Road trip story & Project thread: 2001 Titanium Silver e39 M5

[Sreten]

Thank you!

It's actually very typical to see that because of condensation, every E31 I owned that was sitting for a long time had this issue. The rest of the exhaust system is perfect but mufflers are the weak link.

I'm hunting all over Europe but lately Spain has been lucky for me. Anywhere in Southern Europe should be fine, Italy, Spain... I always wanted to go to Southern France, would be cool if something pops up over there.

Btw, I got it running over the weekend! - https://www.instagram.com/p/B8WPyNci..._web_copy_link

[Sreten]

Mini update.

The reason why E31 wouldn't start: bad fuel pumps, ignition wires and ultimately clogged fuel injectors that looked like this when I pulled them out.





After cleaning and servicing them.





I also threw a new radiator at it. Based on the previous E31 experience where the original one started leaking shortly after it was brought back to life this seemed like a smart move.





It's running but really rough upon a cold start so that's next to sort out.

I finally ponied up for a smoke machine as it's a useful tool to how around and confirmed my suspicion that the intake manifold gaskets are leaking on one side.









So intake manifolds need to come out and gaskets resealed. On top of that, I can't bleed the brakes as the ABS pump is 100% clogged and brake fluid won't flow through it. So still lots to do.

I always wanted to get Milwaukee cordless ratchet but they are around $250 in Europe and I didn't feel like spending the money so I got the Chinese copy instead. It actually feels heavy and sturdy and gets the job done well. I'll be using for the next 30 days and decide if I want to keep it but so far for $55 not bad at all.



Since 8er can finally move under its own power, I drove it off the lift to attend the M5 and replace thrust arms.



As I mentioned earlier, Lemforder bushings spilled their guts after just 12k miles, probably even earlier and it was just getting progressively worse.







Ball joints are still good but bushings are very toasty. I actually wrote an email to ZF in Germany and asked if they are aware of this as I've heard and read so many cases of these bushings failing prematurely on E39. They said they had issues with these bushings but resolved them from 2018 onwards. My thrust arms are from 2016 according to the date stamp.

Whether they actually resolved it I have no idea but I ended up going with TRW this time. Hopefully they last longer than Lemforder did. The rest of the suspension I changed back in May of 2018 with Lemforder parts and all of that it holding up fine.





I still have to drive on the Autobahn to see if steering wheel shake under braking is gone, but just on the way home last night the difference is so noticeable. I can't believe how long I drove with busted thrust arm bushings.

Next stuff that needs fixing on the M5 before TUV inspection in May: rear brakes, diff leak, shifter linkage and likely new tires.
Also, out of 4 power steering lines that this car has, I replaced 3 and yesterday I noticed that the 4th is leaking as well. The one that goes from the PS pump to the steering box. Looks like great fun to replace it and a pretty good hit on the wallet at a whopping $185 price tag.



I'm back on E31 now which I'll hopefully finish soon so I can move it. I really want to get back on E38 and get it ready for TUV, it should've been ready a long time ago but I'm really struggling for free time to attend all of these cars. The rusty black 750iL I haven't touched since I bought it in September. I'm currently trying to cut my working hours to 4 days in a week so that way I get 1 full day to break and fix stuff in the garage.

Cheers for now.

[Sreten]

Got my first business inquiry, a company called Litcarlight wanted to sponsor one of the videos.



I politely told them Nein. I wouldn't be caught dead with one of these in my car so I don't see how I could advertise a product like this.

I'm holding off for Koni, ZF, Liqui Moly... 😅

[704sw]

Man those are hideous, good job turning them down.

That’s crazy about the thrust arm bushings leaking that fast. I replaced both of the ones on my X3 within a 6 month window, one with a Lemforder and one with a Meyle HD (Lemmy was backordered the second time and I was in a rush). Hopefully the Lemforder doesn’t leak on me, that was about 12k miles ago.

The E60’s starting to get a little wobble at highway speeds. I need to inspect the thrust arms (almost identical mileage as the X3) but I just have zero motivation to go lay down on the cold concrete garage floor.

[holyc0w]

But it benefits everyone from the track day addict to the daily commuter...

[Sreten]

Man those are hideous, good job turning them down.

That’s crazy about the thrust arm bushings leaking that fast. I replaced both of the ones on my X3 within a 6 month window, one with a Lemforder and one with a Meyle HD (Lemmy was backordered the second time and I was in a rush). Hopefully the Lemforder doesn’t leak on me, that was about 12k miles ago.

The E60’s starting to get a little wobble at highway speeds. I need to inspect the thrust arms (almost identical mileage as the X3) but I just have zero motivation to go lay down on the cold concrete garage floor.

I think this was the problem specifically on E39 only, X3 should be fine.

I still have wobble under braking at around 50-60 mph, less than before but still there. I think my rotors are toast and since I have D2Racing BBK, new rotors and pads are $615. That's the cheapest I found them from a supplier in the UK, if I approach D2Racing directly it's $1.150.

[Sreten]

I finished working on the 8er and it has been successfully revived!

Since getting the car running, it was running good once fully warmed up but cold start was hot garbage. Shaking and working pretty rough courtesy of leaking intake manifold gaskets.

So the disassembly begins.

Wiring harness lifted out of the way.





Out with the fuel injectors.



First, the manifold on the passenger sides is removed.





The culprit gaskets.







Since the intakes were removed, I popped the valve covers off to check and lockdown camshaft banjo bolts, which are well known for becoming loose and starving camshafts of oil and wearing them out.

I was greeted with a very clean engine and perfect camshafts.













I used high strength thread locker and locking tabs to make sure there never come out on their own.



Bolts torqued down and tabs bent.



















New valve cover gaskets.
I finished working on the 8er and it has been successfully revived!

Since getting the car running, it was running good once fully warmed up but cold start was hot garbage. Shaking and working pretty rough courtesy of leaking intake manifold gaskets.

So the disassembly begins.

Wiring harness lifted out of the way.





Out with the fuel injectors.



First, the manifold on the passenger sides is removed.





The culprit gaskets.







Since the intakes were removed, I popped the valve covers off to check and lockdown camshaft banjo bolts, which are well known for becoming loose and starving camshafts of oil and wearing them out.

I was greeted with a very clean engine and perfect camshafts.













I used high strength thread locker and locking tabs to make sure there never come out on their own.



Bolts torqued down and tabs bent.



















New valve cover gaskets.



A bead of sealant where covers meet the head.





I also found a treacherous coolant leak from the valley pan gasket.



A bead of sealant where covers meet the head.





I also found a treacherous coolant leak from the valley pan gasket.



Which meant crank pulley and water pump needed to come out.







Ugly looking valley pan. Loosened up the dirt and then vacuumed everything.





These bolts are known to be really stuck and like to snap. I was hitting them with penetrating fluid and then smacked them with a hammer before undoing them. Worked a treat and got all of them out easily.







New gasket and zinc plates bolts.



Cleaned the mating surface and for extra measure, I added Reinzosil as the surface wasn't 100% perfect.





Torqued down to 10 Nm.



Cleaned the front of the engine.





New water pump.



Pump installed.



And the pulley.



Cleaned the manifolds a bit.









Cleaned all of the nuts and degreased the gaskets as I'm resuing them.





The tricky bit with reinstalling the intakes is not to drop any nuts. To prevent that, I stuffed magnets in my 10 mil socket. Worked beautifully.







New IM gaskets are around 300€ ($340) each and there are 4 of them. Since these didn't have any cracks, I went with the tried and tested method of using Reinzosil sealant on them. Something that pretty much everyone in V12 community is doing.









Manifolds reinstalled and torqued to 10 Nm. The next day I used the smoke machine to test for leaks and it was sealed 100%.





I also took apart and cleaned throttle bodies.













I started the car and immediately the cold start was so much better. Perfect from the turn of the key, stays smooth and running beautifully.



Then I reassembled everything else.

[Sreten]

Next was to remove the seats and fix the twisting bottom. Also, clean the interior.















To clean the leather I used leatherique. Before:











During:



After:









It's evident that the leather would benefit from some dye to make them perfect but overall I'm happy with the results. I have to say I love Sport seats compared to the standard ones, very comfortable and lots of support.



























Few exterior shots.











That's as far as I go with this one. There's still suspensions to be sorted out, steering box leak and bodywork but the new owner will be taking care of that.

I started editing the video and it's going to be well over 30 minutes. No idea how to fit all of this in one video but I don't want to chop it up several parts either. Should be interesting.

[fredo]

Berry nice. Great work bringing this back to its former glory. I can tell you spent a lot of time on cleaning duties.

[Will]

Fantastic updates, great job!! So what will be the next project after this 8er goes to new owner?