E34 Wagon maintenance, introduction and build thread!

[Siebenthal]

Hi Guys! I recently bought a five series wagon (525i) (about 2 months ago) and after 3000 miles of driving, it has been flawless.

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This car is black on black, has the limited diff, and needs a little TLC.

I guess I should introduce myself to everyone in this community. I am 19 and I live in San Jose (California). I have owned 3 e30 convertibles (2 manual 1 auto), a 4runner and now this wagon! In terms of my experience with working on cars, the hardest job I have completed so far is the timing belt change on a 92' 325i convertible (m20). I can do cooling systems (water pump, hoses, radiator replacements). My experience is limited and I do not have any real training. I follow the forums and the bentley manuals to get my way around cars.

So, back to the wagon - I purchased this car with 163k miles and today, it has 167k miles. During that time, the only maintenance I have done is an oil change. It needs a new valve cover gasket, oil filter gasket and thats about it.

However, I have two problems with this wagon that I can't seem to diagnose or understand what the problem is. The first problem is that on low gears (automatic trans) on gear one and two when I floor it and go past 4k rpm and let go to let it shift, it makes this squeak noise. Sounds like a belt slipping. Its like a high pitched squeak *eeeek*. One eek and then its back to normal. This is only for the first and second gear. After that I dont hear it at all. It shifts fine, no slipping or anything like that. Its very consistent and according to the maintenance history, the transmission oil was checked at 157k miles and was last overhauled (gasket, filter etc) at 137k miles.

The second problem is that when I am parked or just stopped, when it idles, I get this occasional spring noise - like "boing". The idle is constant and there is no issue with it dying or anything but it just makes a boing noise every minute or so if im idle.

Lastly, my friends and I plan to go on a 3000 mile road trip. I had an e30 where the alternator died out on me on 180k miles during the trip and I am paranoid that it might happen to this car.

There is no history of the alternator being changed, drive belts, drive belt tensioner, (cooling system overhauled around 140k miles).

I am wondering if anyone has any opinions or anything they would recommend I fix. I will be attending the valve cover gasket tomorrow but should I replace the alternator, fuel pump, drive belt/tensioner, timing chain tensioner, fuel pump(s)?

Anything else I should change or do?

Thank you so much for reading this!

Attached are more pictures of the wagon
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[moroza]

Welcome!

There are enough nooks and crannies in an E34 wagon to fit a few spare parts. I carry a spare fuel pump, and water valve assembly with all the funny heater hoses. They all fit inside the spare tire. Carrying a spare alternator is a bit goofy, but splits the difference between replacing preemptively and risking failure.

I don't touch slushboxes, so no idea about your trans issues. In the Bay area you should be able to find a whole running 525i manual car, perhaps one that failed smog or has DMV back fees, for less than 1k.

No idea about the boing noise, would have to hear it.

I wouldn't bother preemptively replacing the fuel pump, just don't run a low tank all the time. But when's the last time the fuel filter was replaced? As for the drive belts, how old and how do they look?

What else should you do before a road trip? Check the spare tire.

Carry a fire extinguisher in your car at all times. That goes for all cars, old (because old wiring) and new (because too much wiring).

[Siebenthal]

Hi!

The fuel filter was changed at 163k miles. Ill try to record the boing noise and post it here!

I found a manual 525i for 300 bucks. blown engine. - do you think its a good idea for me to buy it? Its 92 as well. Does that mean its pre vanos? because my car does not have a vanos. Also, I checked online for other people doing the swap and no one mentioned an ECU. My friend said I need an ecu to swap the trans into the wagon as well. Is that the case?

Thank you so much for the advice and I will definitely follow it!

[moroza]

I'd jump on that donor car. You won't need its ECU, just ground one wire from the Check Control Module to cure an error message, throw away the trans computer, and the rest is nuts n bolts.

[XAlt]

This was unexpected. One day you're getting drain plugs falling off your car from sketchy mechanics and now you're wrenching on all of them. Yay!

Blower Motors can catch fire any time on cars equipped with the resistor instead of he sword.

[Siebenthal]

Haha yeah! Honestly, ever since that drain plug thing - ive been tinkering around with e30s and other cars. I just watch videos on youtube or read off the forums/manuals and piece it all together! The value of the information available on these forums is priceless!

I went to see the donor car today. Its been parked since 2016. He guaranteed to me that the trans is good - all the parts are there. Motor spins freely but doesnt run. Parked because overheated/blown head gasket.

Attached are photos. Anyone know how much rebuilding that tranny would cost? (worst case scenario and all)

Also, what are the goodies on this car - the junkyards are littered with these btw. I feel like trans, motor and thats about it? What should i focus on when I part this car out before I donate it to the junkyard?

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[moroza]

You won't be rebuilding it. Nobody rebuilds them. They don't fail very often, and if they do, that's 150 bucks at Picknpull (of which there are two in SJ alone, plus Newark, Richmond, Oakland, Fairfield, Windsor, Moss Landing, and a few others within an hour or two of you... seriously, you're in used BMW heaven.)

EDIT: unlike the 540i's 6-speed, rebuild parts for both the Getrag 250 and the ZF 310 *are* available, though rather expensive.

blower motors can catch fire any time on cars, PERIOD

FTFY

[XAlt]

FTFY

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[moroza]

I guess when your fan resistor sword is inadequate, you upgrade it to heavy mortar shells.

[Siebenthal]

Hey guys! I just purchased the car for 300 and the P.O is gonna tow it to my house too with triple A.

My friends want the
Oil pan + pickup (he offered me 175)
M50 manifold for m52 engine + bits and bobs (offered 60 )
these are mates rates and anyone else on the forums that needs parts are also mates rates

Im gonna keep the manual trans swap parts + radiator/alternator/fuel pump but the rest is up for grabs.

What is the meat on this car? What should I purposely go out of my way to get?

[Siebenthal]

Thought I would post an update on my wagon project

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Ever since my last update, I added about 5,000 miles to the wagon. I drove it through the Mojave desert during the hottest day of the year. Took it to Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Sonoma and it has been my daily in order to keep the miles low on my 66k e30.

This car has been dead reliable. I have been averaging 16-24/5 mpg mixed.

In terms of work done, I changed the valve cover gasket, and ignition coil #5 and #6 because the rubber boot around the bottom of the ignition coil had ripped on the original ones.

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I got this parts car for 360 dollars
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Took off the manual trans and driveshaft. I didn't have enough time to remove the differential or the pedal box but the car was pretty much stripped after that. I still need a few more parts in order to start the manual swap.
Also got radiator from parts car (new with receipt)

In terms of new parts to be installed:
new tensioners (2) for the drive/ac belts
new serpentine belts
EBC brake pads/rotors for 540i
good condition headlights/corner lights/fog lights/ tail lights
style 5 wheels with hubcaps

This car has been very good to me but recently, it has started to become temperamental. One day, I was driving and it threw a license plate light warning on the dash. Now, the left license plate light does not work (even after swapping bulb with other one)

Oil pan gasket is bad and according to Moroza, my oil level sender gasket is bad too. My car is starting to leak pretty bad.

Furthermore, the suspension is bad (whenever I go over a speedbump, the car is flying and shaking all over the place)

Lastly, my engine is very loud. I drove a 92 M50NV touring and it was so quiet. I was shocked. I have drone and such. Part of it is because there is a hole in the muffler but im worried that my engine may have issues.

So, I am debating what I should do first.

this is my rough to do list - please feel free to add more if you guys think I need to do anything else thank you!

I will split this between pre and post manual trans swap
Pre manual trans swap
1) Compression Test
2) get 540i brake calipers and install with ebc brakes
3) change suspension to shocks and springs? Delete SLS?

Post manual trans swap
1) I want to do the oil pan gasket - but I feel like I should wait till I do the trans swap because I would have to disconnect those back bolts again anyway
2) change oil filter housing gasket
3) install new tensioners and serpentine belts
4) Redo whole cooling system - water pump, radiator etc - I feel like doing this after the trans swap because I noticed that the radiators are different.

Small future mods
1) delete rear windshield washer container - ziptie sensor
2) 540i front end? would the wider grill look better? my hood and bumper is already sunfaded so its either repaint or source 540i/530 parts in the same colour
3) tint windows ( never done it before ) should I bring it to a shop to do or do it on my own?
4) Install style 5s at the same time I do the suspension or brakes
5) I want to install a rear cigarette lighter outlet under the rear center console fan vent like in the e32, e38 and some e34s
6) change shock for glass window
7) repair handle for hatch so it lets me open it without the key
8) Repaint sundamaged moonroof
9) I want to redo the headliner by myself so I guess I will need to remove the moonroof


Any other suggestions? The most important thing is to have a healthy and happy m50. I tried to read a little about maintence but I am not sure what I should tackle. It has 176k on the clock.

Thanks for the read

[moroza]

3) tint windows ( never done it before ) should I bring it to a shop to do or do it on my own?

The worst thing that can happen is you mess up the film and have to start over. Tint takes practice and finesse to do correctly. While I generally DIY, this one I leave to specialists, in part because quality tint doesn't sell in single-serving quantities but has to come in bulk from a dealer. Matt at Rocky Mountain Tint in Livermore is the only tint installer (of four I've hired and dozens I've checked out) whose work I'm happy with.

9) I want to redo the headliner by myself so I guess I will need to remove the moonroof

No need to remove the sunroof panels to redo the headliner. Of the half-dozen or so headliner adhesives I've used, only Loctite Heavy Duty did the job (but I was using much stiffer and heavier materials than usual).

Sounds like you need suspension work but it's unclear what - shocks, bushings, or balljoints. We need more info about your symptoms.

[Siebenthal]

So, its been a month since I last updated and a few things got done on the wagon. Its my daily and my e30 is my main project - just finished up the whole suspension on that car

Anyway, I picked up a 1995 525i with a bad tranny - parting out and I took the wide grill, hood, bumpers to replace my sunfaded ones and give it the wide grill swap
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I really like the way it looks now and I'm pretty happy with the swap. The paint matched perfectly.

I drove it up to Yosemite and when it was negative 0C or for Americans 30F or lower, on startup my engine would make a "knocking" noise. It was very light, like a tap - after it warms up its gone.

My tailgate wiring is shot - the window switch doesn't work anymore so I guess I gotta get that sorted.

I picked up the 540i brake calipers from a 540i at the junkyard and I got all 4 for 100! time to swap them over with my new EBC rotors and pads.

Oh, I also picked up the rear interior lights off another 5 series that has the switches to turn them on and off. However, the wiring looks different. Will try to upload pics soon for further questions.

I picked up the rear cigarette lighter. Took photos of the wiring - looks like it wires into the main harness and then connects to the battery in the back seat. How do I retro fit this? I read some people wired it up with the front cigarette lighter?

So, I guess this brings me to my current dilemma. Today, I sold the seats from the parts car to a buyer from Auburn and he let me drive his s52 wagon. It was amazing. The shifter and clutch were a bit too short for my liking but the power curve is so smooth and graduate. It felt like it had "double" the power of my m50.

I'm worried that my m50 is on its way out. Losing coolant, oil burning, and leaks that need to be addressed. I will compression test and post numbers soon.

So, I am kind of at a crossroads. I loved the s52 wagon - but is it worth it to swap? Will it still be reliable? or M50 stock or m50 turbo?

This is my daily/parts hauler but it would be interesting to spice it up a little bit. I feel like a turbo build would cost me 10k+ and the s52 swap is a great alternative to get that fun wagon feel I'm looking for. Is it worth it? Or should I just fix my m50 since I'm planning to drive this car across North America?

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Well, looking at these photos - I'm glad I picked up this wagon. Next up on my list aside from engine /5speed swap

Brakes - rebuild calipers, install/change brake lines
Suspension - SLS works (car goes up and down) - When I drive over a speed bump, the car flies up and smashes to the ground - everything in the back flies then drops back down. If I go over slowly, it hops violently.
Headliner
Fix tail gate wiring
Fix double panel moonroof (recently stopped working) - When I press in the middle to close it - it seems like its trying to close even though it looks closed and doesnt leak anything.

Happy new year everyone!

[Siebenthal]

So, I was driving on the highway around 5am and I was dead tired. I fell asleep for a few seconds and next thing I knew I was going into the divider on the highway. I hit the divider and I was thinking "F** my life etc." The car flew up and hit the ground. I fought with the car and controlled it enough to get it off the highway at the next exit around 100ft away from where I hit the divider. I got out and I was so surprised. Only damage was two flat tires. the rest of the car was okay surprisingly.
Well, today I got around to changing the front tire and I think my strut is bent. When I put the same size tire spare on the front, it rubs with the strut itself. So I will be sourcing a new strut. Is there anything I should get that would most likely be damaged from a) smashing onto the ground b) driving 100-200ft on flat tires.


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Thing is, I have a parts car 95 525i sedan. I got around to removing the whole front end suspension but I couldnt remove the tie rod from either the bar or the strut itself. How should I go about doing this? I tried a sludge and flathead but its still there.

Thanks.

[Layne]

You can't separate a ball joint without a ball joint separator. Autozone loans them out. The "pickle fork" style usually works fine, but it destroys the boots on the joint. You don't normally reuse them anyway.

Possibly bent the rear trailing arm. Don't think that will be the same on your parts car. 525i sedans have smaller bearings than all others, including the 525i touring.

Stop driving at 5am. Wherever you were is not worth your life.

As for the alternator, it's not super likely to fail suddenly. A new cheap one is probably MORE likely to fail than an old OEM one. If you're paranoid, I would carry around a spare voltage regulator, not the whole alternator.

[Siebenthal]

You can't separate a ball joint without a ball joint separator. Autozone loans them out. The "pickle fork" style usually works fine, but it destroys the boots on the joint. You don't normally reuse them anyway.

Possibly bent the rear trailing arm. Don't think that will be the same on your parts car. 525i sedans have smaller bearings than all others, including the 525i touring.

Stop driving at 5am. Wherever you were is not worth your life.

As for the alternator, it's not super likely to fail suddenly. A new cheap one is probably MORE likely to fail than an old OEM one. If you're paranoid, I would carry around a spare voltage regulator, not the whole alternator.

Thanks! I got the tool and managed to pull them off. I noticed that the car is angled now, it doesnt sit upright. I think its because im running a smaller 15" tire in the front which pulls the front forward but the rear looks slightly lower too on its own respective side. I pulled the whole front (sway bar, control arms, both struts etc off of my parts car. will install soon. I guess ill be on the lookout for the wagon.

Yeah, I didn't want to drive so late or (early) but I guess I was just being stupid.

Someone commented on bimmerforums saying that the ABS might be different for different strut housings? Like, the abs connector size might be different? Would the struts I have work?

[moroza]

I once hit an asphalt outcropping and bent a front strut, where the tube meets the cast lower portion. It also bent the 15" wheel. Didn't realize the strut was bent until several weeks later, during which I had at least one 140mph cruise

The only damage likely from flat tires are the wheels.

As for the crash landing... you could have bent quite an assortment of things, from the strut tube to the whole body. Do the doors close ok? Are there scrapes or other indications that anything other than wheels actually touched the ground? Just off the top of my head... trailing arms where they bolt to the rear struts, wheels (mine dented in one spot, but they could be wholly out of round instead), and a lot more I can think of if you landed with any meaningful side load.

For the ABS sensor question, use RealOEM to crossreference strut part numbers.

Don't drive if you're drowsy. If you get drowsy, stop and either nap if that works for you, or get outside and go for a walk or jog. If you absolutely must drive, go like a bat out of hell, and you won't fall asleep. One trip a few years back I hit the rumble strips a few times doing ~70 at 3am and nodding off, but 16-20 hours later I upped it to 100-130+, and hit nothing at all except possibly a land speed record between Needles and Las Vegas. Best believe my eyes were pretty wide awake. Bad advice but it worked for me. Don't care to repeat that experience except in memory.

[Layne]

I'm not aware of any different sized mounting holes for the ABS sensors. If the connector is different, just put your old sensor into the new strut.

I don't think there was a non-ABS E34 in the US, but on the older cars you have to watch out for non-ABS struts, which have no mounting hole at all.