e39 528i for my grandson

[e30topdown]

To be clear, the main purpose of this post is to have a written and picture record for my grandson of my getting the car ready for the road again. This will be his first car, and I can't imagine a better first car than an older BMW. This model is 20 years old this year, a one-owner car that hasn't been driven in almost two years with 16 year old tires on it. Because this car will be a surprise for my grandson, he has not been privy to the many pics and texts I have sent his parents as I've worked on the car. He will be able to reference this post whenever he likes, to see how something was done, share with his friends, etc. I also thought that some of you might enjoy the idea of getting a BMW ready for the road again after sitting for awhile, and introducing a new generation to the pleasures of owning, maintaining, and, of course, driving a BMW. My goal is to get my grandson hooked as I was hooked most unexpectedly, twelve years ago. I will carry this post through to the delivery of the car to its unsuspecting recipient sometime over the weekend of April 1.

First, some background:
I've had several BMW's since my first in 2006. And I've gotten into the habit of finding something rather forlorn and bringing it back from the brink. That's what I did with my current daily driver, a 97 318ti Active, that I found in San Antonio. Hadn't been registered in five years, driven 7000 miles over that time without even an oil change. Totally abused. Interior was totally perished by the brutal Texas sun. Etc. It took me about 5 weeks to go through the engine, cooling system, swap out the interior for a M Sport interior, and a cheap paint job, and I had a car that I wanted to drive and that my wife would finally ride in...she wouldn't even get inside before I started working on it.

About a year ago, my daughter asked if I might look for a car for my grandson, Jonathan, when he turned 16 in January of 2017. The specs were: four door, manual transmission, dependable, and no more than $4000. So I immediately thought e30 sedan. And I started looking. And I found out that sedans are few and far between, while coupes are a dime a dozen. Then she said hold off for awhile; they weren't sure it was a good idea for him to have a car right away. At Christmas, she told me that they had decided to get him a car after the winter weather in St. Louis abated. Did they still want me to find one for him? Texas has more rust-free cars than St. Louis. Yes. So I started looking for a car like a hound dog that's hot on the scent of something, but he's not sure what. I found an e30 325e in North Carolina, talked to the owner, who was a bimmer enthusiast, too. I'm sure it was a good car and would have been fine, but by the time I added shipping on top of the $3000 asking price, I wouldn't have much room for mechanical sorting costs. Because of this, I just kept that car on the back burner and never got interested enough to make an offer to see if he'd come down. Like I said earlier, there are lots of cars in Texas. I was scouring DailyLister every day for e30 sedans, but still couldn't find anything that piqued my interest. I had also been looking for an e39 Sport Package for myself, but when you use DailyLister, it is much better to go with just e39 and sort through them yourself. Sport Package brings back a whole lotta stuff that ain't e39s.

I had checked for e30s...nothing, and started looking for an e39 Sport, when I see a listing in Austin, of all places while using a nationwide search engine, for a 1997 e39 528i. It is not a sport package car, but it is a 5 speed. And I have one of those "I coulda had a V8" moments. Why not an e39 for Jonathan? I know, I know...lots of reasons. But it meets all the criteria...four doors, stick, dependable, and inexpensive.

I look at the car on Craiglist and immediately things sound a little hinky. Not many pics and the description is way short. Not much info. 103k miles does catch my eye. Selling out of an estate? WTF does that mean? $3000 obo. I decide to text just to see if the car is still available. "Mike" replies a little later. "Yes, it is still available." So I call him to find out as much as I can about the car. It is Thursday afternoon, about 5pm. The car was Mike's mother's. She died in 2015. It is a part of her estate, and Mike is the executor. She bought the car new and lived in Boston, MA. I immediately think crusty and rusty. I ask about rust. Mike says there is light corrosion, but no rust. His mom kept it in the garage at home and a parking garage at work. In the winter, if the weather was bad, she didn't take the car, but rode public transportation, or worked remotely from home. Things are less hinky now. Now I'm thinking "one owner car." Then he says the magic words. "She kept a folder an inch thick with everything that was ever done to the car. She took really good care of it." I ask him when I could see the car. Mike says that he doesn't know if it'll do any good. He's already told someone else they can come buy the car the next day. I look at my watch. It's now almost 5:30. It'll be dark by 6:20. I ask him if I can come now. He says sure. I grab a flashlight, inspection mirror, and my OBD2 wifi dongle for my Carista app to check for codes. I don't even have time to stop by the bank to get cash.

I arrive at Mike's just after sunset. I would much rather look at a car in the daylight, but I will do the best I can. First i explore the underside of the car for rust...and crust. There is light corrosion on the suspension parts, but not on the chassis or body itself. It's a freakin' Northeast US car and not crusty? Wow. Engine compartment is next. Everything looks in order. Fluids are all where they should be. No signs of major oil leaks. I inspect the interior. It looks like it is new. And the leather seats are still soft and just swallow me up when I sit down. I'm used to sport seats in my e30, ti, Z3M, and Z3 coupe. I'd always abhorred comfort seats. But these...oh, my. These are nice. I start the car. It sounds good. No noises, squeaks, rattles, or any other sounds. No funny smells, either. I open the trunk. It is filled with...crap. He has been using the car's trunk as a closet, basically. Lots of stuff that shouldn't be there. I dig down to the spare tire well and it is pristine. Original spare that's never seen the light of day. Definitely no accident damage back here. He brings out the folder. I flip through it. Everything since the car was new. While it was under warranty, she had it serviced at the dealership. After sticker shock on a couple of service trips after the warranty, she started using an independent BMW specialist shop. For everything that they said the car needed. I drive the car and it really is a great car. The clutch is smooth, the engine is eager. The brakes feel good. Suspension, too. I want this car for myself! Maybe Jonathan will take the 318ti? That would work fine for me.I offer Mike $2500. He says no way. He is very firm. I finally come up to $2700. Then $2800. Still no. He thinks he can get $3000 if he waits until tomorrow. I don't have any cash with me, either. I offer $2900. He accepts. I offer to go get $500 cash for a down payment until I return the next day with the rest of the money. He says no. All he wants is a handshake and he will take the car off CL and call the guy who was supposed to come the next morning. So I bought a car for my grandson, or maybe I already had the car for my grandson. My daughter didn't make up her mind until I was well into working on the e39.

Some pics of the car right after I brought it home the next day will be forthcoming. Just as soon as I figure out how to post them.

[Bill837]

Good story, I cannot see the pics, however. Are you by any chance English? That read like a script read by Edd China of Wheeler Dealers

[e30topdown]

Sorry about the pics. I'll work on that. Got to, because there's lots more coming of the work on the car.

Nope. From Texas - born and raised. But thanks! I like Edd!

[Bill837]

Was the "perished", "crusty", and "mechanical sorting" bits that got me. Son and I watch on DVR, he gets a kick out of the language.

[e30topdown]

- - - Updated - - -

Yea! I figured out how to post pics! Here are some of the car.

[e30topdown]

I bought the car in late January. The first thing I did was put all of the maintenance and repairs from the PO's folder into a spreadsheet. I needed to know what had been done to the 5er and what I needed to do for her.



The folder was comprehensive. From the original bill of sale and check receipt for the purchase of the car (she paid cash for it!), it's first service, to the last service in 2014 before she died, the PO had everything, including every useless-to-me inspection, registration, and insurance renewal.



She must have driven a hard bargain at the time, paying only $37,500 for the car. Sticker was $43,450. I was beginning to like this lady. Middle-age woman who wants a BMW with a 5 speed!

[e30topdown]

After creating the spreadsheet, I could tell the clutch had been replaced at 82k miles, various front and rear suspension bits had been replaced, spark plugs had been done at 60k, and the car had received regular oil/filter, air, fuel, and cabin filter changes, as well as coolant, tranny, and diff fluid changes.

I examined the car carefully. The obvious things were failed rear trunk shocks, power steering hoses and the reservoir were a grungy mess, the oil filter housing was leaking, and the valve cover was wet with oil around the edges. The car had a code about the coolant temperature. This was consistent with the temp gauge never getting even to the normal operating range and the heater never really blowing hot air. I suspected the thermostat. I couldn't find where it had been changed.



I decided to change all fluids and filters except the cabin filters. They had been changed less than 3k miles before. I would replace the entire cooling system - radiator, reservoir and cap, hoses, water pump, and thermostat and housing.

All belts, tensioners, and pulleys would get replaced. On a previous S52 motor, I had only replaced belts, only to have the new belts cause the old pulleys to start sqealing. Then when I was replacing the pulleys, one of the old hydraulic tensioner broke in two. It was then and there that I swore in the future I would replace all of the components at once. Even with a mirror, I couldn't tell if the tensioner on the alternator side was hydraulic or mechanical. I decided to order both types and return the one I didn't need.

I would address the leaks replacing the power steering reservoir/filter and the hoses, oil filter housing gasket, and valve cover gaskets. While in there, I would put in new spark plugs, too. I would need new washers for the vanos oil line.

After checking prices I ordered the parts I would need from FCPEuro and RMeuropean; both vendors have excellent return policies.



I forgot about the trunk shocks, but ordered them later.

[e30topdown]

While waiting for parts, I needed to get the car inspected, titled, and registered. Really didn't want to title it in my name, as it's for my grandson, but my son-in-law did some checking, and if they didn't title the car inside of a month of the date on the back of the title, they would get hit for a hefty late fee in addition to the normal costs. So I decided if I was going to have it for awhile, I might as well drive it.

First I needed to get tires on it. 3 of the tires were dated 1501, or 15th week of 2001. The other tire was dated 2002. So the newest tire was an incredible 15 years old. And Mike had driven the car to Austin from Boston in 2015. There were some small cracking on the sidewalls, but nothing like what I would call dry rot. I browsed online on TireRack and tires-easy.com. Tires fell into two catagories: very inexpensive ranging from $47-$68 or expensive, $110-$180 per tire. Since the car was going to be driven by a high school student around town for the next three years, I decided to look at reviews for the cheaper tires. The Nankang brand had some excellent reviews, a 50k mile warranty, and a V speed rating. It was $51.25 per tire. They were delivered from tires-easy.com the next day and came with road hazard for each tire.

The SRS and the Check Engine lights had been on when I first brought the car home. Sometime during the drive home, the CEL went off. I took a chance and used my SIR3 reset tool to clear the SRS light.



It stayed off. Now I could get the car inspected.

The shop where we always get our cars inspected also put the tires on, and the car passed inspection and smog without trouble.



I got the car titled and registered with just a little trouble at the DMV. The court order Mike had given me showing he was the personal representative for the estate was a copy; the DMV wanted a certified copy or the original. While I was waiting on the lady at the DMV, I texted Mike who replied that he didn't have any certified copies with a seal and the original was at the lawyers in Boston.



The DMV lady said that Mike could complete the heirship form instead. I notified Mike and he emailed me a signed heirship form. I returned to the DMV and got license plates for the car.

I started driving the 5er to work instead of the 318ti. I really liked the car. It was comfortable, smooth, and the leather seats were damn comfortable, and yes, they were like "buttah." I used the heated steering wheel every frosty morning. And the car was fun with the 5 speed. The straight six sounded great.

And soon the parts would be coming in.

[e30topdown]

It took a couple of weeks to get the e39 in the garage after the parts came in. I keep my e30 and M Roadster in the garage and use the e30 space for most car work, as it's next to my workbench, tools, etc. But I won't put the e30 out in bad weather, and we had about 10 days of rain in the forecast, so...

I did almost immediately replace the wiper inserts when it wasn't raining.



Once the rain cleared, I put the car in the garage and up on jack stands.



Because I needed to disconnect the battery, I started in the trunk first. I replaced the trunk shocks. This was the first time I didn't replace hood/trunk shocks with Stabilus. I bought Tuff Support off eBay. $29.98 for a pair. I found them on Amazon for considerably more, and they had good reviews. They were well made, fit and worked great!



Mike told me he couldn't get the hold down back on the new battery. I found the brace and the bolt and nut in the trunk. He was right, the brace wouldn't fit because the battery stuck up a little high. I removed the battery and found both of the black and red plastic caps that protect the posts under the battery. I removed them, and the battery settled into place. The brace could do its job now. That battery weighs almost 60 lbs. and I removed the plastic rivets and the battery liner "door" to put the battery back in place. No easy chore with the battery cables hanging at each end. I also found the vent hose that connects to the battery hooked it up. That hadn't been done when the battery was replaced. I don't think Mike replaced the battery himself.



The glove is there to prevent any unnecessary contact with the negative terminal while I work on the car.

I explored under the trunk floor and found the original spare tire that had never been on the ground. Everything was very clean and neat back there.



Under the spare tire, I found the original installation instructions for the CD changer. It used to be a dealer installed option.




Now that the trunk was ship-shape, I moved to the engine bay and started pulling parts.

Air filter housing and MAS came off first.




I drained coolant from the radiator and block - that block drain was a bitch! Really hard to get to. I wrapped the O2 sensor in saran wrap first, to keep as much fluid off of it and its wiring as possible. No pics. Too tight a space. I replaced the washer on the block drain and sans a torque wrench fitting in the space, I did the best I could with my wrench.

I pulled the upper radiator hose, and removed the fan and fan clutch assembly. About that time, Dylan, my youngest grandson who lives here in Texas and was staying with us for the weekend, came back from playing with his cousins. He "helped" me with the fan shroud, radiator hoses and pullng the radiator.



The radiator looked pretty good for being 20 years old and having 103,000 miles on it. The front of the car had a little space in it now.



And the old parts bin was starting to pile up.



I took a pic of the serpentine belt so I could refer back for routing the new belts.



I loosened the water pump pulley bolts, and then I pulled the belts. Always loosen the water pump pulley bolts while the belt is on to keep the pulley from spinning. Kinda like loosening the lug bolts on the wheels on the ground first. Unless you have air like I do. But I wouldn't recommend using air on the bolts holding the pulley on.

I was now ready to start removing parts from the engine itself.

[TX S3]

awesome job man!!

[e30topdown]

Thanks, TX S3. Where in Texas? Close to Austin?

[e30topdown]

I pulled the thermostat housing first and this is what I found underneath it.





The thermostat wasn't just stuck, it was completely broken. No wonder the car could never indicate warmed up or put out heat. I wonder why that wasn't changed when the water pump was?

In contrast, when i removed the water pump, it looked like it had a lot of life left in it. A Graf with a metal impellar looked like it was put in last month!

I needed to get the alternator out of the way so I could remove the nasty oil filter housing. I removed both hydraulic tensioners, the other pulley and unbolted the power steering reservoir and laid it aside. It and the hoses would get removed later.

I disconnected the alternator from the electrics and the cooling tube. Then I unbolted it and pryed it up and out. now I had access to the bolts on the oil filter housing. I made sure I wiped out the inside of the housing and put the cap back on without a filter. I was pretty sure that when I laid it on my work bench to clean it up, oil would be running out.

I removed the six bolts and punched them through a piece of cardboard in the pattern they were in the housing. Four different lengths for six bolts! Important to know which ones went where.

I disconnected the VANOS oil tube from the VANOS housing and pulled the oil filter housing out and put it on the work bench. Was it ever grungy!



I removed the old housing gasket from the business side of the housing; it was ;like a hard plastic, but did peel out in one piece.



I cleaned the entire housing with Griots engine degreaser; it works really well on the grunge. Just be sure to spray, let it sit for about a minute, then wipe or brush. Hit it with some water in a spray bottle and wipe dry.

I also cleaned up the engine block and adjacent areas, as well as the alternator, which was almost as grungy as the filter housing.



Then I replaced the gasket on the housing and gently relocated it on the block. There are two pins that help you make sure it's in place. Then I put the bolts back in and torqued them according to the Bentley.



I hooked the VANOS line back up with new washers and drained and removed the power steering reservoir and hoses. I installed the new hoses and then reinstalled the now-cleaner alternator. Here you can see the new hoses waiting for the new reservoir.



And here is the filter housing back on. It looks a lot better!



Next I installed the new tensioners and pulleys.



I installed the new water pump, the old pulley, and the new thermostat and t-stat housing. I went with BMW's OEM plastic housing. I had done the URO aluminum housing on my M Roadster, and I wasn't all that impressed with it. I had to file some burrs and imperfections to keep it from leaking. And I really won't put anything made by URO on any of my cars...unless it's an emergency. I was going to purchase a Rein or Behr plastic housing, but they had terrible reviews about early failure. And the BMW part was only about a $16 difference, so i got it. I put the new Contitech belts on and torqued the water pump pulley nuts.



Oh, and I didn't say it earlier, but I torqued all the bolts on the tensioners, alternator, power steering pump, t-stat housing, etc. to specs from Bentley's manual.

And I called it a night. Yes, I was working on this car evenings after work. Connie (your CC, Jonathan) didn't see me for several evenings.

[e30topdown]

The discard pile is getting bigger.



And the trash pile from new parts is stacking up, too.



I did mention how grungy the engine bay had been, right?



Just making sure.

[e30topdown]

I hadn't been to get fluids yet - coolant from BMW of Austin and oil, gear oil, Dot 4 brake fluid, and ATF from NAPA. NAPA carries Royal Purple and LubroMoly oils, which I really like.

So I decided to take care of the leaky valve cover gasket next. And if I had the energy, I would put in the radiator, hoses, and power steering reservoir. Get everything ready for fresh fluids.

I removed the cabin filter duct from the passenger side of the car and unscrewed the electrical connection to the wiring loom. I removed the plastic covers from the head and intake. Some of the bolt and nut covers were broken or missing from the plastic covers, but I had ordered half a dozen or so to have some extras. The ones that were broken were just sitting down in the holes - nothing really holding them in there. Don't know how they didn't vibrate out over the years. I really don't understand how mechanics trained to work on BMW engines aren't careful with the fragile bits.

I disconnected the wiring loom from the coil packs and the ground wire from the valve cover and removed the loom. I removed the screws from the coil packs and the nuts/bolts holding the ground wires on the ends. I pulled the coil packs and laid them out in order, #1-6. I then started working on the valve cover bolts, taking them out, pullng off the old seals, cleaning them, and then installing the new seals. I then tried to pull the valve cover up and off. Nope. Not budging. I got a pry bar and a big screwdriver and and started prying at the VANOS end. Slowly but surely, I was able to get some separation and began working down each side of the valve cover, lifting as I went. Eventually I was able to get the cover off, although the gasket at the back of the cover wanted to grab at every little thing in the engine compartment. I was hoping that I wouldn't see any sludge or froth up near the CCV opening, a sign of CCV failure, or in BMW parlance, oil separator failure. I was astonished at what I saw.

A barely worn valve train.





It looked like it was new! Wowsers! This speaks volumes about the importance of regular oil changes.

The underside of the valve cover didn't look too bad either.



I pulled the gaskets out mostly in pieces, but some of it seemed to still be pliable and came out easily. I cleaned up everything and put the new gaskets on.



I pulled the old plugs. They all looked like they were supposed to - healthy light gray.



Only found oil in the fourth cyclinder plug hole and got it cleaned up.



I put some RTV at the half moons on the back of the head. And put the new plugs in, hand snugged.





I put the valve cover back on, keeping rearward wiring clear. I made sure the half moons settled correctly using a mirror. I hand snugged up the valve cover bolts and then torqued them from the center out. I torqued the spark plugs and put the coils back in the same order. I put new seals on and replaced the bolts for the grounds, then screwed the grounds down. Next I torqued the coils down. I put the loom back and plugged the tails into the coils and screwed the other end back into the wiring harness.





I used the Griots degreaser to clean the plastic covers and reinstalled them, replacing the covers with new. I also cleaned the intake and anything else I could reach.





It sure was looking better.

I was inspired to put in the new radiator, which really only took about 10 minutes, including the fan shroud.

I had ordered a Nissens radiator. Not only are they still made in Denmark, but I've had very good luck with them. They are well made and include extra little parts, like the shroud slots that inevitably break when you pull the old radiator - you know, the ones at the bottom center to hold the shroud flat against the radiator at the bottom. And they are always $20 or $30 less than a Behr, which I've bought plenty of in the past, too.





You can just make out those two plastic slots at the bottom of the radiator.



Fresh product! 35th week of 2016.



Fresh radiator hoses.



Lower.



Fan shroud going on.



New Behr coolant reservoir going on.



New "cap," too. Old one was broken anyway. Don't know why they call this piece a cap.



New bleeder screw.



New reservoir cap. Behr.





I put the fan in before I put the upper radiator hose on. After a few missed spins, it caught and went right on. Then the new upper hose.



I know they say use new clamps, but i don't see the point. A little silicone spray and the old BMW clamp works like new.



I now installed the new ZF power steering reservoir/filter on its new hoses, and bolted it down, then tightened up the clamp on its bracket.



I know the cap says CHF 11S, but don't you put that in there. ATF, please! Redline D4 ATF! Or Royal Purple MaxATF. It will help your rack and pump in the long run.



Everything was ready for fresh fluids. Now I just needed make a supply run.

[e30topdown]

So there are less than two weeks before I drive this car 800 miles to Fenton, MO, to present to my grandson. He has no idea what kind of car it is. It will be a surprise.

i would like to show Jonathan all around and under the car, so if anyone knows someone in the St. Louis area who has a lift, please let me know or let them know what I have in mind. I would like to do this on Saturday, April 1, or sometime that weekend.

I also will need a bucket, soap, and a hose to wash the road grime off the car before Jonathan sees it for the first time on March 31. I should be arriving sometime around 4:30 or 5 pm. I know I could take it to a car wash, but I like to hand wash my cars.

Let me know if any of you can help.

And thanks for your words of encouragement. They are much appreciated.

Ken

[e30topdown]

I finally made it to the dealership for coolant and NAPA for Royal Purple and LiquiMoly fluids. Oh, and NAPA Dot 4 brake fluid.

I started with the easy stuff. Probably should have done it the other way around - started with the hard stuff under the car.

6.5 liters of LiquiMoly 5w30 oil.



Then it was time to mix the coolant.



I have a very technical and complicated method.



One each of these...



Make two of these...



See.



I used the "static" method of filling and bleeding the coolant, posted by NNY528i. Put the front of the car up on jack stands. Remove the bleeder screws from the reservoir and t-stat housing. Turn the key to run, but don't start the car. Turn heater to 90 deg. on low fan speed. Pour in coolant until it runs out of the t-stat housing with no bubbles. You don't think it will ever get there; you have to keep pouring in to the top of the reservoir and let it settle to the midway point of the reservoir - over and over. But eventually coolant will run clear out of the t-stat housing and you can put that bleeder screw back in. Then keep repeating the process until coolant runs out of the bleeder hole at the top of the reservoir. Again, it takes awhile. But eventually the fluid will flow bubble-free. Put the bleeder screw in. Done! This worked like a charm. After I took the car out for her maiden (more like matronly) voyage, the coolant settled to the Cold mark and never moved again. Easiest bleed on a BMW I've ever done.

I filled the power steering reservoir with Red Line D4 ATF.

Then I moved to under the car. This was about to get really tough. I had already sprayed the tranny and diff plugs a few days earlier with PB Blaster. So I was kinda surprised when I couldn't budge the tranny fill plug (always loosen it first, just to make sure you have a way to fill the tranny or diff, as the case may be) with my longest breaker bar. So I decided to hit both plugs with more penetrating oil and move to the differential while it "penetrated."

The diff plugs had some corrosion on them but broke free cleanly with a crisp click, just like they're supposed to. I drained the fluid out and took the plugs and washers to the work bench.



Yep, the washers even had some crud on them. The plugs cleaned up fine and I put the new washers on them.



I put the drain plug in and torqued it to spec.



Then I filled the diff with Royal Purple 75w90 gear oil. Until it just ran out the fill hole.





Then I torqued the fill plug down.



I moved back to the front of the car and went to work on the diff fill plug. And I do mean work. After some straining and moaning and groaning, I felt the plug give a little. And then a little more. Yep. The helical threads were letting go finally. Someone had way overtorqued this plug. So I expected the same from the drain plug. But it seemed to be torqued about right. It came out with some resistance, but nothing like the plug on the side. I drained the ATF out and cleaned up the plugs at my work bench. Then reinstalled the drain plug to spec torque. And filled the tranny with Royal Purple MaxATF, as the tag on the transmission said ATF OIL in all caps. I think Red Line and Royal Purple are both excellent drive line oils. You just can't go wrong with either one.

When I was finished, it was getting too late to do the brake fluid, so I went in to shower. Here's a pic of how dirty I got while under the car.



I could almost hear Harry Caray saying, "Holy Cow!"

[Chommie]

Hi . I have a bmw e39 2003 525i. Its got 202000km. Full service history at bmw agents
Ive picked up some reddish oil leaking from the car. Took it in for an inspection 1 technician says its rear main seal. Another 1 says its the torque convertor(which costs about R20 000 just for the part) third opinion was that it is from power steering pipes. Where do i start ??????anyone had this issue before? Some help and advise please

[e30topdown]

Hi, Chommie. I would start with the power steering and rule it out first. It could be coming from the reservoir, hoses, or rack. It could leak out of the end of the rack into one of the tie rod boot covers, build up, and then leak from the boot. If it's the reservoir or hoses, there will be gunk and grunge on the reservoir and hoses, especially up near the bottom of the reservoir. If the hoses are leaking at the lower fittings, then red ATF could be dripping onto the ground. If the fittings at the rack or pump is leaking, then ATF could be spraying anywhere since the system is under pressure while the motor is running. When sitting, there wcould definitely be ATF on the ground under the car.
Since I have only worked on cars with manual transmissions, I can't speak to the leaks associated with an automatic tranny. I would find it hard to believe the rear main is leaking. BMW motors don't have a reputation for leaky rear main seals, and that would be engine oil, not red ATF. If it's not the power steering, I would think it's more likely transmission-related - pan, converter, etc. Good luck.

[e30topdown]

So I want to give a shout out to Jack at Bimmers R Us in St. Louis, MO. He called today and said they would love to put the 528i up on the rack and help me go through things with Jonathan and his dad. On a Saturday, no less!

We talked about cars; he saw the cars in my sig and they had similar cars in the shop right then or they owned the same models as mine themselves. I wil feel better knowing that when I fly out of St. Louis, my grandson will have a connection to enthusiasts who can help with any service he may need.

Thanks, Jack. It is the bimmerphiles like you that make me proud to be associated with the BMW marque. I can't believe that 12 short years ago, I had no idea the car journey that I was about to undertake. Hard to fathom that in 11 years I've owned 7 different BMWs and still have four of those (not counting my grandson's car). And the people I've met along the way, the relationships and friendships that developed, are of course even more important than the cars. I find it extraordinary how a machine can bond so many people from different corners of the globe and walks of life together.

So Jonathan will now have a chance to become more intimate with his car in the first 24 hours of ownership than probably 90% of car owners ever do. I don't know if I should feel sorry for those owners ... or their vehicles - both are missing out.

This is Bimmers R Us.


And this is Jack. I always suspected the tool kit would be a comfortable place for a nap.



Next post I will finish up my work on the car. Only bleeding the brakes is left. I already bled the coolant and power steering fluid.

[MIKYZZ4]

Excellent write-up: the flow of the story, your love of cars, the love for your grandson, and too many other things to list.
You should have been a writer, or maybe you are, lol. Just letting you know that I enjoyed the read.
I await your next post.

[e30topdown]

Thanks, MIKY! Appreciate the kind words. Glad you enjoyed reading the post. As I said, it's mainly for my grandson to reference after he gets the car. But I figured there would be others interested in the endeavor, as well.

[e30topdown]

The next night I cleaned up the air filter box and replaced the air filter with a fresh one.



I'd say it needed it.



Then I put the air filter and MAS back in place and tightened the clamps on the induction hose and throttle body, too.

Now I just needed to bleed the brakes. The brake fluid reservoir is buried under the driver's side cabin air filter box. To BMW's credit, they made it fairly easy to remove. In fact, I'd have to say the e39's cabin air filters are the easiest I've ever gotten access to in any BMW. Maybe a five second job. Then unclamp the air duct to the firewall, rotate it upwards and pull it out. Then release the spring in front of the base and pull the whole base up, inwards, and remove once it's clear.

I used my old vacuum brake bleeder to remove the old brake fluid from the reservoir. Then I filled the reservoir with Dot 4 fluid and poured the remainder of the quart bottle into my Bav Auto pressure bleeder.



I screwed the pressure cap onto the reservoir and hooked the hose up to it.



I pumped the pressure bleeder up to 15 lbs of pressure and then went to the right rear brake caliper. I put the 11mm wrench on the bleeder valve and then pressed the catch bottle tube onto the bleeder valve nipple.



I then rotate the valve open with the wrench until dark fluid started running through the tube into the bottle. When the fluid cleared up and no bubbles were left in the fluid, I closed the valve, removed the catch bottle and set up at the left rear brake caliper. I went up to the engine bay, checked the pressure in the bleeder and the fluid level in the reservoir - both were still good to go, and repeated the process at the brake caliper.

I did have to pump the pressure up again after the second caliper was finished. But the reservoir remained at about the full mark the entire time. When I was finished with the last caliper at the right front, I released pressure in the bleeder, disconnected the hose, removed the pressure cap, and made sure to add enough fluid in the reservoir to keep it at the full mark. Then I tightened the cap on the reservoir, replaced the cabin filter setup, and cleaned up the pressure bleeder and vacuum bleeder, pouring the old fluid into my oil storage.

And the car was finished! I had made an appointment for the car to get BMW of Austin's "Spa Detail" service the following Wednesday. First, though, over the weekend, my wife and I had to go to Dallas. It would be the perfect chance to put the car on the road and see what adjustments might need to be made. In a 400 mile round trip, surely any mechanical miscreant would have a chance to rear its ugly head.

[e30topdown]

I drove the car to work for a couple of days before our trip to Dallas. Coolant level was great and the coolant temp gauge stayed right in the middle twelve o'clock position. The heater worked now. It had been the thermostat. I couldn't believe how easy and effective the static bleed method had been for the engine's cooling system. Power steering fluid settled after the drive and I added just a bit to the full mark.

I loaded up fluids, tools, paper towels, the reset tool, and the WiFi dongle for reading OBD2 codes into the trunk. I laughed at the sign that was velcroed to the trunk deck lid that showed how to stow three golf bags in the trunk. Really?



Luggage, our dog's bag with food, treats, toys, and bowls, Connie's work satchel with her laptop, and other sundries were loaded and we left the house on Sunday for Dallas. Tuesday we returned home from a very uneventful trip. The car performed flawlessly. No hiccups at all. Heck, even the Nankang tires were decent.

Traveling on I-35 between Dallas and Austin is not quite like getting on the Autobahn, but let's just say that if you are moving with the traffic flow at 85-90 mph and not impeding the flow in any way, the badges of justice will ignore you. The biggest difference from the Autobahn, other than speed, is knowing that drivers here will pass on the right at will. With cruise set on 90, the car was settled, steady, quiet, and really felt like she wanted to run. She only turned about 3800 RPMs at 90. There was an open stretch where I let her hair down even more, and instead of any strange noises or motions, the car just felt even more planted.

On Wednesday, I dropped the car off at BMW of Austin. Their Spa Detail service is very complete, and at $295, it would be a bargain. But with my BMW CCA discount knocking another $50 off, it was a basement bargain. Interior is detailed to a point where you can't even find a speck of dust in the a/c vents or dash crevices. Leather treatment, carpet shampoo. Engine bay detailed. Trunk detailed. Exterior washed, clayed, polished, and waxed/sealed. For $245.

My service advisor, Scott, already knew the story about the 5er going to Jonathan, and he relayed the information to the detail shop's manager. Friday afternoon, Scott called and said the car was ready.

[e30topdown]

I decided before I took the car to get detailed that I couldn't leave the cracked fog lights on the car. Even though there was a big split in the front spoiler under the car, the fog lights were just hideous and needed to be gone. These are really upside down on my work bench, but you get why they looked so bad on the car, right?



So I looked on Amazon and eBay for some aftermarket fogs. I found some on eBay that seemed very reasonably priced at $31.30 for the set. I just had to wait for them to come in, which they did, the day I got the car back from detailing.

I also placed an order at Rock Auto for a front cupholder, $28, and a jack pad, $9. These were the only items missing or not working that I could find on the car. Now other than cosmetic trim and paint issues, the car would be complete.

[e30topdown]

It's "go" week! And I'm psyched! Talked to my daughter yesterday to firm up arrangements for the surprise reveal. Countdown begins.