not mistaken it is LIR 2025. And involves cutting open remote.

Correct, i'm familiar with the procedure but there has been some debate on the correct battery type and using a "rechargeable" type... maybe I'm mistaken.

[computiNATEor]

Backstory - my S62 had a rod knock.

Update - I tore down the engine with the help of a friend. Discovered that the crankshaft is worn out of spec, and I will need to replace it. Yay... $3000+ here we come.

[scottieducati]

OE or what? That sucks but if it makes you feel better cranks for my wee little Honda 400cc V4 are rendered useless at the slightest scuff (can’t weld and repair em, they all break). Used cranks are pushing a grand, billet are $4k or so. that’s all for ~83 HP so I’d say $3k for a crank that’ll take 500++ ain’t so bad actually


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[computiNATEor]

OE or what? That sucks but if it makes you feel better cranks for my wee little Honda 400cc V4 are rendered useless at the slightest scuff (can’t weld and repair em, they all break). Used cranks are pushing a grand, billet are $4k or so. that’s all for ~83 HP so I’d say $3k for a crank that’ll take 500++ ain’t so bad actually


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Nah, that's all-in. Crank, bearings, clutch, chains/guides, and probably some ancillaries. I'm buying a used crank from a friend who had to rebuild his S62 because he had piston-to-valve contact.

[scubajim20]

today I decided to look into just how badly my headlight adjusters were broken. All 4 were indeed broken , and my bonus surprise, the entire reflector housing inside the passenger side headlight is cracked in half... making the high beam and low beam 2 individual parts.



.... oh and the headlights are '03 production so baking them open wont happen. I'll be practicing playing Operation before taking the JB Weld to the inside of the headlight being that they're Euro Hella housings.

going to order these and be done with it.
s-l1600.jpg

Damn wish I knew there was a metal option. Just did mine this past summer with some plastic ones.

[effduration]

Went to replace the CCV, and ended up removing the intake manifold in a fit of rage. What other things should I plan on replacing while I've got the manifold off? I've got new vacuum caps on already, and plan on getting a new manifold gasket. Anything else? I'm considering replacing the heater core hoses, but the look/feel in pretty good shape, and since the E39 will soon be retired from daily-driver status, I'm not sure its worth it, especially since the coolant is all new.

I would definitely replace the heater core pipes while you are in there....chances are you won't have to pull the manifold again. the pipes are almost certainly rotten where they connect into the head. This is also where they leak. Buy good quality replacements.

[philly98540]

Backstory - my S62 had a rod knock.

Update - I tore down the engine with the help of a friend. Discovered that the crankshaft is worn out of spec, and I will need to replace it. Yay... $3000+ here we come.

That sucks Nate. I was wondering where you were with the M5 engine. I know you drove it cross country to get it home and all was good and solid, so I doubt the previous owner was hiding anything in regard to the bearings. I guess it was just bad luck they went south on you so soon. Were you beating the hell out of it when they went bad? Anything odd?

You going to post up a S62 rebuild thread on here? Be a good change of pace from EWS sync threads (barf).

[geargrinder]

Yeah - all sympathies Nate. At least you'll know you have a motor thats all refreshed and 110% great when its over and the car will be worth investing in for the long haul.

Be a good change of pace from EWS sync threads (barf).

LOL. YES x1000. I'm taking a BimFo holiday for a few reasons these days but banging my head against the wall in EWS Sync threads until I start to behave in an ungentlemanly manner is one of them...

<--- Actual live-action GIF of GG after trying to walk somebody else through EWS facts of life...

[dannyzabolotny]

I'd be stoked to rebuild an S62 if the opportunity came up, haha. Cracking engines open is a ton of fun, especially if you've got a whole shop at your disposal.

[BimmrMeUpSnotty]

Hey John, screw the snoobs, ignore them, not worth getting your blood pressure up for. If they don’t want to listen, let them be. They can brick their sh!t, and then maybe next time , they pay attention.

Dannyboy, you’re just realizing that now, about having a shop to play in? Lol... But good for you man, have at it, after a while, it becomes normal, then you start taking it for granted.