What did you do to your E39 today?

[PZero]

Car going in for a roof respray in a week, and asked him whilst he has the car to take a look at the inevitable E39 touring rust in the corners of the tailgate glass aperture which I've now got bubbling up. Thought I would take a pre-emptive look myself. Theoretically one of the simplest jobs I've had to do on the car for a while - just remove a trim panel and look at something. Regretted that.

Obviously all of the side clips which hold the trim on broke on removal, and having seen the ridiculous price for those, don't think I'll replace those. 

 

And then the bumpstop bolt fell into the trim as soon as the rubber bumpstop was removed. Oh good, we can already tell what that means then. 

Sigh. Oh well, started down the rabbit hole, no option but go deeper... Trim off and that's a nice accumulation of dirt. 

Cleaned up and yup, the captive nut for bumpstop bolt has clearly rusted off, and the rust is worse and further spread than I thought. We were were hoping to tidy it up and do whatever possible to prevent rust getting much worse in that corner, but looks like that ship has sailed and there isn't enough sound metal left to preserve. 

 

Assuming that the stars align and I miraculously find a solid rust free one (Ha!), any know how much of a ballache it is to swap out the tailgate?

Edited September 10, 2022 by PZero

[Guest]

40 minutes ago, Dbcrd said:

Fed the leather seats.

Recently found a crack in the nearside door mirror case.  New OEM ones are fairly expensive and there are cheap Chinese copies on ebay for about £20 plus they come in primer.  Wasn't sure one of those would fit so I bought a whole mirror on ebay on the same colour as my car.

Dismnantled it to get the part I needed.  Bonus is that the glass is perfect condition and the glass on my drivers side is starting to get brown stains round the edges.  I think these glasses are not handed so I can swap that out at some point.

The paint condition on this replacement mirror back is not great (much of it was visible in the pictures) but no great loss.  Will do for now.

The car goes into the body shop next month anyway to tidy up the front end so I may ask if they will paint this mirror back while at it.

I also fixed up the black plastic parts of the mirror with some meguars cream I bought on Amazon.  They had gone very faded and grey.  Complete transformation.

 

OEM ones are pricey but worth it; Chinese eBay shitty ones are just that... Ask me how I know 😂

 

Mine need redoing on my 540i; they'll be OEM ones when I get the car back into the bodyshop to get the front bumper resprayed etc...

[Dbcrd]

16 minutes ago, danb1979 said:

 

OEM ones are pricey but worth it; Chinese eBay shitty ones are just that... Ask me how I know 😂

 

Mine need redoing on my 540i; they'll be OEM ones when I get the car back into the bodyshop to get the front bumper resprayed etc...

I made the right call then.  Thanks for the confirmation.  Thought I couldn't really go wrong for £16 plus postage £20 all in.  Most of the other ones on ebay were more than that.

[Dbcrd]

1 hour ago, PZero said:

Car going in for a roof respray in a week, and asked him whilst he has the car to take a look at the inevitable E39 touring rust in the corners of the tailgate glass aperture which I've now got bubbling up. Thought I would take a pre-emptive look myself. Theoretically one of the simplest jobs I've had to do on the car for a while - just remove a trim panel and look at something. Regretted that.

Obviously all of the side clips which hold the trim on broke on removal, and having seen the ridiculous price for those, don't think I'll replace those. 

 

And then the bumpstop bolt fell into the trim as soon as the rubber bumpstop was removed. Oh good, we can already tell what that means then. 

Sigh. Oh well, started down the rabbit hole, no option but go deeper... Trim off and that's a nice accumulation of dirt. 

Cleaned up and yup, the captive nut for bumpstop bolt has clearly rusted off, and the rust is worse and further spread than I thought. We were were hoping to tidy it up and do whatever possible to prevent rust getting much worse in that corner, but looks like that ship has sailed and there isn't enough sound metal left to preserve. 

 

Assuming that the stars align and I miraculously find a solid rust free one (Ha!), any know how much of a ballache it is to swap out the tailgate?

Schmeidmann usually have them.  £1500 new OEM and £500 used.

Problem is post brexit duties

https://www.schmiedmann.com/en/bmw-E39/1946897-used?product=B41627007396

Iooked into it when I had the rear of my car paintwork refreshed.  In the end the tailgate was not as far gone as yours and I got it repaired.

Edited September 10, 2022 by Dbcrd

[Dbcrd]

On 07/09/2022 at 15:45, Loadmaster V2 said:

No way Duncan, not a snipe at all.

I had no idea if this forum would reappear ever again - I was just a bit taken aback when all the previous history had gone, so it's very much like starting from scratch again. 

I took what might be a similar approach.  I had no way of knowing what the issue was or any expertise to offer to fix it, or anything constructive to contribute, so I monitored the face book page and kept quiet.

I think there is a searchable place with all the old history available which is good and we will soon add a load of knowledge.

By the way.  My car goes back to Ian Taylor soon for more TLC.  I think it was you that recommended him so if so thanks again.

[Guest]

Washed, clayed, washed again, rinsed and then polished/waxed with Chemical Guys Blazin' Banana spray wax 😉 

 

https://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/chemical-guys-blazin-banana-spray-wax

 

 

Just waiting for the OEM BMW centre caps and M badges now from Cotswolds BMW

[BobA]

It’s a smart looking machine Dan!

[Guest]

15 minutes ago, BobA said:

It’s a smart looking machine Dan!

 

Cheers; it'll do for now 😉 

 

Still needs a bit of TLC here n there (front bumper is quite flat and wing mirror caps need sorting) but everywhere else is very clean/very straight...

 

New springs/shocks and a few other bits (jobs for later this month/early next month) will have it riding superbly 👌🏼

[Hippy]

Firstly, it's really great to see the forum up and running again - congrats to those who made it possible!

Subtle change - I've now fitted 9J's to the rear of the touring. I really pleased with how the car sits now - Eibach Pro front springs and 10mm lower on the rear and 15mm spacers all around.

[Guest]

1 hour ago, Hippy said:

Firstly, it's really great to see the forum up and running again - congrats to those who made it possible!

Subtle change - I've now fitted 9J's to the rear of the touring. I really pleased with how the car sits now - Eibach Pro front springs and 10mm lower on the rear and 15mm spacers all around.

 

About time 😉

 

Looks super that pal 👌🏼

[Guest]

Doing quite a bit of driving today down to Criccieth and Abersoch and back (from our Beaumaris base) and it's highlighted the age of the shocks & springs...

 

So that's absolutely the next job on the list!

 

Just need to decide whether to stick with shocks and springs or go for coilovers (ST or BCS)! 

 

Decisions, decisions... 🤔 

[Dbcrd]

On 11/09/2022 at 13:33, danb1979 said:

Washed, clayed, washed again, rinsed and then polished/waxed with Chemical Guys Blazin' Banana spray wax 😉 

 

https://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/chemical-guys-blazin-banana-spray-wax

 

 

Just waiting for the OEM BMW centre caps and M badges now from Cotswolds BMW

I've been using buckets of water down here because of the hosepipe ban.

When the ban ends i may be looking at upgrading my pressure washer and getting some snow foam.  What brand do you use Dan?

[Guest]

16 minutes ago, Dbcrd said:

I've been using buckets of water down here because of the hosepipe ban.

When the ban ends i may be looking at upgrading my pressure washer and getting some snow foam.  What brand do you use Dan?

 

I tend to use Bilt Hamber Autofom, but I'm a fan of the Autoglym Polar Blast and KKD snowfoams too... 👌🏼

[PZero]

Roof rail removal, ahead of car going in for roof respray this week.  Had toyed with the idea of removing them for good previously, now that I see the car without them I think I'd like to, but without a replacement set of solid gutter trim being rocking horse 5h!t / daft money, I'll probably just put the rails back on when car comes back. I keep an eye on Schmiedmanns breakers but every time so far that they've had a touring come in which has no rails, they've not been in good shape. Oh well.

 

 Given 20 year old plastic tabs tendency to break, I am surprised yet pleased to report zero breakages during the removal process. Unfortunately that means doing it properly, and I forgot just how much crap you have to remove - starting at floor level in some cases - to get some pillar trims off. Oh well, at least it should go back together quicker. 

Edited September 17, 2022 by PZero
typo a-go-go

[Guest]

1 hour ago, PZero said:

Roof rail removal, ahead of car going in for roof respray this week.  Had toyed with the idea of removing them for good previously, now that I see the car without them I think I'd like to, but without a replacement set of solid gutter trim being rocking horse 5h!t / daft money, I'll probably just put the rails back on when car comes back. I keep an eye on Schmiedmanns breakers but every time so far that they've had a touring come in which has no rails, they've not been in good shape. Oh well.

 

 Given 20 year old plastic tabs tendency to break, I am surprised yet pleased to report zero breakages during the removal process. Unfortunately that means doing it properly, and I forgot just how much crap you have to remove - starting at floor level in some cases - to get some pillar trims off. Oh well, at least it should go back together quicker. 

 

Keep the rails on IMO

 

Looks much better 👌🏼

[Guest]

Drove it back from Anglesey; it's performed faultlessly I'm pleased to see

 

Been a good shakedown 👌🏼

[toughguyhuh]

6 hours ago, danb1979 said:

Drove it back from Anglesey; it's performed faultlessly I'm pleased to see

 

Been a good shakedown 👌🏼

Dan, you've got a smart looking car there - do you still have the 7er?

 

I'm really happy that the mods have been able to get this place back up and running.

[Guest]

1 hour ago, toughguyhuh said:

Dan, you've got a smart looking car there - do you still have the 7er?

 

I'm really happy that the mods have been able to get this place back up and running.

 

Welcome back pal 👍🏼

 

No the F01 sold; sold because it wasn't being used and more so with the new job I'm in now with Meta etc

 

So sat around carless for a month weighing up my options and decided I wanted another 'project' and here we are 😉 

[toughguyhuh]

Good on you!

I somehow found myself with 3 more BMW projects before I've even finished the original two. I have a problem, and I don't mean space.

[Nick E]

Drove it back from London.. gutsy move all things considered.

[Sharkfan]

Had a second windscreen fitted by autoglass in two weeks - the first had bubbles in the rain sensor so thought it was always tipping it down - this one is fine and after seeing the deterioration of the scuttle panel at the first replacement I had a new panel fitted this time too. 

This are old pics of the car but it still looks pretty much the same inside and out...

[Guest]

So the Laser Tools subframe tool shat itself... Great for a brand new tool!

 

A needs/must fix was needed...

 

 

😂

 

All 4 old bushes out; 4 brand new Lemforder bushes in!

[Clavurion]

Just joined the 4K club with my 530d. Still going strong. 😊 I've owned this since 2006 and 100 tkm on the clock.

Edited September 22, 2022 by Clavurion

[PZero]

Car back after roof respray... Not sure I'm happy with it, but already too dark to get a proper look at it by time I got to the garage, will have a better inspection tomorrow. 

That aside, needed to put  few bits of trim back in at least to make back seat usable as need it tomorrow, and whilst I had the rear bench out, thought I'd take the traditional look at the build sheet. Turns out it's my cars 20th birthday tomorrow!

[Guest]

1 hour ago, PZero said:

Car back after roof respray... Not sure I'm happy with it, but already too dark to get a proper look at it by time I got to the garage, will have a better inspection tomorrow. 

That aside, needed to put  few bits of trim back in at least to make back seat usable as need it tomorrow, and whilst I had the rear bench out, thought I'd take the traditional look at the build sheet. Turns out it's my cars 20th birthday tomorrow!

 

Many Happy Returns 🍻😂🎂