1995 e34 540i/6 *m60b44* - Return to Some Kind of Glory

[marshallnoise]

I had an issue with the diameter of return hose I used when I originally went to fix my power steering issues. I used a single wall hose that was collapsing under the pump's vacuum. I got replacement hose that was power steering return hose which is double walled. It fit on the cooler but wouldn't fit on the barbs of the power steering pump and the reservoir. So I cobbled something together when I tackled the hose swap on Tuesday last week.

Sunday, I got the e38 pump installed along with 5/8" ID power steering return hose.

The one on the left is my e34 pump and the one on the right is the e38 pump. The only difference between the two is the long bolt on the left that needs to be transferred to the one on the right. Its easy as pie. Apparently the way it mounts is the only difference. The flow is the same, the design is the same, everything is the same except for that one bolt.
IMG_20170212_141511089_zpstobzotor by Paul Abbott, on Flickr

Here it is up in the car.
IMG_20170212_141927379_zpswkh6hmce by Paul Abbott, on Flickr

And final placement of the oil cooler converted to power steering cooler.
IMG_20170212_160608172_zpsbuypjwgu by Paul Abbott, on Flickr

I have chirpping from the system on initial start up and use of the steering wheel. After 15 seconds though, its gone and it drives perfectly. The fluid level is right and I am reasonably sure it is bled. I wonder if there is a check valve somewhere in the system that is allowing the steering box or pump to not have fluid for a short time. Its good enough for the time being though. (EDIT: Appears my belt might be to blame so I will make sure its tensioned properly.)

Oh, popped on my original bumper so it doesn't look like hell.

The to do list:

• door lock actuators for drivers rear door and passenger front door
• interior painting grilles to match the dash
• get front right fender, new front and rear bumpers then think about paint if I can't save whats there
• cool wheels (really want style 32s)
• e36 Sport steering wheel and airbag

Just money and time. Amirite?

[iXguido]

Before you install the new clutch/flywheel, can you take some measurements for me?

[marshallnoise]

Before you install the new clutch/flywheel, can you take some measurements for me?

Yeah, PM me.

[marshallnoise]

And I can cross off the steering wheel off my list. Hopped on CL and someone, right around the corner, was selling an e36 M-Tech III steering wheel with airbag for $60. Bad slip ring. Well, I have a million of those.
Capture_zpsvy2hkaxp by Paul Abbott, on Flickr

[marshallnoise]

Spent some time out there this weekend

I went out over the weekend and attempted to fix a few issues I have been meaning to tackle for a while. Nuisances more than anything.

The first order was figuring out why my seat belt won't retract. During my searches, the most obvious answer was that the belt was all twisted up inside the pillar. It was.
IMG_20170215_184050107_zpsdvkb2uhk by Paul Abbott, on Flickr

IMG_20170215_184055124_zpsip2lnifi by Paul Abbott, on Flickr

IMG_20170215_184059646_zpsju93p6k8 by Paul Abbott, on Flickr

My driver's seat is a junk yard special and its motors are getting tired. So much so that I couldn't get it high enough to reveal the bolt that holds the seat belt to the seat rail so I had to practically take the seat out to get to it. Its a pain in the ass, but I did it.

But then the driver's belt would not release so I started tearing into it to see if there was a release mechanism. I couldn't find one, a spring popped out so I went to the junk yard for a few things.

I got a new-to-me seat belt that did the same thing as the old one that wouldn't release so I thought I was screwed. Lo-and behold, I decided to install it anyway and bam, the thing released as soon as it was bolted in. Go freaking figure. Voodoo. But its nice to have a seat belt that retracts now.

I also did the same thing to the passenger side and yes, it had the seat belt twisted up in the pillar. But it wasn't as severe.

While at the yard, I got two door lock actuators for the rear driver's door and the front passenger door. Having to constantly check the door locks and not having the fob do all the work was a little annoying. For $10 a piece plus $3 warranty each, I went to installing them. Worked perfectly. No pictures though I should have taken some pics.

The procedure is fairly simple but tedious.

• Pull door card
• Pull vapor barrier
• Remove the three bolts of the door latch mechanism (torx bits)
• Two of the bolts are easy to see, one is hidden behind a seal
• Let the latch mechanism fall down a bit
• Pry off actuator
• Remove harness/plug
• Install is reverse

Getting the actuator lined up is annoying. Plus I have big hands so that just makes things more frustrating. There is no way to test them without getting it all installed minus vapor barrier and door card.

And removing door cards is always an adventure. Gorilla glue came to the rescue for adhering all of the clips that pulled off the front passenger door. Worked great. I destroyed the chrome trim on top of the door card though. My rear passenger door has the same problem.

Here is a crappy picture of the M-Tech III wheel in the car.
IMG_20170221_125914123_zpsuigpgddo by Paul Abbott, on Flickr

I love it. Only have one problem which will be easy to fix when that time comes. The previous owner must have let the airbag take a fall when removed from the car. It was severe enough that the basket that centers the airbag on the steering wheel was bent off to the side. I pounded it back into place, but its still off. This basket also provides the ground for the horn to function. I will find a blown airbag that hasn't been removed and I will swap that part. Just more torx bits.

Also got my California historical black license plate.
IMG_20170221_125926619_zpsv6pwp2ky by Paul Abbott, on Flickr

What?

[ArtFoodBMW]

Glad to see another one being saved. Loving the license plate too :coolphoto:

[marshallnoise]

Glad to see another one being saved. Loving the license plate too :coolphoto:

Thanks man! I bet that ride of yours is balls out fun!

Got out there and did a few small things. Mainly, I moved my component tweeters to the pods out of the dash. Wasn't hard, but everything with a soldering iron takes a little longer. A friend of mine sat in the car before I moved the tweeters and was blown away of the acoustics of the car. I tend to agree. Everything sounds so clear and stereo imagery is killer.

I also replaced the little wood trim piece that had long since fallen off. Its to the right of the stereo/HVAC panel. Its not a perfect match, but better than nothing there.
IMG_20170221_192330008_zps6lq0lgvp by Paul Abbott, on Flickr

Took a better pic of the steering wheel.
IMG_20170222_091626249_zpsbcsarszl by Paul Abbott, on Flickr

I need to take off my driver's door card and repair all the clips like I did with the passenger side as its a little floppy. I would really like to replace the door handle on that side too if I find a good one in parchment.

The left rear door card is off too. It needs the same treatment as the driver's door but I have to make a vapor barrier and then add some foam for sound deadening. Then the interior will be on its way to being complete.

[marshallnoise]

Did a few small things to the car over the past few weeks. Mainly, shift boot install from e28goodies.com via ebay. Also installed their wood knob but preferred the bigger factory size shifter.

IMG_20170316_093700963_HDR_zpspeszc5oa by Paul Abbott, on Flickr

Picked up a full set of Style 32 Staggered wheels plus spare yesterday for $360. The 17x8 tires are ok but the 17x9 tires are a bit old. One of the 17x9s is flaking pretty badly so I might go to a square setup and offload the 17x9s per straight6pwr's suggestion. These will be the last wheels I want on this car (famous last words). I will eventually get them powder coated black to complete the look. For the price, I had to make the buy.

IMG_20170315_211302287_zpsvzkzyhvt by Paul Abbott, on Flickr

IMG_20170315_211309846_zpszriubgad by Paul Abbott, on Flickr

IMG_20170315_211313863_zpszgcb083h by Paul Abbott, on Flickr

I will have a good day to get some crap done tomorrow. Goals are to get the last door card installed with new vapor barrier, work on my FM/AM radio issues (AM mostly, yeah, I like talk radio) and get the Style 32s installed. Then get my fog lights hooked back up properly since the car is confused.

If anyone knows of a wrecked e39, e36 or e38 sport steering wheel with the airbag deployed, I could use a bracket off the back of it. The one I bought was bent up pretty good and the horn randomly goes off. Its rad. LOL.

[marshallnoise]

Better?

[marshallnoise]

Sloppy Mechanics has me jonesing for an LSx swap of some variety. But until that day arrives, I am thinking a 50-75 Wet Shot should be fun. No money for it at the moment, but I have always wanted to fart around with nitrous so its in the works. Don't tell the wife.

[Sundeep]

It's always nice to see a car get saved. When/if you get your style 32s refinished make sure it's done properly because there is a special primer that doesn't come off easily. Here's a thread about it on Mye28 http://www.mye28.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=142589

[marshallnoise]

It's always nice to see a car get saved. When/if you get your style 32s refinished make sure it's done properly because there is a special primer that doesn't come off easily. Here's a thread about it on Mye28 http://www.mye28.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=142589

Rad! I will look at your link in the morning.

EDIT: I read the thread and that sucks. LOL. Looks like the wheels will have to be cleaned with aircraft stripper prior to either powder coating or painting. I am not in a huge rush but thanks for the heads up.

[marshallnoise]

I bought some new to me seats. They are tan (though not a perfect match) e32 seats. A lot of people know they will fit but the differences other than that are not obvious. What I found is that the center sections of the seat cushion and the seat back are 1" wider.

IMG_20170408_102913296_zpsncugox0j by Paul Abbott, on Flickr

IMG_20170408_102922479_zpsc4se5lly by Paul Abbott, on Flickr

IMG_20170408_103222320_zpss9b1hdle by Paul Abbott, on Flickr

IMG_20170408_103522645_zpsn8z4ltbe by Paul Abbott, on Flickr

IMG_20170408_103532330_zpsnz9bss2r by Paul Abbott, on Flickr

IMG_20170408_103542252_zpsiqxjeyvf by Paul Abbott, on Flickr

IMG_20170408_103550575_zpsfoxodijb by Paul Abbott, on Flickr

IMG_20170408_103606764_zpskdp7djb5 by Paul Abbott, on Flickr

IMG_20170408_103618143_zpsqvp1cxwg by Paul Abbott, on Flickr

IMG_20170408_103640140_zpsoou0goxp by Paul Abbott, on Flickr

IMG_20170408_103653991_zps9r5laxjp by Paul Abbott, on Flickr

Part of my swap had to do with swapping the harness on the seat because the e32 seats came from a 1988 car. On the motor side, everything worked great but the memory module was completely different. So I swapped that biotch out, got a gnarly sunburn and installed them in the car.

IMG_20170408_122348163_zpsyfm98gsn by Paul Abbott, on Flickr

IMG_20170408_122446554_zpsg53xk3eq by Paul Abbott, on Flickr

IMG_20170408_122452168_zps8ie7k7lq by Paul Abbott, on Flickr

IMG_20170408_130628615_zpshjyjqw8q by Paul Abbott, on Flickr

The seats were in decent shape as in stuff wasn't broken down but there were a few tears and stuff. I only paid $50 for the pair so no big loss. Both seats had the dreaded twist so I had to get those fixed before install.

I am getting weary of power seats of this generation so I am going to try and find some e46 manual seats, slot the rail and give that a shot. Mechanical should last longer and have less issues. I don't give two craps about memory and stuff.

Anywho, I am getting significantly better fuel mileage with the style 32s. Its probably a combination of heavy tires and tire height throwing off my odo. But I am averaging 20 mpg and was averaging 17 with the style 5s.

[marshallnoise]

Glory shot - to me anyway

IMG_20170419_171311406_HDR_zps561ftjev by Paul Abbott, on Flickr

I was dangerously close to attempting some paint correction this weekend but instead did a bunch of work on the Bronco. Probably get after that in a couple weeks.

[marshallnoise]

I made this! Still need to paint it but I am really going to like it.