Customer Reviews

BMW 5 Series (E39) Service Manual: 1997-2002 (2 volume set)

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Look, let's face it. BMWs are getting increasingly complicated. If you really want to break down your engine completely, maybe you shouldn't be working with such an advanced piece of hardware. (The analogy is like a woodworking hobbyist attempting to build an office building.) So it makes sense that the manual doesn't cover the process of rebuilding an M62 engine to the Nth degree. I've had 9 BMWs and 9 Bentley manuals. My only replacement engine came from a crate. What this manual does cover is the practical aspects of maintianing and servicing your own car, including troubleshooting dozens of issues and maintaining many body, electrical, mechanical, engine and transmission parts and functions. For that purpose it is a great manual.

The second volume all about the electrical system and is almost entirely schematics. Every single wire in every year of every version of the E39 is identified. This may seem like overkill, but I can tell you when you are trying to isolate an electrical problem and need to trace one of the hundreds of wires in the harness it absolutely is not. It's a blessing.

Even if you don't work on your car, do you trust your BMW dealer or mechanic? I thought so. My local BMW dealer is full of "BMW recommends that you replace..."garbage. Buy this manual and you can be sure you'll keep him honest. The next time he makes a recommendation that doesn't seem right. Check it out in your book. Chances are the you'll recover more than the cost of the book in your first visit to your mechanic....if you ever go back.

The books claim to address the M52 and M62 engines. Not a word about the subassemblies of either engine(the biggest part of an engine) The same information seems to be repeated in several places in the book. Gives the impression they are trying to make up volume. I believe the hype aboute the book is misleading since the publisher claims they strived for completeness. You cannot claim to cover an engine and then leave the largest part of it unattended. Price tag quite stiff with an ommision like that. E-mailed Bentley several times no response. In comparing this to the Bentley book on the E30 - It is a shame at the price.

I bought this manual when I decided it was time to start doing my own maintenance on my 5 series. My brake wear indicator came on showing that I was in need of brake pads and rotors, so having this book was invaluable when the time came to do the job. I had done some checking on dealer prices and found that a brake job can run anywhere from $800 - $1200. With the help of this manual, I did it myself for the cost of the parts and a few hours of work. The manual is rather expensive, but I saved about four times as much just on the brake job. I'd recommend it to anyone who wants to work on their own cars.

I've been repairing, maintaining and modifying cars for over 30yrs and always had a shop manual for the particular car I was working on. The Bentley Manual is fine for most of its photos (however, some pics are not accurate) and the instruction is OK if the reader has experience working on cars. I was able to do more work on my car by just observing the placement of part or system and by referring to several BMW forums which, in my opinion, are far and above this simple manual. It can come in handy as a quick reference but does not serve as an end all shop manual.

Bentley manuals are the best, the level of detail and information is unmatched anywhere but for BMW's own workshop manual. These books arent small, roughly the size of two UK telephone directories and unfortunatly for me don't cover the 525TDS engine. That said there is enough information contained within to enable the DIY mechanic to tackle just about any job. The section containing error codes is useful if you have an error code reader and the index is clear and easily understood. Volume two of the two volume set contains information on air conditioning systems climate control electronics and a lot of wiring diagrams. Not bedtime reading but a definite asset if you like to know how things work.

It says 1997-2002 but if you have a 2003 E39 these service manuals have you covered. These manuals are relatively comprehensive; they don't have BMW part numbers - but [...] does, nor does it take you through rebuilding your manual transmission. But it will help you get the transmission out. There are lots of pictures, specifications, BMW special tools (lots of those) and more. If you think you are likely to do any kind of maintenance, change the clutch or just want to know more about what makes these cars special, you won't go wrong by buying this set.

These books are mighty useful but the pictures in the books are kinda confusing. Since this book covers ALL 5 Series I can't tell if the pictures showing you a where a certain bolt or parts is located is the same for my car. I have a 528i and some locations pictured is different from my car. Other wise it's a very useful book for any BMW DIYer.

Bentley is the only game in town for BMW owners - there is no alternative. Nearest dealer is thirty miles away. You have to fix it yourself. It leaves a lot to be desired. It is a far cry from any GM Factory Service Manual in depth, and doesn't give the rationale for the design, or how the part functions. Too many photographs and not enough drawings. The drawings don't identify parts well-enough. There is too much white-space in the layout, making it cumbersome. It should be model specific for a particular power plant, and it should be put out with separate editions for each model year.

Great Manual -- Spotty Index. Manual gives concise, accurate repair procedures. However, the index in volume 2 was not complete. Every other page was blank. Also, manual not strong on troubleshooting.

Nearly 4 cm thick part of book was electronics: Whew!
The only reason why I did not give 5 stars but 4 was due to
the delivery packaging around the Bentley books, not the book pair
itself. Though the package was 2 brown boxes inside each other
and a plastic bag around it, the 12kg heavy packet had been
dropped 2 times on corner (like from aeroplane to the runway)
before I got the package in Finland, Europe.
The corner areas of the books were from 5 cm diameter area
damaged, and quite unasthetic, though the book pages were
not anyway broken or torn apart.