2002 BMW E39 530i touring mini, mini restoration

[swampy442]

A lot has changed for me in the last few months, left the UK, set up shop in Australia thanks to an incredible work opportunity. Always had a project car on the go of some sort so once Id got some roots, I went car shopping.

Enter the venerable E39 touring, 530i flavour. Paid more than Id like for it, but a lot less than it was up for, seems touring versions on the whole, are pretty scarce in Victoria at least

Alleged 2 owner car from new, 300 odd thousand KMs, full history with some money spent in the right areas, already spotted new PCV lines on the engine, new expansion tank, radiator.

The Victorian system of vehicle ownerships states you only need a roadworthy check (MOT) once when you buy a car, if you own the car forever you don't have to get it inspected ever again as I understand it, so this car is has been carrying an ABS fault hence the project status, a common problem, plus the dash pixels have gone bad, another common problem. All the underside plastics are smashed to pieces as is the boot trim plastics, there's a tail gate water leak, all easy to fix stuff.

But it has good bones, it drives beautifully, the engine is sweet, everything works bar the passengers side mirror dipping when you engage reverse. I did when I bought it.

I also have a very strange starting issue if any BMW big brains could help?

Anyway, pics, note how clean it is for a 22 year old BMW.

[swampy442]

Anyway, about that 'full service history'

Edited by swampy442 on Monday 6th January 04:54

[Hotfuzz]

Welcome to Australia Swampy. Hope your time here is going well.

Congrats on the E39. Every now and then I browse the classifieds for E39 Tourings and imagine doing a full LS swap. Unfortunately life keeps me too busy for that so it’ll continue to be a daydream. Looking forward to seeing your mini restoration.

[FNG]

That's in far far better nick than my 2001 BMW!

Given you've said it's a rare body style over there, how easy is it going to be to get replacement trim in decent condition? Hope not too bad.

These are pretty solid cars aside from the cooling system - are you going for preventative maintenance or fix as it fails? £400 on rad, coolant pump, belts and tensioners is money well spent albeit I resolved to do all these on purchase then managed not to...

You can find all sorts to replace while you're there - intake ducts, disa valve, heater valve, oil filter housing gasket, vanos seals and gasket... but then it might not be a mini, mini restoration any more

[danb79]

swampy442 said:

A lot has changed for me in the last few months, left the UK, set up shop in Australia thanks to an incredible work opportunity. Always had a project car on the go of some sort so once Id got some roots, I went car shopping.

Enter the venerable E39 touring, 530i flavour. Paid more than Id like for it, but a lot less than it was up for, seems touring versions on the whole, are pretty scarce in Victoria at least

Alleged 2 owner car from new, 300 odd thousand KMs, full history with some money spent in the right areas, already spotted new PCV lines on the engine, new expansion tank, radiator.

The Victorian system of vehicle ownerships states you only need a roadworthy check (MOT) once when you buy a car, if you own the car forever you don't have to get it inspected ever again as I understand it, so this car is has been carrying an ABS fault hence the project status, a common problem, plus the dash pixels have gone bad, another common problem. All the underside plastics are smashed to pieces as is the boot trim plastics, there's a tail gate water leak, all easy to fix stuff.

But it has good bones, it drives beautifully, the engine is sweet, everything works bar the passengers side mirror dipping when you engage reverse. I did when I bought it.

I also have a very strange starting issue if any BMW big brains could help?

Anyway, pics, note how clean it is for a 22 year old BMW.

Good to see you alive and kicking pal; and in a 530i touring

Will follow this

[swampy442]

danb79 said:

Good to see you alive and kicking pal; and in a 530i touring

Will follow this

Cheers mate, very much so, and there was really only 1 choice for a decent daily project lol

[swampy442]

Hotfuzz said:

Welcome to Australia Swampy. Hope your time here is going well.

Congrats on the E39. Every now and then I browse the classifieds for E39 Tourings and imagine doing a full LS swap. Unfortunately life keeps me too busy for that so it’ll continue to be a daydream. Looking forward to seeing your mini restoration.

Thanks very much! I can't be arsed with all that shenanigans now, plus its too nice a car to pull apart

[swampy442]

FNG said:

That's in far far better nick than my 2001 BMW!

Given you've said it's a rare body style over there, how easy is it going to be to get replacement trim in decent condition? Hope not too bad.

These are pretty solid cars aside from the cooling system - are you going for preventative maintenance or fix as it fails? £400 on rad, coolant pump, belts and tensioners is money well spent albeit I resolved to do all these on purchase then managed not to...

You can find all sorts to replace while you're there - intake ducts, disa valve, heater valve, oil filter housing gasket, vanos seals and gasket... but then it might not be a mini, mini restoration any more

I don't know about trim parts, especially load area, and if you can get them new they're really expensive, Ill have to see what I can find.

Ive got a list of things, like I said looks like the cooling has had some attention with a rad and expansion tank, it needs a fan clutch but driving round in Melbourne traffic in the high 30s gave it no issues, Its very dry for an M54 but I planned at least the cam cover, Ill check the oil filter housing, that was a problem on my last 530

[swampy442]

So, the starting issue, if anyone has any ideas please chime in.

Sometimes it starts no issue hot or cold. Sometimes it won't start from cold, come back a few hours later and it fires up. Sometimes when it's hot it runs really lean and stumbles/dies. The videos show the voltage measured at the fuel pump plug, the pump primes intermittently. The second vid it primes, but doesn't turn on until I give it revs, you can hear me pressing the pedal to catch it.

I thought it could be EWS but it turns over and starts, when it runs it can run all day without issue. Ive got 3 keys, all do the same thing. Over to you.

https://youtube.com/shorts/I54xfPUEO68

https://youtube.com/shorts/eZugPAlYkGA

[danb79]

swampy442 said:

So, the starting issue, if anyone has any ideas please chime in.

Sometimes it starts no issue hot or cold. Sometimes it won't start from cold, come back a few hours later and it fires up. Sometimes when it's hot it runs really lean and stumbles/dies. The videos show the voltage measured at the fuel pump plug, the pump primes intermittently. The second vid it primes, but doesn't turn on until I give it revs, you can hear me pressing the pedal to catch it.

I thought it could be EWS but it turns over and starts, when it runs it can run all day without issue. Ive got 3 keys, all do the same thing. Over to you.

https://youtube.com/shorts/I54xfPUEO68

https://youtube.com/shorts/eZugPAlYkGA

Cam/crank sensors more than likely pal. Replace both (OEM BMW only) - classic issue

[swampy442]

Beautiful, never thought of that. I’ve got an error code scanner on the way to help with the ABS so ill see what it throws up.

[danb79]

swampy442 said:

Beautiful, never thought of that. I’ve got an error code scanner on the way to help with the ABS so ill see what it throws up.

A lot of the times they won't throw any codes; just causes the issues and leads people to spending a lot of £££ trying to chase the issue down


Just swap them both out and that should sort it

Re ABS; what's going on?

[swampy442]

I know, but its not my first rodeo Ill put them on the list lol.

All the lights on the dash are on, initially you have road speed, MPG etc then it stops, indicated road speed zero on a basic reader, gear shifts all over the place at higher revs. Its probably the module but you hope for a wheel speed sensor...

[danb79]

swampy442 said:

I know, but its not my first rodeo Ill put them on the list lol.

All the lights on the dash are on, initially you have road speed, MPG etc then it stops, indicated road speed zero on a basic reader, gear shifts all over the place at higher revs. Its probably the module but you hope for a wheel speed sensor...

I'd say that's the module unfortunately opal

Had the same with my Jap import E39 530i touring - cleaned all the sensors off and it seemed to do the trick; but a few weeks later it went all weird again. Sent it off for repair and it was spot on after that

[healeyneil]

Re the dipping nearside mirror. The position switch in the drivers armrest controls it. Can’t remember the details now, but it’s in the manual !

[danb79]

healeyneil said:

Re the dipping nearside mirror. The position switch in the drivers armrest controls it. Can’t remember the details now, but it’s in the manual !

Yup; have the button moved across to the drivers side and that'll allow the passenger mirror to dip when in reverse

[supacool1]

healeyneil said:

Re the dipping nearside mirror. The position switch in the drivers armrest controls it. Can’t remember the details now, but it’s in the manual !

100% this. If the switch is positioned to the right it dips the left mirror down when reverse is engaged so you can see the kerb, if it's on the right it doesn't.

[swampy442]

I’ve had the switch in both positions and still nothing. I didn’t like it when it worked, now it doesn’t work I want it
PS the mirror moved under power just fine

[daqinggregg]

That is a lovely thing to smoke around in; I’m guessing after the UK the prices for European jalopies, Aussie prices come as a bit of a shock.

That is one hell of a big blue sky, does the vastness of it all ever diminish, the emptiness has a certain beguiling beauty.

[cafehag2001]

I'm in Adelaide and was running an older Mercedes E320 for several years.

For trim parts, the local scrapyards might be useful (Upullit in Adelaide - there will be a Melbourne equivalent.) Just keep an eye on what comes in.

Also, look under "BMW wrecking" on Facebook marketplace. A mate with a Volvo 740 found a contact with a compound full of Volvos breaking for parts that way.

Finally, I've ordered several trim parts via ebay UK - often from Eastern European suppliers - the parts have always turned up in the post eventually!

Good luck - it's a lovely old thing.