E60/E61: Hidden OBC Menu in Instrument Display - view R/T measurements + CANBUS data

There is a hidden way to access real-time CANBUS data through the instrument binnacle. The guide here [written by scoopz for m5board.com] mentions the E60 M5, but I used this on a 530d manual and 525d auto, so it does cover all E60/E61 models. It may work, or there may be a similar system for Fxx Series BMWs, but I have not had a chance to examine this yet.

Measurements that can be viewed include true engine temperature, true engine RPM speed, true vehicle speed and loads of other bits of information that the CANBUS system records, but the iDrive does not normally display.

LINK: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1nHxeTpZLO2X5PkZQse10ureUOTBdBJx6

GUIDE: [written by www.scoopz.com for m5board.com]

*ACCESS PDF GUIDE FOR ACCOMPANYING PICTURES*

To access the menu follow these steps:1. Ensure your engine is OFF but ignition is in stage 2. (For

     those with comfort access just press the start/stop button
     twice once in the car without your foot on the brake)

2.Press and hold the odometer reset button (from now on I shall just call it the button) for 6 seconds, during which it will

show an oil icon, then a warning triangle. Keep holding and release when it shows: 01.__ FGSTNR

After a second or two the 01.__ will be updated with 01.00 and the last 7 characters of your VIN/Chassis # will show: 01.00

FGSTNR

CU12345

     Make a note of the numbers, this is important as you will need
     them in a minute to unlock all the menus because at present you
     can only access menu 01.__, 02.__ and 19.__
Now that you have made a note of your VIN number you need to add all the individual digits together so if your VIN was CU12345


Then you need to do:
1+2+3+4+5 = 15
This number [15 in this example] is you magic unlock number and is needed for step 6.
Press and hold the button for two seconds until it shows(press button 2 seconds)
01.__
Whilst it is displaying 01.__ repeatedly press the button to cycle through the menu’s incrementally:
01.__
(press button)
02.__
(press button)
03.__
(press button)
until you get to 19.__ at which point stop and wait for it to show
19.00
LOCK: ON
CODE: 00
     Now press the button repeatedly to increment the CODE eg:
(press button)
CODE: 01
(press button)
CODE: 02
(press button)
CODE: 03
(press button)
...until you get to the number you calculated in step 4, your unlock code, in this example 15:
CODE: 15

Once you have reached your unlock code wait a few seconds and it should jump you back to 01.00 and all the other menus will be available.
There are 21 top level menus and some have sub-menu’s, for example:
01.__ 01.00
      01.01
      01.02
      01.03
02.__ 02.00
03.__ 03.00
04.__ 04.00
04.01 04.02etc
To change top level menu’s press the button for 2 seconds until the last two digits turn to underscores (XX.__) then release the button and quickly press the button repeatedly to increment through the top level menu’s, e.g.:
(press button 2 seconds)
01.__
(press button)
02.__
(press button)
03.__
etc
Once you arrive at the menu you want to go into just wait a few seconds and the two underscores will be replaced by double zeroes (XX.00) and every subsequent press of the button will cycle you through the selected menu’s sub menu:
04.__ (wait few seconds)
04.00
(press button)
04.01
(press button)
04.02
(press button)
04.03

10. Some menus don’t have sub menus so waiting for the to display




XX.00 and then pressing the button again will activate that feature, try it on menu 02.00 and it will carry out a dashboard

test and move all the needs. Press and hold the button for two seconds until the last two digits turn to underscores then release and keep pressing the button until it shows:02.__

     (press button)

02.00

     (press button)

     Dashboard will do strange things.



Ok so that’s a run down on how to access the menus and move around the different levels of the menus. I systematically accessed each menu and it’s sub menus and photographed each one to create a rough guide as to what is shown, most things I haven’t got a clue what they are but some things like current true speed, rpm and rpm limit are useful.

E60: Front 12V Socket spring mechanism assembly.

PROBLEM:

• Mechanism has collapsed and 12V socket will not pop up out of housing.
• Ash-tray has been removed during work on car and has fallen apart.
• Coins or other objects have jammed in the mechanism and are stopping it from operating.
• The 12V socket is jammed up and ash tray will not close.

As with everything on the E60, even the mechanism that pops the 12V socket up and moves the trim around in over-designed to death. There are two springs in the assembly. A main flat-coiled spring that lifts the 12V socket up when the ash-tray is slid open and a small one that operates a tiny trim-flap that fills the gap created as the socket rotates up. You know, so everything looks neat!

These come out really easily when the ash-tray is removed from the fascia, or when things get jammed and the ash-tray is forced shut, but it is quite confined under there and the springs should not get lost. Be careful not to push them under the foam-trim at either side while retrieving them.

The main spring is on a spindle running through the socket housing, with a screw at one end. The protruding arm faces forward and tenses against a lip in the plastic. The screw will need removing to get the spring back into place, so do not over-tighten it when refitting so the socket still rotates freely.

The smaller spring slides onto the plastic stud on one side of the front socket hinge and the two protruding arms should be in a V shape pointing upwards and sit in the grooves on the hinge and trim-flap, as pictured.

** For a guide on removing the dash and fascia trim required to get to the ash-tray see THIS POST. **

E60: New front bonnet-badge... cheap eBay replica.

With all but one job complete on the 5 Series I decided to treat the car to a new bonnet badge, since the last one has become severely de-lacquered, as they do.

A genuine BMW one will set you back about £25. Cheap fakes can be bought off eBay for as little as a fiver, but these don't look promising, with visibly low-cost manufacturing and the quality of plastic used in festive tree decorations.

In the end I couldn't justify the cost of the real deal and plumped for a middle of the range one - a 'replica' OEM badge. It was £10 delivered and is complete in every detail - the BMW roundel on the back, authentic looking packaging and even the right BMW part number.

Despite the 'realistic looking' markings on the back, which were nothing like on my original one, the quality of the plastic was not great and the overall depth about half of the original, which meant fit isn't great either. The locating pins were far too long, tapering to a point from manufacture and needed cutting down for the badge to sit flush, which it does barely - there is still a tiny bit of movement if the badge is rocked back and forth. Ok, this may be a pretty critical review of a fake badge still costing less than half that of a real one, but wouldn't the money spent on packaging and fancy insignia been better spent creating a more quality badge?

At the end of the day it looks fine on the car and you would have to be an expert to spot it was a fake, but then again, most BMW fans are and, most importantly, I know it is. In future would I spend the full £25 on a genuine badge? Yes, I think so.

E60: Side Window Anti-Trap Function Disabled - easy fix!

This is a very common fault - the chime tells you that 'Side window anti-trap' is disabled and reminds you of it every time you start the car. Each window has height sensors and if something stops it from closing smoothly or it gets stopped half way up then the auto open/close is disabled for that window until reset. Literally anything can cause this, it is way over sensitive, even a bit of dirt or tree-sap in the window runner is more than enough. Sadly, it is not self removing and requires the up and down position for the window to be reset manually, but thankfully this is an easy task and does not require plugging-in to remove the fault message.

FIX:

* This must be done from the affected window switch itself, not the driver's door panel. *

1. Locate the affected window by testing the 'one-touch' up and down function for each window separately.

2. Open window so it is in the fully down position, release the switch, then press and hold the window-down button for 5 seconds.

3. Close the window so it is in the fully up position in the frame, release the switch, then press and hold the window-up button for 5 seconds.

The window will now auto-open / close again and the message will have gone!


** FOR E39: **
This fix does not apply to E39 models with anti-trap function. The E39 has a crush-sensor in the window frame and will not show a message on the console, so if you have a window that has lost one-touch functionality then the sensor is faulty and will need replacing.

E60 Driver's Door: No power to windows, mirrors, remote-lock, etc. - Door Module fuse.

Symptoms:

• Driver's window switch-panel doesn't operate or illuminate buttons.
• Remote door-lock doesn't operate, but all doors operate when key is turned.
• Driver's door courtesy light does not illuminate.
• Mirror control and other door switches do not operate or illuminate.
• Speaker still works.

Cause:

FUSE 10 - 30A - [Driver's Seat Adjustment] It's the first green fuse from the left in the glove compartment fuse-box.

The fuse is labelled Driver's Seat Adjustment, but is really just power from Terminal 30, which also supplies the Driver's Door Module. This module is located inside the driver's door and metes out power to the different door components so that all operations are communicated back to the CAS [Comfort Access System]. This means that when the fuse to the door module blows, power is lost to the window, mirror, etc. switch panel, the remote door lock, basically everything except the speaker. This causes a lot of confusion as to the root of the problem, as it would be very hard to guess that the fuse for the driver's seat adjustment motors would also power a hidden module in the door that controls everything. Oh well, that's modern cars. 

There is a lot of conflicting information on forums about this. It appears that most people have the symptoms described above and not one reply mentions this fuse! Owner's have even shelled out for new door modules which have had no effect and perhaps their lack of further contribution to the thread suggest the same sheepish frustration I felt when I found the fuse. Quite a few people have foxed indy auto-electricians with this problem, who have probably been testing wires, as I did, while not knowing about the fuse.

I eventually discovered the fuse by tracing the wiring diagrams on bmw-planet.com. This is a brilliant place to access the TIS wiring-diagrams and navigate them easily. I have condensed the layout of the door module wiring in the pic below.

E60: Replacing Rear Rose-Bushes / Lower Ball-Joints

These are the main joint where the rear wheel-hubs attach to the trailing-arms and are a pretty common replacement on high mileage 5 and 7 series. They were the advisories I got on the MOT in February, so thought I should get them done before the nice weather ends.

DIFFICULTY - 6/10 This is not a long or complicated job, but is quite labour intensive.

** YOU WILL NEED: A dedicated removal / installation tool. These are available on eBay [here] for just under £40 and work for all modern 5, 6, 7, X5 and X6 rose-bushes. These are all copies of the BMW special tools listed here on TIS.

The rose-bush is item 2 in the diagram.

1. Lift car, remove rear wheel, support on axle-stand.

2. Unbolt the anti-roll bar link from the trailing-arm using an 18mm open/ring spanner on the nut from underneath, while holding the stud from turning using a T40 Torx socket through the centre of the spanner.

3. Loosen the long bolt that holds the trailing-arm to the wheel hub [5] using a 24mm wrench on the nut and an 18mm wrench on the bolt head. [A long breaker-bar is advisable on the nut.]

4. Loosen off the eccentric-bolt on the trailing-arm [11] using an 18mm wrench on the bolt head and a 21mm wrench on the nut. [Be careful not to turn the bolt and alter the alignment as it's hard to get back.]

5. Loosen off the other bolt on the trailing arm [9] using an 18mm wrench on both the nut and bolt head.

6. Fully remove the 24mm nut [6] and long bolt [5] from the wheel-hub. [The bolt will likely need knocking out with a drift.]

7. Remove the bolt holding the push-rod to the wheel-hub [7] using an 18mm wrench.

7a. (O/S trailing-arm only) - Disconnect the suspension-angle sensor from the trailing-arm using a 10mm wrench and 10mm open-end spanner.

8. Lever the trailing arm down so it is clear of the wheel-hub and the push-rod [4] can be removed.

9. Remove the retaining-ring [3] from the rear face of the rose-bush. [It will likely be well seized in place and need splitting with a grinder / cut-off tool before knocking out in two pieces.]

10. Set up the removal-tool either side of the rose-bush with the largest mandrel on the receiving side and the smallest mandrel on the pushing side, ensuring the pushing side is completely flush to the rose-bush face. [Some of the rose-bush rubber boot may need cutting off to ensure this.]

11. Tighten up the removal-tool using a 19mm wrench on either side until the bush pops out of the wheel-hub. [Rotating the receiving mandrel round so the notched area can be viewed from underneath shows the progress of the bush coming out.] [The bush may well need some heat treatment if it is seized, or you can have a go at splitting it if you are brave enough.]

12. Place the new rose-bush into the hub, ensuring it is straight to the collar and will go in evenly. [The bush always slots it from front to rear, with the retaining ring on the rear face.]

13. Set up the removal-tool on the new rose-bush with the largest mandrel on the receiving side again and the mid-sized mandrel on the pushing side. [The notched side of the receiving mandrel will need rotating so it fits flush past the back of the brake disc. This is essential to keep the threaded-bar / bush straight.]

14. Tighten up the removal-tool with two 19mm wrenches until the bush is fully seated in the collar. [The bush should slide in pretty easily, if it resists then it is not going in straight. A small amount of copper grease can be rubbed round the bush to aid it, but be very sparing.]

15. Fit the new retaining-ring to the rear face of the rose-bush.

16. Refit the push-rod and trailing arm etc. as a reversal of steps 8 to 1.

** For correct re-alignment of suspension geometry see this post. **

E60: Horrible dash rattle - loose Strut Brace.

If there is a loud rattle from behind the dash on your E60, the sound of two plastic surfaces creaking against each other like tectonic-plates, or a cracking noise that sounds like the windscreen is flexing, then the strut-brace is loose. 

This is the alloy bar that bolts across the front suspension turrets and also to the firewall in the middle, which cuts down on chassis-flex as the front wheels move around. The E39 didn't have one and the E60 doesn't need one, but it's there and if one of the bolts come even slightly loose then it produces a rattle inside the dashboard like no other. It is not easily identifiable as a loose component in the engine-bay by ear as the noise is so internal and you may find yourself, as I did, spending forever adjusting panel fit inside the dashboard and cable-tying wire connectors with no joy. Rest assured it is a loose bolt on the strut-brace.

The problem is steel bolts going into alloy threads on the strut-tops, which become loose easier and are more prone to damage if overtightened or the strut-brace is removed and refitted a lot. BMW are aware of the problem and they're official fix is detailed in this PDF [http://5series.net/forums/attachments/e60-discussion-2/37844d1190387791-cracking-sound-e60-dashboard-sib_511304.pdf], but they will charge a premium for this and probably replace the brace.

The strut-brace attaches in three places, with two bolts in the centre joining the firewall and one either side on the strut-tops. They have E10 double-hex heads. Two of my four bolts were loose - one of the centre ones, which just kept spinning and needed coaxing out, and the O/S strut-top. This would get near tight then skip and go finger-loose again. The strut-brace was so loose this side that it could be moved around by hand at the end with the bolt in place.

Quick Repair Options:

• Heli-coil - This is the recommended or 'pro' way. You can get a hell-coil kit for £10-£20 and it basically winds a new stainless-steel thread into the old one so the original bolt tightens straight back in.
• Drill out and re-thread - This is cheaper and dirtier as it just involves boring out the hole with the damaged thread to a larger size and using a die to re-thread it to accept a larger bolt. This is what I did, drilling the offending hole in the O/S strut-top out to 9.5mm and threading it using an M10 tap. I then used a short M10 bolt (17mm) with a large knurled collar to keep that end of the brace nice and tight.

---

This did NOT fix the rattle?

If you're strut-brace is not loose and the noise is still there then it could be two other things:

• Axial tie-rod / Track-rod end failing - Yes, when the axial tie-rod / track-rod ends start to fail it does produce a rattling / cracking noise from behind the dash, just like a loose strut-brace. No one would ever guess this defect would make this sound where it occurs, but there you go. I suspect this was the cause of the rattle in my E60 after all, though never had chance to replace the part before I sold it and the guys buying it both agreed the noise was something steering-rack related. 
• Loose trim - If the sound is definitely originating behind the dash then loose trim or structure is likely your culprit, though this is quite rare. E60s use alloy design and the body absorbs a lot of flex, so when stuff behind the dash does become loose the sound is amplified in the cabin. I am sure when this does happen, every case is different so there is probably a lot written about it online. Best of luck tracking it down. 

---

This is a common fault and there is plenty of information on the forums:

http://5series.net/forums/e60-discussion-2/cracking-sound-e60-dashboard-45017/

http://www.bmw-driver.net/forum/showthread.php?t=44948

http://forum.bmw5.co.uk/topic/80790-a-slight-knocking-noise-from-the-dash/

http://forum.bmw5.co.uk/topic/17634-rattle-from-dash-on-start-up-from-cold/

E60: Blocked Washer-Pump - Quick Fix.

No water from windscreen washer-jets? Chances are it's a blockage in the pump filter. This is not a difficult job, rather a very easy one, so avoid unnecessary cost and fix it quickly yourself.

Check Fuse: 
Fuse 18 is the corresponding fuse. If the washer pump is dead and making no noise then this is the first thing to check. If it is still making a whining noise, then you have a blocked pump-filter.

** The headlamp washer system only functions when the headlights / sidelights are turned on. **

FIX:

Windscreen Washer System:

** The washer bottle is located just in front of the N/S (passenger) wheel-arch liner. The filler-neck is just behind the N/S headlamp and you can see the hose go down into the bodywork and rise up to where the tank is. The tank CANNOT be accessed from above, even when the headlamp is removed. It is much easier to peel the arch-liner back and work from inside the wheel-arch. **

** Obviously water will spill out of the washer bottle so just allow it to drain. **

1. Remove the 3 screws from the N/S/F plastic wheel-arch liner circled in the photo so that it can be peeled back out of the arch rim, one on the near edge, one along the bottom and one by the brake air-duct. It helps to turn the wheel full-lock one way or the other to give more room.

2. Gently pull the washer-jet hose connector off the spout on the side of the windscreen washer-pump. [It's the smaller grey one, furthest away in photo].

3. Reach in and grip the windscreen washer-pump, then gently turn it from side to side while lifting it upwards until the spout on the pump is free of the tank [it may need tilting towards the wheel to get out].

4. Unplug the wire-connector from the pump by depressing the clip on either side and sliding it upwards. The pump can now be removed from inspection if necessary. [Alternatively, leave the wiring connected and place the pump somewhere out of the way].

5. Gently prise the rubber base the pump sits in upwards out of it's collar in the tank, being careful not to detach the plastic-filter from below it and have it drop into the tank.

6. Remove the white plastic filter from the rubber piece and give it a good clean. [It's usually congealed screen-wash clogging it as in the photo, rather than detritus].

7. Refit the plastic filter to the bottom of the rubber base and carefully lower it vertically back into the tank.

8. Refit the pump as a reversal of steps 4 to 1.

Sticky residue wrapped right around the filter-gauze
had stopped flow into the pump completely.

Headlamp Washer System:
The process is the same for the larger headlamp washer pump, though the hose-connector at the bottom in the second photo is sturdier and needs the clip pushing up from undernath to slide the hose off.

Headlamp washer has a much bigger filter, I guess to get more
water into the bigger pump and higher pressure spray.

5 Series wing repaired!

With all the mechanical work on the E60 of late I would normally have relished a bit of body work to change the pace but, as the damage occurred at work and my company has several body shops at their disposal, I figured it was best to accept a free professional repair.

Not a bad job I must say. J Howarth's in Pensby, Wirral did the work. They are now officially part of Wallasey Fleet Hire and have recently renamed as such, but here they are on Yell - http://www.yell.com/biz/j-howarth-and-son-ltd-wirral-1163983/. I would have to second the comments in the Yell review. This is where our more specialist jobs are sent to at work and I trust the guys will do a clean, thorough repair and look after my car, so I waited a couple of weeks to get it done there and it was worth it. The E60 turned out to be quite an involved fix, as ever. The wings are alloy, not steel, so the car had to be taken somewhere after prep to have a blob of TIG weld put in the split [below] before being ground, filled, primed, painted and lacquered. Never the less, the car was ready for me by the following afternoon. Due to the extra work required they couldn't stretch to sorting the scuff on the back bumper after all, so I will have to break out the T-cut, but I am no position to complain - the wing is indeed like new.

Argh... Simo hit my wing!

Oh dear, some more bodywork already. Simo at work is not the world's most careful drive and yesterday he decided to park his Transit van next to the 5er and in doing so scraped down the M-sport bumper and dented the wing! Nightmare, but at least work are paying for the damage. It will be going into Howarth'a body shop in Pensby (Wirral) next week and they will be sorting the scuff that my mate did to the back bumper with his Volvo, so I guess that's the silver lining...

Repair in this post.

E60: Update + New Turbo!

Right, now the E60 is back on the road and all legit it's time I fine fettled the engine-vacuum and rattling exhaust issues left from the engine swap. The exhaust needs realigning at the back of the turbo so it doesn't contact the bracket and the vibration-dampers can be set correctly. The only way to do this is to first remove the rocker-cover and injectors and after my injector-seal problems with the new engine I haven't been able to justify doing that unless it's really essential and that time is now.
The culmination of all my messing around with the vacuum-lines [from this post] is a partly-boosting turbo that sounds like a police-siren. From the word go I was told this is the key sign of a broken turbo, but just couldn't believe it as the turbo seemed to be working ok after the initial engine rebuild (or was it?!) and the other vacuum niggles gave me false hope that it could be a cheap, easy fix. I should have learned by now that this is never the case and have now come to the conclusion of a glaringly obvious broken turbo. I guess that swirl-flap destroyed every part of the motor that it passed through, so lets hope and pray, seriously, that I don't have catalytic-converter issues in future.

So here is my replacement turbo. It's from an E65 730d and was the only used turbo I could find that fits my 'vacuum-actuated' setup, rather than the later and far more common 'electronic-actutor' type. I got it for the spiffing price of just £200, including delivery, but alas there is another catch - the front casing is dented at the outlet-port to the intercooler and the alloy has cracked, maybe during transit, but probably in the crash that wrote-off the 7-Series. This isn't a major setback though, as the front casing just bolts on and is a dry fit, so should not be much drama to swap the cleaner casing from my turbo onto this one. It also plays no part in the functionality of the blower, so if the mechanism works then it works. I'm no turbo expert but there is less play in the spindle than my current blower so if it cures the problem it will have definitely been worth the extra effort for the knock-down price.

E60: Replacing the Rear Trailing-arm / Bushes

REMOVAL:

1. Jack car, remove wheel.
2. Remove anti-roll bar link [14] by undoing both the upper and lower nut. Upper nut is 16mm and you need to hold the threaded-bolt by inserting a T30-Torx socket down the end of bolt itself. Lower nut is 18mm and the bolt-end is held by a T40-Torx. Use an open-ended spanner or place a ring-spanner over the Torx-socket before inserting it.
3. Loosen the eccentric-bolt [11] that aligns the rear suspension, making a note of its position. This is the bolt connecting the trailing-arm to the subframe lowest to the rear of the car. The bolt-head is 18mm and the nut, to the rear, is 21mm.
4. Loosen off the front bolt [9] connecting the trailing-arm to the subframe using an 18mm socket and spanner. You do not need to remove the hard plastic cover next to it, there is just enough room to hold the obscured bolt with a spanner.
5. Loosen off the long bolt [5] connecting the trailing-arm to the wheel-hub. The bolt-head is 18mm again and the nut, to the front, is 24mm.
6. Fully remove the 3 bolts and wiggle the trailing arm out, usually from the subframe end first. The bolts may need helping out with a drift and hammer.

REPLACING BUSHES:

Replacing the rubber-bushes and refitting your existing trailing-arm is the cheapest option. The bushes are really tight in the arm and the old ones can be removed by any means necessary - cutting, burning, whatever gets them out. The new bushes however, are nigh on impossible to fit and will likely need shoving in with a hydraulic-press. Your local garage or mechanic mate will do this for buttons. If your on your own at home, as I was, then replacing the whole arm with bushes already in will save a lot of hassle.

REFITTING:

1. Offer the trailing-arm up, wheel-hub first, and reinsert the long bolt [5] through the hub, loosely screwing the nut [6] on a few turns.
2. Manoeuvre the arm up to slide the foremost bush back into the subframe mount and reinsert the bolt [9], screwing the nut [10] on a few turns. The arm may need a bit of twisting and jimmying to get in due to the geometry of the raised suspension.
3. Manoeuvre the trailing-arm up to fit the rearmost bush back into the subframe mount. This will be difficult and you will likely need a second car-jack and a fair bit of working to get it in so the eccentric-bolt will slide through. Reinsert the eccentric-bolt [11] and tighten it up so it is reasonably tight.
4. Tighten up the other two bolts s they are reasonably tight.
5. Replace the wheel and lower the car off the jack to rest the weight back on the axles and reset the suspension geometry.
6. Fully tighten all the bolts while the car is not raised off the wheels. The correct torques are [5] - 240Nm, [9] - 100Nm, [11] - 165Nm.  [BMW recommend tightening the bolts while the car is under 'normal load'. This involved placing 50kg weights on each of the seats. ** on ** used multiple bags of cement to properly set his, but if you consider this going too far then just tighten them with the car sat on its wheels as I did. You will need to back the car onto ramps to get access to the bolts without removing the wheel, so if you absolutely can't do that then just tighten them as much as possible with the car raised.]

E60: Replacing all Brake Discs and Pads.

1. Jack car, remove wheel. REAR ONLY - ensure handbrake is off.
2. Remove plastic caps and 7mm Allen-head bolts.
3. Remove caliper and hang it from the spring.
4. *On front-N/S and rear-O/S ONLY* - Remove pad wear-sensor by gently working it up out of the slot with a small flat-screwdriver. Part of the green plastic may brake off but it's very unlikely the sensor will stop working, so provided you are careful to retain the metal clip it will fit back on tight enough.
5. Remove 18mm bolts from caliper bracket and lift out of the way.
6. Remove the stud holding the disc to the hub using a 5mm Allen-key socket.
7. Wobble the brake disc off. REAR ONLY - It may need whacking from behind with a hammer as it will bind to the handbrake shoes.
8. ** If you are replacing the inboard handbrake shoes, then do this now.
9. Fit the new brake-disc to the hub. The hand-brake may need adjusting for the drum to slide over the shoes as it self-adjusts to stay against the worn drum on the old brake-disc. It will likely need adjusting to the new drum anyway. 
10. Reverse steps 5 to 1.

Pad wear-sensors are a pain to remove.

I wangled all 4 discs and pads for £140 from LVW who supply where I work. 

Belaco are a budget make, but we fit them to vans at work and they seem OK.

Mintex pads do the job.

Plenty of meat left on the old discs, but the MOT fail showed brake imbalance.

The old pads looked alright too, but no imbalance reported on the retest.

E60 530d MOT Fail - Brakes, Trailing Arm

After the horror of the swirl-flap failure and engine swap, the E60 went off the road again at the start of December after an annoying MOT fail on imbalanced brakes, likely discs and pads, and split trailing arm bushes on the N/S. The tester also failed it on a bend in the rim of the N/S/R alloy wheel, which is reasonably bad, but enough to be an MOT fail I am not too sure.

This is the bush on the offending arm with the most play, but I still can't see a major split as I have with other bushes.

Closer inspection reveals what could be a split on the right side of the pic, but it's still not a shut case. Maybe the rubber has separated from the metal outer and is moving around?

Ok, so it's no small dent. The inner rim is bent, where the tyre sits, but I've had similar sized ones before that have been no problem. 

Is it repairable? Perhaps, but I have no spare wheel to use and a replacement is £200. Maybe the MOT tester was having a bad day?

E60: Turbo whine and no boost!

With the engine-swap teething problems put to rest and the car back on the road [at last!], there was bound to be a few running faults. All in all its going like a dream, though I would say the engine is a lot noisier and vibrates more than before. This could mainly be due to the lack of acoustic-covers and under-trays as I iron out defects, but not entirely so I will have to look at the pneumatic engine-mounts when I have time.

When I got the car out for a good run, the main problem I notice is a serious lack of boost. The turbo is also making a low-pitch whining noise, which sounds a bit like a police siren. I read that this is the noise of a dying turbo, though I find this a little hard to swallow as it was fine before and I see no reason how being removed from the car for 3 weeks would affect it. Far more likely that I've messed up attaching some vac-line or wire-connector, or lets hope so anyway. It's an annoying whistle, as it can only be heard while driving under load and not when revving at a stop.

• Turbo can be seen spinning.
• No front-rear play on spindle-shaft, hardly any left-right play.
• Pipes from turbo to intercooler and intercooler to inlet OK.
• Removed and cleaned air-temp. sensor.
• Some boost air is coming from the intercooler outlet.

Before I diagnose a dead turbo and start spending any more money, I will check the vacuum lines meticulously and also re-check the pipes for splits. The turbo also needs looking at, from the oil-feed to how it's fitting the manifold. The waste-gate doesn't seem to be operating and that seems a bit too serious to be caused by such a small vac-line fault. Ho hum, the saga continues...

E60: PAS-Pump + Exhaust Vibration-Damper.

With everything else apparently working, the 530d was still of the road due to the niggling problem of an un-bleedable PAS-system and rattling exhaust.

• Bleed PAS-system with cap off reservoir and engine off, by turning the wheel lock to lock about 30 times and adding fluid until no more bubbles were coming out.
• Remove front-bumper and drive back onto ramps.
• Locate exhaust onto connecting-rods of vibration-damper.
• Modify connecting-rods to fit new exhaust position.
• Refit exhaust and reinforcement-plate.
• Refit engine centre-undertray.
• Drive off ramps, refit bumper and test drive!

PAS-Pump Bleed:

This is the hardest to bleed PAS-system I have ever come across, though the pipes / pump have been off the car for 3 weeks and could have allowed the system to drain and fill with air more than before. The pump was whining on tickover and making an almighty groan when turned in either direction. The fluid in the reservoir was also frothy white. To fully bleed it required the engine and reservoir cap to be off and the wheel turned full lock left to right about 30 times. To do this I raised the front of the car on axle-stands so the wheels were still touching, but with hardly any weight on them. The first turns lock to lock gulped the remaining fluid right into the system and so much air was coming out I kept re-checking the pipes for a leak. Eventually, the reservoir had swallowed the last of my bottle of fluid and is just about sitting up to the minimum mark, but still bubbles were popping up as the wheel was turned. The lock to lock business continued with me and my dad taking turns for quite some time until there were finally hardly any tiny bubbles rising to the surface. This whole thing was a job in itself, but the pump is very quiet now and the steering assistance is back.

Exhaust Vibration-Damper:
During the first tests there was an almighty rattle from the exhaust from tickover up to about 2k rpm. I assumed this to be because I had left off the exhaust 'vibration-dampers' that brace the bottom of the cat to the gearbox and stop it shaking. I discarded replacing it at first as, if you don't remember exactly the way it all fits together and start bolting your gearbox and exhaust back on willy nilly, then it's impossible to figure out. The long bracket with 3 holes fits around the edge of the gearbox bell-housing, held in by one of the large E14 and two of the smaller E10 Torx-bolts that hold the box to the engine. The connecting-rods then run from the foremost stud on the cat to the N/S stud on the bracket; and from the rearmost stud on the cat to the O/S stud on the bracket, as shown in the picture from TIS. Only trouble was, neither of the rods went anywhere near the brackets. I'm not sure if the entire engine and gearbox is in a slightly different position from before, or it's just the exhaust out of line, or both, but the eyelets on the left-right rod were about 5mm too long for the studs; and the front-rear ones were almost an inch too short. After 2 frustrating hours spent removing mounts and trying to relocate the gearbox / bracket to meet the exhaust I gave up and decided to modify the connecting-rods to fit the new gap lengths. The only remaining way to adjust exhaust position would be to loosen the two nuts holding the cat to the back of the turbo, only to do this requires the rocker-cover / injectors to come back off and I'm not doing that, for now at least.
The modified connecting-rods are below and, due to lack of time, are rather crudely done. I bent the left-right rod down about 3/4" at a steep angle to take 5mm length out of it and help bring it down to the bracket at a flush angle and works rather well. The front-rear was a bit less neatly done and makes use of a piece of 1mm sheet-steel, cut roughly to an inch square and bolted to the rod. It's not the best workaround in the world, but it gets the job done.
After all that, the 'vibration-damper' did not get rid of the rattle! Instead, I traced the annoying noise to the front rubber-mount a bit further down the pipe. The exhaust was banging right into the side of the metal bracket on the gearbox-mount and a bit of fiddling with the adjustable eyelet managed to separate them and killed the rattle dead, so there you go.

E60: New Engine finally running!

Changed the injector seals last Sunday and gave the ports another good clean. The mist has stopped, but it still did not want to fire. There is fuel to the injectors and the timing is spot on, so this could only mean 2 things - something electronic isn't working properly, or the entire DDE module has fallen out of sync with the engine...

I don't even want to know what the latter option entails, so carried on swapping sensors on the new engine for those that worked on my old one. I found the crank-sensor was completely covered in dirty oil, in fact the whole slot was filled with it. Engine sensors are funny things and I can see how the oil could stop it from seeing the notch on the flywheel, but it doesn't explain why the engine would not turn over well using a can of Easy-Start. Either way, with the crank-sensor from my original lump in place it fired up straight away! Result.

[Video is with EGR-pipe disconnected and no air-filter / muffler fitted.]

• PAS-pump sounds like it's dying - extreme whine / groan when the wheel is turned - and is now the only thing keeping her off the road. Will try bleeding tomorrow and maybe fresh fluid, but failing that the pump could have packed in or, worse, I've damaged some of the piping / rack while lifting the engine in.
• Rear rubber exhaust-hanger missing. TIS says to remove the screws holding the hanger-bracket, not remove the rubber. I cut mine off to hastily get the exhaust down and will have to buy and annoyingly fit a new one.
• Front exhaust vibration-damper simply will not fit. When fitted to the exhaust, the eyelets on the two connecting-rods are way off the studs on the gearbox-bracket. The left-right rod is only about 5mm out, but the front-rear rod is miles off. I will have to remove the rear and centre brackets and try to relocate the exhaust a bit.

Other than that, no iDrive messages, no engine-management light, no 'Increased Emissions', no leaks, no mist and no funny noises. The gearbox and clutch are working fine and the car is desperate to be driven. Curse that power-steering fault!

E60: Engine Swap Week - Day 7

• Remove inlet-manifold, rail, injectors and rocker cover.
• Improve fit of fuel-rail return pipe.
• Clean injectors.
• Clean out injector ports in head.
• Fit original rocker-cover.
• Adjust injectors to fit collars tightly.
• Look for fuel in rail and rail-pressure when cranking.

The only thing I didn't do today was swap my crank-sensor over. I figured the automatic models have a different flywheel so would have a different sensor, but the two transmissions share the same sensor [exact same part no.] so the one that's on should work.

The banjo on the fuel-rail return hose needed refitting, as the jubilee-clip was now fouling the inlet-manifold. It was a bugger to find a way to refit it and give enough gap - the manifold is still fouling slightly.

I fitted my original rocker-cover because the new one has a crack round the MAF-sensor housing, obviously where the donor car had it's bump. The injector collars were fitting a bit loosely in the new rocker-cover too and are a bit tighter now. My original cam-sensor is back on too, which I doubt will make a difference, but can't hurt.

• Re-attempt start!

NO! The engine is turning ok and there is fuel-pressure. Sadly, there is now a lot of diesel-mist shooting up past the injectors, as in the vid below. Ah well, nothing ever goes smoothly.

E60: Engine Swap Week - Day 6

• Replace snapped T-piece on injector leak-off pipes.
• Torque up crank-pulley and HP-pump.
• Refit drive-belts.
• Refit radiators / coolers.
• Refit headlights and crash bar.
• Refit slam-panel and grilles / ducts.
• Plumb cooling, A/C and PAS back in at the front.
• Loosely refit exhaust and heat-shield.
• Fill with oil and coolant.
• Refit ECU and plug loom in.
• Plug in all wire connectors to engine.
• Refit fuel-rail and pipes.
• Refit turbo and exhaust-manifold.
• Refit rocker-cover and injectors.
• Refit inlet-manifold.
• Attempt start!

NOTE: Fasten engine-mount top nuts! Neaten up fuel-rail return pipe!

Well, sadly, it didn't fire right up in the first few tried like last time, but the battery has been sitting for a month and died quickly, so I will charge it overnight and have another crack tomorrow.

• Check for missing wire-connectors. Crank-sensor?
• Bleed injectors and check for rail pressure.
• Flywheel position sensor - is it a different flywheel? Swap to original.
• Check injector-leads for pulses with multimeter.
• High-pressure pump - does it need bleeding? Is it working?
• Is 'Service Due' warning affecting immobiliser?

If all these check out and it still won't go then I will have to get a computer on it and get some fault-codes. I'm back in work next week, without a break, so I should be able to bring the Launch home.

It's been a hella lot of work the last 6 days so it would have been nice to have the engine fire up on the third go like it did when I fitted the new cylinder head, but ah well, I'm full of optimism at the close of today.

Plastic T-piece nozzle snapped off in the injector leak-off hose. Luckily I got fuel pipes with the new engine [even though the pump itself was missing] and didn't have to buy a new one.

From an '03, to an '09 and now back to an '04 - this is the third head in the E60.

E60: Engine Swap Week - Day 5

• Attempt to lift gearbox underneath car.
• Lift engine back out.
• Fit gearbox to engine.
• Remove bonnet / A/C-duct.
• Lift engine and gearbox in together [mm to spare!].
• Fit prop-shaft.
• Fit gearbox mounts.
• Fit starter-motor.
• Fit oil filter/cooler.
• Fit alternator.
• Fit PAS-pump.
• Fit A/C compressor.
• Fit thermostat.
• Re-attach lower wiring-connectors.

• Loosely fit crank-pulley.
• Loosely attach main electric-cables to alt / starter.
• Loosely fit anti roll-bar.

NOTE: remember sump wire connector + tighten 10mm screw on gearbox!

Gearbox was getting nowhere from below with so little room under the car, so the engine came back out and we lifted the gearbox on very easily.

By removing the plastic air-con duct at the back and popping the bonnet lifters off so it lifts up vertical, it is possible to just about lift the engine and gearbox in together without lowering the subframe / rack.

Just the rads and injectors now and it's pretty much ready to start.