Our 2nd E34

[fullswing]

Hi All,

First time to post in this section for me. Used to have a '94 530i which we sold to get an MB E320 Wagon after our 2nd kid was born. No E34 Tourings were available at that specific time in our market.

Yesterday, we brought home our 2nd E34 - a 1989 535i with 215,xxx on the original M30. Original color is Cirrusblau. Unfortunately, it has had a low-cost spray job. The body surface is smooth, though, as if it were just wetsanded.

The M30 runs great - has a new radiator, fan, fan clutch, and coolant temp sensors. There's no shaking at any speed and under braking. Either I've been used to wind buffeting in my convertible, or the speedo shows a higher speed than is actually happening.

Interior is in parchment tan, with no tears on the leather. Each of the front seats' adjustable armrests have no rips or signs of wear. Headliner is spotless, save for the sunroof section which has some light lines. Dash is clean, while the door panels have perforated pleather in the center sections.

As the car will be my wife's DD, mods will be done gradually, and will be geared mainly around suspension and wheels.

Picture shows the E34 in the background at my friend's house where I worked on my E21 yesterday afternoon. The E39 is my friend's, and we share the E28.

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b327/fullswing/BMW%20E34%20-%201989%20535i/IMAG0019.jpg

Looking forward to sharing experiences and learning from yours.

[JoeFVaz]

congratulations for the new car! I myself own a 1991 535 (with 99xxx miles on the clock), and I´d love to see more pics of your car.

[bolloc]

Hi All, Yesterday, we brought home our 2nd E34 - a 1989 535i with 215,xxx on the original M30. Original color is Cirrusblau. Unfortunately, it has had a low-cost spray job. The body surface is smooth, though, as if it were just wetsanded.

The M30 runs great - has a new radiator, fan, fan clutch, and coolant temp sensors. There's no shaking at any speed and under braking. Either I've been used to wind buffeting in my convertible, or the speedo shows a higher speed than is actually happening.

You should try buffing it up, perhaps it was a single stage paint that has dulled off....

I was just saying in a thread the other day, these cars don't feel like they are going as fast as the speedo indicates. Mine is spot on, I verified it with my GPS and a police officer also verified it for me when I was traveling 30 over the speed limit. Note: the first method of checking the speedo is a lot cheaper.....

From your description it looks like you bought a well maintained e34! (I didn't, so I now know how to fix lots of e34 things).

[fullswing]

It's barely a week later.

Two days ago, my wife was driving the car when it overheated and stopped running. Later that night, after the car was towed to our house, I found that the lower radiator hose was completely detached from the radiator. It may have been the cause of the whole episode or the result of high pressure caused by the overheating coolant, i.e. it was the weakest link in the system. The hose was not torn nor did it have any cracks.

I checked the valve train to check for 'milkshake' and the coolant expansion tank for any hint of oil. None of both in either, respectively.

I re-attached the lower radiator hose and filled the coolant expansion tank until the level consistently stayed at 'full'.

I started the car and shortly later, white smoke was coming out of the exhaust. Still no 'milkshake' or oil in the coolant expansion tank.

So... what to do next.

Option 1) Flush cooling system & Replace headgasket
Option 2) Install a used engine
Option 3) Rebuild the engine

Opinions welcomed.

[fullswing]

bueller? anyone?

[robse34]

Options 2 and 3 seem a bit extreme to start off with. Flush and new head gasket, then see what happens.

[bfp9]

Better yet, just flush the system. If that doesn't do it, replace all hoses. If you aren't getting a milky substance on oil cap, and all the other ways to tell for a head gasket are checking out okay, there is no reason to go replace the head.

IF the engine is toast, the good news is engines for these cars are cheap...real cheap.

[Racerhoze]

Sucks to hear about the overheat. A headgasket was the first thing I did to my car when I got it. I seriously doubt the engine is toast, though the head may be warped like mine was.

Oh and same exact color combo as my car! Put up some more pics of it whenever you get a chance and are not cursing at the cooling system.

[LouieD]

OP, as I read your post "has a new radiator, fan, fan clutch, and coolant..." I couldn't help but think "head gasket." It seems that every time I see or hear about a recent purchase that has any kind of cooling issues, the replacement of these aforementioned items were a vain result of chasing a blown head gasket. No "milk shake" is a good sign. Interesting that the lower hose blew off. That's a suction hose. Usually the extra pressure created blows off or tears up an upper hose. Anyway, I'd do a leak down to verify, or at least a compression test, but 9 out of 10 you've got a blown HG. Easy fix. I have the same e34/m30 in the same color. Got it cheap 'cause of a blown HG. Actually it had an improperly machined head that caused the HG to give up. Good luck and welcome back to the e34 side.

[fullswing]

thank you all for the replies. i'll flush the system, use bar's leaks (i read somewhere here that it's a reasonable stop-gap measure) and start the engine back up. i'll take it from there if that still does not work.

question: given that the engine has 215k miles on it, if the head has a crack, is it reasonable to use a crack-free (LOL) used cylinder head vs just getting a used engine with ~100k miles?

[Mark185]

thank you all for the replies. i'll flush the system, use bar's leaks (i read somewhere here that it's a reasonable stop-gap measure) and start the engine back up. i'll take it from there if that still does not work.

question: given that the engine has 215k miles on it, if the head has a crack, is it reasonable to use a crack-free (LOL) used cylinder head vs just getting a used engine with ~100k miles?

The labor involved in swapping engines is not that much more than R&R the head. If you can find a good engine with verified 100K miles, I would be inclined to do that. One way to try to verify mileage is to get the VIN off the engine block before buying. Then run a Carfax check on the VIN and you will see mileage before the car was scrapped. Of course, this only works if the engine came out of the original car and was not installed in another.

[89 bimmer]

Welcome. I have a similar '89 silver 535i. Very fun car to drive!

[fullswing]

flushed then used bar's leak. also had to replace the idle control valve hose that cracked - it was as hard as my... head.

the engine turned over but didn't start after multiple attempts. i have a feeling the spark plugs are fouled. i'm too tired tonight so that will have to wait till tomorrow. good night for now.

[Racerhoze]

flushed then used bar's leak. also had to replace the idle control valve hose that cracked - it was as hard as my... head.

the engine turned over but didn't start after multiple attempts. i have a feeling the spark plugs are fouled. i'm too tired tonight so that will have to wait till tomorrow. good night for now.

you sure everything is plugged in that you may have unplugged replacing that hose?

[fullswing]

just finished looking at the engine again.

racerhoze was right. missed two side-by-side connections to the rear of the fuel pressure accumulator at the fuel rail.

engine turned and almost had detonation but i ran out of battery charge. replaced the battery but still no detonation after many turns. i've taken out the plugs and see that they're not only black, but it doesn't seem they've been replaced for some time now.

new plugs tomorrow morning. and the saga continues.

[fullswing]

new plugs. engine had a hard time starting, but it eventually fired up. billowing white smoke. ran for 15 minutes just in time for the temp gauge to hit red. waited to let the engine cool. added more coolant. no start.

contemplating using another bar's leak product while looking for available cylinder heads.

[Racerhoze]

Are you sure the waterpump and thermostat didn't take a dump? And would it crank but not start after it overheated again?

[fullswing]

checking those too. if i get a new head, i'll definitely put in a new waterpump and thermostat.

[WolfStrong]

I'll be straight up with you and say that not only does it sound like your head gasket is blown, but usually a warped/cracked head is also there. These heads being so huge, are VERY prone to warping and cracking upon excessive overheated; considering the car got so hot it shut down, I would be willing to put money on the fact that the head is blown. I would also HIGHLY advise against using stop-leak products of any brand or variation as they often cause more harm then good. The labor to replace a head is really not that bad, and heads are just dirt cheap. Stop throwing money at something that is clearly broken, and get that head off the engine so you can confirm what we already know.

I'm sorry if I sound a little mean or harsh because I don't really mean to, but I just don't want to see you keep on throwing money away; believe me, I've been through the same thing, along with many of us =(

[bfp9]

I took your location in cali as ventura county in south cali. If so, http://ventura.craigslist.org/cto/1953147854.html
This is a good parts car. Take the engine and the bumper and the spoiler and im sure there are some other goodies as well. Consider getting a whole parts car because there are somethings that may go bad on your car and you can just swap over from the parts car when they do. Many swear by parts cars on this forum.

[fullswing]

I'll be straight up with you and say that not only does it sound like your head gasket is blown, but usually a warped/cracked head is also there. These heads being so huge, are VERY prone to warping and cracking upon excessive overheated; considering the car got so hot it shut down, I would be willing to put money on the fact that the head is blown. I would also HIGHLY advise against using stop-leak products of any brand or variation as they often cause more harm then good. The labor to replace a head is really not that bad, and heads are just dirt cheap. Stop throwing money at something that is clearly broken, and get that head off the engine so you can confirm what we already know.

I'm sorry if I sound a little mean or harsh because I don't really mean to, but I just don't want to see you keep on throwing money away; believe me, I've been through the same thing, along with many of us =(

no offense taken at all. i know where you're coming from. and yes, i am taking your advice.


I took your location in cali as ventura county in south cali. If so, http://ventura.craigslist.org/cto/1953147854.html
This is a good parts car. Take the engine and the bumper and the spoiler and im sure there are some other goodies as well. Consider getting a whole parts car because there are somethings that may go bad on your car and you can just swap over from the parts car when they do. Many swear by parts cars on this forum.

i swear by parts cars myself... having had 2 spare E21s and i'm about to grab an E30 parts car too :) btw, that CL car costs more than what i just paid for this... there was a 535i listed close to me that needed a transmission... too bad that i didn't check that out while it was available.

am pulling the head as we speak. had to take a break to open a brewski. it's 90deg out!

[fullswing]

Aha!

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b327/fullswing/BMW%20E34%20-%201989%20535i/BlockPistons2010-10-25.jpg

Have 2 heads being checked. Apparently, the replacement head I got has a bad cam. I didn't see any crack in the head that was on the engine, but I could be wrong. News to follow.

Update: The cylinder head that was on the engine was warped beyond spec. The camshafts lobes were good though. The camshaft on the replacement head was worn down. Franken-head: two heads into one.

No rust on the cylinder walls - another piece of good news. I'll be cleaning up the block and the bay so it will be ALMOST as good as new when I put it all back together. Target install date is next Saturday, Oct. 30.