Moon mileage E39 M5
Discussion
250k miles on this one. High mileage cars appear to gravitate towards me. I went to see this one courtesy of Bolidemichael of this parish. I've wanted an M5 for a while, and this one intrigued me because of the mileage and the fact that the then current owner had done all of it bar 30k! It was either going to be worn out and a waste of time, or well maintained and worth a shot. Luckily for me it was the latter.
My high mileage 911 had just slightly broken on me yet not actually failed to proceed (detailed in its own thread). I needed another car while I sorted that out and this fitted the bill perfectly. Bought at the end of October last year, all I did was add petrol and drive until I had time to even wash it, which ended up being at Christmas time! I felt bad that it had provided excellent service and I'd done nothing to it, so this wash was well deserved.
That brings us in to this year, where I had a slow puncture that needed looking at. Off with the offending wheel.
Aha, nails in tyres mean punctures!
I have a tyre plugger kit for this eventuality
Fixed! It holds 2.6 bar quite reliably now
Next, I wanted to have a look at spark plugs and coil packs. I should mention that I have a full and comprehensive service history, three out of four keys and only one previous owner. The V5 said two, but I am told BMW owned the car as a demonstrator first. If I remember correctly it was then registered to someone working at the BMW dealership too, and then when it was three years old it was bought by the previous owner to me as an approved used car.
Anyway, lets remove the plenum. Doesn't it look brilliant with the lid off, I love the individual trumpets for each throttle body!
There are two of these crank case breathers attached to the front of the plenum. I believe they have a diaphragm that can break over time so I'll replace these soon.
The lower plenum is now removed.
Original coil packs are still present.
With those removed I can access the spark plugs. These were about five years old going by the service history. They didn't need replacing but the main aim was to change the coil packs so I may as well do the spark plugs while I'm there.
NGK plugs out, fresh ones in. It gives me confidence seeing quality parts were used previously.
I had to trim three (out of eight) of the new Beru coil packs slightly with my grinder to make them fit correctly. It doesn't affect their operation so I'm happy with that.
Here they are all installed. Rinse and repeat for the other side.
I also did an oil change just so I know the oil is spot on. I had to top it up at some point with 10w/40 rather than 10w/60 as that's all I had in stock, so a quick change for the correct grade seemed sensible. I'm running Millers 10w/60, supplied by Opie oils as it was on offer and is well regarded.
The lastest thing I've done is remove some old wiring that was most likely a parasitic drain on the battery, An old Tracker system. I had to do a little bit of digging to find it. Most of it was in the boot, but it wasn't a waste of time removing the parcel shelf as some wiring was running through that area too.
You can see the factory upgraded sound system with twin sub woofers here.
I stripped most of the boot. I should have removed the Ctek charger really as the extension lead was getting in the way!
The offending modules.
All removed and wiring in the car has been tidied.
What's next? Well, I've had two new MAF sensors delivered because I'm sure the current ones will be due retirement. I need to sort out the headlights fairly urgently too. They seem to be pointing at the floor so driving at night is more guesswork than it should be. I need to check out the rear level sensor but the front one appears present and correct on the driver's side suspension arm.There is a receipt for headlight adjusters having been sorted in the units themselves, so that should be OK, but I'll double check. All in all, it's very well maintained for the age and mileage. I'm pretty happy so far with my purchase
My high mileage 911 had just slightly broken on me yet not actually failed to proceed (detailed in its own thread). I needed another car while I sorted that out and this fitted the bill perfectly. Bought at the end of October last year, all I did was add petrol and drive until I had time to even wash it, which ended up being at Christmas time! I felt bad that it had provided excellent service and I'd done nothing to it, so this wash was well deserved.
That brings us in to this year, where I had a slow puncture that needed looking at. Off with the offending wheel.
Aha, nails in tyres mean punctures!
I have a tyre plugger kit for this eventuality
Fixed! It holds 2.6 bar quite reliably now
Next, I wanted to have a look at spark plugs and coil packs. I should mention that I have a full and comprehensive service history, three out of four keys and only one previous owner. The V5 said two, but I am told BMW owned the car as a demonstrator first. If I remember correctly it was then registered to someone working at the BMW dealership too, and then when it was three years old it was bought by the previous owner to me as an approved used car.
Anyway, lets remove the plenum. Doesn't it look brilliant with the lid off, I love the individual trumpets for each throttle body!
There are two of these crank case breathers attached to the front of the plenum. I believe they have a diaphragm that can break over time so I'll replace these soon.
The lower plenum is now removed.
Original coil packs are still present.
With those removed I can access the spark plugs. These were about five years old going by the service history. They didn't need replacing but the main aim was to change the coil packs so I may as well do the spark plugs while I'm there.
NGK plugs out, fresh ones in. It gives me confidence seeing quality parts were used previously.
I had to trim three (out of eight) of the new Beru coil packs slightly with my grinder to make them fit correctly. It doesn't affect their operation so I'm happy with that.
Here they are all installed. Rinse and repeat for the other side.
I also did an oil change just so I know the oil is spot on. I had to top it up at some point with 10w/40 rather than 10w/60 as that's all I had in stock, so a quick change for the correct grade seemed sensible. I'm running Millers 10w/60, supplied by Opie oils as it was on offer and is well regarded.
The lastest thing I've done is remove some old wiring that was most likely a parasitic drain on the battery, An old Tracker system. I had to do a little bit of digging to find it. Most of it was in the boot, but it wasn't a waste of time removing the parcel shelf as some wiring was running through that area too.
You can see the factory upgraded sound system with twin sub woofers here.
I stripped most of the boot. I should have removed the Ctek charger really as the extension lead was getting in the way!
The offending modules.
All removed and wiring in the car has been tidied.
What's next? Well, I've had two new MAF sensors delivered because I'm sure the current ones will be due retirement. I need to sort out the headlights fairly urgently too. They seem to be pointing at the floor so driving at night is more guesswork than it should be. I need to check out the rear level sensor but the front one appears present and correct on the driver's side suspension arm.There is a receipt for headlight adjusters having been sorted in the units themselves, so that should be OK, but I'll double check. All in all, it's very well maintained for the age and mileage. I'm pretty happy so far with my purchase
Looks great and will follow with interest.
I don't know if it's just something local to me but the chap who looks after my M3 has one of these "resting" whilst he dailies a F90 M5. When I enquired when he intended to put it back on the road, he told me he was held back by needing to replace the cats that had been stolen whilst parked. I've not heard of that before but if it's a thing it might be worth looking at cat guards
I don't know if it's just something local to me but the chap who looks after my M3 has one of these "resting" whilst he dailies a F90 M5. When I enquired when he intended to put it back on the road, he told me he was held back by needing to replace the cats that had been stolen whilst parked. I've not heard of that before but if it's a thing it might be worth looking at cat guards
Superb, I'm in.
Had mine for almost 12 years, for the last 10 all it's needed is an annual oil and filter change. You will no doubt inspire me to do some more preventative maintenance.
EDIT: Sloppy writing from me. All fluids and filters have been done on time, not just engine oil.
Had mine for almost 12 years, for the last 10 all it's needed is an annual oil and filter change. You will no doubt inspire me to do some more preventative maintenance.
EDIT: Sloppy writing from me. All fluids and filters have been done on time, not just engine oil.
Edited by Hereward on Tuesday 3rd February 20:09
E-numbers said:
Scrumptious! 400bhp just about right at this size and weight.
Good to see some quality tlc going on, though in one picture you seem to have laid some giant worms in your engine bay.
It goes surprisingly well considering it's a bit of a lump. I've found myself hitting the rev limiter unintentionally in second gear when enjoying the acceleration on the way to work... I owned an E90 M3 before this with the S65 successor to this S62 engine. I can see, hear and feel the lineage. It's very much a thug in a business suit and I love it for that.Good to see some quality tlc going on, though in one picture you seem to have laid some giant worms in your engine bay.
Limited100 said:
Fantastic, I love projects like this. The plenums look extraterrestrial. Looks in fine fettle, following with interest.
It's not too shabby considering the mileage. PO really did take care of it. Unfortunately for him I think someone took his money and didn't really deliver on the cosmetics front. It presents ok when clean, but the sills need some welding, at least one rear arch lip has some filler, the boot and bonnet aren't a fantastic finish, etc. Also, Mrs GPM isn't aware this is a project. I didn't really intend it to be either, but if I'm going to enjoy it, it needs to be 'right'
Jte3397 said:
Looks great and will follow with interest.
I don't know if it's just something local to me but the chap who looks after my M3 has one of these "resting" whilst he dailies a F90 M5. When I enquired when he intended to put it back on the road, he told me he was held back by needing to replace the cats that had been stolen whilst parked. I've not heard of that before but if it's a thing it might be worth looking at cat guards
I wouldn't mind an F90 M5, one day I'll investigate. I've not heard of any cat thefts around my area but it certainly used to be a thing some years ago.I don't know if it's just something local to me but the chap who looks after my M3 has one of these "resting" whilst he dailies a F90 M5. When I enquired when he intended to put it back on the road, he told me he was held back by needing to replace the cats that had been stolen whilst parked. I've not heard of that before but if it's a thing it might be worth looking at cat guards
Hereward said:
Superb, I'm in.
Had mine for almost 12 years, for the last 10 all it's needed is an annual oil and filter change. You will no doubt inspire me to do some more preventative maintenance.
That sounds brilliant! What sort of mileage do you do annually in it? I'd imagine you'll need to do some preventative maintenance on suspension and Vanos just because of the age of the cars. I'll have my Vanos apart at some point to re-seal it all. I need to run a test on it and see how far out it is currently. It feels a bit like a switch at 4,000 rpm so it's probably leaking like sieve and not giving me the cam timing it should.Had mine for almost 12 years, for the last 10 all it's needed is an annual oil and filter change. You will no doubt inspire me to do some more preventative maintenance.
Googie said:
Nice- great to have the skills to do this.
Thanks. I've spent many years tinkering and learning just for fun!Stick Legs said:
Amazing stuff, love these cars.
Me too. It's grown on me in these first few months of ownership. I'm not really a fan of silver and plain black interiors but neither are a deal breaker. I think with some freshening up outside it'll look really smart. I don't really like the two-tone black/grey, black/blue or black/red interiors either, so plain is ok for now. If I'm feeling flush I do have a plan to make it nicer, but I don't know whether that'll come to fruition.A lovely car there squire... Sounds like it's been properly used as well
I was going to say take the mud flaps off as they harbour dirt, wet dirt at that and the sill end ends up rusting through, but can see that's already in process
Still a great motor...
Eventuri intake kit next in line?
I was going to say take the mud flaps off as they harbour dirt, wet dirt at that and the sill end ends up rusting through, but can see that's already in process
Still a great motor...
Eventuri intake kit next in line?
danb79 said:
A lovely car there squire... Sounds like it's been properly used as well
I was going to say take the mud flaps off as they harbour dirt, wet dirt at that and the sill end ends up rusting through, but can see that's already in process
Still a great motor...
Eventuri intake kit next in line?
I might well remove the mud flaps soon, they scrape the floor when I park the car in the garden for work! Yes, unfortunately the sills are going to need some surgery soon, more than I thought when I bought the car, too. My fault for not checking thoroughly, but I can fix it.I was going to say take the mud flaps off as they harbour dirt, wet dirt at that and the sill end ends up rusting through, but can see that's already in process
Still a great motor...
Eventuri intake kit next in line?
I probably won't go for an aftermarket intake kit, I'm an OEM or OEM+ sort of person. I've got to admit, it would be nice to have some more induction roar though.
I love the plenums, a direct derivative of their V10 F1 engine, iirc?
Here's the shot, back in October. Craig's soon-to-be-M5, his high mileage 996 and my L322. Gravel drive for the win.
The owner was very sincere, having previously been swindled by the oil in coolant trick, so he must've been relieved to meet two guys actually interested in his car for the right reasons. As Craig says, the history is meticulously kept and excellent, the guy just loved driving it and everywhere. When we took it for a test drive, it rose much better than the subsequent one I test drove locally, thanks to the updated bilstein shocks. It was also quiet in the cabin due to thedouble glazed laminated glass and has the uprated Professional Hi-Fi. Importantly, it has a powered retractable rear sun blind of magnificence but it does require cosmetic attention in places, as Craig says, the bodyshop(s) he used weren't careful in prepping the base coat in places and the lacquer is cracking. However, I thoroughly approve of the price for which they shook hands, a very fair one in my view.
Plugging the tyre... do you leave it off the car overnight and test the air tightness overnight in order to be certain the plug is good? Can you be confident ok that basis that it'll operate securely at higher speeds?
Here's the shot, back in October. Craig's soon-to-be-M5, his high mileage 996 and my L322. Gravel drive for the win.
The owner was very sincere, having previously been swindled by the oil in coolant trick, so he must've been relieved to meet two guys actually interested in his car for the right reasons. As Craig says, the history is meticulously kept and excellent, the guy just loved driving it and everywhere. When we took it for a test drive, it rose much better than the subsequent one I test drove locally, thanks to the updated bilstein shocks. It was also quiet in the cabin due to the
Plugging the tyre... do you leave it off the car overnight and test the air tightness overnight in order to be certain the plug is good? Can you be confident ok that basis that it'll operate securely at higher speeds?
The induction sound you get from those trumpets with the plenum cover removed is utterly unbelievable by the way, highly recommended 5 stars.
Has this had rod bearings or the timing chain guides done?
Remains the best car I've ever had the good fortune to own and what a rare thing nowadays to have a big f
k off V8 paired with a proper gearbox.
Has this had rod bearings or the timing chain guides done?
Remains the best car I've ever had the good fortune to own and what a rare thing nowadays to have a big f
k off V8 paired with a proper gearbox.Edited by Patrick Bateman on Tuesday 3rd February 22:02
Based on an average consumption of 16–20 miles per gallon (mpg) for the E39 M5 and current UK fuel prices as of early 2026, driving 250,000 miles in petrol would cost approximately £80,000 to £100,000+
Amazing! Love a high miler, mine's barely run in @ 158k
Got to tell us how much it cost
Amazing! Love a high miler, mine's barely run in @ 158k
Got to tell us how much it cost
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