Pink's E34 525i Touring

[Pink120]

Hello everyone!

Having been in love with the E34 for a long time and this beauty popping up for sale nearby for pretty cheap considering 25i Tourings are pretty uncommon here in Portugal, I proceeded to go into full retard mode and bought my dream first car for my first car.

She's a '92 Touring with a non-Vanos M50B25. 5 speed, no clue what diff it has, yet, but the gears are pretty tall. Granite silver metallic, 15 inch Style 5's (only have 3 center caps for them ), sunroof (which is in working condition), 4 electric windows.

400k KMs on the clock, but I don't mind that whatsoever and I do know that it is hella comfy and doesn't make much noises. New shocks on all 4 corners. I hear some creaking sometimes from what I think is the suspension so I need to see what's going on with that. One mount, either from the gearbox or the engine, is shot if not more than one, powertrain clunks when taking the foot off the throttle and the gear knob moves around a bit when in neutral/coasting.
Leather interior is also in pretty good condition considering the mileage, no tears, only the usual wear on the edges.

Cats have been emptied out so with the factory exhaust it does sound good and I absolutely love it. Cats are going to be installed tho. Only other petrol car I've driven around was a first gen SLK with the NA 2.0 and I just love NA petrol engines (I'm used to driving turbodiesel cars, welcome to Europe). This thing is just so damn linear, makes one want to rev it out every single time

Anyway, here it is:







Wide grilles and hood will be swapped out for the earlier ones since I prefer the look. She's a '92 with a '94 onwards front (considering it isn't a V8) so I'm pretty sure it has been involved in a front end collision, but the frame looks undamaged.





Thirsty Touring placed conveniently outside a refinery















(photos taken with ISO 6400 because I like the grain and there wasn't much light available, also only edited them slightly on Lightroom, no other mumbo jumbo here, plates very roughly removed using paint.net lmao)


Went for a little drive as soon as the insurance was valid and took some pics. Still hadn't washed it nor cleaned the interior.

TO DO:
- Fix the glass hatch opening (motor makes noises but doesn't open), fix whatever needs fixing basically. Hatch opening switch is very hard to get to work too, very finicky.
- Eibach lowering springs
- Early nose and hood
- Tires, Kumho Ecsta HS52, best 205/65/15 tire for the money (225/60/15 is more expensive and not as available; might get free Style 134s to run 16s, but the tires are more expensive anyway, plus why would I ever get rid of the Style 5s!)
- New badges
- Style 8s from an E31 (with flat center caps)
- Shadowline trim
- Wide angle mirror lens for driver's side / facelift mirrors

Long term:
- B28 stroker because of higher revs
- Schmiedmann headers, maybe a full exhaust setup to save some weight
- Squared Style 66's
- Coilovers possibly
- M bumpers
- LSDStuff done:
- Engine rebuilt Aug' 23
- M Tech 1 installed
- Manual cloth Sports seats installed

Cosmetics will be a recurring thing, polish, maybe coat the plastics with ceramic (need to do some more research on that), etc.

Anyway, I absolutely love this thing, there isn't a moment I rev it up that doesn't leave me with a grin on my face. I've wanted an E34 for quite a long time, and mostly a petrol car, and a 25i Touring (manual) is the exact spec I wanted. And the fact that it's a non-Vanos motor only helps.
Planning on taking it camping and also camping in it (wagon life ). Also do plan on doing a bit of offroading (tied to the camping part, only gravel roads really, anymore than that and I'm not doing anything with a RWD fat wagon with an open diff and regular tires lmao) and track it every now and then.
I also bought it knowing it would give me some trouble maintenance wise, but the plan is to learn that stuff myself as well, I want to go (almost) full DIY with my cars so I can have some fun wrenching on the cars I like, gather some knowledge and save some money. Win win in my book.

Hope you like it!

[MauiM3Mania]

Nice driver!

[Pink120]

Update #1: August '21 - 1st month of ownership, overheating and what I thought (at the time) was a blown headgasket
After a load of waffling about...
Update #2: June '23 - Engine being properly rebuilt and things looking up
Update #3: Early August '23 - Sport seats + M-Tech 1 in and first woes after collection
Update #4: September '23 - 16" Style 5's acquired and some other minor stuff

More coming soon...

[Onizukachan]

Really nice. That brake circuit error is probably the hatch harness for the third brake light. The hatch harnesses are a major fail point for tourings.

[a777fan]

Excellent stuff, and it seems like you have it pretty well planned out too. Lookin forward to following along!

[fo3]

Good stuff, nice to see another touring - especially a rare m50NV. I've never seen a m50NV manual touring in fact.

All e34s came with a mechanical clutch fan driven by the water pump pulley, so any electric fan is aftermarket. It can work fine, (mine is also electric now), but like I experienced you'll probably have to rewire it and fit it better than the previous owner did. The old style fan shroud fitted back on helps too. The rad fan switch for the aux fan swithes way too high. I tried buying a lower switching one and rigging it off that but didn't switch on early enough for me either, I ended up restoring the aux fan wiring back to standard and reconfiguring a separate thermostat (preferrably adjustable) mounted in a rad hose. I got power for it (the control circuit side, not fan load) off an unused headlight washer plug behind a headlight, and fan power off the battery on a separate fused wire.

Get new bonnet struts ASAP. My bonnet fell down on my head the 3rd day of ownership and the top latch almost cut my ear off while slamming down on my head!

[Pink120]

Nice driver!

Thank you

Really nice. That brake circuit error is probably the hatch harness for the third brake light. The hatch harnesses are a major fail point for tourings.

Thank you It doesn't have a third brake light, and I thought all E34 Touring were like this but it seems it isn't the case! You learn something new everyday.
I've replaced the broken bulb on the rear (and the other one too since it was really dim when the other one was placed ahahah) and I'm yet to see that error pop up, but other things that I'll explain below have kept me from driving it sooooo doesn't count for much xD

Excellent stuff, and it seems like you have it pretty well planned out too. Lookin forward to following along!

Thank you! My pleasure!

Good stuff, nice to see another touring - especially a rare m50NV. I've never seen a m50NV manual touring in fact.

All e34s came with a mechanical clutch fan driven by the water pump pulley, so any electric fan is aftermarket. It can work fine, (mine is also electric now), but like I experienced you'll probably have to rewire it and fit it better than the previous owner did. The old style fan shroud fitted back on helps too. The rad fan switch for the aux fan swithes way too high. I tried buying a lower switching one and rigging it off that but didn't switch on early enough for me either, I ended up restoring the aux fan wiring back to standard and reconfiguring a separate thermostat (preferrably adjustable) mounted in a rad hose. I got power for it (the control circuit side, not fan load) off an unused headlight washer plug behind a headlight, and fan power off the battery on a separate fused wire.

Get new bonnet struts ASAP. My bonnet fell down on my head the 3rd day of ownership and the top latch almost cut my ear off while slamming down on my head!

Yeah, I thought it to be rare too when I saw it, since Tourings only really left the factory in 92 (some in late 91 it seems, 25i's at least) and VANOS being introduced in the M50s that same year.

I have the stock fan and its shroud, came with it when I bought it. Previous owner made some pretty poor choices regarding the electrical fan installation, since the wiring was a bit all over the place, the fan was screwed into the radiator and it didn't even work... Anyway, I made sure the aux fan worked, which it did, but it seems the switch finally gave up on me and I overheated it last weekend, blowing the head gasket. It's now in the shop to get that sorted so it can live happily for a lot more time
I also made the poor decision of not sorting that out as soon as I got it. It seemed everything was working until nothing was and (some mild) chaos happened, other things were also happening in life and you know how things are. Tow truck driver reassured me it should me fine since it still ran and didn't make any out of the ordinary noises, so we'll see what the shop has to say when they start working on it. Radiator switch will be replaced, thermostat possibly as well and the stock fan is going back on until I have a better plan for an electric fan arrangement. Wanted to take it DIY and do a valve job and a bit of head work but since it's my only car, I figured taking it somewhere would be the more sensible option since a head gasket job isn't that easy for someone unexperienced and un-tooled as I am for now. Hopefully nothing warped or broke other than the obvious but I shall find out soon enough...
Your setup for the fans has pretty much blown my mind and I'll take it in mind when renewing mine for sure!

The bonnet struts are still wanting to do their job, hood hasn't fallen down once and doesn't feel like it wants too, the hood just doesn't pop out when released like with new struts. They need a little push, like I push the hood with my pinky and they'll spring out ahahah but yeah, they will soon be replaced as well.

Update for now is that I drove it 1200kms in the first month of owning it, went to do my MOT and it passed even though I was warned about the cats (it seems they're emptied out and well that's illegal here in Portugal) and I'll add some high flow ones or whatever I find best but it will have them, no point in them not being there, and it overheated on the spot sitting still with the engine running. That's how MOT goes here, as long as your suspension, brakes, front lights and emissions are ok you pass. Your engine can be about to blow up, doesn't matter LOL
Front and rear bulbs are all working now! That's one thing off the list

[shogun]

"brake linings" warning on the dash = check the brake pad wear sensors http://bmwfans.info/parts-catalog/E3...browse/brakes/
1 in front, 1 in rear

[Pink120]

"brake linings" warning on the dash = check the brake pad wear sensors http://bmwfans.info/parts-catalog/E3...browse/brakes/
1 in front, 1 in rear

Yeah, so I've been told. Brakes have been refreshed on the front, no clue about the rear. But I'll check both front and rear brakes and see what needs replacing.

[Onizukachan]

All 92 Tourings were m50nv… m50tu started with MY1993. Still rare as all get out. Some days I still miss mine.

On these the brake sensor is a very simple continuity check , so you can bypass them with a paper clip or looping one wire to the other for a simple test, or just to defeat them permanently if you stay on top of your brakes yourself.

edit: there are NO aftermarket tails for e34 touring. None. Never were.
the only thing that ever was was clear turn inserts from radicast that you had to cut out amd fit yourself. Well over a decade long gone.

what you can do is smoke the turn lenses, red them out etc, but being in EU I wouldn’t suggest it.

[moroza]

Hello and welcome and good job on an excellent intro post!

5 speed, no clue what diff it has, yet, but the gears are pretty tall.

What size are the tires, and what are the RPMs at what road speed?

I hear some creaking sometimes from what I think is the suspension

Front-end creaks are usually strut mounts. Rear-end creaks can be strut mounts but more often are the "dogbones" (pitman arms).

One mount, either from the gearbox or the engine, is shot if not more than one, powertrain clunks when taking the foot off the throttle and the gear knob moves around a bit when in neutral/coasting.

The M50 E34 has its motor mounts unusually far forward on the engine, such that the transmission mounts are holding up a good part of the engine's weight. The result is a sloppier powertrain than, for example, the M62B44 and 6-speed in my previous E34, whose motor mounts are closer to the engine's centerline. BMW therefore added two more mounts at the transmission bellhousing. Consider replacing all six mounts at the same time, either with exact stock or firmer ones.

Leather interior is also in pretty good condition considering the mileage, no tears, only the usual wear on the edges.

Let's see it!

I just love NA petrol engines (I'm used to driving turbodiesel cars, welcome to Europe). This thing is just so damn linear, makes one want to rev it out every single time

That SLK was a 4-cylinder, right? So this is the first time you've driven a straight-six petrol engine? No wonder you find it such a revelation, coming from (mostly 4-cylinder, I assume) turbodiesels. Here in the US, many of us find your grass greener; we're used to smooth multi-cylinder engines, but not efficient ones. Something about the feel of a smooth and well-tuned turbodiesel, the effortless torque, consuming meaningfully less fuel and able to be practically independent of petroleum...

Wide grilles and hood will be swapped out for the earlier ones since I prefer the look. She's a '92 with a '94 onwards front (considering it isn't a V8) so I'm pretty sure it has been involved in a front end collision, but the frame looks undamaged.

Or someone preferred the look. I converted my 94 530iT's wide grill to a narrow one for no other reason.

I see a misaligned tailgate in the above photo, and the front right fender doesn't match, either. All body panels have a VIN sticker on them (at least, they do in North America); check that fender to see if it matches the body.

- Need to figure out the fan setup, currently, it has an electric fan behind the radiator, which I figure is the main fan, the temperature fan switch is working, both low and high speed relays click but only the aux fan (the one in front, think that's the aux one anyway) is working, wiring on the electric one is pretty dodgy. It does not overheat, but I did drive it home without fans and without knowing (switch was disconnected for some reason).

The M50 cooling system appears to be quite overpowered for the application. I have an electric puller fan wired to come on when the temperature switch gives the High signal, and the only times I've heard it come on were on a 44C day after a steep 3km climb, or similar extreme situations. One time my thermostat stuck open, and no matter how hard I drove (in ~8C temperatures), the heater barely got to room temperature.

- Fix the glass hatch opening (motor makes noises but doesn't open), fix whatever needs fixing basically. Hatch opening switch is very hard to get to work too, very finicky.

See the link in my sig for how to deal with these.

Long term:
- B30 stroker build with supporting mods (even longer term, ITB's)

Why not an S50B30 or B32 at that rate?

Planning on taking it camping and also camping in it (wagon life ).

I lived in mine intermittently for a couple of years, including a long roadtrip up to the Arctic circle. Driving 1500km in one day and being guaranteed a dry and safe place to sleep endeared me to the car no less than its looks and driving qualities.

Also do plan on doing a bit of offroading (tied to the camping part, only gravel roads really, anymore than that and I'm not doing anything with a RWD fat wagon with an open diff and regular tires lmao) and track it every now and then.

I think at this point, your expectations are a bit ambitious. E34 suspensions are too fragile for off-road use, and the cars are simply too heavy for track use. Both can be done in a half-assed way by setting up the car properly, but the setup for off-road is very different than for track use.

Hope you like it!

I'm most pleased to see another wagon/estate/Touring enthusiast! I've owned five E34, four of which were Tourings, three of which were among the 481 530iT imported to North America, and the last is the only non-sunroof black Touring I've seen in this continent. Keep us all posted on progress, and feel free to reach out with any questions.

[johan750]

Good looking car you have there. Wouldn't worry about the engine. Mine is around the 480k km mark and the engine didn't get anything more then oil changes from the last owner. Gave it a proper service when I got it and I had to do the head gasket like you but runs good especially considering the mileage. Oil consumption seems to be at 1l per 6000 to 8000km.

Have you changed the side mirrors? I thought the touring came in 09/1992 which is the same time they started using the updated mirrors. The old style looks better in my opinion...recently send a set to the paint shop for my 1994 525i sedan :-)

[Pink120]

All 92 Tourings were m50nv… m50tu started with MY1993. Still rare as all get out. Some days I still miss mine.

On these the brake sensor is a very simple continuity check , so you can bypass them with a paper clip or looping one wire to the other for a simple test, or just to defeat them permanently if you stay on top of your brakes yourself.

edit: there are NO aftermarket tails for e34 touring. None. Never were.
the only thing that ever was was clear turn inserts from radicast that you had to cut out amd fit yourself. Well over a decade long gone.

what you can do is smoke the turn lenses, red them out etc, but being in EU I wouldn’t suggest it.

Yeah, I'm not a fan of smoked tails and turn signals wise I'll probably keep them as is if I were to stay with the stock tails.
As for the aftermarket ones, I found these, and even if the descriptions aren't right, I see them as the Touring's since the sedan's are a bit wider on the corner lamps:
https://www.jaimemavoiture.fr/en/tun...aillights.html - Smoked reverse + turn signals
https://www.jaimemavoiture.fr/en/tun...4-touring.html - Crystal reverse + turn signals, the normal version I'd say

I think the latter are the ones fitted here, from the reference I had. They look great on the black, not sure how they would on the "silver" but I'm willing to take my chances.
1992_bmw_525i_1620755144ad3327DSC00015-scaled.jpg

Hello and welcome and good job on an excellent intro post!

Thank you! I sure tried to make a somewhat decent impression

What size are the tires, and what are the RPMs at what road speed?

Tires are 225/60R15, road speeds with gear and RPMs I will take note of once I have the car back, can't say precisely currently. I'm guessing it's a 3.23 but we'll confirm that once I can

Front-end creaks are usually strut mounts. Rear-end creaks can be strut mounts but more often are the "dogbones" (pitman arms).

I will definitely take a look into those!

The M50 E34 has its motor mounts unusually far forward on the engine, such that the transmission mounts are holding up a good part of the engine's weight. The result is a sloppier powertrain than, for example, the M62B44 and 6-speed in my previous E34, whose motor mounts are closer to the engine's centerline. BMW therefore added two more mounts at the transmission bellhousing. Consider replacing all six mounts at the same time, either with exact stock or firmer ones.

Once I got under it I did notice the front mounts are waaay in the front, found it a bit unusual (not that I'm that used to sliding under cars just yet anyway ahahah). I'll probably try to get some polyurethane mounts since I found a Swedish shop selling Revshift's 80A mounts but only the front 2, need to find the remaining 4. If I can't find poly ones for the rest I'll just go with OEM anyway.
M62B44 + 6 speed sounds like a sweet combo! Was absolutely delighted with UnrulyGrace's build (the sound of it, hnnngghh), intrigued to see what I can build in the future with something similar, not happening on this 525 tho ahahah

Let's see it!

I'll do a little shoot with actual light when I have it back, for sure, so you all can guide me with fixing up some parts of the interior that are pretty much falling apart xD

That SLK was a 4-cylinder, right? So this is the first time you've driven a straight-six petrol engine? No wonder you find it such a revelation, coming from (mostly 4-cylinder, I assume) turbodiesels. Here in the US, many of us find your grass greener; we're used to smooth multi-cylinder engines, but not efficient ones. Something about the feel of a smooth and well-tuned turbodiesel, the effortless torque, consuming meaningfully less fuel and able to be practically independent of petroleum...

Correct and correct. Yes, mostly 4 cylinder turbodiesels were what I drove. Before buying the E34 I was driving my brother's E39 525tds (M51D25 turbodiesel, injector pump engine, not a common rail) and the engine was far smoother than the 4 pots. I just prefer NA engines for the response and petrol for the sound. Driving an NA petrol engine just makes me a very happy camper

Or someone preferred the look. I converted my 94 530iT's wide grill to a narrow one for no other reason.

Yeah, I can see that happening as well.

I see a misaligned tailgate in the above photo, and the front right fender doesn't match, either. All body panels have a VIN sticker on them (at least, they do in North America); check that fender to see if it matches the body.

So do I, when I first noticed it I was a bit sad, but I'll hopefully figure it out and get it sorted. I do know that you have the VIN everywhere, not sure if we do as well but I'll check it nonetheless, I did notice the different shade on the color but wasn't too worried about it.

The M50 cooling system appears to be quite overpowered for the application. I have an electric puller fan wired to come on when the temperature switch gives the High signal, and the only times I've heard it come on were on a 44C day after a steep 3km climb, or similar extreme situations. One time my thermostat stuck open, and no matter how hard I drove (in ~8C temperatures), the heater barely got to room temperature.

Wow, I am glad to hear that. I'm putting the clutch fan back since I had the shroud and the fan itself, in the future I'll go with an electric one that actually suits the radiator unlike the one that was on there

See the link in my sig for how to deal with these.

Sure thing

Why not an S50B30 or B32 at that rate?

I wasn't planning that far into the future that well, but yes, I would love me an S50B32. Thing is, here in Portugal, engine swaps are a bit finnicky since they aren't legal, although the only hurdle is visual inspection. People do swap M52B20s and the lot for M52B28s or M54B30s so I should be fine, I'm sure an S50 could pass up as an M50 to the untrained eye (if asked about the ITB's, they are by all means a legal modification so shouldn't be a problem).

I lived in mine intermittently for a couple of years, including a long roadtrip up to the Arctic circle. Driving 1500km in one day and being guaranteed a dry and safe place to sleep endeared me to the car no less than its looks and driving qualities.

Love to hear stuff like this. I'm hoping to go for some similar experiences with mine, that's for sure! Was trying to come up with an Euro trip in a motorbike, but the same thing in this is even more doable (need to save up A LOT to pay for fuel tho).

I think at this point, your expectations are a bit ambitious. E34 suspensions are too fragile for off-road use, and the cars are simply too heavy for track use. Both can be done in a half-assed way by setting up the car properly, but the setup for off-road is very different than for track use.

Yes they are I was just wondering if with coilovers I could lower them for the daily use and track duties once possible (I know I need a good setup for somewhat decent times but track time and having fun is the priority really, no competitive use just track days, stretch the legs of the M50 and hear it sing, E34's are f-a-t I know that) and raise them for a bit of fun on dirt, but we'll see. Will take me a while to get my head straight on those ideas too.

I'm most pleased to see another wagon/estate/Touring enthusiast! I've owned five E34, four of which were Tourings, three of which were among the 481 530iT imported to North America, and the last is the only non-sunroof black Touring I've seen in this continent. Keep us all posted on progress, and feel free to reach out with any questions.

I'm thankful for such a warm welcome! You sure have some history with these lovely things, I appreciate that. My dad had a '93 Oxford Green 525tds, same powertrain as my brother's E39 (which is also Oxford Green), and I fell in love with the thing being the only wagon in the house and used for almost everything. We even took it to see the WRC nearby and the climb there wasn't easy with it (gravel and steep inclines), but my dad did get it there with some clutch smell added to the mix Eventually got stolen and showed up again a few weeks later with no engine and no gearbox... Not sure what anyone would want with that piece of junk, was very rough in those days, 380k+ kms and the gearbox had some serious play on it, but hey, I have one myself now and with the peach that is the M50B25 in it.

[moroza]

Random thought about the off-road/track dilemma: I just completed a ~1000km drive with the car loaded to the roof and to the front seats, evacuating a fire with ~400kg of my most important possessions (E34 Touring itself, guitars, guns, various small special irreplaceable items, passport, university diploma, a set of M-System wheels, spare black leather E34 Touring seats... because priorities... ). I previously retrofit the optional self-leveling suspension, and have been singing its praises ever since I stopped screaming about the headaches of getting it done. If a simple cable were rigged up to the hydraulic control valve (or the valve relocated inside the car with its oil plumbing), you could raise and lower the rear suspension from the driver's seat. The fronts would need to be a custom solution, however. And at that point, you'd have a Citroen DS except better-looking. Add the electrohydraulic locking rear diff from an early 525iX, and... it'd still be clumsy and fragile, but at least you'd be farther from a road when you do snap a control arm and get stuck .

[Pink120]

Random thought about the off-road/track dilemma: I just completed a ~1000km drive with the car loaded to the roof and to the front seats, evacuating a fire with ~400kg of my most important possessions (E34 Touring itself, guitars, guns, various small special irreplaceable items, passport, university diploma, a set of M-System wheels, spare black leather E34 Touring seats... because priorities... ). I previously retrofit the optional self-leveling suspension, and have been singing its praises ever since I stopped screaming about the headaches of getting it done. If a simple cable were rigged up to the hydraulic control valve (or the valve relocated inside the car with its oil plumbing), you could raise and lower the rear suspension from the driver's seat. The fronts would need to be a custom solution, however. And at that point, you'd have a Citroen DS except better-looking. Add the electrohydraulic locking rear diff from an early 525iX, and... it'd still be clumsy and fragile, but at least you'd be farther from a road when you do snap a control arm and get stuck .

Damn, hope most of your stuff was safe. I see you have your priorities set straight
That is a pretty good idea, but I don't think I'd use it ahahah if I were to lower the rear, I'd then be bothered with the front being too low and not being able to lower it (and I'm not cutting springs xD).
Yeah, I also doubt I can find one of those diffs, all the 525ix's I found for sale for parts, the rear diffs are gone...

Currently eye-balling a Granite silver car (sedan) I found that's listed for parting out, waiting for the VIN to be sure it's the same color, the shade and the quality of pictures don't usually help, but I think this is it. Hopefully gonna grab the front grilles, nosecone and hood. I'd think about the front fenders if they're priced reasonably.
Also need some bits and bobs to improve the interior a bit, trip meter doesn't reset and a few things on the climate control bother me, I'm gonna be taking that out, clean it and replace whatever is broken. Lower slider (love the slider system btw) for the leg ventilation doesn't lock on the 0 and neither does the passenger side temperature knob lock on the minimum and those very small things are bothering me to no end xD

[moroza]

Trip meter is likely a bad contact at the base of the plunger. It's some kind of conductive plastic (?) that IME just needs a quick swab of alcohol to start working again.

Yeah, no cut springs. Been there, done that, got the shirt, burned it, later learned why. See the link in my sig regarding a stock ride with reasonable height.

[johan750]

As to the trip meter I often got away by filping the plastic/rubber around and cleaning the contacts on the circuit board.

[Pink120]

Good looking car you have there. Wouldn't worry about the engine. Mine is around the 480k km mark and the engine didn't get anything more then oil changes from the last owner. Gave it a proper service when I got it and I had to do the head gasket like you but runs good especially considering the mileage. Oil consumption seems to be at 1l per 6000 to 8000km.

Have you changed the side mirrors? I thought the touring came in 09/1992 which is the same time they started using the updated mirrors. The old style looks better in my opinion...recently send a set to the paint shop for my 1994 525i sedan :-)

Thank you! I am expecting it to hold up for far more than 400k, I'm reading Danny's thread on his 92 525i and it's got 289k miles, 465k ish KMs. Even if anything catastrophic were to happen, another similar engine would replace it anyway, so, not a problem ahahah Is there a thread for your car? I'd love to see it!
For now yeah, it's in a shop to see what needs fixing so I can have it running for a while until I start digging myself but sometime soon it should get a complete seal refresh.
Nope, previous owners replaced the front with the wide grilled one sometime in the past. Meanwhile, I want to go back to the narrow grill + hood.

Trip meter is likely a bad contact at the base of the plunger. It's some kind of conductive plastic (?) that IME just needs a quick swab of alcohol to start working again.

Yeah, no cut springs. Been there, done that, got the shirt, burned it, later learned why. See the link in my sig regarding a stock ride with reasonable height.

I've read that it's either that or the little plastic piece inside the button, but I'll see what I can do whenever I pull the cluster out.
Will do ;)

As to the trip meter I often got away by filping the plastic/rubber around and cleaning the contacts on the circuit board.

Yeah, I'll see what I can do.

[johan750]

Haven't made a thread on any of my cars. Haven't been very active on forums the last couple of years. Should really do as I've done enough to the e34 since I got it.

[Pink120]

I'll be waiting for them ;)

[dannyzabolotny]

Heck yeah, a manual non-Vanos wagon! Yours is a factory manual so it should have the proper ZF transmission... my former 92 525it was manual swapped with a Getrag so it never felt quite as good.

My 1992 525it when I first bought it:



It had been in a few front end accidents so the front was a mess... I ended up finding a matching color wide grille car at the junkyard and swapped everything over. So oddly enough, we both have had wide grille swapped manual non-Vanos tourings!

[Pink120]

Heck yeah, a manual non-Vanos wagon! Yours is a factory manual so it should have the proper ZF transmission... my former 92 525it was manual swapped with a Getrag so it never felt quite as good.

My 1992 525it when I first bought it:
-snip-
It had been in a few front end accidents so the front was a mess... I ended up finding a matching color wide grille car at the junkyard and swapped everything over. So oddly enough, we both have had wide grille swapped manual non-Vanos tourings!
-snip-

Yesir!
Ay look at that. Yours sure looked good! (need me some cargo nets!)

On the first picture, those are 16" Style 5's right? Damn, I really want a set of those.

[dannyzabolotny]

Yesir!
Ay look at that. Yours sure looked good! (need me some cargo nets!)

On the first picture, those are 16" Style 5's right? Damn, I really want a set of those.

Yep, 16” style 5’s off an E38. You need a small spacer in the front, due to the offset of those wheels they rub on some of the suspension components.

[Pink120]

Must be the ET23 wheels I keep finding on Ebay then, thanks for the heads up.

[moroza]

Yep, 16” style 5’s off an E38. You need a small spacer in the front, due to the offset of those wheels they rub on some of the suspension components.

It's not the wheels that rub, it's most tires. I have those currently with 215/60R16, and there's ample clearance front and rear with no spacers.