My big German boat! BMW 740IL

3 minute(s) of a 25 minute read

Seems like there is always something with this car. I leaned slightly on the fuel door and this happened. 

Broken fuel door hinge. Thankfully new ones are only ~$10 so I ordered one and it is on the way. 

So taking stock, what is currently broken on my car:

1. Fuel door, have the part

2. Power steering reservoir/lines are leaking. I have to top it off every 2-3 months. I have the parts but haven't been in a hurry since it is fine 95% of the time. 

3. Clunk in the front driver side suspension. All the front control arms are new so I'm guessing its the tie rod or idler arm. I have new versions of both, I'll install them when I fix the shocks. Of course since I drive in a vehicular hellscape with giant craters everywhere my new arms could just as well be toast already.

4. Front driver shock is toast, looking at coilovers.

4. One vertical line in my instrument cluster display went out. Thankfully you can't even see it most of the time. Not a huge problem. 

5. Odds are there are more worn rear suspension parts due to the cars age and harshness of the roads. When I had my E39 I refreshed everything back there, the suspensions are similar if not the same, and it was a PITA. Going to wait on that if I can.

6. Valve cover gaskets are leaking a bit, will check up on them this summer.

7. The rear passenger chrome trim sticks up near the front. Just need to use adhesive or something to clamp it down. 

Otherwise the car is solid. I haven't been stranded yet knock on wood.

What fun things do I want to do next?

1. I bought an "alpina" front lip for the car. It has to be painted, but will look boss when its installed. I'm waiting until I get the more important stuff out of the way. 

2. Many people replace the resonator with an X pipe and replace the mufflers for a nicer sound. I may go that route, and do some M5 style quad exhausts. 

3. Install angel eyes in the headlights and replace the lens as the current ones are starting to yellow.

4. Replace the rear tail lights as they are starting to age, especially the reverse light section. 

5. Install heated front seats.

6. Get one of the modern headunits that look like the stock one. This isn't super important as the current one does 90% of what I want it to do. 

That's really it for now. 

My old neighbor picked up a V12 Mercedes and is planning on installing some Brabus bits on it. Two old competitors next to eachother. 

Also found this on the web which I thought was cool.