MotorMouth93's 2003 540i/6 Quasi-Restoration Build Thread

[jicaino]

Glad you didn't have another leak. If the coolant frenzy bites you again, a source of slow leaks that you haven't mentioned nor any of the very knowledgeable folks here suggested is the heater valve. I spent months chasing a minute coolant leak that ended up being that.

[MotorMouth93]

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[dannyzabolotny]

With powdercoated valve covers and timing covers, it's important to make sure the actual mating surfaces are clean and don't have any texture, as that will prevent a good seal with the gasket. Some hack shops powercoat carelessly...

Akebonos are excellent for having almost zero dust, but you do lose a substantial amount of brake feel. For regular daily driving it's certainly tolerable, but for spirited driving the decreased feel is kind of a dealbreaker for me. I had Akebonos on my 540it, along with fresh Zimmermann rotors, new stainless steel braided brake lines, fresh fluid, and it still didn't have great brake feel when carving a twisty mountain road.

[TiesTorN]

Mind sharing a link to where you got them or a part number? The general consensus across many threads on M5Board is that the only way to get the OEM Sachs struts is by buying BMW branded parts, if you found a way to get them without doing that it would be great news for a lot of people.

to be honest I don't know where it came from. I have a friend with good connections and he said I can bring it for you. he apparently contacted a big parts store and asked for boge s705a's at first but later parts store told us that they searched all over the world and it is very very hard to find, although they were able to find sachs, not boge. we said ok doesn't matter same anyway, send it. and that's all that's how I got them. I'm sure it was genuine sachs s705a, it had shiny labels (bandrole?) on it and a detailed documentation stating the difference between m1 and m2.

btw this is the car from another angle with new shocks;

IMG_20190517_195251.jpg

[MotorMouth93]

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[JimLev]

With powdercoated valve covers and timing covers, it's important to make sure the actual mating surfaces are clean and don't have any texture, as that will prevent a good seal with the gasket. Some hack shops powercoat carelessly...

I always mask off all of the parts the gaskets mate to so no powder gets on those areas.
2 week old gaskets are still fine, even 2 month old gaskets are fine to reuse.

[jicaino]

I never had much luck with powdercoated VCs. I'm about to reassemble after having had them stripped and cerakote'd. They look butt ugly (cast imperfections shows, as it's a very fine deposit film, like less than 25 microns) but it doesn't flake or bubble up on oil or anything that powdercoat (improper powdercoat techniques) does, so I'm confiden it won't crack a path for oil to escape. That and I'm using permatex #85420 (licensed hylomar blue) so I'm hoping not a single drop of oil will leak or sweat out of my VC's-

[MotorMouth93]

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[JimLev]

I really can't detect any difference in the sound from the start to the end of your video.
Sure it's not an exhaust leak?

[computiNATEor]

Yeah check for an exhaust leek. Sounds kinda “puffy”

[MotorMouth93]

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[MotorMouth93]

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[Santaclaus4]

After looking around on and off for the past few weeks I was finally able to locate a decent price on Sachs M5/Mtech Suspension II shocks.

Schmeidmann sells the fronts as Sachs brand for $185 each. https://www.schmiedmann.com/en/produ...ct=31312229612

They also sell the rears as genuine BMW but for $240 each which is still cheaper than anywhere I've seen them in the US. https://www.schmiedmann.com/en/produ...3-52-2-229-126

Seems like a good option for staying stock without spending nearly $2000 on shocks, any downsides to going this route? Total cost including shipping and other fees would still be under $1000.

Thanks for the link. I have two of 'em (540i6 M-Sports) and they both need shocks and struts. I wanted to stay stock and you just saved me a bunch of money.

[MotorMouth93]

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[philly98540]

Nice work on the cluster and programming! Looks great.

[computiNATEor]

+1, Nice job!

[JimLev]

Nice fix on the cluster. I picked up those ///M door sills a few years ago, my old ones are in Philly's car now.

[Santaclaus4]

The door sills on my project car look just like your old sills. I don't know how that happens. In my other car they still look almost brand new and they are the exact same age.
As a side note: I still haven't figured out what shocks and struts to get. I know we'd discussed the Bilstein B8 (or was it the B6?) but I can't decide between that and the stock Sachs for my project car.

[mattmar1]

with the b8's, ive found them to be a fairly stiff ride, youll feel every little bump and defect in the road surface. its a matter of what youre looking for.

[computiNATEor]

The door sills on my project car look just like your old sills. I don't know how that happens. In my other car they still look almost brand new and they are the exact same age.
As a side note: I still haven't figured out what shocks and struts to get. I know we'd discussed the Bilstein B8 (or was it the B6?) but I can't decide between that and the stock Sachs for my project car.

Koni!

[MotorMouth93]

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[computiNATEor]

Have you used Koni's with the factory M5 springs? I haven't seen too much about them but it might be a good alternative to $1800 on OEM shocks.

Not with M5 springs, no, but with I6 springs. My M5 came with Dinan springs and JRZ dampers, which are amazing, rare, unreliable, and pricey.

I've put Koni FSDs (gold, now labeled as "special active" shocks) on two personal vehicles, one with stock 530i sport springs, and one with 530i H&R Sport springs. Both times I loved how the car drove. They are very comparable to OEM ride quality, maybe just 10-15% stiffer. Not unwelcome at all.

[philly98540]

Nice fix on the cluster. I picked up those ///M door sills a few years ago, my old ones are in Philly's car now.

Still rockin them Jim! Thanks for the deal

[theWalkinator]

I also need 4 door sills, they aren't cheap.

[Santaclaus4]

The problem with the 2003 540i M-Sport suspension is it's the M-tec II which is the S705 sport suspension option. It's a little different than the S704 option on the "regular sport" model. The car is lowered a bit more than the others and it uses a shorter version of the M5 springs. I wondered about the Bilstein B8 because it's recommended for the M5 which is slightly heavier than our 540i's. I had a feeling that it might be a little too stiff for our lighter weight.
Has anyone used the Koni's as a replacement for the 2003 540i M-tec II suspension?
BTW, sorry for getting in the middle of your thread MM93. Since it's an issue common to the both of us I'm posting here since it's a current topic.