Ruskie Has Joined HO8

[NordmanMg]

I cleaned mine at self car wash, I jacked the car up on one side and power washed the underside, it works well that way

[RuskiE39]

I cleaned mine at self car wash, I jacked the car up on one side and power washed the underside, it works well that way

I was gonna ask about that... whether i wash from top or bottom is there anything I should cover up? Like the alternator, should I worry about any sensors or wiring? I'm sure all that stuff is safely concealed anyways but good to know if anything might be vulnerable.

[NordmanMg]

Never had any problem with any of my cars by washing my engine either way

[geargrinder]

Far from perfect, but I hold pride in keeping my stuff clean. Hopefully i'll be able to get some degreaser and power wash all the nooks, crannies and hard to reach spaces.

Nice. I use citrus degreaser as much as I can and then save some brake cleaner for the "nuke option" for which I wear a mask and try to minimize. But dayum it does just dissolve everything easily, even if its nasty harsh and bad for the enviromentz.

Your car doesn't even look too bad for an M62. I put off my upper timing cover gaskets for so long mine was a horrible sludgefest when i finally got to it. Completely awful.

I cleaned mine at self car wash, I jacked the car up on one side and power washed the underside, it works well that way

Yeah the car washes around here are all "NO BUCKET WASHING!!! NO ANYTHING EXCEPT GIVE US MONEY AND GTFO!!! QUICKLY!!!!" Can't imagine what they'd say if you pulled out a jack and started a project like that. Maybe during off hours when nobody is there but they all have cameras now, I wouldn't put it past some of them to come down and yell at you anyway even if it was 10PM and there wasn't another customer in sight.

Never had any problem with any of my cars by washing my engine either way

Agreed. You'll always hear "NEVER PRESSURE WASH YOUR ENGINE!" but I have my own lightweight pressure washer, and as long as you're not just totally completely stupid about it, never seems to be an issue for me. I mean if you WERE stupid about it and shoved the nozzle right into the electrical bits or other more fragile bits, sure, you could fork stuff up good, but as long as you intelligently keep a distance from those things, I find you can get up close and personal on some the worst hard parts (ex: nooks and crannies of oil pan and PS pump...) with zero issues...

[JimLev]

The self car washes around here have a button for 'engine wash', I like the idea of doing it from underneath, sort of like a reach around, lol.

[NordmanMg]

Yeah the car washes around here are all "NO BUCKET WASHING!!! NO ANYTHING EXCEPT GIVE US MONEY AND GTFO!!! QUICKLY!!!!" Can't imagine what they'd say if you pulled out a jack and started a project like that. Maybe during off hours when nobody is there but they all have cameras now, I wouldn't put it past some of them to come down and yell at you anyway even if it was 10PM and there wasn't another customer in sight.

I usually go there, swipe the card, rinse engine with those green stuff, put washer away and then jack the car with factory jack, spin steering wheel to the jacked side, and wash it from top, then bottom, then if needed doing the same on the other side. It not that long of a wash time wise too

Agreed. You'll always hear "NEVER PRESSURE WASH YOUR ENGINE!" but I have my own lightweight pressure washer, and as long as you're not just totally completely stupid about it, never seems to be an issue for me. I mean if you WERE stupid about it and shoved the nozzle right into the electrical bits or other more fragile bits, sure, you could fork stuff up good, but as long as you intelligently keep a distance from those things, I find you can get up close and personal on some the worst hard parts (ex: nooks and crannies of oil pan and PS pump...) with zero issues...

Usually I try to avoid all electrical connectors, I wash them but quickly, and then engine bay All around

[RuskiE39]

Ugh there was so much caked on sludge near the oil pan I literally used a flat head to just scrape it out. I also definitely have a upper timing cover leak, can see very faint oil drops leaking down the side of the just cleaned metal frame

I'll need to tackle that and anything else that shows signs of leakage because I'm loving this 540 more and more... I've already cannibalized the shift knob, steering wheel is next and I don't know how long i can wait before taking the coilovers from the 530.


UPDATE:

Super easy swap, and everything is plug n play, no modification required. 01 540 sport wheel (dual stage) fits into 02 face lift 530 (dual stage) and vice versa. You only have to worry about production year march 99 single stage air bag wheels. No airbag lights or anything, just MAKE SURE you disconnect the battery before you d/c the airbag.

Before:



After:



(no the car is not slower with a 5 speed ZHP shift knob)

And on a separate note, not a drop of power steering fluid under the car (or oil), this morning. I am excited to be a contributing member of society.
#GreenPlanet
#HugaTree
#ItWasTheCarBeforeMe

[Jason5driver]

I have the round sport steering with bag that I still need to swap into my car.
The round sport wheel and bag have been laying in my garage for quite a while now, I just don't know how to install it.

[WBAD530i]

I have the round sport steering with bag that I still need to swap into my car.
The round sport wheel and bag have been laying in my garage for quite a while now, I just don't know how to install it.

Have you ever been to bimmerforums.com? It's excellent!

[Jason5driver]

Have you ever been to bimmerforums.com? It's excellent!

No.
Sorry, I am a NooB... [sarcasm]

[RuskiE39]

Ughhhhhh... went to go into town and about a block down the road the car just died on me... I turned it back over and turned right and it died AGAIN.... the only way I could keep it alive was by giving it gas... it seems to surge low into the 200 RPM's and then spikes to about 1400 RPM. I thought it might be the battery so I swapped the battery from the 530 and it's still doing the same thing but now that it's warmed up its not dying, just surging a tad. Any ideas? IACV?

[Jason5driver]

Ughhhhhh... went to go into town and about a block down the road the car just died on me... I turned it back over and turned right and it died AGAIN.... the only way I could keep it alive was by giving it gas... it seems to surge low into the 200 RPM's and then spikes to about 1400 RPM. I thought it might be the battery so I swapped the battery from the 530 and it's still doing the same thing but now that it's warmed up its not dying, just surging a tad. Any ideas? IACV?

Can you check the codes?
Do you have a reader?
Is something unplugged - MAF, sensor, etc. ?

[RuskiE39]

Can you check the codes?
Do you have a reader?
Is something unplugged - MAF, sensor, etc. ?

No codes are popping up but this is exactly what its doing:



I'm gonna clean the IACV(if this thing has one) and MAF and go from there.

[philly98540]

Yours does not have ICV since it's a tu. Check your intake tube for a vacuum leak.

[RuskiE39]

Yours does not have ICV since it's a tu. Check your intake tube for a vacuum leak.

No visible cracks or leaks from what I can see. I'm going to clean the MAF at this point. It seems to idle and drive fine now that it has warmed up a bit.

[JPO805]

Had the same problem with my car last winter. Some how oil had gotten on the MAF which caused me to stall out. I cleaned it off with MAF cleaner and all has been fine since.

If that doesn't fix it, you probably need a new MAF or have a vacuum leak somewhere.

I would scan codes to check as well.

[dannyzabolotny]

I'd try and swap in a known working MAF to see if that's the issue. Otherwise it could be a pretty big vacuum leak somewhere in the intake manifold. The intake manifold gaskets are known to cause similar issues once they stop sealing properly. My Range Rover had that issue with its M62tu— on cold mornings the idle was a little unsteady and it would go away once warmed up.

[RuskiE39]

Just found this... going to clean the MAF as preventative.

[dannyzabolotny]

Actually, now that I think about it, my 2000 540it idled kinda badly when I first bought it— it actually stalled a few times at red lights. I bought a brand new Bosch MAF and that solved my problem completely. At this point I just buy a new MAF every time I buy an M62tu-powered vehicle. MAFs aren's super expensive so it's worth it IMO.

[RuskiE39]

Actually, now that I think about it, my 2000 540it idled kinda badly when I first bought it— it actually stalled a few times at red lights. I bought a brand new Bosch MAF and that solved my problem completely. At this point I just buy a new MAF every time I buy an M62tu-powered vehicle. MAFs aren's super expensive so it's worth it IMO.

If the problem persists, I can just disconnect the MAF and see if it runs fine, correct?

[dannyzabolotny]

If the problem persists, I can just disconnect the MAF and see if it runs fine, correct?

Yeah, disconnecting the MAF is a good way to see if it's actually working or not. I remember my 1995 750il ran super rough so I disconnected each MAF (it had two) until I found the one that wasn't doing anything. Once I found the dead one I replaced it and the engine ran perfectly.

[RuskiE39]

Awesome, thanks! It seems to be running much smoother after spraying down the MAF and fixing that little rubber Gasket. It was literally folded over itself.

[dannyzabolotny]

Awesome, thanks! It seems to be running much smoother after spraying down the MAF and fixing that little rubber Gasket. It was literally folded over itself.

Wait until you have another cold startup before you start celebrating. A lot of vacuum leaks seemingly disappear once the engine is all warmed up. Though it very well could have been that gasket on the MAF housing, any hole smaller than a pinhole can wreak havoc.

[RuskiE39]

Wait until you have another cold startup before you start celebrating. A lot of vacuum leaks seemingly disappear once the engine is all warmed up. Though it very well could have been that gasket on the MAF housing, any hole smaller than a pinhole can wreak havoc.

Trust me I know, I let the car cool down while I checked everything, cleaned the MAF and fixed the Gasket. I'll try it on cold start tonight and see how goes.

[TxDarth]

I cleaned mine at self car wash, I jacked the car up on one side and power washed the underside, it works well that way

I saw something kinda nice in a post here but I can't remember where right now where the member with his car on the lift tented or hung a tarp loosely under the car with bungees. The tarp slanted to the rear or maybe out of the door - that way he could spray the undercarriage down and then wash, even pressure wash with the drainage directed to the door or where ever. I could definitely do this at my garage to was the undercarriage.

But I like clean as well....




Found the tenting.....