It’s been a busy few weeks filled with E39 M5 projects. Last month I installed a new thermostat, and in the process discovered the lower oil pan gasket needed replacement. Then I purchased a truly impressive invention that advanced my car’s communications into the modern era.
For the past few months my car had been running on the cold side, not quite getting up to full operating temperature. This is often a symptom of a thermostat stuck open. When the check engine light shined my scanner confirmed it with the fault code 69, “DME Signal engine temperature implausible.” Implausible – somehow that sounds like a BMW term.
This was not an easy job. I was lucky to do it during a DIY event hosted by Bimmer Werks in Beltsville, Maryland. The owner Amr Alkhateeb was incredibly helpful getting this job done right. It’s not easy to access and there isn’t a lot of room. Parts of the VANOS system have to be removed to get at the thermostat. Here’s a good description of the procedure from M5Board.
There was an internal seal inside the thermostat housing that was very difficult to remove, and the new o-rings kept breaking on the pipes where the thermostat plugged into the cooling system. On the first two tries the system could not maintain pressure so we knew something was wrong. The third time was the charm. An added benefit to the job is that since you have to drain most of the coolant to do it it’s also a partial coolant refresh.
It took longer than it should have but victory was achieved. I insisted on paying Amr for his time. Beltsville is too far for me but I highly recommend any BMW owner in that general area to take their car to Bimmer Werks.
One of the benefits of putting your car on a lift is that you can take a good around. While doing this job I immediately discovered what the next one would be – there was some oil leaking out of the lower pan. On many BMW models, including other E39s, this job would be greatly complicated by lack of access to the pan. Happily, on the E39 M5 the pan is right there and easily accessible after removal of the plastic belly plate.
I was greatly aided by an excellent video from M539 Restorations, a YouTube channel run by a German enthusiast named Sretan. It’s a long video showing a lot of work – if you click to view the oil pan section starts at minute 4:00, then picks up later around 38:30. It’s a straightforward job, just a lot of screws to remove and you need to smooth the contact area so the new gasket allows no gaps.
This job was performed at – you guessed it – another club DIY event. This one was hosted by Passport BMW in Marlow Heights, Maryland. Technician Mark remembered my car from the last event Passport hosted and shared some helpful tips. Things like using a brillo pad to clean the pan surface rather than the plastic razor blade I brought. And he had a very long extension which helped prevent over-torquing any of the 10mm bolts.
An added benefit of doing this job was the chance to check the oil pump screen and pan for any plastic. When timing chain guides start to go the plastic accumulates in the pain. I saw nothing but clean oil in the pan. Obviously, I did new oil and filter, I replaced the oil level sensor because it was right there and over 20 years old, and changed the two engine filters.
Finally, I purchased something I had been considering for a while. I’ve talked about the cottage industries that have bloomed around the enthusiasm for older BMWs. An impressive example is called Bluebus. It’s a Bluetooth module that integrates directly into the iBus systems of older BMWs, giving them the audio streaming and hands-free calling capabilities of modern BMWs.
Here’s a video from Ryan Schultz of E39Source describing Bluebus when the prototype came out. You can hear the excitement in Ryan’s voice as he describes the invention. Bluebus was developed and produced by a software engineer named Ted Salmon in his spare time! Not only does it allow for streaming audio and hands-free calling, it offers things like one-touch turn signals (pull stalk once, choose number of flashes you want), running lights, engine temp on screen, auto lock/unlock and more.
All that for $200, the phone adapter is an extra charge. Ted will be developing new features available via software updates. Ted also delivers great customer service for his product, he was very helpful to me when I had questions about setting up my Bluebus.
Bluebus has taken off in the enthusiast community and Ted can’t have them made fast enough. You can’t purchase immediately, you need to get on a waiting list. I bought my car in 2011 with a DICE iPod unit installed and initially thought this would complicate putting in the Bluebus. The DICE connection actually made it easier by highlighting the two connectors I needed to plug into the Bluebus. Another plus was my car came with a built-in microphone next to the homelink controls in the headliner. Now it will finally see some use after 20+ years.
Hopefully that’s enough E39 M5 projects for a while. My 2006 M3 needs some attention too – and maybe its own Bluebus.