E39 530d Advice Needed

[///mpowah]

Hi All,

So this E39 530d is my first diesel powered bmw to date and I must say, so far so good (touch wood). She is an 03 530d Individual (174000km FSH at BMW), silver with black leather and those lovely 17" deep dish wheels all round. The car is great but I cant seem to shake the fear of something breaking and costing a left nut to fix... on reading up more on these cars I see that a common engine "kaboom" is caused by the consumption of the swirl flaps into the motor.

Apologies in advance if this question has been asked before but does anyone know of a reputable person/garage that could supply and fit the blank swirl flaps for me?

Luckily when I bought her the auto gear box and turbo had been reconditioned - so hopefully no trouble there anytime soon. I try to let her cool down nicely before switching off after every drive but if anyone has some words of wisdom around maintaining these cars out of motorplan up to +200 000km, please share.

Thanks
///M

 

[P1000]

Mine has 285000km on with original turbo and gearbox. These gearboxes are tricky to rebuild, and if not done properly, it won't last long at all, so lets hope the guy that did yours did it properly.

No one I know of can do the swirl flaps locally. Best is to either import them, or contact Technician on the forum and ask him to manufacture a set for you (I gave him the drawing, don't know if he still has it.) Then you can either DIY or find a mechanic willing to help you, but it is quite straight forward, just don't drop anything into the intake.

Apart from the swirl flaps, there's not much to do, oh except maybe the control arm bushes, they WILL be finished if the car has more than 120000km on.