Project Dubai: Restoration of 2000 Titanium Silver E38 750iL

[sreten]

Thanks! Surprisingly, front ball joints didn't put up a lot of fight, they came out fairly easy.

Only a bit in the yard but it's noticeable that it's crashing less and soaking up bumps better.
Like you said, the rear is perfect but the front is stupidly high. If it doesn't settle more I might reconsider lowering springs for the front.

Every single part I removed so far was shot, good thing I decided with complete suspension overhaul.

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[sreten]

Stumbled upon a problem. This is a brake booster vacuum line that goes to the intake manifold.

https://youtu.be/ReTOQiWTkj0



It was smeared with sealant and this 90 degree bend unscrews and can be removed as in the picture above. Looking at other manifolds, this is all one piece.

Looks like I should be shopping for new (used) intake manifolds? Awesome.

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[clarkitect]

On the bright side the gaskets are probably shot anyway, so it likely had to come off.

[CPHES]

I’ll look at mine. My vin is DD73956 / close to yours, but all m73n should be same

[sreten]

Thanks.

I was hoping to avoid removing the manifolds as there are no typical signs of bad gaskets, like rough cold start...

I can't even understand how someone could break this pipe.

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[sreten]

Bought Shadowline trim today. Oh, and a whole car came with it.








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[Schroedog]

Haha classic, any other parts you are going to repurpose from it ?

[sreten]

Rear quarter sun blinds, front turn signals, B pillars, black plastic mouldings all around, possibly intake manifolds and EDC but haven't decided yet.

It's a rust bucket that's been sitting in this same spot since 2014 but I don't want to part it out, I'll just swap out what I need and make it run and drive.

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[racer2086]

How do you have room for all of these projects? Is the EDC on it new? Cause otherwise, not worth it.

[sreten]

I decided to expand my garage and rent a bit more space so 2 can sit inside and 2 outside. EDC def not new, probably original to the car but I'd send them to Poland for refurbishment before installing them on my car. I would need some others parts as well like regulating valve, accumulators... but this is just wishful thinking at the moment, it would still be a big investment and a headache. We'll see how the Bilstein and stock springs ride first.

[sreten]

Here's the video of the rust bucket 750iL that I bought as a donor car. Comes with an interesting story.

[a777fan]

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[sreten]

Soooo, I was narrowing down the source of my unpleasant noise from the front of the engine, found a bad belt pulley and compressor pulley bearing was shot. Replaced both but turns out the noise is coming from the power steering pump, it sounds dreadful.

I ordered a refurbished one to replace it but I'm wondering if the ATF fluid was the cause for this pump to wear out? Since this car had SLS originally CHF 11s should be in there but the car came to me with ATF. I asked the seller to confirm which fluid goes with the refurbished pump but I'm thinking to go back to CHF and drain/refill the system a few times to flush out the ATF. Any thoughts on this?

[georgebest]

Soooo, I was narrowing down the source of my unpleasant noise from the front of the engine, found a bad belt pulley and compressor pulley bearing was shot. Replaced both but turns out the noise is coming from the power steering pump, it sounds dreadful.

I ordered a refurbished one to replace it but I'm wondering if the ATF fluid was the cause for this pump to wear out? Since this car had SLS originally CHF 11s should be in there but the car came to me with ATF. I asked the seller to confirm which fluid goes with the refurbished pump but I'm thinking to go back to CHF and drain/refill the system a few times to flush out the ATF. Any thoughts on this?

Funny, I went thru the same issue on mine, replaced all belt tensioners, the belt, water pump pulley...just to find out that noise was coming from power steering pump.

Sorry, no idea about SLS, I'm blessed not to have that thing to worry about

[CPHES]

ATF could damage seals - if you get a dual vane sls pump - what you need if you retrofit edc back - then just loop the output to the sls until you get that fixed. What shocks are in the rear now?

[acspecialists]

I don't think the ATF would hurt the pump but the seals are another matter. I only use CH11s, mine works and I want to keep it that way. With my E60 M5 have the same type of system I have plenty of it around.

[sreten]

Funny, I went thru the same issue on mine, replaced all belt tensioners, the belt, water pump pulley...just to find out that noise was coming from power steering pump.

Sorry, no idea about SLS, I'm blessed not to have that thing to worry about

One by one, it'll all get fixed.

ATF could damage seals - if you get a dual vane sls pump - what you need if you retrofit edc back - then just loop the output to the sls until you get that fixed. What shocks are in the rear now?

EDC & SLS are long gone. I reused Bilstein shocks and as for now I won't be putting EDC back. I ordered the same refurbished pump and 5 L of CHF 11s so I'm going to start draining ATF out.

I don't think the ATF would hurt the pump but the seals are another matter. I only use CH11s, mine works and I want to keep it that way. With my E60 M5 have the same type of system I have plenty of it around.

The pump is not leaking but it's making very loud noise. I ordered CHF 11s, even without SLS it's the correct fluid for that system.


Last night I finally lowered the car on ground and torqued down the front bushings. The complete suspension was overhauled now and I went for a quick test drive down a very bumpy road.
Man, it's a totally different car. Bilstein and stock spring combo seems to work very well, the car is not harsh at all and it's soaking up the bumps nicely. It's firm but comfortable, exactly what I wanted but conclusive feedback will come later.

The only gripe that I have now is the insane wheel gap in the front. It was dark so I couldn't take a picture, but the rear is sitting about perfect but front is stupid high. Not sure how much more it'll settle since the springs are new but I might revisit the idea of lowering springs for the front after the TUV is done.

Another thing I need to mull over is the shadowline trim I was planing to install. My E38 currently has chrome in combination with glossy black trim on the doors which is also a rare and nice combo.
Shadowline with glossy trim won't look nice so I either keep it the way it is or go fully with shadowline. I'm leaning towards shadowline.

Looking at this example from BaT, TiAg with shadowline looks so good.

[CPHES]

Fluid capacity is maybe 1.5 liters of - yes, chf11s is the correct fluid. Yellow Bilsteins sit high - adding 15mm in height is not unusual. I’ve had multiple experiences with Bilstein, and wont do it again.

[MKIVJZA80]

you could also get a non SLS (single vane) pump and use ATF.

any shots of the car on the ground and aligned? interested in the height.

[sreten]

Fluid capacity is maybe 1.5 liters of - yes, chf11s is the correct fluid. Yellow Bilsteins sit high - adding 15mm in height is not unusual. I’ve had multiple experiences with Bilstein, and wont do it again.

Damn, I didn't know they sit even higher than the stock, that sucks! They came on the car otherwise they wouldn't be my first choice either.

you could also get a non SLS (single vane) pump and use ATF.

any shots of the car on the ground and aligned? interested in the height.

Sorry, no pics yet, it's either pouring rain or dark when I'm in the garage.

I ended up getting the same dual vane refurbished pump, in case I ever change my mind about EDC & SLS. Just installed it earlier today. The seller never responded to my question ATF vs CHF but when I removed protective caps ATF started coming out so logically ATF should be find and I refilled with it.

Started the car and the same noise came back after 30 seconds or so (it did the same with the old pump). I let the car warm up and removed the belt just to confirm the noise is gone and it was. Put the belt back, started the car and the noise is there. I did the good ol' screwdriver ear test on the pump and it's definitely coming from the pump. The fluid level is correct and I bled the system by going lock to lock several times with the cap off, no change.

I did find another leaking PS hose coming from the cooling coil to the steering box. Got a new one coming, not sure if it's sucking air there and causing the pump to whine, I kinda doubt it but who knows. If it's the same with the new hose, then I'll try putting CHF in there and see if it makes any difference before sending this pump back.

[sreten]

Given how poorly the EDC was deleted on this car, I'm starting to wonder how they did the SLS delete and if they looped the system properly.

I didn't have time to throughly check today but I had a quick look and the lines behind the front left wheel are intact, which from what I read is a typical location to loop the lines.

From memory I know the regulating valve in the rear was removed and the lines were left open.
Where are the lines commonly looped in the back?

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[CPHES]

There are two lines that leave the regulator which is attached to the swaybar. They go to the drivers side behind the tire - above the exhaust. Each ties to a line that goes behind the spare tire well. This runs to the lines leaving the pump - which run the length of the car. It gets complex - use copper lines when you redo. Use your other car as a guide.

[sreten]

Thanks! I'll have to check this evening and if it wasn't done properly then I'll have to redo it. If they just plugged the lines that could be the reason for the pump whining.

[sreten]

Found the missing regulating valve. They used it to delete the SLS. Should it work fine like this?
Presumably if they connected the feed and return line properly.



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[sreten]

Decided to perform an experiment and loop the system with a fuel hose behind the front left wheel.



The pump is not whining anymore! I'm planning to test it for a while like this and make sure it's 100% sorted before I permanently loop the system here with a brake line.

I assume the regulating valve has some limitation where the system cannot be looped properly through it without SLS.

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