Project Cosmos.
A BMW Project.
Goodbye Cosmos
Cosmos has been sold to a young enthusiastic gentleman from the Battlefords area. I've owned him twice, its time for someone else to take over.
A Cooling System Mystery Solved
Finally the cooling system problems have gotten to the point of a complete failure. I don't know how many times I have done a diagnosis only to watch a fully pressurized cooling system stay completely sealed... Not anymore I am getting fooled. The valley pan was pouring out. I have removed, cleaned and resealed the valley pan, allowing it to dry completely for almost a whole day before I introduced the coolant and ran it up to temp.
TIP: Vacuum out all the coolant before replacing the valley pan. If you don't there is a good chance that you will displace the coolant across the cleaned block surfaces. Coolant and Silicone DO NOT MIX. I have a feeling that this is why this leaked in the first place as evidenced by the distinct lack of any sealant on the cover as seen in the picture. Just a theory.
A Civilized Cosmos
Recently the steering angle sensor was purchased used on ebay, coded to the car and after many trials and errors with INPA, etc I brought the car to a local indy and had the steering angle sensor reset. The car is now so much better. The traction control system is fully operational and makes the car manageable. We still have occasional cooling system issues but the car is in a much better place. Still have many todos and small inexpensive projects for the car and hope to have it totally good for next winter so the M car can rest out of the elements.
A new beginning for Cosmos
This car has found its way back to me again. This is the second time I've owned this car. After I traded this off on my M235i, the car went to auction. Someone bought the car and had it for around 2 years. At some point the timing chain guides failed and the car was sent off to auction. At this time the car had new wheels and winter tires installed as well. A skilled person bought the car from auction in that broken condition and replaced the timing chain guides as well as rebuilt the VANOS system. He also installed new control arm bushings, center link and a few odds and ends as well as getting a wheel alignment. In the process of doing these repairs, I sold this person some parts that I had bought specifically for the car. During our conversation I suspected that he was fixing Cosmos. Low and behold he was. I immediately mentioned that I would be interested in owning this car again once it was ready and the deal went forward shortly after that. When I left the car, the traction control system was offline and it remains that way although it looks like it may just be the steering angle sensor needing adjusting. I will be looking into fixing that as without that system operational, Cosmos is a crazy aggressive ride. The secondary air pump is also very noisy and will need bearings or replacement. Other items of interest is that someone installed an oil pan heater so that will be better for cold starts and the instrument cluster is reporting the correct mileage. I plan on another video to officially welcome this guy home soon.
The making of Cosmos
This page is a historical account of Cosmos, our 2000 BMW E39 540i. (Copied from my old site in Word Press) Recently this car was traded in on a 2014 M235i. BE AWARE: The cluster in this car has had the serial number corrected and no longer displays the ‘used part indicator’ or tamper dot as some call it. The odometer was showing 126k when I traded the car even though the car has 207k. The dealership is aware of the discrepancy but as the car is bought and sold, someone may try to say it only have 126k on it. BE AWARE Here is the story of Cosmos from when I first bought it and towed it home. Previously a B.C. car, we picked this up as a parts car in Regina. This car had an owner that had tried to fix an issue. BMW quoted him approx 2000 for an electrical problem and maybe a new computer. Not sure what issue originally caused this car to be parked, but now that I think about all the issues that the car had and some that it still has, Cosmos is in a better place. We towed it home and started taking account of what we had. The owner had the front bumper apart to fix a crack and had some of the electrical system apart. Trunk was full of parts. Interesting indeed…
First order of business was to determine if the car ran. If the engine was toast, this was a parts car. If it ran, and ran decently, I would fix and sell. Hooking up the battery and trying to hook up a code reader proved to be difficult. There were problems communicating with the DME. Long story short, wiring harnesses were mixed up in both the DME and the trans computer along with a blown fuse that runs the DME and the electric thermostat. So with a little diagnosis and one fuse, this car has cost me nothing, and it’s running…
After we had the car running, I put on a permit and took it for a road test. Lots of lights on in the dash and the brakes were poor. Did a quick safety of my own in the garage, which resulted in a new FSU unit so that the heater fan would run. Also fixed the wiring for the drivers seatbelt pre-tensioner along with replacing the drivers pre-tensioner as it was the wrong one. After those minor fixes and a new battery, we were off for a real safety inspection. I took a chance on the rotors as they were rusty and they failed because of the rotors, side window tinting and one rear sway bar links was a little loose. Replaced the rotors, removed the side windows (remarkably easy) to remove the tint and replaced the drivers rear sway bar link. Replaced the front wheel bearings and rotor shields at this time too along with fixing the disc brake warning system. Also replaced a failed rear window regulator that occurred during the safety inspection. Safety inspection now passed and Cosmos was an official legal road citizen of Saskatchewan. I now began driving him to uncover any other issues that needed to be addressed prior to selling him. I painted and installed an M5 front bumper and the summer wheels that he used to have on. Bought those after buying the car and getting it running.
Recently, the alternator went south. Prices vary from 500-ish to 8000 from BMW! Replaced with a rebuilt which lasted 2 weeks. Replaced it again and now (3 weeks in) we are still going strong. Oct 21, 2013 Update: Replaced the electronic thermostat and coolant recovery bottle. Winter is almost over Feb 18/2014 Instrument cluster pixels are fixed and perfect Mar 2014 Hood Release Cables replaced May 3, 2014 Valve covers gaskets replaced and new spark plugs installed. Attempted to paint the covers, limited success. May 10, 2014 Aux fan replaced May 12, 2014 Front strut mounts and bearings replaced. May 18, 2014
Items that still need to be addressed are:
- Air conditioning will need a recharge in the spring
- Replace the rear wheel bearings as there is noise in the back and the front were very rough.
- Power steering hose leaky