Grant500's 1995 E34 540i/6 Build Thread

[Grant500]

I acquired this car on 12/16/13. I saw it on craigslist and was amazed at the condition of the car in the pictures. Its a 1995 Arktisgrau 540i with the 6 speed and 182k.The owner happened to be a member here who goes by BoldUlysses. He encouraged me to join this forum so here I am. BoldUlysses did a great job in caring for the car and I was able to purchase with with complete confidence. Aside from maintenance items and repairs Matt also had recently put on Koni shocks, DDM 35w 6000k fogs, and a tune by DUDMD. The 540i is the first BMW I have owned. The only other car I have owned has been a 1997 Mustang Cobra and the two cars are very different beasts. While the car is in great shape I have already decided somethings I would like to fix/upgrade. The first thing I noticed was how stiff the throttle cable was and after stumbling across this thread http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum...throttle-pedal I have found the parts and guide I need. The second thing I would like to fix is the blower motor which has a slight intermittent squeak. I also feel that the shifter leaves some to desire. I find it to be sort of vague and have long throws. As of now I plan to swap in the 545i short shifter and Zhp shift knob. Down the road I would like to upgrade the wheels and tires and the exhaust. I am open to opinions on both. I do not think I can afford a catback right now so advice on a muffler swap/delete would be more helpful. I look forward to being a part of the community here, and thanks for checking out my thread!

Sorry for the cell phone pictures!
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[IMG] The e46 330i is my friends BMW he is Spelyn on the forum[/IMG]

[Binjammin]

You won't find a better car for the price and yeah, the PO sure seemed like he liked the car a bunch. Take care of that blower before it becomes an issue.

[BoldUlysses]

Welcome Grant! Glad to see she's in good hands.

Re:muffler swap/delete, I wouldn't do it. Just leave it stock until you can afford a good system. The stock system is in good shape and a catback won't net you but a couple of horsepower maybe. The main reason to replace it is sound and appearance. I'd hold out for a B&B or another quality piece. Guys unload them in the classifieds from time to time for far less than retail.

the PO sure seemed like he liked the car a bunch

If you love it, let it go.

[ShapeShifter]

B&B or bust.

[Binjammin]

Dinan mod on the muffler. It's free if you can weld.

[ShapeShifter]

But it still weighs 70 lbs.

[Leonator134]

Definitely B&B. It's seriously awesome.

[staystackin]

The b&b does sound great... But so does my magnaflow. Resonator removed, muffler replaced with magnaflow. Just sayin.

+1 for the e60 545i Shifter with zhp knob. I have the same combo and love it.

upgrading your wheels will change the look of the car in suuuuuch a good way. Take a look at Leo's signature above me for example. If you don't plan on putting the car very close to the ground, I would suggest 18s (and m-parallels are a great start, they look good on nearly any e34 and can be had rather reasonably). I have 17s on my car, but .... it's a lot closer to the ground than most.

-Wes

[Grant500]

One option I was considering on the exhaust is electric cutouts. It would be nice to go from loud to quiet with the flip of a switch. A good set costs about 350. I also have another question for you guys. Last night while I was driving it I noticed the RPM gauge was lazy and not reading right. I took it all the way up to redline and it never came above 3k. After a little searching I read that HID's can cause interference somehow. Possible solutions for this were wrapping them in aluminum foil and relocating them further away from the motor, but I was going to see if anyone has any other suggestions about how to fix this. I ordered DDM 35w 5000k HID's right when i got home and dont want to make the problem worse.

- - - Updated - - -

Yesterday was pretty productive. The car got a wash and wax, its glovebox adjusted, and the 30 amp blower motor fuse swapped out for a 20 amp. Today I plan on detailing the interior and using some of the leather care products Matt was nice enough to include in the sale. I have a couple things I plan to order such as the throttle cable, linkage bushings, and possibly the 545i shifter. I'm still on the fence about clear indicators right now. The only place I really find them is eBay and I know very well the quality of parts that comes from that place haha.

[Binjammin]

You already have DDM 35 watt 6000k BIDs in your fogs. Ask me how I know.

Matt, I love you, but I'm not ready to let you go.

[Grant500]

Yeah I meant to say that. Do you know if it's the slim ballast? I haven't had a chance to look yet.

[T444E]

If you love it, let it go.

That is literally the worst advice you could ever give anyone. Even if you didn't like them.

[thatonedood]

Welcome OP, that's a sweet car you picked up there. Sounds like some good plans too. Wait as long as you can stand to on the exhaust, and enjoy a great, near stock example of an e34 540

If you love it, give it a name.

fixed

[Binjammin]

Yeah I meant to say that. Do you know if it's the slim ballast? I haven't had a chance to look yet.

They are.

[Grant500]

Welcome OP, that's a sweet car you picked up there. Sounds like some good plans too. Wait as long as you can stand to on the exhaust, and enjoy a great, near stock example of an e34 540

I'll try, but after watching some exhaust videos on Youtube it's going to be difficult haha. I've also developed what seems like a small power steering whine when I turn the wheel when sitting still. Going to check into the fluid level today hopefully it's just low.

[K Fox]

But....but....when did this happen??!?! And WHY???!? Matt??!



Huh?????

Fox (after driving that car it was awesome...what's going on??!)

[thatonedood]

Check the classifieds

[BoldUlysses]

PM sent.

[Leonator134]

+1 on e60 545i shifter and zhp knob. And B&B.

The B&B is cool because it comes with resonators, doesn't drone one bit.

- - - Updated - - -

Electric cutouts would actually be really, really cool though....

[K Fox]

Check the classifieds

PM sent.

Thanks guys. This is one of the problems with not checking the classifieds very often - though it does help with not making too many impulse purchases. Oh well - sometimes life just happens, and you have to roll with it. I shouldn't really care, as it's not my car, but I do feel a small connection to it.

At least we now have a new member in the forum, and one who is rather well informed about the basics too, I see. That is a great thing - we need more people of integrity in here to combat the occasional trolls that wander in. So welcome OP - to both the craziness of BF.c and the insanity of E34'dom (specifically 540i6 - they're quite fun).

Fox

[jehu]

Never used the BMW short shifter but have the UUC Evo 3 with the Double Sheer Selector Rod and I can't imagine a better set up... crisp, concise, precise short throws with no slop.. I'd check into it since its not really all that easy of a job on these cars..

[Grant500]

Fixed the power steering whine. It was just low on fluid. After some research I found that the recommended chf-11s was rather pricey. Instead of this I just substituted water for fluid....JK!! I did get incredibly lucky though. My mom has a 2008 E60 550i that also needed power steering fluid recently apparently the same problems plague the newer BMWs as well haha. So I happened to find a can of the recommended fluid in the garage. After topping off the fluid it fixed the problem but it has some seepage on the hoses so I will need to take care of that in the future. After sorting out the power steering whine I then vacuumed the carpets as well as cleaned and conditioned the leather. Nothing feels better than a clean car. I plan on putting it up on the lift today i'll try to snap some pics for you guys. [IMG][/IMG]

[Layne]

Does that reservoir say CHF11S on it? '95s are supposed to be ATF unless it has self leveling and the grenade shaped reservoir is supposed to always be ATF... but the green sticker makes me think otherwise...

[Leonator134]

Never used the BMW short shifter but have the UUC Evo 3 with the Double Sheer Selector Rod and I can't imagine a better set up... crisp, concise, precise short throws with no slop.. I'd check into it since its not really all that easy of a job on these cars..

The E60 545i shifter rod was a breeze to install.

[ShapeShifter]

Does that reservoir say CHF11S on it? '95s are supposed to be ATF unless it has self leveling and the grenade shaped reservoir is supposed to always be ATF... but the green sticker makes me think otherwise...

My 95 took CHF11S. The sticker was still on the reservoir.