Anyone know much about E39's looking for a bit of advice

[pac1982]

So just purchased a stop gap car very cheap while I hunt down what I'm really looking for.

The car in question is a 1998 E39 525 my plan is to use it while I'm car hunting and due to how cheaply I got it sell it on for a small profit when I'm done with it.

The problem list when I purchased it was a sticky button on the climate meaning I could not turn the temp down on the passenger side, P/S front window not working and boot only working with key.

I have managed to fix all the above problems but have noticed the heaters are constantly blowing hot, I've looked in to it online and it seems a common problem and is most likely the heater valves being stuck open.

Anyone point me in the directions of a DIY guide for this fix or at least tell me where the heater valves are located?

Is it a hard job, I'm fairly competent but not a mechanic by trade, I'm more of a Mike Brewer kind of guy not an Ed China but willing to have a go

[pacerpete]

Even Mike Brewer could not turn an eric on a '98 523 !

Get yourself on the 5 series forum, its a whole new dimension of deluded tw4ts with worthless sorry scrap !

[pac1982]

Even Mike Brewer could not turn an eric on a '98 523 !

Get yourself on the 5 series forum, its a whole new dimension of deluded tw4ts with worthless sorry scrap !

I'm sure I can, its in great shape showing no signs of rust like most E39's are, its black which is always a popular colour and only has a HPI verified 111k on the clock, also very low for an E39.

It also has genuine AC pretzel wheels x5 lol

I got it for the price of a tank of fuel and a hand job from a cheap hooker been watching them for a while on ebay and ones in decent shape with good mileage seem to fetch a bag of sand give or take with the right advert, not expecting a massive return just dont want to break my current record (last 8 cars) of not making a loss when I move them on, free motoring is a wonderful thing.

Like I say its a stop gap car but my inner OCD refuses to not try and fix the few niggles it has

[universal]

as asked in another thread, what is an "eric"?

[DanThe]

Unless its a low owner with proper service/repair history* it would be wise moving it on sooner rather than later!





* As you bought it with several problems, then probably not

[B7]

I have a 97 528 on the stands at the moment. Heater AC worked perfectly. Engines being pulled next week. Interested in the valves?

[Andyboy]

as asked in another thread, what is an "eric"?

Ernie = earner = profit.

[DanThe]

Eric and Ernie

[pac1982]

Unless its a low owner with proper service/repair history* it would be wise moving it on sooner rather than later!





* As you bought it with several problems, then probably not

2 owners and service history up till 92k, now just over 111k

I have a 97 528 on the stands at the moment. Heater AC worked perfectly. Engines being pulled next week. Interested in the valves?

Yes please, PM me a few details

as asked in another thread, what is an "eric"?

Ernie = earner = profit.

Eric and Ernie

I'll make an eric out of it yet providing B7 dont charge me too much for the heater valves!

[pac1982]

Not that anyone's interested about old E39's here on good ol' E30 Zone but here's some pics anyway........
















I'm actually looking for a 540 or if a really nice one turns up a 740 but thought this would make a good stop gap as I can see if I get on with the ergonomics of the E39 before I take the plunge and buy a V8, obviously I'm paying no attention to performance and handling as a 540 would be a whole different ball game to this.

First impression are that I don't find the driving position anywhere near as nice as the E30, but perhaps the sports seats that you get in most 540's will improve this

Amazing what sub £300 can buy you these days

[darkchild]

Amazing what sub £300 can buy you these days

Looks a tidy old thing. E39s are at rock bottom and ridiculously cheap (normally as they need a lot of shekels to put right!). A manual 523i isn't a bad tram at all. The autos are a bit lethargic.

Towbar action and 540i badging FTW!

[pacerpete]

The 540 badge on a 523 is even sadder than Dans Jimbo fitted V8 badges !

I hope you like easties and inked council types, you will be meeting lots of them when you attempt to
serve it !

[darkchild]

The 540 badge on a 523 is even sadder than Dans Jimbo fitted V8 badges !

M Power innit.

[pac1982]

Amazing what sub £300 can buy you these days

Looks a tidy old thing. E39s are at rock bottom and ridiculously cheap (normally as they need a lot of shekels to put right!). A manual 523i isn't a bad tram at all. The autos are a bit lethargic.

Towbar action and 540i badging FTW!

The 540 badge on a 523 is even sadder than Dans Jimbo fitted V8 badges !

I hope you like easties and inked council types, you will be meeting lots of them when you attempt to
serve it !

The 540 badge on a 523 is even sadder than Dans Jimbo fitted V8 badges !

M Power innit.

I would never had gone for a 523 if it had been an auto, still have enough power to make the traction light flicker though

Living in Leicester I'm more than used to dealing with easties and council types so shouldn't be a problem, the 540 badge is woeful but the only reason I don't want to take it off is because I cant be arsed to polish out the mark it will leave behind if I remove it

Its got shadow line as well don't ya know

[pacerpete]

Amazing what sub £300 can buy you these days

Looks a tidy old thing. E39s are at rock bottom and ridiculously cheap (normally as they need a lot of shekels to put right!). A manual 523i isn't a bad tram at all. The autos are a bit lethargic.

Towbar action and 540i badging FTW!

The 540 badge on a 523 is even sadder than Dans Jimbo fitted V8 badges !

I hope you like easties and inked council types, you will be meeting lots of them when you attempt to
serve it !

The 540 badge on a 523 is even sadder than Dans Jimbo fitted V8 badges !

M Power innit.

I would never had gone for a 523 if it had been an auto, still have enough power to make the traction light flicker though

Living in Leicester I'm more than used to dealing with easties and council types so shouldn't be a problem, the 540 badge is woeful but the only reason I don't want to take it off is because I cant be arsed to polish out the mark it will leave behind if I remove it

Its got shadow line as well don't ya know

Indeed, the 540 badge will be a selling point with the sort of 'clientele' that an old E39 will attract

[RobWill116]

I've got an 98 523 ready for breaking if you need want any bits, just let me know

[pac1982]

I've got an 98 523 ready for breaking if you need want any bits, just let me know

everything seems to be working on this now, think its been sat for a while but the heaters are now blowing cold so I assume the valves have unstuck themselves

If you have anything spec wise that mine don't I may be interested but parts need to be cheap as chips seeing as this is just a stop gap so don't want to spend much on it at all

[pacerpete]

Is the A/C chilly or does she just need gas bruv ?

[pac1982]

Is the A/C chilly or does she just need gas bruv ?

think the AC needs a gas but got a mate who can sort that for free for me, hopefully it don't need a new compressor or pipes etc

[pacerpete]

It will just need gas, that is all that they ever need on ebay

[BenHar]

It will just need gas, that is all that they ever need on ebay

Or a fuse.

Ben

[B7]

I have a good condenser if required.

[DanThe]

Throw it in the bin Trev, new condensers are under £40 and the dryer is £20 odd

Pac that 540i badge is worth more than whats in your fuel tank, all the silicone spray over the engine bay and the miss matching ling long/triangle/stunner tyres put together.
I priced one up the other day and decided to remain de-badged

[snakebrain]

There are few things as loathsome as an E39 with 'minor issues'. If I was you I'd get shot asap, before it ruins you financially and makes you a bitter, angry man!!

[B7]

Throw it in the bin Trev, new condensers are under £40 and the dryer is £20 odd

Already is Dan

[pac1982]

There are few things as loathsome as an E39 with 'minor issues'. If I was you I'd get shot asap, before it ruins you financially and makes you a bitter, angry man!!

Been running it for about a week now, and just completed a long distance run today some 200miles car didn't skip a beat

Think I got a good one tbh I really cant fault it just need some new brake pads and a new windscreen washer bottle and it will be as perfect as an old 5 can be.

For what i paid for it it really dont matter if its starts to spring up loads of problems but to be honest I doubt it will.

Had it checked over by a pal of mine who really knows his stuff and he cant fault it

[DanThe]

There are few things as loathsome as an E39 with 'minor issues'. If I was you I'd get shot asap, before it ruins you financially and makes you a bitter, angry man!!

Ive just pushad a mate into buying a W reg 540i saloon with 68k miles, luckily for him, he knows I can service/fix them, luckily for me he has plenty of money to spend

[pac1982]

There are few things as loathsome as an E39 with 'minor issues'. If I was you I'd get shot asap, before it ruins you financially and makes you a bitter, angry man!!

Ive just pushad a mate into buying a W reg 540i saloon with 68k miles, luckily for him, he knows I can service/fix them, luckily for me he has plenty of money to spend

I can understand a 540 being costly to maintain but a 523 surely not? Engine is more or less the same as it's e36 equivalent which is not known to be costly to maintain and as far as everything else goes used spares are plentiful, the only thing I have read that can be costly on these is suspension work.

Please enlighten me as to why e39's in general are expensive to keep?

[DanThe]

The engine is the least of your worries, at least being an M52 it will last forever

[pac1982]

The engine is the least of your worries, at least being an M52 it will last forever

So what other things are there to worry about I can't see anything being hugely expensive

[bss325i]

They are old and have plenty of room for electrical error and shagged suspension.

[pac1982]

They are old and have plenty of room for electrical error and shagged suspension.

Well nothing new for me on the old front, all my cars are, electrical problems granted but no more so than anything else of a similar vintage surely?

I know the suspension is a big weak point due to weight but it drives smooth at the moment so fingers crossed it stays that way till I move it on

You know when old cars are either bad or very rare when you don't see many on the roads still see plenty of old e39's knocking around.

Time will tell I've got a lot of faith in the old girl tbh especially as it's manual

[DanThe]

electrical problems granted but no more so than anything else of a similar vintage surely?

You will change your view when you encounter a few of these problems

[pac1982]

If anything pops up I'll be sure to mention it so you can have your "I told you so" moment.

One thing did break the other day actually although not electrical related the inner D/S door handle snapped off in my hand but easy fix and both dealer and used part prices seem very fair.

[B7]

To be fair here, I've had 3 and there are good and bad as in all cars.

My first was fairly new when I had it and was relatively free of issues as you'd expect. Except the odd parking sensor

My second, a 530i Sport was older when I bought it. Over the 3 years, it did seem a bit problematic despite it's full dealer history and one owner status. I had the obligatory DSC module issues, suspension issues front and rear, wiper motor (that was operator error in the snow ), cracked stat and top hose, headlight adjusters, slip rings, pixel issues etc etc. Oh and parking sensors

My third, another 530i sport was a blinder. Over the 2.5 years it suffered no issues bar the usual suspension wear and? You've guessed it. FUCKING parking sensors!!!! I put nine in that bastard and they only have eight!!! It was fully loaded and was a pleasure to own. I'd still have it now if the need for a touring hadn't arisen.

Both the sports needed paint due to the starting of rust which was disappointing when you consider how resilient the e34 was in it's earlier years.

I personally think people need to get out of this "late stuff is unreliable" mode. E36's and e34's are now very old dated cars and come with old car issues. But as the e39 gets older, they do not seem to be getting an worse except for rust. We know the issues they have and we know how to fix them now. Parts supply is unsurpassed and for a cheap luxury barge that won What Cars Best Car award for 7 years on the spin, they take some beating. Only yesterday I drove to the workshop in yet another 528i, in ice cold AC leather clad comfort that cost £400 quid!

If you can't stand the heat, buy a Mondeo.