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Had a road trip from San Diego up to the Bay Area. No traffic in through LA which was incredible, flow of traffic was 85-90 most of the way and I was able to make it to the East Bay Area in under 6 hours with 2 stops, a personal PR. Roof rack was removed for the drive (put bike inside) and averaged 21 mpg, not bad considering the pace and the fact I have the 3.15 sport diff.
When about 4 miles from home a cooling hose decided to burst which was pretty dramatic since to the untrained eye made my wagon look like it was about to be engulfed in flames. Thankfully the repair process was simple, $25 hose, $27 coolant, $1 gallon distilled water, and about 1 hour of knuckle busting.
That is not a shadow behind the front wheel, nice collection of bugs on the front courtesy of Central California
Pop!
Thankfully an easy repair
Tight space to work in for my banana hands
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doooood, that sucks. glad you made it whole again.
'98 M3 5spd - '03 540it 6spd M-Sport
Member
Current state after a quick wash..
Dismembered
Question about how your subwoofer is mounted. I just bought a 10” Alpine Type R that is 5 3/4” deep, I already know that it will fit, I am planning on mounting it on the face side of the panel, unless I am sure that the cooling port on the rear of the magnet is not directly on that structural spar that is in the quarter. My question is, did you secure the panel aside from the latch that holds the panel on? I figure I will line the whole panel with 1/8” foam seal so that it does not rattle, but if the latch is good enough to securely hold the panel in place is what my real question is. I will be using Dynamat inside the whole quarter, the spare wheel well since the wheel well is open to the battery bay, wondering if I should shore it up to seal in the subwoofer into the quarters already ported area. Lol, I hope I don’t blow the tail light out of the quarter.
Set the controls for the heart of the sun
Member
If I understood you correctly; you will be mounting the subwoofer to the actual cargo panel as an infinite baffle setup?Originally Posted by BimmrMeUpSnotty
Dismembered
I was thinking of that, and I know it was stupid, I’m gonna weld up a bracket, bolted to the rear quarter. I’ve been wanting to see what it would sound like without a box, using the whole interior space of the corner and the spare wheel well as an enclosure. Everything is getting Dynamat and panels getting foam insulated. If it sucks, I’ll build an enclosure.
Set the controls for the heart of the sun
Member
To answer your question no, I did not add any foam or support to keep the panel from shaking, it does sit flush against the blox so maybe there is just enough tension to keep it from shaking. I have never heard a rattle.
As for your idea, I applaud your creativity but can't but think that it may end up being more work that it's worth trying to seal up the cavity considering all the areas for air to escape. Even if the panel was braced to the surrounding area the face of the panel (where the sub will be mounted) is injected molded plastic so that itself would need to be beefed up to handle a sub with any kind of power. It is hard to beat the Basser enclosure for it's price, ease of installation, and performance.
Member
yeah man, what Evan said. The basser enclosure is a great piece of kit for snug fitting. The other thing that I would consider is that your sub might sound *less than optimal* being mounted in that compartment without an enclosure.
Dismembered
Yep, I know, but.... it’s a 1200 watt amp and a sub perfectly matched for it, it’s gonna push a crap ton of air, I’ve been wondering what it would do, how it would sound without the enclosure. I am prepared to build the enclosure if it sounds like shit. Hell, I also have two Kicker Competition 12CVR’s in the Kicker enclosure made for them, and the Kicker Competition amp that Kicker created for those subs, I can use those while I am playing carpenter, the Kickers box is gigantic, and will use up most of the rear space in the wagon. Or, I could use the two JL Audio 10’s that I also have in a smaller enclosure. But I really want to use the Alpine. Choices, choices, and then some. Ultimately, I know I will end up building an enclosure, shoot, might even build a round one, shove it inside of the spare, spare tire upside down.... like I said, choices, nice to have options.
Set the controls for the heart of the sun
Member
Hi
ucsbwsr - Fantastic updates as you continue your car/project ! Keep up the good work !!
Bimmrmeupsnotty - Is that amp 1200 W RMS? or is it, most likely, perhaps something like 350-450W RMS? The way you are thinking currently, isn't best practice for a number of reasons. The main one will be potential to rattle other bits in that area and, you'll need to somehow seal off the 'back' from the 'front' else you'll just be pushing air through the gaps. That'll increase the amount of work and faff you'll need to do and the end result will still be less efficient overall. Without checking right now, see if those Alpine subwoofers are suited to Infinite Baffle mounting, my guess is that they aren't but if they are, they'll perhaps need quite a bit more volume in which to play/perform to their potential than the tiny amount of volume you'll actually have in that location. I'd suggest also creating a new thread about where/how to mount/use subwoofers in the Touring or look up some of the dedicated threads over the years as well - just for the reasons to keep ucsbwsr's thread relevant to his car
Cheers, Dennis!
Dismembered
Hey Dennis! I hear you on the sub, I will be making an enclosure. For now, I will use my Kickers. And yes, sorry to pollute the thread, reason I asked was because of his set up. The amp is the Infinity K1000, 700 watts RMS x 1 at 4 ohms (1,000 watts RMS x 1 at 2 ohms)
Infinity has had a history of downgrading their specs, dyno certified 854 watts at 4 ohms, 1284 watts at 2ohms.
And true, this is polluting the thread, sorry, asked because I saw his set up.
one thing, the speakers in my ceiling, 5 1/4”, 3” deep. Just bought spacers for the 6x9 Type R’s, they are going up in there just fine. The rear.view in the mirror is not really affected, shaving the mounting plates to angle the speakers forwards. Black abs, will be wrapping them with the closest beige material to match the liner
Last edited by BimmrMeUpSnotty; 06-08-2018 at 04:54 PM.
Set the controls for the heart of the sun
Member
Updates have been slow since I have been busy with other obligations but Das has been treating me well. I am getting a more pronounced rattle on start up, I presume it is vanos related. I plan to replace the vanos seals when I go in to do the timing chain guides, the wagon runs great but the sound is annoying/embarrassing and starting to bug me since I take pride in my vehicles. If not running basic errands then there is usually a bike strapped to the top of the E39 like such:
I took advantage of some local LKQ yards and collected parts for the E61 and the E39 Touring.
For the E61:
- Hood (only $51!)
- Lower engine reinforcement (for RWD/M5 subframe conversion)
- Headlight bracket
- OEM Roundel
- Hood release cables
For the E39:
- Door sill moldings
- Driver door weather stripping
- Black lower seat and rail trim
- Tool kit tools, tow hook, glovebox flashlight
Wagon doing wagon things
Weather stripping and molding Before:
After
Before
After
After
Lower seat trim, was only able to find a clean passenger seat trim so still need to hunt down a driver side piece later
Before
After, I am a big fan of the 2-tone tan on black look, black carpet and A/B pillar trim will complete the look.
Old BMW's FTW
Man, you're lucky to be able to find good condition parts in the junkyards... out here in AZ most E39's are completely trashed by the time they get to the junkyards. The poor people here run them into the ground until literally everything is broken. And the junkyard vultures take all the trunk tools instantly so I've never seen any BMW with the factory tools still in it.
Let me know if you need any help with the chain guides when the time comes— I've done 16 of those jobs at this point and have all the tools. I don't mind traveling either, California is a nice easy drive. I actually flew to Ruski's place in Portland to do the guides on his X5 a few weeks ago and it was a blast!
1995 525i 5-speed - Thread
Member
If it's ok I might use you as a sounding board if I run into a snag but I should be ok with the process as there are detailed guides online and I have done similar work on my N54 engine, but I do appreciate the offer.
I don't know how I overlooked it but you are a man of many projects, I just noticed all your build logs. How do you have time for all of them? lol
How do you like the E34 Touring chassis in general? I love the looks of them but the interior is a bit too dated, that being said I am curious what your thoughts are since you have experience with E39 and many other BMWs.
Yea, I am lucky the yards get some decent cars through here; some are worthless but some are quite nice. E39s especially since you will have a base model 1998 5 something which has been absolutely trashed and then there will be a clean 2003 530i with sport package that has some minor damage at one corner. The yards are about 20 minutes from me so they are close enough to go when I see something of value but far enough where I have to be calculated with my trips as to not waste time.
Old BMW's FTW
No worries, I'm happy to help answer any questions when the time comes.
I have a lot of projects but I kinda stagger them out so I don't have like 5 things all at once. Cars come and go so that keeps it fresh. I also don't have much going on in life aside from work, so I've got a fair bit of spare time for all the projects. I never get to do anything really interesting due to my limited financial resources, but I do try to work with what I have.
I actually like the E34 chassis a lot more than I thought I would. It handles decently and still is pleasant to drive, albeit not as refined as an E39. The interiors have certainly grown on me, though I still greatly prefer the E39 interiors. Parts are nice and cheap though which is nice, and they're abundant at the junkyards here. The E34 that I have, I got for $350. It already had a 5-speed manual swapped in by a previous owner but it was neglected pretty badly. When I got it, it didn't run at all because the engine wiring harness was missing, along with the DME, ignition coils, injectors, and some other bits. So my first introduction to the E34 was through rewiring one from scratch, basically. Thanks to the help of the forum I got it running and driving pretty quickly, and then addressed a bunch of other sketchy stuff like the fuel pump, thermostat (or the lack of one), spark plugs, fuel filter, etc. It's been a process for sure and it's still kind of a beater, but at least it's reliable at this point and starts every single time with no errors.
1995 525i 5-speed - Thread
Member
Evan, Whenever you do get around to doing the VANOS and such, let me know. I also have that start-up rattle that bugs the hell out of my but my 2002 build / wedding has taken all my funds until next year. At least if I can watch/help someone else do it, it'll make my job hopefully a little easier. Plus, it's always fun to get the wagons together.
'98 M3 5spd - '03 540it 6spd M-Sport
Member
Yeah, really like the contrast, the pieces are pulling it together. Seat piece looks to be in excellent condition too. Great looking combo...
"Updates have been slow since I have been busy with other obligations but Das has been treating me well. I am getting a more pronounced rattle on start up, I presume it is vanos related. I plan to replace the vanos seals when I go in to do the timing chain guides, the wagon runs great but the sound is annoying/embarrassing and starting to bug me since I take pride in my vehicles. If not running basic errands then there is usually a bike strapped to the top of the E39 like such"
Been getting the rattle after an oil pump failure (top of the motor), your attention to detail the noise "is" annoying and "weirdly" embassaring...I know your pain...enjoyment driving drops a bit with "what if" now a constant thought even knowing the car runs perfect...sucks my oil pump caused a new problem...
Member
It has been a nice couple weeks for both wagons, for the E61 sourced parts for the structural repair and also collect/ordered all parts for my complete front RWD/M5 subframe swap and M5 steering rack conversion.
The E39 received some cleaning/restoration, progress on the interior conversion, and some minor repairs.
Brakes and rotors were all cleaned paints and/or cleat coated. Wheel liners and engine bay were also cleaned up, driveway looks like a car got killed on it.
Brakes prior.
Wheel liners before
After
Metal brush wheel made quick work of the rust.
Wheels got a good clean too
Rears after
Fronts after
Lower edge of front bumper was a little chewed up from the previous owner so I Plasti-Dipped it to hide the ugliness and protection.
Wagon (and bike) are both dirty in this pic but looking good. E39s a little sharper after the brake makeover and wheel cleaning.
Got a notification that this gem was received at the salvage yard. I was after the rear M-sport rear bumper but unfortunately it was already plucked, either someone beat my 5 hour response time or it was in inside job.
All was not lost since the white wagon yielded a nice Kenwood amp which was eerily similar to my current mid range amp in the wagon which was having issues with the Right channel output. except for the larger size the amp was almost a straight swap.
Another score at the junk yard was black carpet from a sedan, a black armrest, and ebrake boot. All for $28
Power Washed and scrubbed the carpet, good as new (almost).
While the carpets were drying I repaired some A and B pillars, reinitiated my key fob which stopped working, and repaired some shifter bezel clips.
With the carpet dry it was time for the swap.
Gutted
Before
After
The only catch with installing a sedan carpet in a wagon is you must cut out holes for the bracket which facilitates the rear lower seat cushion/cargo partition.
Some pics with interior all back together, black center console is next. Considering ditching the brown upper dash and door cards for black and then transferring over my beige leather inserts. I did the same on my E61 and really like "a little beige on a lot of black" but the interior of the E39 won't flow as well as the E61 soooo we will see.
Old BMW's FTW
Nice work! The brakes really did clean up nicely, hopefully they don't corrode as quickly this time around. I'm looking forward to doing my 540it's interior swap as well... the tan is super beat up at this point, can't wait to just swap it all over to black.
Since you're a taller guy, I'd highly suggest sourcing a euro lower dash. It makes the lines of the interior flow a lot better and frees up quite a bit of leg room, so I'd say it's well worth the effort.
1995 525i 5-speed - Thread
Member
I have seen the euro dash conversion, it looks nice, and is surprisingly reasonable considering it's "new." But I am so large that added space wouldn't benefit me, if I am so close to the dash that those couple extra inches are benefitting me then I am already way outside my comfort zone, hope this makes sense. Also, I am trying to be thoughtful with how I am allocating money on this build since my goal is to sell it and make as much as possible and when I say that what I really mean is "hopefully break even." lol
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Supporting Vendor
She's come such a long way in a hurry! Looking great!
-James
Member
Epic so far my man
1999 528i Touring - Alpine White
Member
Some small maintenance items addressed. My coolant level would drop enough to trigger the dash warning after about 2 weeks of driving but I had a hard time finding the location of the leak. I finally noticed some coolant on the driver side control arm and as it turns out the leak was from the coolant valve assembly right by the engine. I think most of the coolant steamed off from the heat of the engine so I was never able to see it collect/puddle on the ground. It looks like the leak was form install error when I replaced my hose.
There is a healthy amount of oil escaping from the small seals on the front side of the timing chain covers. This is a bit frustrating since these are also something I already replaced but obviously not well enough. When I get into the vanos and chain guide repair I will be very thorough to eliminate all oil leaks.
I have a few K+DCAN cables but now owning an E39 and E61 I decided to buy the Bimmergeeks cable since it can work on both chassis by simply flipping a switch which is very handy. I used it to reset the transmission adaptations. After a longer drive I notice some clunky downshifts to 1st gear so hopefully this helps to smooth everything out.
Previously when working on my diff I saw the center support bearing CSB was sagging and looked a bit tired. This was confirmed by some wobbling in the drivetrain under hard acceleration from a dig and lower speeds. The guibo looked fine so that was left as-is.
Whoever previously worked on the driveshaft was a little ambitious with the Locktite, they skipped Blue and Red and used GUSTO. The guibo bolts were real hard to get off and needed to use a breaker bar and a breaker bar length 1/2" socket wrench, broke a Harbor Freight 1/2" - 3/8" socket adapter.
The bolt holding the 2 drive shafts together was impressively terrible, I thought the bolt was stripped for sure. I ended up needing to put a long pry bar into the U joint as a counter hold and then used my foot on an wrench to get the bolt off, and I am not talking break it free but the entire time until 90% of threads were out. I haven't really experienced something like this before.
The rear CV was throwing grease all over the place so I took the opportunity to clean up the exhaust, heat shields, etc. Under closer inspection the CV joint seemed to be in great condition so I cleaned out the old grease the best I could, installed a new gasket, and repacked with fresh grease.
Member
Awesome build/maintenance thread. Glad I found it
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Glad you're here!
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It proved to be relatively difficult to find E39 tourings with black pillars, most of the tourings with black interiors had grey pillars and headliners. I ended up finding some from eBay.co.uk for a reasonable price.
Before
After
Black car struggles, had to PERPENDICULAR park to capitalize on the last bit of shade for a wash.
My bike barely fits on the rack.
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