Two Sundays ago I was driving home from the final club DIY event of the year. I had done a simple oil and filter change on my 2002 E39 M5 (at 118,100 miles) and inspected the car while on a lift to research future projects. There were a couple of things that needed attending to, […]
It’s been a while since I talked about the planning and research that goes into a BMW DIY project. Right now I’m in the midst of deciding how to tackle replacing the radiator on my 2002 BMW E39 M5. To the best of my knowledge the current radiator is original to the car. It now […]
It’s been quiet this summer on the M car front. It’s good news there hasn’t been big maintenance needs, not so good news that there were no DIY events in the past few months. Here’s a post about something else that didn’t quite happen – I came close to purchasing a Dinan S-1 M5. Of […]
Last month I attended a National Capital Chapter DIY event held at Scandanavian Import Service Center in Rockville, MD. It was time to replace the differential fluid in my E39 M5, as well as swap out the air filters and the fog light halogen bulbs. I hadn’t changed the differential fluid since 2013. That sounds […]
This past weekend I tackled some minor paint issues, one on each car. I also changed the oil in my E46 M3, doing it in my driveway since a club DIY got canceled. Neither paint issue was major. My E39 M5 came to me in 2011 with two long scratches on the driver side rear […]
The last two DIY events have involved straightforward changes of BMW fluids, so I’m combining them into one post. In the first I changed the differential fluid and rear diffuser on my E39 M5, and during the second I changed the power steering fluid in my E46 M3. I had last done the differential fluid […]
The Labor Day weekend is a great time to do some simple tweaks to your car. This past weekend I did some M5 Labor Day jobs that didn’t warrant waiting for a club DIY event. I replaced a leaking intensive windshield wash reservoir, added a euro trunk cubby and replaced a chipped plenum badge. When […]
Earlier this month I completed the washer fluid repair I talked about in a previous post. The windshield wiper system in my E39 M5 was leaking in multiple places. While planning for the DIY I also had the shameful (for an enthusiast) realization that it had been four years since I had changed the car’s […]
My 2002 M5 needed some relatively minor work recently. The car is old enough to be graduating from college this year, so it’s no surprise things are breaking. I tackled these at home rather than a club DIY event and I was partially successful. The first issue was the HVAC blower died. No air was […]
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 […]
About this time last year I reported on a webinar that tracked the appreciation of BMW M Cars. The webinar was organized by Paul Seto, hard-working president of both the National Capitor Chapter (NCC) of the BMW CCA, as well as the director of the M Chapter. The data shared came from Hagerty senior analyst […]
Last weekend I replaced some original sensors in my 2002 BMW E39 M5. Scandinavian Import Servicenter in Rockville, MD kindly invited the DIY program back into their beautiful facility. Last year I replaced my power steering hoses and reservoir at the same location. This time I needed to replace some sensors that were original to […]