(Pics coming soon)
It finally happened. The head gasket needs to be replaced and that's more than I want to do right now. Otherwise the car has been great. you can search my posts and see the things I've replaced over time. The relatively new xenon headlights alone are worth at least $500.
Some of the other benefits besides the headlights are; Newish Front Struts and control arms, new window regulators and door lock actuators, replaced the ABS module with a new one (not a rebuild), installed a media bridge for USB and Bluetooth capability. I'm sure there's more. I also have a diagnostic cable and software to run DIS and all the other associated diagnostic software.
Before the head gasket failed the car operated great. It's not cosmetically perfect but it's a great car. It still has that feel of the perfect balance between sport and luxury.
What happened? My daughter has been driving the car for a couple of years now. It overheated one day (close to the house). She wisely pulled over and called me. I drove over, swapped cars with her and was able to get the car home by waiting and adding coolant. The cause was the plastic heater pipes were cracked. In hindsight, was that the cause or was it a symptom of an already leaking head gasket failure leaking combustion gas into the coolant system? It was a big job to replace the heater pipes but it went well and the car was great again. A week or two later it overheated again. This time, waiting then filling it with coolant worked to get it home. So far, I haven't been the one driving it so I wasn't able to know where steam may have been leaking. I could see any obvious leaks. This time I spent more time bleeding air from the coolant. I took it on relatively long drives without any issues. All seemed good but it was still loosing coolant over several days (the pop-up float was low when cold). I planned to take it our for another long drive but on the day I planned to take it, my daughter took the keys with her. A few days later I get a call that the car's overheating again. This time when I get to the car, the bleeder screw cap was broken off. The hose was in good shape. I had the car towed home on a flatbed. I replaced the bleeder cap and filled the car with coolant. I attempted to start the car and it would crank fine but wouldn't start. At that point I knew it was over. The next day I it did start but ran very rough. I turned it off after 10 seconds. The engine was still cold but when I opened the expansion tank cap, cold coolant under pressure sprayed out. There were obviously combustion gasses getting into the coolant system. The head gasket needs to be replaced.
It's really a great car. Whether you fix it or use it for parts for your own E39. it would be a great asset to anyone who wants to take over ownership. Let me know. I'm in Thousand Oaks, CA 10 minutes off the 101 freeway.
I'm the original owner and still have the original sticker price that came on the car - I also have the 2001 BMW catalog from the dealer's showroom plus some other fun extras you can use. Currently the car has 187,700 miles on it. The transmission has always been great.
It finally happened. The head gasket needs to be replaced and that's more than I want to do right now. Otherwise the car has been great. you can search my posts and see the things I've replaced over time. The relatively new xenon headlights alone are worth at least $500.
Some of the other benefits besides the headlights are; Newish Front Struts and control arms, new window regulators and door lock actuators, replaced the ABS module with a new one (not a rebuild), installed a media bridge for USB and Bluetooth capability. I'm sure there's more. I also have a diagnostic cable and software to run DIS and all the other associated diagnostic software.
Before the head gasket failed the car operated great. It's not cosmetically perfect but it's a great car. It still has that feel of the perfect balance between sport and luxury.
What happened? My daughter has been driving the car for a couple of years now. It overheated one day (close to the house). She wisely pulled over and called me. I drove over, swapped cars with her and was able to get the car home by waiting and adding coolant. The cause was the plastic heater pipes were cracked. In hindsight, was that the cause or was it a symptom of an already leaking head gasket failure leaking combustion gas into the coolant system? It was a big job to replace the heater pipes but it went well and the car was great again. A week or two later it overheated again. This time, waiting then filling it with coolant worked to get it home. So far, I haven't been the one driving it so I wasn't able to know where steam may have been leaking. I could see any obvious leaks. This time I spent more time bleeding air from the coolant. I took it on relatively long drives without any issues. All seemed good but it was still loosing coolant over several days (the pop-up float was low when cold). I planned to take it our for another long drive but on the day I planned to take it, my daughter took the keys with her. A few days later I get a call that the car's overheating again. This time when I get to the car, the bleeder screw cap was broken off. The hose was in good shape. I had the car towed home on a flatbed. I replaced the bleeder cap and filled the car with coolant. I attempted to start the car and it would crank fine but wouldn't start. At that point I knew it was over. The next day I it did start but ran very rough. I turned it off after 10 seconds. The engine was still cold but when I opened the expansion tank cap, cold coolant under pressure sprayed out. There were obviously combustion gasses getting into the coolant system. The head gasket needs to be replaced.
It's really a great car. Whether you fix it or use it for parts for your own E39. it would be a great asset to anyone who wants to take over ownership. Let me know. I'm in Thousand Oaks, CA 10 minutes off the 101 freeway.
I'm the original owner and still have the original sticker price that came on the car - I also have the 2001 BMW catalog from the dealer's showroom plus some other fun extras you can use. Currently the car has 187,700 miles on it. The transmission has always been great.