https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txlSf-KuMGcQuote:
Originally Posted by BMWCurves
Tatsächlich. Next time make a pit stop in Frankfurt!Quote:
Originally Posted by ZHPizza
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txlSf-KuMGcQuote:
Originally Posted by BMWCurves
Tatsächlich. Next time make a pit stop in Frankfurt!Quote:
Originally Posted by ZHPizza
Goddamn!! I want an E39 M5!Quote:
Originally Posted by Sreten
You'd better hurry - prices are going up!Quote:
Originally Posted by Whammy
Um, there's been a slight development...
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Save some E39 M5s for the rest of us! LeMans Blue?Quote:
Originally Posted by Sreten
Si signore!
Facelift Le Mans blue M5 on black sport leather interior and titan line trim.
It's packing some goodies too.
Just got back from another crazy Italian road trip. Full report coming soon.
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Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk
:shifty
:drool
Lots going on lately. Juggling with work, cars and now unexpectedly have to change the apartment.
The biggest news, and rather depressing one, is that I am no longer the owner of my beautiful silver beast since about 2 weeks ago.
Like it usually goes with these things, it all happened fast and unexcepted.
I wasn't planning on selling but I needed a financial injection and I had a lot of money invested in this car. On the other hand, I really didn't want to sell it simply because it was too damn nice so I told myself I would consider letting it go only for a price that couldn't be refused.
Surely, that offer came along. A 54 year old German doctor showed up to see the car and was simply blown away by the condition and everything I've done with the car. He test drove one of these back when they were new and wanted to buy the nicest example out there and was ready to pay top dollar.
He made sure that the paint was original and we counted a total of 4 rock chips on the hood, it was that perfect! For 17 years and nearly 50k miles, that's pretty remarkable.
Bought with 45k miles and sold with almost 50k, it was the cleanest car I ever owned. I'm happy that I got a chance to work on such a nice M5 and bring it back to the condition it deserves. I enjoyed every minute wrenching on it and driving it. I already miss it dearly and I know the next owner will take care of it, he actually wanted to come and get it with the closed trailer in case it was raining.
Another reason I sorta felt I was ready for a new project is simply because this M5 was a collector's car. I wanted something that I could drive more, take it to a track and don't worry about it. I like to drive my cars and I'm not the one to have a garage queen. When I was driving this M5 through the winter, albeit mild winter, Zee Germans were looking at me like I was crazy, but I'm of an opinion that these cars are meant to be driven.
Here are the last few pictures of this beautiful machine. I should also mention that the car was sold with the stock mufflers and I kept the Eisenmann. ;)
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At the same time this was unraveling, I had my eyes on 2 potential replacement M5s in Italy as I wanted to jump into something else immediately.
One was in the middle of nowhere on an island next to Naples, and the other one was in Rome. Always wanted to visit Rome and this was a perfect excuse.
Traveling and chasing BMWs - two of my favorite things. So buckle up for another Italian road trip. :roundel
Like the last time, I planned out the trip with my girlfriend and set off for Italy.
The journey starts with some duct tape and armrest on an airplane seat. As we all know, duct tape can fix anything, even Alitalia airplane seats.
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The first M5 was located on an island of Ischia, which is close to Naples. I was 95% sure I wasn't going to buy this one, the car like a turd on pictures and that usually means it will look even worse in person. But we had a cheap flight to Naples so what a hell.
The view of the island of Ischia.
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And a view of the tightly packed city of Naples.
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From the airport, it was a 25 minute ride to the port in what must've been the sketchiest taxi ride of my life in a beat-up Fiat Multipla.
You can see the guy driving in a straight line while leisurely holding the steering wheel 45 degrees off center.
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Then we hopped on a ferry for a 50 minute ride to the island.
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Cannoli siciliani - delicious pastry filled with ricotta and famous for the Sicily region.
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First glance of the island.
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The hotel wasn't too shabby either.
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Now to the M5 in question. Slicktop 05/2001 Carbon black on Caramel leather interior. One owner car (father & son) and just 60k miles.
This was a fine specimen back in the day but this poor car was never loved and the current state is simply sad.
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Mechanically, the car was a disaster and looked like it was never serviced but I could live with that since most of the things I could fix myself.
But the worst part of the car is the body. I asked the guy 3 times before coming if the car had any accidents and he said absolutely none, just that the car was keyed few years ago, and it got new paint at BMW. Well, not true. The car was also hit in the rear end and there were obvious signs of repair on the rear left quarter panel and the whole trunk area was misaligned with weird gaps.
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My paint thickness gauge went berserk. Orginal paint should read around 110-120 um, this one went over 1 mm.
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On top of that, the paint job was dreadful. It's like somebody resprayed it blindfolded using a brush. The car was relatively cheap, but accident combined with a bad paint job is where I draw the line.
This is a good example why you should never take the sellers word for granted and inspect the car before purchase. I would rather travel and spend some time and money then to buy it sight unseen and get a nasty surprise.
That's it as far as this M5 goes. We moved on to exploring beautiful Ischia and had a lovely evening in town.
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Some Italian crushed pepper - we be putting this shit on everything
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Best bruschetta we tasted so far.
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And of course pasta.
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The highlight of our trip to Ischia was the next day and the visit to stunning Aragonese Castle, an impressive historical monument built in 474 BC.
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Some stunning scenery.
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From there we hopped in a taxi to the port, then on a ferry back to Naples and by train to hit the next destination - Rome.
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The real reason behind this travel was this beautiful slicktop Le Mans Blue e39 M5. The car was located in a village near Tivoli which is about 45 minutes outside of Rome.
This has to be one of the first facelift M5s as the build date reads 2000-08-31 and according to the service book, it hit the showroom floor of BMW in Milan on 18th September 2000.
It is a 2 owner car being that the 2nd owner/family had it since 2006. Currently reads 104k miles, it has pretty complete service history, 4 keys and all books.
Apart from the front bumper and front left fender, it's all original paint and being that it's an Italian car, without any rust! Very happy about that.
https://s7.postimg.cc/44zjszhej/20180503_111150.jpg
(yup, the M5 badge is in a wrong place and that'll be one of the first things I'm going to remedy)
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The car has been very well taken care off with good recent maintenance like new fuel pump, new tires, intake cam sensor... and its packing some nice upgrades too.
- D2 Racing BBK 356x32mm
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- ZF Sachs reinforced Clutch Kit & Flywheel by CCCMotorsport from Germany
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- Supersprint Magnum exhaust
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I carefully inspected the car and it ticked all of the boxes. There are few minor problems and room for improvement but overall, the condition of the car is very good.
More on the car later, it was time to explore Rome which has been on our bucket list for a long time.
There's so much to see in this remarkable city and we naturally kicked off with Colosseum.
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Stunning Roman Forum.
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Fontana di Trevi.
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Former Roman temple - Pantheon.
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Altare della Patria also known as Monumento a Vittorio Emanuele II.
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Spanish steps.
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Food shots.
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I have a lot more photos, but I'm already afraid I'll crash the forum if I keep posting them :D
Rome is a fascinating city and if anyone has a chance to go there, I highly recommend it.
Coming back to the car, this quickly turned into the most complicated car buy I ever had. First, it took 2 days to agree on the price and I ended up paying a bit more than I wanted, but I did like the car.
Once we agreed on the price, it was Saturday and banks and registration offices were closed which meant I couldn't get the documents in order and they couldn't check the money. Our flight was on Sunday morning and staying until Monday was not an option since I had to be back at work.
So on Saturday night, we went to their house where I met 3 brothers, their father, and mother who was the owner of the car, and dog Max. After spending 2 hours being yelled at in Italian, my girlfriend and girlfriend of one of the brothers found a language in common to be Spanish. Eventually, we figured out what to do and they cooked us a lovely dinner and next morning we were on our way back to Frankfurt.
But that's not the end of that story. I won't bore with the details, but I did what they asked which backfired and resulted in me having to go back to Rome last Saturday to sort out some issues which they caused. It's hard enough when you have to deal with one seller, but five of them with their own attitude is a nightmare.
Anywho, we ended up with another splendid tour de Italy while M5 shopping. :) At the moment the car is still in Italy, and some paperwork still needs to be sorted out. I'm also trying to figure out the logistics and get it to Germany which might take a while.
Stay tuned.
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Dude I absolutely love your car buying trips. Thank you so much for sharing. I had no plans to see Rome, but your pictures of the Colosseum just put it on my list for next year.
And my god. I cannot imagine trying to make a deal with 5 Italians. Your patience for these things is amazing.
+1Quote:
Originally Posted by ZHPizza
*shakes hands vigorously in Italian*
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Thank man! Glad you enjoyed the read. Rome is incredible, even if you take a wrong turn somewhere and get lost you'll end up seeing something fascinating. Plan at least few days for it.Quote:
Originally Posted by ZHPizza
Dude, you have no idea. It was one of the weirdest nights in my life that I'll always remember. I wish I had it on a video, they don't speak a word of English and the older lady would look at me and yell in Italian followed with hand gestures. It was hysterical.Quote:
Originally Posted by ZHPizza
Italians are great people, but for doing any kind of business you just want to pull your hair out.
They care about nothing, and deadlines and promises have no real meaning there.
Thanks, Will!:biggrinQuote:
Originally Posted by BMWCurves
Add "traffic laws" to the list and you've summed up every Italian that I've interacted with as well. Such an amazing country but such a headache to travel in. I definitely would have been to Rome by now if it wasn't in Italy.Quote:
Originally Posted by Sreten
first off, thanks so much for posting about your adventures. traveling and chasing cars.... and food, are definitely three of my favorite things! i love that you post pictures of the food too. :) and it's awesome how you can turn it into a trip for you and your girlfriend. my wife is not as patient, but if i dangled italy in front of her... she'd go along. ;)Quote:
Originally Posted by Sreten
congrats on the new M5 - and despite the headaches, i think you made a wise choice! :cheers
I Like your story presentations... so fascinating, I see why you are eager to share. Congrats on the newest M5 I'm sure it will end up just as good as the one you sold. i like the color too
Spent five days in Rome last summer. It was fantastic! You visited pretty much everything I did and it brought back some awesome family memories. That is a sweet ride for sure. Hope it turns out okay in the end!
Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk
Haha, yes. They basically have no traffic laws. They drove us from hotel to their house and the guy run through 4 red lights like it was nothing.Quote:
Originally Posted by ZHPizza
When I was test driving the car, I stopped at the crosswalk to let the pedestrian cross and they were like We don't do that in Italy.
95% cars you'll see in Rome will have scratches and dents all over. Bumping into other cars and objects is a normal occurrence there.
You're welcome, Peterman. And thanks! Food has to be part of it, we love trying out local cuisine wherever we end up going. :biggrinQuote:
Originally Posted by slater
She has no interest in cars at all, but we love to travel together so she can suffer through few hours of me looking at the car. I think you would be able to convince your wife with Italy too :D
Thanks. It's a well maintained M5 with nice upgrades and for me desirable color combo. I think it was a right move, I bought it for exactly half of what I sold my minty TiAg M5. Which gives me a nice budget for upgrades, I can see Koni yellows in very near future. :biggrin
Thanks, Robert! Glad to be able to share the story and that you enjoyed it. It'll be nicely sorted M5 once I get my hands on it. :)Quote:
Originally Posted by Sockethead
Thanks! It's a great destination for your family and loved ones for sure. Always nice to have those memories. :)Quote:
Originally Posted by Hornung418
5 days sounds about right for Rome, we were there for 3 full days and felt like there was a lot more to see.
this is my favorite thread on the board. thanks for sharing, and congrats on the newest ///M!
i love that this thread exists on a ZHP board lol
Thanks, Wes! ZHP brought me here but this quickly became my favorite car community by far. Dane created something marvelous :cheersQuote:
Originally Posted by webster
I didn't have many options when it came to transporting the car to Germany and I ended up with a dreadful Italian company which meant dealing with more Italians - yey.
The communication was horrible with constant delays. The deal was that they deliver the car last week to Frankfurt which of course didn't happen and they picked up the car this Tuesday in the middle of the night. Then they couldn't specify the delivery date. Even though I asked to be notified at least few hours prior, out of nowhere I got the call from the truck driver that he will be arriving in 30 minutes so I had to race across the city to my garage. I have no idea how the guy got here, he doesn't speak any German or English and then wanted me to direct him to his next delivery location.
But after so many complications along the way, the M5 is finally in Frankfurt! Appears to have arrived in one piece so I'm grateful for that.
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I had a rocky start with this car but hopefully it gets better from now on. I already have a bunch of new parts coming and the goal now is to perform an inspection and get it ready for TÜV. I just can't wait to hit the Autobahn again. :biggrin
so whats the deal here? you sold the silver M5 or now you have 2 m5s? its so hard to keep up since the beginning of the thread where you had another M5 i think to start off with . from beginning to end, how many m5s have you had so far? are you buying and selling in search of your ultimate M5? or do you just like buying them?
On page 13 you can read what happened with the silver M5, but to cut it short - it's sold. Now I only have this one which is my 3rd M5 in total.
Ultimate M5 for me would be an Estoril blue one so that would be nice someday. I enjoy in every bit of it, searching, traveling, buying, then fixing and driving it, and the selling part sometimes. It's how I stay on top of it. I do wish to have a small BMW dealership one day just because I love doing all of that more than my current profession so it is getting out of hand.
This M5 should stick around for a while as I have plans for it but I might get something else on the side to get my fix.
My dream is restoring cars in retirement... if my body still works by then :)
Fuck me, even in it's open-air transported state, it's a gorgeous car. I look forward to all the stuff you do to make this beautiful, classic M5 that I'll drool over.
Exactly. :) I could definitely see myself doing this long term. Hope your dream comes true, Rob!Quote:
Originally Posted by Sockethead
Danke, Will! Should be a fun project. It is absolutely filthy now and it won't get a proper wash until I get tags.Quote:
Originally Posted by BMWCurves
I did a visual inspection over the weekend and it's pretty much what I expected - typical M5 stuff.
Front thrust arm bushings are shot and control arms appear to be original so I have a complete Lemforder kit coming to refresh the suspension.
The ball joint on rear lower control arm is shot, power steering lines are leaking all over and made a big oily mess. I was expecting diff to be seeping oil because is super common but it's dry.
Rear sway bar link failed spectacularly.
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Then I discovered why are the cold starts loud and why Supersprint Magnum is louder than Eisenmann Sport mufflers which shouldn't be the case.
The car also has a Supersprint X-pipe. Somehow I missed this in Italy and normally I wouldn't mind this because it sounds awesome but this is a no-go for German TÜV. It's an instant fail at the inspection and now I'm trying to source original resonators. But, I might take it to the local inspection station and hope that the inspection guy is not familiar with these cars and overlooks this but I doubt that will work. They are usually thorough.
Supersprint mufflers have been on this car for roughly 15 years since production date reads 2003.
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The parts list keeps getting bigger but hopefully first round arrives this week and the refreshment treatment of this M can be under way.
Didn’t you keep the eisenmann exhaust? Why don’t you just swap that?
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Yes, I still have the Eisenmann exhaust, but I wanted to run Supersprint mufflers for a while just to get a better feel for them and make a comparison to Eisenmann and decide which one I like better for the long run.
Anyway, Supersprint Magnum mufflers are not the problem as they have necessary TUV approvals engraved on them so they will pass the inspection. Problem is the X-pipe which I'll have to swap out for stock resonators.
Last weekend my girlfriend was out of town and the M5 got my full attention.
Started off with the easy stuff.
New wiper blades and cabin filters.
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The car came with some sort of K&N air filters and one of them was actually falling apart. I don't have experience with them and didn't feel like experimenting so I chucked them away and went with good old MANN.
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New timing chain tensioner.
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New oil separator hoses. Old ones were so sticky and soft that you could stretch them like a gum.
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New oil cap and trunk struts since the original struts were so weak.
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Fresh spark plugs.
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Rear sway bar links and bushings.
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The ball joints on the rear upper control arms and guide links are toast.
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Replaced the upper control arms and still waiting for the guide links to arrive.
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Now the big job that I did on Saturday. I diagnosed that the thrust arm bushings were shot with everything else appearing to be original to the car. I decided that the best course of action is to replace everything.
Bought complete Lemforder kit and Meyle HD sway bar links.
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Back when I did the overhaul job of the front suspension on my old 530i with a friend, the biggest issue we had was with the sleeve coming out with the ball joint. We wasted so much time on that crap.
This time I wanted to be sure I have the proper tools for the job and I bought off Amazon this ball joint separator.
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Which is the same tool as this one, just branded as KS Tools in my case- https://www.ecstuning.com/b-schwaben...958sch01a~sch/
This nifty tool saved me and worked great with one little modification. The bolt kept sliding so I drilled a hole in the swing arm to keep it place.
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Apart from getting 3 complaints for working in the backyard of the place where I'm renting my garage, everything went swimmingly.
Once the ball joint lets go, it's like being shot at and scared the piss out of me. Though it is a satisfying bang. :biggrin
Lower control arms were okayish but everything else was toast.
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Using my trusty torque wrench, torqued all of the ball joints to specification, finger tight for the bushings and then lowered the car - drove back & forth and onto the ramps for the final torque under the load.
This is a good website with torque specs for the suspensions which I cross-referenced with TIS - https://www.how2fixvideos.com/BMW_su...que_specs.html
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This was a hell of a job to do in one day. It was a pretty good workout that left me sore and took me about 45 minutes to wash all the filth away that I brought home.
Following this - on Monday I took the car to TUV to see what will they find and how big is my homework going to be.
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The car failed the inspection but to my surprise not because of the X-pipe! The list was pretty short and embarrassingly enough the car failed the handbrake test and there was an excessive play in the right rear wheel.
The handbrake was sorta working in the past few days but I did feel it was on the weak side. This was a quick and easy fix by removing the rear wheels and adjusting the little gears for the parking brake shoes and readjusting the cable.
TUV guy wasn't precise with the play in the rear wheel and just wrote it off as a wheel bearing which I thought was unlikely. At first, I thought it might be the upper guide links but after double checking, the play is coming from the lower ball joint. The rubber on the ball joint is intact from the outside but if I hold the wheel at 12 & 6 o'clock there's so much play that I can move the whole wheel just by pushing with my thumb.
This isn't a quick and simple fix but I'll get it sorted next week, I have the parts and the ball joint tool on order and waiting for the delivery.
When I go back to TUV, they'll be looking only into these two things and hopefully that should be it. After seeing the roads in Italy on which this car was driven, it comes as no surprise that the complete suspension is shot. I'll be doing an alignment after I complete the work and probably later down the road I'll replace the struts and shocks, just gotta decide if I want to go with Koni yellows or pony up for the OE parts.
I did get to talk to the TUV guy when I went to pick up the car and he was a really nice guy. He's also a BMW enthusiast who owns E30 M3 and E34 M5 and gave me compliments about my M5. I didn't want to say anything, but there's no way that he missed the X-pipe. My guess is that there was some comradery between car guys and he turned a blind eye on it and I'm super happy that I don't have to swap it out. He himself said that the car sounds fantastic.
This is where I am at the moment and priority stays the same - pass the TUV and get it registered.
Future plans are Vanos maintenance and more general maintenance, refurbish the headlights with Hella G4 projectors, upgrade the Vanos accumulator - the start-up rattle when warm is simply unbearable, etc.
Wow! that's a helluva lot of work to be doing on the ground! Suspension work isn't all that complicated but it"s a PITA.
That's cool you found a decent TUV guy... I imagine some of them are dicks.
nice work, man!! that's a good day's work.
that torque wrench looks sweet. i want one.
Wow, you knocked a ton of stuff out over a weekend, great work! You really don't skimp on getting a car into great shape.
+1 on a nice inspections guy. Always great to have. Should ask what days he works...
Nice job. Hope you pass the TUV next time round.
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Working on the ground with the piece of cardboard under my butt and wrestling with suspension absolutely sucks. It's pretty straightforward job but it's hard work getting those ball joints off.Quote:
Originally Posted by Sockethead
I was expecting some grumpy German who didn't speak English but this was a nice change.
Thanks, Peterman! That torque wrench is the only tool I brought with me from the US. :biggrin I had a lot of nice tools there that I had to give up but I love this thing and had to pack it in the suitcase. You can find them pretty cheap on Amazon.Quote:
Originally Posted by slater
Thanks, Will! As all of us on here, I'm big on preventive maintenance and while in there logic. Getting it into tip-top shape is always the end goal. I want to enjoy my time with this car and have a proper driving experience.Quote:
Originally Posted by BMWCurves
The way it works is that I could take it directly to TUV or Dekra station like I did with my previous M5 where they just perform inspections all day long and nothing else. Those places are usually more strict.
The other route which I took now is to take the car to a random shop. In this case it was the closest tire shop to my garage where they have one TUV guy who they call every time the car comes in for the inspection. TUV guy comes in do his thing and they charge you the standard price of $120. Next time I go in it should be the same guy hopefully.
Thanks, San. I really hope so, I'm not a patient man and can't wait to finally drive it.Quote:
Originally Posted by san
Man it's amazing how much you can knock out in a single day with no lift and limited tools. Also super impressed with how thorough the TUV guys are. I know it's annoying, but I like it! Nice to know that all of the cars on the autobahn are in good mechanical shape.
Speaking of die autobahn...I spent some time on it last week and cruising around 220 kph in my friends AMG. It was a weird feeling, but of course that car was perfectly stable at speed. Then I got on an ICE train to France that liked to roll through the fields at 320 kph and that was so smooth it was...dizzying. I got sick to my stomach watching the trees/landscape go by at what seemed to be life in fast forward. Oddest feeling ever and my tummy is turning thinking back to it now.
Thanks, Pizzaman!
TUV guys are indeed thorough and they take around an hour to complete the inspection. It is a bit annoying for some stuff like if you have aftermarket parts on your car but other than that, I love how they make sure that the car is mechanically roadworthy. It's a nice peace of mind. TUV guy also told me that especially with cars like M5 that are capable of achiving great speeds, it simply has to be in perfect condition.
That's the speed I usually cruise on die Autobahn. The car just doesn't feel it and you feel perfectly comfortable driving at that speed.
ICE is amazing, it can be pretty expensive if you don't buy your ticket on time but it's the best way to travel if you want to get somewhere quickly. That'll be some memorable train experience. Glad you had a nice time in Europe.
I replaced the rear right ball joint and fixed the handbrake, then took it back to TUV yesterday and this time it passed!
Went to get it registered this morning and after waiting for one hour in line, hit another obstacle and couldn't register the car. There's a problem with documents and certificate of ownership so I'm back in the ring with Italians.
Took about 5-6 emails with Italian ACI (like DMV) to fix their mistake. Luckily, it was easily corrected and I managed to register the car 2 days after that!
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Customizing plates in Germany is very limited since you have to have 1 to 2 letters and 1 to 4 numbers in that order. I wanted to get M539 but it was already taken and not having enough inspiration at the moment, just added another M. :biggrin
Changing the rear ball joints was tricky but the press tool I bought made it super easy. It took no effort to remove the old ball joint and press in the new one.
The tension in the swing arm is pretty strong so I loosened the 2 rear bolts to make it easier to maneuver and avoid putting stress on the bushings. I did so much work on the suspension that alignment is a must in any case.
The tool that I used: Asta A-9055 - https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B00...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
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Both ball joints looked intact from the outside, but the right one was totally toast and it was the same with the left one, only that one didn't show any play in the wheel. Always a smart move to replace everything in pair when it comes to suspension.
Got the new rear guide links too. The rubber on ball joints was gone but they were still fully functional.
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In the midst of that, I killed the 4 year old BMW battery with short drives. I could've probably recharged it and got more use out of it but having a good battery puts my mind to ease so I replaced it with trusted Exide 100Ah.
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Next was sorting out the horrible shifting. I decided to try BMW MTF-LT-2 fluid which I got from my local dealer for $25 per liter.
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I have no idea what they put in that poor gearbox but that stuff was just nasty. It came out all dark and smelling like death. Not to mention that it was overfilled and oil started coming out as soon as I removed the fill plug. This all made for one incredibly crunchy and sloppy shifting.
With the new fluid, crisp and precise shifting is thankfully back and now it feels like a proper BMW. Even the cold shifting is pretty good.
Next on the maintenance list were power steering lines. They were replaced at some point but from the looks of it, they used some custom made lines. It wasn't too bad but they were leaking at the PS pump and PS cooler.
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Installed proper BMW lines, new reservoir and completely flushed the system.
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Then some cosmetic touches.
New wheel center caps.
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New hood roundel.
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Removed the M5 badge from the interior trim which PO installed for the reasons I can't understand.
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Having an M5 badge in a wrong place was really bugging me. Off it went and I used the badge I previously removed from the interior since it looked more fresh.
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Secured in place with double-sided tape.
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ZHP shift knob.
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The famous rear view mirror leak didn't miss this M5. I ordered a replacement glass from X8R from the UK and did the repair on my own. They claim this is a permanent solution that will not leak again. It's fairly easy to replace and they have a youtube video for the whole process.
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It worked out great and the mirror is fully functional again. Cost of the glass was $135 shipped.
I treated the car with much needed hand wash and went for a blast down the Autobahn. Man it feels good to be back behind the wheel of the beast.
I smashed the camera on my phone and the pictures are coming out weird, sorry guys for that.
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I have to get an alignment done this week and I decided to replace the struts & shocks which will complete the suspension overhaul.
Original struts do feel tired and the rear ones have leaked at some point as there is oily stuff all over them.
Ideally, I would want to go with OEM shocks but they are only available from the dealer and cost stupid money. Koni yellows are half the price and I have been wanting to try them. I find adjustability unnecessary for my use to be honest so I haven't made my mind up which route I wanna go.
Nice work as usual.
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Damn, you get a lot of stuff done at once... that's a lot of work.
The Koni yellows are nice shocks even if you never adjust them. I installed mine a few years ago on full soft and haven't touched them since. Good call on replacing them, any time fluid is leaking out, they are most likely sucking air back in. Neither is good
+1Quote:
Originally Posted by san
I am consistently impressed by not only the quality of the work you do, but the volume at the same time. Well done.
I still lust after your M5 now more than ever. I cannot get over my favorite BMW blue.
Man your updates are awesome. Impressive work, as usual. Was there ever an LED tail light option for the e39, similar to what the e46 coupes got later in life? I remember seeing some, but I think it was a guy opening the OE tail lights that you have and putting in LED panels. Really modernized the back of the car.