Just picked up my first E24!

[6erWEBB]

Oh that style just pulls straight out. And yeah, should be a little bolt in a corner of the tank.

id drain the tank and get a new fuel filter, and at the very least blow the fuel lines out with an air compressor.

[E34 5er]

Oh that style just pulls straight out. And yeah, should be a little bolt in a corner of the tank.

id drain the tank and get a new fuel filter, and at the very least blow the fuel lines out with an air compressor.

Thanks for the advice, already have a new fuel filter and air compressor on hand, my main concern was what to do with the old gas once it gets drained as there's quite a bit still in the tank.

[6erWEBB]

Oof, that I can’t help with. I’m sure there’s a petroleum product recycler you can find if you google your area.

I mix all our oil/petroleum goo and we use it to repaint/preserve our fences, wood bridges, and barns.

[tking55]

I watched this video many times. Hope you still have the car.

[Bert Poliakoff]

Just my .02 worth but these engines thrive on oil with a high zinc content which the synthetics don't have. Valvolene does. I used Shell Rotella diesel oil for break inas it's loaded with it. If you can find it, the neat stuff is Brad Penn oil. It is green Pennsylvania crude and can be found on Ebay if you can't find it locally. I am going to switch to that. I can buy it locally in, of all places, the local skate board shop!!

[BMXandBMWS]

Congrats! I also just got my first barn find, actually storage unit find, so I will be following along. Mine had been in storage since 1988. Lots of plans . Hope you enjoy!

[E34 5er]

Ok, wow, almost 6 months since my last update! A lot has been done to my car, you can see the current state in my latest YouTube video here as I have taken the dash apart in order to get the gauge cluster out. I put in new odometer gears as well as on my way to change the bulbs, but it looks like they are hard soldered into the circuit board? Also, the indicator tabs, pic below, all fell off while the gauge cluster was out. What is the best way to get these clipped back on, should I just use some spray adhesive on the back?
20211011_132240.jpg

Here are the new gears from Garagistic:
20211007_173406.jpg

I also picked up a set of some BBS Style 5s 17". My question is what is the best tire to mount on them for the E24, it currently has 205/40R17, I'm thinking 225/45R17s would be a nice fit?
20211011_131216.jpg

The previous owner painted the faces black, I'm probably going to get them sanded back down to the proper aluminum finish, will probably also get them refinished sometime later. Overall a solid buy for the price I paid though.

[1986series6]

The tabs should just snap into place,
although not a strong snap.

[RSheiman]

I have used Valvoline 20-50 VR1 racing oil. We cannot get other high zinc content oils here in the northeast......no Brad Penn. Usually good prices on Amazon.

Untitled.png

[E34 5er]

It looks like all the tabs are broken:
20211012_131710.jpg
20211012_131705.jpg20211012_131700.jpg

I don't know how this happened, but now all of them are loose and I have no clue what I should do to keep them in place.

Also, in regards to the wheels:
20211011_152659.jpg
I figured that the right tire size is 235/45R17 for the 6-series. I was told I'll need hub centric rings, is this the right size?

- - - Updated - - -

I have used Valvoline 20-50 VR1 racing oil. We cannot get other high zinc content oils here in the northeast......no Brad Penn. Usually good prices on Amazon.

Untitled.png

Thanks Rob, yes, I did go with 20W-50 oil at the end, it was only under the "diesel" aisle as no one uses such a thick viscosity on modern gas engines.

[sienayr]

I have used Valvoline 20-50 VR1 racing oil. We cannot get other high zinc content oils here in the northeast......no Brad Penn. Usually good prices on Amazon.

Mobil 1 15W50? Should be able to get at Wal Mart. Zinc PPM=1300

[1986series6]

"It looks like all the tabs are broken:"

I missed seeing that. I would use clear double sided tape on the
ends just to hold in position.

I use Kendall for my rebuilt M30.

Kendall_1Q_GT-1_Competition_20W-50_Liquitek.jpg

[E34 5er]

"It looks like all the tabs are broken:"

I missed seeing that. I would use clear double sided tape on the
ends just to hold in position.

I use Kendall for my rebuilt M30.

Kendall_1Q_GT-1_Competition_20W-50_Liquitek.jpg

Yeah, I was figuring double sided tape would be best option, but I need something really thin and clear like you said. Looking it up now.

[Shipper]

You might find them here, with tabs so can be re-installed.

https://www.wallothnesch.com/en/inst...ure-62-04.html

[E34 5er]

Ok, so I finally got the gauge cluster fully put back together, took me a bit longer than on my E30, but glad that's done with. Now on to my next issue, as I was reinserting the plugs on my gauge cluster, I found a few cables that I have no clue where they're supposed to go. Most of them are straightforward, for example, I obviously know where these go:
I know these.jpg
But I have no clue where these go:
Dont know 1.jpgDont know 2.jpgDont Know 3.jpg
And I'm guessing something goes in here (it's right behind the odometer), but for the life of me I can't remember what plug:
20211020_144419.jpg

[E34 5er]

If someone could provide me with a picture or diagram of where every plug is supposed to go, it would really help me out! My project is at a standstill until I put all the dashboard back together!

[1986series6]

1985 ETM is the closest to your 83.
Dashboard starts on:
PDF pg 36
ETM pg 125

https://www.millerperformancecars.co...g%20Manual.pdf

[E34 5er]

1985 ETM is the closest to your 83.
Dashboard starts on:
PDF pg 36
ETM pg 125

https://www.millerperformancecars.co...g%20Manual.pdf

Thanks for the link, I was able to find the correct place to put the "Weiss" and "Blau" cables, thankfully, it was marked on the gauge cluster, I just didn't have enough light at first to see it. There was one last plug that I didn't put in, but I really didn't see any place it went. So hopefully it doesn't cause any issues!

[SoCalE21]

Keep an eye on your odometer to make sure it keeps working.
Those Garagistic E24 gears are hit and miss.

[E34 5er]

Keep an eye on your odometer to make sure it keeps working.
Those Garagistic E24 gears are hit and miss.

I've had good luck with them on my previous installs (E30 and E28) and I can happily report they are working great on my E24 as well!

So quick update: Got the car roadworthy finally. After changing the following:
1. Oil and filter (I ended up going with 15W-40)
2. New Air filter (Mann)
3. New spark plugs, wires, distributor cap & rotor (I believe all Bosch)
4. Tranny flush and fill up
5. Slight coolant flush and fill up
6. Brake flush and bleed
7. Put on the new wheels, BBS Style 5s. I got fresh rubber all around, 245/35R17. Perfect fit for the E24, need to just refinish the wheels at another date.
Here are the pics of how the car looks now, after a quick wash (First wash for the car in almost 8 years!)
Before:
Before Pic 1
Before Pic 2
Before Pic 3

Met a guy with an E24 M6 while I was getting the new tires put on!
Before Pic 4
20211026_190330
20211026_191945

And after a little wash:
After Pic 1
After Pic 2
After Pic 3

So now on to the more pressing issues, mainly all electronically related:
1. The temperature gauge and the fuel level both are not working. Engine temperature gauge doesn't move at all, while the fuel level goes up to about a third full each time I start the engine up and never moves from there, even after I filled up the tank. Since I already was back in the gauge cluster and had everything correctly hooked up, it must be an issue from somewhere else, where to look first?

2. The warning triangle in the middle of the gauge cluster flashes the entire time while driving, from the moment I start the car up until shutting off. What could be the issue here? On the computer check thing on the left of steering column the only light on is for "Engine Oil" although the oil is at the complete correct level. Could these two things be related?

3. The radio always resets back to the same radio station and doesn't save any of my memory set stations. This one I will probably take to a German audio repair guy I know to take care of.

4. The OBC is not working at all.

As always, help is greatly appreciated!

[E34 5er]

Can someone please give me an idea on why the fuel gauge and the engine temperature gauge isn't working?

[wfwright2]

The gauges not working properly is a sign of a failing SI board in the instrument cluster. Depending on the state of the batteries on it, a bit of driving around or sitting on a battery charger with the ignition in the run position may charge them up enough to have the instruments come back to life. Rebuilt boards are available and the changeout is not difficult.

Sent from my SM-T377V using Tapatalk

[E34 5er]

Hey everyone, I decided to let my E24 go. It's on Bring a Trailer right now with just 3 days left and current bidding at $5600. No Reserve auction! So someone is probably going to get a very good deal and looks like I won't be getting what I put into it, lol.

For those interested, check it out at the link here. Thanks for everyone's assistance in helping me get this thing back on the road, there truly is a treasure trove of info here, couldn't have done it without you all!

[e24mpwr]

Hey everyone, I decided to let my E24 go. It's on Bring a Trailer right now with just 3 days left and current bidding at $5600. No Reserve auction! So someone is probably going to get a very good deal and looks like I won't be getting what I put into it, lol.

For those interested, check it out at the link here. Thanks for everyone's assistance in helping me get this thing back on the road, there truly is a treasure trove of info here, couldn't have done it without you all!

That's a really nice-looking car!

[sienayr]

Hey everyone, I decided to let my E24 go. It's on Bring a Trailer right now with just 3 days left and current bidding at $5600. No Reserve auction! So someone is probably going to get a very good deal and looks like I won't be getting what I put into it, lol.

For those interested, check it out at the link here. Thanks for everyone's assistance in helping me get this thing back on the road, there truly is a treasure trove of info here, couldn't have done it without you all!

Looks like you came out pretty well! Hopefully you didn't have more than $17K in it.