Blackknight530i has a new E39 project - 2002 540it

[dannyzabolotny]

I bought a set of new Arnott air springs when one of mine developed a leak. It was like $300 for a pair of new airbags with new hardware and a good warranty. Well worth it for the piece of mind, if you ask me.

[blackknight530i]

I bought a set of new Arnott air springs when one of mine developed a leak. It was like $300 for a pair of new airbags with new hardware and a good warranty. Well worth it for the piece of mind, if you ask me.

Yeah, I read GG's thread on the Arnotts. I would do that, but cheap OE ones sound good to me. I think he said one was replaced recently.

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[geargrinder]

Yeah, I read GG's thread on the Arnotts. I would do that, but cheap OE ones sound good to me. I think he said one was replaced recently.

Yeah, given the age of the cars, I'm not sure I'd ever put a used bag in these unless they were for sure not-original-vintage... Neither would I mix and match (aka I woudln't replace just one saggy bag... that's a cheapskate move for stuff that is gonna be wearing at exactly the same rate...) I might even roll the dice on a set the cheapo cheapo knockoff bags (going rate = $100 for 2...) before I put a used one in... again unless it was less than the 15yrs old that all the originals were...

[blackknight530i]

Yeah, given the age of the cars, I'm not sure I'd ever put a used bag in these unless they were for sure not-original-vintage... Neither would I mix and match (aka I woudln't replace just one saggy bag... that's a cheapskate move for stuff that is gonna be wearing at exactly the same rate...) I might even roll the dice on a set the cheapo cheapo knockoff bags (going rate = $100 for 2...) before I put a used one in... again unless it was less than the 15yrs old that all the originals were...

Well, as you know, the airbags are super easy to replace and suspension isn't that high on the priority list, so knowing these came off a car and worked well, I'll go with them for cheap. I got the airbags on my blue wagon from a friend who parted out his 540it sport and they've held up fine over the last couple years. I'm well aware that I will eventually be buying new good ones, but I have other things to spend a large chunk of cash on to get this car roadworthy. I'm mainly buying the suspension from the guy to get the front springs and sport sway bar. The rest is really just bonus.

[geargrinder]

thumbsupemoji

[hey808]

Ha! So YOU bought the car! My M-Sport wagon got hit last month, so being in Chicago as well I came across this car. I pestered them and they told me it went to auction. Then it went from one auction to another one (so they say) so I had a friend reach out to someone at auction number 2. Well, there was no record of the car being sold at auction, and when I called they finally said it was sold. I was bummed. I was going to swap my full black interior (full extended leather M5 already swapped in) from the M-Sport then install the M5 trans, driveshaft, diff, axels, etc from my donor into this one knowing the auto trans was on its way out. I had a contact who was a vender at auction 1 check out the car for me and he sent me 50+ pics of it. It appeared solid other than the sun-baked paint. Underneath was super clean. My thinking was this would be the perfect candidate since paint work was needed for an Imola respray (I wouldn’t have minded keeping the enigine bay black).
Im glad the car went to another enthusiast who’s going to resurrect it the way it should be. Just kinda bummed it wasn’t me. Lol. Well, my injured M-Sport is currently at one of Chicago’s premier body shops so hopefully I’ll get her back soon.

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Also I have a brand new genuine BMW rear air spring if you need a single one. PM me if you need it. I eliminated the air setup (Koni’s with Jed’s coilover collars and 7” springs).

I just read the earlier posts...I know a guy with a genuine BMW air spring that may want to barter and trade for some cluster work. M5 cluster needs the vin to match and the mileage zeroed out for a certain M-Sport wagon so when the engine gets swapped all will function happily together ��

[purplecty]

Ha! So YOU bought the car! My M-Sport wagon got hit last month, so being in Chicago as well I came across this car. I pestered them and they told me it went to auction. Then it went from one auction to another one (so they say) so I had a friend reach out to someone at auction number 2. Well, there was no record of the car being sold at auction, and when I called they finally said it was sold. I was bummed. I was going to swap my full black interior (full extended leather M5 already swapped in) from the M-Sport then install the M5 trans, driveshaft, diff, axels, etc from my donor into this one knowing the auto trans was on its way out. I had a contact who was a vender at auction 1 check out the car for me and he sent me 50+ pics of it. It appeared solid other than the sun-baked paint. Underneath was super clean. My thinking was this would be the perfect candidate since paint work was needed for an Imola respray (I wouldn’t have minded keeping the enigine bay black).
Im glad the car went to another enthusiast who’s going to resurrect it the way it should be. Just kinda bummed it wasn’t me. Lol. Well, my injured M-Sport is currently at one of Chicago’s premier body shops so hopefully I’ll get her back soon.

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Also I have a brand new genuine BMW rear air spring if you need a single one. PM me if you need it. I eliminated the air setup (Koni’s with Jed’s coilover collars and 7” springs).

We kind of stole it back from the auction muhahahaha... ;p Sorry!

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[hey808]

We kind of stole it back from the auction muhahahaha... ;p Sorry!

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Well, I never really publicly mentioned this but my Sterling on Black M-Sport came from a dealer in California about 3 years ago. It was listed incorrectly, with no pics, but a vin was shown. That’s all I needed to know what the car was. When I called them they said it was no longer available since the trans was bad. I though perfect, I’m going to installing the 6-speed anyway! Well, after pestering them daily we finally made struck a deal. The car was shipped to Chicago, but then there was a problem with the title. To make a long story short, I had to install a functioning auto trans in it ASAP, make sure all the readiness monitors set, then the dealer paid to have the car shipped back to Cali, have it tested, then shipped it back to Chicago. Either that, or they would take the car back and refund my money, including what I had in shipping it too Chicago. All the while, word of this car made it to these forums where someone (maybe multiple people?) had tried to buy it.

You win some, and you lose some. I’m just glad this black one is getting the proper attention/upgrades it deserves. =-)

[purplecty]

Im just messing around but yes it made it to the right home...

Well, I never really publicly mentioned this but my Sterling on Black M-Sport came from a dealer in California about 3 years ago. It was listed incorrectly, with no pics, but a vin was shown. That’s all I needed to know what the car was. When I called them they said it was no longer available since the trans was bad. I though perfect, I’m going to installing the 6-speed anyway! Well, after pestering them daily we finally made struck a deal. The car was shipped to Chicago, but then there was a problem with the title. To make a long story short, I had to install a functioning auto trans in it ASAP, make sure all the readiness monitors set, then the dealer paid to have the car shipped back to Cali, have it tested, then shipped it back to Chicago. Either that, or they would take the car back and refund my money, including what I had in shipping it too Chicago. All the while, word of this car made it to these forums where someone (maybe multiple people?) had tried to buy it.

You win some, and you lose some. I’m just glad this black one is getting the proper attention/upgrades it deserves. =-)

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[BMW540san]

Oh, another thing I noticed is that on the passenger rear door, neither the outer door handle or the window regulator work. The window regulator doesn't even try to work, so not sure what's up there. With the door handle on the outside, it doesn't even act like it's pulling on anything, so something is probably broken or disconnected. Both rear doors have evidence of vapor barrier failure, but they don't seem that bad, so might be salvageable. I'll take them off and see what's going on with the reg and door handle. Inside door handle does work fine and I think the door locks work.

Also, the remote key doesn't lock/unlock the doors. Could be the same issue I had with my other wagon and the battery terminal inside broke and needs repair. I'm kind of thinking I might just buy a new key from BMW as it's only about $140 and I have a programmer if I need it. I've been wanting to get a new key for my M5 as well. Not sure how they handle new key purchases when buying from a place like Morristown BMW. I would think they would need a copy of registration to order the key, but maybe they would request that after the order is placed. I suppose they could ship it uncut and expect the dealership to do all the work of cutting and programming, but I kind of doubt that. Has anyone here ordered a new key from the dealership before?

Great stuff, looking forward to watch your build.
I've ordered several key from thebmwminipartstore.com which is BMW of Cincinnati. Great service and price. IIRC around $140 shipped. You take a picture of your title or similar and upload to their email. Few days later you get get programmed key ready to go. They have ordering info on their website.
Also, for less than $50 you can get their spare non remote key which I just did for M5. It manually opens door and starts the car.

[blackknight530i]

I’m just glad this black one is getting the proper attention/upgrades it deserves. =-)

It definitely is in the right hands. I'll be taking care of this one. It needs some work and isn't perfect, but it's a good start. The engine runs great, though probably will need VANOS seals done due to cold start rattle and will likely need a suspension refresh soon enough. It's very wallowy right now due to I think blown struts, but they'll be going in favor of the Konis and sport springs, so hopefully that will fix that. I've got no clunking from rear subframe bushings, but I'm betting they are on their way out as most e39Ts are by this age. I own the tool to do them and the Lemforder bushings aren't very expensive.

[Dusterbd]

paul:

loving seeing wagon builds, aspecially with good writing behind it.

as a newb to bmw with an e39 longroof myself, and being semi local (live in albemarle), do you think i could buy you a sammich or something for a crash course and once over of my new to me car? sounds linke you primarily mess with v8, and mines an m52tu, so you may not be the right guy to ask. just trying to get a good baseline on what i have and what it needs, etc.

thanks in advance.
Michael

[geargrinder]

Paul’s super standup guy and you guys prob could swap swap-stories until the cows come home. Before you know it he’ll have introduced you to Brian and convinced you to buy the M62TU out of his wagon to swap into your car and and and....

[JimLev]

Paul’s super standup guy and you guys prob could swap swap-stories until the cows come home. Before you know it he’ll have introduced you to Brian and convinced you to buy the M62TU out of his wagon to swap into your car and and and....

......and have Brian redo your leather seats.

[blackknight530i]

I bring good news everyone!!! After ordering a new filter and some new Redline D4 ATF earlier this week, my buddy Steve and I tonight decided to go ahead and drain the fluid, change the filter, and refill properly. The fluid that came out came out super brown and smelling burnt and the filter was done. Also, the old gasket had been gone a long time ago and it was obvious the pan had been leaking for a while. The crazy thing is that only about 2 qts at most came out of the draining, including after dropping the pan and dumping it into the drain pan. I really think that this transmission was simply low on fluid and it cooked whatever was left in there. Needless to say, after filling it with about 9.3 qts of fluid (when the engine was running and trans fluid temp within range only dribbling out), it shifts beautifully now. We drove it to the gas station to fill it up and it was exactly as it was supposed to be. The engine idled as if it was not even running and the transmission felt like every other 5hp24 car I've ever been in, when they work properly. The only thing I noticed was when I downshifted using kickdown and it kind of jerked into gear, but I chalk that up to it still circulating the new fluid and maybe getting rid of some air pockets. It only did it once.

That all said, I had also anticipated that the filter and fluid might not fix it, so I talked to Adam (Clemster) and got a bunch of 6-speed swap parts to go with a bunch of parts I already have. There's still about $800 in parts I'll need, so I'm not really in a hurry to do the swap, especially now that I can actually drive the car normally and not really worry about it. I also finally got the title from the dealership today, so once I get the PO signed from the guy that picked the car up, I'll be able to get it registered. Then I plan to have a glass repair shop reattach the rearview mirror button on the windshield and I can finally start working on the little things.

I'm a happy camper

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paul:

loving seeing wagon builds, aspecially with good writing behind it.

as a newb to bmw with an e39 longroof myself, and being semi local (live in albemarle), do you think i could buy you a sammich or something for a crash course and once over of my new to me car? sounds linke you primarily mess with v8, and mines an m52tu, so you may not be the right guy to ask. just trying to get a good baseline on what i have and what it needs, etc.

thanks in advance.
Michael

Hey Michael,

Sorry I didn't get right back to you. Thanks for the compliments on my writing. I enjoy writing these updates and telling my stories.

I don't mess exclusively with v8s as I have a M54b30 in my other wagon, my buddy's got a M54b25 (from my other wagon) in his e30 that we built, and another buddy has the M54b30 in his 330i, along with a few S54b32s in some e46 M3s. I will say that I haven't really messed with the M52TU and I'm still very new to the M62TU, but my understanding is that the M52TU is pretty similar to the M54, so I could probably help you out if you had questions. Let me know if you're going to be in the Charlotte area sometime and we can try to meet up.

[purplecty]

Im really glad that the fluid and filter brought the trans back to life... that a HUGE plus!

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[blackknight530i]

Im really glad that the fluid and filter brought the trans back to life... that a HUGE plus!

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Yeah, me too. Now I can do the 6-speed swap when I want to and not feel like I'm rushed into just getting it done. Also, I can actually use the car in the meantime.

[purplecty]

Did you reset the transmissuon adaptations after the fluid change?

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[blackknight530i]

Did you reset the transmissuon adaptations after the fluid change?

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No

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[geargrinder]

Nice! The wagon is actually pretty good w/ the 5HP24 working well... I've said before in some ways I wouldn't mind at all a stock suspension + tranny 540iT as a traffic-daily type car.

[AquilaBMW]

Paul - Nice new project mate. Congrats. Nice to see you overcoming the challenges. And props as always to PP - always there for peeps.

I am with GG on this one about the 5HP24 - especially for a daily driver. The Step with the 3.15 in the back actually gets the car going pretty nicely. You could add the DINAN Transmission tune which enables you to redline in Sport Mode - I had it on mine and it was a blast.

[Jason5driver]

Hi Paul !
Did the transmission fluid look like mine did in my DIY thread ?
LIFETIME FILL - I Don't Think So!

[blackknight530i]

Hi Paul !
Did the transmission fluid look like mine did in my DIY thread ?
LIFETIME FILL - I Don't Think So!

Pretty much, LOL.

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[blackknight530i]

Paul - Nice new project mate. Congrats. Nice to see you overcoming the challenges. And props as always to PP - always there for peeps.

I am with GG on this one about the 5HP24 - especially for a daily driver. The Step with the 3.15 in the back actually gets the car going pretty nicely. You could add the DINAN Transmission tune which enables you to redline in Sport Mode - I had it on mine and it was a blast.

Yeah, PP really made it possible. Thanks so much buddy!

The auto seems ok, but as soon as you press the pedal, it's super lethargic. I'll see about the Dinan tune on the trans.

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[AquilaBMW]

Yeah, PP really made it possible. Thanks so much buddy!

The auto seems ok, but as soon as you press the pedal, it's super lethargic. I'll see about the Dinan tune on the trans.

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How does it perform in Sport Mode?