E39 540i

On Wed, 20 Dec 2006 09:58:58 +0000 (GMT), "Dave Plowman (News)"
> wrote:

>UK cars with climate control don't have sunroofs. Strangely. So that is
>probably all V-8s. Although I *think* it could be a special order, so
>probably not on early cars which were snapped up as soon as they left the
>production lines.

My UK E39 M5 (not a 540i I know, but 8 cylinder) has both climate
control and a sunroof.

--
Philip

[Don't top post. Quote selectively. Don't use HTML. Enjoy Usenet]

In article >,
Michael Rodgers > wrote:
> > Co-Moderator BMW E39 Enthusiast Group
> > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bmwe39

> Nice group. Think I'll join.

It is. The 'owner', Don Eilenberger, runs it to a very high standard which
is an example to others. Reasonable traffic level and lots of E39
expertise.

> I'm sure I remember you from years back.

That's because I'm old. ;-)

> Can't think which group it was, though..

Could be one of the uk.rec car groups.

--
*Why do we say something is out of whack? What is a whack? *

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

"adder1969" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
>> Hope you're a lucky person. In general. they seem less reliable than
their
>> 6 cylinder siblings.
> I think you mentioned this before but so far without backing any of it
> up. Can you tell me why they're less reliable? I have both.

He's just jealous. ;-) So far I think this car is bloody fantastic, famous
last words though they may be. I had an E34 525 before, and loved it, but
this car is an incredible blend of smooth cruiser and lunatic animal. From
a traffic light you can be away from everyone else before they've even
started moving - it seems to go from 0 to 20 in an instant - without
looking or feeling like a hooligan. On the other hand if you press the
pedal straight to the floor it wheelspins like something out of the Dukes of
Hazzard. The engine noise is a soft murmur or loud V8 throb. After a week
I'm still impressed by the smooth changes of the steptronic box and how well
it works with this engine.

I looked at an E39 M5 first and it was incredible, really scary and had more
of a different character than the performance figures suggest, but my
licence would have lasted about a week. The 540 is nice to drive slowly and
that's a useful feature. The 525 was only fun when pressed so that's how I
used to drive it. At low speeds it was too loose in the steering and
sluggish at low revs.

"adder1969" > wrote in message
ps.com...
> So on the V8 the rad is poorly designed and the I6 has a history of
> water pump problems. I don't see how that warrants "good luck with the
> V8" type of comments. I'm not saying they are more reliable just that
> if they're not I'd like to know why so I can check some things out.

I had endless cooling system leaks on my I6 anyway.

"adder1969" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> Dan Buchan wrote:
>> I thought the coolant was low, suspecting a leak, but it turns out you
read
>> the level from a floating pointy red thing, implying that you're not
>> supposed to see the water. However, the pointy thing is stuck. Maybe it
>> has a leak, maybe it doesn't, I can't tell without that indicator.
> Hmm, sounds a bit odd.

Figured it out. Freed the 'pointy thing' with some pliers, at which point
it shot up, indicating that in my naivety - thinking you should be able to
see liquid - I'd drastically overfilled it. I've let some out. It
doesn't seem to leak, even despite the provocation.

>> There is a light knocking from the engine at idle that you can hear from
>> underneath but not above. I wondered if it could be the gearbox but it
>> sounds like top end / cam noise except for the location.
> Could this be the dreaded loose oil pump bolts?

Tell me more. It comes and goes; generally you hear nothing at first and it
appears as the engine warms up. I had a garage reading fault codes and
asked him to listen to the noise which had been clearly audible when I
pulled in but practically disappeared when the engine was restarted. He
said timing chain but I'm not convinced he heard the right sound. It's
quite a light, but hollow, knocking noise, about 4 times per second at idle.
At 500rpm that would be 1/2 engine speed.

>> Lovely car, seems to have all the options except sunroof, and everything
>> else seems to work, even the electric memory seats. Satnav, TV and CD
all
>> work. Averaged an inspiring 18.7mpg so far.
> You'll get close to 30 on a run.

Up to 21 on the current tank of fuel. It seems to get 30 on the motorway
which is not too bad. Waiting to see how many miles range I get because
it's claiming 300 but I'm expecting 350; the 525 used to get close to 400
before the light came on at around 23mpg. Sod it, anyone who buys a new
Focus is worse off for at least six years whatever their common sense tells
them.

"Dave Plowman (News)" > wrote in message
...
> Hope you're a lucky person. In general. they seem less reliable than their
> 6 cylinder siblings.

I'm not. But I got it for a good price. I hope.

>> Firstly the doors seem to rattle when I'm driving but not when I thump
>> them. Do I remember hearing this complaint about E39s before?
> Is it the windows? You could try wedging them to prove this.

Seemed like it could be, pressing the glass seemed to make a difference.
Where would you wedge them? I've read about door seals chafing also, and
updated padded seals to fix this with a allegedly limited success.

>> The DSC warning light is always on. No idea what fails on this, anyone
>> know?
> Not a common one that I know of.

Diagnostics reported a failure of the ABS pump to the back right but the
mechanic suggested replacing the sensor at that wheel first. ABS light
stays on until you drive a short distance, DSC warning is always on.

> > I thought the coolant was low, suspecting a leak, but it turns out you
....
> Another new one on me. Does the low coolant warning come on? The rads on
> these can be a problem.

Seems ok, my mistake, and the float was easily freed with pliers.

>> The check control display is missing a lot of dots, which I know is
>> common, but since it only lights up on warnings it's not too bad. Can
>> it be replaced cheaply though? More annoying is the lack of backlight
>> on the mileage reading on the display above - I'm hoping this might
>> just be a replaceable bulb or LED?
> IIRC, it's a dry solder joint problem and not easy to fix. But you might
> find a specialist who does an exchange scheme.

Is it surface mount? I can solder anything except that. It's become more
of an issue since I discovered that you can call up one of the computer
readouts on the check control screen. And the dim backlight on the mileage
reading is definitely annoying. Two separate problems I think but I did
notice the mileage is missing a pixel also - the initial 1 has no little
nubbin at the top.

>> It has the BMW phone which wants a credit card-sized SIM card. Can this
>> be useful at all? If it has a full hands free system can it be adapted
>> to work with a modern phone? Otherwise can the BMW phone be resurrected
>> somehow?
> Pass again.

You know how when you get a new SIM card it comes as a credit card-sized
thing and you snap the SIM out of the middle? Apparently if you leave it
intact you can shove it into one of these phones.

> UK cars with climate control don't have sunroofs. Strangely. So that is
> probably all V-8s. Although I *think* it could be a special order, so

I keep asking people why climate/aircon and sunroof are considered
alternatives but no-one can tell me (or they don't care). Used to love my
sunroof but the climate control is superb so I'll not cry. To be truthful
the car looks sleeker without one. Ooh, it's gorgeous.

> probably not on early cars which were snapped up as soon as they left the
> production lines.

Strangely this car was built in December 1997 and registered in March 1998.
I got a printout at the dealers. It has M-Sport suspension, other options I
could see anyway, but some things like the fire extinguisher are not listed
and I'm not sure if the dimming mirror and sensing wipers were options but
they aren't on there.

> I've not been much help but the group in my sig probably could be - lots
> of V-8s in that while I've got the 6. ;-)

I'll definitely join up - thanks. Used to be in the group for E21s which
was very good.

Dan Buchan wrote:
On the other hand if you press the
> pedal straight to the floor it wheelspins like something out of the Dukes of
> Hazzard.

Just them good ole boys....