New guy in Bahrain - E39 540i

[Wullyscully]

Hi All,

I'm an Irish guy living in Bahrain and I have just bought a 2000 540i with just under 100k miles on the clock. It has the 5 speed auto and is totally stock with the exception of 18" rims and unusually wide tyres. (265 on the rears!)

So far so good apart from a low level humm at speed from the rear which I actually think is down to the massive rear tyres. (open to correction on this)
Everything is smooth, it goes like stink, feels great through the corners and has seriously powerful braking.

Aside from the usual stuff to take care of with a new (used) car: oil & filter change, new fuel & air filters, transmission fluid flush and renew, tracking and 4 wheel alignment, is there anything else that I should be looking at straight away as a precaution? What do I need to watch out for with this model?

Also, if anyone on here is actually from Bahrain and knows of a good non main dealer workshop I'd really appreciate a pointer in the right direction for future reference!

Thanks loads.

[Jack Dabsy]

Welcome aboard matey...
Yes the "Hum" maybe the tyres, Just check the diff-oil for peace of mind, eh?

[Wullyscully]

Thanks Dabsy, that's a good call! I'm hoping that alignment will take care of it but will definitely check out the diff as well!

[Lord Vader]

Being that your in Bahrain, try to find the story of the "El Diablo". The worlds fastest E39 M5. It lived in Bahrain for a number of years. Theirs a huge thread about it on the M5 boards. Ittl give you some performance inspiration!

[Wullyscully]

I'll definitely look that one up alright! Although the world's fastest M5 would be wasted here I reckon, tiny Island, heavy traffic and only one road where you can really open a car up! I'd say his tyre tracks are still on it!

[brettski]

Welcome to the Werkz.

The usual suspects on your motor are the radiator, coolant expansion tank, waterpump/thermal clutch/fan assy, Intake Manifold Rear Breather (AKA OSV), Air Flow Sensor and various intake manifold leaks around throttle body.

If you can find a sympathetic BMW owner, temprarily swap the rear wheels for something more standard and see if the noise disappears.

Enjoy your new ride..

[Wullyscully]

Thanks Bretski, I'm definitely enjoying it so far. It's the ideal car for driving on Bahrain roads where having ample power on tap is great for dealing with the traffic and the local driving "style" here in the mid east! (strong brakes also a good call!)
I do have a friend here with a '00 7 series with standard 17" rims which I think should be good for a straight swap so I'll give that a try.

All gaskets etc seem to be in decent shape. Temperature holds perfectly steady right up the middle but it is something that I am programmed to watch like a hawk! There's not the slightest rev "wobble" on idle and she pulls clean and strong through the full rev range without any unusual noises, so far so good!

Cheers again for the pointers, it's great to have an experienced sounding board with cars like these.

[brettski]

You might strike an issue with the 7 series rims. I think the hub centric ring is smaller on the 7 series wheels than that of the 5 series. I think the 5 series wheels will go on a 7, but not the other way around.

[Wullyscully]

Bugger...........but thanks for the heads up! I would have thought it would be the other way round if there was a difference? I seem to remember wedging the spare off an e46 3 series I had to get my brother out of trouble on a wet roadside with his e39 530d. That was a seriously tight squeeze which ended up requiring a bit of brute force and ignorance to get my spare back!