multiples questions ;) ultimate decision

hi
I have a 97 528i 5 speed manual and I have a few issues with my car,
first when its cold outside (the more it's cold the louder the noise) and I start the engine, it makes a noise like a semi truck using jake brake, near the a/c compressor, no matter if the a/c is on or off (the idle does raise with the a/c on tho) a/c is empty so dont blow cold air could it be my compressor dying? it dosent sound at all like a busted bearing noise

also sometines i have a little bit of smoke (or a lot/not at all, intermittent) coming out of the exhaust, a little bit of yellow goo under the oil cap and cylinder #2 and 4 misfire pending code, no cel tho and sometimes (almost never happened) misfire when engine cold ant cold outside temperature/rain, I suspect ccv/ ccv hoses could it be something else? good compression , no oil in the coolant, no coolant loss, consume a little bit more oil tan before but noting crazy, headgasket seems fine, i will change the sparkplugs when ill fix this problem

also my climate control died (the control unit itself, my bad tho) and since i dont have have another climate control yet, my batterie stopped draining itself, if i put a new climate control will my batterie start emptying again?

i have a few others things to fix ( driver side control arm,need a new rack and pinion because of massive leak due to torn seal, all wheel beaings, brakes, rear suspention, mirrors fading out)
and my car need a safety check (no emmision just a safety) and is almost reaching 210k miles,

should i just get the 540i 6 e39/740i e38(a clean one) ive always wanted or my car is still worth fixing it? I absolutely love my car but Im facing a dilema
other than that my car is in great shape besides the driver seat leather, a few dings and a few woodtrims crack

Problem 1 ((noise at cold start) could be your SAP. Does the noise disappear after a minute or 90 sec? Does it ever happen on a hot start? If yes and no, then it is the SAP.

Problem 2 (smokey exhaust) is your CCV.

Problem 3 (battery drainage) was probably due to a bad FSU.

Your last questions is more financial than technical. Remember, it is usually affordable to buy an e39. Not so much to maintain an e39.

+1

Problem #2 is the most important to get fixed as engine damage can occur.

You car is closing in on 16 years old. You need to decide whether it's really worth putting your hard-earned cash into an old car that's best days are behind it.

Dump it. Too many miles to throw that much money into it.

And if you think fixing your car is expensive, you'd better run away screaming from the 740.

I would keep that car easily capable to get to 300k miles. How long have you had the car? If you get a 540i or 740i I fill up once a week and it costs me $75 bucks. Gas is something you need to factor into the cost of a car because without it you aint going anywhere.

Originally Posted by Fudman

Problem 1 ((noise at cold start) could be your SAP. Does the noise disappear after a minute or 90 sec? Does it ever happen on a hot start? If yes and no, then it is the SAP.

Problem 2 (smokey exhaust) is your CCV.

Problem 3 (battery drainage) was probably due to a bad FSU.

Your last questions is more financial than technical. Remember, it is usually affordable to buy an e39. Not so much to maintain an e39.

I know problem 2 and 3 are going to run you $120 together from autohaus. I don't see why its wouldn't be worth fixing.

You could just not fix the SAP. If its expensive.

i can afford to maintain it, and i just put a lot of new parts in it already, coolant system overhaul, all new exhaust, new valve cover gasket, new front suspention last year, new set of tires, new throttle actuartor cable for the asc, fixed the airbag sensor in the passenger seat with a new one, new clutch, but theres still a lot to do, and i need it to pass an inspection so i need to fix all the small and not so smalls issues right now, and since my car have a lot of mileage I dont know if it's still worth it to drop more money in it, i do a lot of roadtrips and I dont want something not reliable, seems like since i passe 200k miles everything start failing apart like i said theres still the rack and pinion, rear suspention,control arms, ect, i dont want to keep it up to 300k if it's to worriy if my car will make it every time I do a roadtrip, I dont really mind fuel economy either, and for what my car still worth, id rather put money on a better one, and keep the useful good parts of this one like rad, window regulators, wheels ect as spare parts for a 540 and send it to a scrap yard

and yes the noise disappears shortly after, and it only happened this spring, if it's hot outside or the engine is already warm it dosent do it so I guess it's the SAP

are the 740, beside the autotragic, that much less reliable than 540? they share the same engine and some suspention componements dont they?

I think 540i should be your choice I love it. You should part out your car you would probably get more $ or sell it to someone who doesnt know what they are getting into. I think because I was looking up Koni shocks that 528i shocks are the same as any 540i so that's a plus if you part it out.

I dont mind putting a lot of money in it, all i want to know is will that car still be reliable till i hit 300k miles if well maintain? I want to be able to travel from canada to florida without getting stuck in virginia because my engine or tranny gave up
beside a little bit of sludge (i belive expected for 210K) and the ccv (checked it today, almost all clogged up, no leaks but will replace the hoses too) & SAP the engine is mint, not even vanos noise, no leaks, recent cooling overhaul with 15psi cap (hope it will hepl last a little bit longer, who knows), recent clutch, tranny shift smooth no noise, no CEL or any other warning light on and honestly, it's still running strong and there is almost no rust, but theres a lot of work to do on steering and suspention componements

BTW @ dunne44 what do you mean by "you could just not fis the SAP" beside making noise at cold start, it dosent hust anything else? so I could really leave the SAP just like that and it wont affect anything?

I dont mind putting a lot of money giving that car "a second life", as all the others pricey issues (suspension/steering) are not things that would affect reliability

If you guys belive that it's still able to stay reliable (i know its not a honda, lets say reliable like it was in the past 200k miles) for a while, I would love to keep that car a couple more years, or at least till I find the right, well maintained facelifted sport 540i6 or facelifted 740i sport (i am picky, it will take a while)

are the m62 engine able to run past 200K like the m52?