Danny's 92 525i Thread - Some Assembly Required

[dannyzabolotny]

As many of y'all may have predicted, I'm back in an E34. I certainly had my fun with the E46 ZHP, and it was a great car in terms of being good on gas, quiet on the highway, decently quick, etc. But there was definitely something missing, so I sold it and went on the search for an E34. It's a real tough market out there nowadays, people want $10k+ for decent examples and like $3k for stuff that really should be in the junkyard, so I had to get creative.

I've known about this particular E34 for a while now, it was a parts car that had been sitting in a guy's storage lot for a long time. It's a 1992 525i 5-speed, and it got taken apart when the head gasket blew, and never got put back together again. The tags expired in 2014, to give you an idea of how long it had been sitting around. Here are some pics of it as I saw it on Monday:







It was being used as a storage shed for race tires, haha. Side note, this is the first E34 I've owned with a black interior, so that's neat.



We agreed on a price and he dropped it off at my shop on Tuesday morning. I put a battery in it and found it had 290k miles, cool.



Given that the original engine was in pieces and had been sitting with the block open to the elements for the better part of a decade, I chose to just put in the 312k mile engine from my white car. It wasn't being used and was a known good engine, so it was an easy choice to make. Within a few hours of the car being dropped off, the old engine was out:





I had to reinstate some components to the old M50NV, since I had stolen a few things for the blue car's engine. I ordered a new water pump, thermostat + housing, and otherwise I scavenged components from around the shop, like a good alternator, a power steering pump, cam sensor, and valve cover. I also ordered new pulleys and belts, since the old ones on the black car's engine were completely shot.





The "new" engine went in with minimal drama. Big thanks to Dane for helping out at various stages of the swap, especially when it came to wrangling the engine/trans/subframe back in. I chose to use the 312k-mile ZF transmission from the white car as well, since it was a known working transmission that shifted well and didn't leak. The OEM clutch was relatively recent on the black car's engine, so that was transferred over to the new drivetrain, albeit with a new throwout bearing and pilot bearing. The shifter got rebuilt with all new stock components, because the old bushings were in a deplorable state of being and crumbled to pieces when I touched them.



All back together— you can hardly tell I swapped the engine, haha.





Of course the engine didn't immediately fire up, it couldn't be that easy now, could it? I removed the fuel sender/pump unit and was struck by the smell of varnish/ancient gas. The old pump was likely locked up from sitting in the nasty stuff. I poured in about 5 gallons of fresh 87 and threw in the sending unit from the white car, which was in great shape. Despite the known working pump, the engine still didn't start. Dane and I did some troubleshooting and narrowed it down to no spark/no fuel, which we found to be from a lack of voltage going to the DME. The relays all tested fine, so after testing/swapping a bunch of components to no avail, we started looking at the power supply line that feeds the DME power from the battery. We found that to be completely dead, and were able to get the engine to run briefly by bypassing that line and feeding power directly to the DME from the battery. After a bunch more digging later, I found another fusible link that was hidden inside the bundle of wires that goes from the battery to the front of the car, running down the passenger side underneath the carpet. This one was blown, causing the lack of voltage at the DME. With the bad fusible link bypassed, the engine now starts without any issues, victory!



Naturally, the minute the fuel pump came back to life, it blew both of the fuel lines going to the fuel filter. The varnish smell is embedded in my brain now, there was so much of it on the floor. Thankfully I had a bunch of bulk fuel line at the shop, so it was only a temporary setback. All of the lines at the engine are already new, so I didn't have to worry about those. With the fuel reaching the engine properly, it ran beautifully, as if it had never stopped. In a way it's fitting that my old white car's heart gives this car a new life, makes it feel like my white car is living on.

Aside from the master cylinder and steering column being loose (easy fix), the maiden voyage went very successfully. Yes, the suspension is pretty rough, but the brakes work great, the clutch works fine, and the engine seems to run well despite the swill in the gas tank. It does burnouts and slides reasonably well since the tires are trash on the style 8's.









Like any old BMW that's been sitting for almost a decade, it still needs a bunch of work, but the drivetrain is solid. In the near future I'll need to fix the AC (it has a new compressor on the engine but the car still needs to be converted from R12 to R134), install a stereo/amp (both are missing), install a less destroyed rear bumper, overhaul the suspension, replace the aux fan, replace the clutch fan, and a bunch more stuff I'm probably forgetting right now.

Happy to be back in an E34 though, it just feels right.

[theBMWbeast]

I really really love this. Goodluck on another fun project!

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[mcw323is]

Awesome!!! If you end up going with a "new" rear bumper vs. used, definitely let us know where you got it. Mine is much less beat up but cracked in 3 places.

[circuit.heart]

Glutton for punishment. But awesome that it needed so little work to get back running - hopefully not too much else is seized in place after sitting for so many years.

[Tre0Tre34]

Glutton for punishment. But awesome that it needed so little work to get back running - hopefully not too much else is seized in place after sitting for so many years.

Looks like it's been hanging out in the desert. He'll be fine... probably.

Cool project. Enjoy!

[dannyzabolotny]

Glutton for punishment. But awesome that it needed so little work to get back running - hopefully not too much else is seized in place after sitting for so many years.

So “little” work, just a whole engine replacement, all the fuel lines, fuel pump, and a bunch of electrical troubleshooting… only took me 3.5 days, but I can imagine it would’ve taken a lot longer if I didn’t have a whole shop at my disposal with tons of parts ready to go. I also had to find an LCM and a CCM to make the headlights work correctly, thankfully I have piles of extra e34 modules.

[danespann]

M50nv is just the engine for you. Glad you have another e34 and happy to help throw that engine in and diagnose the no-start.

[circuit.heart]

So “little” work, just a whole engine replacement, all the fuel lines, fuel pump, and a bunch of electrical troubleshooting… only took me 3.5 days, but I can imagine it would’ve taken a lot longer if I didn’t have a whole shop at my disposal with tons of parts ready to go. I also had to find an LCM and a CCM to make the headlights work correctly, thankfully I have piles of extra e34 modules.

Rainier and I completely reshelled my track car after the accident so just the engine is relatively "little" work lol... but yeah, debugging sucks. The current '94 didn't run right at all till we figured out some grounding and harness issues and it was never "good" until you guys came in clutch before Radwood with the S52 lol.

Let me know what you need spares-wise that you don't have - since you're coming up soon anyways, maybe I can send some stuff back with you so you don't have to go hunting.

[atl530i]

Awesome to see you back in another E34. It's so nice to have many parts just sitting there and waiting lol

[dannyzabolotny]

Thanks y'all. As E34's continue to rise in value, I have to get increasingly crafty to get a good deal on an E34. This one was $1100 delivered to my door, but required swapping the engine and came with no title. Back in the day I could get a running but neglected 525i/5 for that money.

So to this day, I've stuck with my commitment to never pay more than $1500 for any single E34.

[atl530i]

So to this day, I've stuck with my commitment to never pay more than $1500 for any single E34.

You would probably think I'm crazy if you knew what I paid for the 535 and Olympic car then lol

[Tre0Tre34]

First e34 I've seen for sale in quite some time. They want 15k for an automatic 540.

It does look pretty clean from the photos. Though the wheels are an interesting choice for an e34.

https://denver.craigslist.org/cto/d/...537441238.html

[circuit.heart]

Thanks y'all. As E34's continue to rise in value, I have to get increasingly crafty to get a good deal on an E34. This one was $1100 delivered to my door, but required swapping the engine and came with no title. Back in the day I could get a running but neglected 525i/5 for that money.

So to this day, I've stuck with my commitment to never pay more than $1500 for any single E34.

You would probably think I'm crazy if you knew what I paid for the 535 and Olympic car then lol

The difference is that Danny doesn't give a damn about the interior, Justin your cars usually don't need much in that aspect. I'm on your side for this though, I paid more for the car to avoid having to do nearly as much inside the cabin.

[dannyzabolotny]

First e34 I've seen for sale in quite some time. They want 15k for an automatic 540.

It does look pretty clean from the photos. Though the wheels are an interesting choice for an e34.

https://denver.craigslist.org/cto/d/...537441238.html

Man that is just crackpipe pricing for an automatic 540i... those are $5k cars tops in my book.

You would probably think I'm crazy if you knew what I paid for the 535 and Olympic car then lol

You're not crazy, just not nearly as poor as I am, lol. I'd pay real money for E34's if I had real money. I buy garbage because it's all I can afford.

The difference is that Danny doesn't give a damn about the interior, Justin your cars usually don't need much in that aspect. I'm on your side for this though, I paid more for the car to avoid having to do nearly as much inside the cabin.

I mean I'd love to buy an E34 that doesn't need every single thing fixed/replaced, but those barely exist anymore. When I was looking for E34's to buy, I noticed there's really nothing in the middle of the market, you just have junkyard garbage for $2k - $3k and people who've been drinking the BaT kool-aid who want $15k.

[atl530i]

The difference is that Danny doesn't give a damn about the interior, Justin your cars usually don't need much in that aspect. I'm on your side for this though, I paid more for the car to avoid having to do nearly as much inside the cabin.

This 535i that I picked up is the complete opposite of what I usually pick up. It needs a lot of interior work

You're not crazy, just not nearly as poor as I am, lol. I'd pay real money for E34's if I had real money. I buy garbage because it's all I can afford.

I actually like buying and fixing cars that need some help now. Not many of them left now. It's nice to see another one saved.

I noticed your fusible link issue also. I had the same thing happen to my old 540i6 touring I built a long time ago. Still do not know what caused it to blow but it did.

[Pink120]

Nice to see you back on an E34, hope it treats you well!

[Leonator134]

Lookin good mate. Nice work!


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[E34 Estate]

Glad to have you back in an E34, always look forward to your posts.

[E34 Estate]

First e34 I've seen for sale in quite some time. They want 15k for an automatic 540.

It does look pretty clean from the photos. Though the wheels are an interesting choice for an e34.

https://denver.craigslist.org/cto/d/...537441238.html

Yikes, for that kind of money it should have no miles and never have seen rain. Btw, I have a much harsher opinion on the wheels. They are not right for it.

[moroza]

Horray for another resurrection!

[dannyzabolotny]

Thanks for all the kind words y'all!

I've been putting some more work into this car the past few days, so here's a somewhat chronological list of what's been done so far.

To start things off, I swapped the trashed rear bumper with a mostly decent 95 black bumper that I've had laying around upstairs for years. Big improvement in looks. Yes, the exhaust tips are still mangled, and the car is still filthy. That'll get fixed... eventually.







After that, I noticed there was a coolant leak, and go figure, it's the one hose I didn't replace in the swap. Easy enough to fix, the hose was inexpensive and readily available. I also bypassed the heater valve/heater core around this time, because it was stuck on heat + smelled like coolant inside the car, aka it's a later problem.



The ancient clutch fan got replaced with a fresh new one too.



Next up were the motor mounts. I wanted to replace these when doing the engine swap, but they weren't available from my supplier then. The original mounts didn't look too bad, just kinda collapsed and one was separating a little bit.



The fuel filter got replaced too— the old filter had a bunch of nasty brown/orange stuff in it, delicious.





The clutch had been feeling like crap, with it engaging right off the floor and not engaging/disengaging fully when shifting fast. Since the clutch itself all looked okay + had a new throwout bearing/pilot bearing installed during the engine swap, I suspected the hydraulics were the issue. The easiest thing to start with is the slave cylinder, so I replaced it with a new FTE part. After replacing the slave and bleeding the system 5 times, the pedal feels a bit better, but the engagement still kinda sucks. I guess I'll replace the master and the line from the master to the slave next, they're probably not doing great after the car sat for 10 years.



After waiting for several days, all of the parts to fix the AC showed up. Side note, I hate how so many of the E34 parts aren't available locally anymore, I'm impatient and want my parts in an hour, dammit! Before I could get to the AC itself, I had to address the extremely non-functional auxiliary fan, since R134 is fairly useless without a working fan.

Such a familiar sight:



Of course the old fan came apart into pieces when I removed it— the fan blades weren't attached to the motor at all. And somebody had messed with the resistor wiring, nice.



Somehow I found a good working used fan upstairs at the shop. I've parted out so many E34's that I don't even know what car it came off of. The shop giveth!



With the aux fan working on both high and low speeds, it was time to bring the AC back to life. The "new" engine already has a fairly new Valeo compressor that I bought for the white car, so that was all ready to go. All I had to do was swap the receiver drier for a new one, replace a few o-rings, and install the R12 to R134 conversion fittings. I then pulled a vacuum on the system for most of an hour to suck any moisture out (thankfully the system was sealed up for the time the car sat). The system held vacuum beautifully for 20+ mins and the new fittings didn't leak, so it was time to charge the system. I put 5 12oz cans into the system, which is technically 60oz... the system calls for 3.42lbs (aka 54oz) when converted, but that's close enough, since the cans aren't super precise. I was rewarded with ice cold 39º vent temps while idling in the shop in 92º weather, not bad.



To finish off the HVAC system, I replaced the predictably nasty old cabin filter with a nice new one. Great airflow on all fan speeds now!



One of my customers graciously donated some aftermarket euro front trims to the cause (out of pity, perhaps?) and while they don't fit amazing, it's a massive improvement over the destroyed old trims. They're the nicest looking part of the car now, haha.



In the midst of all of the work, I took a little detour and cleaned the center console area of the interior, a) because it was nasty and covered in sticky soda residue and b) because I wanted to see how well the interior cleaned up. It cleaned up quite well actually! I'm excited to clean/fix the rest of the interior now.



Believe it or not, this is the first black interior E34 I've owned (this is my 7th E34)! Every single other one had either a parchment or LSG interior, ugh.

Lots more to do, but it feels good to chip away at the list. I've been daily driving it the past week, because it's my only car ahahaha. Somehow as I get older, my BMW's get worse and worse. When I was 23, I had a mint E39 540i/6 M-Sport with zero issues, and now at 30, I have an E34 525i/5 with no paint, no title, no keys, and a to-do list that's a mile long. I guess it's a good thing I enjoy fixing stuff, because otherwise I'd be really questioning my life choices.

[dannyzabolotny]

Today I fixed a few little things, mostly quality of life stuff. First was installing a non-broken glovebox... I forgot how luxurious it is to have a functional glovebox, haha.



Then I installed a sunroof control panel from the white car, as the black car had a broken one with not a single tab remaining. Yes it's tan and doesn't match, but it's better than having a gaping hole there.



The tan ashtray was an eyesore, so it got replaced with a proper black one. All my junkyard trips to collect black interior pieces (in triple-digit heat) are paying dividends now!



Later in the evening, I replaced the completely dead trunk struts with some fresh new Stabilus struts. Using the trunk is so much more pleasant when it's not trying to give you a concussion. I also threw in some plywood that I had laying around at the shop to give the trunk something resembling a floor, so now I can go buy groceries like a normal person.



And last but not least, I threw on some new rubber pedal covers on the brake and clutch pedals. Yes, the master cylinder is leaking, I need to get around to replacing it one of these days.





The best part about having an objectively terrible car is that every single thing I fix ends up making a huge difference. Oh and earlier today I went and filed for a bonded title, so one of these days the car will have a title! And then I'll need to get some new cats to pass emissions because the original factory ones are doing absolutely nothing, other than rattling on every single bump.

[Tre0Tre34]

Keep up the good work!

I had to replace the cats on my 535 many years ago. Almost positive I went with a DEC branded, bolt-in replacement.

Installed easily, has done its job for at least 5 years now, and was much more reasonably priced than the OE piece.

[dannyzabolotny]

Keep up the good work!

I had to replace the cats on my 535 many years ago. Almost positive I went with a DEC branded, bolt-in replacement.

Installed easily, has done its job for at least 5 years now, and was much more reasonably priced than the OE piece.

Thanks! I'll probably go with some Magnaflow universal cats, I can get them welded in at a local exhaust shop for like $200 - $300. Arizona emissions aren't that strict and they don't care if you have aftermarket cats, just as long as the car hits the right values on the sniffer dyno test.

[BleedsBlue]

Not one witness can vouch for me, but I saw this return to 34 land coming

Another great save already - but excited to watch the progress!