She's dead

[RyansBMW]

Whelp, I needed one more week out of her but it didn't happen.

My torque converter has been acting up for a while now, throwing a CEL for a few weeks and then going away. Driving home last night on the highway, the transmission started getting real jerky when shifting and started missing gears. The trans failsafe popped up on the dash and I'm like oh shit. I was only a few miles from home, the car was driving relatively normal minus being in limp mode so I took it easy, hoping to make it. All was well on the highway. When it came to the stop and go traffic around the lights, thats when it had problems and I pulled over and called a tow truck. The car would rev to 6 or 7k before it would even move. Smoke coming out from under the sides of the car. When I got out, I realized the entire rear bumper was coated in oil. Tow truck pulled up and towed me back the apt where she now sits in the back of the parking lot. Sad night to see her go out that way.

So the torque converter and possibly the transmission is toast. I needed the car to last one more week to make it to the dealer as it was part of a trade in for a new car. Not gonna happen anymore. Some guy randomly approached me on the street saying he would buy it as a parts car so I have to call him today and see if he was serious. How much do you guys buy parts cars for? Minus the trans, everything is in pretty good shape. Engine has 225k miles but is solid.

Or I may see if any donation place will take it. Ill be able to strip out the wheels, headlights and PCN/amp setup and sell those on the side and make some money.

[R Shaffner]

Really? Why not replace the tranny with another used one?

[auaq]

Time for a 5/6 speed swap.

[RyansBMW]

I was getting rid of the car anyway. Not really worth the money and hassle to replace the trans.

If you guys want to come up and grab this car for a swap, I'm all ears

[geargrinder]

Depends on what you're gonna steal off it before you sell it. Generic worn high miles parts cars go for $500-1000 generally. Maybe a little more for something special / better / rarer.

Are all the mods recent and clean and tasty etc? Is the body minty clean? If so there's good argument to fix it, or sell it as a 'fixer', for which you can argue a better price than for a parts car because its a relatively sure thing that after $1500 tranny replacement it'll still be a solid ride, and there won't be the hassles of a part-out to deal with.

If not, if you're going to say "well it was getting ready for its 2nd suspension refresh, and the interior is worn pretty hard, and..." then... its probably a parts car sale... in which case...

Sometimes you can bargain with a buyer to bump up by some specifics based on "i'll take these off unless you want to pay extra" - you often see that for wheels, like "$2000 with the wheels and tires, cuz I know they're worth $700 any day of the week, but $1300 if I put the old ratty OEM wheels with baldies on it". Could make a similar argument for stereo stuff.

But if you cherry pick off too much stuff then you're left with a pile of garbage thats not worth anythin. I see those cars on CL all the time "here's my cool car FS for parts BTW I'm taking most of the good stuff but after that you can have the useless leftover junk for $1500 which I think is a great deal!" Those tend to sit around until the guy throws in the towel and sells it to a scrapper for a $100 or whatever.

You can also make a list of what you think the cars worth to a parting out guy to support your argument, i.e. "you should be able to get $200+100+500+300+etc. just for the X-Y-Z-etc. so that comes to $4500 which is why I think $1700 is a good deal for you... not to mention all the rest of the stuff..." but... there's not a massive market for parts-cars/fixer-uppers in E39's...

[RyansBMW]

I live in a city with just a parking lot so I dont really have the ability to part it out and have half a car sitting in the lot. I would also have to be paying for the parking permit the whole time. So I would like it gone regardless by next weekend.

I guess when I say parts car, I was more thinking it as a fixer upper. Right now the Style 42s are on the car and would stay with it. They are pretty beat up and definitely need a makeover tho. Tires are only 1 season old. Engine is solid (225k miles). SLight leak from the oil pan but other than that, its good. All shocks and struts have about 25k miles, all the front arms and links were replaced last year. The rear arms/links need to be done soon tho. Interior is in good shape minus a little seat twist in both front seats. Body has a small rust spot under the boot lid. Front bumper definitely needs a respray. Theres a few small dents in the doors from other people not paying attention but a PDR could fix them all pretty easy. Headlights are DJ Autos with FX-R projectors. I have the original busted up Hellas sitting in a closet that I can throw back on depending on the situation. Stereo has stock speakers but G.A.S PCN and Alpine amp which I cannot revert back to original.

Really minus a new transmission, the car is solid.

Ill post up in the classified and see if I can sell it. Any idea what a good price would be? Otherwise, Make-A-Wish will come collect it for like $500 but Ill be able to strip off the lights and stereo and sell them separately. The BBS RS-GT rims will also be for sale.

[Jason5driver]

Wow...

[auaq]

Sell it to me for free. I can then start my S54 build.

[Ajcanadian]

Buy another 5hp19 and swap it.... DON'T Sell it dirt cheap although I sold mine with a warranty on the trans I bought (bad trans) car had 161k miles sold it for $1,900. Pretty much gave it away on that price.

[BavarianE31]

Man OP, I'm sorry to hear that. Your car was definitely one of the well cared ones on the forums. Do you mind me asking what the symptoms were before failure? My '03 530i had a couple Torque Converter codes that disappeared after awhile (the TC wasn't locking up at speeds 65mph+). This has been going on for a couple of months now, but the cleared codes have not returned. Every now and then the RPMs would jump while I'm in 5th gear but for some strange reason, the code never pops up. I can definitely feel it; almost like a "half" shift) I heard that driving with it slipping for a long time (endurance run) can cause it to fail faster, otherwise you just lose some MPGs. I'm traveling from Seattle to Houston soon, so that's the thing I'm worried about most on my trip. Were you traveling fast for a long time when the problem occurred?

EDIT: How much are you asking for the FX-R headlights?

[djb2]

The e39 torque converters do have a problem with the internal seals leaking. When they leak enough, the torque converter won't lock up.

This is annoying, but not a critical problem. It reduces efficiency and increases the heat generated, but it's not going to immediately fail.

The fix is to replace the torque converter with a new or rebuilt unit. Of course this is all of the labor of swapping a transmission, plus a few hundred for the torque converter. Few people are going to spend that kind money to fix something that isn't really broken.

This is one rebuild that is not a DIY. The process is to cut open the torque converter, replace the seal, precisely weld it back together, and balance the assembly.

[RyansBMW]

Man OP, I'm sorry to hear that. Your car was definitely one of the well cared ones on the forums. Do you mind me asking what the symptoms were before failure? My '03 530i had a couple Torque Converter codes that disappeared after awhile (the TC wasn't locking up at speeds 65mph+). This has been going on for a couple of months now, but the cleared codes have not returned. Every now and then the RPMs would jump while I'm in 5th gear but for some strange reason, the code never pops up. I can definitely feel it; almost like a "half" shift) I heard that driving with it slipping for a long time (endurance run) can cause it to fail faster, otherwise you just lose some MPGs. I'm traveling from Seattle to Houston soon, so that's the thing I'm worried about most on my trip. Were you traveling fast for a long time when the problem occurred?

EDIT: How much are you asking for the FX-R headlights?

Thanks man. It was a good car and definitely got my money and times worth out of it.im looking forward to the next car tho

I had the code for the torque converter since last fall. Code would come and go but since early this year it would stay consistently on. Other than a slightly higher rpm on the highway ( at 80 mph, rpm was at 2900 vs 2600), everything was normal. Coming home the other night on the highway, there were a few rougher shifts. When I went thru a toll booth, when I went to accelerate, the engine revved but I wasn't going anywhere. That was when the trans failsafe kicked on and everything started going down hill. So basically, everything was ok until it wasn't haha.

Im asking $550 for the lights but I may already have a buyer. If that falls thru, I'll make a separate thread for parts I'm taking off

[Jason5driver]

So, what is happening with the car?

[RyansBMW]

A forum member will be picking up for a project. Ill have the headlights, PCN and RS-GTs for sale.

[JimLev]

A forum member will be picking up for a project. Ill have the headlights, PCN and RS-GTs for sale.

I'd suggest you sell those parts over on panjo or the non-panjo site so us mods don't delete the post. You know where they are?

[RyansBMW]

I'd suggest you sell those parts over on panjo or the non-panjo site so us mods don't delete the post. You know where they are?

Yep. Already have the PCN ad up. Need to clean up the headlights and wheels a bit before I post those up as well

[Solo12]

Ugh, sorry to hear that. You seemed to take good care of your car, too bad the transmission let you down. Glad to hear it is going to a forum member for a project vs. being scrapped. I hope between that and your parts sales you get partway to what the dealer was going to give you in trade.

Hopefully, you'll come back with another e39 at some point. It was nice having your input around here. Are you still getting the new car? If so, what are you getting (if you feel like sharing)?

[RyansBMW]

Ugh, sorry to hear that. You seemed to take good care of your car, too bad the transmission let you down. Glad to hear it is going to a forum member for a project vs. being scrapped. I hope between that and your parts sales you get partway to what the dealer was going to give you in trade.

Hopefully, you'll come back with another e39 at some point. It was nice having your input around here. Are you still getting the new car? If so, what are you getting (if you feel like sharing)?

The dealer was going to give me barely anything for the car haha. Assuming I'm able to sell the parts, they will easily out do the price the dealer would give me. The wheels alone will put me ahead.

Ive loved being on this forum. Great people, great info. I'll still be around helping out where I can. As much as I love the E39, I doubt I will end up back in one unless I find a mint M5 down the road. I actually pick up my new car tomorrow. I'll keep it a secret until I post some pics tomorrow or Saturday for you guys.

[Jason5driver]

The dealer was going to give me barely anything for the car haha. Assuming I'm able to sell the parts, they will easily out do the price the dealer would give me. The wheels alone will put me ahead.

Ive loved being on this forum. Great people, great info. I'll still be around helping out where I can. As much as I love the E39, I doubt I will end up back in one unless I find a mint M5 down the road. I actually pick up my new car tomorrow. I'll keep it a secret until I post some pics tomorrow or Saturday for you guys.

What car are you getting?

[RyansBMW]

Picked up my replacement on Friday.

2013 X5 35i M-Sport.
60k miles
Deep Blue Metallic w/black interior
20171208_164050 by ryan19vic, on Flickr

20171209_105214 by ryan19vic, on Flickr

Its certainly different that the E39 but I like it. My original plan was to get a 135 or 335 and a beater truck but after looking at how much I would pay a year to park 2 cars, I decided to just get a fast truck. Already has staggered 20" Style 469M wheels and the Bavsound Stage 1 speaker upgrade. Overall its in really good shape. Some cosmetic issue that need to be taken care of but nothing major. CPO warranty lasts until Oct 2018

Planned mods:
VRSF Chargepipe
BMS Intake
AR Downpipes
MHD Stage 2 tune
AvinUSA headunit

[justinca540i]

Looks really good! Honestly the interior looks a bit better than the F15 (current X5) especially with that nav.

[geargrinder]

Huh. Cool. Simply outstanding color - for my taste at least... If I was to be ordering a car that'd be on the list of potentials.

Dunno nuthin about those cars honestly but I assume it drives like all the post-2010 Bimmers, which is to say extremely nicely if a little less feel and feedback from traditional true BMW's...

[RyansBMW]

Looks really good! Honestly the interior looks a bit better than the F15 (current X5) especially with that nav.

Thanks. I'm a fan so far. The seats are amazing. Its the Comfort seats so it can adjust in a million ways. The navigation screen is going to get an upgrade to this at some point.
https://avinusa.com/10-25-bmw-x5-x6-...on-system.html
It looks just like the F15 screens, full touch screen and has an Android interface laid over the original system. So you get all the cool features of Android and some Apple programs like Car play, and with a simple touch of a button, you have the "original" car system. All of it sits on a 10.25" screen so the resolution is better and apparently the rear backup camera gets a nice boost in the visual dept.

Huh. Cool. Simply outstanding color - for my taste at least... If I was to be ordering a car that'd be on the list of potentials.

Dunno nuthin about those cars honestly but I assume it drives like all the post-2010 Bimmers, which is to say extremely nicely if a little less feel and feedback from traditional true BMW's...

It drives pretty nice. The M suspension definitely helps the car feel tighter, more sedan like and less like a 5000lb SUV. The electric steering has better feel to it than I thought it would but you are right, it doesnt have the same feel that the E46/39/38 had to it. I can't toss it around like my E39 so I really dont mind too much.

[Nyc Dito]

Nice E70!

[Ajcanadian]

that's absolute beautiful my dad has a 11 35i Sport in blacksapphire. It's a pretty fast truck