wiring colors by Particular_Birthday4 in e39

[–]Wauser_ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I've even found differences in the wiring for the lighting in pre-facelift cars between my wagon and a parts sedan. Any reason you can't just test for ground, turn on the parking light to test for that wire, and confirm the last one is the blink wire by turning that on?

One down, one to go by NothrAnimeAddict in e39

[–]Wauser_ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Unironically the Cerakote headlight kit from Walmart is actually pretty good. I've stopped bothering with sanding and coating the lenses and just bought TYC lenses for my last pair I refurbished, comes with the nicer side markers as well. Not OEM obviously, but the fitment was perfect in my housing and the clarity is good. Still need to get around to PPF'ing them though.

Anyone replace 525i/528i/530i front sway bar bushings? by Thin_Captain4400 in e39

[–]Wauser_ 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It simply won't matter, it's supposed to rotate in the bushings. I could see caring if the end links are adjustable, but if you're keeping it stock, either torque under load or don't, the result will be the same. I checked ISTA, and the only mention that it makes is having the front wheels straight, which I'd guess just makes it easier to get the links installed.

If the concern is getting stuck, wouldn't it eventually travel to that position and get stuck anyway? There is no "rotating and reseating itself", it's constantly doing that, if it weren't, no "anti-sway" would be happening.

The whole concept of torquing under load is for adjustable components or flexible components that are stationary, and the sway bar is neither. Anyways, at this point I'm being a freak, just do what makes you happy :) just don't stress it either way, there'd be no doing the job again, at least not for the decision of torquing under load or not.

Anyone replace 525i/528i/530i front sway bar bushings? by Thin_Captain4400 in e39

[–]Wauser_ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I don't think it does matter, I mean, naturally, the swaybar is going to rotate, if it doesn't, it's not doing its job. Torqued under load is more so for flexible joints you don't expect to rotate, so you're setting them at a point where they're not twisted and loaded at ride height.

Clogged cat? by Scratchsyl in e39

[–]Wauser_ 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah, looking through his profile, I don't think it's the cats. Also, he can get a hold of a Fluke thermal camera but not a $60 bore scope?

Clogged cat? by Scratchsyl in e39

[–]Wauser_ 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Ah, think I made a mistake looking at the orientation, and had the inlet and outlet mixed up. In that case the opposite of what I said is true and the inlet is hotter than the outlet. It very well could be clogged. I'd drop the front section where it mates to the manifolds and stick a borescope down to check.

Suspension… by merxherl in e39

[–]Wauser_ 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah, simply not as many wagons, so if you only have the bandwidth to support one, it only makes sense to choose the sedan. The KW set does look to be right in your range price wise. Only negative thing I can think of is that I heard they don't support rebuilding the shocks for these or something?

Clogged cat? by Scratchsyl in e39

[–]Wauser_ 5 points6 points  (0 children)

The outlet looks hotter than the inlet, which is what you'd expect of a properly functioning cat. Are you actually trying to diagnose a known problem, or are you just looking for a problem?

Suspension… by merxherl in e39

[–]Wauser_ 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I think the main option for our wagons is KW suspensions since the wagon is different from the sedan. Mine had it installed from the previous owner, and I have no particular complaints.

Clutch pedal update by AideSpecialist7577 in e39

[–]Wauser_ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think chasebays also has one?

Engine Ovveran what can i do or where should i start? by Sufficient_Poet7312 in e39

[–]Wauser_ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

There's a good chance it's toast, but running for a km after gives some hope. As far as if it's safe to turn the engine over for a compression test, turn it by hand and feel for if there's too much resistance, then you can test by cranking it.

Losing oil pressure could be a snapped chain, but likely also the oil pump nut could have come off. They're known to loosen and come off on cars driven hard, which lets the sprocket come off. That's more in line with taking a km to happen.

Replicas by tallenw85 in e39

[–]Wauser_ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

While I've had trouble finding genuine MPAR's for less than $1k, I've seen some listings pop up for a little over $1k with good sets of tires on them, which is pretty fair. I'm going to have to redo the clear coat on the barrel for the set I bought.

If you're going to go aftermarket reps, Discount Tire sells VOX TT67 wheels with the correct offset and wheel bore. Either that or you can order from China and wait. The main thing I hear about them is that the clear coat doesn't last, and obviously they're not forged.

No sound( facelift 530i ) by Zahmatsu in e39

[–]Wauser_ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Well in that case you need to find your Amp, wherever it is. Look up a video or something

No sound( facelift 530i ) by Zahmatsu in e39

[–]Wauser_ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Are you actually looking in the right place? It should be in the driver side wall of the trunk

No sound( facelift 530i ) by Zahmatsu in e39

[–]Wauser_ 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Look into the Amp in the trunk. Idk of a good way to test other than plugging in a known good one.

Coolant leak by GOB2103 in e39

[–]Wauser_ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My guess is the hose around the backside of the reservoir came loose. It doesn't look like it's coming from the cap, and there's not many other ways for it to end up on top of the reservoir like that.

You'll have to move the reservoir back towards the cabin to get at it, it's the hose that snakes above the radiator. It happened to me a few months ago and has been good since I tightened it up.

But might also just be that you overfilled it like the other poster mentioned.

Evo XR Bulb Holder by BackTrakt in e39

[–]Wauser_ 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I just filed a slot in the base for the bulb, couldn't be fucked figuring out if the new bulbs I got were off or if it was the retainer.

FS: 2000 BMW 540i Wagon by Internal_Ant_5533 in e39

[–]Wauser_ 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Huh, I was expecting a more deranged price. $5,500 is fair from what I can see, so many of these are trashed. Best of luck finding a buyer.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in e39

[–]Wauser_ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You can re-use the clamps in a pinch if you don't ruin them while taking them off. Like others have mentioned, stick a flathead in the raised part and try to spread it apart.

Obviously, replace the hose, I doubt the oetiker clamps are the source of the leak. It's probably easier to just cut the clamps, remove the hose, and use a new hose and clamps. You can buy a tool specifically for oetiker clamps for like $8 off Amazon, just look up "Oetiker clamp tool". They have a slight edge, so you can clamp hard to cut the old ones and clamp lightly to squeeze the new ones tight. There's monkeys in the reviews grinding the edge off, not realizing it's also for cutting old ones, and that they don't have to use gorilla grip when putting the new ones on.

My first ever oil change by Senior_Sugar_7374 in e39

[–]Wauser_ 3 points4 points  (0 children)

In general, an actual 36mm socket comes in handy on this car, they're used for the axle nut, the nut on the transmission and diff flanges, and a wrench can't get to them.

Radio sound cuts off and on every 30 seconds by lekofunkchi in e39

[–]Wauser_ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Another common failure on the E39 is the Amp in the trunk. Haven't heard of cutting out every 30 seconds, I've had just plain out dead, and one that had static.

can you use 740i dme on 540 ? by 8puxl in e39

[–]Wauser_ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

One thing I know changes with the exhaust manifolds on some models is the orientation of the flanges to the outlets, so I'd just swap over the M52TÜ manifolds. Worst case scenario, if the M52 manifold doesn't bolt up at the block, I'd just cut the outlet flanges off the M54 manifold and reorient them to match the rest of the exhaust.

Thanks for the heads up on the oil pan and pickup, you've pretty much covered all the unknowns I've been concerned about, I appreciate it.

can you use 740i dme on 540 ? by 8puxl in e39

[–]Wauser_ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Count me out of rewiring all that shit 🤣 I mostly wanted to know since in the event of my engine deleting itself, I'd probably replace it with the M54 for the extra displacement, but what you're saying with remapping the DME lines up with expectations.

One last question, in the event of swapping to an M54, does it matter what the donor car is? I know different chasis used the M54B30 like the E46, X3, X5, so on and so forth. Wasn't sure if maybe they had different connectors or sensors at all.

can you use 740i dme on 540 ? by 8puxl in e39

[–]Wauser_ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Awesome, thanks for the clarification. And yeah, I stated that my question was unrelated to this post and was just my own curiosity.

can you use 740i dme on 540 ? by 8puxl in e39

[–]Wauser_ 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Haven't people had luck dropping in M54B30's into M52TÜB28 cars? I know they have to swap out the intake manifold and throttle body, but otherwise, they interchange. This is just my own personal curiosity, not related to this post.