The Final Repairs On My High Mileage BMW 5 Series (E60 / E61) - Water Pump, Transmission Thermostat 

It might sound a bit silly, but I would kind of wish you had more problems with your BMW. I love the way you explain how you fix the issues. Great videos.

What a nightmare job! Massive props for doing it!

Great job mate, most people throw the towel in at this sort of stuff.

This channel is the best thing ive found this year, i bought a E61 530d for 3000 euros (Finland) and now im doing the required maintenance for it to last atleast 500 000km (Now driven 350 000). Tomorrow im coding EGR and DPF off and emptying the dpf, and at the same time doing a software to improve performance and fuel economy.

The only thing I’m going to say is that if you aren’t an engineer, you are very talented. I wish I could do a third of what you do. This has become the best site for me.

Nice video, and thanks for the mention!! I didn’t realise the transmission should be so warm. A new cooler is now on my shopping list 👍🏻

Those last two things have gone on mine too :( looks like I’ll be watching this over and over to get that sorted! Soldering is easy as engineer but don’t like doing water, super job! Working through the bucket list during these Covid times

Thanks for posting, have now just booked our 6 series in for gearbox heat exchanger / thermostat change, didn't know it even had one.

Excellent work and great patience.

Nice video , well put together . I loved my E60 one of the best cars ever .

I love your videos and explanations on how to do repairs,I have an E39 525i but thought about moving on to an E60/61 but they seem to be a bit problematic compared to the older model.

I just wanted to say a massive thank you as I had the exact same problem on my 2006 e61 530i with no rear demister and no washer fluid coming out. So I replaced the pump and fluid came out the wrong places, then did the whole job including soldering of the brown cable and same way of fixing the washer fluid hose :D Super happy it's fixed, thank you for showing me / us.

Thank you for the informative videos we also have a high mileage E61 touring with the same issues..slowly sorting them out.. Thanks again....

Great video. Just stripped my 2008 525D Msport LCI @ 135K and the water pump had more play in the shaft than a fiddlers elbow. In the process of changing the two stats and the bottom hose. Makes life easy when you take the radiator out. Sods law, you have to do this job when its brass monkey weather. Tailgate wiring is a pain but I replace broken wires with a silicone wire splice. Keep up the good work.

The content, and the production of your videos are amazing. You should have more car projects.

Great! Really enjoyed all the episodes. Thank you!

Loved watching your videos on the e61.

Top job you did to your E61! Funny to see you mostly drive in D, also my experience

Brilliant video. No drama

Another great Vid! Congrats man! Keep on with the great job!

You really NEED TO seal the key antenna box properly after opening it so that water doesn't get in there and destroy your antenna. Do it asap. New one costs around 300€. That too is a common fault on E61. The brown ground wire for the rear window heater should be at least 4 square millimeter so it can withstand the power without melting. I'd advice to use a silicon covered wire cause it bends better than regular.

Awesome job Neil, hope you’re keeping well.

Lovely Jubbly, well done.

I really enjoyed your E60/E61 Touring fixes series! I had an 1998 E39 Touring (Estate) from new for 15 years. I noticed that your rear wiper motor does not sweep 180 degrees which is what I assume the E60/E61 does when new. Garage told me on E39 that there are magnetic stops fitted to the electric motor casing. Expect the McPherson struts to be leaking or will leak at that sort of mileage though may already have been done. Air bag rear suspension should split at around your mileage too. Rubber bushes in the front suspension arms likely need replacing and also the rack rubber boots each side. Watch for degradation of plastic top of radiator tank -- mine blew off, fractured clean through. Hopefully Valeo's fuel sender if same as E39 has improved designed. Simple to repair and improve the design though. If Brose window mechanisms still use acetal plastic pulleys they will all fail. Should have been 30 % glass filled nylon. Trust this helps.

I admire your diligence in pre-emptively addressing mileage-related wear items - not something many of do, I guess. I wonder how much this has cost. As a DIYer, fair bit less than buying a lower mile, younger car I guess.

Props and nice fixes!

Great video👍 I purchased a 117k (motorway miles) Black sapphire metallic 520d 177 auto 2010 (fitted with BMW factory low slung sports suspension) with full BMW service history, currently at 130k and had no issues. Doing oil changes every 10,000 miles.

I've been waiting for this video for the entire duration of this covid thing

Glad I could help.

You've just gained a subscriber!

Great 👍 build and videos 📹 I agree with if you have a lift it's definitely much easier.

My favourite repair video channel 👍🏼 keep up the good and maybe time for another old BM?

Awesome Video! The cable solution in the trunk lid on the E61 is a joke. Had to replace both sides in mine. Recommend to use wires with silicone hull to prevent cracking again in the near future...

Nice video. My guess on the pump and washer hose is the hose started failing so the driver just held the pump on longer and longer eventually frying the pump. Probability didn't bother to replace the pump as it was doing a terrible job with the torn hose. About the AUX. There is an inline filter on the AUX cable. Removing that will give you more of the frequency range back but what I have found is that the volume is still considerably lower on AUX compared to CD or Radio. If you find a way to get the volume up to CD/Radio levels please do share I am sure lots of people will be grateful.

I’ve recently sold my e61 530d in carbon black, so a very similar car. She was outstanding and I really loved the car. On the main she was very reliable and featured many of the common issues you have encountered. I bought her at 95k in 2015 and sold her last month at 212k. She was on her original gearbox, turbo and other main components. I did an oil and filter change every 10k and ensured she stayed at low rpm for the first and last 3-5miles of a journey, the shortest of which was normally 15miles. Early on I opted to change the main and EGR stats for genuine parts as she was running cold but within 3 months they failed again. Therefore I researched and did the Renault 5 turbo inline stat modification. £5 on an auction site buys the stat and it is shoehorned in to the top radiator hose. It overrides all the stats and she sat at 85-90degrees evermore. I had a starter motor go, about two sets of glow plugs plus the controller...they seem to be serviceable items! I ran two sets of wheels. The standard 18” had winter tyres (transformed the car in snow and could go anywhere the wife’s Range Rover did) and I had cheap ditchfinders as summer tyres on a set of e92 M3 20” wheels. Look great, cheap on an auction site and two sets of wheels gave me redundancy awaiting tyre repair/replacement/wheel cracks. On the subject of tyres, get some tyre strings off the internet...many tyre repairs performed, never had an issue. Brakes and pads I generally chose brembo and bought from wherever was cheapest. Overall for parts I’d consult Cotswold Bmw who do a forum price (sometimes quite competitive and on the value line), ECP, Advanced autofactors and more recently (although a bit of a wait to ship from Germany) autodoc...on the other car Land Rover wanted £250 or so for one control arm. Autodoc did Lemforder upper, lower control arms, drop links on both sides for £239 delivered. I used to cruise at 60mph and get about 40mpg. Once on a very long drive I got her to 50mpg. I had the EGR coded out and the replacement map was an economy one. Power did noticeably go up but so did economy so my work run would often see 45mpg computed. One of the best buys was a C110 code reader but I see you use Carly. The C110 allowed me to persevere with DPF diagnostics (too a while) and finally I came to the conclusion that I had hit the BMW coded life limit for the DPF at about 170k. The back pressure was generally fine so I asked someone to tell the car she had a new DPF fitted, forced a regen and she was as good as gold since with single figure back pressure figures at idle. This car was an LCI model so benefitted from a DPF being fitted closer to the engine but without the code reader I could never tell a regen was happening. I had the rear cabling expire as well. Apparently BMW used cheap PVC cabling which crumbles and shorts after about ten years so I sourced a kit from a German company (senscom?) and had a guy solder it all in...worked a treat. Whilst at the back I got through two sets of tailgate arms. My advice is avoid the cheap ones. My son opened the tailgate, it sprung up with such force it came off the stops and then fell on to his head...by a miracle he happened to be wearing his bike helmet which cracked with the force. These were replaced with a set by Stabilus who are the OEM supplier...far better again from autodoc. When I sold her there was still no signs of rust and she just needed the occasional few hundred spent on her and due to the mileage I do, frequent diesel. I made a set of bespoke ramps out of scaffold board which greatly eased oil changes, letting her drain overnight. Paint wise I used to wash regularly but every six months, wash, hamberbuilt clay, ultimate compound polish, odd juice wax and rain x the windows. I have used Gtechniq CSL and EXO on the new car and so far would recommend it. So in summary the car was very good. I bought her for a smidge over £8k in 2015 at 95k, one owner ( but dealer could only prove two services...my detective work demonstrated a full service history) and sold her recently for £3.5k at 212k. She was very comfortable, reliable enough, I thought very fast, economical enough the way I drove and crucially was a good looking car. It is a lot of car for the money. Don’t buy one if you are only doing a 3 mile commute and don’t let high mileage put you off. If you are buying one look carefully at how the car has been cared for, trace history and I’d probably hunt for a well maintained private car that I can buy for a fair price. When I totalled it up I think her yearly maintenance came to something like £1k-£2k depending on the big stuff like tyres, etc. An oil change could be done for less than £60. A great car and although I no longer have her I thoroughly enjoy your videos. The content will really help others who have the e60/61 and allow them to confidently have a go at DIY car maintenance. I must have saved thousands by investing £100 on a Halfords tool set and having a go after attending the university of youtube/forums.

These waterpumps generally last forever, it's the electric types found on the petrols that have issues with them

Good job mate. All I’ll say is don’t be surprised if you have to do the stats again. Then cheap ones from ecp are crap and should only be OEM parts fitted. Same goes for the gearbox stat. There is a modification you can do using a Audi inline stat.

Great channel 😁👍🏻

I have a 97 E61 530d bought in 2016 and I love it. Unfortunately it has the same washer and rear heated screen problem. In mine the screen is also the aerial for the radio so I just listen to my MP3s via the stupidly placed aux input. Such a great car though so I can forgive these issues.

7:46 That mad me laugh.. Was waiting for the comments to come

I don't even own a BMW but this video was decent! Do have a boxster however and your videos have helped me out no end! Always wonder if you are self taught..

Good job 👍

Gonna miss this car.

Sorry to write this but it seems rear screw of heat exchange (input/output automatic transmission side) is accessible just below the alternator (and specifically the voltage regulator on rear of alternator), from top access from what I see. I have to replace this part too and it's what I see. The other bottom screw need to be remove from bottom access. Thanks again for your really useful videos.

Great improvisation! Good job

Shame about the pipe but great for us to see how to tackle it. thanks. can't wait to see the cost breakdown. Also, would you be able to recommend the diesel over the petrol?

I had that problem with my 535d but I lost my patience in the end and got rid. Lovely car to drive but too much messing

that spider on the left at 7:45 dropping into the engine bay

Hi, great videos. Out of interest how did you go about cutting the water pump gasket? Looked like a metal gasket so wondering how you got it cut close to the edges without damaging the metal faces. Be great to know

Do you think the XHP gearbox flash is worth it? I've got an 07 530d. Also when should the gearbox be serviced ? Thanks for the video.

Welcome

I feel your pain having just replaced the water pump on my 335i n54. Now the valve cover gasket is leaking 🤦‍♂️ maybe you should buy an n54 next as there's plenty of common faults that are now cropping up due to age and mileages: water pumps, fuel pumps, valve cover gaskets, wastegate rattle. Those tutorials would be invaluable as it's such a common engine. It should keep you busy until there's a covid-19 cure 🤣

Terrible bass is usually if the input jack has loose connection points. You might find the music is mono too. If you can get into the jack, just bend the little contact posts back to where they should be and you should be golden. If not, it would be having the speakers wired where they destructively interfere the sounds waves in the car, but if your radio sounds good loud then it's probably not that.

Definitely should have done the VAG inline thermostat mod. There is a hose that runs between the gap of the engine and the fan cowl. Cut a small section of that and put in the inline filter. Done. Bang on temperature all the time and it’ll stay that way. These heat exchangers are prone to fail and that one will probably last 15k miles.

Hey great video, i just recently replaced both stats, but still a bit slow to warm up in -12 degrees celsius, just wondering what software did you use to see the temps? thanks:)

I got the 520D M Sport touring same colour , it has the same issue with the aux too, through it sound isn’t great however CD or radio there isn’t an issue and was reading up and it’s apparent that all of the E60/E61 do it and it’s an issue from factory! However if there is a way of correcting this I’d love to know :)

Aux input has the bass removed by the head unit, to protect the speakers

I had that same mastic all over my diversity antenna too, I thought it was another one of the previous owner's bodge jobs! Seal it back up properly mate - I didn't. Lost remote locking, then central locking entirely, then had a battery drain that would kill a battery in a day. All due to that antenna getting water in.

Excellent job as always.. You make the DIY maintaince look fairly easy.. Which is in most cases.. But sometimes it can be difficult..but still I want to Thank you for this video and Thank you for the great tip on fixing the plastic hose.. Going to apply it on a CITROEN C4 GP.. Also in the tailgate.. So what happen to your plans for the garage.. Are you still doing it with the COVID-19 pandemic?

Great videos, I have the same car and really love it... Why don’t you park it beside a new one at £60k it actually doesn’t look that different so even with the repairs it seems a real bargain for the comfort and performance you have. Had the exact problem sorted on my boot lid also. Have a shudder developing from the front under heavy braking wonder if you have that problem.?(fear my hubs might be buckled/warped and translating through to the discs) I actually feel the car is a good bit faster than it’s braking capabilities, it can take some stopping !! Which I suppose is hardly surprising it’s no lightweight.

Just wondered what wire you used to extend the broken wire for the rear heated screen?

You are my favorite brit. Please give an update on your garage.

hey. what is the opening temp on the gearbox thermostat.?

Next video....... orange triangle on the dash 😂😂 I miss my old e60 535d was a great car once all the problems was fixed and is still going strong today without any faults

After the water pump change, did you clean the front of the engine as good practice?

This car litrally has all the issues mine does. What do you use to measure the cars obd port? Looks like you did it from an app on your phone?

what is the part code for the transmission coolant?

Did the light come on the rear window demister button before you fixed it?

Why where the yellow caps on the old unit still when you removed it??

Hi sorry where did you get those ramps from? They look great as I have an e61 530d and struggle to get on normal ramps, love the vids thanks James

could anyone help me with how you bleed the coolant system on a 2008 525d? where are the air bleed valves located?

Hey, a very informative video, thanks. How did you end up topping up the transmission fluid? Also, which obd diagnostics do you use, I use bimmer link and I cannot get the transmission fluid temperature information. Cheers!

Did gearbox wass slippery when cold? About 20s? Thansks

The AUX IN channel has a resistor/capacitor module that can be removed from the wiring if you trace it back from the AUX plug to the head unit. I think BMW did this to stop people plugging in high gain external sources and blowing the speakers. Remove this and you improve the low/bass response massively.

Consider yourself lucky that your rear window microswitch works so you could open the rear tailgate window to do the work. I'm stuck in the shit position of having a closed rear window that I can't open

Head Lamps and other bulbs

Slightly of topic, on my 03 focus, the last couple of months, whenever I put the reverse the rear washer starts to work...

10:21 every BMW DIY'er

I’d check the bearing on the front wiper arms, very common fault on these, any signs of rusty marks would suggest the bearings are starting to fail, it’s a pretty cheap fix and will prevent it flying of on the motorway at 70mph scratching your windscreen and bodywork as it makes its bid for freedom😞

please consider other bmw 530e61 have electric waterpump -sometimes even one further additional -had to change mine at about 250tkm, also note the procedure to remove the air;-)

About your question if it is a good idea to buy an E61 with 130.000 miles on the clock: YES. Period. Especially since you do the repairs yourself like I do AND you go for the 525 or 530 (M57N six in line FTW). If I look at what mine has cost in repairs (parts that is) since I have it... Peanuts for a car with now 439.000 kilometers on the clock. And it is still a wonderful cruiser and workhorse. Pulling my boat one day, racing on the Nurburgring Nordschleife on another....

Hi what temperature should my auto transmission be running at? Andy

Welldone!!! Where did you get your ramp from? Love it. Need one like this.

How fast should the transmission reach 90C temperature? Driving at 40-100km/h, slow and fast accelerations at 13C weather: 25 minutes of driving, engine 82C and transmission 57C. At 35 minutes of driving, engine 83C and transmission 67C. Finally at 45 minutes of driving, engine 82C and transmission 78C

Nice job, you can really tell a car that's come from salted roads like yours.

now that you finished sorting the problems, how much do you want for the car? :)))

Noticed your rear wiper was not making its full travel, should go through 180degs. I have a 2009 e61 2d. Had it from 16k now done 105k, does 45mpg all day long. Nothing major except a front spring just snapped last winter as it sat in the drive!? My rear wash didnt work but it had frozen at the nozzle and the pipe had popped off, now use high concentration washer fluid in winter. Comfortable car, not looking forward to having to change it to a more plasticky new car.

Dear Neil, I have a 525d lci as well, from the year 2009. Ive been watching your videos the last couple of days since i changed both my thermostats but the engine is still not getting warm enough and taking a long time to do so. Since there is no way to check the transmission temp, i ordered the Carly adapter. I have a couple of questions if i may. 1. How did you bleed your coolant system after changing the main and egr stat? My M57D30 doesnt have the automatic waterpump to bleed... So the 10s pedal pushing isnt working. 2. After refitting the transmission stat, did you loose many gearbox oil? If so, how did you top it up again? By the fill plug at the pan beneath? If so, did you have your car on the bridge or ramps? 3. When you changed your transmission stat, did your car got warmer faster or the same? And did you change the o-rings as well? I must say that your videos are amazing and gave me a better view and thoughts about my car. I hope to hear from you soon. Kind regards, Tobias

what happened to the clio?

let me know if you ever figure out an AUX input fix!

This week, final repairs! Next week, more final repairs! :-)

Looks like the coolant that you drained was pink, did you actually put screenwash in 😂😂

Capacitor on the aux input kills the bass.

For the low base and sound from the AUX, I had the same when I retrofitted my AUX. The solution for me was to open up the PCB on the AUX cable and change out the components as they are damping too much. (for the audio, R and L. Two inline capacitors 0,22 uF and a parallell resistor, 300 kOhm.) I replaced the capacitors for 33 uF and this lowers the cutoff frequency and also improving the sound level. I left the resistor as it was. The sound was much better and also more level with the radio and CD. On the LCI versions I think there is a level adjust for the AUX but not for the pre LCI. My car is a pre LCI 520d, 2006. Here is a link for the cable layout: external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fi.stack.imgur.com%2FjrvN5.png&f=1&nofb=1

Spoiler - Dealerships are always gonna charge the upper end of the scale.

Have you had an increase of mpg after all the thermostats

does manual gearbox on e60 also have thermostat?

Links are dead mate.

when using the demister, the broken brown cable got hot and pierced the water hose... classic tailgate bs on this car :)

So...drained red coolant and refilled with green? I thought you said you were going to reuse it?