Questions about '85 635 Csi

[jerky1280]

My girlfriend's parents just gave her a 1985 635 CSI, auto. Is there anything she should look into about this car? Any good info? Thanks again guys.

[The Beastmaster]

It's a good car. Did they give her their old car, or did they buy it for her? Check for rust in the wheelwells, operation of the tranny, ABS brake system.

FYI, body parts for that car are VERY expensive!

[jcsomerset]

Go here

Big coupe Groupe (http://home.normgrills.net/bcg/)

Lots of good info, just poke around.

Then go here:

roadfly (http://www.roadfly.org)

Good board group can answer almost any question you have.

Awesome cars, more awesome if they're sticks-

[SilverStreak]

jc, why not recuit some of those folks here to contribute?

[Prairieman]

we're here.

unfortunately, JC is correct. The production numbers for these cars was very small, and so understandably - the numbers of devoted six series enthusiasts (15-20 years after production) borders on the term "cult".

I have tried to coax this tiny group over here, but they're comfortable over on Roadfly. The BCG board is an e-mail board.

A few of us visit here, but the bulk of the technical "muscle" is on the other 2 boards.

[Prairieman]

hey Jerky 1280:

welcome !

nice car, man ! Your girlfriend has a very unique automobile. It should give her no more trouble than a five series of the same vintage.

let us know if you need anything.

for that matter... she's the one we should be talking to ! Give her the mouse and keyboard. What's her name ?

[SilverStreak]

Well, keep trying, I can post some porn or something that no one will notice, etc, whatever it takes... :D

[Roxy]

I can only hope that sometimes she will let you drive!

[jcsomerset]

Yeah dude, I'm afraind that once your girlfriend hits a nice curvy road W/ the 6er, you'll never get to drive it again.

[Conepunter]

The front control arm bushings are prone to early failure. This usually results in a shimmy under braking.

http://www.teamdfl.com/bmw/e28/bushings/e28controlarmbushings.html

If/when the automatic goes, its cheaper to do a 5 speed swap than to have the auto properly rebuilt.

In general, E24s are reliable. They share mechanicals with E28s so brake, suspension, and drivetrain stuff is easy to find.


Ed

[California6er]

How many miles are on the car??

Just remember preventative maintence is much cheaper than waiting for it to break, especially on this kind of car. If you have any specific q's, post em here, ill be watching this forum now as well as roadfly. Maybe i can get some other guys over here??

Good luck with the car, enjoy it!!

[jerky1280]

Okay, my girlfriend just finished driving it from california to our school in Connecticut. I rode with her from NYC, so here's the low-down on the 635...

It has 205k miles. It was given to her from the father, who has owned it since it was new. It has a few problems.

I noticed the shimmy previously mentioned. The engine has a very low (~500-600rps), very rough idle, and occationally stalls at idle. It also shudders and tends to stall when it's cold. My girlfriend usually gives it a few minutes to warm up before driving it.

It also has this strange "jerk" on the highway. It feels like it has reached a fuel cut-off, but it happens at random speeds. I let off the gas, and then stepped on it again, and it goes away.

It also shakes a little between about 75 and 85.

Oh, my girlfriend says that it has this "flap" on what I understand from her is the air intake. I think it is to regulate the amount of air that the engine takes in. My girlfriend says that it has some corrosion, and gets stuck when it tries to pass a sensor (I haven't looked at it). She says that her dad told her to hit it with her shoe. She said that usually works, but she feels stupid hitting her engine with her shoe at truck stops, lol.

Anyway, I think that's about it. Oh, and there are cracks in the leather on the dash and drivers seat, and a cigarrette burn in the rear seat. She's planning on having the leather replaced sometime soon.

So it has some problems, but it really is fun to drive. I didn't get the chance to really stretch it's legs (it is my girlfriend's car), but I took it through some curvey forest roads, and it really is pretty fun to drive. I can't wait to get it all fixed up and really take it out! Any suggestions for cheap mods? ;)

[The Beastmaster]

Give the car a tune up, oil change, change the fuel filter and balance and rotate the tires. Go from there. Does the car still have the TRXs? If not, and you have aftermarket wheels, check to see if the wheels fit the hub snugly or if there is a hub ring adapter for the wheels. On my 750il, I have aftermarket wheels and the hub ring comes loose and causes vibrations.

Perhaps you should also try and clean the throttle body as it may be gummed up.

[WebDev]

Sounds like the problems my girlfriend's vert had when the MAF went bad. Might want to have that checked out. Er, that is assuming it uses an MAF. You can tell my 6 knowledge is rock solid.


:D