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Thread: Danny's 540i6 - This Time It's Orient Blue!

  1. #1
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    Danny's 540i6 - This Time It's Orient Blue!

    Hey all,

    After I sold my Japan Red 540it earlier this year, I just had this feeling I'd be back in an E39 before long. I did briefly own a 1997 M3 in Techno Violet, followed by an Oxford Green 330i5, but neither of those felt quite right. The other day I sold the 330i5 and two hours later I picked up this beauty in Tucson:



    My friend Brad accompanied me in his white 2002 540it. My phone camera had trouble with the exposure and white balance, haha.





    As for the details, it's a 2000 540i/6, like almost every E39 I've owned so far. No idea why I keep buying 2000's, I guess they made lots of them in that year, plus they all seem to be pretty cheap whilst still having the newer dual-stage airbags and the Vanos engine. It's got 123k miles, making it one of the lowest-mileage E39's I've ever owned. It came with brand new tires and a thick stack of service records dating back to the first owner. The chain guides were also done, so that's something I don't have to worry about (even though I've done 19 of em so far). The previous owner also polished the headlights and replaced the adjusters, so even though the headlights are the pre-facelift style, they work quite well.

    It's got heated seats and the sport package, which is all I really need. No DSP, but that's okay because it makes upgrading the sound system easier. The previous owner put in an E_o_n_o_n head unit (forum censors it if spelled normally) and while the interface is kinda ugly and full of Engrish, it does work well and doesn't look too out of place.

    I drove it home from Tucson with no trouble at all, this thing is super smooth even at triple-digit speeds. Even though I've only had it for 24 hours, I've got a small list of stuff I need to do to it to make it perfect:

    - Passenger front window regulator, since the glass has trouble rolling all the way up and sounds crunchy
    - Cluster display backlight bulbs, since I can hardly see the top part of the cluster display
    - Outside air temperature sensor is missing so it reads -40ºF constantly which makes the HVAC behave weird
    - The shift boot and center console wood trim are coming apart so those need to be replaced at some point
    - CDV needs to be removed ASAP
    - Brake pads need to be cleaned and lubricated because they squeak like crazy despite being relatively new
    - Thrust arms need replacing, slight shimmy at 55mph
    - eBay cupholders are already ordered, I almost forgot how bad the factory cupholders were until I went to Chick Fil A for lunch earlier today.

    That's just about all it needs at the moment, and that's with me nitpicking pretty hard. I'm excited to be back, the 540i/6 feels just like home to me. Even my girlfriend (who normally doesn't care about cars) commented about it being nice and familiar, like coming back to a comfortable old house. There was nothing wrong with the 330i, but I just love the extra space, power, and refinement of the 540i. If anything, driving a 330i for a while was great because it really made me appreciate how quick a 540i/6 is, even in stock form. Having a 6th gear is awesome too.
    1995 525i 5-speed - Thread

  2. #2
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    Mate do you happen to have pics of headunit?
    I think of getting same, but not sure if it will look good.



    Lähetetty minun ONEPLUS A5010 laitteesta Tapatalkilla
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  3. #3
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    Well that didn’t take long . Welcome back to the 540 Danny, hope this one stays a while. While the blue isn’t as rare as the the red, it is a heck of a lot less “arrest me”.


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

  4. #4
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    My favorite color! ;-) Looks like it's in great condition!

    Mine is a '98 540i, and probably the only OB in the US of that year. I ordered it as an "individual color" since I picked mine up in Munich. That year, Montreal Blue was standard in the US and not really my cup of tea.

  5. #5
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    Very nice find. That's a great color combo. Hope it's an AZ only car, so, no salted rust spots.
    And, kudos to your friend for getting that cool vanity plate!
    Ed CT
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  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by nike32 View Post
    Mate do you happen to have pics of headunit?
    I think of getting same, but not sure if it will look good.
    I'll have to get some pics, don't have any right now. Looks decent though, in terms of the buttons and surround it looks more OEM than a Dynavin, haha. Interface is nowhere near as nice though.

    Quote Originally Posted by douglawrence42 View Post
    Well that didn’t take long . Welcome back to the 540 Danny, hope this one stays a while. While the blue isn’t as rare as the the red, it is a heck of a lot less “arrest me”.
    Yeah, while the red got me a lot of love at car shows and Instagram, it attracted cops too. I always got tickets in the red car and I was always the one pulled over for speeding even if everyone else was doing the same exact speed as me.

    Quote Originally Posted by 98OrientBlue View Post
    My favorite color! ;-) Looks like it's in great condition!

    Mine is a '98 540i, and probably the only OB in the US of that year. I ordered it as an "individual color" since I picked mine up in Munich. That year, Montreal Blue was standard in the US and not really my cup of tea.
    Nice! I dig Montreal Blue too, but most of them have not aged well at all. Cool that you picked yours up in Germany when it was new, I wish I was older so I could have experienced Euro delivery with a new E39... none of the newer BMW stuff interests me.

    Quote Originally Posted by Ed CT View Post
    Very nice find. That's a great color combo. Hope it's an AZ only car, so, no salted rust spots.
    And, kudos to your friend for getting that cool vanity plate!
    It's been in Arizona since 2014 or so. Prior to that it was in Connecticut, but it must have been garaged a lot because the underside is spotless. I checked all the typical E39 rust spot areas and there's no rust anywhere. That's also probably why a lot of the rubber seals are in good shape and why the paint still has clear coat... Arizona hasn't had time to destroy it yet. Which means I need to correct the paint and seal it ASAP to keep it nice for as long as possible.

    I initially gave my friend some grief for getting the vanity plate (makes it easier for cops to remember your plate when you're speeding) but it is a cool plate at the end of the day. Believe it or not, that 540it has almost 220k miles. It's still on its original automatic transmission, so we're gearing up to swap it to a 6-speed at my shop in the near future.
    1995 525i 5-speed - Thread

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by dannyzabolotny View Post

    It's been in Arizona since 2014 or so. Prior to that it was in Connecticut, but it must have been garaged a lot because the underside is spotless. I checked all the typical E39 rust spot areas and there's no rust anywhere.
    Yeah, must've been garaged during winter. At 123k miles, only averaged 6000+ per year. The telltale salt-induced-rust is at the rear jack pads and adjacent mudflap attachment hardware - neither of which my car has anymore LOL.
    Ed CT
    1998 528i
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    Aspen Silver
    Aubergine Leather

  8. #8
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    Didn’t take long did it? Haha! Welcome back to Ethirtynightis! Nice car!
    Set the controls for the heart of the sun

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by Ed CT View Post
    Yeah, must've been garaged during winter. At 123k miles, only averaged 6000+ per year. The telltale salt-induced-rust is at the rear jack pads and adjacent mudflap attachment hardware - neither of which my car has anymore LOL.
    The jack points all appear super solid with no bubbles or anything. No mudflaps either, haha. I can't wait to go through and organize all the service records, the first owner spent like $20k on this car when it was first out of warranty.

    Quote Originally Posted by BimmrMeUpSnotty View Post
    Didn’t take long did it? Haha! Welcome back to Ethirtynightis! Nice car!
    It's only been like 3 months without an E39, but it felt like an eternity. The M3 and 330i were nice cars, but neither of them felt like my cars, it felt more like I was borrowing somebody else's car for an extended period of time. There really is something about E39's that draws everyone back in— Ruskie sold his 540i/6 and then got back into a 540i/6 pretty quickly as well.
    1995 525i 5-speed - Thread

  10. #10
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    That was quick. Looks like you found a good one. Welcome back!

  11. #11
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    I really like the amber headlights with the orient blue....!

    Looking for an E39 belly pan , passenger front inner fender liner …

  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by msvphoto View Post
    That was quick. Looks like you found a good one. Welcome back!
    Thanks! And it was right in my backyard! Well, not literally, but driving 2 hours sure beats flying out and driving 12 hours back.

    Quote Originally Posted by Jason5driver View Post
    I really like the amber headlights with the orient blue....!
    While I do like how clean and nice these headlights are, it'll eventually be getting some facelift Hella lights with the clear Euro lenses. I'm generally not a fan of ambers on E39's, to be honest.
    1995 525i 5-speed - Thread

  13. #13
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    lens.JPG
    I had clear corners for a long time. Recently replaced the lenses with smoked corners... looks much better. Amber sidelights on in pic. You gotta switch your sidemarker lights to white also... they don't match the rears.

  14. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by 98OrientBlue View Post
    I had clear corners for a long time. Recently replaced the lenses with smoked corners... looks much better. Amber sidelights on in pic. You gotta switch your sidemarker lights to white also... they don't match the rears.
    Man, that picture makes me realize that more than anything, I need the facelift grilles. The pre-facelift ones just don't do it for me, haha.



    Yeah, I plan to switch the side markers as soon as I can find a set at the junkyard.

    @nike32: You asked for pics of the E_o_n_o_n head unit, so here's three. As far as the unit itself goes, it looks decently OEM, but the interface is pretty bad. Especially once you start digging deeper and see all the Engrish in the sub-menus like the Bluetooth menu (last pic in this set).





    1995 525i 5-speed - Thread

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    Quote Originally Posted by dannyzabolotny View Post
    Man, that picture makes me realize that more than anything, I need the facelift grilles. The pre-facelift ones just don't do it for me, haha.



    Yeah, I plan to switch the side markers as soon as I can find a set at the junkyard.

    @nike32: You asked for pics of the E_o_n_o_n head unit, so here's three. As far as the unit itself goes, it looks decently OEM, but the interface is pretty bad. Especially once you start digging deeper and see all the Engrish in the sub-menus like the Bluetooth menu (last pic in this set).





    Do you happen to know what version this is? I've been thinking of getting the newest one, but here they cost around 600€ installed.

    Lähetetty minun ONEPLUS A5010 laitteesta Tapatalkilla
    -E34 M60B40 + Tremec TKO 600 (sold)
    and sadly no old BMW anymore, only high powered Seat Leon Cupra 4Drive as a daily driver.

  16. #16
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    Today after work I decided to tackle a few things that had been bothering me since I bought the car. The biggest problem/annoyance was the front passenger window not rolling all the way up, causing tons of wind noise at higher speeds and ruining the wonderful quiet interior that E39's are known for. The glass could be pushed up by hand, but would fall down half an inch upon hitting any bump in the road. The solution was to replace the window regulator— I ordered a new one last night and AutohausAZ had it ready today.

    Once I removed the door panel and peeled back the vapor barrier, it became obvious that the window regulator was falling apart:



    The cable had skipped town and there were bits of plastic pulleys everywhere inside the door. Looks like it was from 2008, which is a decently long lifespan for a part that's so notoriously failure-prone. The new regulator went in happily, and with everything put together I now had a window that fully closed. I took extra time to make sure all the wiring inside the door was clipped in neatly, and I also fixed a non-working mid speaker (the one that's near the door vent).

    With the interior's bank vault feel restored, I moved on to replacing the dead cluster display bulbs. That process was pretty straightforward with nothing too exciting to point out.

    Before:



    After:



    With the top part of the display now working correctly, I saw that the external temperature sensor was malfunctioning in some way. That can cause all sorts of little issues as well as making the HVAC system really unhappy, so I peeked underneath the bumper to see what was up with the temperature sensor. Turns out that while the sensor itself was still there, the wiring to it had been damaged at some point. I removed the damaged sections of wiring and spliced together the intact portions of it. That seems to have fixed the problem entirely, so I now have a working temperature readout:



    While I was there, I also re-routed the microphone for the head unit to sit on top of the steering column, as opposed to pointing into the footwell like before. That should work a lot better now that it's pointed in the correct direction.
    1995 525i 5-speed - Thread

  17. #17
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    Nice car Danny. Us in the hot states AZ, FL ,etc can appreciate that tan interor.

    Are you going to just remove the CDV and rescrew it together or do you put a drilled out piece back in to prevent stripping the threads?

    I like that radio. That SD card slot could hold a whole music collection.

    Congrats on the 19 chain guides, wow! Yours is pretty low mileage for needing them already. More proof they are failing from age, not just miles. Mine went around 115k on my 99 540iT.
    99 540iT - Merlot Truckster (TCG done 134k, might sell...)
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  18. #18
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    He is not lying about the guides
    Oddly enough some kid I went to high school with posted about Danny flying in to KC to do his guides for him on his Instagram. Saw it flipping through posts the other day and thought I recognized the Insta handle (its the same as his bimmerforums handle and his cars look the same ;-)
    I like to pretend I know stuff

  19. #19
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    Quote Originally Posted by ndz View Post
    Nice car Danny. Us in the hot states AZ, FL ,etc can appreciate that tan interor.

    Are you going to just remove the CDV and rescrew it together or do you put a drilled out piece back in to prevent stripping the threads?

    I like that radio. That SD card slot could hold a whole music collection.

    Congrats on the 19 chain guides, wow! Yours is pretty low mileage for needing them already. More proof they are failing from age, not just miles. Mine went around 115k on my 99 540iT.
    People keep saying that regarding the tan interiors, that they stay cooler and whatnot, but I haven’t found a huge difference to be honest. What makes the biggest difference is the tint, the AC, and if I use a window shade on the windshield when parked.

    I plan to remove the CDV entirely— the clutch line has more than enough slack to compensate for the lack of it. That’s the easiest and cheapest way to do it so it’s my favorite way, haha.

    Yep, I see chain guides failing at much lower mileages nowadays, it’s definitely becoming an issue of age rather than just mileage. One of the cars I did guides on had 99k miles and the U-guide was shot. Makes me chuckle a bit because I keep seeing people overpay for sub-100k mile 540i’s on places like Bring A Trailer with the idea that low miles = not having to do any major work.
    1995 525i 5-speed - Thread

  20. #20
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    Quote Originally Posted by zarboz View Post
    He is not lying about the guides
    Oddly enough some kid I went to high school with posted about Danny flying in to KC to do his guides for him on his Instagram. Saw it flipping through posts the other day and thought I recognized the Insta handle (its the same as his bimmerforums handle and his cars look the same ;-)
    Yep, that was me. That was when I flew to Wisconsin to buy an E36 M3 and then drove it back home to Phoenix with a friend. We stopped at Kenny’s house in KC on the way back where I helped him with the Vanos rebuild and timing. Sadly I didn’t have enough time to do the whole job due to time restraints and one very specific part that still needed to be ordered, but it helped Kenny get back on track with the X5 project that had stalled for a year. He finished it soon after my visit and is now daily driving that X5 happily
    1995 525i 5-speed - Thread

  21. #21
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    Nice pickup Danny! That head unit does not look bad and if it is already compatible with the dsp and steering wheel buttons I would keep it in. Did they keep the MID in the glovebox?

  22. #22
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    Quote Originally Posted by purplecty View Post
    Nice pickup Danny! That head unit does not look bad and if it is already compatible with the dsp and steering wheel buttons I would keep it in. Did they keep the MID in the glovebox?
    They did not keep the MID, but that's no big loss really. I don't have DSP in this car so I'll need to figure out something for the subwoofer, but in the meantime it sounds okay so I'll leave it alone. The steering wheel buttons work pretty well.
    1995 525i 5-speed - Thread

  23. #23
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    From the morning... I may or may not have been a little late to work because I spent so much time admiring the car.



    During my lunch break I couldn't help but snap two more pics, the color really pops in the sun!





    When I got home, I installed one of my favorite E39 mods ever. Some hate it while others love it:

    1995 525i 5-speed - Thread

  24. #24
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    Quote Originally Posted by dannyzabolotny View Post
    From the morning... I may or may not have been a little late to work because I spent so much time admiring the car.



    During my lunch break I couldn't help but snap two more pics, the color really pops in the sun!





    When I got home, I installed one of my favorite E39 mods ever. Some hate it while others love it:

    Its almost like my E38 I had, loved the color when it was sunny day.
    360/5 Sorrentblau

    Lähetetty minun ONEPLUS A5010 laitteesta Tapatalkilla
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  25. #25
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    Nike, even though you and I hadn’t seen eye to eye, I agree, that blue on your E38 is sweet.
    Set the controls for the heart of the sun

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