Hello Thread - Just bought my first E34!

[Fetch]

Hi Everyone!
Just bought a black '94 530i 5 Speed, 150,000 miles
This is my 2nd BMW, I used to drive an '89 750iAL

I haven't found out if it has the nikasil block or not!!


Here's a low quality picture.....all I've got so far!
http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/1820/1kb2.jpg

Things I've fixed so far (It's only been 3 days, already fixing things! lol):
The common seat twisting problems in driver's & passenger's seats
Rerouted cruise control cable to where it should be (...it was bent oddly)

Things to fix:
lots of small stuff

The car drives so nice & is very quiet!!, Dare I say I like it much more than my 750?!??

Hope to spend lots of time on this forum!

[Zeuk in Oz]

Welcome ! :)

[saj3n]

Welcome Home! :-D

Suggestion, have a leak down test done, and run numbers on block, just to be sure and worry free.

[BigKriss]

Welcome aboard and nice wheels. Are they 16"s?

[Paul in NZ]

why worry,its too late you have already bought it.....just clean and drive it and lower it and drive it and get new wheels and clean it and drive it some more and clean it again and.......

[mattyb]

ditto. welcome. looks like a clean ride.

[Fetch]

I'm not in too much of a hurry to check for nikasil block numbers (If it were easier to check, I'd do it much sooner...)
I don't have other 530i's to compare it to, but it seems to run and start very strongly. I've read rough idle can be caused by poor compression, mine seems to not have a 'rough' idle, but the engine does seem to rock a tiny bit at idle, where I can see it in the stick shift & feel the body rock a tiny bit. I'm hoping that because this rock goes away when the car is reved even a tiny amount, that it is just a little rock because the cams are tuned for a much higher rpm?

Right now I'm more concerned about checking to see if the oil pump bolts are secure. I have to go back and read the thread on this forum about that later today. No warning lights or anything, but when I turn the engine off, sometimes there will be a rattle from the front. I'm hoping it is just an exhaust piece loose or something.

From what I recall from the threads, it is 'easy' to check the oil pump bolt problem? The oil pan needs to be dropped & gasket replaced? I thought dropping an oil pan was a lot more time consuming.

The rims are the stock 15" size actually, they are borbet rims

[bbig119]

First off, welcome. Car looks great.

Second, I've gone through the oil pump bolt issue. Our engines have a lower oil pan which is what makes this job easy. I've never done it, but I believe dropping the main pan is a total PITA. Here, put the front end up enough to get under it, the lower pan has a bunch of bolts but it comes off easy(this is a good time to change the oil if it hasn't been done already). I found bolts that held the oil pump together, and also a bolt that mounts the oil pump to the block.

Also, if you've got a telescoping mirror you should be able to read the block numbers off the engine without removing the heat shield, but if you're gonna put the car up for for the oil pump bolts, taking the heat shield off is probably just as quick-- especially if you're waiting for the oil to drain.

Check here for oil pump stuff: http://www.bimmer.info/forum/showthread.php?t=22575&highlight=low+oil+pressure

When you do go fishing for oil pump bolts, make sure you have a new oil pan gasket. If the engine is nikasil, even if its not, there's a good chance that you've got an old cork gasket for the lower pan. I think I paid like $30 at the stealer for a new one that's metal with rubber lining.


I'm not in too much of a hurry to check for nikasil block numbers (If it were easier to check, I'd do it much sooner...)
I don't have other 530i's to compare it to, but it seems to run and start very strongly. I've read rough idle can be caused by poor compression, mine seems to not have a 'rough' idle, but the engine does seem to rock a tiny bit at idle, where I can see it in the stick shift & feel the body rock a tiny bit. I'm hoping that because this rock goes away when the car is reved even a tiny amount, that it is just a little rock because the cams are tuned for a much higher rpm?

Right now I'm more concerned about checking to see if the oil pump bolts are secure. I have to go back and read the thread on this forum about that later today. No warning lights or anything, but when I turn the engine off, sometimes there will be a rattle from the front. I'm hoping it is just an exhaust piece loose or something.

From what I recall from the threads, it is 'easy' to check the oil pump bolt problem? The oil pan needs to be dropped & gasket replaced? I thought dropping an oil pan was a lot more time consuming.

The rims are the stock 15" size actually, they are borbet rims

[brosher]

Congrats, looks just like my 540i I got a month or so ago (except the wheels). I, like you, am fixing up a bunch of stuff on mine. It's time consuming but fun to have something to tinker with. You'll be happy come spark plug time w/ 4 less. ;)

The cams are a little "lopey" at idle in the v8's. I got my lower pan gasket for like $17 from www.mr-auto-parts.com.

[saconnect]

Hi Everyone!
Just bought a black '94 530i 5 Speed, 150,000 miles
This is my 2nd BMW, I used to drive an '89 750iAL

I haven't found out if it has the nikasil block or not!!


Glad to have you back! I can never remember which one is the good one...the replacement one...allusil or nikasil, so I'll just call it the bad and the good. If you have that many miles, and it is the block that goes bad, chances are you're probibly aok. The black 530 I had gave out after about 222k miles. I found another bad block engine really cheep ($168) and replaced the old one, and I drove it for another 25k. That was so much better than paying an arm and a leg for a good one. Sold it last year and my friend's still driving it with no problems...and yes, I did tell him exactly what I'd done to it.

What ever you do with the oil pump, keep us posted.