[E91WAG3N]

I made some progress on the E39 this weekend. Got the pan out and mostly cleaned up. It's definitely not a fun job on the ground and I swore about 15 years ago that I'd never do an oil pan on the ground after helping a friend do one on an E36 but here we are!

I'll continue to spend a few minutes each day cleaning the mating surfaces on the pan and block before re-installing.





Also on a rare occasion both my E91s were out in the wild together -

[E91WAG3N]

I finished up the E39 over the weekend. The oil pan is back on, subframe is re-secured and the front suspension and brakes are all back together. As I mentioned in a previous post it's not a hard job but just a bit back breaking and time consuming doing it without a lift. Overall it's still fun to get some work done on an old BMW!!

I was able to get a really good look around the engine bay with the hours spent on the oil pan and as expected there are a few other small leaks to be addressed. The power steering reservoir is dumping fluid, and the OFHG and VGK are sweating. I ordered the power steering parts last week so that's next on the list for the E39.



Test drive!

[E91WAG3N]

Updates will likely be slow until the fall due to the hot summers here. I tend to knock out smaller projects late at night when I have a chance.

The E91s are alive and well! Finally got the tire pressures dialed in on the 260s.





The E39 got a bath, new front door panels as I continue the swap to black, and I replaced the power steering reservoir and hoses (no photos). I have a local lead on some stock headers and exhaust so I've been holding off on replacing the OFHG since it'll take me a few days in the heat. I'm going to do a coolant flush and change the oil again while I'm at it.



Before -


After -

[donut_boi]

Wagons looking brotha, what tire pressures did you end up with the 260s?

[E91WAG3N]

Originally Posted by donut_boi

Wagons looking brotha, what tire pressures did you end up with the 260s?

I think it's set to 41/38 R/F currently. It's a bit more in the front and a bit less in the rear than the manual calls for with a stock 18 setup. I attempted the stock pressures around 48/40 or so and the car was understeering REALLY bad. Going to keep toying with it given the huge ambient temperature swings here and monitor tire wear.


Some E39 updates -

I found a silver on black 525i at the local junkyard! It was a facelift car as well so lots of usable stuff on it. I came across it after it had been sitting out for a couple weeks and the interior was still really nice. Looks like it was really taken care of before it got hit.






Of course I didn't take any before pictures but I stripped the rear interior including the rear seats and a bunch of trim pieces I needed to continue the interior swap on my car. The seats in my car were recolored before my friend had the car and the bench seat was incorrect as it did not have the child seat mounting access points.



Here's the driver's side seat back installed in my car with some of the trim. It's a bit hard to see in pictures but the seats that came with the car had been recovered with different fabric. Details like this drive me bonkers!! The headrests were not in the best shape and the dyed leather was too shiny compared to stock. My car also had wiring for an aftermarket sub, which I tore out while I was in there.

[donut_boi]

Originally Posted by E91WAG3N

I think it's set to 41/38 R/F currently. It's a bit more in the front and a bit less in the rear than the manual calls for with a stock 18 setup. I attempted the stock pressures around 48/40 or so and the car was understeering REALLY bad. Going to keep toying with it given the huge ambient temperature swings here and monitor tire wear.


Some E39 updates -

I found a silver on black 525i at the local junkyard! It was a facelift car as well so lots of usable stuff on it. I came across it after it had been sitting out for a couple weeks and the interior was still really nice. Looks like it was really taken care of before it got hit.






Of course I didn't take any before pictures but I stripped the rear interior including the rear seats and a bunch of trim pieces I needed to continue the interior swap on my car. The seats in my car were recolored before my friend had the car and the bench seat was incorrect as it did not have the child seat mounting access points.



Here's the driver's side seat back installed in my car with some of the trim. It's a bit hard to see in pictures but the seats that came with the car had been recovered with different fabric. Details like this drive me bonkers!! The headrests were not in the best shape and the dyed leather was too shiny compared to stock. My car also had wiring for an aftermarket sub, which I tore out while I was in there.

Love the updates but damnnnnn....how are you doing this in 100+ degree heat and sun on top of that

[E91WAG3N]

Originally Posted by donut_boi

Love the updates but damnnnnn....how are you doing this in 100+ degree heat and sun on top of that

Early mornings are tolerable, no way I get anything done between 10am and dusk though!

[E91WAG3N]

New shoes for the (filthy) E39 -

[E91WAG3N]

Not much to update on the E91 front other than maintenance, however I've been making some progress on the E39 and have been using it quite a bit as a home depot hauler for projects around the house. My brother-in-law picked up an E90 330i. I helped him do the rear brakes, some fluid changes, and a halo bulb replacement this spring.

It's a nice commuter car for him with good specs that he bought from an old coworker of mine.


I also bought a parts car about a month ago. It's a 530i automatic in really high spec with sport/premium/nav packages. Has a check engine light for a misfire that a flipper couldn't figure out after he picked it up from an auction.





So far I've harvested the black carpets, sports seats, nav (need to retrofit wiring). I'm going to pull the exhaust and cats, which is the reason I bought it as my touring has some crappy eBay headers that have developed a split weld. Being able to finish the half-assed interior swap my buddy started is a bonus!

Gray carpet in the touring on its way out -


And black carpet on its way in -


Spread eagle!


95% completed black swap, finally -

[E30saam]

Those square front 260s look awesome. I just ordered a set for my e90.