600 Mile E39 M5 Complete EAG Rejuvenation

The opportunity to indulge is the bedrock for our rejuvenation program. We say this because we know the capabilities of this vehicle and the concerns that’d impede its potential. This recent example traveled a few miles but many years. When you have something as complex as a vehicle, you must approach it with knowledge and experience. There is a shelf life for everything and that’s especially true when fluids, vapors, and heat cycles enter the equation. Rubber hoses, stale filters, moisture manifesting, adhesive letting go, bushings showing the weight they’ve carried all come together to require a rejuvenation. Allow me to go into the work that was performed by the team here at EAG on this particular example.

The 2000 M5 was before BMW updated several mechanical systems. We need to take a moment to recognize this was a sedan with a naturally aspirated V8 equipped with individual throttle bodies and variable valve timing to achieve 400 horsepower. A feat during the time where others attempted to keep up with superchargers and turbos. Under no fault of the original owners, this was a commitment likely not shared by your standard sales department at the dealer. This vehicle, like the E9x models, has actual headers and catalytic converters in the mid-pipe. In the later models, they honed in on the ownership experience with the VANOS and those updates along with other BMW programming are now properly installed on this vehicle. We accomplished everything BMW intended and made sure this mechanically has the same equipment installed on the last M5 ever produced with all of their updates.

We then have to look at the mechanical condition based on time. One of those items being the fuel system that is always present and always produces vapor. Everyone likely had a vehicle where when you twist the cap you hear an audible noise and if not has smelled that glorious scent when filling up. When that fuel sits, though the vapor continues to go to work. So in this case we replaced everything internal to the fuel tank. The rubber component known as the rear main seal is indeed a main component to the engine. It’s located at the end of the crankshaft and prevents oil spilling out into the transmission. Oil escaping from the engine is nothing an owner wants, and it travels throughout the whole engine. On the S62 engine, there are solenoids on the side of the oil pan that allow oil to continue its job even when faced with high G-loads you’d experience on the track. Those solenoids have three rubber o-rings to keep everything internal. The valve cover does exactly as it states. It covers the camshafts and valves to allow oil to circulate and continuous lubrication to occur. A rubber gasket keeps that sealed up. Everything I mentioned and several more were replaced to reset the baseline and remove any concerns.

When you replace components, several things are removed. Items that now have upgrade options after the public put millions of miles under their belt, and enthusiasts providing a product. So, while replacing that main seal, the clutch was replaced. When replacing the other rubber pieces, a Viton product is used instead depending on application. When removing the exhaust system, to remove the transmission, to gain access to the aforementioned rear main seal… We replace the rear sway bar brackets with a billet aluminum bracket since we know this platform loves to break the upper tabs if it still has the factory steel component installed.

If we replace the brackets on that rear sway bar, it might also be an opportunity to upgrade… This, too, is a theme and something this vehicle received during its service. A Dinan rear sway bar was installed in conjunction with a Dinan front strut brace. The combination allows the chassis to be more compliant without compromising ride quality. Our client is also no stranger to the E39 M5 and knew to enhance its visceral experience with an intake from Eventuri and an exhaust from Eisenmann.