92-95 5 series, what should I know before I buy one?

[richardkeith97]

his car makes me want an e34. whats the deal with the 540's? how are the motors? since people dont usually swap them into e30's i don't know anything abnout them.

[e30lov]

i loved my 540, sounded amazing and pulled pretty good for how heavy the pig was. the m60 is a great engine if you got one that was swapped with the Alusil block under warranty (read here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BMW_M60 )

[Jb325is]

I wouldn't buy a 540i in your price range. It would have to be an automatic and it is not going to be too nice for 3k. Other than that, 540's are fine. They do have some problems with plastic cooling components, and they commonly leak coolant from the valley pan, which is under the intake manifold. The aux water pump/heater valve is also known to leak. Both of these can be tough to track down because you can smell the leak but there won't be a puddle because the coolant burns off on the block or headers. They are also plagued by intake leaks, you will probably have to replace the intake manifold gaskets, throttle body gasket, pcv plate seal. In my opinion, 540i's are not quite as fun to drive as 535i's. They feel much heavier for some reason, I'm not sure how much heavier the m60 is but it's noticeable. I actually sold my 540i/6 speed to get back into the 535i pictured above.

[tyleRcoey]

glad this thread was made so i can ask a few E34 questions of my own...

i have a '92 525i M50... 50k original miles (bought it with 38k a little over two years ago).
anyway, it just started getting hot. it will spike out the temp gauge within 5-10 min from a cold start. its not leaking any coolant anywhere that i can tell, but im curious to what specifically the cooling system issues are that are being mentioned so i can get this fixed.

oh, and its got that "55mph shake" ...i thought it was bad hubcentric adapters for my E39 M5 replicas but now im thinking this "shake" might be the issue. can someone go into a little more detail on that aswell?

[Fleksta]

I had a '92 525i (5spd M50 non-vanos) before getting the e30. I really regret selling the car as it was the most reliable vehicle I've ever owned.

The biggest issues I found:

-Rust on bottom of the doors near the drains.
-Door panels started to peel, no biggie just get some spray adhesive.
-Plastic bits of the cooling system needed to be replaced. (There is an aluminum thermostat housing available from BavAuto).
-Cabin microfilter looked like a mouse had been living in it.
-Front suspension, as others mentioned take the car on the interstate and see if it vibrates.
-Pixels on the gauge cluster have a tendency to be dead (luckily mine worked fine)
-Try to find a 5-speed if possible

Other than those issues I had no complaints, been seriously considering trading out my e30 for another one.

[Jb325is]

glad this thread was made so i can ask a few E34 questions of my own...

i have a '92 525i M50... 50k original miles (bought it with 38k a little over two years ago).
anyway, it just started getting hot. it will spike out the temp gauge within 5-10 min from a cold start. its not leaking any coolant anywhere that i can tell, but im curious to what specifically the cooling system issues are that are being mentioned so i can get this fixed.

oh, and its got that "55mph shake" ...i thought it was bad hubcentric adapters for my E39 M5 replicas but now im thinking this "shake" might be the issue. can someone go into a little more detail on that aswell?

Water pump.. they come from the factory with a plastic impeller, which can come apart or strip at the hub, replacements should be metal.

As for the shake, its a real bitch. I tried tracking it down piece by piece in both of my cars but I would recommend buying everything. Common cause is worn thrust (upper ca) arms and bushings but can also be pitman arm, idler arm or tie rod ends. I would also replace the center link. Buy the good stuff (lemfoerder) unless you want to do it again. E34's can eat shitty front end parts in 10k miles. I would also sort out your hub ring situation though and make sure your tires are balanced

[VacMan]

Good advice here. I'll second the advice to find a 535/5 or late 525/5 and stay away from a 540 in your price range. If you can add a few grand you could pick up a nice 540/6. It's by far the most desirable non-M car. If you bought an M50 car you can do an S5x swap quite easily.

[BenM]

I picked up a 95 525i/5-speed with 245K miles for $400 at the end of July. Guy was not mechanically inclined and said there was a pin hole in "that thing above the engine". Turns out it was a pen sized hole next the timing chain cover and was just to the right of the water pump. Smeared some JB Weld over it, took it up to New Hampshire and back with no issues and I've been dailying it since. Doesn't burn any oil, is nice and quiet and everything works as well as the front thrust arms being done right prior to my purchase. Leaks a little bit of coolant in the valley above the oil filter housing, but very minor.

E34s make great dailys and the advice here is spot on.

[richardkeith97]

thanks everyone i know what my next car is. i'll prob go with 95+ 535i but i def like the smaller grill

[Motorsports]

Am actually looking for a 5 series myself. I had a 90' 525i with the M20 before, and that was a great car. Now am looking for a 91'-95 525i or a 535/5. I think am more inclined towards the big six. Beacause of the torquey motor, but i do like the smoothness of the M50.

[tyleRcoey]

Water pump.. they come from the factory with a plastic impeller, which can come apart or strip at the hub, replacements should be metal.

As for the shake, its a real bitch. I tried tracking it down piece by piece in both of my cars but I would recommend buying everything. Common cause is worn thrust (upper ca) arms and bushings but can also be pitman arm, idler arm or tie rod ends. I would also replace the center link. Buy the good stuff (lemfoerder) unless you want to do it again. E34's can eat shitty front end parts in 10k miles. I would also sort out your hub ring situation though and make sure your tires are balanced

is there anyway for me to verify its the water pump without tearing into it? i was under the impression that if the water pump is bad there will be play on the fan clutch. i grabbed it and gave it a good shake and it feels solid, does that mean anything?

how much money did you end up having to throw at that front end before it was corrected? this sounds like its about to get pricey.

[Matt-B]

get a 95, vanos motor, side skirts, fender side markers ( i think )


i see a lot of people getting 95s that i have known or still know

[daniel]

sadly, i haven't seen a nice e34 for sale. plenty of e34's around that are freakin sweet, but rarely is there one for sale that isn't in crappy shape and doesn't have a million miles on it.

[krazykraut]

As for rust the only thing that I saw that was not mentioned was the gas door, check for any bubbling. As well as look at the bottoms of the doors, there are rubber gaskets that tend to rust out the door. The rust can be covered up, so look very closely. Make sure that the heater (blower) works in all settings(1,2,3,4) in 89-91 cars as the "sword" circuit board tends to short out. Lots of info on bimmernut.com, but they are a bitch to fix...If you purchase a 535 or 525 hit me up if you need parts. I have a '91 parts car (island green) with tan interior. Then there's my daily driver below :p. '90 535 w/5spd 185k



And yes I know!! If only you made drop hats for an e34....So Im hoping you buy an e34 and start to make 'em.

Also if you get an m30 car of any sort 3-5-6 get an E.A.T. chip, its a must! The car (stock chip) is robbed in air/fuel ratio

[VacMan]

thanks everyone i know what my next car is. i'll prob go with 95+ 535i but i def like the smaller grill

535 ceased production when the v8's arrived in '93. All v8 cars are wide grilles. All '95 cars have wide grilles, side skirts and side repeaters.