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Thread: Dasjuicebox's 2003 540i/6 M sport build

  1. #1
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    Dasjuicebox's 2003 540i/6 M sport build

    So this is my new to me 2003 540i/6 Msport. It has around 140k miles and runs pretty strong. The engine and transmission all feel pretty tight. The car looks good from 10 feet, but needs a full paint correction, dents repaired, new M bumper, and needs M parallels as far as cosmetics are concerned. I feel love with this style BMW pack in the later 90s and always wanted to have one. This is going to be a project car, try to breathe some new life into her, but by no means a concourse restoration. I just want to have a somewhat time capsule BMW for my nostalgia sake.

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    This is where she currently resides. My buddy and I share a shop space.

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    I bought these wheel dollies at harbor freight, they work surprisingly well after regreasing all the bearings with lithium grease. They are a two man effort to push the heavy 5er, but that's because my floor has a very rough surface and a few cracks.

    image4.jpeg

    One of the 540s stable mates is my 84' gslse rx7. It has a JDM FC 13b with a hybrid turbo running methanol. Currently setup as a fun HPDE car with full cage and conservative tune at 300whp. Tips the scales at 2470lb with a full tank of gas.

    image3.jpeg

    Ill update this thread with my progress, hope to have it full sorted in 12-18 months

  2. #2
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    Nice project!

    Any chance this was one of BaT 540is? looks familiar.
    2003 BMW 540i [Sterling Gray / Gray]
    [Msport] [Mods from A-Z] [Two-Tone Interior]

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    All types of E39 OEM Used HVAC Buttons
    Other E39 Parts, see my ebay! [Click]



  3. #3
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    Where is "NEO?" Northeast Oakland?


    Ed in San Jose '97 540i 6 speed aspensilber over aubergine leather. Build date 3/97. Golden Gate Chapter BMW CCA Nr 62319.

  4. #4
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    Quote Originally Posted by Dking078 View Post
    Nice project!

    Any chance this was one of BaT 540is? looks familiar.
    Yep, I purchased this off BaT, I think back in July. I actually won the auction on a flight to work, maybe paid too much, but at least now I can say I'm in the mile high club for car purchases.

    NEO = North East Ohio

  5. #5
    geargrinder's Avatar
    geargrinder is offline Having No Trouble Here BMW CCA Member
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    Quote Originally Posted by edjack View Post
    Where is "NEO?"
    Neo is in the Matrix.

    Quote Originally Posted by dasjuicebox View Post
    I bought these wheel dollies at harbor freight, they work surprisingly well after regreasing all the bearings with lithium grease.
    All that Chinese stuff comes with the worst cheapass grease you've ever seen. It probably gives you cancer too. I mean I own an assload of cheap Chinese stuff and some of it is great, but the grease they use is the nastiest cheapest sticky mess gunk ever. The HFT dual-action polishers are great but you have to take all the crap grease out of them and replace it with proper EP red grease and then they become 1/2 as loud and buttery smooth in comparison. I've been overhauling/modding my Toro snowblower last few weeks and lo and behold its all full of crap cheap grease too. Unbelievable how smooth everything works with a proper application of decent lubricant,


    Whats the plan for the 540? Mods-project-car or just resto-sweet-luxo-street-car?
    2003 M3CicM6 TiAg
    2002 540iT Sport Vortech S/C 6MT LSD TiAg
    2008 Audi A3 2.0T DSG (the daily beater)
    2014 BMW X1 xDrive28i (wifemobile)

    Former:

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  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by geargrinder View Post
    proper EP red grease
    What is your brand or whatever else preference for this stuff when you go grab some off the shelf? I have no clue..

  7. #7
    geargrinder's Avatar
    geargrinder is offline Having No Trouble Here BMW CCA Member
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    Ha ha I dunno actually what’s out there now.. a tube of red syn EP is all I know! I have just been scooping it out of the tube because I seldom need it in a grease gun application and I think the day I got it I couldn’t find a tub so I just grabbed the tube.
    2003 M3CicM6 TiAg
    2002 540iT Sport Vortech S/C 6MT LSD TiAg
    2008 Audi A3 2.0T DSG (the daily beater)
    2014 BMW X1 xDrive28i (wifemobile)

    Former:

    1985 MB Euro graymarket 300SL
    1995.5 Audi S6 Avant (utility/winter billetturbobattlewagen)


  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by geargrinder View Post
    Whats the plan for the 540? Mods-project-car or just resto-sweet-luxo-street-car?
    I'm leaning more towards resto-sweet-luxo, Id like to add an LSD at some point, but other than bringing her back to life, I'm content with the car the way it was from factory.

    Plans for the future:
    leatherique full interior
    replace windshield trim
    replace a few door seals
    m parallels
    new m front bumper
    rewrap steering wheel
    full suspension overhaul (changing out all arms and bushings)
    brake overhaul (rebuild calipers, ss lines, bronze caliper bushings, better fluid)
    paint correction and dings repaired
    545i shifter
    maybe a slight sound system upgrade

    I should have bought a pristine M5, but I enjoy doing work on cars. So ill end up with a ton of money sunk into this with little payoff besides enjoying the work I did and having a decent 540i.



    Quote Originally Posted by tptrsn View Post
    What is your brand or whatever else preference for this stuff when you go grab some off the shelf? I have no clue..
    I personally think its mostly the same, the grease is going to become contaminated with foreign debris way before it breaks down, stock harbor freight crap excluded. I just grab whatever is on sale or available, I currently have 3 tubs of the red hit temp grease. I prefer the tubs, easy to put your whole hand in it without having to scoop it out with something.
    Last edited by dasjuicebox; 11-07-2017 at 08:25 PM.

  9. #9
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    Welcome to club e39. All 4 of my BMWs are from the same era, just read my sig.
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  10. #10
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    Today I got some time to finish up the brake rebuilding process. I checked the fluid recently and found that it was dark brown to black in color. I decided I needed to redo the entire brake setup. I went with all new seals from ate, painted the calipers and carriers with G2 paint, brass caliper pin bushings in front, and all 6 rubber lines replaced with ECS stainless Teflon coated lines. I didn't get everything installed yet, because I'm waiting on a Motive speed bleeder to pump new ATE super blue brake fluid throughout the system. Ill hold off on rotors and pads until I figure out what combination to go with. Any recommendations for a slightly more aggressive pad that wont see time on the track? I don't mind dust, but do not want any noise.

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    Last edited by dasjuicebox; 11-12-2017 at 08:32 PM.

  11. #11
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    Today I took the time to asses the rear suspension situation, it did not look good. A lot of the boots are ripped and the joints seem loose. The rear passenger shock must have been leaking, I assume the dark area is oil that leaked from the shock. The subframe bushings have a similar discoloration, again I'm assuming the fluid has leaked out. The ball joints seem to look ok, but Ill probably replace them while I'm in there. Since I'm likely going to replace everything, is it easiest to drop the rear subframe? I'm thinking I might as well pull replace anything that is rubber or a joint, most of it looks like stock components. I have no idea why the pictures are rotated, I can seem to get them to change orientation.


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  12. #12
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    I like how you are going about this. Taking your time and doing it right!! I have the same kind of project in front of me and need to get going on my car that I bought last april and has been sitting since, waiting for some love! Will be following your thread and watching from the bleachers. Good luck.

  13. #13
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    I have same car, in Alpine white with stick. I’ve recently done all the same work with full suspension rebuild. Car is a great highway cruiser now. Personally I see little reason to mod it, getting it back to full factory functioning is a good goal. I even restored the factory radio and took out the Dynavin. I enjoy the trip computer again. I’m also in over the car’s worth in maintenance and repairs, but what the hell, it’s a great 540.

    PCA HPDE Instructor
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    past:
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    2004 M3 convert SMG
    2003 BMW 540i6 Alpine White M sport (I want her back!)

  14. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by capebmw View Post
    I like how you are going about this. Taking your time and doing it right!! I have the same kind of project in front of me and need to get going on my car that I bought last april and has been sitting since, waiting for some love! Will be following your thread and watching from the bleachers. Good luck.
    Thanks! I bought the car back in June and didn't touch it for 4 months, so I feel your pain. With winter here, ill be spending less time outdoors and more time in the shop, hopefully.


    Quote Originally Posted by bostonaudi View Post
    I have same car, in Alpine white with stick. I’ve recently done all the same work with full suspension rebuild. Car is a great highway cruiser now. Personally I see little reason to mod it, getting it back to full factory functioning is a good goal. I even restored the factory radio and took out the Dynavin. I enjoy the trip computer again. I’m also in over the car’s worth in maintenance and repairs, but what the hell, it’s a great 540.
    Your car looks great! I'm sure ill be in the same situation in terms of money, and I'm okay with that. If I end up with 12K into it and its similar to the experience it gave when it was brand new, I'm going to call that a win.
    Last edited by dasjuicebox; 11-22-2017 at 06:33 PM.

  15. #15
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    Well last night I decided to pull the rear subframe to begin the suspension refresh. It took about 4 hours total and will be much easier the next time around. The only real issue I had was trying to get the rear CV joint separated from the differential flange, the two were completely seized and I had to beat it apart with a 3.5lb sledge. I used a transmission jack to lower the subframe after it was completely disconnected, then removed one shock to wheel it out from underneath the car.

    subframe out and ready and set on my welding table, should give me plenty of space to work.
    kgje.jpeg

    passenger side
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    front view of the diff flange
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    drivers side
    ckasdmf.jpeg

  16. #16
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    Wow, if it only took you 4 hours to yank the sub frame, you should come out well ahead. Wish I had done that


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    2001 Salvage Title 540i
    My build thread: https://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/s...toive-decision

  17. #17
    JimLev's Avatar
    JimLev is offline Artifically Aspirated Moderator
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    Did you see the slot on the diff flange? You can stick a screwdriver in there to pry the driveshaft away from the diff flange.

  18. #18
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    Quote Originally Posted by douglawrence42 View Post
    Wow, if it only took you 4 hours to yank the sub frame, you should come out well ahead. Wish I had done that
    Yeah, it wasn't too bad. I had skimmed over a few DIY articles, so I had an idea. It took me a bit to figure out the backseat and parcel shelf areas and I didn't know about the parking break cable just being a friction fit into the wheel carrier. All in all, not a bad process.

    Quote Originally Posted by JimLev View Post
    Did you see the slot on the diff flange? You can stick a screwdriver in there to pry the driveshaft away from the diff flange.
    I did. I tried using a prybar, 3 different chisels, and multiple screwdrivers. The slot ended up pretty mangled after I got it off, ill take some pictures of the damage later. I'm hoping I can reuse the beat on CV joint, id rather not shell out $250 when the old one was fine.

  19. #19
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    Got some work done on the rear subframe today. I stripped the lower control arms, all links, and ball joints. I also pressed out the differential bushings. All of the links came out fairly easily. The ball joints on the other hand were an absolute bitch to get out. Spent a good hour trying to press them out with a combination of a harbor freight ball joint set, chunks of metal and liberal amounts of PB blaster. I took the advice of someone and put the new balljoints in the freezer for an hour. This worked out great, they slid right in without much effort, Id highly recommend putting them in the freezer. Now I need to figure out a way to press out the subframe bushings. I want to give it a try with the stuff I have on hand before I break down and rent the proper tool. I plan to put in touring subframe bushings. Also, I want to replace the lower control arm bushings but ive only seen just the arm for sale. Is there a decent option to replace these while maintaining a stock or slightly better than stock ride?

    IMG_8266.jpg

    New lemoforder integral link and balljoint
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    I used some of the cups from a large balljoint press kit I got off amazon and a large all thread rod to press out the differential bushings.
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    Picked up some OEM M parallels off the classifieds.
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    Attached Images Attached Images

  20. #20
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    I tried the generic Harbor Freight tool on the rear bearings and it was useless. I bought Bavarian Autosport’s tool and had them popped out and in in minutes.
    PCA HPDE Instructor
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  21. #21
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    Work continued on the rear subframe. I must admit that I spent waaaay too much time getting the subframe bushings out. At first I welded up a 3/4" plate to two 3/4" square tubes and used 1/2" threaded rod and a cup end from a balljoint kit. This first attempt resulted in too much pressure being put on the ends of the tubing, so I corrected this by welding small feet that fit the profile of the free space available on the top of the subframe. V3 resulted in a stripped 1/2" threaded rod. Onto try 4 with 5/8" threaded rod and the 3/4" tubes started to buckle. At this point I was ready to give up, but then I forgot my personal moto "when all else fails use heat". I heated the outside surface of the bushing cups and tried again, thankfully they slipped right out. I felt fairly stupid for forgetting the heat, but all is well because they are out, no damage to the subframe and it only cost me the $10 and 10-15 hours of my time
    .
    tool.jpg

  22. #22
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    Today was uneventful in the build but a lot happened with getting the space ready to finish up the rear suspension. I managed to press in the diff bushings, had to use some grease and hose clamps to compress the bushings evenly.

    I tested out the lift today and everything went great, no issues and I feel safe underneath.


    My floors slope really hard towards the drain, so I had to pour a pad of non shrink grout. The grout is rated at 18kpsi after 28 days of cure time and is used in construction to support columns. Finished by knocking down the edges and slapped some yellow paint on it so people wont stub toes.


    Cleaned out organized some space next to lift so I can have a dedicated work area for whatever happens to be on the lift.


    And finally, hung up the stars and bars!

  23. #23
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    That’s a real nice space! The lift will turn you into the laziest man alive, it’s glorious.


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    My build thread: https://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/s...toive-decision

  24. #24
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    Quote Originally Posted by douglawrence42 View Post
    That’s a real nice space! The lift will turn you into the laziest man alive, it’s glorious.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    Thanks! I wish the floors were nicer, but that is my only complaint.

    I wrenched on cars for 15 years without a lift, I think I deserve the laziness.

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