Just bought E38 728i

[BrianJ]

Wow! your mobile phone do take good pictures. Thanks Bro.

Yup, not bad coming from a 'dinosaur' model mobile... haha... ..

 

[Vincent Hor]

ck, I don't know the colour code but it's hyper silver. I paid RM450 for refurbishing the 4 wheels and that is direct to the factory. It's tyre off wheels, clean, sand blasting, under coat, hyper silver and clear coat.

If paid RM300 for the same process then I would think it's very cheap.

Looking sharp Mr Hor!

What colour code is the wheels? I want to refurbish mine, quoted RM300 for all 4 pieces, Polished lips and hyper silver face.

Reasonable?

Taikor, when are you gonna post some picture of your interior trim???

ck

 

[bmw7833]

ck, I don't know the colour code but it's hyper silver. I paid RM450 for refurbishing the 4 wheels and that is direct to the factory. It's tyre off wheels, clean, sand blasting, under coat, hyper silver and clear coat.

If paid RM300 for the same process then I would think it's very cheap.

Uncle Vinc, RM450 include the work to make rim round?

 

[ck318ci]

ck, I don't know the colour code but it's hyper silver. I paid RM450 for refurbishing the 4 wheels and that is direct to the factory. It's tyre off wheels, clean, sand blasting, under coat, hyper silver and clear coat.

If paid RM300 for the same process then I would think it's very cheap.

Vince,

Mine is direct from factory also. Know the boss by chance, nice chap who show me around his facility. He does a lot of Cayennes, Q7 sort of high range 4x4 wheels.
seen his finished product, not bad. My Lorinser is done by him too (from the seller- that is how I know him)

I am contemplating of chroming up my 17 AMG aero. Any thoughts on that? if not, I want to paint the surface as close to mirror finish as i can, The boss said, cant skim the wheels as my AMG wording on the face will look a lot more shallow.

ck

 

[bmw7833]

Vince,

Mine is direct from factory also. Know the boss by chance, nice chap who show me around his facility. He does a lot of Cayennes, Q7 sort of high range 4x4 wheels.
seen his finished product, not bad. My Lorinser is done by him too (from the seller- that is how I know him)

I am contemplating of chroming up my 17 AMG aero. Any thoughts on that? if not, I want to paint the surface as close to mirror finish as i can, The boss said, cant skim the wheels as my AMG wording on the face will look a lot more shallow.

ck

Care to share the location? Size of rims also influence the price, 18" will cost more 17", right?

 

[Vincent Hor]

My rims were perfect round. So there was no need for corrections. If needed there will be extra cost.

Uncle Vinc, RM450 include the work to make rim round?

 

[Vincent Hor]

Chrome may not be a good idea. Most local chroming will come off after a while especially if kena doggie urine.

Vince,

Mine is direct from factory also. Know the boss by chance, nice chap who show me around his facility. He does a lot of Cayennes, Q7 sort of high range 4x4 wheels.
seen his finished product, not bad. My Lorinser is done by him too (from the seller- that is how I know him)

I am contemplating of chroming up my 17 AMG aero. Any thoughts on that? if not, I want to paint the surface as close to mirror finish as i can, The boss said, cant skim the wheels as my AMG wording on the face will look a lot more shallow.

ck

 

[ck318ci]

Chrome may not be a good idea. Most local chroming will come off after a while especially if kena doggie urine.

Got a quote for all 4 wheels chroming- RM1000!

Most likely gonna refurbish the wheels, hypersilver plus polish lips

ck

 

[ck318ci]

Care to share the location? Size of rims also influence the price, 18" will cost more 17", right?

Place is Jalan 4 Chan Sow Lin.


ck

 

[DigitalPunk]

Hi All,

After long consideration, finally replace new pair of headlights for my E38 today. Here are some pic.

 

[Vincent Hor]

Hey Ray, car looking very bright and sleek. Nice upgrade.

 

[Mabel]

Hi! Bro, I normally get my new parts from the following suppliers; Bavaria Auto, Munich Auto & First Division all around Segambut area. However I usually leave that to Albert although I know mechanics do make a mark up on the price. It's ok with me as long as the mark up is only marginal and not excessive. This is where the mechanic essentially develops trust with his customers besides the good analytical & repairing skills that he has. He should be one who looks for long term relationship and referral business.

From my experience with so many workshops, it's really not much difference between buying our own parts or just let the workshop do the shopping.
Here is my rationale;

1. If we buy the parts and it turns out to be defective then we pay for labour cost twice
2. If mechanic source the parts and yet it's defective then additional labour is his responsibility
3. They are the expert and they can detect a fake from the original or OEM
4. They deal with their parts supplier on a daily basis. As such the parts supplier would not want to mess with them if the workshop are good paymaster
5. I have come across suppliers who stock both OEM and fake parts. As walk-in customers who knows little but likes to negotiate prices they will just sell those fake ones to us by quoting slightly cheaper than the OEM parts price. Some mechanic will just fit them and charge you the labour. Others may educate us on the fake parts. We end up running back to the part supplier trying to get back our money. Wasted time and running cost.

You have a higher chance of buying original parts from the chop shops. Of course always be wise on the type of second hand parts that are safe to be used.

There are too many chop shops around and you don't know if they have the parts that you are looking for. In my early days of BMW ownership especially those E23 & E28 days, I have done all my running around for parts. You really need a lot of enthusiasm, energy and time. E.g. your search for a certain part could make you run from Batu Caves, Selayang, Sungai Buluh, Subang, Puchong and maybe as far as Kajang. Trust me, I have covered such distances and chop chops in one day. From all these experiences I have got to know this guy Ah Meng who used to work for a chop shop but now runs a small outfit. He has 20 years experience in this business and he helps a lot of workshops search for parts. Nowadays, I just ask Ah Meng to find my parts.

Hope that helps.

Thank you Taikor. Appreciate the explanation !

 

[ssmann]

Need help with 1996 E38 728i

Hello everybody. My name is Serjit and I have today purchased my first E38. I have had prior experiences with BMW's with an E34 525 about 4 years ago.

My immediate experience with my 1996 E38 728i is that it feels great! I love the handling and the fact that it cruises so comfortably. However, I have encountered a number of problems and would like to seek your kind help in addressing them and sharing your thoughts/experience on the same.

1. About an hour ago, as I was leaving my home, after about driving for 3 mins I hit the breaks and there was a loud sound from the engine akin to the brakes slipping and the brake pedal felt soft. Immediately thereafter the ABS and ASC lights turned orange. No sounds from the car after that, but the lights are on. I got a little worried and immediately turned home. Dont know if I should drive without ASC/ABS. Any experience here with the issue?

2. My E38 has missing pixels on the dash. Anyone know where I can find a 2nd hand speedo that will resolve the prob? Or better still, how to repair the problem?

3. The engine oil seal is leaking and needs repair. My old mechanic tells me that he needs to remove the gearbox as the engine seal is attached to the gearbox, in order to get to the engine seal. Any experience here?

4. The long shaft apparently is giving way, identified by the jerking sound when the car is engaged in reverse i.e. clang clang!! Apart from that the gearbox is smooth. Anyone had this experience before or know how to resolve the issue?

5. The blower motor for the air con makes a loud sound. This may need replacing. Anyone changed one before?

6. CD does not work but the FM unit works. Anyone knows how to resolve this problem?

I expected some repairs, but honestly not this soon after purchase. But these things are expected of a 2nd hand car, so I will have to manage this.

Apart from that, the car feels great. I look forward to becoming active in this forum and hope to get some insight from the fellow E38 "chi-fus" so as this drive can be comfortable yet not cause a dent in my wallet!

Thanks - S

 

[ssmann]

Thanks to the very responsible and hard to comebye persona of the fine gentlemen who sold me the E38, items 1 and 6 have now been resolved. :top: I truly am touched with the gesture.

I am new to this E38 and with such help, it makes owning this car less of a headache and more of a joy. I really do enjoy the ride.

If anyone has any experience on the other items pls let me know.

Merry Xmas and a Happy New Year to all forumers.

Cheers - S

 

[badrul880]

Share with us on what has been done...

 

[Vincent Hor]

Serjit,

Item 2, from what I know this is a common problem with E39 & E38 meters. I heard M/Benz also has this problem. You can try the clean the contacts method first. Get your mechanic to remove the meter cluster and spray contact cleaner on all electrical contact points. Hopefully, it will work.

http://www.bimmerboard.com/forums/posts/504260

http://www.bimmerboard.com/forums/posts/543597

Item 3 : Flywheel oil seal. Try to ask your mechanic to clean up that area first. Drive the car around for another 2-3 weeks. Then ascertain how bad is the leak. If it's not too excessive and you can live with it for the time being then wait till it's time to do the ATF oil change and do everything all together. No choice, this gotta be a exhaust, prop shaft and gearbox down job. Parts is inexpensive but labour intensive. Please make sure to go to a competent mechanic.

Item 4 : While working on item 3, you can get the mechanic to look at this. Get them to make a through inspection of the guibo, u-joints and drive shafts.

Item 5 : Sounds like the air-cond blower issue. Problem just developed as almost the entire air-cond system has been serviced or replaced. Weird part is the noise is not consistent. This is what the job will look like

http://www.bimmerboard.com/forums/posts/45351

You will need a mechanic who is careful and knowledgeable to handle most of these issues.

In my opinion, Albert of WP Auto should be able to do a good job.

Hello everybody. My name is Serjit and I have today purchased my first E38. I have had prior experiences with BMW's with an E34 525 about 4 years ago.

My immediate experience with my 1996 E38 728i is that it feels great! I love the handling and the fact that it cruises so comfortably. However, I have encountered a number of problems and would like to seek your kind help in addressing them and sharing your thoughts/experience on the same.

1. About an hour ago, as I was leaving my home, after about driving for 3 mins I hit the breaks and there was a loud sound from the engine akin to the brakes slipping and the brake pedal felt soft. Immediately thereafter the ABS and ASC lights turned orange. No sounds from the car after that, but the lights are on. I got a little worried and immediately turned home. Dont know if I should drive without ASC/ABS. Any experience here with the issue?

2. My E38 has missing pixels on the dash. Anyone know where I can find a 2nd hand speedo that will resolve the prob? Or better still, how to repair the problem?

3. The engine oil seal is leaking and needs repair. My old mechanic tells me that he needs to remove the gearbox as the engine seal is attached to the gearbox, in order to get to the engine seal. Any experience here?

4. The long shaft apparently is giving way, identified by the jerking sound when the car is engaged in reverse i.e. clang clang!! Apart from that the gearbox is smooth. Anyone had this experience before or know how to resolve the issue?

5. The blower motor for the air con makes a loud sound. This may need replacing. Anyone changed one before?

6. CD does not work but the FM unit works. Anyone knows how to resolve this problem?

I expected some repairs, but honestly not this soon after purchase. But these things are expected of a 2nd hand car, so I will have to manage this.

Apart from that, the car feels great. I look forward to becoming active in this forum and hope to get some insight from the fellow E38 "chi-fus" so as this drive can be comfortable yet not cause a dent in my wallet!

Thanks - S

 

[Han Azman]

Hi Serjit,

I just changed the aircond blower on my E38 last week. Its a half day job as the whole dash needs to come off.
Symptoms prior to changing :
1. Rattling sound whenever a/c switched on
2. Irregular fan speed
3. Finally did'nt work at all !

Damage approximately 1.5k plus labour.

Han.

 

[ssmann]

Hi Han,

Thanks for the heads up and sharing. For the past 2 days, no sounds at all....i shall monitor and if it gets really bad, then will send in for repairs.

Cheers - S

 

[ssmann]

Hi Vincent,

As always, thanks for the valuable advice. I shall monitor closely and think that I should pay a visit to Albert soon. I head back to Miri on 30th, maybe when im back next.

BTW, sometimes when I hit the brake or take a full turn on the steering and press the brake, a "buzzzzzzz" sound comes from the engine bay for like 2 secs, the brake pedal gets soft and then both problems go off. I wonder if the brake pump or some other braking system may be giving way? Any experience there?

Also, if I were to facelift just the front lights to the 2000/2001 E38 type without changing the indicator, that can be done right? Any idea on the cost?

To all those celebrating Xmas, may you have a Blessed Christmas!

Cheers - S

 

[Vincent Hor]

Serjit,

I think the sound or the sensation you feel when applying the brakes may have something to do with the ABS brakes sensors. Better to have that checked. As far as I know the brakes works very well. Besides the pads were recently replaced.

Upgrading to the face-lift front lights requires a few things i.e. new fenders for both left & right, complete set of head lights including the turn signal lights plus the left, right headlights supporting plate & spray painting the fenders.

Hi Vincent,

As always, thanks for the valuable advice. I shall monitor closely and think that I should pay a visit to Albert soon. I head back to Miri on 30th, maybe when im back next.

BTW, sometimes when I hit the brake or take a full turn on the steering and press the brake, a "buzzzzzzz" sound comes from the engine bay for like 2 secs, the brake pedal gets soft and then both problems go off. I wonder if the brake pump or some other braking system may be giving way? Any experience there?

Also, if I were to facelift just the front lights to the 2000/2001 E38 type without changing the indicator, that can be done right? Any idea on the cost?

To all those celebrating Xmas, may you have a Blessed Christmas!

Cheers - S