Jims New Shed..

[Jim 1]

I know it's not a Corrado, but I know there's enthusiasts of other marques on here too :)

 

After the Corrado went, I knew I wanted a BMW but hadn't worked out exactly what. Then, as often seems to happen in my life, I got a message on Facebook from a friend of mine looking to sell his old 5 series so I went to check it out.. couldn't help myself at £1000 :) Plan is to run this for a while whilst I look for something a bit nicer.. but I can see me hanging onto it longer ;)

 

 

It's a 2001 E39 530D SE Touring.. with black leather, xenon headlights, cruise control, climate control.. motor in 530D guise is a 3 litre 6 cylinder turbo diesel. Everything works as you'd expect. But been using it this weekend for lugging a load of furniture and stuff and it's been awesome.

 

I really bought it with the intention of just smoking around in it for a few months and generally not caring very much but already getting the urge to start spending money on sorting stuff out. I think it's a potential diamond in the rough.. interior needs a proper shampooing, leather needs feeding / cleaning, few mechanical gremlins here and there, a few bits of bodywork....

[spen 0]

My neighbour has one of these Jim, proper work-horse mate, last of the hand built's I think?....

[VAG-hag 0]

Solid looking car there mate :)

[Geeba 0]

Thats a LOT of shed for a grand! - top shedding! :D

[delfinis38 1]

Proper work horse.

[Dox 22]

Very nice

[MZpog 10]

Nice hearse, ;)

 

I have a momo steering wheel boss to fit a BMW if you wanna go after market.

[delfinis38 1]

I actually thought the same but declined to comment :)

[ChrisL 15]

Looks pretty tidy.

 

Has the fiesta gone now too?

[Dogma 10]

Funny looking Corrado :)

[Jim 1]

Looks pretty tidy.

 

Has the fiesta gone now too?

 

Very shortly mate.

 

And yeah.. it is rather hearse-like!! Maybe I need to start driving around with a top hat and tails on.

 

Just booked it in with a local specialist for an Inspection II service, and investigation into some front end clunking. These cars, it seems, are pretty notorious and susceptible to worn bushes, etc.

[SteveM 10]

Yep, old Beemers go through suspension bushes fairly regularly. Already done the fronts on my old E24 6 series, the rears probably due in the next couple of years.

That is a whole lot of car for the money though...

[Jim 1]

It really is. I'm chuffed to bits with it! I really think with some strategic spit and polish in the right places, it could turn out extremely nice.

[Jim Bowen 1]

Hi Jim, don't think i commented yet in your selling the corrado thread.

 

How are you coping without the corrado? :lol: a bit of a shame, but i always took comfort in the fact we have the same name and i saw you corrado as a brother of mine, being a similar spec etc and the troubles you had and I've had with them. Kept me reassured i wasn't the only one.... Am sure once day I'll face the same dilemma about selling.

[Jim 1]

(I PM replied to Jim Bowen.. I wasn't ignoring him!) :)

 

Well, been an interesting week or two. Learned a fair bit about the 5 series already. Got a raft of problems that are going to need sorting, and rather than feeling disappointed or annoyed, I actually feel like some enthusiasm has been rekindled. My Fiesta has now also been sold, so this is my only car! Gulp! Good job I don't depend on it for work or anything :)

 

Some pretty fascinating differences on these cars. The rear suspension is pretty complicated - not least down to the air suspension system employed on the rear (as it's a Touring model) but also because the entire rear suspension is mounted into a subframe which can just be dropped off the car to be worked on. There's a multitude of control arms and the like.

 

I got my car for peanuts, but already looking like having to double my initial expenditure on a number of repairs - badly buckled alloy (managed to find a brand new one locally for 25 quid!), wheel bearings, bushes, brakes all round, track rods, etc. Also found that the handbrake isn't working properly, and on the 5 series the handbrake mechanism is entirely separate from the caliper and uses a separate set of shoes much like one has with drum brakes, on the inside of the rotor...

 

As she currently is, the ride quality isn't great and it all feels a bit wayward. Hoping to get it booked in soon for a bit of an overhaul in a few areas and it should then drive like what I was expecting.

 

The engine is kind of interesting.. feels very flat at low revs but keep your foot in and once the turbo spools up, it feels like someone has lit an afterburner. Looks like it out the back too... these motors are apparently very prone to getting sooted up, so I think I might stick in a tank of redex and take it for an Italian tune up on a quiet road somewhere.

 

Also just had the headlights corrected at my local hand car wash.. guy offered to clean the lenses up (the usual problem with 'modern' headlights of them going foggy) for just £15 a side and he did an excellent job. They look superb now!

[g0ldf1ng3r 13]

(I PM replied to Jim Bowen.. I wasn't ignoring him!) :)

 

Well, been an interesting week or two. Learned a fair bit about the 5 series already. Got a raft of problems that are going to need sorting, and rather than feeling disappointed or annoyed, I actually feel like some enthusiasm has been rekindled. My Fiesta has now also been sold, so this is my only car! Gulp! Good job I don't depend on it for work or anything :)

 

Some pretty fascinating differences on these cars. The rear suspension is pretty complicated - not least down to the air suspension system employed on the rear (as it's a Touring model) but also because the entire rear suspension is mounted into a subframe which can just be dropped off the car to be worked on. There's a multitude of control arms and the like.

 

I got my car for peanuts, but already looking like having to double my initial expenditure on a number of repairs - badly buckled alloy (managed to find a brand new one locally for 25 quid!), wheel bearings, bushes, brakes all round, track rods, etc. Also found that the handbrake isn't working properly, and on the 5 series the handbrake mechanism is entirely separate from the caliper and uses a separate set of shoes much like one has with drum brakes, on the inside of the rotor...

 

As she currently is, the ride quality isn't great and it all feels a bit wayward. Hoping to get it booked in soon for a bit of an overhaul in a few areas and it should then drive like what I was expecting.

 

The engine is kind of interesting.. feels very flat at low revs but keep your foot in and once the turbo spools up, it feels like someone has lit an afterburner. Looks like it out the back too... these motors are apparently very prone to getting sooted up, so I think I might stick in a tank of redex and take it for an Italian tune up on a quiet road somewhere.

 

Also just had the headlights corrected at my local hand car wash.. guy offered to clean the lenses up (the usual problem with 'modern' headlights of them going foggy) for just £15 a side and he did an excellent job. They look superb now!

 

pan - fire

 

that is all lol

[Jim 1]

That's fine. As I say, a new challenge seems to have inspired me somewhat.

[joby 0]

Ive just bought an R171 Mercedes SLK350 jim and that has a complicated rear set up too with a subframe and the handbrake mechanism is the same, incorparated in the discs, it will need new rear discsw and pads soon, not looking forward to it, are you going to tackle the work youself

[Tigerfish 10]

If the rear brakes are similar to the Lexus, they are pretty simple to deal with. Unless someone had been driving around with the handbrake on, the shoes never wear out, so very unlikely to need changing unless they've been binding. This is a link to a tutorial I did on the Lexus arrangement that might help

 

http://www.lexusownersclub.co.uk/forum/tutorials/article/125-gs300-rear-brake-pad-disc-change/

 

Hmmm, link in tapatalk doesn't seem to work, but if you copy it and paste into browser it works fine.

 

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Edited March 29, 2017 by Tigerfish

[Jim 1]

Good thing about these cars is the amount they sold, and that there's also lots of FAQ's and DIY guides out there from kind owners :)

 

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?t=426640

 

Tempted to tackle this myself along with new pads and discs as it looks like a doddle really. Just not so keen on rolling around under a 5 series myself doing more heavy duty stuff.

 

Ive just bought an R171 Mercedes SLK350 jim and that has a complicated rear set up too with a subframe and the handbrake mechanism is the same, incorparated in the discs, it will need new rear discsw and pads soon, not looking forward to it, are you going to tackle the work youself

 

Awesome! Hope you enjoy it mate :) Has that got the 3.7 V6 in it? My old man bought a similar era SL 350 a few months back and he loves it so far. Already landed him with a couple of hefty bills though.

[joby 0]

Good thing about these cars is the amount they sold, and that there's also lots of FAQ's and DIY guides out there from kind owners :)

 

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?t=426640

 

Tempted to tackle this myself along with new pads and discs as it looks like a doddle really. Just not so keen on rolling around under a 5 series myself doing more heavy duty stuff.

 

 

 

Awesome! Hope you enjoy it mate :) Has that got the 3.7 V6 in it? My old man bought a similar era SL 350 a few months back and he loves it so far. Already landed him with a couple of hefty bills though.

Its a 3.5 V6 jim 272 bhp, and a rare manual which is what i wanted, its been behaved so far and is still under warranty with a dealer so fingers crossed, awesome noise when pushed hard

[Hofmiester 10]

Nice Jim, always wanted one. Great car for cruising about.

 

 

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[Jim 1]

The seeds of BMW ownership were sowed with that 7 series I bought off you. It was only a matter of time!

[Hofmiester 10]

I do love a beemer but not the newer post 2004 ones, where they started coding all the parts so you couldn't fix them yourself anymore. Before that date they are an easy DIY car.

 

 

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[Harrier 1]

Hi Jim, the e39 is a great car , they drive so well normally.

It's surprising how little they go for even a low mileage / owner car

Wouldn't recommend tackling the rear bushes though , they are a struggle without the right tools.

Rear brakes shouldn't be to much of a problem though

Good luck :)