DoubleJC's E34 M5 Build Thread: an AUTO-biography

[BleedsBlue]

You DO need to fill those fenders, sir! Looking great regardless, though. I love the family photoshoot TBH, I would have coordinated the same if I had such continuity (with subtle but important differences) in the family garage!

I think that settles it and we need to make better bump steer plates. What's the point if they're not bolt on?! A few cases of that reported recently, and the set I installed for a friend was the same way. They also need to be coated and include better hardware.

[Johal E32]

Nice progress! Good info on the wheel bearings, I learned something new today

[HE53]

Great thread! Beautiful car too!

[doubleJC]

👌🏽
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

😊

I dig the new ride height, BC's are always a solid choice. I've installed them in quite a few customer cars and I've always been pleased with the way they ride. They're definitely stiffer than a traditional shock and spring combo, but you get so much more control and precision with them that it's worth it (IMO). Bump steer plates are an absolute must for sure.

Thank you Danny! I totally agree, a bit stiffer but totally worth while when you go out on those spirited drives. It livens up the chassis quite a bit- can't complain for the price as they've proven to be stout time and time again.

You DO need to fill those fenders, sir! Looking great regardless, though. I love the family photoshoot TBH, I would have coordinated the same if I had such continuity (with subtle but important differences) in the family garage!

I think that settles it and we need to make better bump steer plates. What's the point if they're not bolt on?! A few cases of that reported recently, and the set I installed for a friend was the same way. They also need to be coated and include better hardware.

Some quality Angry Ass plates are definitely a must for us that truly want a plug and play option without the hassles of the AKG!

The fenders are more filled as we speak (can't wait to share those photos) but definitely need to tweak the spacers since it was my first go with the new wheel/tire setup. But thank you sir! I'm glad you like it!

Nice progress! Good info on the wheel bearings, I learned something new today

Thank you sir! As for the wheel bearings, I didn't / forgot to include the fact that you must match them with the later style ABS sensors as the mounting areas/lengths are different!

Great thread! Beautiful car too!

Thank you! It's definitely a driver and is accumulating more rock chips and some swirls here and there but I'm trying my best to keep it presentable! haha


John

[doubleJC]

Update #12: Some Changes

More chrome - fresh oil.
(all shot with an iPhone X, except for Chrome Kidney "after photo")

June 16th, 2020 - cont'd.
Swapped out the blacked out kidney grilles to some chromies.

Personally it makes the front end much better! It's not all so blacked out now where it loses so much detail. There's a time and place for black kidneys but I reserve them on lighter colored cars where you could easily distinguish the shape of the kidneys themselves. Chrome belongs on darker colored ones as it aids the outline and makes it pop.

Before

After

Muuuuuch better looking! But so is the photo!

I wanted to share you this specific "after" photo as I will be sharing more from this set at a later time.
This was taken by my new friend Greg.
We met at a local C&C and hit it right off the bat. After shooting the shit talking about these classic BMWs
(he owns a PRISTINE Dakar yellow E36 M3)
I found out he wanted to build his photography portfolio as he was just starting.
And let me tell you, he did NOT disappoint!

Check out his Instagram page for more.


Greg's Instagram

July 6th, 2020
Another Beamer?

I've been riding on a motorcycle for a few years now. And ever since I've always wanted my pops to get one so we could go on rides together. He definitely had an impact on me as a child when we lived in the Philippines. That's because he'd give me rides on his scooters and motorcycles to and fro school!

After some convincing, he finally agreed to get back on two wheels and we looked for the perfect bike for him.
Some searching on Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace later, we got in contact with a nice chap and took look at this beaut.

'75 R75/6 in Monza Blue

I've always loved the Estoril blue that came with the E36 but when I saw this in person, I was smitten!
It's very similar in the shade of metallic blue but in different angles, a hint of purple comes out and adds another layer of depth.
Stunning!

The Following Day
Yes! Our first Beamer in the fleet!

After our initial look over and test ride with the bike; pops and I had a long and hard thought about it and decided that for the price we were able to bring it down to, it was definitely worth the ownership!

So the next day, we had the title signed over and had a ride home!

Big Smiles Under that Mask
(we truly live in a weird time)

C'mon, who wouldn't be cheesing this hard after they get a new toy though?!

For those curious about the bike, it was and is a rider. It was used to go on long road trips to Michigan and back. It was meticulously maintained by the previous owners who took it to a local bike shop under his entire ownership. Naturally that came with stacks of receipts and paperwork dating back many years ago.
Carb work, head work, general maintenance, and other services has been done.
It came with the rear hard box saddles which was a neat touch and a after market mufflers as the original ones had cracked and weathered away.
Nonetheless, the new exhaust brings this bike to life! I'll have to upload a video at a later day but it THUMPS!
These air head BMWs has this tough and visceral note to them.
It's a joy to wind out!

The Ride Home

I was blessed to take the first ride home as we had to take the highway back home.
I didn't want my dad to be overwhelmed with other crazy drivers out here.

Don't get me wrong, this is not a fast motorcycle but any means but that's not a reason why you buy this thing.
Although it's always an absolute joy being able to twist the throttle to the max and wind it out.
This thing also oozes style, it's a cruiser and it's meant to be enjoyed putting around town or go on long distance trips.

July 10th, 2020
Mileage: 222,222 miles.
Fresh oil, fresh spark, and new IAT sensor

Oh oil changes .. I can't help but think about the whole "wHiCh OiL sHouLd I uSe?" nonsense.
But for this oil change, I switched to LiquiMoly 10W-60.
And used NGK DCPR6E plugs.

Both work flawlessly for me.

Hmm.. Yes.

Also sent in an oil sample to BlackStone Labs.
A must for anyone!



Fresh oil makes me happy.

Sponsor me LiquiMoly LOL



NGK ALL DAY
(Sorry not sorry Bosch fans!)

Fortunately, the old plugs looked healthy to me!
Just the riiight color, eh?


IAT

The car threw a code for the intake air temp sensor- apparently the P.O. had this exact same issue and replaced it with a new one.
You could tell he wasn't lying since the one I removed from the car looked fairly new and fresh.

I replaced this anyway since it's not too expensive - but something was telling me that there might be an underlying issue as to why the code came up again.
Anyone have a clue?

Regardless, more maintenance to come!

As always, thanks for tuning in!
John

[moroza]

Check the voltage and physical wiring to that sensor. Also measure the resistance along the wiring, from the sensor end to the ECU end, while wiggling the wiring around. Perhaps there's a break in the wiring that either causes bad readings, or on/off voltage spikes that actually damage the sensor (and eventually the ECU).

Nice find on that bike! I'm a total bike novice, with barely 10 hours total seat time on two-wheeled motorized things, but the one time I got to joyride a Beamer (1150 somethingorother, not a sport bike or cruiser), two things instantly struck me:
1. It was heavier than the Yamaha V-Star I mostly rode, and taller, yet felt more nimble and easier to control. Didn't look as good, though.
2. It instantly reminded me of a rumor I once heard regarding BMW having a department whose sole purpose is to tune their exhausts to sound like a BMW should. Rolling on the throttle at ~4k took me back to my first BMW and first car I ever gave a damn about - E34 535i/5.

I don't know how much engineering is shared between the 4- and 2-wheeled Bavarian machines, but they seem to get a lot of the same things right, and in the same way.

[doubleJC]

Check the voltage and physical wiring to that sensor. Also measure the resistance along the wiring, from the sensor end to the ECU end, while wiggling the wiring around. Perhaps there's a break in the wiring that either causes bad readings, or on/off voltage spikes that actually damage the sensor (and eventually the ECU).

Nice find on that bike! I'm a total bike novice, with barely 10 hours total seat time on two-wheeled motorized things, but the one time I got to joyride a Beamer (1150 somethingorother, not a sport bike or cruiser), two things instantly struck me:
1. It was heavier than the Yamaha V-Star I mostly rode, and taller, yet felt more nimble and easier to control. Didn't look as good, though.
2. It instantly reminded me of a rumor I once heard regarding BMW having a department whose sole purpose is to tune their exhausts to sound like a BMW should. Rolling on the throttle at ~4k took me back to my first BMW and first car I ever gave a damn about - E34 535i/5.

I don't know how much engineering is shared between the 4- and 2-wheeled Bavarian machines, but they seem to get a lot of the same things right, and in the same way.

Good point on the voltage and resistance check on the sensor/wiring! That'll be my next game plan for sure. Just been so busy with other things at the moment and luckily having that light on doesn't affect the drivability of the car. If anything, I've read that the ECU goes into a different map to default to X temp. value and timing.

BMW motorcycles are definitely different beasts from what I've been used to riding too- perhaps the low slung boxer twin really helps with the ease of turn in and makes it feel more nimble and lighter on its feet.

Knowing BMW, I wouldn't be too surprised if they tuned their exhausts to sound like the car counterpart. That's interesting that it reminded you of the M30!
Looking at how these bikes were designed and put together, I can see how these things were heavily influenced by their cars. From the alternator to the driveshafts of the motorcycles have uncanny similarities to their cars!

John

[doubleJC]

Update #13: Getting Down and Dirty! again.

This update consists of the Secondary Air Pump (SAP) delete, timing chain tensioner upgrade and replacement, some engine cleanup, fresh BMW blue coolant flush, and the auxiliary water pump's heater valve solenoid repair.
(all shot with an iPhone X)

July 12th, 2020
Mileage: 222,298 miles.Went over to my friend Dakota's shop and immediately got to work as I anticipated a long day ahead with the plan stated above.

I started by flushing the old green coolant and removing the accessories that was in the way or no longer needed.
These included the removal of the clutch fan, shroud, radiator, aux water pump, AC & SAP belt, the AC compressor, SAP itself and the corresponding accessories for it.
This took quite a while as I needed to go over and under the car for the different parts but mostly due to cleaning the parts as I go.

I'll start off with the Secondary Air Pump delete.
There are various ways of going about this but the simplest solution is going with Angry Ass Solution's Option 4 Delete Kit.

I went with their Option 2 as it included the necessary block-off delete plates, hardware, and gaskets needed for the job.
(for those cheapskates out there, myself included) I tried to source the parts separately and found that Angry Ass's kit was (and is) fairly priced! The parts were only available in Europe- and shipping them overseas made the costs much greater than it needed to be.

This option was the bare minimum to complete the job. But you will be left without AC if you do not replace the V-belt to a smaller one!
I'll go into the other alternative I've done in the upcoming update!

But for now, all you need to do is to remove the air pump, its hoses and lines, the accessory belt, and the air injection piping from the pump into the headers itself. This was kind of a PITA as there are plenty of heat shielding and small nuts to be removed.

Here's another DIY for those interested from the M5Board if you're too lazy to do some Google Searching

Let's get started!

Here you could see the plethora of parts I brought along with me.



Before

YUCK! Look at the years worth of grime. We can all assume this was due to oil seeping from the timing covers.
This was unacceptable.



After

A lot of elbow grease, degrease, and water later...
Not perfect but clean enough for me to try and spot if there are leaks.
The motor will look brand new when I rebuild it.







M5 going on a diet!

Here you could see Angry Ass's kit with some before and after action.
Take note on the secondary air pump! It literally looks like another AC compressor!
It was quite heavy too.

After removal of all SAP components, I also decided to remove all of the AC components as these will be addressed at a later date.
Having no AC did not matter to me as the car had its freon evacuated naturally... it had leaked out prior to purchasing the thing.
An AC refresh was in the works!



Upgrade

Out with the old and in with that new-new!
Here's a side-by-side comparison of the dated S38 chain tensioner (left)
with the revised S50 chain tensioner (right)

You can see the difference between the two, pretty night and day to me!
The S38's design is prone to leaking at differing areas (at the washers or diaphragm) whereas the S50's design is known to have fixed those issues.

I'm feeling a little generous to those that like to be spoon fed,
so here's another great write up about this known problem!
M5Board S50 timing chain tensioner upgrade



Before



After

Scrub, rinse, and repeat!
Cleaned the thermostat housing and cross over pipe since it was FILTHY!



The bane of my existence.

Here's a fun one! The dreaded heater valve solenoids! Having one of these work properly is such a rarity in the E34s and E32s.
This really didn't need to be fixed as adjusting the temperature with the main/driver's side dial is enough for the cabin.
Whatever the temperature I just make sure to ask my passengers if they're comfortable anyway.

I figured to give this repair kit a try anyway.
After taking it apart, you can clearly see how these solenoids fail after being heat cycled for nearly 30 years!
The rubber had disintegrated and hardened!

I used these two videos as guide for the job as they were clear and informative enough:
Video 1
Video 2

I don't know the publishers but give them a like! I'm sure it'd help them out!



That Blue Good-Good!

Lastly it was time to put everything back together, fill with coolant, and bleed the system!
(Side note: un-photographed but when the radiator was out, I used various picks, air compressor with an air gun to blow away built up of road debris and dust.
Surprisingly, there was A LOT stuck between those fins! I recommend doing the same if your rad doesn't need replacing!)

Now the car had green coolant filled before my ownership which causes a lot of stir amongst our community- which is pretty funny to say the least!
Just saying, BMW officially sells and fills their cars with the new green stuff.
Even before this, blue and green coolants have been known to be cross compatible.
I just wanted the blue because OEM PLUS YO! and is period correct but also because it was the same price as the green stuff.
Looking through the car's history, the coolant service was done by BMW in Nashville, TN
This included a new water pump, t-stat, belts, fan, fan clutch, and shroud with new coolant.

Long story short, the P.O. drove the car down south to drive the M5 on the Tail of the Dragon.
But unfortunately, at some point during his trip down south, his fan clutch blew!
He had no choice but to get the car repaired by the BMW dealer there.
Boy was that a costly trip!

Fortunately for me, I don't have to worry about that any longer.

Thanks for reading y'all!
Hope this one helps those that are looking to do a similar job.

John

[a777fan]

Lookin nice n clean!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[BleedsBlue]

Great work, John! I love the mileage on this thing, and the steady progression of cleanup. Very satisfying.

Death to all Secondary Air Injection!!!