Shadowing Practice: BMW E60 M5 Ultimate Buyers Guide - Learn English Speaking with Video
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Oh, what's that?
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You want to buy yourself a BMW E60 M5?
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Well, imagine finding your dream E60 M5, only to discover a ticking time bomb under the hood after you've signed the papers.
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But what if I told you the E60 M5, with the right knowledge, can be a surprisingly reliable car, even in 2025?
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Today, we're breaking down the ultimate pre-purchase inspection checklist,
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empowering you to make a bulletproof buying decision and drive away with confidence not regret.
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Right, so first things first, this car that we're standing in front of right now is a 2005 model, so it's 20 years old right now.
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Now I've owned this car for approximately seven years.
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I've owned many BMWs over the years.
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I've owned nothing but BMWs for the last 16 years
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and I can tell you right now that this is one of the most reliable cars I have ever owned.
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now I've been running this YouTube channel for approximately the same length of time
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that I've owned this e60 m5 and during
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that time that's exposed me to a lot of conversations with other e60 m5 owners around the world
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and the majority of feedback that I get from all of them
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which is overwhelming is the fact that they've found the same
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that the car is incredibly reliable now this might seem in contrast
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and contradict all the information that you've probably read out there or you've heard from YouTube car reviewers, this type of thing, you know.
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But the reality is the feedback that I've had on these cars and how reliable people have found them
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has come from people that have actually owned these cars in the real world.
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It's real world experience.
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They've lived and breathed that ownership experience.
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Now, there is one caveat to what I'm telling you here.
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If you do own one of these cars, you do have to look after it properly,
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which I'll get into in more detail when we take a look at that big V10 engine.
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Now secondly these cars did come in a variety of colours.
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There's burgundy, silver, blue, grey, black, white and a few others and they did come with some awesome options too.
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Optional extras such as seats with active bolsters, heated seats, even cooled seats.
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You could get dynamic
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headlamps alcantara headliner a rear blind and many other options available too
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but now that i've said all that forget all that
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because you don't want to go into buying one of these cars just based on the color
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that you like or the spec
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that you like you don't want to buy them on spec
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you want to buy one of these cars on condition alone
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because these cars have been around a long time now they've been around the block a few times
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and there's many out there that ain't been looked after
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that very well they're pretty ropey condition right then let's get into it
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and let's first start off by taking a look at
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that big 5 liter v10 screamer of an engine right let's have a look in the engine bay
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and let's take a look at this engine and oh boy what an engine the s85
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5 liter V10 absolute screamer of an engine revs to 8
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250 rpms took inspiration from the formula 1 design at the time
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and even the engine blocks were manufactured in the same factory
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that the formula 1 V10 engine blocks were during this era how awesome is
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that now it's an incredibly well-built engine and an incredibly strong engine and it can withstand a lot of hammer
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likes to be revved out and it likes to be driven hard
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and again this car's 20 years old and in the nearly seven years
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that i've owned this vehicle never had any major problems with this engine now
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that might sound contrary to all the information out there on
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these cars these engines do frighten a lot of people
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but it's a very well built engine and if you look after it properly and be mindful
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of what it is you shouldn't have any real issues with the engine nothing major and these engines
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are designed and manufactured slightly different just to the regular BMW engines the straight sixes or whatever
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when you dig deep into one of these engines you can just see how well made they are to put
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that in perspective like I say this car's 20 years old
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in my ownership this engine has had zero oil leaks nothing
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from the timing system nothing from the rocker covers nothing from
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the oil pan all right the oil pan gasket has been
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changed in the past through a maintenance procedure nothing from the rear main seal nothing zero oil leaks in
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that time which you can't say about a regular non-m bmw engine okay i'm saying all this
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so you might be thinking to yourself all right m tech guy I've heard
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or I know about some of these engines out there
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that have had catastrophic failure in the real world
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and of course a lot of that talk always comes down to the rod bearings
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and I've heard it all before I've heard all the talk
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about all the rod bearings the tolerances are too tight
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and that's why they fail and BMW designed it incorrectly
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and people are going through and redoing the rod bearings
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and putting ones in there with extra clearance
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because yeah some dude in his garage knows way much more than the guys who designed this engine right Yeah, righty-o.
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What you've got to remember is, this is a V10 engine with a reasonably heavy crank, and it's a long crankshaft operating 10 pistons,
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which isn't normally a big deal unless you're revving it out to 8250rpms.
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Now, them conrods and the rod bearings are under an immense amount of pressure.
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If you've got too much slop in there, too much clearance, it's going to upset the balance, it's going to upset the wear and cause a whole number of other issues.
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They were designed like that for a reason.
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Now there's only two things that you can do to these vehicles to cause the rod bearings to fail.
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Number one, use the wrong oil if you're not using the fully synthetic 10W60.
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It was recommended from the factory due to its sheer strength.
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So it's going to hold up to them high RPMs and all that pressure.
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And as long as you change it regularly, you should be fine
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if you try switching to a thinner oil with this mindset
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that oh it's going to flow better
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because then tight tolerances on the bearings it will cause accelerated wear
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because that thinner oil can't hold up to the sheer strength
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that it needs and secondly
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and probably the number one cause of rod bearing issues with
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these cars is people revving the engine out from cold you've
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got to be mindful of this isn't an everyday engine it's
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not an everyday car it's pretty much a supercar engine you're not driving a ford fiesta
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so don't jump in the car from cold
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and rev the guts out of it because
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that 10w60 is like treacle it is thick oil
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and it needs to warm up properly to flow properly to give them bearings the protection
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that they need under high load
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when you take the car out let it warm up properly before you rev the engine out
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and listen i drive this car hard pretty much every time
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i take it out i always every journey pretty much let
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it rev out to 8 250 rpm that's what it's all
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about with this car i love the sound of this engine
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and after nearly seven years i have not got tired of it is an absolute phenomenal engine
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but you got to let that oil warm up first
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so normally drive the car keep it under 3000 rpms until
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that oil temperature gauge is sitting more
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or less in the middle then you're good to go
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and this engine and the rod bearings will take all the hammer
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that you can give it but
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if you're going to rev it out from cold you're you're going to wear them rod bearings
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and eventually it's going to spin a bearing.
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So if you keep them two things in mind, use the proper Tendalview 60 oil,
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change it regularly and don't rev it out from cold and you shouldn't have any issues with the rod bearings.
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Now even though it is a tough engine, it certainly isn't without its quirks and all the common issues
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that can happen with this engine will happen by now the car's 20 years old they're very well understood
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and there are solutions out there to pretty much anything
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that can slightly go wrong with these engines
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so let's walk through some of these issues
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that can happen with these vehicles due to the age of the vehicle all right
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so let's start at the top
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and let's start with the cooling system now unlike many bmws
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the cooling system is pretty robust in these vehicles in very rare cases expansion tank can crack
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but it is very rare so it is worth just casting your eye over
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that if you're looking at a vehicle let's check the hoses
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but they should look okay mine are all still the original hoses as it left the factory
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but the main thing that normally fails with the cooling system on these vehicles is the thermostat
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which lives just under there luckily it is designed to fail open
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when it does fail
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so all that's going to mean is the car is going to take forever to warm up
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so that's a good way of telling right off the bat
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if you take the car for a test drive from cold
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that temperature isn't coming up in sort of five to ten minutes it's taking way longer then that'll tell you
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that it's more likely the thermostat is stuck open
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and these engines for some reason love to eat thermostats
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so it's not unusual to find one with a failed one the other thing is the temperature sensor
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which sits in the via the engine
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they can fail also whether that fails or the thermostat
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or both they normally throw fault codes it's normally not difficult
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to diagnose the issue water pumps i've never seen one fail
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on one of these cars they are pretty robust you want to go through
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and change it when you do your thermostat so be it
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while all the coolant's drained out well mine's still got the
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original one in 20 years old 130 000 kilometers still going all right
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so far the radiator is all aluminium no plastic tanks
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on either end like many vehicles nowadays
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so you shouldn't have any issues with it leaking unless it's
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had a hole poked in the front of it by some
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debris just cast your eye down there you'll soon know
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if it's leaking
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but as a whole they're a very robust radiator moving on from there you want to make sure
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that the original ear boxes are in place a lot of
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design has gone into these they work incredibly efficiently feeding the plenums
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and these have five trumpets in each a bit like velocity stacks on a sort of angle
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and the way this air feeds into there it creates a
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reasonable amount of charge pressure in there feeding the engine now just you want to make sure
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that these are in place
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and they haven't been changed out for some cold air intake
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it is going to draw in hot air into the engine
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and not going to work as efficiently as the original ones
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that are fed from these ducts down here
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and then filters in normally the cotton type which are oiled and
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that oil will contaminate your mass airflow sensors it's going to
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cause your engine not to run at the optimal settings so
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if they're on there just plan to get rid of them get the proper air boxes in there
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because they're there for a reason there's been a lot of design gone into them
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and it's there to work in conjunction with the engine properly
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right moving on next up the plenums these are built from
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solid plastic like i say they've got them trumpets inside of
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there very robust they don't really break you might find some
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cars have been changed out for the carbon fiber type ones that's a much thinner material
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and it's normally that vibration that gives it that unique noise
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that people are looking for when they change them out
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but be aware especially some of the earlier designed ones
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that carbon fiber would start coming apart
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and it can end up getting inside the engine personally i don't like them this is
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so well built and it operates
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so well all right it doesn't sound like a carbon fiber one
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but it certainly gives off an amazing induction noise i like this
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because it's the proper one normally the only issue i've seen with these is
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if a garage has been working on these engines in a
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lot of cases each side they haven't been refitted properly Now each side has got its own rubber boots,
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so they've got five on each and they connect to the individual throttle bodies.
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Now it can be quite tricky to position them in place perfectly
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and what will happen a lot of the time is you might get one or two of the boots, it'll catch the edge of that rubber boot and it'll peen it up like that.
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You won't have a full seal right the way around and it is quite hard to see there.
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So a lot of the time, a garage will just plonk that on, sort of force it in position.
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You might go on to rubber boots peened up, and then they'll just do up the jump jubilee clips, but then you could end up with a bit of a vacuum leak, so it might run a wee bit lean.
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You'll soon tell that when it's idling, it's not running right.
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And believe me, that issue is way more common than most people realise.
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If you want information on how to remove and install these plenums, I do have a video on that previously.
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Go check it out.
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They're moving down into the engine.
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The throttle bodies themselves, they're normally good as gold.
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I've never really seen any issues with them other than the boot issue.
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And operating them throttle bodies is the throttle actuators.
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The design of them, they work incredibly well.
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The way they're geared and they're sprung, even though this car has a drive-by wire and there's no throttle cable,
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it makes that throttle input very instantaneous compared to a lot of drive-by-wire single throttle bodied BMWs.
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And like I say, it's due to the way they're geared and they're sprung, but they are under a lot of tension and them gears are made of plastic.
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Because of the load that they're under, they do wear over time.
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The teeth get all rounded out.
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Normally when that happens you'll get fault codes for one bank of throttles
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and a lot of times it will trigger a specific fault code to the throttle actuator.
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If it's caught early enough you can remove them and you can buy replacement gears in the aftermarket, put the new gears in there and they're good as gold.
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If you leave them
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and the car's been operated too long with the worn out gears then it can affect the electronics also.
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Still rebuildable but it is a bit more involved for the regular DIY mechanic.
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you can buy exchange units that have already been rebuilt that's normally the way to go
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or you can still buy the genuine brand new ones so
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if you're looking at one of these vehicles
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and the throttle actuators have never been done
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and there's a reasonable amount of kilometers miles on the engine it's more than likely it'll be worn
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and it'll be due for rebuild
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or replacement now underneath the throttle actuators are the idle actuators
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now these very rarely go wrong in comparison to the throttle actuators now these are like little miniature throttle bodies
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that control your idle but it is more than an idle actuator
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because up until a couple of thousand rpms you are actually
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driving the car on the idle actuators you've got to think about it
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you've got 10 individual throttle bodies and if they're open just 10 percent
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because the amount of them
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and the accumulation of the amount open throttle bodies that's a lot of air
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that the engine sucking in so to reduce
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that their main throttle bodies the 10 of them will remain
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closed the car will be running on the idle actuators
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which are like a miniature throttle body one for each bank very rarely go wrong very rarely wear out normally
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when they do fail it's the wiring that goes to them
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and unfortunately unlike the throttle actuators they are very difficult to rebuild
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so normally in most cases the solution is just to replace them also be obvious
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if they are failing be throwing fault codes in relation to idle quality
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and you'll see it right off the bat
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when you drive the car low rpms moving on from the idle actuators 10 fuel injectors
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and these are pretty good but over time what can happen is
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when they're closed they won't seal off properly when they start getting old
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and worn and then what can happen in some cases is
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when the car shut off and you leave it overnight
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because they're not shut off properly there might be one
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or maybe multiple fuel injectors like that that fuel pressure that's in the fuel rails the two rails
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that'll bleed off through that open injector that's not sealing off properly where's
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that fuel going to go it's going to go into the cylinder now
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if enough fuel leaks in there what happens
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when you go to crank it over you're just going to hydro lock the engine
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because it won't compress that volume of liquid fuel
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because it's not atomized like when it's in operation
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and most cases you'll bend a rod you'll usually score the cylinder bores
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and as it's turning you're going to wreck the rod bearing
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or the crank as well in some cases
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so this is probably the number one thing that's going to
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destroy one of these engines of course you don't want to wait till it gets to
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that stage but it's a well-known issue
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and the solution is to change them out preventatively the car's
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got 60 000 miles on it 100 000 kilometers you could probably stretch it out to 100 000 miles
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but that'll be more
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or less the time you want to change these out 60
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000 miles 100 000 kilometers some people have had trouble getting
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replacements out of there they are getting quite rare there are
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still the genuine ones out there i actually replaced mine out with aftermarket ones
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but don't seem to be a huge amount out there at the moment
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but you can still get the genuine ones genuine being all your ones
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but they are expensive so if you're looking to buy one of these cars
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and the fuel injectors have never been changed out you definitely want to factor in the cost of getting
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that done because that is probably the number one risk to destroying one of these engines and
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if there's a reasonable amount of service history with the car
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you should be able to see frequent oil changes there
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if any have been missed or it's been ran for a long time
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or they haven't used the correct oil then of course there could be issues with the rod burns
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but the only thing with the rod bearings is there's no way
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of knowing what type of wear there is on them until
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you pull the oil pan off you pull them out
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and they're staring you in the face and when you get to
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that stage you might as well just replace them all
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so that's probably the one of the biggest things with these engines other than the fuel injectors
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if they've never been replaced you don't really know what kind
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of life the car's had it's probably had multiple owners at this stage in its life
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and even when it was new a lot of them new owners revved them out from cold
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and they only stuck to the factory oil change intervals
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because the car was under warranty i believe that's a bit
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too stretched out i like to do about 5 000 kilometers
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approximately 3 000 miles whatever just do them way more frequently
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than what the service interval actually is for these cars
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and you can't go wrong but yeah you don't know
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if they've been revved out from cold multiple times you don't know
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if they've used the right oil you don't know
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if they've stretched them oil intervals out so when you're getting into one of these cars
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you just got no idea what kind of life them rod bearings have had
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and that's probably the sticking point with these cars now most of them have got to the age now
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or the kilometers the rod bearings have been changed out preventatively exactly for this reason
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because you don't know what type of wears on them now you can get an oil analysis done
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but you really need to get that done over a long period of time
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and get multiple analysis is done and then that'll give you a trend
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and you can see exactly how much bearing wear material is in
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that oil if if any
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if you're looking to buy one of these cars you can't just take one sample
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and take a look at it doesn't work like that
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if the rod rod bearings have never been done my recommendation
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would be to factor in getting them done as soon as you get the car
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and then it'll give you
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that peace of mind as long as you let the car
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warm up properly use the correct oil you'll be good as gold for years to come
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and you'll know exactly what the state of them bearings are
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because they'll be brand new now another system
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that can cause issues with these vehicles is the vanos system the variable valve timing system
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so you've got a high pressure pump down the bottom there
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and that's actually got an internal hose early models did have issues with
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that hose leak and i think they'll revise the part a bit later on normally
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when they leak you'll get a load of vanos codes
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but the only way to change it is pulling
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that oil pan off
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and replacing the hose now just before i bought this vehicle
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seven years ago the dealer was selling this car was experiencing an issue with
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that hose so what they did they had to replace it before they sold me the car
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when they had the oil pan off luckily the technician
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that was working on it knew these cars well i think he owned one himself
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so he replaced the hose and he put a new set of rod bearings in there
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so that's really the way to go
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if you're getting into the ownership for one of these cars
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pull the pan off replace the rod bearings replace the high pressure vanoss hose
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and while everything is apart inspect the vanoss pump also because they can cause issues
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they have a bearing inside there and it can crack the race
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but you just want to make sure everything's looking okay with
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that pump if things are looking a bit dodgy then it's a perfect time to get it replaced
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but then races can get damaged and leak fragments there's something to keep in mind
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so do the rod bearings do the hard pressure vanos line check out the pump replace it
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if necessary they are expensive sometimes you can get away with
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a good second hand one it's in good condition bear in
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mind there are two different pumps they've got different teeth profiles there's an early type
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and a late type so just want to make sure you've got the correct pump
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if you're going down
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that route then moving on from the bottom of the vanos
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system up to the top here You've got Vanos keys here driving the camshafts, and you've got two Vanos solenoids on each bank, four all together.
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The solenoids can fail, as with any electrical solenoid.
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Now, the early type had a black body on them.
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The later type had a metal, silver-looking body.
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So you'll be able to see straight away if they've been changed out, because they'll have been changed out with the silver-bodied ones.
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Two of mine have been replaced.
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Two are still original, 20 years old, and I think the only reason the two that have been replaced were replaced
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was part of the diagnostic process
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that they were going through before they got to the point
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where they realized it was the hose leaking inside the oil pan
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so they're pretty robust normally it's just the o-rings that are leaking
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so if you do have vanos issues
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that do get diagnosed get to get traced back to the
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solenoids themselves it is worth just chucking some new o-rings on there initially it's usually
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that that's leaking and letting the vanos pressure by and they do run at an incredibly high pressure.
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Now the gears themselves, there are an early type and the late type.
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It's the exhaust gears.
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They've got a spring in them.
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Now the early type, they were prone to rattling, will give off that classic S85 V10 engine noise that you'll see in pretty much all of my videos.
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It's not a big deal.
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It does frighten a few people.
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It doesn't sound good, but it is completely normal and it's not a big deal and it's not a problem.
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If it really bothers you you can change it out for the later exhaust gears
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but I just live with it and I kind of like the noise
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because it's all part of the character of these engines the
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vanos system as a whole is a very noisy system of
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course you've got two gears here meshing together there's no chain it's not chain driven just gears meshing
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so you're going to hear all that wearing away it's going to make a noise
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and then if you've got the early type like me you're going to hear
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that exhaust gear giving off that classic s85 rattle also
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so the main things to look out for with s85 v10
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engine headlamps in most cases like most e60s you'll probably find
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that the lenses got all uv damaged and the standard yellow
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and get worn put our mine over on the left hand side unlike the early e46 b
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and we usually can't just replace the lens easily they're bonded onto the body of the headlamp itself
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so it can be done but it is messy
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and to be honest with you they're never the same again they never seal up properly
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when you've cut it all away sealed it
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and replaced them can be done
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but the solution really is to replace the whole headlamp
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which is super expensive or alternatively just go through
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and restore the plastic give it a bit of a sealer on there a bit of uv protectant
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and it should be fine our headlamps themselves have got the
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xenon bulbs most of the m5s came specced with the dynamic headlamps
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so not only will they adjust up and down
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but also side to side as you're cornering it's an awesome feature i found it very useful
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when i'm taking this out for a spin at night time on the mountain roads
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and you can really see it doing its thing
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but they are driven by a little actuator inside the headlamp there
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and they're controlled by a little dynamic headlamp controller these can
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fail over time can be a bit tricky to diagnose
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but you will get a headlamp fault up on the dashboard there it'll just look like a bulb
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so if you are looking to buy one of these vehicles
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and that warning's up on the dash don't be fooled
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that you're thinking oh it's just a bulb
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that wants replacing you can go around check all the bulbs easily and if they're all lit up
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okay in most cases it's either the controller or the actuator that's failed
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so factor that in to the cost if you're looking at a vehicle
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that does have that fault
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and with the fuel system feeding them 10 fuel injectors of
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course you start the back of the car at the tank and you've got an in-tank filter and an in-tank fuel pump.
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The fuel pumps can fail over time.
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If you there is some service history with the car, it would be nice to see that the filter has been changed out.
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If it hasn't, factor that in to your ownership if you're going to get into the car.
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The pump's never been done.
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It might be worth changing it out at this sort of age as a preventative item.
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They do fail.
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They are a two stage pump, low pressure and a high pressure all in one pump.
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So either the low pressure will fail and it just pretty much won't be running.
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Or it'll be the high pressure that fails.
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So the car will look like it runs sweet at low pressure
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if you take the car out
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and you're absolutely caning it you're revving it out we'll come up with a fuel pressure fault
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because it can't reach it can't maintain that high pressure
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and moving on from the pump you've got the fuel lines down the side here
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and it comes up and feeds the injectors like that from
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that left hand front wheel arch now inside there is your
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fuel pressure sensor they can fail also the car's got fuel pressure issues in a lot of cases it's either
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that or the pump most cases it's the sensor itself the car is running reasonably well the charcoal canister
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which lives under the right and rear wheel well here can fail
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and what that will cause is excessive vacuum to build in your fuel tank
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because it won't be able to vent to atmosphere properly
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and then what
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that will cause over the long term in some cases in the worst case scenario is
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that vacuum can pull your tank inwards
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and cause it to collapse then you need a new fuel tank they ain't cheap
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and it's a reasonably labour intensive job to change it out.
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Now an easy way to tell that charcoal canister has failed, if you open the fuel door here, take off the fuel camp, if you hear a big whoosh of vacuum,
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it's gasping for air, you know in most cases it's the charcoal canister that's failed.
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Not hugely expensive parts and not too hard to get at, you've just got to take the wheel liner off to gain access to it,
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but it is something you want to factor in before the
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fuel tank gets destroyed you are going to get into the
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vehicle there are also two purge valves inside the V of
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the engine there will purge valves in some cases they can fail
421
but you'll soon know about it because they'll be coming up with emissions fault codes
422
so it should be relatively straightforward to diagnose they're not too
423
expensive not too hard to access it once the plenums are
424
off suspension these cars came equipped with the EDC suspension it's awesome setup for these cars you see the connectors
425
here for them on top of the strut towers.
426
You've got three settings.
427
The system works awesome but as these cars age if there's a lot of kilometres on the car
428
or even getting to this sort of age 20 years old
429
they're going to be running a lot weaker than they were
430
when they were brand new and because that way is
431
so accumulative in small stages over time It's not something that an owner really notices.
432
Now I got the front shocks changed out on mine.
433
The genuine BMW EDC shocks.
434
And it made a hell of a difference to the way the car rode.
435
But them shocks are super, super expensive.
436
Now why did I get them changed out?
437
Because they were leaking.
438
And although they're pretty tough shocks, they are made of aluminium.
439
And if they have had a lot of hammer, especially in the stiff setting.
440
If you've been going over a lot of potholes, a lot of holes in the road, a little damaged roads, this type of thing and they've got a lot of hammer that can cause them to leak.
441
So if you're looking at one of these vehicles, just go around and just poke your nose in the wheel arches through the wheels
442
and just make sure that they're not leaking.
443
If they are, you're going to have to factor in cost to replace them.
444
Over here in New Zealand, if they've got a reasonable leak, that is an annual inspection failure, a WAF failure, like an MOT in the UK.
445
So it might be something you'll have to get done just to make your car legally roadworthy.
446
So they are expensive, there are aftermarket alternatives out there, but none of them ride like the original ones when they're brand new.
447
Most of them are a tiny bit stiffer, but they work out a lot cheaper, and there are some good brands out there.
448
So there are different options.
449
You don't have to go and splurge thousands and thousands of dollars on the genuine ones.
450
Now, as you look in the engine bay here, there's no battery, because that's positioned in the boot.
451
You've got some jumper points here in the front.
452
One thing I will say with these cars, if it's got an older battery in there, If the car doesn't get driven that often and the battery's at low voltage,
453
it can cause all kinds of electrical issues.
454
So if there is any electrical issues whatsoever, the first thing to always do is check the battery.
455
Any doubt, replace it if it won't charge properly, if it's got to that stage in its life.
456
Because like I say, they only have to drop slightly in supply voltage
457
and they can cause all kinds of issues and fault codes.
458
And then along with the battery, the alternator, voltage regulators can fail also the alternators just like any alternator they will last a reasonable amount of time
459
but it's normally the voltage regulator that's on the back of the alternator normally fails
460
so it's not charging properly if you've got a charging fault
461
if the car you're looking at will come up with a charging fault
462
when you start up from cold even if it does start
463
and run okay it's more than likely
464
that voltage regulator on the alternator it's quite an involved job to replace it
465
so if you are going to go to
466
that extent then you might as well just put a new alternator in there
467
and forget about it for another 10 years or so however long it may last.
468
Now starter motors like any starter motor they will wear and fail over time.
469
Anything with this engine the starter motor is bolted inside the back of the V of the engine
470
and unfortunately some of the bolts that mount
471
that to the bell housing come from the gearbox side
472
so it's just about impossible to undo them bolts from the engine bay here.
473
In a lot of cases you'll have to drop the gearbox down slightly to get access to them.
474
there is a cheat away you can do it you can
475
disassemble the starter motor from its sort of main body that's bolted to the bell holes in
476
and just put the guts out of the new starter motor
477
and bolt all that up but
478
if you want to replace the whole thing it is a very labor intensive job to do the job properly
479
so if it has got starter motor issues the one the car
480
that you're looking at just keep
481
that in mind it's not as straightforward as it's not just
482
on the side of the block like most cars huge amount
483
of hours involved in replacing it all right the smg gearbox the gearbox
484
that seems to frighten everybody i don't know why people are
485
so concerned about the smg3 because it is a fantastic gearbox
486
and again car's 20 years old i've owned it for just
487
about seven years never had any issues whatsoever with this smg gearbox
488
and it shifts absolutely beautifully now i hear a lot of people comment normally people that have either never driven one
489
or usually YouTube car reviewers that have only driven the car for an afternoon
490
and all of a sudden they're an expert on it saying that the gearbox shifts clunky.
491
I certainly wouldn't call it a clunky gearbox.
492
If you try
493
and drive it like a modern eight-speed ZF automatic then yeah
494
maybe it is going to feel a little bit more clunky than something like
495
that but I've never found it any more clunky or notchy than say GM TH350 automatic transmission from the 1970s.
496
You'd find in a lot of American cars from that period
497
but that's driving this in automatic mode
498
but what you've got to remember is this is not an automatic gearbox and that's the mistake a lot of people make.
499
It's a seven speed manual gearbox but you've got no clutch pedal
500
and you've got no actual real shifter connected to anything because that's looked after by a hydraulic system.
501
So you've got hydraulic solenoids for the whole shift pattern and the same for your clutch actuation.
502
Yep you can set it up to drive in automatic mode
503
and has an incredibly smart computer looking after things
504
so yeah you can set it up in automatic mode you
505
don't have to worry about any shifting will go up
506
and down the gears all by itself but just remember
507
that it is a manual gearbox with a real clutch single clutch just like any just regular manual gearbox
508
but that computer is going to look after the shifting
509
so it's not like an automatic transmission with a torque converter
510
so it's never going to run as smooth as an automatic transmission.
511
It's only ever going to run as smooth as a real manual gearbox.
512
But the difference between this and a regular manual gearbox is this can shift incredibly quick compared to a human being.
513
Now, you can alter the shift settings.
514
You've got five different settings to choose from, from lazy to incredibly fast banging it through the gears, and you can even go up to a sixth shift setting if you turn the traction control off.
515
so what you'll find when you're driving it
516
and banging it through the gears if you're really revving it out
517
and you've got it in an aggressive shift setting it will absolutely slam through the gears
518
but don't worry
519
because this gearbox can take it it's an incredibly strong it's a big seven speed manual gearbox
520
and it's built like a truck gearbox it can handle it
521
so you've got automatic mode manual mode you can either shift with this make-believe shifter
522
which is not actually connected to the gears it's just basically a switch
523
or you've got the paddles on here
524
but as you shift through it is actually a manual gearbox
525
shifting through them gears it's just been shifted via them shift solenoids
526
so you've got seven speeds it works incredibly efficiently
527
but you can't get in this car
528
and drive it like an automatic you've got to have the mindset
529
that you're driving a real manual gearbox
530
because that's what it is underneath all the hydraulics so
531
when you take the car for a test drive just make
532
sure with the accelerator pedal you're driving with some intention
533
and you're shifting with intention
534
because you as a human being has still got to tell the computer what you want
535
and that's got to try and anticipate what's happening so
536
if you're just dawdling and pootling along the computer doesn't know whether you're coming or going
537
so it is going to shift a bit out of sync
538
it might feel not precisely how you want it to
539
so it's an incredibly strong and i've found an incredibly reliable gearbox
540
and if you drive it properly it's an absolutely beautiful gearbox to drive i love the smg3
541
and i'd go with this over a regular manual six speed
542
any day of the week now i know in america these cars
543
and the m6s were spec with the manual six speed out of the v8 m3 at the time
544
but what you've got to remember is the gear ratios in
545
that gearbox are very very different to what are in the seven speed smg
546
and to be honest the gear ratios are a bit out of whack to the v10 engine
547
so what you've got to keep in mind is this seven speed smg gearbox was designed
548
and built specifically to be used with this v10 engine now
549
how many cars out there can you say the same thing about
550
that where the gearbox and the engine were built
551
and designed together to work in unison
552
so don't just listen to the reviews out there listen to
553
information people have never driven these cars take one for a drive yourself drive it with intention
554
and drive it hard and you'll see
555
that this is an incredibly amazing gearbox paired with this engine
556
but of course anything mechanical can go wrong
557
and as these cars age getting to 20 odd years old now things can start to wear
558
and deteriorate so what can go wrong with the smg3 well
559
if anything's going wrong with it the computer is very very sensitive to any issues
560
and it'll throw a fault code be an orange
561
or red gear on the dashboard there on the display so
562
if the car you're looking at has got a warning sign
563
on the dash then you want to get the car scanned just see
564
if you can decipher what's going on with it common issues
565
with the smg3 probably the most common issue is the hydraulic pump as an electric motor to drive it
566
that electric motor can wear
567
and fail over time now they're really early ones especially in
568
a car like this 2005 they were built without facility for the dust from the brushes
569
when they get worn to exit the motor
570
so they just get clogged up blocked up
571
and also there's some stampings on the side of the brushes
572
which make them a bit too thick and they couldn't slide properly
573
and they caused issues most of them have been changed out
574
under recall now most of the m5s with murder issues have all been changed out now
575
so you'll probably find that it's not on the original one
576
but the brushes do wear over time they can fail it's very unlikely
577
that the actual pump itself will fail sometimes the seals can deteriorate
578
if it's gotten really hot at some point they can be replaced that's not a big deal
579
but pump failure to be honest i've never actually seen full-on
580
pump failure myself where the whole pump needs replacing it's usually the motor
581
that drives the pump not too expensive it's not a huge job to change it out just consider
582
that if it's not building pressure other thing is the actuator where it stores
583
that hydraulic pressure can start to fail over time
584
and an easy way to see if the the system's not holding pressure is
585
when you first unlock the car you'll hear that hydraulic pump running just like this.
586
now depending on how long it runs if it's running
587
and going on and on and on then obviously
588
that pump's trying to make up a leak somewhere
589
or some major pressure loss so that'll give you an indication
590
that something's going on with the smg system but it's not building
591
and maintaining the pressure the way it should do
592
so it could be the accumulator that's letting by more than likely especially with the cars being this age
593
if it's been ran really hot all the o-rings on the solenoids
594
or the shifts and your clutch actuation they can become hard aged
595
and brittle they're no longer pliable so they won't seal properly
596
so what it'll do is it'll let
597
that hydraulic pressure past the seals it won't build pressure properly
598
and then eventually it's going to cause shifting issues
599
and it's going to throw one of them warning cog lights the other thing is especially
600
if the car won't start properly when it's in neutral
601
that can be any number of issues
602
but a lot of the time the car has been this
603
age it can be the wiring on the side of the gearbox
604
which basically goes from the main harness to the shift block at the top insulation breaks down over time
605
and what happens is then wires start shorting out
606
so easy fix for that is to remove the harness from the gearbox
607
and just basically sleeve all the wires put it back in
608
it should be good as gold one caveat i would say
609
with this is from some reports from some of my viewers
610
especially over in the states there they do say they don't
611
experience the same sort of shift style as we do with the european vehicles
612
so mine's got my smg's got the european software
613
if you've got the american software looking after it due to emissions regulations it might shift slightly different
614
and it won't feel as smooth
615
or as nice as the ones with the european software so
616
if you're looking at a car in the states
617
and it hasn't had the software reflash to the european style it is worth considering getting
618
that done if it's legal to do so in the state
619
that you live in because it will improve your shifts no end
620
but other than the electric pump motor failing one of the
621
other most common issues with these is the slave cylinder failing
622
which is bolted of course to the bell housing there what
623
that can do it can leak your bypass clutch hydraulic pressure
624
and what that can do is leak into the bell housing
625
and contaminate your clutch unfortunately a bit like the starter motor
626
to replace it the bolts go from inside the bell housing
627
so you basically got to remove the gearbox to replace the slave cylinder
628
but to be honest with you you'd want to do anyway
629
because you want to check that clutch make sure it's not contaminated
630
if it is it's a good time to put a new clutch in there flywheel make sure
631
that looks all right and the other thing
632
that can cause issues is a clutch release bearing early versions
633
were a greased metal type later versions were like a plastic lined version
634
which shouldn't have any grease on but some garages
635
when they're replacing the clutch did grease them now this can cause issues normally you can tell
636
if it's an issue or if it's failed or if it's failing
637
when you drive the vehicle and if it's not making up
638
that clutch as you're pulling away at takeoff if it's juddering
639
or if it's just just
640
if it just doesn't feel as smooth as it should do then normally it's
641
that but release bearing you've also got the fork they can wear
642
and the wee pivot the fork is plastic the original ones they can wear over time
643
if it's been changed out for a brass one at some point they'll cause even more issues
644
so if you do go in there you want to replace with a proper plastic one
645
but to be honest unless it's just the pump motor that's causing an issue
646
if any of the hydraulic solenoids need replacing or the o-rings need doing
647
if you need to do the wiring to the shift block
648
if you've got anything to do with the clutch slave the clutch itself
649
and any of the mechanisms
650
that operates the clutch you're going to be taking the gearbox out
651
and at that stage it would just be worth going through the whole gearbox resleeve the wires
652
go through
653
and replace all the solenoid o-rings maybe put a new seal inside the pump consider replacing the pump electric motor
654
and the clutch itself and the mechanism that looks after the clutch
655
and you'll be good as gold for years to come
656
and you'll have resolved some of the not so common
657
but some of the issues that can happen with these gearboxes right the sunroof
658
when you're heading down the road just listen for any wind noise coming from this area
659
because it's very common as these cars are getting to this
660
age now for the sunroof seal to get hard to get aged
661
and shrink won't seal properly you'll get a lot of wind noise coming through there so
662
if you are hearing a bit of noise just factor in
663
the cost of a new sunroof seal they're not expensive
664
but it is something you want to get taken care of
665
also another common sunroof issue is a rattle from the metal wind deflector
666
that sits underneath there so when the sunroof is fully open you've got this wind deflector
667
that comes up like that
668
but in the closed position like it is now as the car gets old the hinges will wear on
669
that wind deflector and you'll hear it banging against the glass
670
so it'll sound like a carassel heading down the road going
671
over the bumps now it can be quite hard to diagnose this but
672
if you do hear a rattle open the sunroof screen have
673
a listen up here you can actually get your fingers in there
674
and grab a hold of it either push it up there
675
or pull it down a wee bit
676
if the rattle stops then you know what it is it's
677
an easy fix i have made videos on this previously general wear
678
and tear inside the interior check the seats the seat bolsters
679
these m5s were specced with merino leather it's a soft supple beautiful leather
680
if i wear on the bolsters can be quite expensive to repair it
681
if you did want to do so also check the alcantara headliner
682
if it was specced with it it's all hanging down
683
and whatnot it might cost you a a little bit more
684
than just getting a regular headliner repaired same with the c b
685
and a pillars and with the seats you've got the whole mechanism
686
that operates it all the electric motors the switch gear
687
and whatnot just make sure all that works usually the thing
688
that fails is the thigh support as we gear inside there
689
rather than replacing the whole motor itself you can just buy
690
a replacement gear it's not a big deal to replace it very cheap so if they're not working properly the solution
691
isn't a big deal
692
and I've made videos on this previously both of mine have been done the iDrive screen can fail
693
so just make sure it looks all right it's functioning okay these can be expensive
694
and getting a second hand unit can be quite hard to
695
track down the system's rubbish it's aged quite badly to be honest with you
696
but I don't really use it I just drive the car
697
like a car I've got a cd changer this one even came spec with a mini disc player
698
and just remember the quirks of this side driver are all part of the character of the car from this era.
699
Steering wheel is specific to the M5 even though it looks like a regular 5 series M Sport wheel
700
because it's got the M stitching around the inside there.
701
If there's any issues with this you might want to get it recovered the same
702
or finding a replacement that was an M5 or an M6 wheel can be quite difficult.
703
These shift paddles they can break I don't know how easy they are to obtain nowadays they're not hugely expensive
704
but you might have to find a used one
705
or you might have to buy a whole wheel just to
706
obtain the shift paddle they bolt to the back of the steering wheel.
707
The mirrors most of these m5s were specced with the electro
708
chromatic glass they don't wear very well over time the liquid
709
inside of them can discolour they go like a golden brown colour
710
They are expensive pieces of mirror glass to replace and now they're no longer available.
711
So unless you find some place that's still got some in stock, it's going to cost you a fortune.
712
So I found one of mine when the solution was just to replace it with the non-electrochromatic glass.
713
It's a lot cheaper.
714
They are still readily available for the genuine ones.
715
And then to be honest with you, because the electrochromatic ones fail so easily and so often, you fit these and it's kind of a set and forget.
716
You put electrochromatic ones in there even
717
if you can find one you're going to pay a fortune
718
and eventually it's going to fail again anyhow so
719
if the car you're looking at has got the electrochromatic glass
720
and it is failing there is a reasonably cheap easy solution check out the parking sensors make sure they're working properly
721
if there are any faults with the system it will normally come up on the dash normally in most cases
722
if there is a fault it's usually one of the sensors
723
that have failed that's an easy fix in some cases it can be a wiring fault
724
or the module that looks after the parking sensors the oil cooler they can leak oil believe it or not
725
so there's a connection over this side on the right hand
726
side of the oil cooler where the hoses connect there's a wee flange there
727
and that's normally where it leaks from in most cases it's just the o-rings in between
728
that connection between the oil cooler itself and the hoses
729
that we block there but in some cases it is actually the little pipes
730
that take off to that flange they can start leaking
731
if that's the case need to replace the whole oil cooler
732
if not and then it's just the o-rings
733
but normally i'd start with the o-rings
734
and go from there check out the brakes make sure the calipers aren't leaking make sure they're operating properly
735
and check out how much wear the discs
736
and pads have got on them now brake wear isn't a huge deal it's not a huge concern
737
but if the brake discs in particular are heavily worn on the vehicle
738
that you're looking at you know they're a solution simple you just replace them
739
but look at the size of these things they ain't cheap
740
it can be super expensive to do a full set of discs
741
and pads on these cars so if the brakes on the m5
742
that you're looking at are heavily worn just factor in the cost of replacement
743
and while you're checking out the brakes make sure there's no abs
744
or dsc faults up on the dashboard
745
if there is it could be something as simple as a
746
failed wheel speed sensor worst case scenario it could be the
747
dsc unit that's failed not too much of a big deal on the later models
748
because you can get the units rebuilt but the earlier models not
749
so much there's not many services out there
750
that will look at the very early models the 2005 models
751
they were unique to this year they did change the module
752
for the rest of the model run on the 60 m5 and the 2005
753
units are extremely rare you do well to find a used good second hand one
754
and the new ones are all on back order with BMW they're not even manufacturing them at this stage so
755
if there's any DSC faults on the dashboard could be something
756
simple it could be something more involved even a steering angle sensor
757
so just keep
758
that in mind the rear axle the differential in these cars it's a very robust unit
759
but the limited slip setup is an old school setup uses clutch plates I really like
760
that but them clutch plates can wear over time
761
if you're looking at a car that's got like 200,000 miles
762
on the clock then them clutch plates are going to be pretty worn out
763
but even on a low mileage car in its normal operation you will find
764
that when the differential is cold at slow speeds
765
when you're making tight turns you will get a bit of
766
a scraping noise from the rear end it's completely normal
767
if the differential fluid hasn't been changed in a
768
while probably going to be more pronounced
769
but fresh fluid with a limited slip additive usually resolves it up to a certain extent
770
but a bit of scraping noise is normal it's just them limited slip clutch plates doing their job
771
so i won't be too worried about that but
772
if the diff's clonking on tight turns or it's whining
773
when you go down the road then them sounds will be letting you know it's time for a rebuild
774
and as with any car you're looking at to buy just make sure the body's nice
775
and straight there's no obvious accident damage main thing i like to check with the bonnet
776
and the boot open make sure the chassis rails are nice
777
and straight and the exterior body on the m5s it's pretty much all steel apart from the bonnet
778
and the two front wings they're aluminium so just make sure they're nice
779
and straight in particular because they can be very expensive to either repair
780
or replace all right guys
781
so there we have it that's pretty much everything you're going to need to look out for
782
if you're looking at getting into one of these cars and
783
if you follow the simple steps in this video you should
784
be able to avoid the majority of headaches with these vehicles
785
and it can be an absolute awesome ownership experience now
786
if you found a video interesting
787
or useful don't forget to give it a like make sure you go
788
and check out the rest of my youtube channel for more bmw e60 m5 content consider subscribing
789
if that's your cup of tea i'm mtech guy thanks a lot for watching
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Why Practice Speaking with This Video?
Practicing English speaking with this video is like getting a crash course in real-world conversation—perfect for english speaking practice or even IELTS speaking practice. The speaker uses a casual, relatable tone, sharing personal stories and expert advice, which mirrors how people talk in everyday life. Whether you’re learning to explain technical details (like car engines) or express opinions, this dialogue helps you master natural flow. Plus, the mix of anecdotes and practical tips makes it ideal for shadowing site exercises—you can mimic the rhythm and emphasis to sound more fluent.
Grammar & Expressions in Context
The video is packed with useful structures to add to your toolkit. Here are 3 key ones:
- "What if I told you...": A great way to introduce a surprising idea. Example: "What if I told you this old car is super reliable?" Use it to engage listeners.
- "There is one caveat...": Perfect for softening a statement. The speaker uses it to balance praise with a warning. Try: "The job is fun—there’s one caveat: long hours."
- "Forget all that because...": A casual transition to prioritize information. Example: "Forget the color—buy based on condition." It works for shifting focus in arguments.
Common Pronunciation Traps
Watch out for these tricky words in the video: - "Burgundy": Often mispronounced as "burgun-dee"—the correct stress is on the first syllable: "BUR-gun-dee." - "Alcantara": A car interior material; say "al-kan-TAH-rah," not "al-CAN-tara." - "Revs": Short for "revolutions," it’s pronounced "revs" (like "heaves" without the "h"), not "reevs." Practicing these with shadowspeak techniques will help you sound more natural. Remember, the speaker’s relaxed pace makes it easy to follow—ideal for learn english with videos sessions!
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Present perfect continuous have/has been + -ing — an action that started earlier and is still going on | I've been running · has been working · you've been going |
| Conditional sentences if + clause, will/would + verb — a condition and its result | if the car you're looking at will come · if the car won't start |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | you've signed · I've owned · have ever owned |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | been looked · were manufactured · be revved |
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.