The A/C compressor should be smart enough to turn itself off when there's insufficient refrigerant pressure in the lines. That said, if the pipes have been venting to atmosphere all this time, you probably have to replace the drier at the minimum before attempting to refill and test the system.
The last time I left my A/C open for a long time (condenser was yeeted, pipes open) the compressor was fine, but the evaporator (clogged) and drier (spent) needed to be replaced. R134a recharge and my A/C now works decently.
Man I absolutely adore this thing. It truly feels like an extension of me as a person, anybody else feel that way about their E34?
Photo Jan 22 2023, 10 15 08 AM.jpg
Not a whole lot to update, still doing some research on the AC issue. Really hoping to avoid the $2k spend at the shop and be able to DIY some of it. But summer will be here in Florida before we know it, and AC will be REALLY nice to have lol
I heard some kind of pop from the left front suspension while going over a speed bump yesterday, I didn't see anything obvious under the car, but that will require some investigation soon. All the bushings look to be in good shape, but I'm pretty sure most, if not all, of the suspension is original.
Finally finished removing the 30 year old tint from the rear window, what a job! But it looks so much better now, and it's great to actually see out of the window! I'll probably have some sort of clear UV film installed soon, just to help protect the interior.
Photo Jan 21 2023, 11 12 59 AM.jpg
The E34 is my dog's favorite car that we have. The windows are low enough that he can stick his head out of the window without climbing up on the door panel! Any time he sees the car now, he goes and stands by the back door ha.
Popping/clunking while going over a bump is usually a loose/failed sway bar end link, I would check those first before going too deep.
1995 525i 5-speed - Thread
Finally got a chance to get under the car for a poke around. Been so busy, and then my cheap parts store jack sprung a leak.
But yeah doesn't look too bad. A bit crusty and moist, but I don't see anything alarming at all. Definitely gonna be a suspension refresh happening this year.
Photo Feb 02 2023, 1 58 51 PM.jpg
Photo Feb 02 2023, 1 59 08 PM.jpg
I'd rather it look all original than cheap URO parts. Looks good to me!
Beautiful car! Love seeing new owners enjoying the E34.
-Greg
"You may all go to Hell, and I will go to Texas."
Davy Crockett
www.Angry-Ass.com
My Build Thread Part 1, Part 2
DIY E31 X-Brace Mod and Install
DIY Rear Seat Backrest Modification for E32 Armrest
I haven't had a ton of time to work on cars over the past month or so, work has been so busy, and a never ending list of stuff to do at home! But I've still been enjoying the car so much.
Got a lot of work to do to get the car ready for the journey up to The Vintage in May, but I think I can do it!
Lately I've been working on removing the 30 year old pinstriping. I honestly don't mind the look of it, but the vinyl is really starting to fail in places, and doesn't look great. So off it goes! Lots of steam and elbow grease is doing the trick. A full paint correction will be coming after I finish with this.
Photo Feb 15 2023, 11 00 32 PM.jpg
Photo Feb 15 2023, 11 05 52 PM.jpg
Will post some pics of the paint correction process once this is done!
And I managed to find a new OEM seat belt trimpiece to replace the one and only broken part of trim on the interior.
Photo Mar 09 2023, 1 34 46 AM.jpg
Photo Mar 09 2023, 1 42 41 AM.jpg
I've realised that I need to figure out how to freshen up the red seat belt buckles too!
That's about it for now. I'm working on a solution to get the AC working again, lots of research on that. Still need to do a valve adjustment, new tires, radiator hoses etc.
Any recommendations on 15" tires? Doesn't seem to be a lot of options these days.
1989 BMW 535i - Cirrusblau/Natur, 5 speed manual. Stock and original!
2002 Volvo C70 Coupe
2023 Acura MDX A-Spec
I used a heat gun to restore my seat belts, just be very careful as you could melt or burn the plastic if you apply to much heat. I did this on my e34 and it has not faded after 2 years now
I've seen at least three methods for the seat belt red rejuvenation:
- heat gun
- sanding
- red sharpie
The last one was recently recommended by M539 restorations.
What are you looking for in tires? Treadwear, weather capability, etc?
Well at Tire Rack, you have one option in the factory size
https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires...i&autoModClar=
Likely you can find something cheaper (and crappier) at smaller stores, but I wouldn't count on everyone having 15" tires in stock, unfortunately.
You can also search for tires in 205/65/15, which is a very similar size but is significantly more common. Tire Rack shows 38 different tires available in that size.
1995 525i 5-speed - Thread
Today, I spent a good bit of time doing a full paint correction! This is very nice original paint, and it polished up BEAUTIFULLY.
After a thorough wash and claybar treatment, I used Griot's Garage BOSS Correcting Cream, followed by Perfecting Cream, and finished off with their ceramic spray. I will do a proper coating at some point, but for now the spray is more than adequate.
Photo Mar 22 2023, 4 27 37 PM.jpg
Photo Mar 22 2023, 4 28 04 PM.jpg
And finally, the most satisfying part of the entire job... new roundels! Both the old ones were chipped up and looking very bad, so I got a lot of enjoyment out of fitting these haha.
Photo Mar 22 2023, 4 21 23 PM.jpg
Next up is some new tires, I found a set of Uniroyal tiger paws at a local store for pretty cheap. Should get me by well enough until I get my Style 8s refinished.
The black trim will be getting restored soon, I've got a good friend who has started a side gig doing trim/headlight restorations so I'm going to give him the business. After that's done, I'm going to find a good place to take some proper photographs of the old girl!
Should have a big order from FCP arriving soon, new radiator/water pump/hoses etc, I want to give the cooling system a full refresh. Once I do that, and finish refreshing all the fluids in the car, it should be more than ready for The Vintage! Can't wait for that.
1989 BMW 535i - Cirrusblau/Natur, 5 speed manual. Stock and original!
2002 Volvo C70 Coupe
2023 Acura MDX A-Spec
Love the Griots products, and I'm quite jealous of how non-shrunk that natur rear seat is.
Would be good to give the new emblems some kind of coating as well, seeing as the new ones don't tend to last too well in the sun.
1990 Alpine 535i/5 - BC Coilovers, LSD, M5 Swaybars, 540 Brakes, A/C Mods, Sport Seats
1986 Alpine 528e - 500k+ miles daily driver
1992 Island 525i/5
1988 Alpine/Indigo 735i/5
Style 8s, yes! Can't wait to see it wearing those, the car is looking very good!
Took the E34 to its very first cars and coffee today! It was a lot of fun, met quite a few people that loved the car.
First time I've had a car that other people are interested in, quite a fun experience. The car next to it is a good friend of mine, an ex-sheriff's Chevy Caprice completely rebadged to a Holden Statesman. His wife is an Aussie so it's a fun car for them.
DSC_0423.jpg
1989 BMW 535i - Cirrusblau/Natur, 5 speed manual. Stock and original!
2002 Volvo C70 Coupe
2023 Acura MDX A-Spec
Love it! I bet that feels good to share the car with folks.
A green Caprice, eh? Talk about under the radar. That's rad.
I’ve had this week off from work, and have spent some time tinkering.
Pulled out the original floor mats and gave them a good cleaning. They look brand new!
And I couldn’t stop there! The carpet looked a bit grubby in comparison, so I pulled the seats out and scrubbed that as well. Came up very nice!
Today has been a big wrench fest (by my standards at least)
Got a full refresh of the cooling system to go in. Got the water pump and thermostat done, then realized I hadn’t ordered all the radiator hoses! So I’m on pause for now until that arrives.
Hopefully going to knock out a valve adjustment tomorrow, as well as new plugs/wires/distributor.
Last edited by Petrolheadpilot; 06-15-2023 at 06:32 PM.
1989 BMW 535i - Cirrusblau/Natur, 5 speed manual. Stock and original!
2002 Volvo C70 Coupe
2023 Acura MDX A-Spec
My gosh, it's been a minute since I've updated here. I didn't make the Vintage sadly, too much going on at home, and then my parts for the cooling system didn't all arrive in time. Oh well, next year for sure!
It's been a complete cluster getting this car back together. I tried to save a few bucks and go with some aftermarket parts for this, and they didn't fit at all. The Mahle coolant reservoir was no good, the bolt holes didn't line up. And a couple of the cheap hoses wouldn't go on at all. So lesson learned, OEM only! Then I ordered a new OE coolant reservoir from FCP, and it arrived with both the mounting tabs broken off!!! The third one came from BMW of South Atlanta. I was very impressed with them, nice online ordering interface, cheap shipping, and great prices! Definitely will be using then again.
Then I got sent off to work training for about 3 1/2 weeks.. I quickly threw all the hoses and everything on just so I could let the car sit for that time with a bit of coolant in the system. I cranked the car over, and coolant started pouring out of the new water pump!! Another lesson learned, always use sealant on those gaskets...
So the car sat up on ramps for the better part of 2 months. BUT it's back together and running now. Got another new water pump gasket, applied some anaerobic sealant and got everything buttoned back up properly now.
In the end, new radiator, water pump, thermostat, fan clutch, all associated hoses including all the heater hoses. As well as a new intake hose, and some other assorted rubber and plastic stuff that broke. It was a massive undertaking for someone like me, but I'm glad I did it. All the original stuff from 1989 seemed to be in surprisingly good shape, but I didn't want to risk it.
Next up is to get the car looked at by a professional. I've been given the contact info of a guy in Fort Lauderdale that is supposed to be a true wizard of classic BMWs. So I'm hoping to get the car down to him soon, mainly to get the AC reinstated! It's getting way too hot in Florida to be driving around with no AC.
Oh, and I managed to screw up the drivers seat when I had it out recently... Bent the receptacle for the hook and I absolutely cannot get it to go back in, no matter how much hammering I do. SO that'll be another task for the mechanic, I've reached my wrenching limit for the time being haha. This car is far too nice for me to keep screwing around trying to wrench on.
Photo Jun 14 2023, 5 44 02 PM.jpg
1989 BMW 535i - Cirrusblau/Natur, 5 speed manual. Stock and original!
2002 Volvo C70 Coupe
2023 Acura MDX A-Spec
Damn that looks good
Hey Petrolheadpilot,
Been following your thread. I made a long drive to pickup my own new to me '89 535i 5-speed about the same time as you, so we are on a similar rollercoaster here!
I have been loving mine and making essentially the same repairs as you.
I wanted to weight in on your AC. As a previous poster noted, your AC system has pressure switches and should prevent the compressor from running if the pressure is too low.
That said, without some good knowledge in the area, it could be hard to determine exactly what damage your system has incurred.
If the previous owner had it filled with 134a without verifying you have one of the compatible compressors, then yeah, it probably ruined your compressor. (For the record, I think most of these e34s had 134a compatible compressors, but not all. My '89 does. Only way tot know is check the specific model number.) Another issue is if they didn't dump out the old compressor oil and add new 134a compatible PAG oil, that would cause damage too. Finally, if the hard lines (where the charge hoses connect) were damaged, there is no repair to be done except replace the lines.
All that said, unless you have a good friend who is pretty knowledge on AC, your best bet is to trust a shop, and in that case, rebuilding the whole system isn't a bad way to go. You MIGHT be able to find a better price than $2k. It is probably worth getting a couple of quotes. $2000 isn't terrible though. It's an expensive job.
You hit the nail on the head though. It's hot out! Just pay a shop to rebuild it and it will last you another 20 years and you'll be happy every time you turn it on.
Enjoy the car, buddy! They don't make 'em like they used to.
Thanks for the reply! I’ve never messed with AC before so I’m definitely trusting it to the professionals.
I appreciate the input, that’s some good info. I’m assuming the entire system will have to be replaced, but who knows. But like you said, it’s not the worst outcome as I plan to keep this car for life, and it would be nice to do the AC once and not have to mess with it again.
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1989 BMW 535i - Cirrusblau/Natur, 5 speed manual. Stock and original!
2002 Volvo C70 Coupe
2023 Acura MDX A-Spec
Yeah man, I have fixed a few AC systems, but I do commercial HVAC professionally and even still I have given up on some car AC systems. It can be a can of worms.
Definitely keep the car for life! Definitely invest in the AC. The only cars with optional AC have a soft top!
I spent some time this week refinishing the black trim on the car. It was badly faded in places, and was letting the rest of the car down.
Amazingly, it all popped right off with no broken clips! Really proves how important it is to keep cars stored indoors.
I just used some Duplicolor black trim paint, I’ve had good luck with it in the past, seems to hold up quite well. This was a fun little project, and very satisfying to clean nearly 35 years of dirt and grime out from behind the trim. It’s the small details that count!
And it all went back on just as easily, no broken clips! I still can’t believe that.
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1989 BMW 535i - Cirrusblau/Natur, 5 speed manual. Stock and original!
2002 Volvo C70 Coupe
2023 Acura MDX A-Spec
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