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Thread: My e24 repair/maintenance thread

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Sep 2015
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    GA,USA
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    89 BMW 635CSI

    My e24 repair/maintenance thread

    I've been creating a lot of threads recently so I thought it'd just be easier to put everything about my car in one thread. I've done many repairs and still have many to do so instead of making 100 threads I'll post everything here from now on. I drive a 1989 BMW L6, it has 320k+ miles, replaced transmission, engine with rebuild head few years ago. It's been my daily driver for the last 4 years. It's been a huge PITA since I had no service records or experience working on cars and has been a huge learning experience. I've learned everything I know about cars from working on this one. Here's a picture of my car I took a few days ago.


    Repairs:
    Rebuilt AC system
    • Prior to the rebuild it had a leak and I live in GA where it gets to 100 so the stock system wasn't cutting it. Over the last year while still daily driving the car I took the whole system apart, flushed it, replaced all hoses, orings, compressor and converted to r152. Its 30 degrees here so im waiting until it warms up to test it further. Weren't any leaks last time i checked.
    • I have a whole thread here.


    Heater valve retrofit:
    • Prior to repairing I had no heat when driving over 50mph. It was a bad valve and oem wasnt available at the time and the MTC valves they have available dont last that long so I bought and retrofitted a new valve. Thread here. I've since sourced an OEM heater valve from ebay and waiting for it to get here to install but the retrofit is fine for the time being.


    Replaced headlights with HIR2 bulbs. Theyre alot brighter than OEM and make it easier to see at night.

    Replaced the tail with leds(Thanks to dcains who linked me to some good ones he used, they make a huge difference). LEDS I used below.

    Quote Originally Posted by dcains View Post
    I've used LEDs from this seller in my other cars for several years, and about 2 years in the 635. These are what I used in the brake lights, reverse lights, and signals:


    www.ebay.com/itm/2pc-White-1156-Ba15s-68x-3528-SMD-LED-Backup-Reverse-Light-Bulbs-89-97-S25-P21W-/130903609308?


    These are what I used in the tails (very slightly less bright), although they're really all interchangeable:


    www.ebay.com/itm/WARM-WHITE-1156-BA15S-42-SMD-SMT-LED-LIGHT-BULB-BACKUP-REVERSE-PAIR-12V-93-1003-/121333000519?


    If you want to go nuts and replace the interior, hood, trunk, and license plate lights, these are what I used:


    www.ebay.com/itm/WARM-WHITE-39MM-FESTOON-12-SMD-SMT-LED-LIGHT-BULB-INTERIOR-DOOR-PAIR-6423-6461-/351308245648?
    If you do the signals you will have to also use an electronic flasher. Also, you will get error lights on the check panel.
    The insides of my tail lights are dirty and corroded so they may not be as bright as hoped but alot brighter than they were stock.

    Currently
    My car had a bad gas leak and I'll need to replace the fuel pump so I decided to just replace the filter, pump and hoses while I'm down there. They should be coming this week.

    My cluster is also very dim and almost every gauge(gas gauge, temperature gauge, speedometer) fluctuates. I'll be taking the cluster out and replacing all the leds(bought them from autohausaz) but I should probably also get the odometer gears to get it all over with.

    I replaced the emblem with a cheap one from ebay and it's now yellowing. That should be here this week too.

    My suspension is crap and AFAIK everything is still stock so in the coming weeks I plan to buy the full set and replace everything just to be sure.

    I have alot of rust spots on the rear and will tackle that when im done with my repairs

    I'll update with previous pictures and repairs or links whenever i get the chance.
    Attached Images Attached Images
    Last edited by hakeem43020; 03-15-2017 at 03:47 PM.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Oct 2004
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    Lou. Ky.
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    87-635 '78-R80/7 '96-960
    Can you tell me your experience using the HIR2 bulbs in the low beam. I just installed a set of ellipsoids to my '87. One I like the look of them and 2 for the high beams. Low beams are not that good and high beam is better than sealed beams. Out in the country I need all the light I can get. I'll do some research as I haven't done it yet.

    You've done a good job getting your '89 to where it is now. Pic of it looks good.

  3. #3
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    Sep 2015
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    Quote Originally Posted by dm635 View Post
    Can you tell me your experience using the HIR2 bulbs in the low beam. I just installed a set of ellipsoids to my '87. One I like the look of them and 2 for the high beams. Low beams are not that good and high beam is better than sealed beams. Out in the country I need all the light I can get. I'll do some research as I haven't done it yet.

    You've done a good job getting your '89 to where it is now. Pic of it looks good.
    Thanks. I replaced the low beam with 55W Phillips 9012 hir bulbs. They're the same wattage so i didn't have to rewire. You will have to trim the top tab to get it to fit it in the bucket. I upgraded after reading it has 80% higher light output. I can't be certain of that number but it's a hell a lot brighter than stock and have no problem seeing at night even on the darkest roads.

  4. #4
    Join Date
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    Thanks for the reply. I take it that you don't get flashed with brighter bulbs.

  5. #5
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    GA,USA
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    Quote Originally Posted by dm635 View Post
    Thanks for the reply. I take it that you don't get flashed with brighter bulbs.
    Nope, never been flashed. Only time I recall getting flashed is when I use to use my high beams before upgrading. The mod is pretty common, I used the chart below to help trim to get the bulb to fit.

    Used this bulb when i upgraded back in 2015. One bulb blew the other day so I replaced it with this. Well worth the upgrade.
    Attached Images Attached Images

  6. #6
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    Thanks again. That chart is nice.

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by dm635 View Post
    Thanks again. That chart is nice.
    Let me know how they work out for you if you ever decide to upgrade .

    Anyways. This week is going to be a busy week and after checking it turned out my AC leaked out all my refrigerant. I'm 100% sure it has to do with me retrofitting another front expansion valve. I decided to go all out. I ordered:

    OEM Cluster bulbs to replace my dim bulbs
    Fuel pump
    Fuel filter
    Fuel hoses
    Front emblem
    NEW Front evaporator here
    OEM front expansion valve($120+)
    OEM heater valve

    My license plate cover is cracked so I ordered one from eBay. After installing I realized the world bumper uses a different(wider) license plate mount. No biggie since I paid $15 for it.

    Hopefully the hoses come this week so I can tackle the fuel pump this weekend.

    Checked this a while back and not sure if I posted it. My fuel gauge never goes to full. It just stays between full and 3/4.
    heres what it looks like after I fill my tank.
    IMG_4016.jpg

    I got a brand new fuel level sender and it still didn't fix the issue. My OBC won't read pass 49L and never goes to full. I thought the needle might be stuck so I read up and bridged the fuel level sender wires to read full and the gauge did jump to full which means the needle isn't stuck. Not sure what else it could be. Here's what it reads when full.
    IMG_4011.jpg
    IMG_4010.jpg

    Surprisingly the OBC reads 13.8 gallons instead of the 16 or 18 gallons I imagined our cars had? 13 gallon tank is pretty small but then again it is a small car. I have no idea why mine reads 13. Not reading too much into this until I replace my fuel pump.

  8. #8
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    Sep 2015
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    89 BMW 635CSI
    Installed new emblem. Makes a huge difference.
    IMG_4189.jpg
    (Old emblem on left and new one on the right)

    evaporator and fuel hoses hoses should be here by tomorrow so I can do that and possibly the cluster this weekend. Expansion valve won't ship until tomorrow so I don't think that'll be here until a week from now.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Aug 2014
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    '85 635 CSi Euro 5sp.
    Quote Originally Posted by dm635 View Post
    Thanks for the reply. I take it that you don't get flashed with brighter bulbs.
    The reason the HIR bulbs work so well is that their filament is in the same position inside the bulb capsule as the original bulb, so it works with the car's headlight housings properly to maintain the beam pattern and horizontal cutoff. This is precisely the opposite of why those HID upgrade kits don't work very well and cause so much glare and annoyance to other oncoming drivers. It's not all about brightness. I've installed the HIR bulbs in my wife's Acura TL-S high beams (the lows are HID), and the result is much better vision with the highs, with the original beam pattern maintained.
    Dean
    Lutz, FL

    '85 635 CSi Euro #9402254
    '87 Spider Veloce
    '92 Spider Veloce
    '08 350Z


  10. #10
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    1985 535i, 1980 635CSi
    The OBC doesn't register the full amount of the tank but only reads about 50L. It is a 15.5gal tank though.

  11. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by tschultz View Post
    The OBC doesn't register the full amount of the tank but only reads about 50L. It is a 15.5gal tank though.
    That sounds alot more believable. I checked realoem and they list it at 16.6gallon(70L for Euro and 63L for US tank here). If that's true then my OBC is way off. My OBC reads 14.4mpg but I filled the tank on monday, drive 120 miles a week and when filling on friday it takes 12.2 gallons. Which is around 9.8mpg. I drive all city :/. I have new spark plugs, changed oil etc. Well that's another thing added to my list. I do leave the car idling in the morning to warm up but that still sounds pretty bad.
    Last edited by hakeem43020; 03-22-2017 at 02:20 PM.

  12. #12
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    IMG_4195.jpg
    New four seasons evaporator came in today. Looks the same and many have reported that it works so that shouldn't be a problem. Expansion valve should be here tomorrow so I'll have all parts to do the AC and fuel pump this weekend.

  13. #13
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    IMG_4216.jpg
    Got it and the expansion valve fits. It's the correct one that works with later e24s but with a different p/n. I pulled a vacuum and it held at -30 for the last 20 minutes. Might charge when done and if not then tomorrow.

  14. #14
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    Got it working. I can confirm that the $150 four seasons evaporator does work with the E24 . Charged today and got the Low side to 45 after 30 oz so Im guessing it'll need another can and ill be good to go. Not sure whats up with the system but it's been acting weird. Abnormal low/high pressures and then not taking red

    I also changed the:
    Electric fuel pump
    Fuel filter
    Fuel level sender

    My OBC lights went out and I managed to have a few leds that were laying around so I soldered them in place of the burnt out bulbs. I did this 6 months ago and they're still holding up. The leds came in a 10 pack and were like $5. Saved myself $45.

    IMG_1990.jpg

    I still need to change the filler hoses. Since i was under my car today I examined my suspension and the whole suspension is shot. 300k miles later and Im still running stock suspension . Looks like I'll have to get the whole suspension kit I saw for $600+ from FCPEuro.

    My OEM heater valve came but I was at work so it didnt get delivered since I have to sign it. I ordered it a month ago and it came from turkey but I couldnt resist knowing they dont sell them new anymore. Hopefully it gets redelivered monday .
    Last edited by hakeem43020; 03-27-2017 at 12:32 AM.

  15. #15
    Join Date
    May 2013
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    Moultrie, Ga. USA
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    87 635CSi, 88 635CSi,
    Thanks for the maintenance thread Hakeem, links are great. I'll be referencing back many times! One thing for sure, you're persistent! Nice car btw, looks to be rust free. You in Atlanta?

  16. #16
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    Quote Originally Posted by slofut View Post
    Thanks for the maintenance thread Hakeem, links are great. I'll be referencing back many times! One thing for sure, you're persistent! Nice car btw, looks to be rust free. You in Atlanta?
    Thanks. Glad it could be helpful and I wish my car was rust free haha. I have rust around my tail lights, rear bumper and my driver side rear floor is rusted through and I'm in Buford so I'm about an hour from Atlanta.

  17. #17
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    E39 2001
    Starting from easier fixes and moving towards more complicated issues?
    Will keep an eye on this thread.

  18. #18
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    My low beams went out the other day. Bought some hir2 bulbs, did the mods mentioned above to get it to fit in the low beams.
    IMG_4246.jpg
    Took the picture at night with just the low beams on. Also Did my 300,000+ Mile oil change yesterday. Wish I took pictures.
    Attached Images Attached Images

  19. #19
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    Spent the whole day yesterday wetsanding scratches off the car. Decided to start tackling rust before it’s too late. This was worse than I expected. There are also small holes in certain parts around the rust. I’m going to sand the rust off, spray with primer+rust stop then bondo+primer+paint. Won’t be perfect but would be a lot better than all the rust. Also have rust under the rear bumper somehow so I’ll try removing it and doing that tomorrow too or I might weld it if I feel like I might get lucky.
    0627516F-E52E-4F5D-A975-52A5E7889696.jpg1779BA27-B7AC-4388-ACE8-939D061BF321.jpg6ADAF7E3-904E-458E-890E-59A2C63D5BBA.jpg

  20. #20
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    Hakeem rust has to be cut out back to solid metal and new metal welded in. Bondo should go on bare metal. The repairs you are talking about doing will reappear within a year. Again, Once rust starts you cant stop it without cutting it out. There are products on the market that say they can seal the rust in. Maybe so for a while. But it will rear it's ugly head again.
    81 Euro undergoing total nut and bolt restoration
    pictures at: flickr.com/photos/bertsphotos

  21. #21
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    Quote Originally Posted by Bert Poliakoff View Post
    Hakeem rust has to be cut out back to solid metal and new metal welded in. Bondo should go on bare metal. The repairs you are talking about doing will reappear within a year. Again, Once rust starts you cant stop it without cutting it out. There are products on the market that say they can seal the rust in. Maybe so for a while. But it will rear it's ugly head again.
    Thanks for the heads up Bert. Some of the rust happens to be next to the gas tank so I'm not sure I want to tackle that so I guess I'll put this off until I can get it to a body shop.

  22. #22
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    Did you get finally your fuel tank level gauge and OBC read out to be accurate after installing a new sender ? I have exactly the same problem and my OBC will only indicate a maximum of 42 liters

  23. #23
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    Quote Originally Posted by Taylor Marshall View Post
    Did you get finally your fuel tank level gauge and OBC read out to be accurate after installing a new sender ? I have exactly the same problem and my OBC will only indicate a maximum of 42 liters
    Sorry for the late reply. Unfortunately it did not. I’m clueless what the problem is. I looked up the wiring and bridged connections to show the full reading and that showed 52.5 liters when full which is around 13.8 gallons(I thought our cars had 16 gallon tanks?) but mine still doesn’t show above 49.5L when filling up.

    514F5FA6-66DD-44E2-8AA6-9123EBAF6B71.jpg
    Connections bridged for full reading(ignore my rusty trunk haha)

    274EF5CB-5D25-4409-82A7-BCBEBAE9917F.jpg
    OBC Reading when connections are bridged.

    194C272C-D9EC-45CF-9BE1-20AC38E68D68.jpg
    (Needle showing full when connection is bridged).

    D0E0311D-2BF8-4138-894E-6448E9CD0010.jpg
    (Regular reading for full when connected back up)

    Sorry for the sideways pictures. It always flips when I upload it from my phone for some reason.

    I always wonder where the other 3 gallons are if our cars do have 16 gallon tanks, why the obc only reads up to 13-14 gallons and why it never shows full.

    I ended up just giving up for now.

  24. #24
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    Hakeem, what part number front expansion valve did you use? Vendor?
    Thanks,
    Bill

  25. #25
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    Quote Originally Posted by slofut View Post
    Hakeem, what part number front expansion valve did you use? Vendor?
    Thanks,
    Bill
    Hey Bill, the part # is 64511380659 for an 88 and 89, the earlier cars can use the default valves listed on authausaz etc. Not sure about the vendor but I imagine you'd be fine as long as you get that exact p/n from BMWSouthAtlanta or FCPEuro. I think FCPEuro is where I got mine.
    Last edited by hakeem43020; 10-21-2017 at 12:32 AM.

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