Anyone ever used their 525 as a tow vehicle?

[ricola]

We traded in our V6 Nissan Xterra for a V8 Titan back in 2004. Were still under 2 years of ownership. Some of you may remember I have a Porsche 914 I converted to 300+ HP 928 V8 power. The car is lovingly know as the Alien. We like to travel out west to the 914club.com West Coast Classic Meets on the Gold Coast. The Xterra just didn't have the grunt for the mountain passes.

We've had the worse luck with the Titan. It has awesome power and if ever needed could pull a house. But the rear axle is a joke. First Diff broke at around 7000 miles. We had the warentee service done a week before we were to leave on vacation. We bought this truck to tow the Alien out to the WCC 05.

Five days before the event the diff broke. It took 6 weeks to get it fixed. Nissan wouldn't loan us a truck so we could keep our vacation plans intact. My options were to drive the car at great risk to the event or not go.
We never towed anything with it before the first failure.

Now just over 36000 and it broke again. We still haven't used it to tow more than my 12' trailer with the 914 (twice) and the MGA (once) I put a plow on it last year but it was such a bad plow truck I gave up trying to use it to plow after 4 tried. The ABS kept coming on and stopping the truck...

Were hoping the "60,000 mile Power Train" warentee covers the rear axle or were Fuched! We just have the last basic warentee done two weeks ago. Just went over the 36000 mile basic warentee!

Anyone ever had this happen? We luv the truck, but CRAP! that's it!

BTW: When we had it in last, the service manager told us when they changed the diff under warentee they failed to install the vent in the new diff. They were to order one and call us when it came in. Guess what... No call. Now they'll get to add that vent to the second diff!

So back on topic, Anyone ever towed their AX car with their 525I T?

Here's the trailer with a rare raspberry color 914 I have. It's small.

[winfred]

on flat ground for short hop's maybe but i wouldn't even think about it with mountains, you have a 2.5 engine pulling a lard ass car allready and when you say "The Xterra just didn't have the grunt for the mountain passes. " the 525 ain't going to do much better and may munch a tranny trying, sounds like time to score a cheep v8 tow vehicle like a old pick up or suburban

[winfred]

theres something to be said for a tow vehicle with some ass like my diesel
http://members.cox.net/kitlou/triptruck.JPG
there ain't a hill between louisiana and maryland that i couldn't pull at 70 mph with the cruise on and the ac rocking and still averaged 14 mpg for the trip

[ryan roopnarine]

ummmmm....
i don't own a nissan titan.
but, iirc, the fix was to change the diff cover to one with fins to solve the overheating problem, not just add a "vent", unless i'm underestimating what nissan considers a "vent".

[ricola]

They replaced the entire unit. It came with the uprated Finned cover. That didn't cure the weak internal parts. I live in MN for god sake. It's only 70 deg. on a warm day. They failed to transfer the vent off the first diff. I dought that caused the new problem but It's a small tool for leverage.

[Paul in NZ]

I think i am with winfred on this one.I am sure the 525 would do it,but slowly,with considerable stress on the cooling sytem and the auto.Rent a truck and charge Nissan for it!.If i were you i would be aking nissan for my money back or a new "different" truck.Get a Patrol!

[rob101]

I think i am with winfred on this one.I am sure the 525 would do it,but slowly,with considerable stress on the cooling sytem and the auto.Rent a truck and charge Nissan for it!.If i were you i would be aking nissan for my money back or a new "different" truck.Get a Patrol!
patrol bah
F250 with that 7.3L Turbo diesel. doesn't Bo own one?

[shogun]

It is quite common in Europe to pull a camper trailer or a boat with an even smaller car. The Dutch invade Southern Europe every year with the camping cars.
This little Porsche is so light, do not worry.
European cars are layed out in design for this.

[Espen]

In the registration paper for my 525 it says the Max allowed tow weight is 1450kg IF the trailer got brakes.

I pulled a Horse trailer with an 600kg horse in it with my old 1975 Volvo 242, it had a 75BHP engine, a litle slow in the uphills :D

I later upgraded the enigne to a 2.3 turbo. Then the horse towing was not a problem. 200hp and about 320nm+

[E34-520iSE]

I regularly (up to twice a week) tow my trailer. It's usually full of rubble or scrap of some sort. I can get 1/2 tonne in there and my car pulls it like it's not even there. It might be a struggle to get in up a steep hill, as I only have 129 bhp, but normal driving sees me going up inclines of maybe 1 in 20 max, and I have had no problems yet. As long as you don't intend to exceed the car's rated GTW you'll be OK, though a little bit underpowered. You'll get used to it!

Good luck,

Shaun

[Claude]

I would like to toe a trailer... but does it exist on the market safe type of harness to install under the car to do so ?

What do you use for those who already do so in north america ?

If it's commun to do so in europe, is it to say that the europeen version of E34 is differently build than the american one to accept a toe harness ?

[RiggsyB]

It's common in Europe cos we don't have the abundance of cheap petrol that you guys have, so we make do with what we can if we need to tow something...

The 525i won't be the perfect tow car, but I can't imagine that your 914 on that trailer will exceed the gross towing weight permissable in the owners manual...

BMW's (particularly E34's) are tough old beasts, and built for a bit of hard work... It won't be the easiest of journeys, and the car will probably use a fair bit more fuel than normally, but it shouldn't be a problem...

Besides, in the UK, the amount of family hatchbacks you see with a 1.8 litre petrol, or even diesel, engine, pulling big heavy caravans all the time... Ok, it's their choice, but i'd suggest your 525i won't struggle as badly as you reckon...

[ricola]

E34 - 520ISE, Can you post a picture of your hitch? Are you using some type of BMW stock hitch? Home built? I think Ii'm going to try this around town a little. We have some car killer hills here. If I can tow the Alien around here, I can tow it across the U.S,

Also, anyone know what GM tranny ours are based on? TH350, TH400, R700? Or another? There are lots of beefing tricks for GM tranny's if you know people...

[CarloE34]

It is quite common in Europe to pull a camper trailer or a boat with an even smaller car. The Dutch invade Southern Europe every year with the camping cars.
This little Porsche is so light, do not worry.
European cars are layed out in design for this.

I can confirm that.When buying a car we look if there is a towhook.
If there is one we check the suspension at the back.Thats the weak point:(

We call it a trailerpark cars:D

[E34-520iSE]

Hi! I will take a picture tomorrow as it's dark outsside. In the meanwhile, here is a link to the installation manual for my towbar. The Westfalia kit was/is supplied and fitted by BMW.

http://www.geocities.com/stereowizard2004/WestfaliaE34.pdf

For English language, start at page 14.

Sorry, can't help with the tranny question, mine's a manual g/box.

HTH,

Shaun


E34 - 520ISE, Can you post a picture of your hitch? Are you using some type of BMW stock hitch? Home built? I think Ii'm going to try this around town a little. We have some car killer hills here. If I can tow the Alien around here, I can tow it across the U.S,

Also, anyone know what GM tranny ours are based on? TH350, TH400, R700? Or another? There are lots of beefing tricks for GM tranny's if you know people...

[stu1]

Yep, I tow a caravan with ours - towed it all the way up to Glenshee last summer (that was some climb - and the kicker is, the gearbox had very little oil in it I found out later. S'fine thou...).

On the motorway it's OK - on some gradients I need to drop down into fourth. Apart from that, it's what I'd call an OK towcar - not good, not bad.

Stu.

[Booster]

I've never had any trouble towing with my Nissans, albeit a differnt set-up. Maybe they just aren't getting farmed out goods from their diff suppliers as of yet ?I had plenty of horsepower to tow this 240-Z to and from the track over 10 hours of driving total.Good ol' Datsuns !!:p

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b277/vinceinator/ZintowHeartlandParkTopekaKansas.jpg

Vinny

[E34-520iSE]

Wow! The white one looks gorgeous! What's the spec of those cars?

Cheers,

Shaun

[Mewsy]

Moving house, and towed a 7x5' tandem axel trailer full of furniture, boxes etc with no problems at all. I didn't push it hard, but the M20 had more pull than I expected. Makes me love this car even more !!........

[ricola]

Shaun, Thanks for the great link!

And I luv the early Datsun's! I had a 240Z back in the day, and I knew a girl that drove a Fairlady Z with right hand drive.

[neil_004]

Trans is a GM 4L30E in the 525i. At least in my car. I know you can put in one more clutch disc with a little machine work. Let me know if you find some more mods that can be done to improve reliability.

The 4L30E in an Isuzu Rodeo has a lower 1st and 2nd ratio but the same 3rd and 4th and reverse. Does anyone know if this trans would work in an e34? Would you need a new trans computer?

[Booster]

Wow! The white one looks gorgeous! What's the spec of those cars?

Cheers,

Shaun

What ? Love of Datsuns on a Bimmer forum....unheard of !!lol;)
Thanks for the comps.The white small bumpered 260-Z has triple 44mm Mikuni's and a HKS blow-thru turbo manifold running a t3/t4 hybrid turbo.Adj. Koni's,Racing seats,roll cage,strut braces,FMIC,MOMO goodies, etc.
The green 73' 240-Z is turbo'd with a Garrett 60-1 t/4 and injected and stand alone ECU, full leather,coil overs,koni's,LSD,3" SS exhaust, etc,etc.
I drove in tow at 85 mph and it was the BEST towing experiance of my life ! No joke. It could stop like nothing I've ever towed, and swapping lanes at speed was intuitive.The white car out weighed the green one by about 500 lbs and seemed to be a perfect set up.
I've also got an unfinished Datsun 68' 2000 roadster with a 3.0single turbo v/6 in it.Its one of those cars that will have full steel flared panels, leather interior from a Z4 and headlights from a 90's Benz.It will be alot of fun too.
Even though I'm turbo'ing my 5'ver...I won't be putting a tow hitch on her .It'll just be for date nites and trips.
Cheers..........Vinny

[oharab]

Lots have said it, but I'll add my 2p's worth. I towed my van from the north of UK to south of France earlier this year with my 525 (M20), with no worries. Some of the bigger hills were a little slower than I'd've liked, but I was on holiday, so no rush!
I fitted the towbar & electrics myself from http://www.towsure.com/product.asp?p=10435. Didn't take too much work, you just need a really big drill bit (15mm I think!) and some time.

Ben

[E34-520iSE]

Here's some pics of my Westfalia towbar:-

HTH,

Shaun

http://www.geocities.com/stereowizard2004/Towbar2.jpghttp://www.geocities.com/stereowizard2004/Towbar3.jpghttp://www.geocities.com/stereowizard2004/Towbar1.jpg

[ryan roopnarine]

E34 - 520ISE,
Also, anyone know what GM tranny ours are based on? TH350, TH400, R700? Or another? There are lots of beefing tricks for GM tranny's if you know people...

that's the "new" nomenclature name, 4l30e. the "old" gm nomenclature name is THM-R1. its a kind of boutique item, doubt you'd find that much drop in stuff for it. if it was installed in the isuzu rodeo/trooper, i can't imagine that it could be that weak, since those manner of trucks are expected to be able to pull at least 3000 lbs or so.

[E34-520iSE]

I've also got an unfinished Datsun 68' 2000 roadster with a 3.0single turbo v/6 in it.

Any chance of a pic of the roadster Vinny?

Cheers,

Shaun

[Booster]

Any chance of a pic of the roadster Vinny?

Cheers,

Shaun

I'll try and post up some images next year when I move all my cars from the wharehouse. Its been stored now for almost 9 years. Lots of bird crap and dust amoungst the wait.Plus...its clear back in the corner under a walkway....sighs !:(
It IS cool though.One of my faves.
Vinny

[calmloki]

I drag a little trailer around - 1000# or so. Here's a thread on my home rolled version of a reciever hitch. Works for me!
http://www.bimmer.info/forum/showthread.php?t=17778&highlight=hitch

[ricola]

I drag a little trailer around - 1000# or so. Here's a thread on my home rolled version of a reciever hitch. Works for me!
http://www.bimmer.info/forum/showthread.php?t=17778&highlight=hitch


Nice work! I may have to copy that one.

Did anyone need to add spring helpers or notice any sag or light feeling in the steering when your loaded?

Not when your loaded... The car...:D

[calmloki]

My '93 touring has working rear load leveling shocks. Compared to other BMWs - '91 318i, '89 325i, '83 533i - this wagon wallows, so high speed trailer manouvers are out. But corners at speed with a trailer are way too exciting anyway. Da'Lan specs no more than 150# tongue weight for their 1 1/4" reciever hitch, so if you follow that guide its not like an old pickumup that you load till the front tires lift.
Tom


Nice work! I may have to copy that one.

Did anyone need to add spring helpers or notice any sag or light feeling in the steering when your loaded?

Not when your loaded... The car...:D

[oharab]

I needed to replace my springs anyway, so I put some stiffer ones in, whilst I was there.
The steering on my 525 was really light anyway, but didn't feel much different. I could tell the van was on the back, but never so much it was worrying.

B.

[E34-520iSE]

I haven't done anything with my rear springs - they are the same ones that left the factory all those years ago! Here in the UK the maximum hitch weight is 75kg, which won't affect the steering or rear end height too much. I only know I'm towing something when I go up a steep hill. I do take it steady though, as my trailer is unbraked. I'd hate to have a mishap!

HTH,

Shaun

[stu1]

My offside rear spring broke when it was 10 years old going 'round a left hander - this was about a week after I bought it. Lost about half a coil, but it obviously fractured way before then as the break was quite corroded. I din't mind as I already had new springs and dampers waiting to be fitted.

The car had a tow-hitch when I bought it so I can only imagine it was the result of previous towing.

[fin]

Rick,

Fin here in MPLS. Do you realize that we own three cars in common? MGA, Porsche 914 and BMW Tourings?

I mean, what are the odds?

Someday, I'll see the Alien in person. Next summer, most likely?

Cheers,

Fin