2011: The Story: Ryan’s 2000 BMW E39 M5:

2011

By this point, I had learned that I could not afford to have any service/maintenance/upgrades carried out through BMW dealerships. I was on my own. And I found that there was very little quality DIY content available online. After spending years making technology DIYs on YouTube, I toyed with the idea of switching to cars. In 2011, I created E39Source DIYs for the shift knob, parking brake handle, center console trim, cup-holders, and I replaced a failed rear park distance control sensor. Mechanically, I replaced the front brake rotors and pads, fixed a squeaky window, and had my parking brake shoes replaced. I also replaced the front bumper, fog lights, grills, and had the hood and front bumper repainted. In December, I bought a Peake R5/FCX-3 code reader. This kept me busy and poor for a long while. I found that 11 codes had been reported to the computer. I let Dave Walter BMW in Akron, Ohio do some diagnostics, and then I spent a month with the car in and out of service getting work done. The thermostat, water pump, spark plugs, O2 sensors, and several different sensors replaced. This removed all but 1 code: code AA, secondary air. This is the one that you don’t want. I let BMW try some solution through the engine to remove the carbon build-up in the system, and it still didn’t totally fix the problem. According to my full service history on the car, the engine had been removed in 2008, and the carbon channels had been drilled out.

May, 2011

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