Another quick BMW 540 question, going to buy tomorrow??

[lendaddy]

I have been told that '97 was the beginning of the "more reliable" V8's and that the '94-'95-'96 V8's had the problems, is there any truth to this?

My brother is headed down to Chicago area tomorrow to look at/buy one if it checks out. Carfax is good and it's got 109K for $8,500 which seems like a pretty good deal.

Thanks,

[fastpat]

Originally posted by lendaddy
I have been told that '97 was the beginning of the "more reliable" V8's and that the '94-'95-'96 V8's had the problems, is there any truth to this?

My brother is headed down to Chicago area tomorrow to look at/buy one if it checks out. Carfax is good and it's got 109K for $8,500 which seems like a pretty good deal.

Thanks,

Actually, it was the early e34, '89 through about 93 or so that had most of the issues. None of the e39's, 97-03, have the nikasil engine blocks. They all have Alusil blocks which was what BMW used when they replaced engine blocks under warranty on the e34's. that program ended a year or two ago, so the cars that had no engine replacement are stuck with what they have, or the owner coughs up the toll.

The e39 is a fabulous car, for what it is, a moderately large sports sedan or wagon. A friend of mine and I drove my wife's 540i Touring Sport down to LA from Fremont, near San Francisco to pick up a set of wheels amd new tires I'd won on eBay. A road trip, yeah! He's a fellow e28 enthusiat, owning a beautiful dark blue example with a healthy 3.7 liter stroker engine in it. About King City I let him take over driving for a while, so he's pulling out of the rest area and decides to punch the skinny pedal to get back on Hwy. 101. The 5-speed auto tranny downshifted from 5th to 3rd, the intake cam shifted into high power position, and it made that howling noise only a V8 can make as it passes 4000 heading north. It quickly got to about 90 before he backed out, and all he could say was, Gawddddd.......Daaaaaammnnnn!!!

Your brother should love it, but parts won't come cheap.

[wludavid]

Originally posted by fastpat
The 5-speed auto tranny downshifted from 5th to 3rd, the intake cam shifted into high power position, and it made that howling noise only a V8 can make as it passes 4000 heading north. It quickly got to about 90 before he backed out, and all he could say was, Gawddddd.......Daaaaaammnnnn!!!

Your brother should love it, but parts won't come cheap.

You should try that with an M5. It's an indescribably experience.

I agree with fastpat. Your brother will really like it at first, but the shine will wear off once he starts paying to maintain it. As long he understands that going in he'll be fine.

[Rodeo]

Not to mention the gas bill. I had a 528 e39 that I loved, no thrill punching the throttle but good enough power for a DD. And the gas mileage is significantly better.

[lendaddy]

So is the engine the source of all the 540's maintenance ills? Is a 528 a different and reliable animal?

P.S. Does the V8 use a timing belt?If sois it one of those $2500 service bills every 70k miles?

[fastpat]

Originally posted by lendaddy
So is the engine the source of all the 540's maintenance ills? Is a 528 a different and reliable animal?

P.S. Does the V8 use a timing belt?If sois it one of those $2500 service bills every 70k miles?

No, no timing belt, It's chain driven double OHC'ed, four valve engine. there's a e39 group on yahoo that has many of the maintenance issues pretty well discussed, and fixes for the rare ones. We've 50k+ miles on ours now and will no doubt be seeing a few of these crop up. So far, though, just a few niggling things like aq bad gas cap access door lock, some other type sensor, and maybe one other thing. Some were fixed under warranty, the gas door came after the warranty ran out.

I'd tell your relative that if the car he's looking at isn't pretty much all in good repair to looks else where. That's the first year for the e39 and there were running changes along the way.

My big e39 project, the only one in fact, is to retro-fit the factory navigation system to the car, it came without one. I've assembled all the parts, just need about 4 days to do the job. Probably this coming summer after I build the garage/shop.

[lendaddy]

Thanks,

He's being sent out here with a blank check and some 528's and some 540's to look at in the Chicago area later today. Knowing him he's coming back with the 540
He's our machine builder/engineer so the quirks won't bother him. It will also give me some leverage when I need my next company vehicle considering I drive a salvage title Tundra with 180,000 miles. I'm thinking 993?? Just kidding....kinda.