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Seriously considering buying an E34 ('93 535i), going to go look at it tomorrow. 133k km's on it, automagic, hoping I can get some input on some common problems (quirks) with this generation to look out for. Price is right and id be selling my E46 to get into it.
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Dec 31, 2009 06:55
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Just out of curiosity, why the swap? That definitely seems like a downgrade to me.
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Dec 31, 2009 16:33
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Doctor Grape Ape posted:Battery or alternator. I would put my money on alternator. Yank it and have Autozone check it with their fancy piece of equipment. It is possible for it to test good and still be bad, but it's worth a shot anyway. Any decent autoparts store should have some Bosch remans on hand that will work for you, or if you have some extra time to wait, buy a reman or new one online from Turner/Bimmerworld/RMEuropean/Pelican/etc., they're usually better quality. How difficult will it be to get the alternator out of my car? I'm in MI right now and it's freezing, and unfortunately getting this car moved out of the driveway will cost me another towing fee. To be honest I don't even know where the alternator is located on the car. I'm learning as I go with this stupid car..
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Dec 31, 2009 17:06
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revmoo posted:Just out of curiosity, why the swap? That definitely seems like a downgrade to me. Apart from having a hard-on for the looks of the E34, im also craving a bit more space and power compared to my '04 320i. The deciding factor will be in the test drive, the only other reason would be in clearing my debt on the E46 while I go back to school for a few months to continue my apprenticeship.
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Dec 31, 2009 18:17
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coq mixer posted:I went and got an estimate to fix the damage from the state trooper incident.
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Dec 31, 2009 19:02
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tesko.pk posted:Apart from having a hard-on for the looks of the E34, im also craving a bit more space and power compared to my '04 320i. The deciding factor will be in the test drive, the only other reason would be in clearing my debt on the E46 while I go back to school for a few months to continue my apprenticeship. I don't know how much this will be relevant when E34s are involved, but going from an E46 to an E39 has been brought up by myself and others a few times in this thread and the general response as far as I've seen has been the size difference isn't really noticeable. Power might be, as long as the extra 30 HP (minus whatever's been lost to wear) makes up for the extra 400 lbs. If your 3 is also automatic I'd guess you will notice the extra power, if it's a manual the combination of weight and slushbox will probably cancel it out.
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Dec 31, 2009 19:21
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GobiasIndustries posted:How difficult will it be to get the alternator out of my car? I'm in MI right now and it's freezing, and unfortunately getting this car moved out of the driveway will cost me another towing fee. To be honest I don't even know where the alternator is located on the car. I'm learning as I go with this stupid car.. http://www.bavtech.com/e34-guides/1995-540i-m60b40-motor/images/m60b40.jpg Look for the pulley right below the oil filter tank, that's the alternator. Might be easiest to go at it from the bottom, but having never had my hands on a V8 BMW I'm not certain. I know that on the M5x I6s removing the alternator is a fairly trivial job accomplished in under 2 hours the first time you do it, and then 20 minutes the next time. The good thing is that alternator technology hasn't really changed in the past 50+ years so your grandfather should know a thing or two about them. To get to it you're going to have to take off the accessory belt, and the mechanical fan mounted to the engine. That should give you a little room to work. You might have to remove one idler tensioner to get to a bolt on the alternator, but the good news is that there are only two bolts holding the alternator to the engine, and a few cables going to it. If you're interested in stuff like this spend some time on https://www.howstuffworks.com that website is a wealth of information with awesome illustrations to help you grasp some of the harder to envision concepts, like the inner workings of a transmission. It's not a substitute for getting your hands dirty, but it's a hell of a lot better than going in with little or no knowledge of what you're doing or affecting by working on the car. Fake edit: This diagram might help you too. https://www.bmwfans.info has an exploded diagram for pretty much every part on your car.
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Dec 31, 2009 19:34
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wolrah posted:I don't know how much this will be relevant when E34s are involved, but going from an E46 to an E39 has been brought up by myself and others a few times in this thread and the general response as far as I've seen has been the size difference isn't really noticeable. Power might be, as long as the extra 30 HP (minus whatever's been lost to wear) makes up for the extra 400 lbs. If your 3 is also automatic I'd guess you will notice the extra power, if it's a manual the combination of weight and slushbox will probably cancel it out.  . Yep, I'd be going from auto -> auto.
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Dec 31, 2009 20:12
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wolrah posted:I don't know how much this will be relevant when E34s are involved, but going from an E46 to an E39 has been brought up by myself and others a few times in this thread and the general response as far as I've seen has been the size difference isn't really noticeable. Power might be, as long as the extra 30 HP (minus whatever's been lost to wear) makes up for the extra 400 lbs. If your 3 is also automatic I'd guess you will notice the extra power, if it's a manual the combination of weight and slushbox will probably cancel it out. Also, one can go to edmunds.com to get the exact dimensions of the interior and trunk. My feeling is that the e34 is almost exactly the same inside since it's not a big car by modern standards. Also, look up the e34 crash test and the e46 crash test and notice how the e34's cabin gets crushed in a crash, so if safety is any kind of concern to you, this kind of downgrade is a huge negative impact on your personal safety. Not to mention the e46 handles better and gets much better mileage. Sorry to harp on like that, don't get me wrong, I love the e34, I had a 525i myself as my first real car, but the e46 is a huuuuge improvement on it, not even fair to compare them.
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Dec 31, 2009 20:37
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Has e46 (wagon) to e91 been discussed to death? I'm thinking about moving up from my 2003 e46 325iT (no awd) to a 2006-2008 e91 325/328xiT. They seem a little spendy but I like the promise of AWD, particularly living in a more hilly, suburban area that is prone to more snow. I love wagons and really the only options for me are the BMWs, the volvos and subarus possibly as well but they just aren't as enjoyable to drive.
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Dec 31, 2009 20:41
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GobiasIndustries posted:I had a pretty scary experience with my E34 last night..1994 530i Could also be a bad connection. Either bad ground, or the infamous fusable link, a big metal fuse that's directly on the + (red) battery wire, about 20-30cm from the battery pole. It's covered in some rubber wrapping, and sometimes it gets a hair line crack in it, causing intermittent power failures. If the car seems to have lights, blower and radio when you turn the key, but everything dies when you try to crank it, it's always been because I have had bad ground, typically from either attempting to jump start (without a proper ground) or because I've put the ground wire on the battery pole after having had it off, but not fastened it properly. The brakes and steering going wonky was probably just because the car had no power steering and no vacuum to the brake booster, because the engine shut off.
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Jan 1, 2010 03:24
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wolrah posted:I don't know how much this will be relevant when E34s are involved, but going from an E46 to an E39 has been brought up by myself and others a few times in this thread and the general response as far as I've seen has been the size difference isn't really noticeable. As we all know BMWs keep getting bigger and heavier with each new build. Typically the newest 3er is about the same size as the previous 5er. Similar for the latest 5er being similar in size to the past 7er.
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Jan 1, 2010 15:58
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http://houston.craigslist.org/cto/1525610385.html I might go check this out later today- anything I should look out for? what should I offer?
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Jan 1, 2010 18:36
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crutt posted:http://houston.craigslist.org/cto/1525610385.html http://edgemotorworks.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=24&Itemid=55 Assuming it's in the condition that craigslist ad claims, that's a pretty fair price.
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Jan 1, 2010 19:31
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crutt posted:http://houston.craigslist.org/cto/1525610385.html one of the things that breaks on these is the secondary air pump, which is like a little inflatable matress pump in the engine compartment that turns on in the first few minutes of the car starting up to dilute the exhaust with air. The valve for that thing often breaks, which damages the pump as well. One of the best things to do is buy a 35$ obd reader so you can check the codes on any car you're checking out. The other thing you should check for, of course is recent records to see which things you're going to have to replace if the PO didn't bother to do: at 159k miles you will need to worry about the cats, the suspension, a myriad of gaskets if they haven't been done yet, and control arms. In terms of what to offer, my strategy when buying cars is to say to the owner that im looking at several cars and i need to make a list, so i ask him what is the absolute lowest price he'd take if i paid in cash and bought it in the next few days. Cash and the prospect of getting it sold soon are very enticing to people. In terms of that car in particular, it has a ton of miles, and depending on maintenance you should offer anywhere from 3300-4000 dollars for it, it all depends on how much you want it, you also have to judge how willing the owner is to flex and whether he knows that the car needs a lot of repairs.
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Jan 1, 2010 22:42
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Pilsner posted:Could also be a bad connection. Either bad ground, or the infamous fusable link, a big metal fuse that's directly on the + (red) battery wire, about 20-30cm from the battery pole. It's covered in some rubber wrapping, and sometimes it gets a hair line crack in it, causing intermittent power failures. To clarify, the car no longer has power for anything. The lights and all that were working before my aunt jumped it, but after the complete shutdown nothing lights up or turns on. I checked again today and nothing seems to work.
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Jan 2, 2010 03:39
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GobiasIndustries posted:I checked again today and nothing seems to work. Swap battery, check power. If it works but the battery light is on it's probably an alternator, swap alternator Else take to shop, pay 1hr of labor for them to diagnose
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Jan 2, 2010 04:10
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Venting my ZHP search frustration. After 6 months of looking I finally found one that met my not too particular criteria (stick, under 100k mi, not red). It was silver, had 50k miles, and was even somewhat local. The ad was posted right before I boarded a plane for home, and it sold by the time I landed.
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Jan 2, 2010 10:42
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flublandDrussiavelt posted:
Another strategy that I've used on cars in this price range and lower. Is to show up with cash in the amount I would like to pay. People will usually take a lower offer when they see a handful of cash pulled out of your pocket.
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Jan 2, 2010 14:37
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Hay guys I'm looking at buying something to replace my money pit Mazda Millenia, and Bimmers are looking pretty enticing. I was considering an ML320(yes, mercedes) to deal with the Canadian snow, but might go with a 3-series x instead, or just forego the whole idea of a winter vehicle and look at 740's. What models would you guys recommend for a first BMW, I want as little problems as possible, so a superior reliability rating is key. I'd prefer a mantran, but it seems impossible to find a 740 manny locally. edit: this being my first venture into AI, please bear with me you greasemonkeys Robawesome fucked around with this message at 02:41 on Jan 3, 2010 |
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Jan 3, 2010 02:37
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A three series or five series will give you the least trouble in number of issues and cost to maintain when compared to a seven. The used market for those cars is pretty broad so you'll need to narrow down your preferences to year/generation/budget at the very least. You can go as far back as 20 years and still find excellent cars, but you might want something newer.
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Jan 3, 2010 03:41
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I'd definitely prefer something newer, and looking at them I think I would prefer a 5 or 3 series to the 7. I know BMW has a reputation for durability but I'd still prefer an 01 or newer, probably E36. I'm looking anywhere between $5-15,000 CAD, and would prefer to shop locally (Ottawa area) but could travel within Ontario if necessary. Any particular favourite between a 325, 328, 330? ninja edit: I think I'd prefer a 4 door to a 2 door or convertible.
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Jan 3, 2010 03:49
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Robawesome posted:I'd definitely prefer something newer, and looking at them I think I would prefer a 5 or 3 series to the 7. I know BMW has a reputation for durability but I'd still prefer an 01 or newer, probably E36. I'm looking anywhere between $5-15,000 CAD, and would prefer to shop locally (Ottawa area) but could travel within Ontario if necessary. Any particular favourite between a 325, 328, 330? Do you mean E46?
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Jan 3, 2010 04:00
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Well I went and checked out the 328i- Found only a few issues: P/s Leak No maintenance records a few small dings otherwise the car looked and drove pretty drat well. I don't know if I should run away or if I should make an offer. Opinions? (this will be 3 series #3 (89 325e, 91 325i) I no longer have those though.
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Jan 3, 2010 04:32
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Kenshin posted:E36 are 1999 and older 3-series. Indeed I did. There's a 2003 750iL that's a tad out of my price range on autotrader but drat does that v12 looks nice. I want something with enough power, so I'm thinking anything 328 or 330 and up will be okay, but I'd probably be happier in a 540, yeh?
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Jan 3, 2010 05:24
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crutt posted:Well I went and checked out the 328i- Found only a few issues: All 3 series power steering leaks, the most important part is from where? If it's from the reservoir, or reservoir hose, then you have a normally functioning BMW, if it's from the rack, it's a bit of a pain and expense to replace. You know, I know everyone harps on maintenance records but honestly, look at the car. Look at the items that require maintenance at that age like bushings and coolant system etc. How nice is the interior kept up? I think those are as (if not more) important indicators as physical pieces of paper. If they're up to par, I expect they wouldn't skimp on oil changes etc. The car wouldn't make it to 160k miles if it wasn't maintained most of it's life. That's my two cents. Dings, eh what are you going to do?
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Jan 3, 2010 05:47
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crutt posted:Well I went and checked out the 328i- Found only a few issues: On the other hand, if it drives well, it could be worth taking a chance on for the right price. Myself, I'd offer him about 3200 for it, it's really not worth much more to you considering how many miles are on it and how the market is, but you can go as high as 3500 if he's really adamant, but higher than 3500 is paying too much, imo. Either start with 3200 or just say 3500 straight up, cash, final offer, take it or leave it, bub.
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Jan 3, 2010 09:02
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Well the car was immaculate inside- no tears, everything works, clean, no cracks in the dash. looks like the car has 30k miles inside. outside, there were a couple dings, but nothing too major. Car ran like a top, suspension felt tight, no noises from suspension, pulled hard in all gears, clutch grabs hard, no gears grind. I think i'm gonna go for it.
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Jan 3, 2010 15:15
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crutt posted:outside, there were a couple dings, but nothing too major. Did you look in the engine bay and underneath and do all the usual pokes and prods?
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Jan 3, 2010 22:14
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Yea, the only thing I didn't do was take off the covers over the rear shock mounts to see if they were okay, because I've never done it and didn't want to break anything. carfax came back clear. The rear suspension all looked pretty okay, underneath the engine only leak was from the p/s rack. it looked like the whole rack was covered with p/s fluid. Car didn't make any weird noises when I drove it, and that included some sweeping turns, driveways, reversing, and going through all 5 gears. When I gunned it in 1st/2nd I heard no guibo clunk.
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Jan 4, 2010 01:46
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So, I'm starting to think that the oil leaking onto my exhaust manifold in my E36 M3 is not a leaky valve cover gasket. I put a new one in a few weeks ago but didn't follow the sealant directions very well and didn't give it time to set after I'd applied it. So yesterday I opened it back up, cleaned everything off, re-applied the sealant, and gave it a few hours to set (the instructions said an hour, and 12 hours before heavy usage). Drove it about 400 miles today, and though it's not quite as overwhelming as it was before I did the initial replacement of the valve cover gasket, after a long drive I open the hood and there is still oil smoke coming from near the back. What else could it be?
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Jan 4, 2010 07:05
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Did your valve cover gasket kit come with the 20-odd o-rings that are supposed do be replaced at the same time?
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Jan 4, 2010 07:57
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BraveUlysses posted:Did your valve cover gasket kit come with the 20-odd o-rings that are supposed do be replaced at the same time?
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Jan 4, 2010 16:48
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BraveUlysses posted:Did your valve cover gasket kit come with the 20-odd o-rings that are supposed do be replaced at the same time? The cover gasket for my m3 is my next project and the quote I got only included the gasket itself and 6 spark plug seals on the parts side of things. Besides brake cleaner and some sealant for the corners do I really need anything else?
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Jan 4, 2010 17:55
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havelock posted:The cover gasket for my m3 is my next project and the quote I got only included the gasket itself and 6 spark plug seals on the parts side of things. Besides brake cleaner and some sealant for the corners do I really need anything else? Yes, there are 20 or so little rubber donuts that you'll want to replace. Part number: 11 12 1 437 395 If you're real anal the washers and nuts could be replaced too. Be careful not to over tighten anything, as that can also cause leaks, and if you really over-tighten, you can strip a stud in the head, then you're really in for some fun.
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Jan 4, 2010 18:05
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Doctor Grape Ape posted:Yes, there are 20 or so little rubber donuts that you'll want to replace. Is there another part in there that can cause leaks near the back? The engine itself runs fine--it sounds fine and provides plenty of power.
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Jan 4, 2010 18:54
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Kenshin posted:I'm pretty sure I didn't over-tighten, I only tightened them down to where they weren't turning freely then about a quarter-turn past that. It does seem like the oil is leaking out near the back where the bolts are difficult to get to, but I'm pretty sure I didn't over-tighten anything. There is only one other thing behind the valve cover on x52 engines, and that's the SAI tubing that runs along the backside and up the exhaust side of the valvecover/head. It can sometimes get hard and brittle, but that causes driving issues, not oil leaks, but it's something to look at I guess. When you installed the gasket, did you lay it on the head, and then put the valve cover on over it, or did you put the gaskets in the valve cover and put it back on as one unit? The former works a lot better for sealing as you can manipulate the gasket and make sure it's seated correctly, etc. Other than that, tighten the bolts in stages, this will make sure it is located correctly on the head and not canted off to a side or something. Work from the center out in about 2-3 passes, then final torque them. If all that doesn't fix it you can always use more RTV. One other thing you can check for if you have a known good straight edge and some feeler gauges is to see if the head is warped at all. With how easy it is to overheat these cars it is possible that sometime in the past it overheated and warped the head, causing the gasket not to seat. Are you sure it's fresh oil burning off and not just residue from past oil leaks?
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Jan 4, 2010 19:05
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Doctor Grape Ape posted:There is only one other thing behind the valve cover on x52 engines, and that's the SAI tubing that runs along the backside and up the exhaust side of the valvecover/head. It can sometimes get hard and brittle, but that causes driving issues, not oil leaks, but it's something to look at I guess. I'm putting the gaskets in the valve cover because I don't really see how it would fit well laying it on the head first since the gasket slots into the valve cover. I have been tightening the bolts in stages, though I was working from the outside in using a diagonal across pattern. As per my friend's instructions I have only been putting the RTV where the welds and sharp corners are on the head--should I be putting it elsewhere as well? The straight edge thing sounds like a good idea--I'll see if I can find one and if it's still leaking in a few days I'll try measuring it. If that's the issue, what would be the fix?
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Jan 4, 2010 19:26
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Kenshin posted:I'm pretty sure I didn't over-tighten, I only tightened them down to where they weren't turning freely then about a quarter-turn past that. It does seem like the oil is leaking out near the back where the bolts are difficult to get to, but I'm pretty sure I didn't over-tighten anything. I found out about this coz I had to redo the valve cover tightening after under-tightening it (i did it by feel like you), and it turned out it was leaking oil from it. After I got a proper torque wrench, the leakage was gone.
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Jan 4, 2010 20:09
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flublandDrussiavelt posted:Get yourself a torque wrench, it's useful in a lot of situations, valve cover gaskets, wheels, all that. There's a specific amount you should tighten the valve bolts to that should be in your manual, and if not, you can find it online.
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Jan 4, 2010 20:24
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