A bit late to the angel eye party: 2001 M5

[.RJ]

I would assume it's because 5th is the direct drive gear in that transmission, but it's hard to tell without hearing it;

This would be it. Perhaps its just a bearing noise that's taken out of the equation when you put it in 5th. I would turn the radio up.

[Beej]

Probably splitting time evenly between all 3 cars, and even the Jeep ain't perfect. I admit to being a bit too anal in general. But yeah..both BMW's are old and around 100k miles, so I'm trying to give them a little leeway. I've tuned out little rattles here and there - this noise keeps my attention. I've heard bad TOB's before and this isn't it. There's a slight difference between clutch in/out, but it's the same difference in all BMW's I've owned.

Been a couple years but I remembered how to Youtube. Might have to turn your volume up because luxury. And don't mind the misshifts, they're none of your business.
[youtube]BgUk19PEgYc[/youtube]

I can hear it clearly in the video, but without experiencing it in person, the best I can suggest is to listen to the difference in the "flutter" (sorry) in all gears in contrast to the "hum" in 5th. It's weird capturing sound. That resonance after ~4:20 doesn't exist in person, must be because the camera was suctioned to the glass.

In reality, after doing the fluid and mounts, there ain't a whole lot more that can be done without replacing the transmission. I do know that basically the same box is in the M3 and it doesn't do this.

[ScottyB]

i definitely hear it and can unfortunately sympathize greatly with being anal about noises. its a fun challenge in a subaru simply because there's so much different stuff going on its a bit of aural overload but its clear when something isn't right.

i'm wracking my brain trying to think of something that's connected to the change in mounts but its clear by the sound that its also rotational with road speed...so i'm thinking tranny, driveshaft, or clutch. it wouldn't strike me as a "normal" noise....i haven't been in a ton of BMW's but none ever made a noise like that.

as for 5th being different, i'd have to agree its probably something related to the 1:1 ratio cancelling something out. so helpful, i know....

[Beej]

i definitely hear it and can unfortunately sympathize greatly with being anal about noises. its a fun challenge in a subaru simply because there's so much different stuff going on its a bit of aural overload but its clear when something isn't right.

i'm wracking my brain trying to think of something that's connected to the change in mounts but its clear by the sound that its also rotational with road speed...so i'm thinking tranny, driveshaft, or clutch. it wouldn't strike me as a "normal" noise....i haven't been in a ton of BMW's but none ever made a noise like that.

as for 5th being different, i'd have to agree its probably something related to the 1:1 ratio cancelling something out. so helpful, i know....

Oh I remember my STi, especially in those cold winter mornings. :-P

It existed before and after the change in mounts, and it's rotational with engine speed, not road speed...but only when the car is moving.

Unless it gets worse or louder, and it's been a few thousand miles with no indication of doing so, I won't do anything about it - and it's much quieter with shift boots back in so, meh. I'll probably throw the book at everything between the engine and diff if the clutch goes or something. Just wanted to run it by a few folks to see what they though - I knew at least RJ had torn into a transmission before.

[SlimKlim]

I definitely hear it too, very odd.


Also can you tell me how awful and expensive this car has been for you so I don't buy one? My autotrader search history is scaring me.

[Beej]

Also can you tell me how awful and expensive this car has been for you so I don't buy one? My autotrader search history is scaring me.

I'm supposed to tell you what it's like to own a V8 e39?

I could probably go on for awhile on this (edit: I did). I don't think that the maintenance on e39 M5's is as bad as the rap they've gotten. Some dudes either go crazy or get unlucky, and others do consumables for 5 years/100k straight. That said, I've owned an e46 M3 for 5 years and may be jaded as to what "low maintenance" means, as good as that car has been to me. I expect to do MAF's, CPS's, and O2 sensors at some point; that's not "shit is busted" to me.

I have spreadsheets for both cars, and I'm surprised to say I've spent ~$1500 on the M5 already (6 months, 5-6k miles). If I'd done the bare minimum, it would be more like 5-600 (fan clutch, one motor mount, one headlight adjuster, oil change). But, I like my things minty and so I've done underbody panels and puddle lights and all interior plastic and intake manifold badges.

But you said you wanted to be scared. I didn't want to disclose someone else's financials but hell, it's just a car and these threads are about what it's like to own one. The gentlemen before me had it for 4 years and I have $22k of receipts for that time (all shop work, no DIY). To be fair, that included a lot of Dinan parts, some expensive reupholstery, wheels, tires, audio/tech, bumper paintwork...it wasn't all maintenance. And another To Be Fair is that I've added up what I have in the M3 that's been "pretty good" to me in my mind...and it's way higher than I expected, too.

It's expensive, maybe...but awful, not at all. I had a car I couldn't make right (e30 s50) and I know that feeling. But it's an old M car - you might have a year that costs a few thousand. It's better than a car payment, IMO. Do I wish I had something I didn't have to worry/think about? Yeah, the Jeep is fucking awesome in that department, and the M's don't give me that peace of mind. But I've lusted after these and the M3 since they came out - just settling into that interior, turning back to look at it in a parking lot, or giving it the beans makes me happier than a superficial dumb machine should.

I know we have a lot of individual project threads but maybe it'd be interesting to have a "had this car X years" or "just sold it" and "this is what it costs to own this beautiful piece of shit" thread.

[.RJ]

I knew at least RJ had torn into a transmission before.

Been into a few... did the noise come on after the fluid change?

[Beej]

Been into a few... did the noise come on after the fluid change?

Nope. I didn't include this info because it didn't seem useful, but...had the car for a couple months, and put the front end on jackstands for a week to do a bunch of little stuff - nothing drivetrain related. Put it on the ground and went to run some errands one morning and noticed the sound. Hadn't noticed it before, but it was different enough (and a wheel spacer caused a vibration until I later knocked some rust off the hub, just another reason to be weirded out) that I turned around and took the M3 out. Now I had spent 95% of the time before that with the windows opens, so I may not have noticed it. But even if it just started then, I can't imagine I did anything to cause it.

It's just been in the last couple weeks that I switched out the fluid (Redline MTF to BMW OE) and motor/trans mounts. It seemed like the right amount of fluid came out; I did see one tiny metal flake, but my oil catcher thing is old and there's no telling if it's from the car or some random dremel job I did in that corner of the garage. The noise didn't change afterwards.

[DavidL]

Also can you tell me how awful and expensive this car has been for you so I don't buy one? My autotrader search history is scaring me.

I probably spent close to 15 hours troubleshooting a parasitic draw that drained the battery every time the car sat for more than two hours... one (probably unneeded) new battery and way too many hours of monitoring a voltmeter while pulling fuses, GPS units and all varieties of climate control modules later, finally tracked it down.

Would I do this every 3 months just to hear that sweet, sweet V8 scream? Yea, probably :thumbup:

[SlimKlim]

Shit. It didn't work. To eBay!

[Beej]

Car was running a bit cool and the coolant was sort of a nasty brown despite the cooling system being replaced at ~70k and the coolant being flushed more recently than that.

So a thermostat, full coolant flush, and garage floor cleaning later, we're back in business. I also replaced the expansion tank because they're known to fail*.

Before:


During:


Shot of the snakes in the intake manifold because it's pretty cool under there:


And the nice crisp blue coolant in the new tank afterwards:


* just kidding, they never fail, I just can't resist shiny things.

I also ignored PDC and backed this thing into the M3 while juggling cars and cracked up the rear bumper real nice. I'm sure I'll fix it proper at some point but $25 of touch up paint beats a $1200 body shop quote, so I'm just kind of pretending it didn't happen for the time being.

[Beej]

The very slight vibration during acceleration in lower gears hadn't got any worse, but the driveshaft did start clinking when changing direction (forward/reverse). After feeling some play in the rear CV joint, I decided to replace the whole shebang with a rebuilt unit.



Put about 800 miles on her this weekend; the lower gears are silky smooth and that clink sound is gone. :thumbup:

Thanks to Matthew for helping getting that heavy AF exhaust back up!

[ScottyB]

gotta love those grimy projects that nobody sees buried under the car but make all the difference in the world for the tactile feel and taking that weight off your shoulders of something breaking. i'm kind of surprised the old guibo looked so nice considering the power it has to handle.

[Beej]

Got an email from the DMV reminding me I've had this thing for two years already. Also the City of Richmond finally figured out I own the thing and sent me a PPTax bill - they think it's worth $10k, and that's fine by me.

Looks like I've only put about 10k on it, which between working from home and splitting time 50/50 with the M3, about makes sense. I still really enjoy the thing and don't really have anything to complain about, but I'll do it anyway. I still can't tune out the transmission noise that happens in all gears but 5th...but that's a lot of work, so maybe I'll consider doing something about it if the clutch ever goes.

Only other tiny beef is the front brakes still chirp pretty loudly over sharp bumps - I don't know if the pads don't fit well or what, but at least I can reproduce the noise in the garage by just wiggling the caliper around with a screwdriver. Goop on the back and switching from solid guides to rubber ones didn't really fix it permanently. If the records are correct, it has Metalmaster pads - I don't love them compared to the OE ones on the M3, but goddamn they don't dust at all. According to Turner, Centric Posi-Quiets are a good balance of OE feel and no dust. I don't ask too much of the car as a daily, so it sounds like they're worth a shot.

I'm sure I'll never get around to it, but have a trunk full of shit going to Goodwill made me want to drop it that extra ~1/2" onto the lower spring perch on the rear Konis:


Oh and the CEL constantly comes on for "catalyst efficiency" since the exhaust was removed and replaced to do the driveshaft. Matt helped put it back up, so that one is on him.

[Senor_Taylor]

DAMMIT MATTHEW. Shame!

Remember that time we did my CSB and I took your word on the quality of the guibo? I think Matt is no longer allowed to help with drive shaft related matters.

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[*insertusernamehere*]

Muhahaha

~destroyer of drivetrains since 1993~

[Beej]

According to Turner, Centric Posi-Quiets are a good balance of OE feel and no dust. I don't ask too much of the car as a daily, so it sounds like they're worth a shot.

These were indeed worth a shot. I dunno why I put up with that chirping for so long; it was annoying and embarrassing. The Centric Posi-Quiets live up to their name and it's funny how fixing a little noise like that makes me enjoy the car so much more. They have better "bite" than the Metalmasters (though not as good as OE BMW if the M3 can be used for comparison), so it was a cheap upgrade all around. I can't imagine they'll be as dust-free, but fingers crossed.

I've also never bought pads that come with rubber guides and anti-rattle clips before, but I'm glad they did since the car still had solid guides in the rear. I dunno why anyone uses those on a street car, one was seized pretty tightly to the pin and I had to knock it out with a punch.


Somewhat related H&B nonsense: I had a rough couple days after a friend let me have a go in this:

I haven't a clue why there was so much negative press about those things (which there was, right?) - cars must've seriously gotten good if this wasn't winning comparos. It basically does everything better than both of my cars. So yeah it turned my head for a few days, but I'm back and still content enough with these two to not want to upgrade, yet anyway.

Also some equally clever asshole already has the DAS 302 plates in VA.

[Beej]

Well I've got me some gen-u-ine BMW Z8 parts on this puppy now.  Two of these bad boys, special ordered from das motherland:


I had some chirping coming from the belt area, so I figured I'd get new idler/tensioner pulleys.  They only sell the full pulley assemblies for the M5, which is a total of like $310...but I got one pulley for the a/c belt from Advance and found Z8 parts for the main accessory belt for grand total of $100 along with a slightly easier installation.

Didn't do a damn thing for the noise, though. Not sure how to best troubleshoot the other things that spin.

Got new floormats too, and it seems BMW finally made the velcro bit a little stronger so it doesn't keep tearing off that crappy layer of foam all the time:


Oh and I had my first ever note left on a car I own, asking me to contact the dude when I want to sell it.  Warm fuzzies.

Next thriller of an update should be new front thrust arms to address a ~45mph steering shimmy.

[SlimKlim]

Did you give all of the other pulleys a spin with the belt off? I've had a chirp twice, one was an idler pulley that eventually grenaded while pulling onto the highway, the second time was the tensioner pulley.

[Senor_Taylor]

Did you give all of the other pulleys a spin with the belt off? I've had a chirp twice, one was an idler pulley that eventually grenaded while pulling onto the highway, the second time was the tensioner pulley.

Also don't BMW ac compressor pulleys like to make noise?

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