how to care for my 1997 528? (secrets to long car life?)

[notesguy]

I recently got a 1997 528 with 63k miles. The dealer checked it out and
said it was in good shape.

I REALLY want to take good care of it - my 1990 525i gave up after
243,000 miles.

What are the secrets to keep this car going for years and years, miles and
miles.

Thanks you in advance for your input!

[NovceGuru]

Change your oil! How did your previous bimmer go out? I'm about to hit 200k and love my car...I hope I get more than 50 more k out of it

[notesguy]

Change your oil! How did your previous bimmer go out? I'm about to hit 200k and love my car...I hope I get more than 50 more k out of it

The transmission started slipping a little. Then more, then more, then it stopped going forward. This happened over 2 - 3 months. Perhaps if I had added fluid or changed ATF it would have prevented it. I was at a point where I was not able to - I know it's not much but sometimes you face life this way.

The one I have now says the transmission has lifetime fluid. It drives SO much better than the old one. I did not realize what they are supposed to drive like - wow.

I could have fixed the old one up given enough money and time to replace and gotten it back in original shape but at 243k miles, it just didn't make financial sense. This decision took a while to come to since I REALLY!! liked the car.

[Blitzkrieg Bob]

http://kalecoauto.com/index.php?main_page=index

[dacoyote]

.....
The one I have now says the transmission has lifetime fluid.

Life time fluid isn't life time...... it will need to be changed at some point or you will eat another tranny...

[JonE]

Life time fluid isn't life time...... it will need to be changed at some point or you will eat another tranny...

Well, actually, if you leave it in there, it WILL last the lifetime of your transmission...

[Kalevera]

Disregard the service intervals. Change the oil between 5 and 6 thousand miles if you're using BMW synthetic. If the car's been dealer serviced, it would be a good idea to run an AutoRX treatment through it, or do a succession of 1,000 mile oil changes, because the thing is guaranteed to have sludge.

Change the trans fluid, and the filter if you want to. Should take Dexron III, but I don't have the sheet in front of me.

It will need rear ball joints at some point. Lowers seem to go faster than the uppers.

Then there's the cooling system. You might want to do some preventative maintenance if it's been ~ 60k since it had a radiator/water pump/tstat housing. The M52/54 are intolerant to cooling system failures, which leads some owners to cyclically replace those components. They run hot for emissions purposes, and it doesn't take long to lunch a motor. Given that a junk yard motor and install is going to cost $4000 on a car that's probably worth $8000, it makes sense to spend $500 on the cooling system every 60k.

best, whit

[dacoyote]

Well, actually, if you leave it in there, it WILL last the lifetime of your transmission...

True :-)

[notesguy]

Disregard the service intervals. Change the oil between 5 and 6 thousand miles if you're using BMW synthetic. If the car's been dealer serviced, it would be a good idea to run an AutoRX treatment through it, or do a succession of 1,000 mile oil changes, because the thing is guaranteed to have sludge.

Change the trans fluid, and the filter if you want to. Should take Dexron III, but I don't have the sheet in front of me.

It will need rear ball joints at some point. Lowers seem to go faster than the uppers.

Then there's the cooling system. You might want to do some preventative maintenance if it's been ~ 60k since it had a radiator/water pump/tstat housing. The M52/54 are intolerant to cooling system failures, which leads some owners to cyclically replace those components. They run hot for emissions purposes, and it doesn't take long to lunch a motor. Given that a junk yard motor and install is going to cost $4000 on a car that's probably worth $8000, it makes sense to spend $500 on the cooling system every 60k.

best, whit

Great advice - thanks!

[rob101]

Disregard the service intervals. Change the oil between 5 and 6 thousand miles if you're using BMW synthetic. If the car's been dealer serviced, it would be a good idea to run an AutoRX treatment through it, or do a succession of 1,000 mile oil changes, because the thing is guaranteed to have sludge.

Change the trans fluid, and the filter if you want to. Should take Dexron III, but I don't have the sheet in front of me.

It will need rear ball joints at some point. Lowers seem to go faster than the uppers.

Then there's the cooling system. You might want to do some preventative maintenance if it's been ~ 60k since it had a radiator/water pump/tstat housing. The M52/54 are intolerant to cooling system failures, which leads some owners to cyclically replace those components. They run hot for emissions purposes, and it doesn't take long to lunch a motor. Given that a junk yard motor and install is going to cost $4000 on a car that's probably worth $8000, it makes sense to spend $500 on the cooling system every 60k.

best, whit

just a question about the De-sludging technique, should you change your filter every 1000 miles with the oil?