What did you do to your E60/61 today?

[Gonzo]

15 hours ago, dj123 said:

Today i fitted new air springs to the Car. A fairly quick & painless job, thankfully. The old ones were starting to perish, and on one side the threads were coming through. 

I then went to get my wheels balanced as i had a small vibration in the car whilst driving, which became a bit worse under braking. Turns out one of my wheels is buckled. So i then sourced a new set to pick up, as i'm off to Europe soon and had not time to get it fixed prior to the trip. I'll get one fitted to the car with my tyre on, and get it checked for balancing/buckles. 

 

 

 

Did you check the locating pegs were still in place once the new bags were inflated?

[Ray112]

Fog light bulbs changed to some LEDs. Normally I don't use them when driving, but since I have coded  them as welcome lights some time ago and it's getting darker outside, I thought it would look good to get more newish look. Quite happy how it looks now. And while I was there changed slowly fading/turning pink xenon bulb as well. Started to fade well over a month ago but didn't get any worse all this time. I realised I have all sorts of xenon bulbs at home. Little collection gained through years, so this time saved few quid in a pocket. 

[dj123]

18 hours ago, Gonzo said:

Did you check the locating pegs were still in place once the new bags were inflated?

The lower ones, which sit into the base? Everything seems to be ok - and properly located. When i installed them, i pulled the bags down so they were sat on the locating pegs prior to inflation. 

[Gonzo]

14 hours ago, dj123 said:

The lower ones, which sit into the base? Everything seems to be ok - and properly located. When i installed them, i pulled the bags down so they were sat on the locating pegs prior to inflation. 

You should be ok then.

[dj123]

On 06/10/2023 at 20:48, dj123 said:

Today i fitted new air springs to the Car. A fairly quick & painless job, thankfully. The old ones were starting to perish, and on one side the threads were coming through. 

I then went to get my wheels balanced as i had a small vibration in the car whilst driving, which became a bit worse under braking. Turns out one of my wheels is buckled. So i then sourced a new set to pick up, as i'm off to Europe soon and had not time to get it fixed prior to the trip. I'll get one fitted to the car with my tyre on, and get it checked for balancing/buckles. 

 

 

 

I've been chasing a minor air leak this week since this job. Overnight the car would sink down on the left hand side. As it was such a slow leak, no soapy water could help locate where it was coming from. 

I ended up replacing the o-ring on the airline connector from the compressor and adding some PTFE to the threads to help with sealing. On the airbag the connector took a degree or 2 of extra turn (not with force). Thankfully this morning it has not sunk again, and everything appears to be ok. But only time will tell if i did seal the leak or simply reduce the speed. 

I'll need to replace the compressor rubber bushings/vibration mounts as they're not in the best of condition. And possibly the distribution valve too. Otherwise, it seems to work well without issue. 

[thomp1983]

Replaced the regulator/rectifier on the alternator on my e61 530i.

Id been getting a charging issue fault when travelling at low speeds (sub 50mph) and you could see the voltage drop from 14v to 12v on the hidden menu. 

With the alternator off there was a pool of oil in the bottom of its bracket so it looks like the oil cooler above it has been leaking and has probably caused the failure so that'll be my next job to do. 

[oldjohnny]

Yesterday I valeted the old faithful 530D, wished it a happy 20th birthday, locked it up and went to the pub to celebrate. (No cars allowed in my local you see).

[duncan-uk]

11 hours ago, oldjohnny said:

Yesterday I valeted the old faithful 530D, wished it a happy 20th birthday, locked it up and went to the pub to celebrate. (No cars allowed in my local you see).

Yours must be a very early e60?

[Humour]

On 18/09/2023 at 14:56, Gonzo said:

19mm M6 rear ARB fitted, I wanted the 20mm M5 E61 bar but it's been on back order for 2 years so safe to say you will never see one made again. It's stopped the arse end dipping quite as much as I always felt the touring needed a thicker bar. 

M5 E60 has 18mm, M5 E61 has 20mm, yet they fit the same SE and M sport sizes to each chassis...

 

 

This is interesting. So all variants are a straight fit? 

I also think that the balance of my e60 is leaning towards understeer on throttle when settled into a corner. 

A bit stiffer rear roll may help in this regard.

Cant rationalise why the e60/e61 M5 are different though. 

P. S. On topic, things done today are front hubs/bearings, new discs and new poly bushes on front lower arms.  

Edited October 14, 2023 by Humour

[oldjohnny]

October 2003 duncan-uk.  I think that was the start of the E60s.

[Gonzo]

On 14/10/2023 at 01:21, Humour said:

This is interesting. So all variants are a straight fit? 

I also think that the balance of my e60 is leaning towards understeer on throttle when settled into a corner. 

A bit stiffer rear roll may help in this regard.

Cant rationalise why the e60/e61 M5 are different though. 

P. S. On topic, things done today are front hubs/bearings, new discs and new poly bushes on front lower arms.  

Yep, just get the matching bushes. E61 is heavier on the arse end and air bags tend not to be as hard as traditional springs.

[Humour]

10 hours ago, Gonzo said:

Yep, just get the matching bushes. E61 is heavier on the arse end and air bags tend not to be as hard as traditional springs.

Ok, that makes sense. I only ask because when I look at pictures of the M5 front ARB it's a different shape than the non M. It has more bends in it. 

Would love to put at least one in the rear at some point, but have to prioritise fixes and prev maintenance first, which in this car is allot. So hopefully down the line I can do it....... OR, I can pop over to yours and try your car out to get a feel for the dynamics change 😜

Edited October 15, 2023 by Humour

[dj123]

I am recently back from a week long road trip around Germany in the car, after visiting all the Car manufacturer museums. The car was great all week with no issues, and got to stretch its legs (a bit) on the autobahn. Cruising between 100-110mph it was returning circa 33-35MPG - which i didn't think was too bad for the old girl. You certainly get a feeling the design brief the car was made for it - given the noise refinement & stability of the car when travelling at speed.

A few jobs to do before the next Euro trip; fix/repair/replace rear washer pipe, sort out the paintwork, check the brake discs for run out, oil & filters service. 

[Humour]

3 hours ago, dj123 said:

I am recently back from a week long road trip around Germany in the car, after visiting all the Car manufacturer museums. The car was great all week with no issues, and got to stretch its legs (a bit) on the autobahn. Cruising between 100-110mph it was returning circa 33-35MPG - which i didn't think was too bad for the old girl. You certainly get a feeling the design brief the car was made for it - given the noise refinement & stability of the car when travelling at speed.

A few jobs to do before the next Euro trip; fix/repair/replace rear washer pipe, sort out the paintwork, check the brake discs for run out, oil & filters service. 

If you do find issues with disk runout, check the hubs too. It's a bit tricky to setup as you have to avoid the holes and space is tight but there is just about enough space right as the edge of the face.

Good luck. 

[DJ Syxx]

Fitted new belly pan, old one was a mess.

[olliecampbell]

Sanded, primed and resprayed my wiper arms. Looks so much better now. Gave the bearings a good lubing too :)

Aftermarket bluetooth dongle wired into the Aux cable.

Re-sealed the passenger headlight as it was getting some moisture ingress and replaced the bulb on the angel eye headlights....again.

I wish all of my life was this rock and roll :D

[dj123]

Today the water pump got changed out after breaking down last night.

I was driving home from a weekend away, i noticed the coolant temps rising (i use a scangauge to view coolant temps), and then got the low coolant warning. As it was dark, and raining, it was impossible to tell where the leak was coming from but it looked to be around the water pump/thermostat area. Got home this morning & after disassembly discovered the water pump pulley/bearings had failed. 

Thankfully i think i've stopped in time that it's not overheated the engine nor done any damage to the belt either. It looks to be the original i think, as the gasket behind it was the full version you get from factory (still attached to the main front cover) - unless it had been replaced and the gasket had not been. 

It was a job on next years list to do along with a coolant change, but i can tick that off the list now....

[Ray112]

2 hours ago, dj123 said:

Today the water pump got changed out after breaking down last night.

I was driving home from a weekend away, i noticed the coolant temps rising (i use a scangauge to view coolant temps), and then got the low coolant warning. As it was dark, and raining, it was impossible to tell where the leak was coming from but it looked to be around the water pump/thermostat area. Got home this morning & after disassembly discovered the water pump pulley/bearings had failed. 

Thankfully i think i've stopped in time that it's not overheated the engine nor done any damage to the belt either. It looks to be the original i think, as the gasket behind it was the full version you get from factory (still attached to the main front cover) - unless it had been replaced and the gasket had not been. 

It was a job on next years list to do along with a coolant change, but i can tick that off the list now....

What mileage are you on? I remember changing water pump on my E39 at 220k miles,it was original part still there, and I don't think that anyone touched it before. By the way there was nothing wrong with pump, it was thermostat housing leaking that time. 

Anyway, it's always nice to tick off some jobs from "to do" list.

[dj123]

40 minutes ago, Ray112 said:

What mileage are you on? I remember changing water pump on my E39 at 220k miles,it was original part still there, and I don't think that anyone touched it before. By the way there was nothing wrong with pump, it was thermostat housing leaking that time. 

Anyway, it's always nice to tick off some jobs from "to do" list.

173K now, so its had a good life time on a 2009 car. 

[Ray112]

16 hours ago, dj123 said:

173K now, so its had a good life time on a 2009 car. 

Mine is 177 now, thought it's M47 engine, maybe time to change it. 

[Max535]

Over the last couple of weekends I've been having a bit of a sort out of some neglected areas.

Had 2 brand new Conti 7's fitted on the front as the old tyres were perished

Glued the rear BMW badge back on that randomly decided to just fall off next to the car. (it is the genuine original go figure...)

Replaced a front and rear parking sensor and got my PDC back up and running.

Replaced all 6 glow plugs, dying glow plug controller and leaking coolant flange while i was in there, along with a new fuel filter.

Also sanded and polished my headlights again as MOT is coming up, this time used G3 instead of Megs Ultimate compound and sanded up to 3000 grit instead of the 2500 i usually do, insane how much better they came out they look practically brand new and i cant stop looking at them now 😂

Ran out of time to do the AC belt, but going in for service next week then MOT time, hopefully all good.

Edited November 12, 2023 by Max535

[Gonzo]

Best to spray the lights with a UV topcoat mate.

[Humour]

1 hour ago, Gonzo said:

Best to spray the lights with a UV topcoat mate.

Any recommendation on product/spec? From research I've done it's suggested to use only 2K top coat, but that would need mixing, no? 

Suggested alternatives are Ceramic coating, which is good for a year only, but is very quick and easy to apply with a spomge. The other is UV rated tint film which is a PITA to apply but should protect from chips and last way longer than Ceramic. 

I need to do both of mine too, hence looking into this topic for some point in the future. 

[Jens]

35 minutes ago, Humour said:

Any recommendation on product/spec? From research I've done it's suggested to use only 2K top coat, but that would need mixing, no? 

Suggested alternatives are Ceramic coating, which is good for a year only, but is very quick and easy to apply with a spomge. The other is UV rated tint film which is a PITA to apply but should protect from chips and last way longer than Ceramic. 

I need to do both of mine too, hence looking into this topic for some point in the future. 

I've used a UV stable clear coat on mine before, didn't last long and ended up chipping off, looking worse than the original damage before polishing out.

Was going to ask about PPF as a possible alternative to protect the headlights.  Apart from the application are there any legal or pragmatic reasons for not doing it?

[Humour]

2 hours ago, Jens said:

Apart from the application are there any legal or pragmatic reasons for not doing it?

I dont understand the question.

Why would there be a legal issue with trying to protect your height lenses from fogging up after restoring them? Unless, you mean if you "tint" them (with PPF or similar), in which case there could be as tinting coupd reduce light output, hence be considered dangerous/illegal.