BoldUlysses' 540i/6 Log & Thread o' Questions

[K Fox]

But not 1-2..?

Of course those too, but it's harder to chirp the higher gears, so you can imagine that it's kind of a bigger deal. All things considered, there's likely more stress/hammering in the 1-2 shift...I just try not to destroy my driveline while I drive.

Fox

[BoldUlysses]

Dispite what my car is currently wearing, I still think Mpars fit these cars best.

I'm starting to agree with you. If I have one criticism of mesh or more complex-style wheels on the E34, it's that they really emphasize the, um, substantial look of the car. A simpler design like M-pars or T-stars offsets that somewhat and seems to visually lighten the car.

DO be aware that your engine mounts will absolutely hate you for this, and the rest of the driveline only slightly less so...

Fox (slow is smooth, smooth is fast )

Yep, hence the caveat:

Regardless, it's not really the best thing for the longevity of the clutch or the driveline.

It's fun every once in a while though, especially if you have an unsuspecting passenger.

[thatonedood]

The first time the wife was in the 540, I waited for a little open road. When I floored it she exclaimed and grabbed the seat bottom with both hands. Just thought she should know..

[Htay9500]

Sadly not. Too many kid activities this month and I can't be away from the fam that long. I'll have to experience it vicariously through the pictures.

I will bless you with some.

[BoldUlysses]

Small updates:

1. I've put close to 5,000 miles on the car in the past month between commuting to work (not that far), exploring the Chattanooga area (farther) and returning back to Winston-Salem each of the past 4 weekends to be with the family (~700 mile round trip). The car has been a complete rock. Soaked up all the miles with not a single complaint. Previous owners who took care of the car FTW.

2. That said, cruise control finally died—it had been dying for a while—a couple of weeks ago. Since a 5.5 hour drive with no cruise isn't the most comfortable thing in the world, last weekend, I raided a local U-pull-it yard for the actuator off a '95 525 (it's a common piece). $26. I pulled the unit on the 540 and disemboweled it to discover the plastic gear stripped. The 525's actuator felt fine, so I grafted the (much longer) 540 cable onto the 525's unit and reinstalled. Success. A side benefit was that it gave me my first experience of pulling an E34's grille and headlight assembly. Protip: Forget the "screwdriver down through the top of the plastic surround" technique as described in the Bentley; just yank the bumper (easy) and release the outer lower clips with your fingers. Cake.

3. Currently fighting the urge to wield my new job's pay increase and buy exhaust/springs/swaybars/wheels/bumpers/etc/etc. The family's still in the process of moving and we need to set aside as much of the money as possible. But it's easier to justify maintenance-related expenses.

4. I am, however, trying source lower door M-tech trim pieces to replace my rusty/banana'd units. Got prices from BMA and Abrahams and they're pretty comparable (~$55 apiece for 4 total). Still not ready to pull the trigger.

[93FIM5]

Glad to see things are going well and the car is serving you well!

[M540fella]

Awesome, welcome man! What neighborhood are y'all looking to move into?

[Leonator134]

Glad to hear things are well Matt.

What are you thinking for exhaust/wheels/springs?

[BoldUlysses]

There's a house my wife likes a lot up on the Hixson/Soddy line, off Daisy Dallas Rd. I'm here solo at the moment, wife and kids to join in about a month. It'll be nice to have everyone back together again.

- - - Updated - - -

What are you thinking for exhaust/wheels/springs?

Exhaust: B&B
Springs: Vogtlands
Wheels: It changes daily. I won't even go there.

[Leonator134]

There's a house my wife likes a lot up on the Hixson/Soddy line, off Daisy Dallas Rd. I'm here solo at the moment, wife and kids to join in about a month. It'll be nice to have everyone back together again.

- - - Updated - - -



Exhaust: B&B
Springs: Vogtlands
Wheels: It changes daily. I won't even go there.

Nice!

You'll seriously love the B&B, it's perfect. Can't wait to see the progress!

[thatonedood]

Good call on the grille removal. And I'm happy to see the car is holding up flawlessly.

Say, do you recall from your front suspension work how much of the bump stops you trimmed?

[BoldUlysses]

And I'm happy to see the car is holding up flawlessly.

I love my 540.

Say, do you recall from your front suspension work how much of the bump stops you trimmed?

Voilà:



I trimmed the top of the new one (left) since the ridge on the lower part fits into a groove in the dust boot. It'll all make sense when you have it apart.

[M540fella]

There's a house my wife likes a lot up on the Hixson/Soddy line, off Daisy Dallas Rd. I'm here solo at the moment, wife and kids to join in about a month. It'll be nice to have everyone back together again.

- - - Updated - - -


Exhaust: B&B
Springs: Vogtlands
Wheels: It changes daily. I won't even go there.

Nice area! Very rural and quiet but not far from downtown. Glad to hear your getting settled in. Where are you staying in the meantime?

[BoldUlysses]

I'm in the extended stay by the airport. I have a free weekend coming up if you want to get up. I've been home the last 4 weekends and will be on the road the following 3, so I told my wife I (and the car) needed a break.

[bubba966]

A side benefit was that it gave me my first experience of pulling an E34's grille and headlight assembly. Protip: Forget the "screwdriver down through the top of the plastic surround" technique as described in the Bentley; just yank the bumper (easy) and release the outer lower clips with your fingers. Cake.

The screwdriver technique is how it is designed to come apart. That said I can barely get it to work on my M-Sport. On my Touring though, it works great all of the time.

No idea why it's cake on the Touring but beyond a bitch on the M-Sport... Next time I have to take it off on the M-Sport I'm taking the bumper off. Way too hard to do it from above w/the screwdriver.

[M540fella]

I'm in the extended stay by the airport. I have a free weekend coming up if you want to get up. I've been home the last 4 weekends and will be on the road the following 3, so I told my wife I (and the car) needed a break.

Well I'm off this weekend for 4ngiefest in ATL and next Friday is my bday so I think I'm going to be off again as well.

[thatonedood]

I love my 540.

I need to get back to that feeling. I must admit a little loss of interest in it lately. Hopefully installing all the new parts I've acquired will help with that

Voilà:

[IMG]

I trimmed the top of the new one (left) since the ridge on the lower part fits into a groove in the dust boot. It'll all make sense when you have it apart.

Thank ya, Thank ya, Thank ya!

[BoldUlysses]

I need to get back to that feeling. I must admit a little loss of interest in it lately.

It's weird; usually the more I live with a car the more I'm bored with it, but that hasn't yet happened with the 540. I think the fact that it's my only other little piece of "home" out here in TN until we get moved into the new place helps.

And when all else fails, a good stomp on the gas in 2nd gear after trundling along at 3K rpm usually does the trick.

Hopefully installing all the new parts I've acquired will help with that

That does help.

* * * * * *

Replaced the cabin air filter today without too much drama. Old one:



Think it was time? New one is white as a sheet. Probably hadn't been replaced once in the car's 177,200 miles.

[K Fox]

It's weird; usually the more I live with a car the more I'm bored with it, but that hasn't yet happened with the 540. I think the fact that it's my only other little piece of "home" out here in TN until we get moved into the new place helps.

And when all else fails, a good stomp on the gas in 2nd gear after trundling along at 3K rpm usually does the trick.

*snrk* Yeah, 2nd gear is kinda fun... And at 3K there' just so much torque...I had to stop doing that in mine, as I think my flywheel is on it's last legs now...

Think it was time? New one is white as a sheet. Probably hadn't been replaced once in the car's 177,200 miles.

And bah - that could be only a couple years on that filter. They get nasty fast if you use the HVAC...

Fox

[BoldUlysses]

After putting almost 10K miles on the car in the past two months, I figured it might be time for some goodies.

(apologies in advance for the blurriness of all pics; I took them using my toaster; i.e. ancient flip phone)

1. Fresh Mann filter and 8 quarts 15W-40 Rotella T.

2. New air filter:



Considerably more surface area on the new one:



I've no idea what brand the old one was or how many miles were on it. It was a...snug fit, but it all came together.

3. New plugs:



Comparison of old and new:



The electrodes of the old plugs were gone. As in extremely deteriorated. Again, no idea how many miles on them.

I'm not one to make ricer-ish claims of "got me an extra 50 hp, yo," but the car feels considerably more responsive now. It feels like it's actually taking advantage of the DUDMD chip programming. Pulls hard.

At the very least, I know my ignition coils are much happier, and my MPG on the way back to TN ticked up 1.5, per the OBC. Averaged 26.4 going 70-75 up and over the mountains, which I'm quite satisfied with.

* * * * * *

In other news, after working flawlessly for 1K or so, cruise died again a week ago on the way back to TN. Haven't had time to root around in there. I suppose it's possible for the actuator to have crapped out the way the first did (it was a junkyard part, after all), but I'm going to investigate electronics this time around. At least I can replace the unit twice as quickly this time around, if need be, having already been in there.

Also, my blower motor seems to be on the way out; it's making intermittent screeching noises at me. Not looking forward to having to replace that.

Edit: Upon further research, the blower motor might not be that hard.

[MehMan]

Also, my blower motor seems to be on the way out; it's making intermittent screeching noises at me. Not looking forward to having to replace that.

Edit: Upon further research, the blower motor might not be that hard.

Mine's been making screeching noises for the better part of a year now. I just wind the speed up and down a bit until it stops or until I hit a proper hole to jolt it back into silent submission.


That makes me realize that it might not be the blower motor itself, but maybe something jamming against it and a bump in the road knocks it loose?

[BoldUlysses]

Mine's been making screeching noises for the better part of a year now. I just wind the speed up and down a bit until it stops or until I hit a proper hole to jolt it back into silent submission.


That makes me realize that it might not be the blower motor itself, but maybe something jamming against it and a bump in the road knocks it loose?

That could be. I noticed mine only starts to make noise when:

A. It's a little chilly outside, and
B. I'm on the highway and hit a bump or expansion joint or something mildly jarring.

It worked fine and quietly when leaving the house this morning after having been in the warm-ish garage all night long.

Yesterday it quit working altogether while on the highway. I could crank it up to 3 or 4 and it would whir loose but turning it back down to 1 meant it stopped turning. My first thought was "whoa fire" so I just left it off for the rest of the trip.

Will post my findings in here.

[K Fox]

Mine's been making screeching noises for the better part of a year now. I just wind the speed up and down a bit until it stops or until I hit a proper hole to jolt it back into silent submission.


That makes me realize that it might not be the blower motor itself, but maybe something jamming against it and a bump in the road knocks it loose?

No, it's the bearings being old and loose. Have you seen the threads that live in this forum about E34 fires? If I were you, I'd not use the blower again till it's replaced - you're (literally) playing with fire here...

Fox (no I'm not kidding - worn bearings increase current draw, and with our setups this leads to proper fire rather alarmingly quickly...)

[MehMan]

No, it's the bearings being old and loose. Have you seen the threads that live in this forum about E34 fires? If I were you, I'd not use the blower again till it's replaced - you're (literally) playing with fire here...

Fox (no I'm not kidding - worn bearings increase current draw, and with our setups this leads to proper fire rather alarmingly quickly...)

Well....


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poop.

[Leonator134]

Glad it's doing you well, Matt. I found the new NGK plugs made my engine run better too.

Time for some mods though, seriously.