Jeff,

I'm replacing my relay tonight (if I don't get home too late). I'll let you know how many joints I strain getting to it. It's probably as bad as replacing the highbeam switch on a 911 or replacing the ignition and steering lock on a 911.

It's officially called the "Final Stage Relay" (FSU)...

I relly do like the way your car looks, Jeff. I have the M5 front bumper cover for mine but never installed it. I replaced the chrome kidneys with a black M5 one and I really like the look. The chrome in front just didn't go with the whole look of the car.

I replaced the FSU (the "Hedgehog") in our e39 last year.

Other than laying upside down in the passenger footwell, its not a bad job. It will certainly help if you have smaller hands. Access is fairly tight, and its tough to see/access/release the somewhat delicate tabs that hold the connector to the old FSU.

The other benefit is that the unit has been updated by BMW. The updated relay looks quite different from the original, and hopefully won't be susceptible to the same failure. Our auto climate control had gone nuts, with fan speeds randomly rising falling when the A/C was on. Has worked perfectly since the new updated FSU was installed. In my case, it also cured a mysterious battery drain as well.

There is a very helpful thread on the procedure here.




Tim

Man don't you just love the internet! Thanks for the link Tim. I remember seeing other threads when I hung out on the BMW forums. I love my truck, but I miss driving the E39 to work...and the mileage on the truck...maybe 16 MPG of diesel! The FSU gets done tonight....and I should be pretty good on electrical issues.

Except I need my airbag light reset! The dealer wants to charge me an hour at $110/hr to reset it. I replaced a broken window and disconnected the airbag on the door, when I went to move the window up and down during installation, I forgot to plug the airbag back in before I connected the battery! Now the damn light has been on for ever....


Anyone have a reset tool they'd like to loan/rent me?

Not a E39. but I love my E24 just as much. Fine car so far. It's a Euro model, 5 spd. and gets about 24MPG hwy. This is my second BMW and like them a lot. http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1311968567.jpg

I replaced the fsu unit with that same post. What remembered about it is that those were great pictures. I did most of the replacing by feel once I got the oreintation. Worked great afterward .

E39 love!
 

It took me longer to walk out to the shop than it took to replace the FSU. I can't recall if it's mentioned in the linked thread, but you have to remove the panel under the glove box, just pull it straight back toward the passenger seat. There aren't any screws to hold it in. You only have to remove one Phillips head screw for the whole job.

All the work I've had to do on the E39 has been amazingly simple because the BMW engineers did such a fine job in the design. Even replacing the driver's window after some jackass smashed and grabbed my V1 was so simple I can't imagine paying someone to do it for $250-$400 plus the cost of the glass ($250).

The alternator swap was easier than all the cars I've ever worked on!

Here's the old and new FSU with the under glove box panel.

http://tapatalk.com/mu/6367ee1e-8fc4-a792.jpg

And a flashlighted shot of the hole it goes into. See the cutout in the airduct? Everything just snaps into place. It's like the engineers knew the part would fail.

http://tapatalk.com/mu/6367ee1e-9011-5b91.jpg

I'm a lifelong BMW buyer since this car...hell my E39 ain't going anywhere. I get 24-27 mpg on my daily 72 mile commute and it's comfortable as hell. Why would I get rid of it?

E39 love my friends...E39 love :D

Nick named the "Beast". 6 speed, whole bunch of Dinan goodies plus coil over suspension, Brembo brakes and M5 lsd rear... an absolute hoot to drive. Pictures are from the guy I bought the car from...

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1312057929.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1312057983.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1312058044.jpg

I think you posted pics a while back when you bought this car. I pretty much decided at that point, that a 325xi would be our next ride. I had been casually shopping for a while when our 528 got hit. Just had to ramp up the search a little faster. I did not really want silver, but it was the car with all the options I wanted, in real nice shape, was close enough to grab, and was at the low end or my price range. Your car in white is sweet, I love it! I was shopping for black, white, or dark blue, basically in that pecking order.

yeah, I showed my wife this thread trying to get her interested in buying 1.... don't like the new 1's as well.... weird ... ya think you would but i don't...

Wait for a 1M....

Hmmm, you think that will be the deal huh, maybe so... dunno, I'm an old guy,53, maybe i'm just getting old.... naw, i'll look at it., hehe

The 1M is being likened to the original M3....

Mine will be available soon, thinning the heard.

'01 M sport package, manual tranny, blue metallic and tan. Autobahn cruiser.

PM if you want any details.

http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...4/DSCN6364.jpg

unfortunately, I have a feeling ours will have the same fate soon. wife may be leasing a car soon as a business expense and we can't justify keeping the E39 :(

I surprised from this rating that was from the motortrend best 11 drivers car on this board:

10. BMW 1 SERIES M COUPE
M3's Kid Brother Lacks That Certain Something


When I was 10 years old, I asked my folks for a RATT cassette. My mother said no, arguing that the hair rock masters are, "so stupid they can't even spell their name right." I'm not saying BMW is stupid, but I am saying the name 1 Series M Coupe ranks slightly above Z4 sDrive35is in terms of utter sexlessness. Remember when cars were called Roadmaster and Superfast Coupe? What does this have to do with Best Driver's Car? Not much, though if BMW can't even get the name right, where else did it pull punches?






Front-end bite, for one. The sharply orange Bimmer tested out with the highest degree of understeer of our group. It just plowed. But don't take my word for it. Noted Randy, "Between you and me, I hate it. It won't turn. It's almost like it was built by safety engineers. But only until you get on the power, and then, getting on the power, it's not really good at putting the power down, either. I'm just not impressed with this car. I like the M3 so much that I find the 1M to be very, very disappointing, though the M3 understeers too much, too." Harsh words indeed, but that's on the track. The real world tells a different story.


Even with the (relatively) poor steering, the 1M is fun to toss around, because when you do hammer down, the back end is all too eager to break free. I'm not very good at drifting, but even I was able to make the little BMW's rear end slide about. "Any complaints from the racetrack are nonexistent on the street, where it sounds great, runs out well, and feels nimble and playful in curves," said associate editor Rory Jurnecka. The BMW is the second-least-expensive car here, a (relatively) paltry $3000 more than the Ford Boss 302. Lago added, "It's a fun-size M3 that's just as fast and costs far less."










Click to view Gallery
Still, there was something half-baked, not fully formed about the smallest current M Division product. Compared with the other contenders, the 1M didn't feel serious. It felt more like a puppy, frisky, eager but not as accurate or graceful as it might be. Sadly for 1M fans, we know the car's not going to grow up. BMW basically built it with spare parts on a very limited basis.


While the handling was nobody's favorite, at least the 1M was predictable, unlike the Evora S. Turning in meant a lot of wheel work, but it did the same thing every time. Still, the brakes faded every time you really got on it. Especially on the track, where the stoppers felt good for less than a lap. This is surprising considering they're the same discs as on the M3, but we think we had to use them more frequently because of the car's unsorted behavior. Randy found that getting on the middle pedal in a hurry would exacerbate the 1M's constant understeering. Moreover, the brakes warped badly during our canyon run, the only car here to fail in any way.


Despite its fun-first nature and pretty decent numbers, the 1 Series M Coupe just isn't a great driver's car. Back to Randy: "You know, I hate to pick on what obviously overall is a pretty good car, but in today's world there are not very many cars I hate...I hate this car."


Read more: http://www.motortrend.com/features/performance/1109_2011_motor_trend_best_drivers_car/viewall.html#ixzz1XvGgnVRY

Still available for those interested. $7999 and drive it away.

Mine's a beater, 2000 528i, which I bought because I needed a cheap car to ferry the kids, and could not stand the thought of front wheel drive. Also because my mechanic knew the car and had lavished $15K of warranty money at it for 5 years...

It's the most comfortable car I've ever owned. It's also completely at home on the freeway, that 2.8 engine has no business going from 60 to 110 mph that quick, but it does...


On the flip side, it's a "$300 every few months" kinda car... There's always something that light up on the dash or spews coolant ;-) Still, it's been so good as a beater that I'd consider a newer nicer one now ! A touring would be even better !

Haven't been loving my E39 lately :(

Neglected a shimmy under braking due to a warped rotor (never buy Stoptech slotted rotors again!). Had the rotors turned after the initial shimmy and it was fine for maybe a few days, then shimmy under braking was back. I knew the rotors had to be replaced but have been too busy to do it. Don't know how many miles I drove like that, but I may have damaged four winter tires and probably accelerated the bearing wear. Bearings probably needed to be replaced soon anyhow as they are probably the original with 115,000 miles.

So tonight Pelican got a $550 order for new front bearings, bolts and rotors. Oh well...it's been a free car for a while now so $550 bucks ain't bad.

That shimmy under brakes can also been a known problem. The lower thrust arm. The bush becomes worn and it starts to wobble under braking. I know from experience.