My 1995 540i 6-speed resto

[a777fan]

Howdy everyone...

Long time lurker, first time poster. I’ve wanted to nab one of these for a few years now and finally got the chance last weekend. It’s my first BMW, and it going to need a little bit of love to really shine again. Rather than typing out the cars backstory and attempt to capture its current condition with crappy out of focus pictures, I decided a shaky hand held out of focus video would be much clearer!

I’m excited to be here and learn about these guys as I start to tear this thing apart and hopefully bring it back to some of its former glory.

https://youtu.be/Hl29ptHOv_Q




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[theBMWbeast]

Nice find! Interior could use some love, but to me, that exterior looks great!
The spare wheel is a style 18 by the way.

[a777fan]

Thanks! Yeah, the exterior is really the saving grace here.

Thanks for the info on the spare... I assume those were dealer installed options? This thing is a stripper model. NO OPTIONS. Guess they didn't like the basket weaves tho...

[a777fan]

I started interior disassembly last night and continued tonight. Everything comes apart very easily.



Oh. Its f-ing disgusting in there.

No idea what this suspicious looking pile of white powder is..



The car also had this odd ‘sweet’ smell...


GD Mocha frappuchino explosion.

Found a blown fuse for the rear windscreen defogger


That suckers nuuuuuked.

Also thought it was interesting how the PB boot is just attached with a zip-tie.

Who says they aren’t ‘professional’ ?!?

Hopefully more tomorrow. Toying with the idea of just pulling the carpets so I can clean them outside of the car. How hard is that?


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[dannyzabolotny]

Haha, that car reminds me of my E34 525it, it was pretty gnarly when I first bought it:





Nowadays it looks a lot nicer, with some good condition black seats replacing the gnarly old LSG ones.

[CarterH]

Nice interior color! That crap under the seat is exactly what I found, including the sweet smelling stain. I just did a vacuum and some stain removal while the carpets were still in, since I've no idea how to take the carpets out but I imagine it's not easy. I managed to get the stains out with some foaming carpet cleaner and a little scrubbing, it did take more than one round of cleaning though.

[Red Shirt KRT]

I would try and leave the carpets in if you can, it’s pretty time consuming to pull them and make sure everything gets back in the right places.

I’ve seen quite a few of these cars blow that fuse, I personally wouldn’t replace it unless you absolutely know you are going to use the defrosters.

[a777fan]

Haha, that car reminds me of my E34 525it, it was pretty gnarly when I first bought it:





Nowadays it looks a lot nicer, with some good condition black seats replacing the gnarly old LSG ones.

Nice! Yeah those pics look familiar! The plan right now is to clean everything I have, fix the seat mechanicals (twist, gears etc) and put it all back. Then see if I feel like re-covering the seats at some point. Def going to stick with the silber-grau, and I doubt good condition sport seats will be popping up anytime soon.


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[a777fan]

Nice interior color! That crap under the seat is exactly what I found, including the sweet smelling stain. I just did a vacuum and some stain removal while the carpets were still in, since I've no idea how to take the carpets out but I imagine it's not easy. I managed to get the stains out with some foaming carpet cleaner and a little scrubbing, it did take more than one round of cleaning though.

Thanks! Yeah I think I’m going to rent a rug doctor or something similar this weekend and give it a shot. Nothing like a little elbow grease!


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[a777fan]

I would try and leave the carpets in if you can, it’s pretty time consuming to pull them and make sure everything gets back in the right places.

I’ve seen quite a few of these cars blow that fuse, I personally wouldn’t replace it unless you absolutely know you are going to use the defrosters.

Thanks for the tip. Its why I asked, cause sometimes things don’t go back the way you think they would. Would suck to have loose or misplaced carpet after this whole shenanigan.

Unfortunatley a defogger is a requirement here in the PNW. So I’ll have to figure out if there is a short or if the fuse corroded enough under the back seat to blow on its own. Luckily with the seats out I can see most of the wiring!


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[a777fan]

Center console and lower dash out.



And this fun little guy showed up today...





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[CarterH]

I see the knew knob has the light up function, do you have the harness for it? Having a lit manual shifter in that will look incredible at night.

You can probably get some new seat skins from some places online. Junkyard seats can be surprisingly good condition too, I used to see a lot of mint seats from E34s and E39s at a few junkyards.

While the lower half is apart you should also replace the fan resistor which is located just above and to the right of the accelerator. It can be a bit of a pain on LHD models but since everything is out, you can reach it no problem now.

[a777fan]

I see the knew knob has the light up function, do you have the harness for it? Having a lit manual shifter in that will look incredible at night.

You can probably get some new seat skins from some places online. Junkyard seats can be surprisingly good condition too, I used to see a lot of mint seats from E34s and E39s at a few junkyards.

While the lower half is apart you should also replace the fan resistor which is located just above and to the right of the accelerator. It can be a bit of a pain on LHD models but since everything is out, you can reach it no problem now.

Yeah, the knob cane with a ‘harness kit’ that can be used to tap into the hazard and window switch illumination. I’ll probably just wire in a plug so it can be disconnected easily.

Thanks for the resistor tip! I’ve notionally noticed the threads about e34s going up in flames, and it has something to do with this, right?


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[540i"A"Canuck]

[QUOTE=a777fan;30308973]Thanks! Yeah I think I’m going to rent a rug doctor or something similar this weekend and give it a shot. Nothing like a little elbow grease!

Hey a777fan:
I bought a 2000 BMW 540i"A" E39 Auto (Silver), with approx 252,000 km's (Build 10/99) Canadian Model; 5 yrs ago and the "Couple" I bought it from were Smokers, Dog Owners....just plain old "Little-piggy's"!! Looking back now, I should have walked away from that "Beast", because I've spent the past 5 yrs Cleaning, Fixing, Repairing, Replacing...!! I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to get the Smoking (Cigarette & Cigar) and other stains out of the carpet, door panels, head liner..etc!! But, I did with the help of using Professional Car Detailing Business and my own "Elbow grease". I think if it were me, I would tear-out the old stinky/stained carpet, head liner; basically most soft surfaces, but I would try a "Good-old" Steam Cleaning. If after trying that method and you still smell some stinky/grossness; I would then change the Carpet, Head liner..etc; and it would give you an opportunity to inspect the inside metal surfaces, take care of any rust or other items while you have access to those items: (Remember your Car is 25 yrs old). Lastly, I would use the opportunity to apply: Paint Sealer for the Metal, then apply a Sound Dampening/Deadening material, then your new Carpets and then leather seating, PB, Gear shifter...

[a777fan]

Awesome advice! Yep. Just rented a good ole rug doctor and about to see how much it gets out. The stakes might have to be raised if its not effective enough.

[CarterH]

Yeah, the knob cane with a ‘harness kit’ that can be used to tap into the hazard and window switch illumination. I’ll probably just wire in a plug so it can be disconnected easily.

Thanks for the resistor tip! I’ve notionally noticed the threads about e34s going up in flames, and it has something to do with this, right?


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Yeah the resistor plays a big role. It gets old and stuff like dead leaves get trapped in it, which get hot and burn. The blower fan is also an issue but only if you start hearing squeaking (indicating the bearings are shot) or smell something like burnt vegetation. One way to prevent the fire is to change the blower fan fuse to a 15a since the 30a is way too high and the fan shouldn't require more than 15a. Don't fret about it too much, changing the fuse and that resistor should take care of things.

[762Armo]

Where in Seattle are you?

[a777fan]

Yeah the resistor plays a big role. It gets old and stuff like dead leaves get trapped in it, which get hot and burn. The blower fan is also an issue but only if you start hearing squeaking (indicating the bearings are shot) or smell something like burnt vegetation. One way to prevent the fire is to change the blower fan fuse to a 15a since the 30a is way too high and the fan shouldn't require more than 15a. Don't fret about it too much, changing the fuse and that resistor should take care of things.

Excellent. Just picked up a new resistor today!

Thx.


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[a777fan]

Where in Seattle are you?

Out west in Ballard. You?


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[762Armo]

Out west in Ballard. You?


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I live in Bellevue, but work in U-district.

How's your heater core? Would be a good time to change it now if it's "iffy"

[JThomp33]

I live in Bellevue, but work in U-district.

How's your heater core? Would be a good time to change it now if it's "iffy"

Agree 10000000% with that - not a fun process (especially if you are replacing the metal hoses as well), and best to be done with the whole dash ripped out.

[a777fan]

I live in Bellevue, but work in U-district.

How's your heater core? Would be a good time to change it now if it's "iffy"

Agree 10000000% with that - not a fun process (especially if you are replacing the metal hoses as well), and best to be done with the whole dash ripped out.

Hrm… interesting. I thiiiink its OK, but being that its summer I haven't tried it out much. I know the AC is shot... but do not know where the leak in it is.... Any typical spots for those in this car?

[762Armo]

Hrm… interesting. I thiiiink its OK, but being that its summer I haven't tried it out much. I know the AC is shot... but do not know where the leak in it is.... Any typical spots for those in this car?

My AC doesn't work either. Haven't cared to look into it, we only need it for two month at the most in Seattle.

[a777fan]

Still chipping slowly away at the interior. The rug doctor did an OK job pulling up gunk, but some staining still remains...

IMG_1591.JPG

Before:

IMG_1578.JPG

After:
IMG_1583.JPGIMG_1582.JPGIMG_1581.JPG

Most of the weird smell is gone, but I am attacking it with baking soda today to see if I can pull the rest out.



With the cluster out, I wanted to give it a refresh. It had several of the illumination and OBC bulbs out, and I also wanted to pop in some of the ebay satin chrome trim rings.

Pulling it all apart:



All those warning lights!

Anyone know what the second turn signal is below the regular turn signals?

The guts:


I have the 3 illumination bulbs out here. The sockets themselves were really brittle, so I ordered 3 new ones.

The P/N:




And back in:

You can see the packaging for the 3W bulbs I went with below the cluster.

And all back together:



I personally think the rings look great. They needed a little massaging (taking off the remnants of the mold trees etc), but overall not bad for 15(?) bucks.

Popped it back in and ran the cluster test:

https://youtu.be/aYY26xLujt4

Its a bit difficult to film and actuate the test at the same time.

[theBMWbeast]

8E96E3EE-2386-47DC-8E94-67A8D0D33C4E.jpg I like the rings too. Gives it a little something to draw your eyes, but not too blingy. Now would be a good time to get your lighted shift knob installed, if you have the harness for it. Routing from the headlight switch to the shift console is easier with all of the dash out of the way.
3D89F840-270C-4A4B-BE3E-F14EF1DF57BF.jpg

61122231560
https://www.ecstuning.com/b-genuine-...s/61122231560/