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Thread: Trying to decide how much life is left in my 540i-6

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Oct 2004
    Location
    Seattle
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    7,069
    My Cars
    potato

    Trying to decide how much life is left in my 540i-6

    So I bought my 540i-6 in July from a kid in Utah who had really no business owning - he was in college with no money to actually keep in maintained the way it should be. I bought it with 88k miles on it and got a really good deal - spent $13.5k on it. I dropped the oil pan on it to fix a leak recently and found so much sludge it looked like a mud pie in there... scary.

    So to stop rambling, the main thing that I don't like about the car is the paint job is pretty ratty - lots of scratches and a decent size crease on the passenger side sideskirt. I don't want to spend a bunch of money on the car though only to have the drivetrain poop out on me because the jackass who owned it didn't care for it properly.

    So my question is - what are the best things to check in terms of how much life I have in the drivetrain (ie engine and tranny)? I suppose a compression test is a good idea - what are some other things I should check? Leakdown test is a good option too - though that would cost a couple bills.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    May 2005
    Location
    Orlando Florida
    Posts
    282
    My Cars
    E34 530iT
    how's the clutch? slipping, still holding strong? Also, feel this shifter when it's in gear...does it move from side to side and all around, or stay put? How easily does it go into gear? Do you feel any bumps or hear any knocks when you shift or accelerate? Look under the car at the driveshaft....the rubber boots that go around it, how do they look? worn and cracked, or solid? Do you ever find yourself wondering what gear you're in? not because you don't know, but because the lever always seems to be in the same place. Any knocking coming from the engine? what about tapping? Does it feel weaker than you think it should feel? Take it to get a tune up, ask for a vehicle inspection, and let the mechanic tells you what he finds. The tune up will help with the way it's running, and the inspection will set you straight on what you're cloudy about. I hope this helps.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    May 2005
    Location
    Orlando Florida
    Posts
    282
    My Cars
    E34 530iT
    also, pull the sparkplugs yourself, and take a look at them, if they're not clean, something may be awry. There's sites all over with what the different look of your spark plugs may mean. A certain haze may mean one thing, where as a certain gunk may mean another.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Dec 2004
    Location
    Huntsville, AL
    Posts
    25,923
    My Cars
    87 325is
    The sludge is a result of too long an interval between oil changes, probably aggravated by too much low speed, short trip, driving. Cutting the oil/filter change interval to 2-3k and driving the car the way it was meant to be driven will clean it up. That means sustained highway speed driving several times a week. It takes at least 20 minutes of sustained speed to get the entire engine up to temp.

    I'd also suggest changing all of the fluids (coolant, tranny, diff, brakes), driving the car for 1-2k and changing them again.

    Also at 88k I'd change out the pre-cat O2 sensors.
    The car makes it possible, but the driver makes it happen.
    Jim Levie, Huntsville, AL

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Oct 2004
    Location
    Seattle
    Posts
    7,069
    My Cars
    potato
    thanks for the suggestions guys - I've switched to full synth mobil 1 and am planning to do the 3k mile oil changes (it's about due actually as I actually changed out the oil when I first bought it and I've already logged on a decent amount of miles).

    Already done the coolant and brake/clutch fluid replacement as well as the pre-cat O2 sensors and front lower control arms. I love how easy it is to replace the front lower control arms - took me under an hour each side. No fooling around with that crappy "lollipop" that holds the bushing on the E36s.

    I think the fan clutch is about due for replacement because I'm actually hearing some sort of bearing noise in that general area on startup. At first I was a little freaked out because I thought it was coming from the engine itself, but a few starts have confirmed that it's coming from the fan clutch area. What are the main signs of the fan clutch going out? Could it be bearing noise from the water pump?

    Spark plugs were replaced about 3k miles ago as I was checking for leaks around the cylinder head covers and while I was in there decided to just swap them out.

    Tranny shifts beautifully - a little bit of floppiness on startup, but the shifter stays on center fine once the car's warmed up. I was a little disconcerted about this as well at first, but I guess this is just an operating trait of the car. I have noticed a small leak on the output shaft seal of the tranny though.

    The clutch is starting to slip on heavy load (ie when I'm drag racing people at stop lights ) I'm not too worried about that though - as I can do stuff like clutches on the car myself, and it's something that I figure is a part of owning a manual tranny car. While I was under there I also checked the guibo (flex disc) and it doesn't have the telltale cracks that tell you that it's in need of replacement. I figure once I drop the tranny when I decide to swap out the clutch, I'll just drop it off at a shop and have them replace the seal for me. I'd do it myself, but that output shaft flange is a bear to get off - and I'm not keen on putting it into gear to hold it in place. I've heard of people welding some pieces of steel together to make a brace like the OEM tool though...

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