I’ve had a good day. Got loads of chores done this morning (like arranging for an estate agent to come and look at the house), and then set about trying to improve the audio in the M5. It has a fairly standard audio setup, with components in the front doors and some additional speakers on […] Read more »
Diane and I took the M5 to Exeter yesterday to visit some friends. This afternoon, I decided to nip across to Dartmoor so I could photograph the M5 in a favourite spot. ‘Dup’ in 2005. Wol in 2007. Sadly I can’t find the photo of ‘rul’ there, but here’s the M5 surveying Dartmoor as its […] Read more »
The first thing I did yesterday morning was to give the M5 what I imagine is a fairly typical weekly service: some fuel, a litre of TWS oil, and a pair of rear tyres. I failed to take the camera out with me for that trip, but it’s hardly photogenic stuff. I did consider getting […] Read more »
During last week’s clutch change operation it became apparent that the propshaft centre bearing required replacement, and the differential was leaking from all three seals. So yesterday, it started all over again. Getting the exhaust off was much, much quicker than last time, but it still takes about 40 minutes to get the car up […] Read more »
We were doing a spot more work on the M5 today (unfinished – hopefully more on that tomorrow!). I needed to nip out and grab some more tools, so I took the M3 we repaired over Christmas. A section of road between Robin’s tool shed and Ben’s workshop is one of my all time favourites. […] Read more »
I found the notes of another BMW E39 M5 enthusiast on Pistonheads: http://www.pistonheads.com/members/showServiceHistory.asp?carId=22784 Notes from his clutch change: New clutch, flywheel & Oil Seal. Fitted by my local independent. (Previous owner changed the clutch and flywheel for the first time at 27k miles. Car now on 87k, so has done 60k on this clutch.) Vast […] Read more »
Hot on the heals of our M3 Evo engine swap success, Ben, Robin and I decided to look for another challenge before the festive holidays were over. No need (nor time!) for anything as involved as an engine removal, but a challenge nevertheless. I’d been complaining about the M5’s clutch since I got it as […] Read more »
A great day out today! Together with Andy Eccles, Adam Tier, Olly Bloxham and Paul Young I hired a small sprint circuit in the Midlands for a morning of ‘testing’ and photography. This is something I tend to do around this time of year, mainly because it’s nearly always damp or cold enough for a […] Read more »
Today the weather has been mild and dry, so I’ve seized the opportunity to get things done. I cycled (yes, cycled!) to Vines of Guildford to collect all sorts of goodies: for the 330d a new leather lift strap for the boot floor and an oil filter kit, and a new thermostat and coolant for […] Read more »
This weather is getting on my tits! There are a couple of small jobs I want to get done on the five, but it looks like they’ll keep waiting. As promised in my last blog post I did eventually have the car washed, but I chose to let the local hand wash place do it. […] Read more »