Hey all. My friend just bought a 97 540I6 badged a dinnan 5 and wanted to know a few things and he is between internet services , so I told him I would post them up for him. This car has 97,000 miles on it and he wanted to know how well these engines hold up and if a stock 540I comes with a limited slip differential as his is not at this time so we were trying to figure out if it was worn out or something? also he wanted to know about the transmission as far as longevity . Thanks.

that engine seems to last quite a while in my experiences. 250k + with regular maintanence. you just have to deal with the common leaky valve covers, front covers and valley plate. all in all the core is solid. pretty sure the m5 had the limited slip rear diff. and not the 540 but dont quote me on that. if you have the rare stick tranny u really only have to worry about the clutch. the auto is not bad either however have their down falls as all autos do.......

Correct on the limited slip differential. That is only supplied on the M cars. In addition to the problem areas cited above I'd add the radiator, expansion tank, etc as being problematic on a 540. Figure om replacing those components every 4-5 years or every 60k.

oh yeah, you can add the rear intake cover and oil seperator and pretty much all of the movable suspension parts. not trying to get u down, just givin u info. better to be prepared to afford a bmw.... nice comes with price...