All posts filed under: E39

E39 Touring Wagon Rescue Project Series

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Last year in the midst of the Pandemic, I, like many other car enthusiasts, decided to rescue a cheap project car. Many people dove into new projects as a way to cope with the stress of the pandemic, and to focus on something positive. Mine was a $900 E39 Touring I found for sale online back in February 2021. In typical enthusiast fashion, I quickly poured significantly more money into the car than it was worth. I changed the interior, body panels and overhauled the cooling system, brakes, engine and suspension. This financial loss was realized when I sold the car last summer for a loss of over $1,600. Well, at least I have this four episode series on YouTube to remember the good times. Knowing that this BMW wagon or “Touring” was made in very small numbers, I knew it was special enough to try to save. Besides, it was an experiment in creating a rescue series on YouTube for the Bimmerzeit channel. Did any of you buy a BMW project car during the …

Rare 2001 E39 530i Sport Package with Manual Transmission For Sale

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For sale is an exceptionally clean 2001 E39 530i with the desirable sport package and manual 5-speed transmission combination. In my opinion, this is the best all-around BMW you can buy today. Nothing that came before it, and nothing that came after the E39 really lives up to all that this car offers in one great value package. What other car offers: timeless styling, the ability to drive a modern classic on vintage plates with discounted tax and insurance, comfortable for the family yet still sporty with direct road feel and confidence inspiring handling unmatched by any other five series? This car actually belongs to my Father who lives out in the suburbs north of Chicago, Illinois. He bought this car from down South so it is very clean and solid, never exposed to road salts and has been garaged and driven only in Summer under his ownership. I have personally driven this car while visiting my family last summer; the car drives beautifully (and I’ve driven a lot of E39’s). The manual transmission is …

Rescuing a Classic BMW E39 Touring Sport Wagon

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It’s been nearly five months since I last posted a video on YouTube. It was a fun video where I just drove around in our E53 X5 during a blizzard here in Connecticut. That was early February, 2021. Check it out below: It was around this time that I came across a very sad 525iT which was just listed for sale locally on Craigslist. With several feet of snow piling up during a tough New England winter, there wasn’t much to do but indulge in the pastime we all love: browsing online car ads for old BMW’s. It wasn’t long before I saw the touring ad on Craigslist Fairfield. It had been advertised for $1,600 which seemed like a steal at first glance. That was of course, until I saw the car in person. It was definitely the worst condition car I’ve probably ever seen, let alone purchased. Nearly everything was broken and needed replacing. Service engine soon light illuminated. Seats torn. Driver seat not moving. Interior disgusting. Rust. Dents. Dings. Sunroof stuck closed. Curb …

BMW Intermittent Random Stalling Issue Help

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If your BMW is randomly stalling out, it is dangerous to your safety on the road, and it must be resolved ASAP. Here are some of the common reasons why your BMW might be exhibiting stalling issues. The fuel pump is faulty and needs to be replaced. 2. The crank position sensor is faulty and needs to be replaced. This is common on older classic cars such as the E30, E32, E34 and E36. But it can also present as an issue on modern cars like the E39, E46. 3. One of the most difficult to diagnose stalling issues is when the intake camshaft position sensor is beginning to fail. This part will fail very slowly overtime, and will not always throw a service engine light with stored code. This makes diagnosis next to impossible. This stalling happens in slow speed such as coming to a stop sign or slow drives around a shopping center parking lot, for example. If your BMW is showing these symptoms of intermittent stalling, with no trouble codes present, it …

BMW M Tech Sport Steering Wheel Trim Removal and Replacement DIY

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  One of the most common wear points in a car is the steering wheel, since it sees a ton of use and abuse over the life of the car. The M tech sport steering wheels in particular have a way of wearing and peeling badly that BMW didn’t really plan for. Original versions of the sport steering wheel trim have a black coating that peels and scratches off over time, revealing the white bare plastic beneath it. Updated versions now available seem to be from a black plastic, which should wear better instead of peeling over time. Updated trim is available here. One of the cheapest and best upgrades you can make is to replace this trim piece, which is about $75 or so online here. I recently replaced the trim piece specific to the E53 sport models, and detail the steps on how to remove the steering wheel so replace the trim in this new video below. Most sport package cars require the airbag and steering wheel to be safely removed before the …

Super Cheap BMW B800 Airbag SRS Reset Tool Under $30

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Every BMW owner needs to own a diagnostic scan tool or two. Even the most basic setup, including a cheap OBD-II scanner like this one and a cheap airbag tool will save you hundreds if not thousands over the years of your Bavarian ownership. There’s really nothing more satisfying than scanning a car for friends and family when they’re in trouble, and saving them from paying a $100 diagnostic fee to some repair shop.

Liqui Moly MOS2 Anti-Friction Engine Treatment for BMW

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With today’s advances in fuel economy in new BMW models, those of us driving older models will try almost anything to squeeze out a few extra miles per gallon for our daily drivers. Keeping the tires properly inflated, ensuring fresh synthetic oil is flowing through the veins, and rebuilding those vanos units are the tried and true methods for maintaining better fuel economy. 

BMW Bad Thermostat Symptoms

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How do you tell if your BMW has a bad thermostat? Thermostats fail in one of two ways; they either fail stuck open or fail stuck closed. When they fail in a closed fashion its usually easy to tell because your car will likely experience severe overheating problems with the temperature needle buried in the red. This is the most dangerous type of failure because an overheating engine can cause major damage, including head gasket failure and cracks in radiators and cooling system components. In more severe cases, head bolts can strip the weak threads in the aluminum block of an M54 model engine.

Sonax Full Effect Wheel Cleaner Review

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Cleaning the wheels on a BMW with OEM brake pads can be a tedious part of your detailing schedule, but it doesn’t have to be. Finding the right wheel cleaner and technique is the best way to cut down on time spent cleaning brake dust out of every nook and curve of those expensive factory wheels. Today I’ll discuss the Sonax Full Effect wheel cleaner and how I found it for cleaning BBS wheels on a BMW. 

BMW Broken Window Regulator Quick Fix

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I’m sure all of us will experience this at some point: you’re going about your life cruising to work in your BMW and you crack your window open for a little bit of fresh air. It makes a horrid clunk sound and you immediately realize that your window isn’t going back up anytime soon. It’s likely that you need a new window regulator; but how do you keep the window up until you can get it fixed?