2017
January, 2017
My original engine now in New York.
I got bored enough in January to reach out to the new owner of my old S62, and see what he had found out with it. He bought my used engine to install in a project car of his. He told me a year ago that he planned to rebuild it before installing it in another car. I received several photos of my old engine opened up, and taken apart. After 192,000 miles, the bottom end still looked clean, with no sludge or anything worrisome. The connecting rod bearings certainly showed some wear, but nothing that would have caused catastrophic failure. The new owner even said that the timing chain guides (original) still appeared to be quite strong. This engine had a lot of life left.
Connecting-rod bearings.
February, 2017
While cleaning out some parts from my basement, I came across my first short shift kit: the UUC EVO 3. I vastly prefer the E60 545i kit, so I ended up selling the UUC setup to an M5 owner in Los Angeles. I was able to get the car out again on a 70 degree day in February. 50 miles on that day!
UUC EVO 3 short shift kit.
March, 2017
The airbag recall. I was able to get a new BMW airbag per the Takata recall. The old airbag was in good shape, but this one is actually brand new!
April, 2017
Another milestone! This time, 195,000 miles. I got new rear Michelin Pilot Super Sports this month, and replaced the fuel door lock actuator and cable.
May, 2017
I had been troubleshooting a thud in the steering when turning from full-lock left to right. I ended up replacing the center tie rod, front left wheel carrier, steering gearbox, steering servotronic, rear lower control arm bushings, and rear ball joints. No more clunk, nice and tight again! I also did an oil change, marking one year since the rebuild. I sent a sample to BlackStone Laboratories for analysis, and the results were overwhelmingly positive!
Steering gearbox.
Center tie rod.
Summer, 2017
I was able to drive the car a bit over the summer in-between travels, and even get to a few shows! The final Timmayfest included.
Fall, 2017
This past fall was actually quite troublesome. I returned from a California trip to discover a fuel leak. I had the trifecta on the dashboard indicating an ABS problem. A boot on a front wishbone tore. The driveshaft U-joint developed play. A large list of parts were rebuilt/replaced:
Fuel pump
Fuel transfer pump
All fuel vent hoses
Fuel feed lines
Fuel system hardware
Driveshaft
Rebuilt ABS module
Front wheel speed sensor
Front wishbones
Front sway bar links
MAFs
Transmission heat shielding
ABS module out for rebuild (ModuleMasters).
Inside of the ABS module.
Fresh wishbones.
Transmission tunnel heat shields.
Fuel pump.
Fuel tank venturi hose.
Fuel hose.
Fuel pipe.
Driveshaft.
The parts that came out were disgusting, they looked like Titanic artifacts. Anything with any rust or dried out rubber has been replaced under there now!
On a positive note, once all of the mechanics were again addressed, I got to do two little fun things. I try to do a retrofit or something extra each year. This time, I retrofitted European-style rear fog lights, and the warning triangle!
A 100% full E39 M5 tool kit.
Rear fog lights.
Installing rear fog lights with Kennan.
Rear fog wiring.
Rear fogs done!
November, 2017
The last drive of 2017, and quite possibly the last drive on Ohio roads was November 6th. My M5 now sits cleanly in the garage with a battery charger on it waiting for nicer days ahead.
2017 Summary:
Michelin Pilot Super Sports (rear)
Center tie rod
Idler arm bushing
Steering servotronic
Front left wheel carrier
Rear ball joints
Rear swing arm bushings (PowerFlex Black)
Alignment
Wiper blades
Rear right door sill
Front door sill plates
Fender side marker lights
Front sway bar end links
ABS module rebuild
Front left strut mount
Fuel pump, venturi hose, pipes, hoses
Driveshaft
Trunk warning triangle