BMW E39 528i SE Touring Restoration

Foxhole Norman

So I went ahead and finally bought myself a Touring. She's a UK spec SE so is well specced, 2.8 Auto, it has Dual Zone climate with ice cold Air-Con, functional rear PDC, Cruise Control, MFSW, Rear self levelling suspension and the standard E39 Electric/Heated Mirrors and Auto Dim rearview mirror, came with a set of genuine facelift headlights too.

It has a mechanical throttle problem so when it's back in my shed I'll be taking out the body and cable to inspect it.

Not much to look at but bar the passenger door it's pretty straight.

My main plan with this is a huge detail including a multi-stage polish and seal, overhaul the brakes, service and throw it through the test. So far my shopping consists of Discs and Pads all around, 8l 5W-30, Oil/Air/Pollen/Fuel Filters, Coolant and Brake Fluid refresh and new wheels/tyres.

Foxhole Norman

It begins

Foxhole Norman

Bought many things!

Duracell Automotive Battery
Bosch Plugs x 6
Bosch Front + Rear Wipers
Bosch Front Pads
MANN Air Filter
MANN Fuel Filter
MANN Oil Filter
Hengst Pollen Filters
Pagid Front Discs
Pagid Rear Discs
10l Petronas 5W-30

Just waiting on the Bosch rear pads now!

Foxhole Norman

Got cracking on the polishing!

Foxhole Norman

Cheers lads, really happy with how it's coming! Fixed my Throttle issue tonight, delighted with myself, was the main problem with this car and sorted already

The issue:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cO2MeX7WYO8

Took out the ICV and Throttle Body, the butterfly valve in the body was glued shut with gunk and with what looked something like limescale! Gave it all a good clean, it freed up the valve, reinstalled and she's working perfect now

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hyB3ezI92qU

The lower intake boot has seen the end of its days too so will order a new one

Foxhole Norman

Ran the VIN:

Standard Equipment
202 Steptronic
220 Self-leveling Suspension
520 Foglights
665 Radio Bmw Business
853 Language Version English

Options
267 Lt/aly Wheels Star Spoke 49
302 Alarm System
386 Roof Rail
413 Luggage Compartment Net
428 Warning Triangle
431 Interior Rr Vw Mirror W Aut Anti-d
441 Smokers Package
473 Armrest, Front
500 Headlight Washer Sys/intensive Cleaning
508 Park Distance Control (pdc)
534 Automatic Air Conditioning
540 Cruise Control
694 Preparation For Cd Changer
773 Wood Trim
812 England Version England/irland
850 Add Fuel Tank Filling For Export
863 Europe/dealer Directory
877 Deletion Cross-over Operation
880 English / On-board Documentation

Received the log book today too, only 3 previous Irish owners and the last pretty much just took the wheels off of it Imported from the UK in late 2003.

Hoping to get the engine flushed and oil changed, discs and pads, wipers and filters done this weekend

Foxhole Norman

Cleaned out the ICV a bit too when I did the intake. Replaced the front discs, pads and wear sensor today on the 528i, Pagid Discs, Apec Pads, TRW Sensor, had Bosch pads but they sent me V8 pads, not 6 Cylinder pads unfortunately so had to run down to grab a set of Apec. Replaced the wipers with new Bosch units too.

Old scrap:


Fresh metal:






Hopefully I'll get the rear brakes done and get the car serviced by the end of the week and NCT then!

Foxhole Norman

Replaced the lower intake boot and the rear discs and pads on the 528i and what a pain in the ass those brakes were! Self levelling suspension eats up any room to play!



Old Pads/Sensor:



Auld Discs:



New Bosch Pads, Pagid discs and TRW sensor:





Also found out it has Rain Sensing wipers :cool:

Foxhole Norman

Slowly getting there!





Filthy engine bay:



Cleaner engine bay:



New Pollen Filters:



Oil/Filter/Air Filter/Plugs change using Petronas 5W-30 and Bosch Plugs, badly needed as you can tell by the hot chocolate oil:









New on top


Coolant change next, fix the bust door and must replace the gas struts in the boot. New intake upper boot ordered too as that's knackered.

Foxhole Norman

Replaced the MAF in the 528 along with a new upper intake boot. Flushed the coolant, bled the coolant system and replaced the expansion tank cap in the 528 too so there's now plenty of pressure and heat.

Old:


New:

Foxhole Norman

Finally got a chance to get the wheels on!

Foxhole Norman

Repaired my Alternator that was faulty in my 525 and has since been in my Touring, new regulator later and no more battery light!



New yoke





All good



Ignore the slight mould :pac:

commited

Whatever happened to this?

Foxhole Norman

commited wrote: »

Whatever happened to this?

I sold it a few months back, at the time I left my unit and had no place to store it unfortunately, paid for some parts for the V8 though :cool:

I do plan on getting another Touring soon as I love them!

commited

What did you use to cut the paint? Stuff I have isn't up to it!

Foxhole Norman

commited wrote: »

What did you use to cut the paint? Stuff I have isn't up to it!

Menzerna 300 Heavy Cut and refined With Menzerna 2200 polish. German paint is generally quite hard so a good cutting pad, microfiber, very hard/coarse Foam or Wool would be ideal on either a Rotary or D/A. Quickest results would be 300 on a Microfiber/Wool on a Direct Drive Orbital such as a Flex VRG or a typical Rotary followed by 2200 on a finishing pad on a D/A or a Direct Drive Orbital to remove any holograms/haze from the compound. With the touring however I just used a D/A so took a bit longer.