Thinking about picking up another BMW for a project, 2001 5 Series, few issues

[tennessee335i]

I work at a dealership as a tech for Nissan. So I pretty much have a huge arsenal of tools and equipment to assist.

The owner of the local liquor store has had a 5 Series sitting out for many months. I asked him about it. His father was a hoarder, and had a bunch of cars and other junk. He passed away, and he's been trying to get rid of most everything, as he was a legitimate hoarder.


It's a 2001 525i, 160k miles, in pretty decent shape. AC works, radio, power windows, etc.

It has a power steering line leak which is not too bad. I had some codes pulled on it with a generic scanner from Autozone (my shop is 30 minutes away, so we just went right down the road.

The basic issue that is keeping me from buying it, is

On cold start, you crank the car, and you have to give it a little gas for about 30-60 seconds. Then idles fine. If it's warm and you crank it again, just fine.

Only on cold starts is when that happens. I'm not really sure on if that's a common problem for these older BMW's, and if it's a cheap fix or a pain in the ass. Other than that, drives smooth, good suspension, brakes are good, etc.

We settled on $2300. He just wants it gone. He's a business owner and he was very upfront about the two issues it had, and was happy to take it to advance auto to scan it, so I don't think he's trying to pull a fast one on me.

Any thoughts on what that may be? These cars have been around for a while, and they seem relatively simple.

Thanks all

[tennessee335i]

So a business owner around here has had an e39 sitting out front for months and months. It belonged to his father, who was a genuine hoarder when it came to cars. Son is trying to get rid of it. He was very upfront about the issues it was having, and was happy to tell me everything.

We settled on $2300.

So the issue, aside from needing a new PS line, is this:

On a cold start, this was in warm weather, you will need to give it gas, or it will stall and die. Idle is a little choppy too. Once it warms up, it idles smooth and drives good.

I work at Nissan as a tech, so I have all that equipment to use.

I just want to make sure that this is nothing major, and if I hook it up to our Autel scanner, it's not going to be anything requiring thousands of dollars and a month to fix... LOL.

I guess worst case scenario, I could probably detail it and clean it up good and sell it for $2500.

HERE are the codes I pulled:

P0172, system too rich
Misfire on start for cylinder 4 3 6 5 (PENDING CODES, rest are stored)
P 0313 code for Misfire detected with low fuel
P1083/85 Fuel control mixture too lean
P0161 O2 heater circuit
P2098 Post Catalyst Fuel Trim system too lean

Could this be something as simple as one bad sensor causing these codes? I know these cars have been around for a long time, does anyone have any input?

Thank you so MUCH! I'm thinking possible a MAF or vac leak? I see those boots on the air intake are prone to tears, based off a search.

[edjack]

You probably need to get the injectors cleaned, but, first, determine why you're getting P0161. Blown fuse in the E-box? Bad pre-cat injectors?

IIRC, P0172 points to the 4-6 cylinders. Get a better scan tool.

[crazy4trains]

Rules of engagement.

First provide year, miles and model.

Make sure the battery and alternator are up to snuff. If the battery is bad and/or the alternator has low voltage output you can and will likely get all kinds of irrelevant error codes.

Clear all those codes and see which come back.

Depending on the engine, hence the need for the year and model, the idle control valve often gets dirty and can cause erratic idle on cold start.

People much more knowledgeable of the inner workings of this car will chime in.

[JimLev]

Welcome to the forum TN335i.
I assume your asking about an i6 and not the V8? What year, as lots of parts have changed from 97 to 03.
Getting at the PS lines on the steering box on the V8 is a bitch of a job, I just replaced those as well as the 2 on the reservoir.
You could have a vacuum leak which is causing the misfire as well as the lean codes.
Oil in the spark plug wells is another problem if the VC gasket(s) is leaking.
The O2 heater code is most likely the O2 sensor not heating up quick enough. Fix the other problems first and this one my go away on it’s own.
Your cold idle problem could be related to the idle control valve, which you can clean. It should rattle when you shake it.

If it’s in decent shape you should be able to get a lot more than $2500 for it.

Just saw you had started another post that had the info we were asking for .
I moved that post to the top of this thread.
We have to approve your posts until you have 10 post, it’s just to prevent spam.

[CPHES]

Mileage? Is it Auto or Manual - $2300 seems high for a 21 year old car with some known baggage, and some unknown baggage. If the overall condition is good, - maybe. But…..

[tennessee335i]

Rules of engagement.

First provide year, miles and model.

Make sure the battery and alternator are up to snuff. If the battery is bad and/or the alternator has low voltage output you can and will likely get all kinds of irrelevant error codes.

Clear all those codes and see which come back.

Depending on the engine, hence the need for the year and model, the idle control valve often gets dirty and can cause erratic idle on cold start.

People much more knowledgeable of the inner workings of this car will chime in.

Sorry, I had another post I had closed out of that I thought I posted. Forgot to add it in this one.

It is a 2001 BMW 525i, 160k on the clock. Great interior, well great for a car that's old enough to drink at least, great exterior. Definitely can tell it was driven by an older person.

We drove to Advance Auto to get a basic scan done, like I said, super upfront about everything. My shop is 30 minutes away, so that wasn't an option tbh. I have a professional Autel scanner we use at work for non-Nissan cars I will hook it up to, just wanted to get a general idea of what I'll be getting myself into.

One of my coworkers has an E36, he just pinpointed his weird starting issues down to a bad IACV, so I will definitely look into that. Same with the alternator and battery I can hook that up to our diag machine

Thanks all.

[tennessee335i]

Welcome to the forum TN335i.
I assume your asking about an i6 and not the V8? What year, as lots of parts have changed from 97 to 03.
Getting at the PS lines on the steering box on the V8 is a bitch of a job, I just replaced those as well as the 2 on the reservoir.
You could have a vacuum leak which is causing the misfire as well as the lean codes.
Oil in the spark plug wells is another problem if the VC gasket(s) is leaking.
The O2 heater code is most likely the O2 sensor not heating up quick enough. Fix the other problems first and this one my go away on it’s own.
Your cold idle problem could be related to the idle control valve, which you can clean. It should rattle when you shake it.

If it’s in decent shape you should be able to get a lot more than $2500 for it.

Just saw you had started another post that had the info we were asking for .
I moved that post to the top of this thread.
We have to approve your posts until you have 10 post, it’s just to prevent spam.

Thanks for the warm welcome,

and Ok good deal. I could have sworn I posted it, but didn't see it. So figured I'd just closed out of the tab on accident. No problem.

Fortunately, it is a I6. I own an N54 335i as well, I just hit 200k miles and runs beautifully. I've done a lot to that car as well, and this engine seems like it gives much more room to work. Lol.

I have a coworker with an E36, he had a similar problem, which he said he cleaned his IACV after he changed his MAF to no help, said it worked for a bit, then back to "normal". Guessing it just crapped out. I have had personal experiences at work which intake boots can get torn and cause erratic behavior, although I didn't check for that while I was looking at the car.

I will look into the VC leak, but I did a little glance around and didn't notice much.

You can definitely tell it has been driven by an older person. Interior and exterior both in great shape, well, great considering the car is old enough to drink now. I did a couple quick searches around on google for sale prices. Saw well running ones going for $4,000-$6,000 similar miles.

So nothing major to worry about most likely? When I purchase it, I will take it to my shop and hook it up to our professional scanner and that may help me pinpoint the issue quickly. Just wanted to avoid buying a car that would need major work. The business owner said he drove it for a couple weeks, and besides that startup issue and the PS leak, it was great.

I don't mind doing a little dirty work, it's what I do 5 days a week, but don't want to put too much into it, ya know.

Thanks again.

[effduration]

It is likely a minor issue.

The rich codes suggest to me that you have one or more vacuum leaks...Possibly a big obvious one in the Intake boots...have a look

You could also unplug the MAF when its cold and try to start it...If it starts and runs well with MAF unplugged, it is likely a bog vacuum leak.

Otherwise it could be a dirty idle speed control valve, and leaky and/or bad DISA, a bad MAF (unlikely)

[tennessee335i]

It is likely a minor issue.

The rich codes suggest to me that you have one or more vacuum leaks...Possibly a big obvious one in the Intake boots...have a look

You could also unplug the MAF when its cold and try to start it...If it starts and runs well with MAF unplugged, it is likely a bog vacuum leak.

Otherwise it could be a dirty idle speed control valve, and leaky and/or bad DISA, a bad MAF (unlikely)

Awesome. Well I guess I will go ahead and buy it. It's in great shape, just needs a good detail on the inside. I figured it was something minor, but I am not an expert on these older BMW's. Thank you for giving me a couple things to check.

[ross1]

It is likely a minor issue.

The rich codes suggest to me that you have one or more vacuum leaks...Possibly a big obvious one in the Intake boots...have a look

You could also unplug the MAF when its cold and try to start it...If it starts and runs well with MAF unplugged, it is likely a bog vacuum leak.

Otherwise it could be a dirty idle speed control valve, and leaky and/or bad DISA, a bad MAF (unlikely)

Agreed, from my armchair.

[wagons ho]

Any thoughts on what that may be? These cars have been around for a while, and they seem relatively simple.

Thanks all

Man, I love the confidence, ROLF!!
30 + years of mechanic experience when I treated myself to my first one.
Knew right away that I needed to buy a project to work on and learn, as the one I bought was and is too nice to mess up.
That's been 10 years, and I learn some perverse way that BMW makes it not easy, almost monthly.

[BimmrMeUpSnotty]

Man, I love the confidence, ROLF!!
30 + years of mechanic experience when I treated myself to my first one.
Knew right away that I needed to buy a project to work on and learn, as the one I bought was and is too nice to mess up.
That's been 10 years, and I learn some perverse way that BMW makes it not easy, almost monthly.

Hmmm, sure, sometimes these cars throw you a slight curve ball, here and there every now and then, but if you are good at figuring things out without having to run to google, or the boards all the time, every time they give you a puzzle to figure out, with a bit of simple common sense, it’s all a piece of cake. I dunno, maybe I like the challenge, maybe the punishment, if it’s stupid, I blame it all on that moron Bangle. I’m not gonna let that idiot beat me, so I figure it out. Once in a while, I do the youtube thing, like just recently, the roof mechanism on my 330 convertible, I couldn’t figure out the proper routing of those damn guide strings that go through the spars, and the hoops to properly open the batwing flaps on the headliner when the roof actuates down, or closes the flaps, once the roof locks in the up position. That was a challenge, and youtube did show the way, so I should have a youtube certification patch on a work jacket.

[JimLev]

I get a kick out of “can’t find a DYI” for doing real simple stuff.

[E39 Newbie]

First and foremost, smoke test it. The intake boots may be rotten and cracked, DISA might be leaking, who knows?

Misfires and lean conditions are frequently vacuum leaks. You'll probably have to replace the O2 sensors, too.

Once the mixture codes are sorted out, replace the entire cooling system. The car's been sitting for years, and no provenance concerning maintenance. Assume the worst.

[tennessee335i]

First and foremost, smoke test it. The intake boots may be rotten and cracked, DISA might be leaking, who knows?

Misfires and lean conditions are frequently vacuum leaks. You'll probably have to replace the O2 sensors, too.

Once the mixture codes are sorted out, replace the entire cooling system. The car's been sitting for years, and no provenance concerning maintenance. Assume the worst.

In my experience, I have seen a couple intake boot leaks on even new-ish cars at my shop. That is going to be a great first place to check.

So first things first, I will check for obvious vacuum leaks.

If that fails, I will unplug the mass airflow sensor on a cold start, and see how it runs.

If that fails, smoke test.

If that fails, I will look into ICV

If that fails, fuel delivery.

Although, I am quite certain it's one of those. If it was fuel delivery, I would assume it would not smooth out once the car warms up.

Hmm. I'm excited to have another project. My RSX S has kept me busy for a while, but I finally pretty much replaced everything and rebuilt the transmission, so surely she won't be giving me much more problems... or so I think.

Thanks for the input everyone.

[tennessee335i]

First and foremost, smoke test it. The intake boots may be rotten and cracked, DISA might be leaking, who knows?

Misfires and lean conditions are frequently vacuum leaks. You'll probably have to replace the O2 sensors, too.

Once the mixture codes are sorted out, replace the entire cooling system. The car's been sitting for years, and no provenance concerning maintenance. Assume the worst.

Wellp, bought it today. Intake boot is cracked, assuming that's the issue xD. I'd be pretty happy if that solves all my problems, but I will get that replaced ASAP and go from there!

[Jason5driver]

Pictures ?

[tennessee335i]

Pictures ?

Needs a good detail, apparently someone broke the window while it was sitting for a couple months. Glass is replaced. Needs a good detail though on the inside, and some touch ups and a MUCH NEEDED wash on the outside, but to be fair it is a 20 year old car . All in all, considering the only issue it had is a torn intake boot..which the seller didn't know why it was acting up, and first thing I checked when I bought it was that intake boot thanks to this forum... it's torn in multiple places, and a small PS leak on the bottom of the res, I can't complain for $2300. Ice cold AC, suspension is solid, radio is great, good brakes, wheels are clean. It's my first automatic, transmission is SOLID, I was somewhat nervous about getting an auto, as it's way easier to judge a manual's maintenance, in a long time. Kind of nice though to not have to shift. The 335i, my Jetta, and my RSX S are all manuals :p

That orange 335i is mine too got different exhaust tips as my VRSF ones fell off... stupid me didn't tighten them enough when I took them off not too long ago, so I have some ECS tuning ones I need to get an adapter for.

IMG_5282.jpgIMG_5284.jpgIMG_5286.jpg

[effduration]

Very Nice.....Congrats.

It's only a personal preference, but keep your eyes out for an E39 parts car with a black interior...preferably with sport seats. A white on black E39 is a stunner IMO...

And you can always manual swap if you grow tired of the auto....pretty easy to do... I daily drive my man-swapped E39 (3yrs ago) with 416k miles.

[crazy4trains]

The seeping PS reservoir is a known issue. You can either buy a new hose and replace or remove the existing hose at the reservoir, cut off about 1/4 inch of hose and reinstall with a new clamp. Note that the PS system uses ATF and not PS fluid.

[JimLev]

IIRC some of the newer E39 used CHF11.

I used my old cap when I replaced everything last week as it said ATF on it. The cap on the new res said CHF11.

[crazy4trains]

Mine is an 02 and it requires ATF.

[BimmrMeUpSnotty]

CHF11S is ATF. I always use CHF11S, but I have bought many an E39 that had regular red ATF in them. No problem flushing the system and replacing it with CHF. But they should be fine with regular ATF fluid.