Too Slow on the Snow Shoes for Blizzard ‘09

The blizzard of 2009 took me a little by surprise, as it did many DC area residents. Yes, the media was reporting on the possible snow totals for a couple of days but the media here always hypes snow. Between work and Christmas shopping, I had put off putting the snow tires on the 53o.  After all, I installed them early last year and it barely snowed at all. Bummer for me — I couldn’t move the 530 at all with summer tires, I would have been stuck within my neighborhood.

This was AFTER I cleared off the car on Saturday

I’ve got two choices. I can wait until the roads get cleared by the rain in the forecast and drive the car to Hollin Hall Automotive to put the tires on. Or I can bite the bullet and put them on myself — maybe that’s just punishment from the car gods.

Good thing we own an Infiniti FX35 that has gotten us through. Even with somewhat worn all seasons, the AWD carried the day. Next year she’s getting a new set of Yokohama Avid V4S performance all seasons.

Hope you’re safely navigating the roads and the shopping, and wishing you a very Merry New Year!

Finally the 530 Gets a Facelift

Happy Labor Day to all. It’s an especially fun one for me since I’ve finally completed a project on the 2001 530. But it took an incredible amount of time, I started this project at the beginning of the summer. Here then is the story.

I have wanted to freshen up the 530 bumpers for a while. As described in previous posts, the previous owner had been easy on the car driving-wise but was neglectful in cosmetic matters. There were some dings and scratches on the bumpers, primarily on the rear. And BMW made a M Technic version bumper for my model car, which came stock on the 2003 540i. This bumper just plain looks better. It is sometimes called the “M5 bumper,” but that’s incorrect, the M5 and the M Technic bumpers are different.

M Technic Aero Kit

As usual with the aftermarket, there was a plethora of choices to weed through. There are many good quality replica kits at there, as well as original equipment (OE) parts. Luckily I was able as usual to tap the wisdom of the crowd via the bimmerfest.com and bimmerforum.com online communities. These owners usually have no shortage of valuable info and strong opinions on which way to go with most any project. Complicating my choice somewhat was my car has park distance control (PDC), which is not an option I would have chosen but one I’ve come to appreciate. There are four sensors in both the front and rear bumpers, and many of the replica kits didn’t accommodate this feature.

I decided to go with the OE BMW kit, for the PDC and the reason I wanted everything to be perfect. Even a small fit problem with a replica kit would bug me, and I figured the build quality would be better. I knew Bavarian Auto sold the OE kit, and they advertised that they matched competitor pricing. I called, and pointed out that Bekkers had a lower price for the same OE kit. BavAuto matched it, and I started getting psyched to get this done. But the adventure was just beginning.

I ordered the kit on June 25th. Part of my ordered shipped right away — some bumper strips and the new projector fog lights. Unfortunately, the main kit was out of stock, and they were sending to GERMANY for it. I wasn’t happy they didn’t tell me this over the phone when I ordered, but figured I’d stay the course. So on July 22nd, the kit is shipped to my body shop (Professional Auto Body in Alexandria, VA) and I drop the car off.

But no! The shop calls to tell me the non-PDC bumper has been sent, with no rear bumper!? I’m pretty frustrated at this point, have to ship the bumper back, and convince customer service the rear was never sent at all. To BavAuto’s credit, they admitted the error and processed a full refund for me, minus the fogs that I kept. But still no bumpers. So I go back to Bekkers.

Call up, order the bumpers but by now wondering what will happen next. Sure enough, Bekkers calls me back a couple of hours later to say they have the front bumper for a car with PDC AND Headlight washers, which my car doesn’t have. Told me I could have the shop fill the holes in where the washers would go, no problem. No way Jose — I’m paying the $$ for OE, everything should be perfect. To Bekkers credit, they did call me with the explanation and after I said no they never processed the order. But I was still dead in the water re bumpers.

Usually dealers are the last place to go for a good price, but at this point I figured I had no other course. I remembered a few years back Pacific BMW in Glendale, CA had aggressively marketed themselves for BMW parts, then pulled back for some reason. I called, and after a few transfers got to the right person, Mark Flores. He found me a Mtech kit with PDC, surprisingly at a lower price than what I paid before.

I wasn’t quite home free — the kit was missing one important piece for the rear, and the bumper strips had to have two additional holes cut into them by the shop. But Mark is going to credit me the cost of the piece I had to buy locally, as soon as I scan my receipt and send to him. Definitely looks like Pacific has decided again to market themselves as a source for OE parts. And they are doing it via Facebook — check out Pacific’s page here.

Next, a new muffler. After getting the new Mtech bumper with the left side cut-out for an  exhaust tip, I needed to replace my old muffler. The old one was big, rusty and curved straight down, behind the bumper.  Magnaflow had some nice looking ones at very fair prices, and after some online forum research decided on the 14829, big fat single tip design that fit perfectly. Had to go to a Meineke shop on Rt. 1 south of the Walmart to get it done, since the job required some custom welding. Nice job and pretty quick, too.

Finally, I had to do something about the front place. Unfortunately VA is one of the misguided states that require a front plate — what a threat to freedom! I didn’t spend all that money on my front bumper to then drill some big holes in it for a bulky license bracket. The solution came from Skenedesign, thin brackets that require only two 1/8 inch holes underneath the bumper. The plate doesn’t even touch the front bumper surface.

So there’s the saga.  It’s done — but I didn’t think it would take all summer! Check it some pics below. If you’re a BMW owner thinking of going down this road, please contact me directly. I left out some arcane details in the interest of clarity.

Now, what should I do for the M3…

Before

After!

Before

After

Front Bracket -- Shot from top to show clearance

Magnaflow muffler -- a lot smaller and lighter than stock

DIY the Answer to ABS Problem

As I wrote in an August 2 post, my 2001 530 was having trouble with its AntiLock Braking System (ABS) and traction control. The codes were lighting up on the console, signaling the system was out. I had cleaned and replaced the front sensors, and that seemed to work at first. Read the original post here.

Unfortunately the problem returned. Apparently it’s a common one in the E39 series, and the dealer quoted me a cost of $1,230 for a replacement! Yes, you read that dollar figure correctly. Clearly another option needed to be found.

Thanks (as usual) to my online cohorts on bimmerforums and bimmerfest, I was able to find the best solution of all and keep this a Do It Yourself experience. By reading posts from fellow owners, I learned about an aftermarket that has developed around the repair of these units. That in itself is clear evidence these things almost always fail.

There are two main providers –  Module Masters and BBA Remanufacturing.  It’s very easy to remove the unit from the car, only need to remove six screws. Then you need to package securely and ship it away to be repaired. There is nothing unsafe about driving the car without the module, but it is strange to have no speedometer or odometer.

BBA repaired the module and had it back to me in eight days, for $255 including shipping and with a lifetime warranty. Saving almost a grand and doing it yourself — it doesn’t get much better than that! I highly recommend anyone having similar problems contact BBA. The web site is a bit confusing but will walk you through the process: http://www.bba-reman.com/

Some pictures below. It feels really good to have this issue resolved at last — just in time for weather that might require some ABS.

Module Removed

Cover with foil for a few days

Fixed and ready to go back in

Reinstalled

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The Zen of DIY BMW Maintenance

This weekend my 2001 530 got a lot of attention. It was a very productive day — a vibration issue related to new rims purchased in late April was finally resolved, and I replaced both front ABS/speed sensors.

Before I dive into the details, a word about owning a BMW out of warranty. Unless you have enough money not to care about cost, you need to educate yourself about your vehicle. And be open to learning what you can tackle on your own (DIY — Do It Yourself), and what you can’t. Running to the dealership every time something goes wrong will land you in the poorhouse, and chances are you won’t be treated very well. Dealerships don’t want to deal with older cars, they want to focus on the people who will buy the new models.

Knowing what preventative maintenance is required to avoid problems in the first place is critical. That way when it’s something bigger that requires professional service, at least you know the particulars and can be an educated consumer. Unless you’re driving the car simply for the brand — in which case you’d probably be in a new car — embracing this fact can be fun. The car becomes a hobby, not simply a means of transportation. I’ve found a great deal of advice and support from Internet forums populated with folks who own the same cars, and run into the same issues. It’s a perfect example of the “wisdom of the crowd” dynamic, enabled by Internet access. You can find the links in my blog roll.

So first up was a vibration at highway speeds. In a prior post I described buying new rims and tires for the car. I was very psyched to give the car this refresh. The previous owner hadn’t bothered to clean or maintain the rims properly, and I needed to get my snows off the car for better handling: http://cparente.wordpress.com/2008/04/22/new-shoes-for-the-530/

Initially I was very pleased with the purchase. But I soon noticed that at highway speeds there was a significant vibration that hadn’t been there previously. I knew the tires had been mounted and balanced properly. I had the work done at a garage right in my neighborhood I’ve used before and that comes recommended by Tire Rack. Hollin Hall Automotive provided great customer service and continued to work with me at no additional cost while I worked through this problem. A big public thank you to them, and I highly recommend the shop to anyone in or near the Alexandria area: http://www.hollinhallauto.com/

I won’t go into all the arcane details. Monet was the company that made the rims, and I purchased through one of their resellers, The Wheel Connection. Monet was responsive via email, but it took some time for the problem to be identified. After eliminating other possibilities, it came down to the fact that the spacers sent with the rims were not fitting tightly enough, causing the vibration. Monet initially said it was the Wheel Connection’s responsibility, and they said it was Monet’s. I stayed patient, and persistent. Eventually Monet stepped up and sent me new spacers at no charge, as long as I returned the original set.

When they arrived I had my doubts, since they looked almost identical to the originals. But these snapped into the back of the rims beautifully, and have corrected the problem. Finally my car feels right at highway speed — solid and stable but with the driving feedback via the steering sport tuned BMWs are known for.

Thank You UPS!

Inserted into back of rim

One issue down, and one new one to go. A couple of weeks ago an error code popped up on my display. My ABS system was out, along with something BMW calls Dynamic Stability Control (DSC). The two systems work together via sensors that monitor wheels speeds at all corners, applying breaking and reducing torque in a split section if wheel spin or loss of traction is detected. The car can be driven safely without these systems, in fact DSC can be turned off via a button on the dash. But clearly something was wrong, and I got busy with some forum research.

Thankfully there was a good chance it wasn’t a major malfunction. Turns out those sensors at each wheel eventually fail — they get jostled constantly and debris tends to build up inside the sensor housing. If any sensor stops communicating with the car’s on board computer, the lights kicks on. There is no way to know for sure which sensor without a special BMW diagnostic tool. But by reading the stories of others who have had this problem, and noticing that other things like speedometer and cruise were not affected, the likely culprit was the front right sensor. It’s the one that kept coming up in discussion threads. Dealership quoted me $138 for the part — I found it online for $60 plus shipping.

So as soon as I got home from having the spacers swapped out I jacked up the car, fixed a floor stand and took the front right wheel off. Technically you could try and do the job with it on, but I read that would be much harder. There were a couple of spots where I was unsure how hard to pull the wire out of its clip points, and my wife Gabriele chipped in at one point when smaller hands were needed.

But it was relatively straight-forward, and in fact it took longer to jack up the car and wrestle with the tire than to do the sensor swap. Big thanks to the guys in the bimmerfest thread on this subject and to Michel, aka mmm635, the man with all the BMW answers.

But my satisfaction was very short-lived. Unfortunately, the lights stayed on. So I went to Gary Martin at Martin Motor Sports and he read the error code for me. Turns out it was the LEFT front sensor. Guess I should have gone to Gary first – he read the code at no charge, which I really appreciated. Thanks again Gary! At least having just done the right sensor the job went a little faster. Some shots:

Where sensor bolted into wheel hub

Other end -- note line of debris cleaned out of box

Sensor replaced

Compared with many of the guys on the boards, I don’t know how to do much at all. Gary will continue to do most of the work on my cars. I have no illusions of ever being a mechanic or tackling complicated car projects.

But it’s a very satisfying feeling doing even small maintenance or repairs on a modern car, above and beyond the money saved. Part of the enjoyment comes from making sure my cars are in good condition. And it also connects me to a time when people were a little more self-reliant about these things, and our possessions weren’t quite as disposable as they seem to be today.

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New Shoes for the 530

I bought a 2001 530 back in September. BMW made the E39 5 Series from 1997 through 2003. It is a fantastic mix of comfort and performance, and in the opinion of many the last “classic” body style before the 5 Series design went in a very different, modernistic direction. Here’s how Edmunds described the car in 2001 when it named the 530 the “Best Midsize Sedan Over $30,000:” “Can the company that creates ultimate driving machines offer supreme luxury and a compliant ride while creating a vehicle that goes, stops and turns with the best sporting sedans on the market? The answer is yes.” http://www.edmunds.com/reviews/mostwanted/2001/60914/article.html

I took my time, since demand is strong for well kept E39s and I wanted a manual transmission, which is much scarcer than automatic. Also wanted the sports package, which came with enhanced suspension, tires and a few other goodies.

My car had low miles but the previous owner was not a car guy, some things had been neglected. Dings, no fluids had been changed except oil, rims all curbed up and never cleaned, that sort of thing. I’ve been bringing the car back up to code as time and budget allows.

Latest project was new rims and tires. The car has the original rubber on it when I bought, so first thing I did was have the rims reconditioned to make presentable. It worked well, but they were never coming all the way back. So I put snow tires on them to get through winter. (Of course, after I did so DC had a very mild one with almost no snow).

For the past two months I’ve been looking forward to putting new rims and performance tires back on the car. The options out there are almost endless, and it took me a while to decide on which way to go. It’s like a lot of things these days — it’s easy to go way overboard. This car is for street use only so I was looking for a good price to quality balance. No need for $250 tires and forged rims that can easily run $800-900 per.

I eventually decided to go with 18 inch Monet New Age rims with Sumitomo HTR Z III tires, 245×40 all around. These tires got a great review from Tirerack and are priced well below comparable summer tires:http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/testDisplay.jsp?ttid=93

It took me a while to find a rim I liked for the car. I wanted something a little different but not too out there, from a company that had been around a while. Monet has a wide variety, including a replica that looked almost identical to my stock wheels, which I like a lot. I decided to go with what they call the New Age rim:

It’s already been a new age of handling with the snows off the car. Now I’m set on this front until around Thanksgiving. But the project continues…

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