Project Log: 2003 BMW 540i

[TecNickal]

I've never posted here before. I've been driving Tauruses (87, 97, 2000, etc), then moved on to Panther platform Town Cars. Great cars, but just aren't entertaining or sporty handling! I have a dark blue 2003 Town Car with 226K miles to drive to work and back - love it. Still Have it and a 90 TC. My parents both have BMWs - 2000 Z3 w/35K and a 2006 325i with 100k.

I've always had a thing for the e39 - the wagon was appealing for the cargo hauling capabilities. Last few weeks, I began searching. Read up a lot on them - read what to look for. Looked at a couple of out of state wagons - things didn't match up for me on a couple of 2002s.

Then a 2003 540iT popped up in Charlotte - an hour away. Good friend of mine went with me and helped me look it over. Arranged to meet seller - and after checking it out and settling on a price I own it! 2003 540iT. April 26, 2002 built but is a 2003 model. Silver on black leather. Only option I believe besides the Premium Package all these cars had, is the factory Navigation. 139K miles. No rust. <edit> It also has the cold weather package (heated seats and headlight washers) but no heated steering wheel as that was an option for the CWP </edit>

IMG_6245.jpgIMG_6246.jpgIMG_6248.jpgIMG_6249.JPG

The previous owner put A LOT of money into this car - many thousand of dollars of maintenance and repairs in the 10 years he kept it at the Hendrick BMW dealer. I bought it - $2,650. Clean title. It has mild damage to the hood. Someone backed the corner of a trailer and crunched up the fender and pushed into the hood - no structure to car damaged. Fender replaced hood left alone. I want to find a nice silver hood.

I'll go through and document service history - compare to what's wrong with car and approach it from there

Issues detracting driving experience:
-It's got someone going on with the front end clunking, i'm sure a thrust arm or control arm with associated ball joint is failing.
-Got a rotor in need of help, warped or heavy pad deposits.
-No Radio - GPS works, onboard computer works, no DSP in options, CD changer magazine won't eject...hmm.
-Vent function doesn't list up moonroof, but motor runs it. Moonroof opens normally.
-Driver seat has "the twist". I want to find some other nicer black leather seats. These are pretty rough, dried up. Has a hole in a bolster

Secondary issues...
Driver door seal is junk, rear door sill plates junk, 1 or 2 kidneys are junk up front. Hood doesn't operate/open smoothly. I'm sure i'll discover more.

I'll use this thread to keep it updated as work progresses. Awesome site - so much great information.

[JimLev]

Welcome to the forum.
Looks like you've got a few things to keep you busy.
Not to add to you list but do you know if the timing chain guides have ever been changed?

[Uturn540]

Didn't Bmwpower603 decide to part out a silver 540, he may still have the hood.

[TecNickal]

Timing Chain guides have not been done. So, chains, Guides, and vanos seals on the sprockets will be done - forgot to write that. Glad you mentiomed and thanks for the welcome note!

I've taken heads off, head gaskets, done valve seals, laped valves, and your normal seal/gasket replacement. Old school ohv timing chain replacement i've done - so doing the guides and camshaft vanos seals is uncharted territory. That'll be a project in November-February. This car will not be driven much at all before work done as I know it's very critical.

So I read threads, checked to see if the GPS audio would work - nothing when I enter a destination. CD magazine won't eject from player. DVD Navigation unit light is blinking. So guessing I should unplug battery, reconnect and see if it starts working again. If not - some kind of amp must be dead.

Thanks for the tip on the hood - wow he's way up in NH too bad, little too far to travel.

[TecNickal]

Duplicate.

[MrFlam]

Welcome.

You're lucky to have found a wagon with a black interior. The whole car looks very nice indeed.

[TecNickal]

Welcome.

You're lucky to have found a wagon with a black interior. The whole car looks very nice indeed.

Thank you. The other two wagons I looked at were gray inside. I was surprised to find this one in black - all 7 of my cars are black except one with a chocolate brown interior.

[JimLev]

CD mag issue is pretty common. Take the covers off, find the correct lever to push on (can't remember which one it is) that will allow you to remove the cartridge. Then replace all the old hard grease with some new stuff.

[geargrinder]

Ha ha this will be a different kettle of fish than a Taurus or Town Car that's for sure. Hope you're ready for fun with maintenance!

Old school ohv timing chain replacement i've done - so doing the guides and camshaft vanos seals is uncharted territory.

Sounds like you'll have little trouble with this, it just takes a lot longer to take off 'other stuff' than the type of motors you probably have done before. The timing covers are a PITA and require everything to come off. Water cooled alternator silliness, etc.

Be aware the special tools are absolutely required for timing... if you've done typical keyed timing chain jobs where the chain can only be off by a multiple of tooths, the BMW engines are not like that. There is no key/keyway or splines, the sprockets just bolt on to smooth shafts and are 'infinitely' variable. Even then you'd think OK you can mark everything but the VANOS hubs introduce even more complexity as there's internal rotation that you can't really index from the outside. Lotta guys new to the motor just don't get that.

[dannyzabolotny]

Sounds like you'll have little trouble with this, it just takes a lot longer to take off 'other stuff' than the type of motors you probably have done before. The timing covers are a PITA and require everything to come off. Water cooled alternator silliness, etc.

Be aware the special tools are absolutely required for timing... if you've done typical keyed timing chain jobs where the chain can only be off by a multiple of tooths, the BMW engines are not like that. There is no key/keyway or splines, the sprockets just bolt on to smooth shafts and are 'infinitely' variable. Even then you'd think OK you can mark everything but the VANOS hubs introduce even more complexity as there's internal rotation that you can't really index from the outside. Lotta guys new to the motor just don't get that.

The best part about learning to work on the BMW V8's is that every other engine will seem simple in comparison. A lot of Ford guys whine about the Modular engines as being needlessly complex when it comes to upgrading the heads/camshafts, but to me it seems like a total breeze since it's only SOHC with no variable valve timing. The guys complaining usually only have the brainpower to replace one cam in the block, haha.

[TecNickal]

Oh yes - this is going from Intermediate level (4.6 SOHC) to Expert (M62TU). I'm ready for a challenge and some reward. Pay to play right? The BMW V8 is definitely going to show me how much other engines are cakewalks in comparison.

I had a V8 SHO Taurus, 1997 that Yamaha pressed the camshaft sprocket onto the camshaft. PRESSED. No keyway. Guess what happens when they age and the sprocket spins independently of the camshaft? Valve meet piston - piston meet valve :-) . If you weld the sprocket at right spot on the camshaft its fine but what an awful design.

I cannot tell you how big of a $h!t eating grin I had when I planted my right foot driving the vehicle home on the interstate. The speedometer and the car moved ahead with authority I have never experienced in life. So yea - this will be worth it! I just have to be super detailed, methodical, diligent and careful. And with it not being a DD, I have all the time in the world to work on it.

Wasn't sure if the failure of magazine ejecting was a clue to why no DSP shows on Nav screen and no audio (FM/AM/Tape/Disc/Nav Voice).

I'm also reminded how german rubber stuff does not last/hold up well. Driver door seal is garbage - so are a couple of scuff plates in the door way.

[dannyzabolotny]

Sounds like you should be up to the challenge then! The trick with German engines is to be organized and careful. Always check the torque specs because aluminum components hate being overtorqued. I use plastic ziplock bags with labels to organize my parts as I remove them, that's the only way to keep a chain guide job from turning into a complete logistical nightmare. You also have to be careful with what parts you buy. For certain parts like the chain guides it's worth buying the Genuine BMW parts, but for gaskets and rubber bits you can generally get away with reputable aftermarket suppliers like Febi, Victor-Reinz, and Elring.

Funny how you went from Ford to BMW, whereas I started with BMW and later got a Ford (1996 Mustang GT 5-speed). I love both— the 540it for its refinement, all-around comfort, and cargo hauling ability, and the Mustang for being a cheap, robust platform to build on. I plan to turn the Mustang into a drag car, with a header-back catless straight pipe, 4.10 gears, PI heads, comp cams, and eventually a 150 wet shot of nitrous.

[TecNickal]

Not a lot of room for error on German engineering - precise and accurate and keeping it organized. And definitely going OEM on certain parts that take a lot of work. I will send off my camshaft sprockets to Dr.Vanos or someone - I am not up to the challenge of doing seals on my own.

That describes why I like my 540iT too - refined, comfort and cargo hauling.

I did put a 70mm throttle body from a Lincoln Aviator on my 03 Town Car a week or two ago - the factory 65 was tossed in the trash. Amazing how much snappier and responsive the car is - and no PCM flashing required. Snap the cables on and off you go.

Back to BMW land...

I unhooked the battery yesterday, let system power down, 5 min later, hooked back up - still no sound and no option for am/fm/tape/cd/gps voice. Guess I need a new amplifier.

[XAlt]

CW was just telling me about somebody from SC that bought a 540, well you found the right place. His E32 held up pretty well considering it towed a Corvair across the country.

Do guides when you have the time, they can fail now or in 50k miles. Tearing stuff apart honestly was pretty easy but I had to get a friend to retime, that wasn't fun.

VANOS seals are not a necessary job if you like the dieseling noise. Besian makes it sound like a 999 step job, but it's not.

[TecNickal]

Yup that's me!

My vin indicates that while I have factory navigation, I do not have DSP - S676A is on the build data. S677A is DSP. Which is good - right? 2 connectors on amp in back. Bad is that when looking at RealOEM it shows as a touring only amp. So compared online pictures between a sedan and touring - maybe a bolt hole is off on the bracket - but who cares, you can unscrew the whole bracket and swap. So I'll stock up on some boneyard ones before paying $500 for a new one from BMW. Maybe try taking my apart look for cold soldier joints.

I did look at my Nokia woofer in the back. Loved the engineering for the swing away access to the battery.

[waters17]

Not a lot of room for error on German engineering - precise and accurate and keeping it organized. And definitely going OEM on certain parts that take a lot of work. I will send off my camshaft sprockets to Dr.Vanos or someone - I am not up to the challenge of doing seals on my own.

One of the forum gearheads is selling a re-sealed vanos set in the for sale section of the forum. Looks like a pretty good deal.
https://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/s...-M62tu-engines

[amancuso]

What shows up on the screen? Anything at all? Or is the screen just blank?

[TecNickal]

Yup that's me!

Thanks for the link to the vanos

nav screen loads - nav works. Just no voice guidance, no am/fm/tape/cd. No reaction from buttons or selection.

Think i I need a new amp

[BMXandBMWS]

Welcome! I had a 525i m sport touring and loved it. Made a stupid decision to trade it in on an X5 and now have a 540i sedan. Something about these e39's.

You will love it, and everyone on this board is so helpful.

Enjoy

[TecNickal]

Thanks! E39 is a great looking and driving car and probably the last of the 5er that you can mostly maintain on your own.

I had a hard time finding an E39 99-00 528iT 5 speed - doesn't seem to be a whole lot of those out there. 01-03 525iT looked a little low on power for hauling a big 5 around. V8 more than makes up for it :-)

---

History.JPG
So I was looking at the carfax on this vehicle. Check out the first three line entries! Weird. Anyone seen this before? Wonder why it went back to Germany for a year and accrued miles...?

The car is built per the VIN decoder as April 26, 2002. But it's a 2003?

[TecNickal]

Plot thickens?

looked through service books to see this vehicle received servicing. But in march 6-7, 2003 the car is indicated to have 10(!!!) miles. So it got shipped back and sat at BMW Zentrum?
Then May 26,2003 its indicated to have been imported to the USA.
then July 28,2003 at 108 miles QC 1 stamp at the New Jersey port (originally came through NYC port)

Suddently two days later it has 1,328 miles on July 30th?? Sold at BMW of Morristown? Then off to auction as a manufacture vehicle.

weird! Anyone seen weirdness like this before? Think BMW OF NA might provide info?

In other news, I bought two rebuild VANOS cam shafts and a standard amp from Jim today!

Going to the junkyard on Saturday to look for a new hood and fender. Found three contenders all in the same self service junkyard!

[geargrinder]

Interesting. Maybe was a dealer demo car. Those tend to have weird mileage records like that. I mean 10 or 50 miles dont make a huge difference and many cars show that purely from test drives and on and off the car carriers etc but 108mis is a little higher than youd expect.

[JimLev]

TecNickal, thanks for buying my parts.
Looks like the non-panjo is starting to payoff.

The records for my car show it was shipped from Germany to Guam and then to Inskip BMW Rhode Island where I bought it.

[TecNickal]

Dunno what panjo is, but glad its helping and thanks to you for the package deal!

Weird - Apr 2002 Build Car, June 2002 arrives in US, July 2002 arrives back in Deutschland. Heads back to US May 2003, end of July 2003 PPI completed at NJ Port.

Also found this on the build sheet: S991A Pre-production management.

Pre-Production management?

[Jackwagon]

Hey Nick!
Congrats on the new car! It looks nice. If you're like me, you'll love/hate your E39.
I might be able to offer some help if you like. I think I've replaced everything on my car. Some things twice.
Have fun!
Jeff