E34 Touring resto progress

[Phil-540i 166]

80k? your car would have been prolly closer to 150k new

Lols - I was meaning, based on experiances so far my local dealer doesn't inspire me with confidence on what the experience would be like if it was say, a 80 grand BMW I was buying off them, rather than just wanting parts at the mo............

Maybe I've just been spoilt by how the local Toyota dealer treats their clients.....

Juggy - thanks heaps for the parts link......definitely will be trying Paul........

Edited August 31, 2013 by Blue-540i

[kiwi535 538]

maybe in todays money

My 1990 535i was around 150,000 new.I dont see that the 540 would be much different

[lord_jagganath 421]

Sunday update: :| The whole thing is back together, however :-

1. OBC is as dead as a nail. Is there a relay or something that is necessary to make it work? I find its rather odd. (maybe no power to pin 17?), also the pre f/l console frame sits differently so the trim doesn't sit flush

2. The wiring harness for the CD player is TOTALLY different, couldn't be bothered rewiring it at the moment though.

2. Too many broken clips in the car I blame the previous mechanics.

3. Temperature sensor harness is impossible to find

4. Ciggy lighter fuse keeps burning out. :/ my tapping of the lighter console couldn't have caused that, I need to check my (own) fuses.

5. smell from a/c is still there, gunk is still stuck on the core ... despite me spending a few hours vacuum cleaning it.

6. found the source of the road noise, the windscreen rubbers are perishing. need to renew. ugh.

7. Car runs better after the battery/ ECU reset.

8. washer pump is still leaking, albeit at a slower rate, need to find the cause. the seams on the pump are still fine though..

9.replace a centre console bulb, but lost the whole thing when putting the console back

I suppose this is why these are "project cars", enjoying every bit of these challenges though .

I do have a question, where can i get a service light reset tool and a ECU/OBD reader ? do I even need it?

[kiwi535 538]

Sunday update: :| The whole thing is back together, however :-

1. OBC is as dead as a nail. Is there a relay or something that is necessary to make it work? I find its rather odd. (maybe no power to pin 17?), also the pre f/l console frame sits differently so the trim doesn't sit flush

2. The wiring harness for the CD player is TOTALLY different, couldn't be bothered rewiring it at the moment though.

2. Too many broken clips in the car I blame the previous mechanics.

3. Temperature sensor harness is impossible to find

4. Ciggy lighter fuse keeps burning out. :/ my tapping of the lighter console couldn't have caused that, I need to check my (own) fuses.

5. smell from a/c is still there, gunk is still stuck on the core ... despite me spending a few hours vacuum cleaning it.

6. found the source of the road noise, the windscreen rubbers are perishing. need to renew. ugh.

7. Car runs better after the battery/ ECU reset.

8. washer pump is still leaking, albeit at a slower rate, need to find the cause. the seams on the pump are still fine though..

9.replace a centre console bulb, but lost the whole thing when putting the console back

I suppose this is why these are "project cars", enjoying every bit of these challenges though .

I do have a question, where can i get a service light reset tool and a ECU/OBD reader ? do I even need it?

you dont need a fancy machine to reset the service light on a e34.Maybe the obc has dead bulbs?

go here to learn more

Edited September 1, 2013 by kiwi535

[lord_jagganath 421]

^ Thanks mate.

ABS light came up today. need to check the sensors and the like.

[Phil-540i 166]

^ Thanks mate.

ABS light came up today. need to check the sensors and the like.

Bummer!! I get the feeling you're going to get to know this car really REALLY well ae - all good though. Think of it as having 'character'....

It'll be alright - Rome wasn't built in a day, so just keep grinning & nudging away at it......

[lord_jagganath 421]

Bummer!! I get the feeling you're going to get to know this car really REALLY well ae - all good though. Think of it as having 'character'....

It'll be alright - Rome wasn't built in a day, so just keep grinning & nudging away at it......

Haha! Indeed it is sir. It has character, a needy one, but I am okay with it. The ABS light is intermittent, I may have to blame the tyres. I have Nankangs in front (which are okay) and Wanlis at the back (which are alright for now, thank goodness for dry weather) which may have caused the false abs sensor failure reading? oh well, cleaning the sensors are now first priority.

Next WOF is in Feb 2014, so I'd like to have the car perfect by then....

[lord_jagganath 421]

no sooner than me talking about replacing a radiator or heater core , the car blows a hose and I am now some where near Middlemore, with an incapacitated car, an empty radiator and me waiting for aa to tow the car home. hahahhahaha

[328bema 18]

no sooner than me talking about replacing a radiator or heater core , the car blows a hose and I am now some where near Middlemore, with an incapacitated car, an empty radiator and me waiting for aa to tow the car home. hahahhahaha

Ohhhh crap that sucks bro haha!

[_ethrty-Andy_ 2136]

is that why the old owner decided to sell huh! thats really bad

[lord_jagganath 421]

is that why the old owner decided to sell huh! thats really bad

I have no idea. oTL I suppose I will just have to wait for the morning and see what it holds for me.

[BM WORLD 1286]

did it break off on the aux water pump mounted to the heater valves , quiet comon to go there,. mine broke about the 3 rd time i drove my 540iT, just bypass it

[Phil-540i 166]

"Character - just remember its got character, & its all character building stuff that's way better than piloting a white Corolla or something similar....." Keep ya chin up - hope ya got home all right after AA turned up..........

[lord_jagganath 421]

"Character - just remember its got character, & its all character building stuff that's way better than piloting a white Corolla or something similar....." Keep ya chin up - hope ya got home all right after AA turned up..........

Thanks Phil. The AA arrived an hour and a half later(after the first call) the response centre was twenty minutes a way ... but a wanker decided to leave his shift early, leaving no one at the centre.

Getting down to diagnosing the issue. I do not think that the hose is the only issue.

[lord_jagganath 421]

Took out the hose, And the album is here ---> http://imgur.com/a/q4clD

What are these deposits?

Calcium? I find that strange, or it could be a stop leak product used in the past

[Phil-540i 166]

How many times ya said "Ya b1tch" now then............ Hard to tell what the deposits there are from the pic, but if it was me, I'd be replacing the hose, do anything else that's visually 'obvious', fill it up with coolant, make sure its all bled of air properly, get it up at operating temp just ticking over, & see what it's like..........maybe do a pressure test on the system if you've got few doubts........

Looks to me like theres a fairly new looking hose-clip within those pics, which indicates some-one has 'been there' for whatever reason, not that long ago........

Those deposits could be there just from part of the process of it getting hot yesterday.......

Edited September 7, 2013 by Blue-540i

[lord_jagganath 421]

Yeah, The AC system was tested by the previous owner last month.... not sure what came of it.

Replaced the hose, and found that the engine sounds different. I hope it hasn't been cooked. Plus! There is no heat in the cabin, so i am assuming the heater core is blocked. There's some white smoke coming out of the exhaust with a little bit of water. ... but the engine oil seems to be free of water...

Time to do a full cooling system flush and oils replacement.

My main concern is finding a place to dispose of the waste fluids and oils.

Secondly, where can I get a combustion gas testing kit?

Edited September 7, 2013 by The Juggernaut

[Etwenty1 45]

Secondly, where can I get a combustion gas testing kit?

Repco sell these and cooling system pressure test kits.

[KwS 2429]

Replaced the hose, and found that the engine sounds different. I hope it hasn't been cooked. Plus! There is no heat in the cabin

Sounds like a big air block stuck in the cooling system. Bleed bleed bleed!

[Allanw 1072]

Sounds like a big air block stuck in the cooling system. Bleed bleed bleed!

yep - especially the heater not going bit - classic air lock syptoms.

[lord_jagganath 421]

Bled the system, never have i seen so much air.

New interesting symptom. Coolant dripping from dipstick and slight pressure pop when pulling out oil dipstick, oops.

http://www.turners.co.nz/Damaged-Vehicles/.../530i/11145953/ into the E34?

Edited September 7, 2013 by The Juggernaut

[BM WORLD 1286]

force water in with the hose while the bleed screw is open untill water comes out the bleed screw hole ,

also pump the main 2 hoses to help

Edited September 8, 2013 by Brent HARTGE535i

[lord_jagganath 421]

force water in with the hose while the bleed screw is open untill water comes out the bleed screw hole ,

also pump the main 2 hoses to help

Thanks Brent, I did the "blowing into the radiator cap" deal found on the E34.net site, but didn't help much. will do that.

[lord_jagganath 421]

After some experimenting and testing, found that radiator hose failed after 17 years of service. No lasting damage to engine. Bless the gods for Iron blocks. car started up first turn after flushing and refilling with anti corrosion. Bleeding bleeding bleeding... No gas at all! haha so no HG failure thank the gods. now I still need to get onto that heater core...

[Phil-540i 166]

awesome - I'm glad for ya, bigtime........good it hasn't become major on it after you've only just got it!!! That E39 has merit for sitting in the backyard though - be interesting to see what it goes for......