1997 BMW 740i Service and Repair Manual

This factory service and repair manual for the 1997 BMW 740i marks the move to the larger V8: 4.4 liters, double overhead cam, naturally aspirated, gasoline, in a Base four-door sedan. The extra displacement brings its own specifications rather than a scaled version of the old ones, and the manual states them explicitly, giving clearances, timing values, pressures and torque figures for this engine along with the cooling and lubrication procedures a big V8 in a heavy sedan depends on.

Engines covered

• 4.4L V8 — DOHC, naturally aspirated, gasoline

Body styles covered

• 4-door sedan

Trims covered

• Base

Known issues on the 1997 740i. Three recalls stand on the federal record. One covers a replacement steering center drag link whose shaft can shear off and leave the driver with no steering control at all. Another concerns the lower front spring mounts, where road grit works into the rubber and creates pits that crack, breaking the bottom coil of the spring and upsetting ride height and stability. The third is the shared throttle and cruise cable bushing, which can break and hold the throttle open. Three complaints are logged, on engine cooling and the fuel system.