New To The Forum Introduction

[NightMan]

Hello everyone. I'm new here so don't bash me too bad!
Also just gave a new home to a 1999 540i msport dinan.

I'd love some feedback on some thoughts for new ownership maintenance.

1. Leaking doors. The vb is repaired. Outer on the window gaskets are pretty rotten and shrunk. I glued for temporary purposes. Looking into full replacement. Going to be a PITA.

2. Oil leak. Shop told me a the pan threads were stripped. I'm not sold. Going to get a new drain bolt and check myself. Worst case I'll tap it and install a larger bolt.

3. Replacing ps reservoir. Lines are seaping, but not leaking.

4. Replacing. Valve cover gaskets. Minor leaking.

5. Getting new plugs, coils all work but look really old. 5+ years for sure. Anybody know the average lifespan? Worth the money?

6. All of the suspension is shot apparently. 3/4 struts leaking. Looks like cheap ebay coilovers. Thoughts on a replacement under 1k? ALSO anybody know who makes a full suspension kit? Everything is worn like crazy, probably hasn't been replaced in 10+ years.

7. Short shifter clicks when shift gears. An audible plastic type of clicking sound. Shop told me it was not assembled properly.

8. The list goes on and on. Need to do more research into the guy who replaces the dash screens. I'm missing a ton of pixels. Anyone know who that is?

9. I dont have access to signature yet. I can't figure out how to post pics here on the mobile. If anyone can tell me how to do so I would gladly post up some pics of the ride.

Overall the car is great. 205k miles, valvetrain checks out, normal wear and slightly noisy for the miles according to a dinan approved shop. I'm in love with the car, on top of everything it has a lightweight flywheel, full 4inch exhaust, and a dinan stage 2 tune.

THANK YOU FOR READING AND THE FEEDBACK

[JimLev]

Welcome to the forum Nightman.
Your post wasn’t showing up bc it needs to be approved by one of us Mods until you have 10 posts. It’s to limit spam, etc.
Have you looked here for answers?
https://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/f...-and-DIY-Fixes

Coils generally last a LONG time, mine are original and 20 years old.
If the plug wells are full of oil replace the removable boots at the bottom of the coils.

Pixel problems, look up Blackknight530i, Paul is here and on FB as Fixel I believe. Someone correct me if I’m wrong.

[scubajim20]

Welcome to the Forum. One of the sayings I read here was "With the E39 you are leaking oil or you are out of oil" Get ready to replace ALOT of seals.

[NightMan]

Thank you for the responses! Just checked out the DIY forum for suspension and found some good info.

Good to know about the coils! Thank you! Can't wait to post some pics of the ride for everyone. But maintenance over mods.

[edjack]

With that punch list, I hope you got a bargain price. Looks like you rescued the car! BTW, it's just a Sport; The '03 was the only M-sport in the USA.

Send an email to this guy, and request a copy of his Maintenance Schedule. It's not E39-specific, but good general info on BMWs. mikemillerroundelmag@drivewheels.hush.com

Root around on this forum. There is LOTS of info here. The Search function is a little crude, so use Google.

RF search function sux or maybe I'm just not good at it. Anyway, I don't know why I didn't think of this before but there is a better way - Google.

To use Google to search RF, do a Google search using whatever key words you're searching but add the following to limit your results to this board: site:bimmer.roadfly.com/bmw/forums/e39

There are two really nice things about this: 1) you can use Google advanced search features, and 2) you have a much better chance of finding what you are looking for!

You'll have to substitute Bimmerforums in the search term.

[NightMan]

Edjack, "BTW, it's just a Sport; The '03 was the only M-sport in the USA." Good to know. I swear I couldn't find a source to validate. Mine looks like they pulled or bought all of the msport trim pieces to fake me out. Either way I'm satisfied.

But yes, bargain price lol. I'll just say I could part out a few big ticket components and make my money back.

Someone put a ton of time and money into it at one point in it's early life. Definitely saving this one, not a clue on how many owners probably 5+ with zero maintenance records. A big risk but a worthy one to save.

Hopefully I can post pics soon.

[NightMan]

20200823_154026.jpg
20200825_073350.jpg

[Deadwake]

Oof, yeah I've done almost everything on your list.

Also, I replaced all 8 of my original factory coils with 114k miles on them with brand new ones and... it was probably the single largest waste of money I've thrown at the car. Don't replace the coils unless one fails.

Your suspension sounds similar to mine, I haven't tackled it yet. There really isn't a cheap way around it though besides replacing the cheap coilovers with another set of cheap coilovers :P

[JimLev]

Car looks nice.
You can test your sig here. Scroll down to the bottom of the page, Testing.
https://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/forum.php

[edjack]

How many girlfriends before you married one?

[balidawg]

OP, your car looks nice! Seems like you’re on the right track so far. Welcome to the forum. Lots of super knowlegable and helpful members on here.
Pics of engine and interior? We all love our E39 porn.