E39 BMW530i repairs

[zaleonardz]

sclass, you may want to replace that right hand side tie rod as well, usually done in pairs.

I paid R700 for 2 decent quality tie rods for the E34 the other day.

 

[sclass]

Yeah you're right I've been told! Was also told to replace BOTH front wheel bearings too not just on the damaged side...economics are controlling my desicions currently unfortunately, but that's definately on my radar.

 

[sclass]

Quick question,

Could I fit an M3 cylinder head to my M54 engine if I could get a decent 2nd hand one? Or what would be my options for something more potent than the standard one?

 

[sclass]

Wsup y'all,

I'm back (er, possibly :mmm...after walking around chopping off limbs from random passerbys and selling them on the black market for a pretty penny I managed to accumulate enough cash (dirty money!) to get a cyl head (2nd hand), cyl gasket, cyl head bolts (x14), plugs, valve stem seals,water pump, and an oil filter. Mechanic's putting her back together hopefully he'll be done by days end.

What can I expect to see (other than no overheating) if the job's been done right? Any tips, clues, or anything else to look out for before I move on to the suspension? Speaking of which I need shocks at all corners, please fellas don't make me go back to the stealers, PLEASE:nono:.Where and what kind of shocks do I get? Do I go for the standard setup or do I go for Eibach and the like? And do I replace the springs as well?:dunno:

Cheers guys:thumbsup:

 

[P1000]

If the car is still relatively level, just dampers need to be replaced. If you want to spend some money, go for Bilstein or Eibach, but IMO the stock suspension is great. If you are on a tight budget, you can get shocks fitted at a place like quickfit. You should be able to do the front for less than R3000. Mine was R2500 a year or so ago. They are probably gabriel, but work great. Don't know about rears, but let us know. I am about to replace my thrust arm bushes, and have found some that are apparently better than the OEM ones, but should be cheaper... Will let you know when I have sourced them locally.

 

[veridico]

Shocks shouldnt cost you too much, they are relatively cheap and easy to get. Supaquick will be able to sort you out with some gabriels.

If you want performance, get koni, bilstein or eibach, but they will cost you an arm and a leg and maybe an eye.

As to your head fixing... The car should basically just work properly, no overheating at all, and no issues. I cant give many tips about fixing the head, I havent done much work in that regard.

 

[sclass]

Veridico @ After all this I've only got 1 eye left...! Someone told me that the stealers want +/- R2,500 per...sure I can do better than this but of the same quality? But will check quick fit though if Eibach/Koni are out of reach. To be honest I'd like a slightly sportier set up, I'm anticipating a lot of roll (1.7ton weight). A co-worker has an E46 318 with sport suspension that feels quite lively. Overall I prefer that to the boulevard wafting mode!

P1000 @ Thanks for the heads up! The car's level, but pitches and dives quite a bit. Even at standstill pushing down on the boot or bonnet there's fair amount on bound/rebound.

 

[veridico]

Well, if you would be paying R2.5k a shock, you may as well go for koni shocks with eibach springs (or a similar set up), it will probably set you back R12k for the whole lot, maybe less even. Your handling will be very very much improved, it will feel a lot better to drive.

 

[zaleonardz]

Depends on your actual springs.

I am doing mine shortly (excuse the pun) simply because my rear springs are totally finished, and there I opted a shorter spring, but if your old springs are good, I would not worry about doing that unless you specifically are going after the "dropped' look.

---

My entire conversion with H&R's is going to cost me..

R1200 (Gabriel Gas Riders - Front)
R1400 (Gabriel Gas riders rear)
R3000 (H&R with a 40mm drop front, 10mm drop rear)

Labour I shall do myself, so call the entire job.... 6k

 

[veridico]

Yeah, the gabriel shocks make life much easier and the wallet stay fuller, I think on my e36, springs were R3600 (eibach pro kit) and shocks were R8000 (Koni Yellows) the shocks are adjustable and reconditionable, so thats a great help too.

 

[sclass]

Yoh! Guess new springs are out of the question for now, but I MUST have new shocks. Anyway won't stress about it too much for now, just hoping I don't have overheating problems anymore. Will know tomorrow...:mmm:

Question guys; is the prop on the water pump supposed to be metal or plastic? I've heard some E39s have the plastic and some metal? I'm assuming the metal's better 'cause the plastic rotor disintergrates...:dunno:

Cheers!

 

[zaleonardz]

Well,

From what I understand, the OEM pump has a plastic impeller, with most aftermarket pumps having a metal one.

Good luck with the head job tomorrow bud, let us know :thumbsup:

 

[veridico]

You can get yourself some Gabriels for the time being, and then when you have grown another arm to sell buy some springs.

 

[sclass]

Wsup y'all!

Went to check out the ride I found her idling with the needle pegged dead center :excited:!! Snuck away from work so I only hung around for about 40 mins but there was no sign of over heating. And that was 39 mins longer than she used to take to heat up so I'm hoping we're all good. Anyway my mechanic was still to for a drive in it before giving a clean bill of health but so far so good:thumbsup:

Yah, Gabriels will have to do until these limbs grow back

 

[sclass]

Question guys;

Mechanic says I need a new Airflow Meter...On close inspection though it seems to be intact. And if you blip the throttle there is IMMEDIATE engine response. There is a loud sucking sound though but I gather this is normal? In any case I only want to deal with life or death issues first (suspension,steering rack)...

 

[Sankekur]

If you are driving and you plant you foot on the accelerator and the car hesitates before starting to accelerate and has a jerky acceleration, then your airflow meter needs to be replaced.

 

[sclass]

Drove it today, it hesitates quite a bit...but I don't understand because it wasn't doing this prior...Is there anyway that it could be something other than the AFM? I don't want to buy one and have the problem persist :mmm: Also the OBC is giving me a consumption figure of 39.5l/100kms :dropjaw:...please tell me this is related to the AFM, PLEASE...

 

[Sankekur]

Drove it today, it hesitates quite a bit...but I don't understand because it wasn't doing this prior...Is there anyway that it could be something other than the AFM? I don't want to buy one and have the problem persist :mmm: Also the OBC is giving me a consumption figure of 39.5l/100kms :dropjaw:...please tell me this is related to the AFM, PLEASE...

To the best of my knowledge it is caused by the AFM, but I am not sure about the consumption, best would be to replace the AFM and then reset the consumption readout so that you can get a better idea of the current average.

 

[sclass]

Got no power or throttle response below +/- 4500rpm...Confirmed, AFM's kaput...how much can I expect to pay for a replacement? It's a Siemens one.

Consumption readout has dropped to about 25l/100km. I don't think it's actually that bad though, I think it's more around 16-18l/100kms, stop start situations 90% of the time.

 

[sclass]

Stealers want R5,300 for the airflow meter :banghead:...What are my options? Carlo @ CR Auto (Pretoria) says he can give me a new AFM for R1,800 and a 2nd hand one for R1,100. I'm not sure of the quality though. What do you guys think?:dunno: