1994 525i what would you check / replace?

[npmonteiro]

Hi guys!

This forum is a boon. I've bought a 1995 525i with only 36k miles last week. The car is in mint condition - I've never seen one like this since the mid 90s. The previous owner bought it new and kept it garaged, driving it rarely (duh!).

I have been perusing the forum and doing minor fixes (headrests, twisted seatbacks, lower door trims) and you guys have been incredibly helpful! So here is a more general question:

I have read in some old threads that a couple of people who bought cars like mine in good condition nevertheless had all the hoses etc. checked or replaced in order to make sure everything is fine. Now, I've always been a follower of the "if it ain't broken, don't fix it" rule, but since I have the 40k miles Inspection II coming up and since I will be driving back and forth between Chicago and New Haven (850 miles) two or three times a year, I thought I'd ask for your thoughts on what should I have checked when I have the inspection done (on top of the Ins II guidelines).

One thing that seems to be a good idea is replacing the factory (plastic impeller) water pump with a new one with a metal impeller. I think I'll do this before my first long drive to avoid being stranded in the middle of nowhere with a broken water pump... What else would you have checked or replaced before you'd hit the road?

Thanks in advance for any and all guidance!

[sfgearhead]

Hi guys!

I have read in some old threads that a couple of people who bought cars like mine in good condition nevertheless had all the hoses etc. checked or replaced in order to make sure everything is fine. Now, I've always been a follower of the "if it ain't broken, don't fix it" rule, but since I have the 40k miles Inspection II coming up and since I will be driving back and forth between Chicago and New Haven (850 miles) two or three times a year, I thought I'd ask for your thoughts on what should I have checked when I have the inspection done (on top of the Ins II guidelines).

One thing that seems to be a good idea is replacing the factory (plastic impeller) water pump with a new one with a metal impeller. I think I'll do this before my first long drive to avoid being stranded in the middle of nowhere with a broken water pump... What else would you have checked or replaced before you'd hit the road?

Thanks in advance for any and all guidance!

Welcome! Seems like you're fitting in fine and playing with the kids well, sharing your toys, and not throwing your food so you're welcome to stay.

But seriously, I am a big believer in replacing rubber components on a car that's 10 years or older. SUspension bushings aren't as critical as they usually won't leave you stranded, I'm talking about brake lines, fuel lines, belts, and hoses.

Your car might need them even more, given that it's sat most of it's life, and might not have been used daily.

On an e34 doing a full cooling system replacement is probably good insurance, including a new OEM radiator and expansion tank, all hoses, thermostat, t-stat housing, water pump, and the proper coolant.

Since you're performing an inspection all your fluids should be replaced, and make sure you get a new fuel filter. A tranny fluid flush might be a good idea as well.

I also wouldn't wait for 40k to roll around, go out and do these now. The sooner the better.

Otherwise it sounds like you're doing just what I would, fixing any issues and getting in front of potential issues. Enjoy the car and post some photos for us to drool over!

Ian

[npmonteiro]

Thanks sfgearhead!

Here are my first pictures:

http://photobucket.com/npmonteiro-1994bmw525i

I intend to do the Ins II service this month before I hit the road. You're right: no point in waiting for 40k to roll around. I will ask the guys to check all brake lines, fuel lines, belts, and hoses, plus change the fuel filter and flush the transmission fluid when they perform the inspection. I'll also get the water pump replaced. The whole cooling system replacement is a lot of money! Yikes! :eek: I'll probably replace only the water pump and see how it goes. Fingers crossed!

[ltflint]

Wow. Car looks really nice. I love the blue over grey. Mileage is unreal. Congrats on a very nice ride.

[525iDan]

I've had excellent luck with mechanical components in my '95 525i/5. I recently replaced the original water pump at 169,000 miles (plastic impeller)! The original fuel pump was replaced at 165,000. Take this as no more than a testimonial though. Just thought I'd give you a frame of reference for possible life expectancies of some of the parts you had mentioned.

The water pump signs of distress were obvious ones. The bearing was beginning to go and caused the fan to spin off it's normal path and caused some big vibrations and shaking, it was 1 week from the time it started to be noticeable to when I had it replaced.

Both my mechanics believe the main service areas of the M50 engines are the coolant systems. They recommend a complete replacement at or before 100k miles. Mine has been done and have had no issues since. You should have a while before that becomes necessary, pending the results after the scheduled maintenance.

gl with your Service II and nice job on such a great find!

[npmonteiro]

Thanks for the compliment, ltflint!

525iDan: That's exactly my dilemma, to replace before it breaks or to wait for stuff to go wrong. Now, what you say is interesting news to me. I didn't know you could notice a water pump going bad. I thought it just broke down on you one day.

(I once had a Fiat do this to me on a holiday trip. Fiat. Duh! And that was after getting the windshield fluid washer pump stuck on "on", so that I ended up removing the giant foam blob produced by a 1.5 gallon of fluid tank being sprayed uninterruptedly onto my windshield while my 90 y/o old grandmother complained that they don't make cars like in the old days anymore :eyecrazy)

If you think you can usually notice water pumps decaying, maybe I should wait before having it replaced. After all, it's only 36k miles...

On how I found it, a minor contribution to the forum: eBay allows you to perform a search, say for an E34 BMW with less than 50k miles, and have it saved so that when one comes up for sale you get an email. I snatched it the first day it came online. It had been traded in for a new Chevy Corvette. :mad

I'll post more pictures when I can drive it to a nice place one of these weekends.

[4500 RPM]

I wouldn't mess with the cooling system. The main deal is that when a car sits for a long time, rubber deteriorates with age. Belts, hoses, gaskets need to be checked.

I'd do filters, oil change, belts, and inspect hoses. Change all fluids.

[jel]

Water pumps do fail w/o warning when impeller shears from the shaft. These engines don't tolerate overheating for very long so if gauge goes into the red pull over & shut it down; don't try to limp along. Do replace the water pump before your first long trip & also make sure t-stat housing is alloy, not the OEM plastic. Alloy housings are a great $25 upgrade & replace t-stat at the same time.

[4500 RPM]

Regarding the transmission, some here are saying to "flush" it. Don't do that, there are many reasons not to flush it, all which can be found in a simple search. Drain and fill is the better method instead of lodging debris in the internals, some of which may not be from your car.

About the waterpumps, a '94 should be good, and I thought the metal impellers wore out the bearings?

[npmonteiro]

Here's what I intend to do based on previous advice. I know different people have different opinions on whether to replace the water pump & thermostat preventively at 36k miles, but since I'll be doing 850 miles in August, I think I'll play it safe... (Some of the items are included in the Inspection II manual.)


Inspection II;
Change all fluids including transmission (without flushing);
Change all filters (oil, air, fuel, cabin);
Check brake and fuel lines, hoses, belts, and gaskets;
Replace water pump;
Replace thermostat and housing;
Replace all cooling system hoses.


I'd basically be replacing the entire cooling system except for the radiator and expansion tank. On the water pump, which one should I get? Bimmerzone sells three with metal impellers:


Geba (p/n G3000-150188) for $63.81;
Graf (p/n G3000-150188) for $67.83; and
Stewart (p/n STE30330) "high performance" for $174.95.


Is this last one worth it?

[AZDinanE34]

Welcome to the forums and what a great looking stock E34...Its just a baby to with 34k on it and looks in great shape! Like mentioned above the best thing to do is inspect the car yourself and look at everything to determine what needs replacing and what doesn't. I would obviously change all the fluids, replace any bad rubber components/ hoses from vaucum to the coolling system, replace the plastic water pump (if not changed), air and cabin filters and lastly check suspension components.

[jel]

I agree wih your list. Don't flush trans but change fluid & filter, inspect inside of dropped trans pan & wipe/rinse out the fine particles before reinstalling w/new gasket. Metal t-stat housing is OK to reuse if it inspects OK w/new gasket. Plastic ones are still sold so make sure you drive away w/metal one. You don't need to buy the Stewart waterpump. Who is doing the work? Hopefully they can walk you under the car & show you the oil pan residue for future reference. If there was any warranty work done at a dealership or they serviced the car they can pull history for you.

[russiankid]

I would just change all the fluids, filters, and like mentioned inspect hoses. Squeeze the hoses, make sure they are not rock hard but are not soft either. They should be firm and without any cracks.

[jac1d]

If you want to get really detailed, run it through the PPI and see if anything pops up. Damn and I thought my wife's car with 80K on it was newish!

-Jeff

[525iDan]

Thanks for the compliment, ltflint!

525iDan: That's exactly my dilemma, to replace before it breaks or to wait for stuff to go wrong. Now, what you say is interesting news to me. I didn't know you could notice a water pump going bad. I thought it just broke down on you one day.

................

If you think you can usually notice water pumps decaying, maybe I should wait before having it replaced. After all, it's only 36k miles...

Yes in the case of my water pump there were signs it was on its way out. I randomly took it in to a good BMW mechanic in my college town (normal mechanic is 200 miles away) just to start a relationship with them and have a place I felt good about bringing my car to. I had them check out a weird rattle I was having from the front end at low rpm's. He got the stethoscope out and found the water pump bearing was on its way out. Said could go out anywhere from a few days to a few 100 miles. Sure enough, it heard us talking! The shacking got really bad 2 days later and the fan was noticeably off-kilter. Luckily i wasnt hit with a "sleeper" problem and had enough time to catch it.

My fuel pump was another story. Went out with no warning while doing 5 mph in the #2 lane on the freeway in traffic. My friend's ford had a fuel pump go today too, no warning. I'd ask the mechanic's advice on fuel pump replacement, maybe just a mileage thing. gl

[npmonteiro]

Jeff: I did run it through much of the stuff on the PPI checklist (except for the engine compression test; since the car has only 36k miles, the engine sounds and pulls as it should, and there are no leaks in the engine compartment, I thought that would be unnecessary) and have only minor issues, such as a drivers door mirror with discoloration on the edges (have to figure out whether it's the heated version before replacing it), the dreaded twisted drivers seatback (fortunately, the side that's stuck is in a comfortable position; I tried to fix it but couldn't get the seat out -- stuck), and minor signs of surface rust under the lower trim of the drivers door (POR-15 and new trims on their way; fixing it soon). Other than that, everything seems to be in perfect shape.

525iDan: Thanks for the advice on the fuel pump. I'll ask for the mechanics advice!