Thinkin of pickin up an e32 88' 735i tomorrow...what should I look out for?

[Jean]

Automatic Transmission?

[Sean]

Ah I didnt notice that you just said 735i. Check under the rear end for hydraulic accumulators by the trailing arms. Pretty easy to pick out the hydraulic lines that dont run to the brakes. If the system works, it is nice. If it doesnt, it's easily bypassed (there is/was a kit back in the day) and Bilsteins make a great upgrade (of course)

Trey brought up a good point about the seat cables. Make sure to use the power adjustments to see if the seat back twists. You can fix it yourself in an hour or so, if you remove the seat from the vehicle and do the work on a bench (the easy way).

It does have the seat issue, and bad. Both front seats can barely move and the passenger seat is stuck at the lowest point, so my passenger is a gangsta.

Oh ya, I bought it. :D I got it for $450, so I'm pretty excited! It needs some work, but it seriously cleans up nice. AND GET THIS - IT'S CIRRUSBLAU!!! Holy shit, I just about crapped myself...what are the chances. LOL

It's real rough, all this stuff is bad:
- Front shocks are TOAST
- Stereo is gone, and has been rewired - may be a bitch to get a radio again...
- Lots of little body issues, lots of dents and scratches on the passenger side, lots of scratches on the trunk and hood, probably from people sitting on it. However, body panels are all original, and there's very little rust.
- On the rear quarter panel, right below the taillight, there was a wrinkle in the metal, and some rust forming there
- ALL LIGHTS work great, however one highbeam and one fog are cracked
- windshield is cracked! Kinda sucks.
- Brakes are slightly warped, but not TOO bad
- Headgasket (hoping and praying) is causing milky oil
- No muffler, cut off at the cat - cause it muffler was pretty much gone already
- Two of the rear seat belt receptacles are broken
- I think the cluster may have some issues, some of the idiot lights aren't lighting up
- no speedometer
- Both driver side windows make no noise and don't move at all
- No floormats - oh wells
- Air intake boot ripped
- Tires are so-so - I thought they were crappy, but I guess it's just the two front ones - they are cheap anyway, some off-brand crap
- It was a MESS when I got there - mud on the hood and garbage in the car, it's no wonder he couldn't sell it!


THE GOOD:
- All vents work, got heat - no AC though
- all fan speeds good to go
- ABS still operational
- Most of the interior is in really good shape - only problem is the seats, all door panels are great!
- STEERING SOLID!
- sunroof moves great! yay!
- No vibrations - not sure what I got up to, but it felt like 70-80, and no shimmys at all! WOOHOO
- From what I can tell, no SLS - looks like normal struts to me! (I saw no hydraulic line goin into them...)
- Locks are good, but finicky
- I have one key for door, and one for ignition - wtf is this crap? I need to call the dealer and get an everything key. (unless...I just thought of this - maybe replaced ignition or something?...hmmm?)
- Cooling system is great - no overheating, just mixing of coolant and oil over time. lol



OVERALL - the car feels really solid, and motor runs strong. All I NEED to do is get the headgasket done (and hope the head passes a machinist test for cracks and warpage) and it will get around town JUST fine!

I want to fix the seats and windows ASAP though. You guys have a good spot for me to go to get info on this?

Anyone got rear seatbelt receptacles?


I'll get pictures up soon! WOO, I'm excited! :)




and yes Jean, it's an auto. Shifts real smooth too.

[Ben Carufel]

Damn. I am firmly in the "Buying that car was a mistake" category.

Sounds like a hell of a lot of stuff to have to fix.

[Jean]

I have to agree, sounds like a pile. hopefully it won't cost a bucket to get it worthy of a dd.

[Sean]

HAHAHA - oh I know it's got issues.

But, for a beater? I'm game! All I really NEED to do is fix the headgasket, and it's good to go. Everything else - well, that's just if I want a nice beater. hehehe


Did some thinking - it sounds like either the locks or the ignition was replaced with that of another vehicle. That's why I have two different keys. Oh well.


Quick picture of it all cleaned up:



It's not THAT bad - you guys need to see the diamond in the rough! :D I just went through and found ALL little things wrong with it. hehe How cna ya beat $450 for a running car? Sure, maybe $350 - but I don't think it's bad - hell, I could probably get that much for the motor...maybe. lol

[themitchster359]

not bad, looks like fun. gl with the repairs and i hope it doesn't blow up on you anytime soon.

[TDE30]

Congrats man, looks like a solid car for what you paid. I love the look of E32 bumpers, they look like euro even though they aren't.

I'm not sure about how it is in your area, but at our local Pull-A-Part/Pick-n-Pull yards I am constantly seeing E32's there. Start making friends with those guys and this might be a very solid DD.

Best of luck.

[Sean]

Congrats man, looks like a solid car for what you paid. I love the look of E32 bumpers, they look like euro even though they aren't.

I'm not sure about how it is in your area, but at our local Pull-A-Part/Pick-n-Pull yards I am constantly seeing E32's there. Start making friends with those guys and this might be a very solid DD.

Best of luck.

Thanks, Trey! Finally, someone sees hope!! LOL

I pulled the seats, OBC and cluster out today. Gonna replace all the bad lights - and I checked to see if there was a bad resistor in the speedometer...nope.
Trey- any pointers here? I read on BimmerForums that one of the sensors on the WHEELS records the speed? I checked the differential sensor - and the wires good - didn't pull it out though. Should I just run through all of them (one on each tire, one in tranny and the diff one) and clean em? I want a working speedo.

I found some articles on the seats:
- http://www.nmia.com/~dgnrg/page_11.htm
- http://bimmer.roadfly.com/7series/me...9w35/4172.html

I'm going to try cutting the cables, you guys have any pointers on that?


Also, I found a bunch of random connectors that weren't being used
- a few by the battery that were no connected to anything?
- a bunch under both seats were unused?



OH - and what's with unlocking this thing without battery power? I can't believe it - I had to connect my battery to the trunk light to get it open!


I'm havin fun so far! Gonna get headgasket parts ordered tomorrow! :D



Awww...they look so much alike! It's almost kinda cool.

[Jean]

Does not look too bad actually, now TURBO IT lol

[TDE30]

Sean, looks good next to the E30. I'm no E32 guru, but after messing around and troubleshooting both of my parents E34's, I may be able to help you a bit.

Seat cables are an easy fix, it may take you an hour and a half to get everything done and all cables replaced. Both of those links you had were helpful, but I found another one that includes pictures to help you out during the process. Between the below link and the first link you had (the nmia.com link,) you should be able to knock it out in no time.

http://bellsouthpwp.net/m/i/miales/seatcablesfix.htm

The OBC IV has three bulbs in all (two for the LED strip and one to illuminate the buttons,) it's best just to replace all of them. Make use of all of the OBC IV's test functions, some are actually quite handy.

http://home.iae.nl/users/bts/obc.htm

http://www.m5board.com/vbulletin/alpinaboard-com-bmw-alpina-discussion/6767-e34-obc-hidden-functions.html

The only speed sensor I am aware of on E32's is located at the differential, I have heard that there are also two or more speed sensors in the transmission as well (although I am not sure if that applies to one certain transmission and where the speed sensors are located.) I recommend following the link below (applies to the E34, but should also work on the E32) or contacting Shogun (a member on Bf.c and on Bimmer.info) he knows a LOT about these cars and has answered a variety of questions on the subject.

http://www.bmwe34.net/Wiki/tiki-index.php?page=Speed+sensor

The speed sensor(s) are is/are something I have no experience with on either of the E34's, but there is plenty of useful information online about it and I'm sure you've already bookmarked this site. :D

The below link may help you with the door lock issue, I am not sure about the unnecessary cables you found throughout the car though. I suggest PM'ing Shogun a picture, he may be able to tell you which one goes where.

http://www.bmwe34.net/Wiki/tiki-index.php?page=Locked+doors

Let me know (via posting or PM) if you need anything else though, the major reason these cars have a reputation (same for the E34) is because they are now affordable and many people don't want to do anything themselves and thus run away with arms flailing. You can save a ton of money buy doing some of those fixes yourself. Good luck.

[wagonizzle]

You have not responded to my challenge... see the Project Forum

[Sean]

Badass, Trey! That's a great resource for the seats! Thanks!

I have new bulbs on order for the OBC and cluster. In addition, I have an old e30 cluster (and it uses the same bulbs) So, from all the bulbs and the six new ones I'm getting - I should be able to light everything up! :D

That's a good resource for the speed sensor too. It sounds like it's the diff sensor that does everything (Which makes sense) I'll have to try to yank it out and clean it - hopefully that fixes it. If not, guess I'll have to buy that too. (the pit begins! hehe)

Overall though, After another $400 or so, it should be a decent daily - I'm pretty excited! And the damn thing is SO QUIET inside! My e30 is noisey. LOL



Wagonizzle...glad you pointed me there! I'll be in there soon....LOL

[madformx5]

Cool car Sean. I too have alway liked the e32's. It is really the only metal bumbered bimmer that I do like. I am working on a beater e30 right am maybe when I get it done I will search out an e32. I see them cheap on Craigslist all of the time.