BMW E38 728i Sport

I purchased the car on ebay about 1 week before lockdown started, had to wait 3 months to finally pick up the car (when Boris said it was ok).

I deliberately wanted the 2.8 6 cylinder model over the flaky timing chain issues of V8's and complexity of 2 engines welded together (V12 750). I've had the engine before in a green 328i touring which was a delight.

Average spec, genuine sport, decent colour, with an uber rare sport interior - Half Nappa leather half alcantara (sadly no contours).

Needs a fair bit 0f work, already carried out the following:-
*Replaced fuel tank
*Oil filter housing gasket
*Water pump & thermostat
*Belts and pulleys

To do:
*DSC control unit rebuild
*Full service - all fluids filters & plugs
*CCV & vac lines
*Dash cluster pixles
*MOT

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Amazing

Lovely barge, looks in really good nick. Every time I see an E38 I get Tomorrow Never Dies driving with the phone flashbacks!

This so much, what an era of my life that was. Love this, still have a soft spot for an M5 from this vintage.

Best era for me personally.

@skullandbiscuits we want detail on what the project involves!

First major fix - address the leaking fuel tank.

This is an extremely common issue on the E38s, the tanks are metal, really so stupid......

Here is it getting a refurb tank fitted from a very well know E38 specialist. The tank should be good for 10 years.

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Yes! Love that era of bmw.

To do:

*DSC control unit rebuild
*Full service - all fluids filters & plugs
*CCV & vac lines
*Dash cluster pixles
*MOT
*Turbocharge

hahaha no way....

Replacement DSC control unit fitted & coded to the car this morning, finally I am dashlight error free.

1). Fit DSC unit
2). NCS Expert -code / process DSC module to IKE ECU
3). INPA - developer mode, reset steering angle sensor = failed.
4). DISV57 - recalibrate steering angle sensor = success

MOT finally booked in for next week :-)

Oh wow, really love this era.

I had an e46 3 series coupe years ago, was my first nice car. Was nothing fancy but I absolutely loved it. Fast forward to me in my thirties and I have an F30 328i, as much as I do like the F30 the newer cars just feel a bit soulless. My dream long term plan is to eventually get an E24 6 series. Not sure if it can happen in this decade though.

Keen to see more of this E38

MOT finally done....had a whacking great list of little niggily things that needed doing.

Fuel line
Fuel filter
Front brake hoses
Overhaul front headlights
Rear bulbs
Lambda fast idle (running bit rich).

Here is a cheeky shot from today from a National Trust car park (legit blue badge before you ask).

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Lovely stuff. Someone on my road had one for many many years. Will look to see if it is still there when I head home for xmas. Apologies for the shit pic

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MOT history for that number plate states:

R350AYC
KYMCO COBRA RACER
Check another vehicle

Colour
Red
Fuel type
Petrol
Date registered
25 June 1998
First MOT due
Unknown

???!!!

if it's R350AYG then that doesn't exist !

Update

Brain drain bane of my life. It slowly died out after the solar panel battery charger became ineffective from September onwards. The existing battery was ok, recharged it, left it for a day or so and it didn’t hold.

Put in a new Bosch S4, that lasted about 2 days, completely drained. I did notice one of the rear windows was trying to drop a lot, so I disconnected that, no cigar.

Finally got it through the MOT and the battery was holding due to the shitty aftermarket bulbs and controller units were removed. Used it daily for a couple of days, alarm was going off randomly, left it standing for 3 days unlocked, surprise surprise.......drained.

I’ve never done a parasitic battery drain test, hoping to find it it this weekend so I can use the 7 series for Christmas duties over the festive period. The wife’s Leaf EV is dull......

I will add some nice pics soon....

Love it! Shit craic about the battery drain. Hope you find the issue.

Aren’t car batteries pretty much fucked once they’re completely drained? I’m sure I read stuff like that when I was battery shopping a few months ago.

Quite possibly, once it goes below 3V my lithium jump starter won’t even attempt to start it.

If you connect two batteries together (one bad, one good) and then attach a charger to one you can sometimes bring the dead one back enough to get a good charge on it

These 2 are keeping my car alive at the moment.

I've read numerous common faults for the E38 regarding battery drain.

Mobile phone module
Navigation module
LCM module
GM module

Essentially the car should go to sleep after 16mins, so something is communicating with the CAN bus as the car is "AWAKE" this can be observed as the gearbox selector light status over even when the car is locked up.

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@johnnettles2 no idea - how odd. Could it be a private plate that's been transferred and no longer on the BM? Sorry to ruin your thread @skullandbiscuits. It is nice already but once all the issues are ironed out it'll be ace

I had a e39 M5 that drained the battery due to a faulty hedgehog resistor on the aircon. Not sure if yours has the same ?

Thanks all for the advice - battery drain is common on the E3X platform. It's best not to base it on other issues experienced by owners (Google Doctors never works).

I will find it over the festive period and update everyone. Enjoy the RARE interior :-)

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No real update sadly, I never got round to finding the battery drain over the festive period.

My new house will be ready from mid February, and I can't wait that long to fix it myself once it's garaged. Hopefully getting it booked in for the pros to fix it

and I can't wait that long to fix it myself once it's garaged. Hopefully getting it booked in for the pros to fix it

I know the feeling. I can either freeze my bollocks off and try to do the work I need to on a driveway, or have the sweet relief of paying someone else to do it.

If I can spare any cash in the next few months, I’m pretty sure I know what I’m gonna do!