My 1995 540i story from Australia....

[pmdream540]

Hi All,
- Have finally decided to join the forum, after being an avid 'follower and reader' of these valuable boards for many years.
- Without all the information on these boards I doubt my car would be still be running. So thanks to all of the active members for their love of sharing information and helping people with the issues that happen with ownership.

My BMW story started approximately 20 years ago.......with a 1995 BMW 540iA (Arctic Silver in colour)
- Was purchased as a daily driver and did long commutes for alot of its life. (10-12 years of high mileage)
- Was retired to be a weekend car now. To be enjoyed.

In last 2 years has had a closed door restoration. Lived in the Australian Sun for majority of ownership. After 24 years clearcoat getting very thin....... Needed some love.
- post restoration now garaged (thankfully)

Car is on its 3rd Diff (now a 3.15 LSD from a 1988 750i)
- First diff shattered, 2nd diff was noisy (probably faulty - but still have it as an OPEN spare)
- Tailshaft needed a professional rebuild due to the staked joints............so much better now
Gearbox was rebuilt at over 390000km.......worn out top gear from all the commuting.
Multiple front suspension control arm and bushings - rebuilds over the years. (using the information form these boards - recommended upgrades using 8 series bushings)
Running Bilstein HD sports shocks
Still original engine M60B40......

The challenges - availability of spares. Attempting to keep the car alive for as long as possible.

PS: I'll let you all attempt to guess the current milage (in kms). Just for fun.

Regards Paul

[moroza]

Hello and welcome! Let's see some photos! I'm also very curious to hear details of the shattered diff. The 210mm differentials are not known for failure.

[pmdream540]

Hello and welcome! Let's see some photos! I'm also very curious to hear details of the shattered diff. The 210mm differentials are not known for failure.

Thx for the welcome. Will post photos when enabled for the new account.

As for the the first diff failure at about 290000kms................was caused by a broken SUN gear which split completely in half & then dropped down into the crown wheel and completely locked up the rear end. Broken inner half shaft CV joints at the same time....blew a hole out the back of the rear casing which nearly dropped the diff thru the rear floor (only just missed the fuel lines that run above the diff)
Still have the broken SUN gear at home

There was no early warning signs. no weird noises leading up to it happening. Just bad luck it appears.

When I called BMW Australia - they said the same thing. They have never had a reported failure of the large case diff.

[prash]

Welcome. Sounds like you got a fun project there. How many Km does she have on her? I'm at 422,000km and counting right now.

[pmdream540]

Thx for the welcome.

More than 422......

Less yearly Kms now being a weekend and carclub events occassionally.

[pmdream540]

Hopefully these images give everyone an idea of BEFORE & AFTER results of this restoration.........

20180112_123435.jpg20180724_160738.jpeg20180724_160752.jpegDSC_0020.jpgDSC_0008.jpg
- stripped in garage (all mouldings removed, lower MTECH strips on doors, door handle surrounds, full bar teardown (lots of components in front bar)


- A couple of pics in painters yard


AFTER - the rebuild & many parts in the garage

Hope you all enjoy them......as much as I do.....now that its all back together.

[moroza]

Sun gear? Do you mean pinion gear? "Sun" usually refers to the central gear in a planetary gearset (such as in an auto trans).

The longest-run M60B40, and also the longest E34 I'm aware of, is jehu's, at ~640Mm (megameters). My previous M62-powered E34 is doing fine at about 500Mm, current M50 one a bit wheezy at just under that. Have you done a million km yet (a Gigameter)?

[pmdream540]

Was not the Pinion gear. Was one of the small gears that allow the axles to turn at different rates. Side-gears or Spider-gears are other names of these from diagrams I've seen.

Hope that clears up what gear failed.

Milage is not close to jehu's that you mention. (640Mm is impressive.) And no, not anywhere close to a million.

I'm approaching ~450Mm.....to end the guessing.

[moroza]

Ah, spider gears. Not a common failure either, but I guess it can happen. I do recall once reading of a 540i whose rear diff bracket broke (I think it was the aluminum version).

Australia has some wide open spaces, but next to taxis, Canada and the US (and perhaps Russia) probably has the highest odometer readings in the world. Long distances, cheap fuel, poor public transit. Hell, I once did over 2500km in a single day (ok, 33 hours). The world record I believe is a 196? Volvo P1800 bought new by a schoolteacher who drove to Alaska and back over a few decades. 4.8 gigameters, three? engine rebuilds. I've never owned anything with fewer than 224Mm, many things over 400 and a few around 500. Most people are scared off by that kind of mileage. My take is that if it made it that long, it was made well and taken care of, and is a good specimen. Apparently, BMW's F1 team in the 1980's, building whatever that insane 1500hp 4-cylinder turbo motor was, specifically asked for M10 engine blocks that had at least 100Mm on them, for about the same reason. Some discussion here.

[a777fan]

Thanks for sharing! The new paint looks great. I love a artic silver on these guys.

Very crazy regarding the first diff. Must have been some sort of manufacturing or metallurgical defect. You are definitely dedicated, and its great to see you still enjoying it after all these years. Hope you keep sharing with us here.

[pmdream540]

Thanks.
I will attempt to keep updating.

I have a couple of to-do things
1 replace the failed brake pressure accumulator. I've done the tests that Timm mentions in forum posts......and mine is dead.

2 replace the steering box......but is a big job I know.

Also have 1 random issue that has started to happen.
The car fails to crank after it is hot. Eg. Refill fuel after a long drive - get back in to start it and no signal to starter motor.

Am working around it at the moment by letting the car cool down with the bonnet open for 15 minutes. Then it generally starts.

Other than the above......yes I still enjoy the car.