My 2001 740i M Sport

[Btkeenan]

While it’s been raining here in Southern California the last few days, I decided to do some more work on the car in the garage. The parts for my headlight refresh (new side indicators, new turn signals, new gaskets, new lenses) came including the bixenon projectors after delays from Osram on the night breaker bulbs and everything looks mint. After referencing Sretens video on how he did it for his 750il and referencing the Bentley manual to pull the lights out of the car, decided to take the plunge.

What should have been a straightforward removal from the car took about an hour because the PO decided to use RTV adhesive on the tabs for the driver's side indicator versus just getting new ones. All 3 tabs cracked upon removal so luckily, I had purchased OEM replacements. Headlight removal was uneventful as it doesn’t look like it has ever been touched. Taking apart the headlight was pretty easy if you’re patient. The cover was pretty well sealed to the gasket so that needed some persuasion as well as the cover behind the lens cover to get access to the projector. If you follow along on the video above, you should be able to get it apart. A bit annoying that the projector is held in by 3 self-tapping screws that are a T20 security torx bit but luckily, I had one of those around so was able to get it apart. Pulled out the old projector and prepped the new projector.

This is where it slightly deviates from the video other people’s experience with this kit on the forums. Mine came with M4 nuts and washers, no standoffs. Not sure if they changed based on feedback or what but it made the install easy. I used a Dremel to trim the two tabs that stick out as indicated by their instructions. No additional trimming was required for the inner bezel area. Then got the bracket lined up on the new one with the fastener on the fastener>projector>nut>nut>bracket>washer>nut as indicated by the retrofitlab instruction manual. Interestingly enough, I reached out to them about how I followed their cut line and mounting procedure, and it went flawlessly even though it was listed as a pre-FL. They have since corrected it as being a facelift manual with the video, they made being for the pre-FL. The kit also comes with an additional circular metal bracket, white gasket, and orangish o ring. The first two are not used for this application, they indicated what those are for: "The projector can also be used to mount in for example H4 reflector headlights, to go from halogen reflector to bixenon (without blinding oncoming traffic etc). The threaded shaft on the projector is used to mount/tighten it to the reflector. The threaded shaft is placed in the original bulb hole and the ring is used to place in the (for example) H4 bulb socket for alignment. The white rubber is used to place on the threaded between the projector and reflector". The third orangish o ring go in between the bulb and the metal threaded end cap. I had a grounding wire going from the projector bracket to the xenon ballast through a grommet in the headlight shroud. I don’t remember seeing anyone else have a similar setup, but I cut and heatshrinked the wiring before putting it back together. Reinstallation is the reverse of disassembly.

Housing cut line (you can always trim more, so I did a few test fits slowly getting it to fit perfectly.)
Housing Trim Line.jpg
Assembled with new projector
Assembled.jpg
As a general note, the protective covering on the wiring is a complete joke. I don’t think they intended these cars to last this long considering basic ground wiring crumbles in your hand exposing bare wire. Luckily, I was able to source one new euro wiring harness, but I had to cut, strip, heat shrink, and solder the other headlight together until I am able to find a second harness (the fact that this wiring is backordered everywhere is also a joke considering the potential catastrophic failure point of the exposed wires sparking and the car going up).

As Sreten did in his video, I did a test fit in the car on both sides to verify everything’s working and it was good to go before putting the lens cover back on.

Some additional notes:
-take a photo of where the bottom sliding plastic trim piece is located as I had to remove the headlight and readjust it a few times because the lower metal faceplate wouldn’t engage properly.
-be sure to clean the slider on the bottom edge to make the engagement easier with the fender. If this is not reengaged, the front metal trim piece below the headlight will not snap into place.

There is a hood release cable cover that sandwiches between the headlight and the metal frame which was missing on the passenger side and looking a little worse for wear on the driver's side, so ordered replacements (pn 51238186900). Not sure if it really does anything but worth it to me considering the nominal cost.

Also swapped the side indicators, after seeing the new one next to the old one, I did not realize how oxidized they were.
Side Indicators.jpg

Overall, very happy with the product and support I had received when I had questions and breathes life into an otherwise early gen xenon setup.

Complete
Finished 2.jpg
New left, old right
New vs Old.jpg

[a777fan]

Awesome! Retrofit lab looks to have modified both their instructions AND installation kit. It now closely mirrors the feedback I gave them when I installed my kit a little over a year ago.

Isn’t it amazing how weathered those side markers get? Mine were so bad I could tell without having new ones to compare to. Lol.

Enjoy the massive upgrade in light output.

[Btkeenan]

Awesome! Retrofit lab looks to have modified both their instructions AND installation kit. It now closely mirrors the feedback I gave them when I installed my kit a little over a year ago.

Isn’t it amazing how weathered those side markers get? Mine were so bad I could tell without having new ones to compare to. Lol.

Enjoy the massive upgrade in light output.

Awesome thanks for that because install was relatively easy hah

[Btkeenan]

Alright, time for another fun retrofit... the automatic headlights. Slowly acquired the parts from PYP from a 530i and X5 including the headlight bezel and switch, LCM III B, LCM IV, and sensor. I couldn't bring myself to pay the hundreds of dollars on eBay for everything given it only allows you to not have to lift your hand up and switch a knob 2 spots but for ~$120 it was worth it.

I heavily used this article and the two videos at the bottom of the article from Ryan over at E39 Source for the install.

Auto headlight pad
Start by removing the trim around the rear-view mirror. It’s a bit of a dumb design for removal as the tabs are flimsy and broke on mine. Luckily the dealer down the street had one in stock but still another 10 bucks I didn’t need to spend. Not sure how to carefully remove it without breaking the small teeth so do at your own risk. Once removed, rotate the mirror off counter clockwise 45 degrees and disconnect wiring harness, set aside. For the sensor, use a pry tool or something small to pull the two side levers away from the middle of the car. In Ryan’s video you can see what I mean. Sensor pops right off without incident. Next comes the removal of the old prism. The new prism I ordered came with no instructions but found these that state to warm the outside of the windshield for about one minute to 167-194 degrees with a blow dryer and then peel it off. I used a heat gun for about 30 seconds as the blow dryer blew the internal circuit on the extension cord I was using and it worked pretty well. I used a plastic scraper and plastic pry tool to liberate it from the windshield. Surprisingly there was not much leftover residue for me to remove with goo gone. Wiped the area down with an alcohol wipe and then cleaned thoroughly with glass cleaner. Now the not so fun part… the instructions recommend getting the back of the pad warm with a blow dryer until the 3m red protective film curls and then peel, immediately after prepping the glass surface with primer 94 and then laying the sensor down in a consistent motion as to roll it on. Doing this by yourself is a bit challenging but gave it a shot. Was able to get the red backing off without issue, cracked the paper tube of primer 94 to activate it and rubbed it liberally over the window opening and then gradually laid down the prism. That’s where things went a bit sideways. The prism has a quarter inch bubble going down the middle which I haven’t been able to coax out of the pad. Was going to pull it off and redo the pad because I bought the replacement but I’m not sure if I could do it better the second time. Figured I’d check if the rain and light sensing portion worked as it should. Even with the air bubble it’s good to go. Going to reach out to some glass companies that are local and see if they would apply a second one for me.

Headlight bezel
Kept an eye out on PYP for a 5 series with auto headlights using mdecoder and the VIN. Found a 530i with the rain sensor option and got the sensor and LCM III B from one car but had to source the switch and switch bezel from another 530i. Removal was pretty easy but unfortunately the trim bezel was broken as they usually are. Some plastic adhesive and it’s back to normal. Installation into my car was a little different than the E39 in Ryan’s video. You have to remove the instrument cluster to gain access. Remove battery cable and then use T10 to remove 2 fasteners at the top of the bezel (interestingly, the E39 has 4 torx screws holding it in). It helps to have your steering column in its lowest and furthest out setting for easier removal of the cluster. Next remove the existing light switch knob, I used some pliers and a shop towel similar to in Ryan’s video. Pull the power cable out of the back of the switch and use a 20mm socket to undo the plastic nut. Then reach around and pull the switch towards the front of the car for removal. For the bezel, push it towards yourself and it will release. Reinstall of the new switch is reverse of that process. Only took about 10 min to do everything.

New Bezel Installed
Switch 2.jpg


LCM
Similar install as the E39 but not the same. Remove the door sill kick panel using a pry tool. In the Bentley manual it says you can slide it forward and out of the slotted tabs, but I was unsuccessful with this method. In theory it would work but it looks like the kick plates may have been swapped at some point so there's no reason this method could not work. Then remove the black tray that is below the glovebox by removing the fastener on the left side and pulling the two plastic trim rivets (51471919209) out of the middle and right side. Unclip gong speaker and remove from car. Next remove the right kick panel by pulling it towards the center of the car. There are 3 black clips that hold it in place, similar to the door panel pieces. From the photos of the back of the part on ECS, they’re slotted so thought I could push the panel up and out, but I found it easier to pull all 3 straight out towards the center of the car. Then pull back the carpet and noise insulation (there is a big difference in this department over E39) to gain access to two 8mm bolts holding the top and bottom of the LCM. They are a bit of a PITA to get to and unfasten but possible with a 1/4 ratchet. Once removed, there is enough slack in the 3 cables to pull the LCM towards you to unclip them. The outer two are the typical slide at a slant to release and the middle of the lever with a holding pin. They’re at a weird angle but you can use a flat head screwdriver or a pry tool to persuade them to come off. Install of new module is reverse of removal. I hooked up the LCM III B first and programmed it. I tried to do the same with the IV but it was not able to read the module. Not sure if the module is dead or just not compatible with the E38. Before putting everything back together, probably best to verify it works.

LCM Comparison
LCM Comparison.jpg
LCM Location
LCM Placement.jpg

Coding
Prior to install of the new unit, copy both sets of coding data (light coding and check/control messages). Then swap the LCM and hook the battery back up. The coding procedure is the same for the E39 and E38 so you can follow along on Ryan’s video here. But briefly, turn to ignition 2, plug in your favorite coding tool (I used PA Soft but there’s no reason you couldn’t do this in NCS Expert as well), disregard tamper dot on cluster, verify coding language (it determined which one was correct for me), and code it using the coding data collected before installing the new LCM. Clear errors and verify everything’s communicating properly. The first time I coded it, it actually errored out but that was because I forgot to uncheck a box. I retried and it was successful. The headlights will flash and make noise during calibration. Curious about the LCM IV but considering the III B worked, I think I'll sell or shelve it for another day.

Light Coding Settings
Light Coding Settings.jpg
Check/Control Messages Settings
Check Control Messages Settings.jpg

Overall a sweet retrofit and worthwhile for one more thing to modernize our cars.

[Btkeenan]

Noticed the power steering lines below the reservoir were wet the other day so wiped them down thinking it was a fluke and next time I checked they were wet again. The tops of both the inlet and outlet at the reservoir were seeping ATF and running down into the engine compartment making a total mess. Figured it is probably best to replace them all since they look to be the original ones so purchased the power steering overhaul kit from FCP. It came with everything needed to refresh the power steering lines and reservoir including the banjo bolts and washers (minus the 13mm bolt 07119915085).

For the install I used a combination of videos from online including this, this, this, and guides including this and this. Purchased this from amazon to aid in the removal of fluid as well as a drain pan from the local auto parts store. The siphon worked ok but would have liked it to come with a longer small hose to get further into the pump as shown in one of the videos.

Surprisingly used a bunch of tools for a seemingly simple hose swap but most of them are as follows:

Sockets
-8mm
-10mm (reservoir mounting)
-13mm (hex for hoses terminating near radiator)
-16mm (engine mount)
-19mm (banjo bolt x2)
-22mm (banjo bolt)
-24mm (banjo bolt)
-1/4, 3/8 and 1/2 inch ratchets
-Various extensions
-Wobble extensions
-8mm allen for drain plug on pump
-Pick
-Various sized screw drivers
-Torque wrench
-Drain pan
-Lots and lots of rags/cleaning wipes
-ATF (I bought this but should only need about a quart and a half)
-Creeper (For the M539 fans out there, I got a super luxury model)

Threw the car up onto my ramps with a wheel chalk behind for safety and got to work.
Siphoned out as much ATF fluid out of the reservoir as I could and disposed of it in the drain pan. Removed the belly pan and set aside. Next I used the 8mm allen to loosen the drain bolt below the power steering pump and let it drain into the pan. While waiting I noticed that it must have been a while since it had been leaking because sludge was all over the bottom of the engine (not sure if it was due to leaking valve cover gasket or this but was everywhere) so got to work degreasing it and getting as much as my fingers could reach/handle. Also uses purple simple green to clean the belly pan and its now looking like new.

Started with the reservoir hoses and removed the 24mm banjo bolt on the pump and the 13mm bolt holding the two lines next to the radiator. The 24mm needed some coaxing to remove and the 13mm is longer than you might think. With those out, the reservoir was free to be liberated from the car, take note to minimize the mess with rags. Next up was the back two banjo bolts near the exhaust manifold. Found one post that actually removed the top 16mm motor mount bolt and then lifted that side of the engine away from the body just enough to get a socket down in there to remove the two. Didn’t see any other way to easily get to them, so I gave it a shot with my new jack and worked like a treat. It does make a bit of a sound removing itself from the motor mount, but it tilts just enough to gain access to both banjo bolts. Both needed some considerable coaxing to remove with both your mega extension and wobble extension but is doable. Next up was getting them out of the car which is a bit of a party trick fishing them through the rest of what’s there. Take note of where they go for easier reinstallation of the new tubes. Reinstall is the reverse. I started with the rear 22mm followed by 19mm next to that, then the pump upper 19mm banjo bolt followed by the two lines terminating near the radiator followed by the 24mm at the pump and then torquing everything to spec as listed below. I screwed in the 8mm into the motor mount and down from the ramp she came. When refilling the reservoir, I basically filled it to max and then turned on the car and it was making a horrendous sound from what I assume is the power steering pump. Turned the car off and checked and it was at its lowest level and foamy. Refilled and then it was happy. Cranked the wheel back and forth full lock a few times and checked again and got it to about 3/4 between the two fill lines. Also swapped the O ring on the reservoir cap as the one on the original cap resembled more of a triangle in profile than a circle and the new one was also for CHF11 not ATF along with some Asian characters.

Belly Pan
Belly Pan.jpg
ATF fluid makes a mess
Draining.jpg
Cap
Cap.jpg
All done
Buttoned Up.jpg

Spent probably 6ish hours doing this (3ish of that was probably cleaning)

Some general notes:
-Make sure to remove the old washers for the various banjo bolts as they won’t be reused with this kit
-Clean the mating surface of the banjo bolts with a wipe to ensure best contact and no leaks
-Don’t forget to grab the old O rings in the two hoses next the radiator, luckily as I was installing the new ones, one of them I could see peaking it’s head out and turns out both had remained. They were discolored and frayed
-the realoem diagram for the orientation of those two hoses terminating near the radiator is wrong, the reservoir return line goes on the bottom and the transmission line goes on top

Torque tables are as follows:
13mm 16Nm
M12 33Nm
M14 39Nm
M16 40Nm
M18 45Nm
No torque rating for 8mm drain plug but tight is what I have found online

Let it sit for a day with some clean rags underneath to check for leaks and all is dry… for now. Hope this helps someone or at least shortcuts the process that will inevitably have to be done on these aging luxobarges.

[a777fan]

You’re putting together quite the little DIY resource! Great job.

That auto headlight mod is pretty neat. I’ve shied away given the coding involved, but perhaps I’ll add it to the lost and give it a go!

[Btkeenan]

You’re putting together quite the little DIY resource! Great job.

That auto headlight mod is pretty neat. I’ve shied away given the coding involved, but perhaps I’ll add it to the lost and give it a go!

Thanks I do what I can

Happy to help you out on the coding aspect if/when you want to dive into the auto headlight setup

[kouks]

Speaking of coding headlights, in your travails have you maybe figured out how to get the e39 factory angel eyes to come on/off with the ignition. Seems like no one on the e39 side has a clue. Only way to drive with them now is to turn the light switch to parking lights.

[Btkeenan]

Speaking of coding headlights, in your travails have you maybe figured out how to get the e39 factory angel eyes to come on/off with the ignition. Seems like no one on the e39 side has a clue. Only way to drive with them now is to turn the light switch to parking lights.

Good question. I remember reading that was a limitation on the E39 side but have not researched it enough to tell whether it can be bypasses/adapted with ignition on. I would recommend reaching out to Ryan at E39 Source and see if he has any insight.

[Btkeenan]

Been a busy but productive ~month getting some additional things sorted on my car.

Throttle body cleaning
Noticed sometimes where the idle would be rough on cold start when the temperature was cold, and I hadn’t driven it in a week or two. Did some searching around and found some suggestions saying it was a bad PCV, but Gzilla recommended cleaning the throttle body and mating surface. Given this is a relatively timely and easy task, gave that a shot. Throttle body was all gummed up with carbon build up over the past 22 years so got to scrubbing with a toothbrush and half a can of throttle body cleaner. Cleaned the connectors with specialist contact spray and wiped down any residual debris that was at the face of the intake. Also, for good measure bought a new gasket (13547510433) as the installed one was faded and dried out *what I read online is that if you do not move the flap, you do not have to do an adaptation of the TB*. Took it for a spin around the block and it audibly sounds smoother and has more linear power delivery, so I call that a win for a relatively easy procedure.
Throttle Body.jpg

Engine Release Bowden Cable Hold Down
Noticed that the bowden cable (51238168163) that attaches to the interior lever to release the hood latch broke away from the base, this was also confirmed by looking at lower mileage examples than mine and seeing that the center of the three mounted screws was the holder for the cable. Thought about replacing the entire bowden cable but after seeing that you have to rerun the entire cable from the left hood latch all the way to the hood release latch inside, opted to take a different approach. I designed one in Solidworks that mimics the old latch but does not require you to take out the bowden cable. There is sufficient flex in the plastic that you can snap the 3d printed piece over the cable and then fasten it down with the existing screw. I decided to use all 3 attachment points along the front of the car but the OEM one is only in the middle, as it keeps it nice and tight up against the metal frame.
Bowden Cable.jpg

Front headlight lenses
So, after I thought I was done with the headlights… turns out I was not. I purchased the xpel headlight precut kit to protect the new headlights, side markers, and eventually fog lights but noticed some artifacting on the face of the lenses for the headlights themselves. I was extremely careful with the lenses during the whole install and wore clean nitrile gloves so my conclusion was the way it was packaged considering the lenses were packaged in a large box only wrapped in a plastic bag. Given every delivery services… haste…. to deliver packages, it undoubtedly chaffed in transit. Emailed FCP Euro and they at first would only offer a partial refund but after persisting and sending additional photos of the damage, they offered to send me a replacement set of lenses. (If it was any other part where the optical clarity was not a requirement, I probably would have moved on with my day but after the time I spent getting the bixenon kit installed, not going to happen.) I agreed and waited patiently for them to arrive. The box showed up a day later, surprising considering they were coming from the east coast, and opened the box and was super pumped to reinstall them back onto my car only to find out that they had sent me two passenger lenses even though one was labeled as drivers. One of the lenses was optically flawless while the other showed the same scuff marks. Obviously I could not use two passengers on the car, so emailed them again about the error and they apologized again and sent me one more replacement. Showed up a day or so later and again, it was labeled as a driver's side but was in fact a passenger side lens and scuffed again. And so, the merry go round of support started once more and just my luck, that was the last lens they had in stock and had to order more from Germany. Still waiting for the lens from them which they quoted would be ~a month to arrive but I hope it is actually a driver's side and does not show up scuffed. Also, while taking the headlights on and off the car about 10 times now, I noticed the passenger side bowden cable plastic piece (51238186900) was missing, and the driver's side (51238186899) was all cracked up so replaced both. Interestingly enough, on some of the clean examples I have seen online go up for sale, they all seem to be missing the passenger side piece. Not sure if it was a widespread oversight at BMW at the time or they were not included with certain specs, but it is on realoem for both sides so who knows.
Lens Scuff.jpg

Rotary dampers
As I stated in another thread on here, I was able to source the last of the OEM rotary dampers used in the E38 as well as some other vehicle platforms of the era that they had back stock of. Bit of a pain to get them here from Europe but they finally arrived and are an exact replacement. One is used in each front door cubby, one per rear door ashtray and two per rear door storage pocket on iL models. They are all relatively easy to install and the longest bit is likely getting the door panels off the car, but they revive the soft close functionality originally included with these cars.
Rotary Damper.jpg

NOS taillight
Found a NOS clear taillight pop up on eBay so decided to bid on it and won. Comparing it to the existing taillights, it’s crazy to see the difference so now I need to buy a passenger side one to match the new lenses all around the car. I am thinking I will buy a new taillight for the other side and then polish these with the Sylvania restoration kit I already purchased and sell them online to recoup some cost.
Tail light.jpg

If anyone is interested in the 3d printed parts or rotary dampers, send me a DM and we can work something out.

[Btkeenan]

Mild update as nothing major has happened besides driving and enjoying the car.

DVD Changer Replacement Cover
With the Bluebus installed and working flawlessly, I decided to remove the cd changer from the rear of the car. Wasn’t a fan of having the cavity open (even though it’s technically behind a magnetic panel) so mocked up a few prototypes and have settled on a design that looks as stock as I can make with this 3d printer. Made two versions, one with an insert so you can use an adhesive M badge and one that you can 3D print various colored ///M characters. Both functionally are the same but provide different aesthetics. I do have 2 demo units I made prior to the final unit with the red colored M if anyone’s interested.
DVD Cover 2.jpg

Rubber Belly Pan Straps
After some more research I decided to make my own. Took a sheet of rubber and made a template with the old strap and then cut out the outline with a knife and sanded down the rough edges. To do this properly you'd have to get a die tool and stamp these out but tooling for that would be about 1k and I don't think enough people care to replace them with non-OE rubber to warrant the capital expense. I think they turned out nice though and should be easy to replace in the future. It conforms nicely to the edge and replicates the OE part.
Belly Pan 1.jpg

Headlight Lens
The saga of the headlight lens finally came to a close after some more delays. As outlined in this other post, the driver's side headlight lens has a factory production flaw. FCP and other online retailers selling the MM lenses have stopped carrying them until recently when a fresh batch of lenses showed up. Will place an order for one to hopefully get a clear one but in the meantime I swapped back the old scratched up lenses and will hold off installing the new clear lenses and xpel kit. Quite frustrating when an OE supplier can't get their stuff together.


Seatbelts Receptacles
Noticed that the red on the seatbelt receptacles was fading. Heard about some people using heat guns to “restore” the buckle but not a fan of that method as it would ruin the structural integrity of the plastic. Sreten used a red permanent marker which is also a bit meh but found Matt from Obessed garage use WD-40 to restore them and that actually worked great. Before and after is dramatically different and so far, has lasted. Pretty easy to apply with a qtip, let it dry on the buckle and wipe up any excess. Definitely beats swapping for a new unit.
Before/After
Seatbelt Combined.jpg

[a777fan]

Nice!

I’d be in for one of those panels if you’re selling/making them available. I’ll PM you.

[Btkeenan]

Some more mild updates since last post.

Windshield Washer Reservoir
I don’t usually use the windshield wiper washers but as I was doing some routine fluid checks, I noticed that it was not functioning properly. Took the front wheel and fender liner off and confirmed my suspicion that the washer reservoir was full of algae and the pumps were clogged. Not sure why the PO (or anyone for that matter) thinks it is a good idea to save a few dollars and fill the reservoir with tap water, but it is what it is now. It smelt like a fish market and looked like a swamp. Decided to do a refresh on the whole system with new pumps, levels, sensors and any rubber that is tied into the reservoir as well as get a new reservoir after reading what a pain it was from a777fan’s car. Reservoir took about 3 weeks to get here from Germany and the pumps were OE ones from FCP. Everything went back together smoothly but snapped off one of the plastic barbs that was latched onto the hose for the front headlight washers. Had a heck of a time getting the broken barb out of the hose.

Old washer reservoir
Washer Reservoir.jpg

Back together with new hardware
Washer Reassembled.jpg

Old washer pumps
Washer Pumps.jpg

CD Changer Plate
Got my final version M logo CD changer mounted up. Uses the factory M logo which has some VHB on the back of it to get a more OE look over the other red printed version I made.
CD Cover M.jpg

Gave it a much-needed wash and when cleaning the wheels found a roofing nail sticking out of the tread in the drivers rear tire so that's always fun. I have been monitoring the past few days and there is no leak as of yet but will have to pull it and see if it can/needs to be patched.

SMOG
Got the renewal notice and fun times in CA where you have to get the car smogged every 2 years. Used the OBD2 port in the cabin and a handy backup code reader I got off amazon to check the I/M readiness. Luckily all but the EVAP were ready so let it sit for 5 min on cold start and it was ready and off to the SMOG station. Another $50 for the pleasure of owning/driving this beauty in CA. Also saw an E38 750il on the way home and pulled along side him and waved. He ignored me until he saw what I was driving and smiled and gave me a thumbs up.
SMOG.jpg

[purplecty]

Looking good! I like that new updated CDC cover and I use that exact same scanner for emissions checking.

[Btkeenan]

I thought about swapping my M steering wheel for the next generation M steering wheel with the smaller spokes and airbag but came across a newly recovered wheel off eBay that was local and had the same finish as the OEM wheel (I am not a fan of the napa leather or perforated leather wheels). Got it for a great price and finally decided to install it. I found a few videos but primarily used E39Source's guide for the removal and then reversed the procedure for the install. Overall, a very easy swap minus the side multifunction switches. I found conflicting evidence online to go from the R vs L side of the switch and to ease one side up and then the other versus all at once. I opted for the all at once approach and was able to remove them unscathed (the left one is NLA and the right one I'm sure isn't far behind). Reinstallation was easy enough making sure to tuck the various wires back into their designated spaces. Now it's a fresh looking wheel that feels great in your hands.

Old vs New
Steering Wheel 1.jpg

Installed
Steering Wheel 2.jpg

[Btkeenan]

As I mentioned, there was a nail in my left rear tire. It wasn’t losing pressure, and it was inboard enough that it wasn't an issue plugging it at the local Americas tire where they took care of it free of charge. The location I went to took special care to be careful removing the rim from the tire and also affirmed that this was the last good year of the 7 series.
Tire.jpg

Decided to also do the annual oil change myself using some Castrol edge synthetic 5w30 a3/b4 and an OEM oil filter kit (I should have checked who the OE was because sure enough could have saved $10 bucks and bought the Hengst one instead but oh well). Oil changes on this are surprisingly easy compared to on my truck, the most unexpected thing being how tight the filter is attached to the top of the oil filter housing cap. While I was at it, I also did the Blackstone oil analysis setup to get a baseline for the oil and hopefully shed some light on the health of the rest of the engine. Based on their report, the oil contents were below their averages so that's good. Is it normal for the Blackstone test to take about 3.5 weeks from delivery to final results? I read online that they're usually quicker than that.
Oil.jpg

While I was at it with the oil change, I remembered that the oil level sensor was giving me codes (LCM 28 040 thermal oil-level sensor defect) occasionally that would clear out and be fine for a month and then come back. Decided to get a new OE one from hella (HEL-007868031). Install was easy enough torquing to 8.5NM. The old one was original from 2001 and definitely had some gunk under the oring and along the sensor which was likely contributing to the fault. Reset the code again and hasn't come back since.
Oil Sensor.jpg

I now have an interesting error on the DME (8C 140 activation, map cooling) which from what I have read is either a bad thermostat or wiring to said thermostat. Performance is not affected, and operating temperature gauge is dead nuts middle. I will have to monitor the KTMP on the cluster next time I take it out to see the variation, but I may be putting in a 88C thermostat sooner than anticipated.

[purplecty]

I use hengst filters which i believe to be OE. Look around the oil filter housing and you will see hengst stamped on it. I too bought a new oil level sensor but forgot to replace it on my last oil change using castrol euro 5w40.

[Btkeenan]

I use hengst filters which i believe to be OE. Look around the oil filter housing and you will see hengst stamped on it.

You got it. Had I known that prior to ordering it would have saved me $10 hah

[purplecty]

You got it. Had I known that prior to ordering it would have saved me $10 hah

Meh you know now...

[Btkeenan]

Meh you know now...

Yep. Luckily ordered from FCP so should be ok going forward as the filter kits seem to be fairly price stable

[Btkeenan]

Haven’t been doing much to the car besides enjoying it. No leaks or other maintenance of note to report. I am still waiting for another NOS taillight to pop up online, so I decided I’d use the Sylvania headlight restoration kit on the original taillights before it went bad. I remember that staszek had positive results using the same kit on his old sport a while back before replacing them entirely with new ones. Instructions and video help with the fairly straightforward process. Took about an hour total to do both taillights and to go through the various steps. I sanded each taillight for 5 minutes using every level of grit sandpaper. When applying the UV coat, make sure to have some sort of ventilation as it’s pretty potent. I think they turned out pretty good. My taillights unfortunately have some oxidation on the perimeter of the plastic that only a new set would resolve but for now this will do nicely.

Prep.jpg
Prep

Combined DR.jpg

Polished_to_NOS.jpg
Polished compared to new

Also took the front door panels off to replace the rotary dampers in the storage cubbies and to add the Bavsound foam insert for the speakers. I forgot how much of a pain the driver's door panel is to get off with all the electrical connections. Once off, pretty easy to replace the dampers and regain the soft closing mechanism in the cubbies. Unfortunately, during the panel removal the door handle illumination bracket (63318380173) broke so another one is on order.
Door_handle_bracket.jpg

[KNN059]

I have to do this to my lights too, they are actually pretty good aside of inside once for reverse light.

Sent from my SM-S908W using Tapatalk

[Btkeenan]

Building on what Paul figured out on his E39, I decided to take the plunge and go the local pick your part and grab 9 different HomeLink modules, 4 3.0 and “5” 4.0 (or so I thought) from various years they had on hand to do some testing (I’ve gotten pretty good at pulling them out of cars now). The 3.0 modules are largely the same as far as I can tell but there was a shift between 2001 and 2011 as denoted by Paul. Unfortunately, I thought I would have luck with a couple later 2000s 7 series they had on the lot based on the part numbers from realoem. In reality, they had a HomeLink 3 v2 which after doing the button and connector swap, found out they are a no go for a modern garage door opener. Upon closer inspection, the IC number printed on the back with 2798-GTX2HL3 (I presume HomeLink 3 v2) whereas the 2011 ones I pulled had IC 279B-BMWHL4 (I presume HomeLink 4) which mimics the guide. Luckily each one was only 9 bucks but still annoying to have wasted time and money on units that are not compatible.

PYP Haul.jpg
PYP Haul

IC Comparison.jpg
IC Comparison

To add to his Paul's guide, to remove the 3 pin connectors, I used a solder sucker and some patience which made it easy to dismount them. Also, I was unsuccessful using the soldering iron to remove the ribbon cable, but my heat gun did the trick for me. I had to essentially get it hot enough to almost singe the back sticker which was enough to remove the ribbon cable in one shot. Be cautious as it’s an old ribbon cable and the metal prong connectors are prone to separating from the ribbon and breaking off if handled too much (happened to me on three different modules). So, after a couple hours of tinkering, I’ve got a graveyard of pieces/modules and 2 working converted HomeLink 4.0 units.

Assembly.jpg
Assembly

Based on what I could find for HomeLink pairing, there seems to be a bit of conflicting steps to take depending on the rolling/standard codes. I have a 2-month-old chamberlain unit and what I did was held both outside buttons on the in car module for about 20 seconds until the center green light went solid and then released to reset the module. I then held the button I was programming for about 20 seconds to put it into programming mode, during which time it was blinking slowly. Then I held the same button on the module down along with the programmed button on a known working transmitter about an inch away until the light went from a slow blink to a fast blink. I then let go of both and tested the module by pushing it for 2 seconds. It worked as intended and am happy to have another retrofit for this car that allows it to be just a that much more useful in the modern age.

[purplecty]

Where did you get your soldering setup from?

[Btkeenan]

Where did you get your soldering setup from?

Picked it up a few years ago for work since it is ESD safe and it has worked out nicely. Doesn't look like they are still available, but they do have a newer version that's digital online. I also picked up an accessory kit recently.

Soldering Station
Accessory kit
Mat