Newbie All Around, New Car, and new to the site.

[Bimmer540i-00]

Hi. My name is Mike and I am a newbie to even owning a BMW. I recently bought a 2000 BMW 540i from a friend because the price was right, lol. I have owned a 95 Talon tsi awd for the past 10 years and am looking forward to just driving a nice reliable vehicle. My talon has been great since first purchased, but the age of working on something more than I drive it is very old anymore. So if anyone has any "heads ups" for me, lol, about the E39 chassis as far as mechanical or any other problems that I should be leary of, then it would be much appreciated. My Bimmer has no major problems that I am aware of and are looking forward to enjoying a "turn key and go" experience. I like to try and stay active with forums that involve the cars I own because the experiences I have may help others, and vice-versa. Thanks again to everyone that keeps these types of forums running!! Mike

[brettski]

Welcome to the Werkz. There are a couple of things to watch for on the M62TU engine:
Coolant leak from radiator end tanks (plastic)
Expansion bottle cracking
Intake monifold leaks from craks in the ducting to gasket failure
Intake manifold rear cover diaphragm failure (blows grey smoke on start up)
Other than that take care of it (including servicing the Auto) and you should enjoy the experience.

[erik36]

Hello Mike! This is a good forum and i hope you must be enjoying your stay here.

[Bimmer540i-00]

Just had a wonderful experience with the 540 two days ago. Fan made a whoosh sound, fan made a boom sound, fan scattered on the road sound, and the hood costing me money sound. The car is such a joy so far. lmao. All in all a good ride. Read multiple posts about the fan clutch seizing, so i'd expect that is what happened.

[brettski]

bummer, i missed that off my list.
I replaced my radiator and fan with one of these, because I didn't want to run the risk of it happening.Zionsville Autosport: BMW E39 - E38 Super Duty Cooling Kit