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Peter Fenwick 
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Joined: 27-August-2003 Location: Lost somewhere in time... Status: Offline Points: 6484 |
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 Topic: E39 540 questionsPosted: 24-June-2010 at 22:15 |
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Ok, so I went to see an E39 540 manual today. Car drove fine but I have a
couple of concerns about the cooling system.
When I got there the engine was warm as the seller is still using the car and had just got in from work. The level in the expansion tank was a little bit low, maybe a couple of inches. The fan was running the entire time the engine was. The car had a replacement coolant pump and thermostat fitted a couple of years earlier but all the hoses and the radiator looked original.When the engine was revved hard there was a small puff of white smoke and a small ammount of water from the exhaust despite the engine being warm. Then we went for a drive and the car seemed fine. The temp needle didn't budge from the 12 oclock position. When we returned I opened the bonnet and after a while released the pressure from the cooling system to see what the level had done. The float was now very high so I put the cap back on, however after a couple of minutes I noticed that the top hose from the radiator was collapsing. When I squeezed it it was very hot, the rubber felt soft and it could easily be squashed. I opened the cap again and the hose returned to it's normal shape but collapsed again shortly after the cap was replaced. Also despite only going for a 15 minute run the temerature under the bonnet was very high. This didn't feel normal but is it anything more than the coolant being a little bit low? Also when the car was first started I noticed that when idleing occaisionally the revs would drop, there would be a short sucking sound and the revs would pick up again. When we got back from the test drive I noticed that the plasic fitting on the accellerator cable where the outer sheath ended wasn't mounted properly in the bracket. It was pulled out 1/2 an inch or so and balanced on the edge of the bracket, When I put it back in it didn't seem to change how the car idled but I didn't drive it again to see if it made any difference. Are either of these things significant? Two things I noticed were that the perfoamance difference between this car and the 530 I owned wasn't as significant as I was expecting although it was a rapid car. Also the steering was not as good and was noticably less sharp than that in my Focus. What was impressive was just how tight the car felt despite being 13 years old with 118k on the clock. The car has had a BMW service history from the same dealer up till 2 years ago when the seller bought it. After that it has had a couple of oil changes at a local garage and a stack or receipts for parts totalling over 1k from the local BMW dealer. It is a nice car I just don't want to buy it if It truns out to have cooling/engine trouble. Thanks. |
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kbannon
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E39 525i Sport Individual Joined: 09-October-2002 Location: 64 Zoo Lane Status: Offline Points: 15508 |
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Posted: 24-June-2010 at 23:01 |
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It sounds from your description a bit weak in terms of the cooling system. However, don't take my word for it (as I haven't seen it) - get it checked out by a pro! |
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Current: 2009 E60 520d "Sport" tractor
Previous: 1989 E30 320i SE 1997 E39 523i 2003 E39 525i Sport Individual |
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Peter Fenwick
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Posted: 24-June-2010 at 23:42 |
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Not sure how hot the car was. The temp gauge was at 12 o clock but it may not have been up to full running temperature.
I reckon the car would at the least need a new set of coolant hoses. My concern is that it there is a bigger issue hiding under the bonnet. I do have a budget for unforseen issues but I don't want to buy a car with lots of problems that I can see as there will be others I can't, there always is with older used cars... |
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garrybhoy
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Joined: 11-March-2005 Location: Ayr, Scotland Status: Offline Points: 99 |
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Posted: 25-June-2010 at 02:07 |
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540's are famous for thier cooling probs, but most are simple cures, hoses, expansion bottles and radiators are all common failures on the 540. If these havnt been replaced on the car then budget for replacing them and bid low accordingly, once these issues have been delt with they are as good as gold. The steering on the 540 is a steering box not rack and pinion like most 5's, they had to change the steering to clear the V8's sump. Heat under the bonnet .....its a huge alluminium V8....thats how hot it gets.....lol BTW I had one of thses for 5 years, probably the best all rounder I've ever had.
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jetsetwilly2000
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Posted: 25-June-2010 at 10:52 |
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+1 on the steering - they all do that sir.
I think the idle on these is not related to the throttle cable. If it was idling badly, and if it wasn't as powerful as you'd hope, maybe the MAF is gone? Having said that these cars are a bit of a sleeper. I drove an M5 the other day and until I looked at the clocks I thought my 540 was comparable  The cooling sounds a bit funny. The hose must be getting sucked in which maybe means a blockage somewhere upstream of it (if the pump is downstream). Might be nothing, but I'd want it checked before I bought the car. They do get hot under there but you prob know that from the 3.0. |
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Peter Fenwick
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Posted: 25-June-2010 at 12:55 |
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The hose was getting sucked in when the negine wasn't running. I think there was air in the system that was contracting as the car cooled down. The car may well be ok and just need a new set of cooling hoses but I'm nervous that it could have bigger issues. |
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Andrew Rolland
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Posted: 25-June-2010 at 13:13 |
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Given that the car has a good back up of dealer/service history and you have a back up fund for fixng a couple of things, I would say go for it. I'm with Garry, budget for some repairs and put fewer wads of hard earned on the table. Replace the hoses and thermostat. Give the rad a good flush too. Might just need a new expansion cap at a cost of a few quid. You know yourself how rare a manual V8 is. I've heard that V8's can be slightly unsteady at idle. Interesting to see that you could feel the difference in steering from a rack in your 530i to the drop links of the 540i. Others have said that they could feel no difference. Water from the exhaust means that the gasses are cooling and turning back into water. On idle the gasses may not be hot enough to prevent them cooling. After a run the exhaust gasses should not condense. Did this happen after your drive also? As long as there is no blue or black smoke! Was the fan running, an electric fan over and above the viscous fan? If the aircon was on the electric fan would be running. The viscous fan only picks up once the engine is hot enough (obviously) and when the revs are higher than the idle revs. What was she idling at? Mine idles at only 500 rpm. A 1997 540i must be one of the first in the country, the V8s were not introduced at the start of the E39 range IIRC. It would be a beast indeed! What was the colour/exterior/interior link? |
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Peter Fenwick
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Posted: 25-June-2010 at 15:12 |
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No funny coloured smoke but I didn't check after the run. To be honest though the water I saw was only present after the car had been idling and the engine was revved. At this point there was a small and I mean small puff of white smoke and a few drips when were fired out onto the road. The viscous fan was running but the A/C electric fan wasn't. Idle was a shade over 500 rpm. Colour is Silver, interior is black leather with wood trim and sports seats. In good over all condition with just a couple of small signs of the dreaded rust but nothing to get excited about. leather was in good condition but could have done with a bit of TLC and the interior needed a good clean. A lot of car for �2.5k but it only had 3 months test left, 1 months tax and would need a couple of tyres almost straight away. I don't think the seller was in the mood to haggle either. I need to make a decision or I'll miss out. |
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Andrew Rolland
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Posted: 25-June-2010 at 15:17 |
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Viscous fan should run all the time. No issues there then. The white smoke I think should be o.k. going on what you've said. If he isn't prepared to haggle over the fact that it needs tyres close to the MOT then it will be hard to walk away from such a car. Is the price right at �2.5k? I have no feel for what price it should be I'm afraid. Are there others in the country that an online search could be done to compare prices. |
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Current '13 62 F10 535i MSport Auto Previous '04 04 E60 545i SE Auto '03 53 E60 545i SE Auto (Stolen) '98 S E39 523i SE Auto |
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Peter Fenwick
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Posted: 25-June-2010 at 15:39 |
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There are very few V8 manuals for sale at the moment. 2.5k certainly isn't the top end of what people are asking. Som people want more for cars that have done 50k more miles. The real problem is my 6th sense was tingling a bit on this car. The guy is down on autotrader as a trader but says he isn't anymore. He has owned the car for 2 years but tried to sell it about 8 months ago until he "changed his mind" as he put it. He then spent about 1k on parts/work and is now trying to sell it again. There were two rags under the bonnet that he kept there?! for checking the dipstick etc. He'd also has the front control arm bushes and the front discs replaced recently and then a 4 wheel alignment done. However on the front there was one brand new tyre and one very tired one. The spare was unevenly worn and illegal. I'm guessing that both front tyres were fooked due to the control arm bushes being shot. So once they were sorted he swapped the barely legal spare over for one and had to buy a new tyre for the other. Not the action of a caring owner. Also when we talked not everything he said seemed to be consistent. Nothing concrete, just a feeling I had that it didn't quite all hang together. Still I could just be being fussy...
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Dergside
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Posted: 25-June-2010 at 16:35 |
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If alarm bells are ringing, that's a sound you should think of listening to. If you don't buy it and are wrong, you'll never know better because you didn't buy it. If you are right and you buy it, you'll spend a lot of time fretting and every time something wears out or goes wrong (as it will inevitably on a used car) then you'll think that you should have listened. Manual 540i's may be rare, but not unique. Like waiting for a bus, there'll be another one along in a while, if the V8 is what you really want. |
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kbannon
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Posted: 25-June-2010 at 16:51 |
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Are you missing the word "not" from that line?
Anyhow, based on everything you have posted Peter, I'd walk away! Better safe than sorry! |
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Rhys
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Posted: 25-June-2010 at 16:53 |
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Hmm, I'd be tempted to walk away.
Nearly bought a 740i some years ago but decided to look around. A week later the price had dropped by a grand and it went pretty quickly then (called to put a deposit on it but it had gone). No log book though - said they were waiting for one from the DVLA, quick call later and this was a load of obllox. was a nice car though - Boston Green metallic, black leather interior and huge Alpinas al round. |
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Peter Fenwick
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Posted: 25-June-2010 at 17:06 |
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Thanks for the advice, I think i'll leave this one.
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Andrew Rolland
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Posted: 25-June-2010 at 17:46 |
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No I wasn't, hmm it made sense in my head at the time. Hence why I'm an Engineer and not a journalist. I would now agree with the other posters. The more you tell us Peter, the more iffy sounding it is. If you have the slightest 6th sense/worry then walk away. What's for you, won't go by you. I'm wary of the term "trader" in the autotrader if you are pitching up at his house etc. You are right it doesn't sound like it has been cared for if tyres are iffy etc. Rags under the bonnet, very iffy, has it got an oil leak or is it for covering the expansion tank cap to top up more water?????? |
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Current '13 62 F10 535i MSport Auto Previous '04 04 E60 545i SE Auto '03 53 E60 545i SE Auto (Stolen) '98 S E39 523i SE Auto |
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Peter Fenwick
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Posted: 26-June-2010 at 10:39 |
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My thoughts exactly. That and the fact that there was a dirty bottle of water in the boot... |
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E39 540 questions
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Peter Fenwick wrote:
I meant that if it was the only issue on buying a beast then it would be heart wrenching to walk away from it.