E39: Replacing the Propshaft Coupling (Donut)

This isn't too easy a job, but it's doable and with the part alone costing £119 from BMW, the savings on labour are worthwhile. Getting to the propshaft is the most involved part of the task as it's right up above the exhaust, which needs be taken off too, so if you're working at home make sure you've got ramps with at least 10" of clearance, axle-stands just won't cut it - there's a lot of work under there.

The old one, left, doesn't look too bad, but the metal rings have all separated from the rubber and have a lot of play in them.

PROCESS:

Lift the front of the car on ramps.

Removing the Exhaust:

1. Unscrew the four bolts on the two joint-brackets, located just behind the steel-braided flexible sections beneath the driver's seat, using a 13mm wrench. [Mine seized after a few turns, but I was able to get a hacksaw blade into the gap and had to cut them off and find new ones.]

2. Gently slide the flexible section of each front-pipe back about an inch until they are clear of the exhaust.

3. On the exhaust centre-bracket, remove the 2 nuts from the inner-centre of the plate using a 13mm wrench.

4. Remove the 4 bolts from the corners of the centre-bracket plate using a 13mm wrench and gently work it down until it is free of the studs on the exhaust-hangers.

5. Remove the 2 nuts from the front exhaust-bracket [with the round rubber-bushes] using a 10mm wrench, then tilt the exhaust until both the upward and downward facing studs are free of their brackets and gently lower the exhaust so it is resting on the rear hangers.

6. Lift the rear-silencer up into its recess and remove the two rubber exhaust-hangers from their hooks. [The benefit to removing these last is that the exhaust can be manipulated best to loosen the rubber-hangers, as they are mighty tough to get off.]

7. Lower the complete exhaust to the ground and gently slide it out from the rear of the car.

Removing the Heat-Shielding:

8. Remove the 2 screws holding the o/s of the large centre heat-shield and 1 nut on the n/s, using a 10mm wrench. The heat-shield should drop down easily.

9. There is a smaller heat-shield [in the pic below] to the o/s front of the transmission-tunnel that also needs removing, as it partially covers the bolts for the gearbox-suspension. There is a small 10mm nut at the rear-edge and another hidden where the shield curves down at the front. The third, larger nut at the front is connected through a solid bracket, which is a lot of work to remove and unnecessary - it's best to just bend the heat-shield out of the way or force it from underneath the bracket and make a gap in the ring so it slides back under easily.

Lowering the Propshaft and Removing the Donut:

TIS or the Workshop Manual say to remove the complete propshaft to get at the donut, but this is not necessary - the propshaft can be lowered with the diff end still attached enough to get the donut off without causing any damage so don't worry, there's no need to remove the rear UV-joint or mark any positions.

10. Remove the cross-member bracket, just to the rear of the gearbox-suspension, by unscrewing the 4 bolts with a 13mm wrench.

11. Unscrew the two large counterweight nuts from the gearbox-suspension using a 13mm wrench. The heavy cylindrical one is n/s, the shaped one o/s.

12. Support the gearbox on a jack and lift it slightly so weight is off the dampers.

13. Remove the 4 bolts from the gearbox-suspension mount using a 13mm wrench and work it free of the two studs on the rubber-dampers.

14. Remove the bracket holding the dampers by undoing the 2 nuts on the upper side of the bracket using a 13mm wrench. The nuts only need undoing a few turns and the bracket should slide off its mounts on the gearbox.

15. Remove the 6 nuts and bolts from the front end of the propshaft that connect it to the gearbox, using an 18mm wrench and spanner. [There is a chuck on the end of the propshaft that extends through the donut so there's no need to leave one bolt in to hold it up.]

16. Support the weight of the propshaft and remove the two nuts holding the centre-bearing bracket in place using a 13mm wrench and gently lower the centre of the propshaft, sliding the front end clear of the gearbox as you do so. Once the front end is free, lower the front of the propshaft to the ground so only the rear UV-joint is attached, or suspend the prop from some metal-wire if you're using full-height ramps.

17. Work the rubber-donut off from it's 3 mounting collars on the propshaft using a flathead screwdriver.

Fitting the new Donut:

18. It doesn't matter which way the donut faces, but 3 of the 6 bolt-holes on either side have extended metal collars, which fit into corresponding recesses on the propshaft and gearbox bosses, so these need lining up correctly when replacing the bolts.

19. The tightening torque for the 6 bolts is coming here, but we couldn't get an angle on our torque-wrench in the gap under the car, so we just gave them a good graunch and haven't had any vibrations.

20. Reverse steps 16 to 1.

BMW Workshop Manuals and TIS System

A neighbor of mine who's owned an R-reg 523i since new has recently been lured into an Audi A5 and called round to give me some manuals had. They're the official BMW workshop manuals and are a good 4" thick. They only cover the 525 - 540 petrol engine models as you can see, but most equipment on the car is universal. I'll post the contents page soon, so shout me if you would like any section scanning in and sending over!

This week I've also managed to get hold of a copy of the complete BMW TIS 2007 software, used by most garages and containing extremely detailed information on just about every repair job, so if you need any screenshots let me know!

DOWNLOAD A BIT-TORRENT FOR TIS 2007 HERE

I have a much older laptop lying around which should run TIS and also has an old 8-pin serial port so it can interface with Carsoft diagnostic gear. I have a copy of Carsoft to hand, but no hardware and 22-pin connector, so if I can get hold of those then I'll be making a dedicated workshop computer.

E39: Replacing / Unclogging the Washer-Jet Pump

If you think your pump is faulty then check this post first - Windscreen Washer-Jet System Problem.

-----------------------------------------

Removing the pump is easy, but getting to it is quite involved due to the amount of under-car panelling the E39 has.

PROCESS:

1. Jack up the o/s front of the car and detach the plastic mud-guard by removing the 3 hex-head screws that hold it to the wheel-arch. using a 7mm wrench.

2. Lift off the plastic under-tray that sits to the rear of the wheel-arch by removing the 5 plastic-studs around its edge. If you lack a took for pulling out this kind of stud then lever the head of the centre-pin out a few mm with a flathead screwdriver and then slide it clear with pliers. The body of the stud should now slide out easily.

* The car may need lowering to remove the under-tray and re-lifting, as the jacking-point lies in the centre of it.

3. Remove the 7 hex-head screws around the inside of the wheel-arch. as well as two at the leading edge of the under-tray, unseat the inner wheel-arch from around the lip of the wheel-arch itself and pull the plastic inner-arch down out of the way.

* The water-tank for the windscreen and headlight washer-system is located just behind the wheel-arch, below the front of the driver's door. Not the Intensive cleaning-system, which has both the tank and pump under the bonnet.

4. Unplug the wire-connector from the pump in centre of the tank**, by sliding a flat screwdriver into the clip and lifting it upwards.

5. Pull the slim hose-connector clear of the central pump** and allow the tank to drain.

This is a good point to test the washer system one last time to make sure it isn't a blocked hose and the pump is getting no water.

6. Gently twist and pull the pump upwards about an inch out of its mount, then remove the black rubber-bush it sits in.

7. Flush the tank several times by pouring water into the filler-nozzle under the bonnet and allowing it to drain through and clean around the lip of the pump-mount. Check the pump for clogging.

8. Replace the rubber-bush to the tank and, using the new pump if necessary, reverse the procedure.

** The pump in the centre of the tank with the slim hose is for the windscreen washers. The left-hand pump with the larger hose is for the headlight washers.

*** The black connector on the inner corner of the tank is the level-indicator probe. This is also a push fit and the best place to drain from, after removing the wire-connector as above.