THSCC Forums

Nah, that's just some cheap ebay spoiler he picked up and had painted Cosmos. I was iffy about it at first but it's growing on me. I need to ditch the mudflaps though.

I gave it a full inspection last night and found a little evidence (dried coolant at back of engine) of a leaking valley pan gasket -- a known issue at this mileage and one that I expected to do eventually. Dan you might want to check yours if it hasn't been done already. Seller and I talked about it and he knew it might become a problem.

I also found a slightly torn rear diff mount, but I probably won't mess with it until it's a problem.

_________________
Mike Whitney
whit32@gmail.com, 919-454-5445
V10, V8, V8t, I6, I6, V6, F4t, I4, I4, I4, I4, I2, 1, 1

i cant find any evidence of leaks in the valley pan area, but i get some rough idling and the occasional fuel trim limit codes when its real cold out. pretty much points to an intake manifold leak which is also common w/ these motors. I have all the parts for this and the valley pan saved in a pelicanparts project list. about $350 to do all that including water pump, every hose, gasket etc.

But since its been warm, shes been running like a champ so the job is lowering itself in priority. Its in the 'some day when im bored' bin now.

Do you have the stock shifter? An OEM E36 M3 shifter makes for a great ssk.

Yeah, as soon as the coolant leak shows any signs of getting worse I'll be doing the valley pan gasket, intake manifold gasket, and everything else under the IM which is a age item. What's the Pelican kit? Can you find a link?



Car came with a Rogue SSK. Heck here's the original ad with a good summary of what's been done:

2000 540i 6 Speed Cosmos black metallic with gray leather. 101K miles, Xenon lights, Navigation, Electric rear sunshade, manual side shades, 10 way comfort seats, heated front seats, premium sound with DSP, rear spoiler, all service records from 3/2004 (77k), Rogue SSK, new inst cluster, Metal Master frt & rr pads, 18” wheels with Pirelli tires @ 60%, Separate set of 16” wheels with Dunlop Winter M3 tires @ 80%, Dinan CAI, Dinan AFM, Dinan throttle body, Dinan Stg 4 software, new radiator, water pump, thermostat, belts, fan, front & rear control arms, frt & rr Bilstein HDs, tie rods, braided steel brake lines, new leather shift knob, new starter, all synthetic fluids, enthusiast maintained $15,900 OBO Frank 704-766-0657 frankshuda@yahoo.com, Huntersville, NC.

_________________
Mike Whitney
whit32@gmail.com, 919-454-5445
V10, V8, V8t, I6, I6, V6, F4t, I4, I4, I4, I4, I2, 1, 1

sounds sweet.

There isnt a kit, but i got the part listing here: http://members.cox.net/rlacm/IntakeIndex.htm


I just got excited and ordered an M5 rear sway bar and bushings. the stock is 14mm and the M5 is 16.5mm. Eibach also makes a kit w/ an 18mm rear, but it cost almost twice as much as a set of M5s. I'll order the front whenever i have time/ambition to install it (its a bitch) or find a shop who'll do it cheap.

from what i gather:

Stock 540 Sport: 24mm/14mm
M5s: 27mm/16.5mm $265
Eibach 28mm/18mm $400

A set of M5s should provide a pretty good bang for the buck and provide most of the front stiffness the eibach set does which i think will be more important on this car. This is my cushy daily driver and don't want it to feel too overbarred. plus w/ a pegleg rear, too stiff might not be good.

I also just put on new M5/'03 540 Sport shocks on it and it feels pretty good. some sways outta do 'er.

Don't forget to get some TC Design rear sway bar brackets. The factory E39 brackets are a weak point, and they will fail. I have Dinan rear bar on my M5, and even with the Dinan supplied reinforcements, the factory brackets failed. You can order the TC Design brackets direct from them or for a bit cheaper from beastpower.com: http://www.beastpower.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=BMI&Product_Code=TC-BE39-RSBB. They're expensive and probably overkill, but it is the only solution out there versus the factory brackets.

If you can find a front M5 bar, that might be cheaper than the Eibach, and the difference going from a 27mm bar to a 28mm bar is only a 15% stiffness increase. You're right though, the labor is huge from what I've heard as the front subframe must be lowered, etc., to get the bar swapped.

_________________
Current stable:
2019 BMW M2 Competition slicktop 6MT
2011 BMW M3 sedan slicktop 6MT
2007 BMW 328i wagon (slushbox for now)
1975 CanAm 125MX2

Chuck,

Do you know if the factory M5 and 540i brackets are any different? I was hoping i'd be fine w/ factory M5 bars and not need reinforcing.

They are the same bracket. I think BMW might have updated the bracket in recent years, but I'm not sure. The P/N I don't think has changed, so perhaps not (i.e. www.realoem.com is a nice resource). Someplace I still have those Dinan reinforcement tabs if anyone is interested in them.

_________________
Current stable:
2019 BMW M2 Competition slicktop 6MT
2011 BMW M3 sedan slicktop 6MT
2007 BMW 328i wagon (slushbox for now)
1975 CanAm 125MX2

Have you guys done any exhaustive (haha, I crack myself up) exhaust research? The car is so damn smooth and quiet I'm having touble smoothly launching it and revmatching downshifts. I'd like to add a little rumble.

I did notice that the factory exhaust has two big mufflers but only one has an exit tailpipe -- second one must be some giant resonator. I had a beer-induced urge to lop that one off and seal the hole to see what it sounds like

FYI I have an Active Autowerke exhaust on the M3 and that thing truly sounds perfect. Any opinions or good sources of info for a mild exhaust upgrade for the 540i? Sound good, weight good, power would be a minor bonus. Cheap if possible but I'd spend for the right one.

_________________
Mike Whitney
whit32@gmail.com, 919-454-5445
V10, V8, V8t, I6, I6, V6, F4t, I4, I4, I4, I4, I2, 1, 1

Mike,

Brian Marks just put a Magnaflow muffler on his 540iT, and it sounds wonderful -- not too loud, definitely louder than stock, smooth and with a bit of an exotic V8-type sound. He left the stock resonators alone. He has a CAI on it also, so I'm not sure how loud it would be with just the muffler.

I just found a link to one of the mufflers he was considering: http://www.magnaflow.com/02product/shopexd.asp?zone=main&id=767. He ended up going with a double tip model, perhaps it was this one: http://www.magnaflow.com/02product/shopexd.asp?zone=main&id=761. He had Henry's Muffler in Raleigh mount it, and Henry did a great job for something like $40.

Brian is on vacation for the next couple of weeks, but he might respond to e-mail.

I think with the Magnaflow and a CAI, you'll readily hear the motor...wait, don't you already have a Dinan CAI of some sort?

_________________
Current stable:
2019 BMW M2 Competition slicktop 6MT
2011 BMW M3 sedan slicktop 6MT
2007 BMW 328i wagon (slushbox for now)
1975 CanAm 125MX2

It's good to know that someone has gone the cheap route with some success. I've been starting to learn how to weld, so this would be ba fun project to take on. No real need for stainless steel, though, and a mild steel muffler would be a lot cheaper. I'll have to get the car back up to see what would fit well.

It's got a Dinan CAI and sounds cool under WOT - but I don't hear any noise AT ALL when launching from a stoplight or when blipping the throttle for a downshift.

I did email Brian a few days ago to tell him I bought the car (he pointed it out to me after all) but I haven't heard back from him.

_________________
Mike Whitney
whit32@gmail.com, 919-454-5445
V10, V8, V8t, I6, I6, V6, F4t, I4, I4, I4, I4, I2, 1, 1

Mike, are you ready to sell the 540 yet? Word on the street is that the ZHPs are coming back onto lots from leases and BMW is offering 3.9% financing and they make the first 2 payments for you. This includes a 100K full warranty as well.

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Has no responsibility whatsoever.

I'm diggin my V8 Powah and a huge backseat. But if the market is soft for used ZHPs that's a good thing to keep in mind.

I doubt I'd be able to swing a ZHP for anywhere close to what I have in this car either.

I do still have the M3 when I want to have some fun!

_________________
Mike Whitney
whit32@gmail.com, 919-454-5445
V10, V8, V8t, I6, I6, V6, F4t, I4, I4, I4, I4, I2, 1, 1

Chuck - Do you have any details about the exhaust and the bumper lower lip piece on that 540ita? That's the look I'm after.

_________________
Mike Whitney
whit32@gmail.com, 919-454-5445
V10, V8, V8t, I6, I6, V6, F4t, I4, I4, I4, I4, I2, 1, 1

That is the pre-2003 stock rear bumper on a 540iT! For whatever reason, all the wagons got the exposed tailpipe, and it was a nice large one too. In 2003, the sedans got an "M-technic" rear bumper (and front bumper too) along with the wagons. If you can find a used rear bumper cover from a 2003 540i sedan, that would be your best bet: http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?model=DN53&mospid=47588&btnr=51_3724&hg=51&fg=15. The other option would be to cut your bumper cover to expose the exhaust. On bimmerforums 7-series section there was a thread, http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=682844, on doing this on a 740i, and he used some nice black rubber trim around the cut...he even wrote up some nice instructions you could probably get some ideas from: http://www.stevejenkins.com/downloads/magnaflow_e38.pdf

Sounds like a weekend project in the making...


Here's a pic of Brian's 2003 with the M-tech rear bumper and the Magnaflow:



Also, here's a link to pics of his wagon at various states of modification (dang that thing is beautiful): http://bmarks.smugmug.com/gallery/1362453#P-1-15

Chuck

_________________
Current stable:
2019 BMW M2 Competition slicktop 6MT
2011 BMW M3 sedan slicktop 6MT
2007 BMW 328i wagon (slushbox for now)
1975 CanAm 125MX2

if you search in the e39 section on bimmerforums there is a lot of info on the Magnaflow muffler including lots of pics, sounds, and videos.

I'd REALLY like to hear it in real life.. I was just about to bite, when i decided i'd probably best off just leaving it alone. I wouldnt the novelty to wear off and then regret doing it.

Mike, i also had that idea about removing that resonator thing. I posted about it but no one replied. Do it! I'd be easy to put back