Replace Front Windshield

I had mentioned before that my pitted windshield was not only a nuisance, but also a safety hazard. I had wanted to replace my windshield for a while, but for some time they were NLA. Apparently the OEM manufacturer (Saint-Gobain Sekurit) had a production run and these were now available from Europe. A helpful mye28.com board member, Ivo, periodically ships a container full of Euro and specialty BMW parts for distribution within the US.

Way back in February, I had ordered a new “Green with Green Stripe” windshield from Ivo as part of the 2016 “St. Patty’s Day” shipment. However, disaster struck, when the shipping crate was damaged and 8 of 13 windshield were trashed. My windshield actually survived this debacle, but just as it was about to be delivered to my door, my understanding was that a tool fell on it and it broke. It only had two lives, apparently. A replacement windshield finally made it to the Bay Area in September and I picked it up in early October from a nice guy who brought a few up from Los Angeles. It was stored safely in our living room (thanks, understanding wife) until i was ready to install it.

Many holidays have been spent tackling big projects on the M5. For the windshield, it was Thanksgiving. I assembled what I believe to be the necessary tools, including plastic “dogbones,” gasket tool, glass suction handles, various picks and Gojo waterless hand sanitizer. I had also procured enough new lockstrip for both the front and rear windshields.

Getting the old windshield out wasn’t too bad, though I did end up cracking it, which made me very nervous about handling and installing the new one. I read up on many various methods for installation, but I decide to just pick one that made sense to me. The gasket was in good shape, so I decided to reuse it. I chose to leave it attached to the body and also left the bottom aluminum lock strip in place. I slid the windshield into the bottom of the gasket. I attempted to use a sharp “hook” tool, but nearly impaled myself a couple times. Then, I very carefully used one of the blue plastic dogbones to work the rubber gasket over the windshield, using the Gojo as lubricant. I was careful to make sure the top corners were stretched into the corners of the body for a tight seal. I also made sure to finish the installation in one of the top corners vs. in the middle of one of the sides.

I was very pleased to be able to successfully complete a project like this. After all it took to get a new windshield, the last thing I wanted to do was break it. The new windshield is crystal clear and provides a whole new perspective from inside the E28 greenhouse. I finished the project off with a new set of wiper blades to keep the windshield pristine.

Repair Sunroof Ceiling Panel

This post is really about attempting to repair the sunroof ceiling panel. The day I received the car, I was driving down the highway and opened the sunroof. What should have been a glorious event resulted in a terrible sounding “pop” as the roof retracted. This car was brand new to me, but I found that one of the retaining clips had become dislodged and was just resting on the sunroof headliner fabric. Once it slid back into the roof, it had no where to go and popped a hole into the cover.

“Damn, that sucks,” I thought. It turned out to be a lot worse than I imagined. Those first few openings also tore at the sides of the cover.  I believe that the entire headliner has been replaced and when the sunroof ceiling panel was replaced, it clearly wasn’t attached or aligned properly. Normally, I would just say, “oh, well,” and find a replacement, but on this car, it has proven so far impossible.

The North American M5 is the only E28 with a black (Schwarz) headliner, which makes this part very rare. The part is 54121962776, in case anyone has a lead on one. Some sites show it as available, but it’s too expensive to even inquire about. I know for sure the entire headliner is “NLA” (no longer available). I’ve scoured the internet. searched every relevant thread on mye28.com, private messaged random users based on 5 year-old posts, etc., but nothing has turned up.

I first attempted to tape the holes from the backside of the fabric. I also re-glued the corners and torn sides to the frame as much as best as I could. In addition to replacing the missing front clips on the panel, I had to reattach the panel it to the sliding mechanism using rivets. I also replaced all of the torx screws, which attach the sunroof to the frame.

It was the best fix I could attempt at the moment and I wasn’t very happy with the results.

Overhaul Entire Front Suspension

In continuing my quest to restore the M5 mechanically, I sought to tighten up the front suspension. Rather than diagnose each part, I decided to replace every component. FCP had a kit, but I wanted to upgrade the upper control arm bushings to the Moosehead Engineering spherical bushings, which could be ordered already pressed into Lemforder upper control arms. Thus, I ordered all of the remaining parts of the kit à la carte. I chose Lemforder for every component, except for the steering center link, which was only available from Meyle. The lower control arms are aluminum.

I read up a lot about remove the control arm ball joints and the days of hammering people had gone through to get them to release. I bought a “front-end” tool kit with various pullers and ball joint separators. With the proper tools and my impact wrench, I found it pretty easy to get the key attachment points undone. I removed the entire assembly as a unit from the car and then used the ball joint separator to free the left and right tie rod levers, which were the only parts being reused.

The tie rod levers had some surface rust and would have looked a little out of place connected to all the new shiny parts, so I decided to paint them with POR 15 for aesthetic reasons only. Once they were dry, I was ready to assemble all the components together before installing them on the car. Once I was under the car, I started cleaning adjacent parts and just couldn’t stop. I found it a lot easier to remove the sway bars and some heat shields than try to clean them in place.

When it was all back together, I was very pleased. I had never worked on my suspension before, aside from doing the rear subframe. I immediately took it to our local tire shop for an alignment. Afterwards, the entire front end was so solid and the handling was crisp, as I imagine it was when the car was new. This was one of the biggest and most gratifying jobs I had ever tackled.

Replace Coolant Expansion Tank and Flush and Fill Coolant

The quickest way to be scorned by the E28 community is to post pictures of your engine with an old, yellow coolant expansion tank. Replacing it was a no-brainer, but the part is specific to the M5 and is not cheap ($135). I multitasked when the car was up for the front suspension overhaul.

With the age of the coolant unknown, I decided to flush the existing coolant. Not wanting to use tap water, I went through a lot of distilled water to flush the coolant as much as I could front the block. Removing the drain plug from the block resulted in an uncontrollable deluge and a bit of a mess.

I put a new washer on the plug and reinstalled it. I replaced the expansion tank and then filled with a 50/50 solution of distilled water and Genuine BMW coolant (blue). As always, the internet offered both insight and controversy on the correct proportions and on the use of water wetter. I decided to just go for it.

Replace Driver’s-Side Engine Mount

Per my post about the passenger engine mount, I had to order the correct driver’s side mount per BMW. Replacing the mount was very easy, as I had already removed it once and it simply required jacking up the engine a bit to provide the necessary clearance to remove the threaded bolt from the subframe. I felt a lot better about using the correct part. I also replaced the nuts and washers on both sides at this time.

Replace Sunroof Seals

Again, in the spirit of replacing the rubber bits, I had sourced the front and rear seals for the sunroof. It was relatively easy to remove the sunroof and replace the seals. Reinstalling the roof and getting it right required a few adjustments, but eventually it was all in place per the BMW specs.

Replace Trunk Seal

I was on a mission to replace as much old rubber on the car as possible. One item that needed attention was the trunk seal. It was holding up fine and there were no leaks, but it was a little unsightly. The hardest part of the job was removing the old adhesive, which took some effort and patience. I used 3M Black Super Weatherstrip and Gasket Adhesive and was careful with the positioning of the seal, particularly in the corners.