2007 e60 530d - changed my thermostats today..pdf

27. 10. 2013. 2007 E60 530D - Changed my thermostats today..Yet another guide! - E60/E61 2004-2010 - BMW 5 Series Owners Board

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2007 E60 530D - Changed my thermostats today..Yet another guide!Started by tej, Feb 03 201 3 1 0:51 PM

tej

I followed these instructions -

Diesel Owners: I changed my Main Thermosat & cleaned my EGR Valve, - 5Series.net - Forums

(http://forums.5series.net/e60-discussion-2/diesel-owners-i-changed-my-main-thermosat-cleaned-my-egr-valve-

119904/#post1408644)

as well as having a read here as it has some additional info -

BMW: Changing E60 Main thermostat : BMW 5 series Forum • BMWLand

(http://www.bmwland.co.uk/forums/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=129186)

I studied the pics from this thread -

http://www.bimmerfor...change-t107244/ (http://www.bimmerforums.co.uk/forum/f15/e60-e61-530d-main-

thermostat-change-t107244/)

and this one -

BMW: E60 530d poor mpg - thermostat? : BMW 5 series Forum • BMWLand

(http://www.bmwland.co.uk/forums/viewtopic.php?t=129799&p=1090497&t=129799&p=1090497)

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However, unless I have missed something I still had questions so am hoping to fill in the gaps in this

thread..Unfortunately I didn't document the process as I was eager to get it done as quick as possible. I began the job

just before 12pm and completed the job in under 3hours, which includes a lot of faffing about looking for tools, so to

make life easier I will list the tools I used and a few tips to save you time.. Now, I'm not a complete novice but no

expert either, in the past I've fit coilovers, intercoolers and many other bolt ons, but have always shyed away from

jobs that require bleeding sysems (ie. bleeding brakes or coolant). But thanksfully the e60 seems to pretty much self

bleed itself very effectively making the job simpler.

Just to add, I managed to do the job without totally removing the EGR cooler, I just slackened it off but

imo the correct way would be to remove the cooler as it will make access MUCH easier, although getting to the

manifold/EGR bolts looked like a job in itself.

So to begin, you will need the following bits -

Torx bits -

-T25

-T45

Hex bits -

-6mm

Screwdrivers -

-Normal star/Philips

-Stubby star/phillips (for under tray removal)

-Large Flat head (for unscrewing the bleed valve on the EGR stat and bending back a bracket)

Sockets -

-1/4" Socket wrench set (1/2" might be a little too big for most of the jobs)

-Range from 6mm upto 10mm

-You will also need a couple of extensions, a long and short one if possible

-Universal joint (pretty essential if doing the job without EGR cooler removal)

Posted 03 Febr u a r y 2 01 3 - 1 0:5 1 PM

http://forum.bmw5.co.uk/

http://forum.bmw5.co.uk/forum/80-technical/

http://forum.bmw5.co.uk/forum/65-e60e61-2004-2010/

http://forum.bmw5.co.uk/user/43936-tej/



http://forums.5series.net/e60-discussion-2/diesel-owners-i-changed-my-main-thermosat-cleaned-my-egr-valve-119904/#post1408644

http://www.bmwland.co.uk/forums/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=129186

http://www.bimmerforums.co.uk/forum/f15/e60-e61-530d-main-thermostat-change-t107244/

http://www.bmwland.co.uk/forums/viewtopic.php?t=129799&p=1090497&t=129799&p=1090497



Other bits -

-Flexible socket thingy majig like this is handy - http://ecx.images-am...L500_AA300_.jpg (http://ecx.images-

amazon.com/images/I/31h0Mmc2GUL._SL500_AA300_.jpg)

-Gloves and/or swarfega for the oily greasy hands!

-electrical tape - so you can tape some of the hard-to-get-to non-magnetic bolts to the socket without them dropping

-Pliers (the drain plug on my rad needed some assistance to free up)

Parts (part numbers and main dealer prices) -

-EGR stat - 11717787870 £35.93

-EGR Stat O ring - 11532248435 £1.15

-Main Stat - 11517805811 £48.29

-coolant £10.44 per 1.5litre x2 (I recommend just getting this from a dealer rather than faffing around trying to find

the 'correct' type of coolant unless you know better, I'm not too clued up on the different types, BMW supplied a

greeny bluey one)

-5litres distilled water £4 (This was from halfords and was called battery top up water)

How to DIY, using instructions from the first link I posted above and my edits in red as well as some of the pics being

nicked from both links above-

All instructions are as if you are looking at the car from the front. Here are some pictures that go with my description

below.

1. Remove bonnet landing panel (10 xT45 screws) I had to remove the bonnet catches too

2. Remove plastic panel under that (5 screws) (T25).

2a. At this point I removed the under tray, I didn't need to jack up the car but you can probably drive the car onto

some wooden blocks to increase clearance and assist the bleeding process later.. lie down on the floor in front of

the car and feel for around 6-7 phillips screws, use the stubby screw driver to loosen them, they are captive so

won't fall down.

3. The small water pipe is held in place on bottom left hand side of the fan. (it's deep down, and hard to see, but your

hand can follow it or get to it from under the car after removing the under tray as I did).

4. Unclip 2 electrical wires to radiator and lift fan up and out. I only had one, LCI?

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/31h0Mmc2GUL._SL500_AA300_.jpg



4a. Bottom right of the radiator is a red knob, unscrew this to drain the coolant at this point.

Now you have made enough clearance, you can start attacking the stats -

5. Unclip 3 inch rubber pipe from underneath EGR cooler. Let all water drain out. (remove under-panel beforehand)

5a At this point I removed the EGR stat, easiest way to do this is to use the instructions here, one thing to note, there

was a weird black bracket in the way when I tried to pull back the hose above the stat, so I had to bend it backward.

-

BMW 530d EGR thermostat swap - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZhtfKliAkiU)

6. Just underneath the EGR valve, there is a hex bolt which holds the plastic piping which feeds to the main

thermostat. Remove this to gain a little more flexibility as the pipe is quite rigid.Same as the instruction above?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZhtfKliAkiU



7. Now, three of the thermostat bolts are easy to access The fourth bolt can be accessed with a slightly bendy (S

shaped) spanner (This kind of spanner has enough bend in it to access the last, top left bolt). You can only undo the

screw a quarter of a turn at a time, but it still beats taking off the whole EGR cooler IMO.

7a,The way I did this, I'd say the 2 at the bottom of the stat are easy to get to with a socket and extension, the top

left is tricky to see but do-able again with a 10mm socket and extension. Now you have one bolt left, the top-right

which is impossible without making clearance imo.

Quick tip - Take out the new thermostat to take a look and see where all the bolts sit to give you an idea while you

attempt to locate them.

Now for this part I slackened the 3 hex bolts that hold the EGR cooler as well as disconnecting the metal pipe going

to the intake system, then I pulled the EGR cooler forward and down and was able to get a socket with a universal

joint on the last bolt

More pics here - http://www.t-e-j.com...30D/egr (5).jpg (http://www.t-e-j.com/530D/egr%20(5).jpg)

and http://www.t-e-j.com...30D/egr (4).jpg (http://www.t-e-j.com/530D/egr%20(4).jpg) Also remember to

undo the two metal clamps either side of the thermostat entry and exit supply pipes.

Pic shown in the wrong order but should give you an idea of where the bolts are -

http://www.t-e-j.com/530D/egr%20(5).jpg

http://www.t-e-j.com/530D/egr%20(4).jpg



8. Wiggle [the main thermostat] apart. It WILL come off, you just need to support the main supply pipe with

something like in my picture to move it forward slightly, to gain more flexibility and access. This part was tricky

and where I started to get worried I won't be able to get the new stat in without damaging it, but

the old one came out by twisting, shimmy-ing and pulling.. the new one went in much easier, no

idea how! It just went in and sat right where it should without much effort.. once you have

completed this part, the re-assembly part is easy!

Almost there now...!

9. Refit everything in reverse order. Remember to fit the new O ring to the EGR stat if you are replacing yours or

swap over the old one.

10. Undo the big PLUS screw on the egr thermostat when refilling with antifreeze to help remove air. (Follow the

dilution instructions on the bottle for your preferred mix)

11. Follow normal bleeding procedures. Check water level regularly over the next few weeks and top up as more air

comes out.

Note: To begin with the coolant will obviously be cool, but before attempting the below remember

the coolant will warm up and eventually get HOT so be careful when bleeding the cooling system

after taking it for a spin. You should be able to get most/all of the air out before it does get

anywhere near hot though.

I simply filled the expansion tank until coolant began to come out of the bleed valve on top of the EGR stat (which I

loosened before hand, and it took around 5litres to fill as I don't think the whole block emptied out). At this point I

started the car and let it idle and put the heating system on full, the system seems to self bleed itself well so just keep

an eye on the coolant level. Take the car for a spin a few times and check, be careful the coolant has had sufficient

time to cool before checking it. Also, you can slowly unscrew the screw above the EGR stat every now and again to

make sure there is no air escaping.

Done!!

Hopefully this helps someone out. The other guides say its easy and not too bad, I can't say I enjoyed it but it was an

ok job as long as you have the tools to hand and it is very satisfying knowing you have done the job and not some

potential shortcut-taking-cowboy Getting access to the last thermostat bolt was the trickiest part and the only

real part that required any non-standard tools (ie the universal joint). If you aren't able to get that last bolt you are

pretty stuck, so be aware of that..

So to conclude, the highest I ever saw my temps were 83-84 in traffic and 78 on Mway, I took it for a quick A-road

blast, wasn't really able to hold a steady speed but I've never seen temps this high before, so looks promising

Edited by tej, 05 February 2013 - 10:41 AM.



Neil.D

Thanks for the write up. This is regular maintenance for all diesel E60/1's and needs doing every few years - thanks

for taking the time.

Worth making a sticky.

Posted 04 Febr u a r y 2 01 3 - 04 :3 1 A M

tej

Thanks for the comments

I thought I'd do a write up as there are points where you can potentially get stuck if you are a noob, so I wanted to

make sure people feel confident undertaking the job and saving a shedload by DIY'ing and not worrying they will

leave their car in a state it can't be driven..

I've just realised a lot of the pics/links are broken so I will sort these out.. I might expand on the actual thermostat

removal a bit more to make things a little clearer also..


Baus

Nice write up Tej.

more pics: http://imgur.com/a/62KxB#0 (http://imgur.com/a/62KxB#0)


tej

Thanks Baus. When I re-do parts of the write-up I might nick some of your pics and add you to the credits, if you

don't mind?


Baus

Take pics, no need to credit.

Posted 04 Febr u a r y 2 01 3 - 1 2 :02 PM

tej

So I reset the trip computer from cold and did a trip to Heathrow yesterday (Ilford to Heathrow ~ 80mile round trip)

which involved about 5miles of crawling in town to the A406 at which point it was reading about 20mpg (temps

around 50'C)! took another 5-6miles before the car was reading 89-90 and eventually got up to 91 (90 down hill, 92

up hill, 91 on flat ground), this took a little longer than expected, maybe 25-30mins or so. MPG soon began to build

towards 34mpg and we are talking in quite heavy traffic.. not forgetting I have a full tank, 2 passengers and about

60kg+ of luggage it became stop start for a while, stopping and then accelerating gently/normally up to 40-45mph...

Reached Heathrow with the trip reading around 34mpg - not bad.

Headed home with a slightly clearer a406, still lots of stop start due to traffic lights but this time with only 1

passenger..Got home with the car reading 36mpg. I don't think it was a huge improvement, BUT i wasn't expecting to

see a night and day one as A roads are quite heavy on fuel.. still an improvement of about 2-3mpg.. Usually temps

would be reading around 80-84 for this type of driving.

Checked tyre pressures before the journey but didn't have the time to inflate them, front pressures were down to

24psi, so should see an improvement once they are up to pressures...rears were at 41 and 42.

The biggest thing was that temps were stable, so should see an even better improvement on Motorway driving when

temps would usually drop to 76-78'C

Note: outside temps were between 3-5'C. I will post back when I do my next Motorway journey And for

reference, the car has been treated to an E-maps remap and due an oil change.


http://forum.bmw5.co.uk/user/36451-neild/


http://forum.bmw5.co.uk/user/40991-baus/

http://imgur.com/a/62KxB#0






Edited by tej, 06 February 2013 - 09:38 AM.

Baus

what's the e-maps remap?

Do you know how many miles/tank you used to get beforehand? That's the best way of checking how much your

mpg has improved by...

and 24 is REALLY low! gotta be 35 minimum, you'd have lost about 15% in fuel from that alone!

Edited by Baus, 06 February 2013 - 11:58 AM.

Posted 06 Febr u a r y 2 01 3 - 1 1 :5 7 A M

tej

When you say "24mpg", I'm guessing you mean 34mpg? The figure I got when I reached Heathrow? 3up + luggage in

traffic? I thought it was a good figure lol

The car does different types of journey's per tank, so comparing miles isn't representative . but I keep a record of

brim to brim MPG figures, so far 38mpg (90% of the tank was Motorway), 33mpg (quarter tank motorway, quarter

tank a-road, quarter tank town, then filled up) and 34 (same sort of usage as the tank before) were the last 3.. the trip

computer is usually 1-2mpg less than my brim to brim calculation..

As for E-maps - http://www.e-maps.co.uk/ (http://www.e-maps.co.uk/) 270bhp/440lb ft/600NM

They seem very highly regarded across the forums.

Tbh, I think the temps I was getting around town weren't as bad as some people, so I'm not expecting a big

improvement on that. I think trying to get more than 33-34mpg around town won't be possible where I live! BUT I

do believe I should be able to better 38-40mpg on Motorways as I'm quite a 'smooth' driver (the whole 'constant

load' type of drive where I can).. This is where I saw temps drop to high 70s..

Edited by tej, 06 February 2013 - 01:07 PM.

Posted 06 Febr u a r y 2 01 3 - 01 :03 PM

Baus

sorry, i meant 24psi.

the fact that it dropped to the 70's on the mway shows just how weak the stats were. Getting 80s around town is still

bad, cos it normally goes up to the mid 90s.

Posted 06 Febr u a r y 2 01 3 - 03 :3 5 PM

tej

I was surprised at that.. I've neglected to check recently but usually check and top up every 1-2weeks.. They

dropped from 38psi to 24psi in about a month! So will keep an eye..

Also, I will post back more MPG results after some Motorway action


Baus

that's definitely a slow puncture. Mine only drop 4-5/month


Mph28mph

Been reading about the stat changes

I have a 2004 525i does this apply to a petrol car as well

Posted 06 Febr u a r y 2 01 3 - 08 :09 PM

BausPosted 06 Febr u a r y 2 01 3 - 09 :08 PM



http://www.e-maps.co.uk/




http://forum.bmw5.co.uk/user/45053-mph28mph/




Back to E60/E61 2004-201 0 · Next Unread Topic →

BMW 5 Ser ies Ow n er s Boa r d → Tech n ica l → E6 0/E6 1 2 004 -2 01 0

a few of our cousins in the states have needed to change theirs, but not on the scale that diesels need to. head over to

5series.net for more info...


http://forum.bmw5.co.uk/topic/77899-2007-e60-530d-changed-my-thermostats-todayyet-another-guide/?view=getnextunread

http://forum.bmw5.co.uk/

http://forum.bmw5.co.uk/forum/80-technical/


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