Sir Anthony Regents Park

The E39 is possibly* a 'nicer' car (opinions differ) but the E60 was far better built. I've never seen a rotten one. All the things that used to fail on the E39 such as the ABS module, dash pixels, cup holders, entire bloody cooling system etc seem to last indefinitely. I've had my E32 730i since 2003 as well, but it definitely wasn't new. 😂

I saw your post on Bimmerforums and then inevitable brain fart replies by AlanG and co.😂 You may find the leak is from where the plastic reservoir meets the alloy cylinder. This can be cured by using a cable tie to compress the reservoir down into the cylinder. I've had this in the past and new seals never cures it.

After 3 miles, the oil in a diesel engine is as black as sin but it's still good. It's down to the individual but I wouldn't bother. An example is a 1997 R reg 528i E39 with over 200,000 miles. It had a problem where it wouldn't change up into 4th unless you used Steptronic. We tried everything including fitting a known good valve chest. The original 1997 oil was drained into a clean container and whilst pretty dark, was still clean enough when you had a bit on your fingers. It went back in, and no, the 'box was still misbehaving. In the end I did change the oil - no difference. In the end, a faulty ABS ECU was causing the problem. Once replaced it was perfect. I've done transmission oil changes on cars and whilst the owners swear blind it was different, they always felt the same to me.The gearbox, not the owner. To each their own.

I've no answer tbh! It's in there for lubrication and hydraulic pressure. If it does both, it's OK.

The ZF 5H5P19 has pressed steel brake drums and these split open. The previous 5HP18 (E34 and pre 99 E38) used cast drums which don't. A secondhand gearbox has the same secondhand brake drums as a £1500 recon unit. Folk bang on and on about fluid changes and it does bugger all apart from the placebo effect. My last E39, a 1998 528iA did 210,000 on the original oil and it still works perfectly. Synthetic ATF is serious oil. My own record is 243,000 in a 1992 E36 320iA. Gearboxes fail because something has broken. It's looks a tidy car. Your options are a £1500 recon unit, a £500 used unit (and £350 ish to fit) or contact ZF UK for a price for a proper fully rebuilt unit. It's an old E39 so it may be a constant stream of problems but they're cheaper than an ageing F11 and all the shit that comes with it and much nicer than, God forbid, an E61. However: if the backs of the sills are starting to look a bit Titanic, them I'd be outing it. Know when to hold 'em and when to fold 'em. If it's not rusty (a big ask these days) would find a good used box, change the converter oil seal and oil filter and stick that in.

Those early master cylinders are a real problem now. Later cars from 1986 onwards had an E30 style cylinder that bolts to the side of the pedal box........which is different to the pre '86 cars. The oil can method looks good. I used a pressure bleeder with gentle pedal pumping but the oil can idea looks better.

No idea - I let my recovery bloke have them. Probably £100 or so.

The injection M10 1.8 was a good swap. It's a 518i now of course but they always went pretty well and the fuel economy and reliability it much better than the old carbed 520. Keep your eye open for spare bits - ECU's and air flow meters in particular. The airflow meter 0280202039 or 0280202050 was known to be a bit troublesome. Keep a fuel pump relay in the car as well. If you can find one, a 5 speed gearbox with a speedo drive is well worth having but they are so rare now. In the UK only the E21 318 1.8 had it as standard. You may have more luck in Europe.

And away it goes. Now the arduous task of selling the bits. 😂 The interior sold within a few days and I might keep the engine to use it something - no idea what yet.

Two right hand drive UK registered 535i Sports and a LHD one were used and destroyed, RHD so that a dummy LHD steering wheel could be fitted for Natascha McElhone to 'drive' it.

I've not replaced either the rear beam bushes or the giubo on my 1989 E32. Both are still good so they were either replaced before 2003 and 204k, or they really are 35 years and 316,000 miles old. I suspect they have been renewed but that makes them 112,000 miles and 21 years old. The exhaust lasted until 2007 and the clutch a full 312,000.

I just replaced the front Giubo (pronounced joo-bow, not gwee-bow!) on my 05 120d, 19 years and 178,000 miles old. It wasn't bad but I was replacing the prop centre bearing and it was a bit cracked although not as bad as yours. It just shows how much component quality has dropped in the last 10 or 20 years.

JLR stuff is junk. The 2.0d Ingenium engine is a disaster and JLR's dealers, parts supply and warranty procedures a nightmare. You might be lucky, probably not. If Porsche (well, VW) can't make an EV reliable (the Taycan isn't) then JLR certainly can't. As ever, it's really only Toyota who can make a car that isn't a liability. Just be aware that any EV will effectively be scrap in 10 years and resale values will reflect this.

You can do it by removing the door seal first - that gives you enough room to remove the door card. You need to be slightly brutal with it though.

Btw, Classics World is actually very good. Simon the editor is fastidious in the content and it's very readable. I'd give it a chance.