[danb1979]

Originally Posted by TurboWeasel

Nice one. Just in time before the cold snap!

This is one of those classic BMW jobs you read about online as being complex and expensive, but in reality, its the exact opposite

It was easy enough bar getting the clamp back on with the 13mm bolt; not a job for my fat hands!

Got there in the end...

[TurboWeasel]

Originally Posted by danb1979

It was easy enough bar getting the clamp back on with the 13mm bolt; not a job for my fat hands!

Got there in the end...

Yeah that and negotiating that mighty lump into the tight hole, oo er missus!

I noticed on my non-BMW battery, the hold down clamp's 'teeth' didn't align with the notches on the battery base for some reason. I thought it was supposed a standard across all batteries, but it's holding just fine though. I've never seen that before on any car until now

[danb1979]

Originally Posted by TurboWeasel

Yeah that and negotiating that mighty lump into the tight hole, oo er missus!

I noticed on my non-BMW battery, the hold down clamp's 'teeth' didn't align with the notches on the battery base for some reason. I thought it was supposed a standard across all batteries, but it's holding just fine though. I've never seen that before on any car until now

That I didn't have an issue with TBH; then again I have been known to curl 45kg dumbbells haha

But getting my fat hands into get that clamp back in situ was a joke... Thank goodness for my extendable magnetic wand (good for finding 10mm bits rolling round on the undertrays too)

[danb1979]

That's the summer 405Ms and tyres scrubbed clean, dried, bagged up & stored away in the gardening shed until sometime Spring 2024

[danb1979]

TurboWeasel Take note

All new suspension parts ordered (shocks/springs etc)

Gone for Bilstein B4Ss all round; new Sachs top mounts, Eibach pro kit springs etc via Autodoc, 41% off - can't complain at that! £700 all in, delivered :thumbup:

Will get the dust boots/rubber perches and gaskets etc from Cotswolds BMW & then it can all be built up on the bench and each corner swapped out smoothly etc That's about £150 all in IIRC

Going to give the arms/links/bushes another full once over on Tuesday whilst it's on my pals ramps for 30mins (so I can replace the front drop links that have failed) and see which other arms need replacing as I forgot to take a proper note the other week and have forgotten

[TurboWeasel]

Originally Posted by danb1979

TurboWeasel Take note

All new suspension parts ordered (shocks/springs etc)

Gone for Bilstein B4Ss all round; new Sachs top mounts, Eibach pro kit springs etc via Autodoc, 41% off - can't complain at that! £700 all in, delivered :thumbup:

Will get the dust boots/rubber perches and gaskets etc from Cotswolds BMW & then it can all be built up on the bench and each corner swapped out smoothly etc That's about £150 all in IIRC

Going to give the arms/links/bushes another full once over on Tuesday whilst it's on my pals ramps for 30mins (so I can replace the front drop links that have failed) and see which other arms need replacing as I forgot to take a proper note the other week and have forgotten

Nice one That's a decent price for all that!

Looking forward to the results!

[danb1979]

Back on my pals ramps this morning

Going to replace all the front arms, drop links, track rod ends & tie rods etc... All original BMW from 2015!



Rear arms are a mix of original BMW 2015 and some dated 2020, so will replace the 2015 ones and the eccentric bolts/washers/nuts too as they're rusty as hell



Just ordered them via Cotswolds BMW

And this happened on the way back home

[NanasBack]

Next milestone...





Although I think that was my E46 320d.

[danb1979]

Originally Posted by NanasBack

Next milestone...

Attachment 3316616

Attachment 3316617

Although I think that was my E46 320d.

Haha yeah; this is the first car I've had since 2014 that's had close to 100k; my previous F01 sold at 86k, Jap import E39 530i Sport sold at 92k and most recent Jap import E39 540i Sport sold at 55k miles

[danb1979]

BMW boot mat landed & fitted:





It's a chunky mat TBH; the other one I had is good, but very soft. The BMW one is a lot more protective

[TurboWeasel]

Good stuff. It's probably dense enough to act as a layer of sound deadening!

[danb1979]

Front & rear suspension arms, links and inner tie rods/track rod ends & their bellows ordered today via Autodoc with their 31% offer running









Quite a few bits, but it all needs doing really

Gone with a mix of Moog, Lemforder & TRW - some TRW & Lemforder parts were out of stock; but having used Moog a LOT over the years on my E39s and E65/F01 7'ers, I've never had any issues, so happy to stick with them

[danb1979]

OEM BMW CF/alcantara handbrake fitted

Looks well and feels good in the hand

From:



To:




First of many parts ordered arrived via Cotswolds BMW also; this is all the necessary rubber bits, gaskets and some bolts for the suspension overhaul. The rest of it is arriving via Autodoc and snail-mail

Some bulbs in there too for a change this weekend and a spare bulb kit etc

[Ennoch]

Two sets of D1S bulbs? I thought they all just used a single in each lamp no matter which version you had? Either way, the clips on them are an utter bastard to undo with cold hands as I discovered the other month when I fitted the upgraded Philips XtremeVision ones to mine.

[danb1979]

Originally Posted by Ennoch

Two sets of D1S bulbs? I thought they all just used a single in each lamp no matter which version you had? Either way, the clips on them are an utter bastard to undo with cold hands as I discovered the other month when I fitted the upgraded Philips XtremeVision ones to mine.

Only one set needed; but got one set of 4300k and the other set is 6000k; so I'll fit them and decide which colour I want to run

Been running Lunex xenon bulbs for years now; but in E39s and their older designed xenon heqadlights aren't as bright/powerful as the F31s, so wanted to see what the 6000s would look like (they're white, not blue thankfully) or stick with OEM 4300k etc

I'll be jacking the front end of the car up, wheels off and see how I get on; might remove the wheel arch liners if they're a bugger.

My hands aren't small and my patience is thin

[Ennoch]

Ah, fair enough. The colour of the Philips is actually pretty close to OEM, maybe a touch whiter, but they're definitely brighter with a fair bit more throw than the stock Philips bulbs. Not sure what that equates toon the K scale though.

They're just awkward but pushing down and back before going sideways seems to be the easiest way. Just make sure you're pushing them in the right direction...not that I did anything so daft as assuming they both went the same way, rather than each side being different! You should be fine taking the wheel off and removing the access cover, it's the headlight housing itself that really limits how well you can reach the clips and bulbs.

[danb1979]

Originally Posted by Ennoch

Ah, fair enough. The colour of the Philips is actually pretty close to OEM, maybe a touch whiter, but they're definitely brighter with a fair bit more throw than the stock Philips bulbs. Not sure what that equates toon the K scale though.

They're just awkward but pushing down and back before going sideways seems to be the easiest way. Just make sure you're pushing them in the right direction...not that I did anything so daft as assuming they both went the same way, rather than each side being different! You should be fine taking the wheel off and removing the access cover, it's the headlight housing itself that really limits how well you can reach the clips and bulbs.

Aye; I'll see how I get on tomorrow. They don't look too dissimilar to the F01 headlights in my previous 7'er; just a shame BMW have gone down this route with poor access for headlights...

The E39s were a doddle and if you needed to remove them, 4 10mm bolts and out they came!

[danb1979]

Originally Posted by Ennoch

Ah, fair enough. The colour of the Philips is actually pretty close to OEM, maybe a touch whiter, but they're definitely brighter with a fair bit more throw than the stock Philips bulbs. Not sure what that equates toon the K scale though.

They're just awkward but pushing down and back before going sideways seems to be the easiest way. Just make sure you're pushing them in the right direction...not that I did anything so daft as assuming they both went the same way, rather than each side being different! You should be fine taking the wheel off and removing the access cover, it's the headlight housing itself that really limits how well you can reach the clips and bulbs.

Headlight bulbs changed; gone with the Lunex 6000k ones for now. Faffy, but done. Wheel off job; fortunately the little service hatch is big enough to manoeuvre my fat hands

Did use my 45 degree needle nose pliers to get the bulb clips back on; no way I could get my fingers in there!

Osram Xenarc D1S bulbs removed; passenger side had gone yellowish, so time to change them anyways...

Front indicator bulbs swapped out for the Osram Diadem chrome ones too; looks much better

[danb1979]

And freshly washed too with a good coat of AGs' Rapid Ceramic spray to see how that fairs over the wetter/dirtier months:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Autoglym-RC...0-a8eddba1bf6a

Probably the last full wash I'll give it now until early next year when the weather improves; will stick with contactless washes for now

[Leeg1633]

Looking good. Might have to get those chrome indicator bulbs

[danb1979]

Originally Posted by Leeg1633

Looking good. Might have to get those chrome indicator bulbs

They do look much better than the OEM orange ones:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/DIADEM-halo...s%2C119&sr=8-1

[Leeg1633]

Originally Posted by danb1979

They do look much better than the OEM orange ones:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/DIADEM-halo...s%2C119&sr=8-1

Thanks, just ordered them