Clean the S-E-M switch, oxidation or coffee or soda etc inside from former owner. See here http://www.nmia.com/~dgnrg/page_2.htm
Shogun tricks and tips for the E32 series are HERE!
SUCCESS!
The compression check showed even compression across all 12 cylinders. My guage is pretty cheap and doesn't have a peak hold function but it looked like I was getting about 155 across the board.
Below I'll share some pics of what I came across as I did my top end refresh.
1. Original spark plugs, the insulators covered in oil due to leaking valve cover gaskets, and showing lots of wear but evidence of generally a decent running engine.
2. 1989 date coded distributor cap - clearly, no one has ever replaced them
3. Under the valve covers, more of a chocolate color than a honey color. Not the worst I've seen under a valve cover but far from the best. The cam is in good shape with no scratches or grooves or scoring, and all of the banjo bolts were nice and tight. I cleaned and reinstalled them with fresh blue loctite and new crush rings.
4. The crush rings were well and truly fused to the banjo bolts, I used a knife to separate them
5. Don't forget about these two rubber fuel lines down under the brake master cylinder and heater valve area. You can only get to them if the driver's side intake manifold is off, and if they fail, they could potentially spray fuel under pressure all over the exhaust manifold.
since I can only attach 5 pictures per post, I'll add more in the next post
1989 750iL schwarz/schwarz
1991 M5 schwarz/silbergrau
2013 328i coupe diamondschwarz/caramel
2003 525iT orient blue/tan
1990 535i/5 schwarz/schwarz
Continuing
1. I needed a looong screwdriver to be able to get to the heater hose connections
2. The two rubber mounts that attach the battery cable tube to the valve cover studs disintegrated, and I couldn't locate new ones that I could get quickly enough, so I made new mounts out of 1" long nylon spacers with a #10 hole in them that I found at the local hardware store. I tapped M6x1.0 threads into either end
3. Home made nylon mount in position. Time will tell if this will last, but it has about the same amount of flexibility that the rubber mounts did and cost exactly $0.70 for the pair.
4. I followed Shogun's advice about replacing the battery cable in the tube that goes over the driver's side exhaust manifold. I used 2awg welding wire, but it left no room in the tube for the 3 conductor cable that also goes through there. I was able to re-route that up and over the hydraulic stuff on the fenderwall. My batter cable was completely shot - the insulation was cracked through all over the cable, and a leaking heater valve had been dripping into the firewall end of the tube...a recipe for disaster.
5. Pretty painted intake manifolds
1989 750iL schwarz/schwarz
1991 M5 schwarz/silbergrau
2013 328i coupe diamondschwarz/caramel
2003 525iT orient blue/tan
1990 535i/5 schwarz/schwarz
In addition to the battery cable disintegrating, I noticed that the ground cable on the passenger side of the engine had fallen apart. It goes from the engine mount to the frame rail. I used the same materials I used to build the battery cable; 2awg welding wire, crimp connectors, a welding cable crimp tool that I got at Airgas for $17, and heat shrink tubing. Here is a pictorial of how I put it together:
1. Bad ground cable on the car - this is the passenger side engine mount and frame rail.
2. Strip the wire to length
3. Crimp tool, place the wire and connector in the holder and hit the top of the tool with a hammer
4. Makes for a pro-level crimp
5. New vs. old
1989 750iL schwarz/schwarz
1991 M5 schwarz/silbergrau
2013 328i coupe diamondschwarz/caramel
2003 525iT orient blue/tan
1990 535i/5 schwarz/schwarz
Anyway, after resealing the intake manifolds; replacing the plugs, plug wires, caps, and rotors; rebuilt fuel injectors; replacing every rubber fuel and vacuum hose under the hood, replacing the battery and ground cables; replacing the valve cover gaskets, rebuilding the throttle bodies, cleaning the MAFs, new PCV valves and hoses, a replacement (used) heater valve and heater hoses, upper/lower radiator hoses, new belts, tensioners and pulleys, treating every electrical connector I could get my hands on with Caig D5 and ProGold, I went for my maiden voyage today. 100 miles up and over the canyon roads in the Angeles National Forest and into the desert and back --- what a great feeling to have brought this car back to life after it being on the very brink of going to the crusher! And what a car, so much power and such a smooth ride. It is like the older, bigger brother to my E34 M5. Clearly related and cut from the same cloth, with similar horsepower and acceleration. Where the M5 is hyper and rev-happy and demands careful attention to the clutch and gearshift, the 750iL is like tapping into a bottomless well of thrust, with barely perceptible shifts.
Oh, and my Trans Program warning disappeared, I assume to proper operating voltage due to the new battery and ground cables.
Tomorrow, smog test and registration, and then on to fun stuff like a couple of days with the dual action polisher on the paint, leather treatment, fixing the sunroof seal, fixing the A/C, suspension work.....
Last edited by biasvoltage; 03-21-2017 at 12:17 AM.
1989 750iL schwarz/schwarz
1991 M5 schwarz/silbergrau
2013 328i coupe diamondschwarz/caramel
2003 525iT orient blue/tan
1990 535i/5 schwarz/schwarz
I spy with my little eye, a missing center cap!
The car actually looks nice when it's dirty in the middle of a desert.
It passed smog, and is now registered/insured/tagged and legal ... another one saved from the crusher! Thanks in particular to Shogun, for all of your expert advice.
Last edited by biasvoltage; 03-21-2017 at 11:48 PM.
1989 750iL schwarz/schwarz
1991 M5 schwarz/silbergrau
2013 328i coupe diamondschwarz/caramel
2003 525iT orient blue/tan
1990 535i/5 schwarz/schwarz
Looks really nice - It really is sad that people are so ready to crush an older car, just because it needs $500-1,000 in parts and a couple of days of work. :-/
With everything done it should last you a long time still.
Current Collection:
1993 740iL - daily driver; 1994 740iL - project #1; 1994 740i - project #2
1991 Buick Roadmaster Estate Wagon - beast of burden & tool/parts hauler
great!! beautiful work, how is the suspension?
The suspension needs the usual attention. Having just gone through this with the M5, I'm ready for it as far as tools go. One of the LAD struts is leaking, but I bought a pair of very clean and dry ones from the salvage yard. After that, dogbones, rsb links and bushings, fsb links and bushings, UCAs and LCAs. Maybe the subframe mounts too. I'll probably go with oem Sachs strut inserts on the front, unless I can find some Konis. The wheel bearings are remarkably solid and quiet, knock on wood. Fronts aren't so bad but the rears are a fair amount of work to replace. The steering feels nice and tight so I might not mess with it yet.
1989 750iL schwarz/schwarz
1991 M5 schwarz/silbergrau
2013 328i coupe diamondschwarz/caramel
2003 525iT orient blue/tan
1990 535i/5 schwarz/schwarz
I finished up my exterior detailing today. It was a lot of work - wash, claybar, some quality time with the dual action polisher and some Meguiars 105 and 205 polishes, plus some SEM Satin Black Trim paint on the bumpers and door handles. I wound up removing the bumpers, lights, door handles and emblems. E32 bumpers are ridiculous! The E34 design is much easier to deal with; lighter and having replaceable rub strips.
New door handle gaskets from Shogun were the icing on the cake - they fit perfectly.
It's not perfect, but it is at least clean and presentable. Next step is the interior: remove the failing window tinting, remove the seats and carpets for cleaning and Leatherique treatment, replacing the headliner, replacing the sunroof seal, I have decent replacement door seals from the salvage yard, and I'm going to install the perfect door cards with the built in window shades that I picked up. The final step is going to be getting the AC working
1989 750iL schwarz/schwarz
1991 M5 schwarz/silbergrau
2013 328i coupe diamondschwarz/caramel
2003 525iT orient blue/tan
1990 535i/5 schwarz/schwarz
I wish my car would look like this, I am not the detailing fan, more the repair guy. Do you want to make a working holiday in Japan and do the same with my car
Shogun tricks and tips for the E32 series are HERE!
How does the trim black stuff match up to the factory color? If I only do one panel will it be obvious? I have some sand rash / stone chips on the front bumper that need to be covered back up...
And dang, that looks pretty - mine is parked outside, so it never stays clean, but I will have to get it detailed at some point, that is just gorgeous.
Current Collection:
1993 740iL - daily driver; 1994 740iL - project #1; 1994 740i - project #2
1991 Buick Roadmaster Estate Wagon - beast of burden & tool/parts hauler
The SEM trim paint is a perfect match for the door handle and window pillar trim low-gloss black. As you can see in the 4th pic, it looks great on the bumper and body-side rub strips too. I did my very lowest areas of the bumpers in it as well, these seemed to be some raw textured plastic on my car and the SEM paint kind of disappears down there. The top, flat surfaces of the bumpers that are body colored should be painted body color; I used DupliColor Universal Gloss Black on mine and it came out OK. Fine for a little hidden area like that but if I were to repaint the shiny lower part (just below the rub strip), I would want to get some better quality paint.
That's the problem with E32 bumpers; they are huge, unwieldy, extremely heavy, don't come apart, and there are 4 distinctly different areas to paint, plus 3 chrome plated plastic strips. They must have learned their lesson because the E34, E38, E39 etc... designs are much simpler and lighter. (of course, on my E92, the entire front of the car is a one piece thing, so either they forgot the lesson they learned, or figured there is good money to be made in having very delicate parts on the front of a car)
1989 750iL schwarz/schwarz
1991 M5 schwarz/silbergrau
2013 328i coupe diamondschwarz/caramel
2003 525iT orient blue/tan
1990 535i/5 schwarz/schwarz
Sweet ride!
ASE and BMW Master Certified Technician
Figured it was time for an update -
The car is running very, very well. All that work on the upper end of the engine was worth it. It did start behaving strangely while driving one day, so I unlocked the OBC and read the voltage...uh oh, 10.5, 10.2, 9.6, dropping like a rock. Clearly the alternator wasn't charging, so I headed home. Using the DIYs on BMWe32.masscom.net, I pulled out the alternator. The bearings were silent and had no play, so rather than spend the dough on a rebuilt alternator, I decided to try replacing the regulator. This was a success, a $27 investment vs a $300 investment. I spent the savings on a replacement radiator, as the one I removed wouldn't drain from the drain plug. I think it was full of stopleak or something. Also fixed the AUX fan connector plug which had disintegrated.
One of the rear SLS struts was leaking more and more, so I decided to refresh the rear suspension with new dogbones, swaybar busings and links, and the low mileage used struts I pulled from a junkyard car back in February. This was straightforward, but necessitated removing the rear seats and the back deck panel, and that is when mission creep took hold. I removed all of the seats, front and rear; the center console; the door cards; the glove box; the panel underneath the steering wheel; the A pillar trim, B pillar trim, C pillar trim; the sunroof; and the headliner panel.
With the interior out, I set about doing the following:
- replacing the expansion valve
- resoldering the connector for the HVAC sword
- replacing the brake light switch
- shampooing the carpets
- replacing the broken manual rear sunshade with a good one from the junkyard
- coating all the leather stuff with leatherique, stuffing it into bags, and letting it sit in the sun for several days
- reupholstering the headliner (came out ok, but not perfect)
- replacing the sunroof seal
- clearing the sunroof drains
- replacing the E-box fan
- clearing the E-box drain (100% clogged, which is what led to the computer shorting out, which is why I got the car for $500)
- replacing the audio system with a headunit + amp + subwoofer
- dynamat in all 4 doors
- replacing the receiver/dryer and pressure switch, plus every o-ring in the AC system
So after all of that, my 750i is ready for prime time! The A/C is now ice cold, the self leveling system works, the sunroof doesn't leak, the E-box doesn't fill up with water, the leather is all soft and supple again, the new audio system (using the 'blau bypass' method of retaining the stock 3 way speakers, albeit upgrading said stock speakers to the much better 1993+ versions) sounds fantastic.
Next step is going to be the front suspension, but for now the 750 is out of the garage. It is time to give the M5 some wrench time as it requires a new CSB and giubo, shift bushings and such. Hopefully the mission creep won't set in quite so severely this time!
1989 750iL schwarz/schwarz
1991 M5 schwarz/silbergrau
2013 328i coupe diamondschwarz/caramel
2003 525iT orient blue/tan
1990 535i/5 schwarz/schwarz
what was the mission supposed to be again?
Great work, great thread, and beautiful car! I recently purchased a 1989 750il that has been sitting for about 5 years. I will be referring to this thread often to know what to do....
2009 M6, 2005 M3 comp 6spd slicktop, 2002 M3 convertible, 2002 530i slicktop sport package, 2001 M5, 2001 750il, 1994 850 CSI 0015, 1993 M5 3.6, 1991 850i 6spd, 1988 750il, 1988 M5, 1985 535i, 1959 502....yes it is a sickness!
OP back here with a status update!
After 4 months of using the 750iL as my daily driver (for the most part), my brand new radiator (from Rockauto) separated at the driver's side where the plastic tank is crimped on. I got up to 3/4 on the temp gauge, and I hope this hasn't caused permanent damage.
After letting the car sit for a few weeks, I fired it up and moved it to the garage and discovered I had a major fuel leak - from one of the brand new rubber hoses I installed. Of course, it would be one of the ones down underneath the brake master cylinder that requires removing the driver's side intake manifold to get to. What I discovered was discouraging - all of the CRP Contitech high pressure 8x13 fuel line I purchased, date coded 7/2016, is already cracking on the outside, and this hose has deteriorated enough to start leaking. Which means ALL of it that I put on the car - over 2 meters worth - needs to be replaced again. I'm going with Gates Barricade high pressure hose this time. The good news is that it is much easier to pull the top end apart the second time!
Last edited by biasvoltage; 10-13-2017 at 12:01 AM.
1989 750iL schwarz/schwarz
1991 M5 schwarz/silbergrau
2013 328i coupe diamondschwarz/caramel
2003 525iT orient blue/tan
1990 535i/5 schwarz/schwarz
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