Doubling down: my new 528iT disaster

[TexasTouring]

My fleet of E39s has been thinning out this year. I sold my Slate Green 525iAT, scrapped my silver parts wagon, and my beloved black 528iAT suffered some pretty serious internal flooding thanks to the sunroof drains (see separate thread).

Not wanting to rely solely on my 99 540iT, I started looking for a new car. I considered some X5s of the E53 4.4i and 4.6iS variety, and even the 2nd gen X535d. But who wants an SUV? I also really considered some Saab 9-5s and NG9-5s. The pull of those is still strong for me, but I fell into my next E39 before finding the right Saab.

This is a 2000 528iT with the 5-speed! 12/99 build. 253k miles. Anthracite Gray, Gray leather interior, Xenons, rear sunshades, rain sensor. No sport package or cold weather package or heated seats or pull out load floor. Seems like a build-to-order based on the color and options.

In my usual fashion I waayy overpaid. This thing is a serious pile. Here are a couple pics along with my initial punch list of problems.

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• Paint is in pretty poor shape in places
• Interior smells like a substance that is increasingly legal but that I still find repulsive
• Windows have multiple layers of cheap tint
• Cheap tires
• Hatch struts are totally dead
• Tailgate release handle is missing and doesn't fully close
• Rear bumper trim is gone
• Tailgate is sporting a nice size dent
• Engine is misfiring and full of milky light brown oil, possible head gasket
• Airbag module is shot
• 2/4 windows not working
• 3/4 wheel speed sensors are bad
• 4/4 wheel well liners are missing

There are 1 or 2 redeeming qualities:

• No rust
• Decent style 66s
• Paint is in nice shape in places
• It's a 528iT 5 speed!

So here's what I'm planning:

I'll clean up the exterior to the point where it's a serviceable 10-footer: remove the tints, get some tires, fix the tailgate and bumper, refurb the Xenons, and do a DIY paint correction where possible.

On the interior there's no way I can do less than a full gut job: swap in the sand beige interior from my disabled 528 wagon, 16 way comforts, DSP and OEM navigation retrofit, will need to get a headliner redone which will be new for me.

Mechanically there is tons to do too. But I have lots of nice suspension parts from FCP on the old 528, and a super smooth running M52TU in there that I could swap over to this car. Such a swap would be new for me too, though.

[BimmrMeUpSnotty]

The roundel on the tailgate is all wrong too, but its a wagon with a stick! Nice.

[TexasTouring]

Good eye on the roundel -- you missed the ugly smoked side markers though!

[BimmrMeUpSnotty]

Yeah, I’m getting old! Starting to miss lots of things, all downhill from here on…..
Jeeez, those headlight lenses! That trashed tailgate switch panel with the trashed trim piece, I just bought a brand new one for my green wagon, BMW was gonna get it in a week, I had to get it ASAP to get the trim plate off to the painter, getting my green wagon painted, I ended up snagging one off of eBay, this Latvian seller has always done well for me, he got it to me in 4 days! It comes with the switch base, complete with new lenses for the license plate lights and all. Forgot to see if it came with the bulbs. But I ordered another set of interior leds from this engineer dude that got sick of constantly replacing burnt out led bulbs, he just happened to be an electrical engineer, so he specked out the right leds, sells the complete interior kit, on eBay, it does not come with the license plate leds though, so I gotta order those, forgot about them!

[TexasTouring]

Good tip, I always see the Latvia guy's stuff all over ebay, but I don't think I've ever bought from him.

No LEDs for me, I like the warmer light.

Spent a good amount of my Saturday clearing out the disgusting interior. All that remains is the upper dash, the headliner, and the sides of the cargo area. The passenger seat was stuck too far back to remove the bolts -- ended up having to replace a seat motor with the seat installed -- that took about 3 hours -- ouch -- luckily it worked.

[BimmrMeUpSnotty]

The kicker, I got the tailgate switch/trim piece at a great price, brand new, those Latvians must have big hidden warehouses up in those mountains!
i like softer yellow led lights too, but these a cold white, but stupid bright, almost need sunglasses when looking for something in the car at night. I love em. My eyes are getting pretty bad.

[JN Garage]

This is like mine but with more suffering !

[TexasTouring]

Speaking of suffering, I replaced the hatch struts today. Whose idea was the recessed hatch struts? Now the tailgate opens with a reckless abandon -- need to get all the trim installed to weigh it down and slow it down!

[TexasTouring]

Progress update: slow going but meaningful changes have been made.

The biggest changes are in the interior. The awful old interior is gone. Dark tints, dashboard, headliner, wood trim, shifter boot, steering wheel, carpet, everything. There are still a couple loose ends to tie up, but my tan interior is almost completely in!

With the interior out, I completed a ton of cool retrofits:

• Added an audio wiring harness from a wagon with DSP and navigation
• Added all the requisite navigation modules and DSP speakers
• Heated front seats using an OEM-replica retrofit harness from an ebayer in Portugal
• High-OBC instrument cluster using a homemade retrofit harness and a new cluster from Paul/Fixels
• Bluetooth TCU using Frankie's great DIY to make a homemade retrofit harness
• Universal Garage Door Opener
• Intravee II + Alpine KCA420i for iPhone music integration
• TEC cupholder
• Added my beat-up old 18-way comfort front seats. Not in the best shape but still my favorite part of the interior
• OEM handset in the center console (doesn't work, but I'd love to get it to light up)

This photo captures the current state of the front cabin. You can see some loose ends and that I'm experimenting with different trim options. I like the clean look of the tan plastic, but would have to get a custom monitor piece made, as finding a small screen nav trim in that color will be near-impossible.

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As for the exterior, it's pretty much the same, for now.

Mechanically, the swap has begun. Exhaust and transmission are disconnected, entire front clip is removed. Need to work on getting the engine and transmission out and swapping in the M52TU from my old wagon. Taking it slow, as I've never done this before.

[Frankie]

Sounds exciting! Glad my Bluetooth DIY was of value. In your OP you mentioned non-functional windows. Try: Window Motor Repair

[TexasTouring]

Thanks Frankie. Already replaced all 4 window regulators with the interior out. Unfortunately after so many years with an E39, I could probably do them blindfolded at this point.

[TexasTouring]

Got the engine and transmission out this weekend. My only fail was rounding out one of the nuts on the clutch slave cylinder, so I had to cut the hydraulic fluid line.

The plan is to now remove the well-maintained 220k mile M52TU from my black wagon and mate that up with the 5 speed removed from this gray one, and replace!

Now it's time to play the game of "while-I'm-in-there". My parts car has a rebuilt steering rack, fresh front suspension, and brakes, all with less than 2 years of use. I plan to swap those over too. What else should I be thinking of doing with everything apart? Shifter rebuild? Exhaust headers? Clutch and flywheel?

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[TexasTouring]

Well folks, getting the M52TU out of the donor car has hit a snag. Got everything undone under the hood -- but the exhaust manifold has rusted to the pipe flange pretty darn good. Turns out 22 years of VA winters was just enough to do it, the new car is from GA and doesn't have one bit of rust.

I broke one of the studs on the manifold that connects it to the flange, and no amount of hammering is freeing up the pipe. So now I'm going to try removing the manifold from the head. I'll need to swap manifolds anyways thanks to the broken stud. Say a prayer for me that I don't break any of the studs on the head now.

Thanks!

[StephenVA]

Good luck. Sacrifice the neighbors cat to the gods of metallurgy. My dog says it works!

[taz.]

Pressure wash the engine bay and " while in there" rear main seal, oil pan gasket, oil filter housing gasket, CCV, Vanos, VC gasket, vacuum hoses, water pump, power steering lines and reservoir.
Maybe engine and transmission mounts also. Torque to spec and stick to tightening patterns, does wonders.
Check the clutch also. I presume the cooling system was overhauled.

Sent from my SM-G986B using Tapatalk

[TexasTouring]

Got the donor engine out! Instead of trying to pull the exhaust manifold out in place, which just seemed too daunting, I took the path of hammering on the exhaust like a mad man until it came out.

The donor engine was in my decently-cared for daily driver for several years, so it already has the valve cover, oil pan gasket, OFHG, Vanos, PCV, engine mounts, and cooling system done.

I ordered a clutch, flywheel, rear main seal, and stuff to rebuild the shifter from FCP.

In the meantime I'll be working on swapping over the rebuilt steering rack and fresh suspension from the donor car. Making progress, slowly but surely!

[TexasTouring]

Today was the official first start up with the replacement engine-- Happy to say that it works! Lots of projects still to do to get it on the road, but we're getting there!