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So I picked up this 2001 740il the other day. Figured it was too good a deal to pass up, and thought I might be able to do a little work on it and flip it and make a couple bucks. We'll see. Timing is pretty bad for that given it's December and my availability is suspect at this point. Oh well.
Car has 94k miles, and runs great. Silent when starting and idles so quietly. Much better than my shorty sport. Body is rust free, a few dings, and the interior is beautiful with a perfect headliner. The leather is so nice on this thing. I paid $1500 and have a few things to address, hopefully without losing money on this deal. I can't say I am not nervous about this.
On to the pictures:
Here's the before, just after driving it back 3 hours to my house.
Post wash. Looks better but my son still thinks the wheels are dorky. Can't say I disagree.
Interior is nice. Would like to have a widescreen nav though.
Man the back seat on these things is huge. Love the footrests!
The other side of the car is nice too. Need PDR. Probably not in the budget though.
Brothers.
So the to do list:
Smokes on start up. Sure hoping it's the CCV and not the OSV. If its's the OSV I am in Barney because I don't want to to guides again.
HVAC blower does not work.
Driver's mirror does not adjust.
Memory seat buttons do not work (but seat moves differently with the different keys)
Needs VC gaskets. I guess upper TC gaskets too then. Damn that is halfway to guides!
Interior trim work, ie cupholder, OBD cover, glovebox latch.
Tires are so-so, kinda old. Undecided if I should get some mpars, or just replace the tires and try spacers on these stock wheels.
Surely some other bits and pieces. Have not even put it up in the air yet, but the suspension feels tight, drives nice if a bit boaty.
Well that'll be my new project. I'd be hoping to fix this and sell it on, but if the black car dies, maybe I will jump over to this. It's a bit long in the garage though.
Last edited by clarkitect; 04-12-2018 at 08:32 AM.
Member
Dang, for that price it's a really nice deal and it looks great too! And yes, I had to completely rearrange my garage to be able to fit iL...
Good luck with the repairs!
Current: 2007 Z4 M Coupe (blue/black)
Previous: 2001 740iL Sport (black/black), 2000 528i Sport (black/tan), 1995 318is (black/black), 1991 318is (white/black)
Member
$1500 with 94K miles? WOW! I would say that's a fantastic deal. I bought my 99 740iL with 93K last year for $3400. But, it was perfect. Tons of records, spotless interior and exterior.
LOVE THE GREEN!
Old BMW's FTW
Man, that's a good deal! These cars are getting stupidly cheap. Normally I only see an 01 740i/740il for that cheap if the guides have failed... the fact that it's drivable for so little money is incredible.
Did the interior come like that from the factory? Usually the tan interiors have brown dashboards and tan carpets. The two-tone is really nice in this one.
1995 525i 5-speed - Thread
Member
Thanks! Hoping to avoid any major tear downs this time!Originally Posted by Ruskii
Yeah this has no records, and apart from being very clean, is somewhat neglected. But the low mileage really shows in comparison to my black one. I agree, the green is pretty sweet!
The seller thought for sure the OSV needed to be replaced so I negotiated the deal in the "needs guides" range. I wish I talked it down another $250. Need to work on my negotiating skills!
And yep, that's factory interior, pearlbeige with dark green, almost black upper dash/door cards, and carpet. The floor mats and footrests look brand new! The interior is pretty amazing, and what really sold me on taking a chance on this car.
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Yes, it's a 2000/2001 optional interior - Pearlbeige (not sandbeige) with either green or blue that matches the exterior.
Glad to see that a member picked this one up, it was a great deal.
Member
Slowly working on things as time allows. Thought I would start out by changing the CCV to hopefully solve the start up smoking, but as I got in there I realized that the CCV looked pretty new, and maybe it was indeed an OSV issue. That kind of bummed me out, but figured I had to drop the oil pan anyway, maybe I could check to see if the drain pipe was clogged.
No guide bits in the oil pan, but a good amount of sludge.
Grabbed some weed whacker string and pushed it up into the drain tube and only got a few inches before encountering some resistance. Slowly worked it through the clog and got it up about a foot. With all the sludge I figured this drain was plugged, and the OSV is probably fairly sludgy, so I decided to give it a kerosene enema.
My enema system. Highly technical.
I pumped the K1 up and at first is was difficult to get much flow, but then it opened up and flowed freely. I decided to let it soak for a bit, and when I came back, a lot of the crap had flowed down into the clear tubing.
I drained this out then flushed the OSV until the stuff draining back out the inlet opening was clean and red. I am hoping it drained out the inlet opening, and the little connector pipe on the OSV itself is not all crumbled. Most of the plastic and rubber bits on this engine are in great shape though, so I am feeling pretty good about my flush solving the start up smoke. Fingers crossed.
Still need to get it back together. Before I reassemble I will tighten the oil pump chain, which is super loose right now, and clean up some of that sludge. Also, you can see that this thing leaks like the Exxon Valdez. Seems to be PS fluid and oil. Will be doing the valve cover gaskets and replacing some PS hoses. I will probably not get into doing the upper timing cover gaskets though.
Last edited by clarkitect; 04-13-2018 at 04:01 AM. Reason: Removed duplicate photo.
Member
Neat trick with kerosene!
Current: 2007 Z4 M Coupe (blue/black)
Previous: 2001 740iL Sport (black/black), 2000 528i Sport (black/tan), 1995 318is (black/black), 1991 318is (white/black)
Senior Member
Supporting Vendor
Love the LWB E38! The interior looks great!.... and you're thinking of flipping it... I don't need another car... maybe if I tell myself that enough I'll lose interest lol.
-James
Last edited by ECSTuning; 12-08-2017 at 09:37 AM.
Member
Kerosene melts that sludge like buttah! Those engine flush products don't do anything better than good old K1.
That interior looks amazing in person. The leather is nice and soft. Headliner is perfect and clean. Carpets like new. Really nice. Could use a moderate cleaning but boy it's something else. Delivery to OH is possible, if only for me to get a trip to Cleveland and Sokolowski's University Inn.
Fairly certain I will flip this car. Already have some interest locally. I don't expect to make much money, but maybe enough to pay my Christmas debts!
Member
Great deal and looks like a somewhat rare color combo... Who are you fooling? You're keeping it...
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Never thought I'd like green and beige but it looks nice in person, and the pearlbeige interior is pretty classy.
A buddy of of mine also thinks I'm going to keep it. We'll see! This place is already like a used car lot.
Member
Adjusted the oil pump chain tension this weekend, in addition to getting the oil pan installed and finishing the oil change. Car started up with no smoke this initial time, but needs to be driven and started a few times to test the results of the Kero Enema.
In the meantime I thought I'd post this photo showing where the M62TU oil pump chain tension adjustment resides since I haven't seen a good pic anywhere. There is a 13mm bolt that is removed, then an 8mm allen head wrench inserted into the bolt hole to adjust the chain to the specified tension, which is about a 10mm play when you wiggle the chain in the middle of the span. My chain was pretty loose.
Look at all that gunk in there! I cleaned it as much as I could could before reassembling. Will need to rechange the oil again in about 1000 miles.
Last edited by clarkitect; 04-13-2018 at 04:03 AM.
Old BMW's FTW
It's nice that you can actually adjust the oil pump chain tension in the 540i and 740i, you can't adjust it at all on the Range Rover and X5 without removing the upper oil pan due to the way the front axle passes through the upper oil pan.
1995 525i 5-speed - Thread
Member
It was a 1995 740iL that was green and beige that started my interest in the 740 back in 2004. Once while on vacation my sister let me borrow her car for the week and I loved it. I went home and sold my brand new VW Passat and bought my 740iL off ebay; although it is silver with black interior. But I like her green and beige so much, I was hooked.
Enjoy your new project.
1997 740iL; 5/96 build. Purchased 12/04.Off the road build project 2013 - 2021. back on road 3/2021. Became daily driver (only vehicle) 6/12/2021. Still not completed. Stay tuned as the adventure continues.
Member
So cold weather and holidays have foiled my working on car plans for the past several weeks. Hopefully back on it this weekend, possibly this afternoon if I can cut out of the office while it's sunny and in the balmy 30's.
One accomplishment this weeked was a six hour round trip to pick up a new set of wheels and tires, plus a new blower fan. Here are the new (used) Mpars and Pilot Super Sport tires for the bargain price of $400. Should update the look of the car considerably.
Wheels look to be in excellent condition, complete with center caps and little BMW valve stem caps. Some cretin put sticky wheel weights on the lip so I will need to get the re-balanced to get rid of those.
So the car has the 4:3 nav and the original phone that is disconnected, but does light up if you plug it in. I was thinking of getting a widescreen for it, and taking out the phone and replacing with a tray. Think there would be any bearing on the value of the car either way? Wife thinks keep it old school. I was thinking the slightly less old school. Thoughts? Object here is to flip and carve out a smallish profit to sink back in to another project.
Last edited by clarkitect; 04-13-2018 at 04:04 AM.
Member
Were these the wheels and tires located in Worcester off of Craiglist?
So cold weather and holidays have foiled my working on car plans for the past several weeks. Hopefully back on it this weekend, possibly this afternoon if I can cut out of the office while it's sunny and in the balmy 30's.
One accomplishment this weeked was a six hour round trip to pick up a new set of wheels and tires, plus a new blower fan. Here are the new (used) Mpars and Pilot Super Sport tires for the bargain price of $400. Should update the look of the car considerably.
Wheels look to be in excellent condition, complete with center caps and little BMW valve stem caps. Some cretin put sticky wheel weights on the lip so I will need to get the re-balanced to get rid of those.
So the car has the 4:3 nav and the original phone that is disconnected, but does light up if you plug it in. I was thinking of getting a widescreen for it, and taking out the phone and replacing with a tray. Think there would be any bearing on the value of the car either way? Wife thinks keep it old school. I was thinking the slightly less old school. Thoughts? Object here is to flip and carve out a smallish profit to sink back in to another project.
Member
Yeah exactly. Were you in on these? The guy said someone else was interested but never got back to him or something. I think the seller was a former member called "mooll" but I didn't ask because he hated me.
Last edited by clarkitect; 01-10-2018 at 05:28 PM.
Member
No. It wasn't me. But I was eyeballing them last week.
Nice to see they at least went to an enthusiast!
Member
If your ultimate goal is to flip, I would do as little work as possible. A new owner could always upgrade to a widescreen or delete the phone if they want. AFAIK its not like the widescreen units are difficult to find...So cold weather and holidays have foiled my working on car plans for the past several weeks. Hopefully back on it this weekend, possibly this afternoon if I can cut out of the office while it's sunny and in the balmy 30's.
One accomplishment this weeked was a six hour round trip to pick up a new set of wheels and tires, plus a new blower fan. Here are the new (used) Mpars and Pilot Super Sport tires for the bargain price of $400. Should update the look of the car considerably.
Wheels look to be in excellent condition, complete with center caps and little BMW valve stem caps. Some cretin put sticky wheel weights on the lip so I will need to get the re-balanced to get rid of those.
So the car has the 4:3 nav and the original phone that is disconnected, but does light up if you plug it in. I was thinking of getting a widescreen for it, and taking out the phone and replacing with a tray. Think there would be any bearing on the value of the car either way? Wife thinks keep it old school. I was thinking the slightly less old school. Thoughts? Object here is to flip and carve out a smallish profit to sink back in to another project.
Plus someone might appreciate the originality.
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Yeah spending the least amount possible is my goal. And my wife thought the same thing about originality. I just hate the look of those things and am itching to change them out. I guess I need to keep in mind the goals here. Probably the Mpars were a dumb move too. But the car looks so much better now!If your ultimate goal is to flip, I would do as little work as possible. A new owner could always upgrade to a widescreen or delete the phone if they want. AFAIK its not like the widescreen units are difficult to find...
Plus someone might appreciate the originality.
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Old BMW's FTW
Man, that looks good. With some lowering springs that would be my perfect E38.
1995 525i 5-speed - Thread
Member
Sell the original wheels to offset the mpars purchase price. Plus, mpars make the car looks so much more attractive and desirable, thus, gives you better justification to ask more $$$!
Looks great!
Current: 2007 Z4 M Coupe (blue/black)
Previous: 2001 740iL Sport (black/black), 2000 528i Sport (black/tan), 1995 318is (black/black), 1991 318is (white/black)
Member
Yeah some Bilstein sports and H&R springs. 15 or 20mm spacers. I could easily triple my investment in this thing without much trouble...Ask me how I know lol.
Well that was my justification for the wheels, at least to the wife. Much more saleable with Mpars. I thought about trying to sell the old Style 29 wheels but there are quite a few on CL up here already. Most people want a a few hundred for them, I might try to let them go for a hundy for all four. They are in basically mint condition but the tires are really old. Incidentally, the Style 29's are not what came on the car originally, the VIN search says it had the Style 60 ellipsoid wheels.
Member
Nah. Mpars were a good move. Unlike the widescreen they make a dramatic impact on the cars appearance and attractiveness!Yeah spending the least amount possible is my goal. And my wife thought the same thing about originality. I just hate the look of those things and am itching to change them out. I guess I need to keep in mind the goals here. Probably the Mpars were a dumb move too. But the car looks so much better now!
Diggin the green even more now! If it were a keeper, def needs lower, but resist if selling is the goal!!
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