E34 535i Should I?

[quickervicar]

I have the opportunity to pick up a '91 535i 5-speed for a very good price. It is not perfect, but it is rust-free & low mileage. Should I do it? If so, what should I look out for on these beasts?

[TDE30]

The M30 and the G265 are both very solid, the only thing to look out on either of them is minor leaking from worn gaskets. Interior/electrical quirks would be the only thing that I'd look out for, refer to the below website and check the "maintentance" and "troubleshooting" tabs carefully.

https://www.bmwe34.net

Best of luck, they're fun cars.

[whiltebeitel]

Random fact: the battery is under the rear seat. Cool cars, but the interior and electrical convienience crap tends to be problematic if not well maintained.

[iamsam]

E34s are great family cars. I'd say do it, i have a 1994 525i automatic, it is slower than molasses in Greenland, but an M30 5-speed should be pretty quick. I drove a 525i 5-speed, and it was significantly quicker than the auto version, and you will have around 10 more hp.

If i were to ever buy an E34 again it would definitely be the 540i 6-speed though, So I personally wouldn't get an M30 E34, but if the price is right, the price is right. ya know?

[quickervicar]

The M30 is supposed to be a real torque-monster in this car. I'm wondering about stuff like clutch replacement, subframe bushing, etc. Anyone know if the tranny can be pulled without dropping the whole engine?

[xwill112x]

pull motor and trans and stick in e30. part rest of car out. :up:

[quickervicar]

^No. I'm not saying an M30 will never find its way into my E30 engine bay, but this one is too clean to part. Sunday/distance car only.

[TDE30]

The M30 is supposed to be a real torque-monster in this car. I'm wondering about stuff like clutch replacement, subframe bushing, etc. Anyone know if the tranny can be pulled without dropping the whole engine?

All iterations of the M30 (known as the "Big Six") are fairly torquey, but I haven't heard of any major subframe concerns due to a stock powerplant. Not to say that the rear subframe bushings won't need replacing, it's still a ±3700 pound car with (I'm guessing) at least 100k on the clock. A test drive will tell you instantly if these need to be addressed.

To be honest, having driven my folk's E34s for the past few years, the infamous front end shimmy (if the car you're looking at has it) is far more annoying. Feel free to read more about it in the link I posted in post #2, but no one to my knowledge has completely diagnosed the problem yet.

[bimmer_E30]

All iterations of the M30 (known as the "Big Six") are fairly torquey, but I haven't heard of any major subframe concerns due to a stock powerplant. Not to say that the rear subframe bushings won't need replacing, it's still a ±3700 pound car with (I'm guessing) at least 100k on the clock. A test drive will tell you instantly if these need to be addressed.

To be honest, having driven my folk's E34s for the past few years, the infamous front end shimmy (if the car you're looking at has it) is far more annoying. Feel free to read more about it in the link I posted in post #2, but no one to my knowledge has completely diagnosed the problem yet.

listen to this guy.

E32s and E34s are worst when it comes to front suspension. i almost put 1500$ towards replacing most of the front suspension parts and it still had shake when braking...it drove me crazy!

i've driven the E34 in manual and it's a fun car, i almost bought one when i sold my vert. really awesome cars to drive. and the M30 is solid...will easly see over 300k if properly maintained.

good luck. :) post pics if you get it!!!!!

[quickervicar]

i almost put 1500$ towards replacing most of the front suspension parts and it still had shake when braking...it drove me crazy!

Was it ever resolved? This one does have a bit of a shimmy under braking. I've read about the steering box & column adjustments, but don't know if they've been tried on this one yet. (I doubt it)

[BlackSpeed66]

I picked up my 525i from my cousin about a year ago. It just turned 220k last week and is still going strong. Fantastic highway cruiser and daily driver. It does have a few quirks I have to deal with but given the age and condition of it (Southern car) I can't really complain. It has the 60mph shimmy but I just drive faster and that takes care of it

I just threw a set of Nokians on it for the winter. Not too bad in the snow so far either...

[Jean]

Those are rare with the 5 speed ! The tranny can be pulled w/o the engine, there is enough room to do this unlike the e30 with the same drivetrain ;)

If it's good and cheap I would buy it! That will be my next dd for sure. E34s with some nice wheels and clean drop look good! And they are still simple enough to maintain.

[gearheadE30]

Very fun car; I'd say if the price is right, go for it :)

My dad has an e34 M5 that had the shimmy when we bought it, but adjusting the steering box and adding upper control arms with poly bushings seems to have cured it. The car sees a lot of HPDEs and autocrosses, and the shimmy hasn't come back since.

[qbuilt]

e34 front end shimmys are pretty easy to fix. Replace the thrust rods and associated bushings, make sure there is very minimal play in the steering linkage(tierods/box), and make sure the front struts arent completly worn or leaked out. So far those are the only things Ive seen cause a front end issue.
Obviously you cant have worn out balljoint, wheels without hubrings, etc.

Its just that the front suspension geometry is sensitive to worn components and therefore it is very pronounced when there is a issue up front. Not like a e30 where half of them are driving around with the balljoints about to fall out and no one really notices.

[quickervicar]

Excellent news on the trans, Jean! :) (its got a noisy pilot bearing)

I knew the upper thrust arm bushings are problematic, but didn't realize that poly was an option. Should be easy enough.