2003 E39 530i Touring

Finally got some time to get the car back on a ramp at work. 
Got a Devon trip next wkend (500 mile round trip) so wanted to sort the oil leak out first. 
Stripped the oil filter housing off and wasn't surprised to find it caked in oil. 






Not a bad job at all. Should of done it when I did my vanos seals but as it was approaching midnight I just wanted to get home. 
Anyway, hope the gasket I've fitted is OK. Seems like it's a modified design 



The one I removed was a 2 piece gasket that turned into many more pieces when I tried to bend it 


Hopefully that's solved the oil leak and I can clean the driveway and keep the Mrs happy. 
There was a small patch of oil around the rear main but I'm hoping that's just stuff that has worked its way backwards. 
I'm still waiting on my Audi alloys to sell so I can get my paintwork done 




I've got the bumper in primer but want to get bonnet done at the same time




Next was the towbar. Bumper off and I could remove the towbar and fit my 2nd hand rear bumper shocks 



These cars come apart so easy. They are a joy to work on compared to the modern stuff I do daily 
Clearly engineered by someone who realised they would need to come back apart at some point 

Haven't done any work to the car. Just been using it as a van really. I'm picking up a bonnet on Sunday so that will go off to the bodyshop. They have done the bumper and will do the bonnet and blow the wings in too.
I've got some tailgate struts I may try fit Sunday night.
I've also got some vacuum pipes to change and I'm going to run the O2 pilot mod on my ccv to see what it does for fuel economy.
Oil consumption has stopped since my oil filter housing gasket change, and it seems to still be dry underneath.

As I'm getting a new front bumper I wanted to get the chips and rust on bonnet sorted. 
When my paint guy looked at bonnet he said it would be better to start with a rust free bonnet as mine was crusty on the edge. 
I'm planning on owning this car for years so it makes sense. Found a bonnet 45 mins away so bought that. 
Accidentally ended up buying a set of style 37 reps in need of a refurb as well. 
They were 150 and I'm going to get them blasted and powder coated one colour as polishing will be mega moneys 













Went to open my tailgate glass in the hear earlier and it did nothing. Thats annoying. 
Planning on doing my tailgate struts some time this week so I'll check wiring then. 
I've read stories online of having to drill the trim to manually move the lever. 
Looks like I'd better find someone breaking a touring 

One of the struts was leaking and the spring broken on the other

Finally got time to fit my bumper. The duct tape on the old one was making me hate the car. 
The old bumper came off nice and easy 










The old arch liners were pretty much non existent but I had  bought some ebay specials. 
They look like quite a hard plastic so I imagine they will shatter easy if caught. Not a bad fit tho to be fair. Went on ok after some trimming. 
I went for an Mstyle M5 style bumper 






It didn't have the headlight washers as they sent the wrong bumper. Think I'm gonna delete them as I like the cleaner look without. I'm also going to remove the intensive washer bottle as mine is a bit worse for wear. If you fit e60 washer jets you can remove all the extra pipework too 










I will fit my number plate but not on the original plate platform. 
While in the air I found the source of my knocking. Nsf arb d Bush so they will get done next week. 
Going to throw a pair of Kyb shocks and febi top mounts on there too as the osf is leaking. 
Still haven't got lowering springs so that's something I need to sort first. 
Seeing the car looking good has made me very happy. 
I need to get some overtime in and get my 18s refurbished. 
That and stop spending money on rc cars 

Had a few minutes spare while I waited on a car to be collected after work so I decided to throw my Anti roll bar bushes on. 
Once again I used Febi parts as they price and quality suit my budget. The old ones were very oval and definitely long overdue. 















The difference new bushes make is unbelievable. The front end feels alot tighter. Can't wait to change my shocks and springs. That'll be after Xmas tho as the bmw pot is empty. 







I really want some more noise from the car. Any recommendations around Milton Keynes area for exhaust fabricators, preferably ones that charge reasonable amounts 

I have a vacuum leak somewhere so I'm going to go through and change bits. I've got some new vacuum pipes, in yellow. Going to pull the inlet off again and renew anything that looks perished. I've decided to swap the 530i intake for a 330i pipe so it deletes the resonator.
Sounds a bit louder at mid range.












Increasing fuel costs and fuel shortages really make me question getting a 3 litres straight 6 🤣🤣
I think I'm going to try buy a little daily so I can pull this apart next winter and sort some rust proofing and suspension refresh.