E34 525I

[yng_750 247]

Just picked up a e34 525I.

ACS widebody kit and wheels

160km

apart from that i dont know much as i havent seen it yet.

Apparently its got a blown headgasket but from what ive heard about it ive deduced that there is a 63% chance the gasket is blown and a 37% chance its an electrical issue.

Plans for the future.

I have a complete manual conversion out of a 535I.

Getrag 260 i believe

Though from what ive seen it will only bolt up to a m30 not the m20.

So plans are... fix the engine and drive for a while, sell the e39 and do a conversion on it

or find out the engine is stuffed and do an m30 swap now.

From what ive seen the engine conversion is fairly straightforward. extend a few plugs to reach the front of the longer m30 and swap ecu??

will pick it up tonight and post pics, will know more soon.

[_ethrty-Andy_ 2132]

Apparently its got a blown headgasket but from what ive heard about it ive deduced that there is a 63% chance the gasket is blown and a 37% chance its an electrical issue.

saw that on trade me but talked myself out of it, because i really only wanted it to steal the arch caps. but this was my thoughts too

Edited January 7, 2013 by _Ethrty-Andy_

[yng_750 247]

seeing your v12 on stuff hasnt helped me remain rational in planning my goals haha

[yng_750 247]

got the car home

engine starts but doesnt like throttle, hesitates but eventually picks up revs.

heaps of oil in the radiator and lots of crap stuck under the oil cap.

So might need a new engine.

in other news the battery is from 2006 and at 0V

will see if it takes a charge on my 7 stage charger.

paint is fairly faded but looks like it should take a good polish and come up ok.

wheels have chipped paint but no chips in alloy so a good repaint they will look mint.

Have friday off work so will have a good look then.

[BM WORLD 1283]

m30 gearbox will only fit m30 , m10 m88 s38 s14 engines.

not the m20 m50 m52 etc

good work , look forward to the pics .

if you need m30 engine i should have something.

hey andy check with lance he might have some ac/s wheel arch trims , skirts , rear bumper covers etc.

i have some chrome wheel arche trims , for e24?? e23 etc i think

[_ethrty-Andy_ 2132]

hey andy check with lance he might have some ac/s wheel arch trims , skirts , rear bumper covers etc.

i have some chrome wheel arche trims , for e24?? e23 etc i think

he does have a spare set of caps but doesnt want to sell, im sure i could convice him with the right coin but yeah. maybe i should borrow them and get some molds made.

[yng_750 247]

Hey brent, thanks for the info

yea i think a m30 might be the go, though i will try to make this one run enough to get a wof etc and sell the e39 if i can.

Would rather have the money on hand to do it properly the first time.

As far as the engine swap ive been told the looms are similar enough to use the original loom and just modify it somewhat.

Only other questions.

Do i need a whole m30 exhaust, or just the headers?

Ive heard some things about mount angles for the gearbox being wrong when doing a conversion, i presume if i use all m30 bits and mounts i presume it will bolt straight in.

Can i retain the original ancilarys, alternator, PS pump and lines etc or do i need all m30 stuff.

Trying to decide wether im best off getting an engine and bits or a whole donor car.

[BM WORLD 1283]

Hey brent, thanks for the info

yea i think a m30 might be the go, though i will try to make this one run enough to get a wof etc and sell the e39 if i can.

Would rather have the money on hand to do it properly the first time.

As far as the engine swap ive been told the looms are similar enough to use the original loom and just modify it somewhat.

Only other questions.

Do i need a whole m30 exhaust, or just the headers?

Ive heard some things about mount angles for the gearbox being wrong when doing a conversion, i presume if i use all m30 bits and mounts i presume it will bolt straight in.

Can i retain the original ancilarys, alternator, PS pump and lines etc or do i need all m30 stuff.

Trying to decide wether im best off getting an engine and bits or a whole donor car.

you need all parts from the m30 e34, mounts , exhaust system , radiator , hoses, engine loom , ecu afm ,

you can use your ps pump and alternator though.

[_ethrty-Andy_ 2132]

you need all parts from the m30 e34, mounts , exhaust system , radiator , hoses, engine loom , ecu afm ,

you can use your ps pump and alternator though.

he may also run into issues with steering box/rack?

[yng_750 247]

judging by the amount of changes needed to do an m30 swap i may end up selling this and buying an auto 535i and converting it to manual.

especially seeing as a 535 is more likely to have more equiptment optioned out.

how much would those flares be worth just out of interest.

[yng_750 247]

started pulling it abit today.

over night the vast majority of black oil it that was in the radiator has leaked out of the water pump and ended up on the floor.

So apart from the engine issues im guessing everything rubber in the cooling system will be poked.

ran a compression test.

had 140-150psi in 5 cylinders but only 60psi in cylinder 4

will pull the head on friday. if the head is recoverable i will get it planned and chuck a new gasket in there but if its cracked will prob go for a whole new engine.

Cylinder 3 also had the lead broken off from the boot so prob didnt help it

[_ethrty-Andy_ 2132]

how much would those flares be worth just out of interest.

although i want the arches, i would recommend you sell as a complete kit for E34 on TradeMe, maybe even eBay if you dont mind shipping it. cant remember, does it have the ACS wing as well? If you do sell it, i can vouch the sedan kit fits though touring perfectly, i didnt need to modify mine at all except for the tow bar

[yng_750 247]

no wing

has holes but looks like its been removed a while back.

prob wont sell the kit but how much would it be worth out of interest.

got the engine mostly pulled down.

got 2 pesky exhaust studs left to remove ( way to small clearance for a proper socket)

and got to remove timing belt.

Will try to leave radiator in just because of the trans lines.

couple of pics to follow

shows the engine bay as it stands.

All and all this car is fairly clean. clean engine block no oil under the car from trans or rear main.... what could go wrong.

Edited January 9, 2013 by jason H

[yng_750 247]

Ordered my parts today.

Got a headgasket, head bolts, rocker cover gasket, intake gasket set, exhaust mani gasket, 2x exhaust flange gaskets

All for $94. so not bad

Also got to get the Torx head socket set from Supercheap, they out of stock but have one being delivered today so should get everything i need by tomorow morning.

[yng_750 247]

pulled the head tonight.

blocked water galleries in the gasket around cylinder 4 on the exhaust side.

and right beside it is a crack from the valve seat through to the water gallery.

shows what not flushing your radiator does but now on to fix it.

Anyone know if you can get them repaired.

Or better yet anyone selling a m20b25 head?

[yng_750 247]

decided the head was toast so got a new one rom a friend who got his head planed, crack tested etc trying to find his lack of compression then found the broken ring land...

Did abit of work on the car yesterday, seems to have had oil changes but the filter looks older than the internet.

Had to pull the adaptor off the block and hold it in a vice to crack the filter off even then took a big screwdriver through it.... damn tight.

cleaned out the oil pump and sump so it can make the most of the castrol edge 10w60 ive got for it.

Block has a couple of liters of degreaser sitting in it to dissolve all the oily scum still stuck in there.

Radiator has been flushed out wasnt tooo much oil in it but was a little blocked so its all clean now.

Got a new heater valve unit coming as i really dont want to bother playing with that one.

Got the head back on and bolted down. used copper coat on the gasket so it should seal perfectly.

Only f**kup so far was i bolted the exhaust back in but forgot to reinstall a flange gasket, so at least part of it will have to come off again.

Next time i have time off will reinstall the cooling sytem the timing gear and the intake then i should be set to go.

[yng_750 247]

Got it running yesterday

Runs fairly strong but still misses when you give it any throttle.

IT has even compression but judging by the corrosion i saw im guessing like my last car 525i it has a faulty electrical connection.

I forget the name but its the plug under the intake that supplies power to the front three injectors.

Last car has the same missing issues but as soon as i hard wired that piece of loom it all came right.

Also just as a side note i went with what someone suggested and used washing powder as a flush to get engne oil out of the cooling system.

Worked a treat, got all the crap out without damaging the rubber hoses.