Couple of general questions....

[Sidney Rough-Diamond]

I have a M-Tec 2 wheel from my E30 M3 restoration project that I was thinking would look good in my 540. The car has an airbag, so does anyone know how to do this without it exploding in my face,and would removing this mean the airbag light would stay on all the time ? The car is a UK spec RHD model.

Also, does anyone have the 4 brackets that hold the engine cover in place onto the intake throttle body, part numbers 3,4,5 and 6 in the online ETK.
www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?model=HE52&mospid=47384&btnr=11_1249&hg=11&fg=55

Valve cover gaskets , do I need to use and gasket sealent of any type when fitting new parts ? If so ,what kind is best ?

One more thing, has anyone ever bought a second hand panel ( such as a door )for their car in the same color ? Mine has a large dent in the n/s rear door and as this is a kinda budget car, I'm thinking of looking out for a Sterling Silber door to just bolt on, but was wondering what the color match would be like.

As a side note, finally got around to replacing ther throttle cable today, and what a difference it made. The old one had a kink in it which caused some slight binding that I'd learned to live with,but which made for jerky throttle modulation. Also gave the engine bay a damn good clean and the same for the rest of the car too. Have some new plugs ,air filetr, oil and filter and the valve cover gaskets to replace next weekend too. Should be finally looking and driving good again.

[Antrieb]

Do you have a Bentley manual? The procedure for removing the airbag steering wheel is in there.

[Paul in NZ]

dissconnect the battery first....
and a 540 6 speed as a budget car....wow

[Sidney Rough-Diamond]

Don't have a Bentley manual, not sure if they even sell them in the UK. Haynes manuals are rubbish and I refuse to buy another after the last one I got.

Yeah, 540/6 claimed budget car is a bit odd ,I admit. Won it on eBay for £1100 when I should have been buying some small, cheap and which would do 40-50 to a gallon. Oh well....

[billy]

i think our american friends are unaware that most E34s on the road in the UK are trash and you cant give them away.

not at all refering to you or any members here, there are many wonderful examples about in the UK. But as you point out you can get e34s very cheap in good condition here, even a 540, where as in america i belive the prices are generally higher, probably due to the climate

The air bag can be removed, first disconnect the battery and come back to it at least 10 mins later. Once it is removed you will have an airbag light on the dashboard, its probably best to just remove the bulb - I would think strongly though about keeping the airbag, its a fast car....bla bla bla
also the e30 steering wheel is slightly smaller than e34 mtec wheel

There is a very good chance you also have the wrong type of steering column they changed it over the years especially for airbag cars - you will be able to tell when you remove the airbag - if you find it is different then put the airbag back on before reconnecting the battery so it never knew it was removed and you shouldnt get a warning

[mzarifkar]

In a auto-extrication course i learned that even with a DC-ed battery, the airbags may sustain themselves drawing off of any peripheral electronics that may be plugged in, such as phones.
Something to keep in mind next time your cutting the A-post of a car with side curtain airbags...

[Panda]

Don't have a Bentley manual, not sure if they even sell them in the UK. Haynes manuals are rubbish and I refuse to buy another after the last one I got.

Yeah, 540/6 claimed budget car is a bit odd ,I admit. Won it on eBay for £1100 when I should have been buying some small, cheap and which would do 40-50 to a gallon. Oh well....

You can get a Bentley manual in the uk - http://www.linwar.com/bmw_workshop_manuals.html. Not the cheapest thing in the world at nearly £50 but a lot better than the Haynes. Linwar are an indy up in Southport, never used them other than for the manual.
There's a recent thread on here somewhere for a PDF version that you can download.

What sort of condition is the 540 in? You did well to get a manual, especially for that money!

[repenttokyo]

Where did you buy your throttle cable and how hard was it to replace?

[Sidney Rough-Diamond]

You can get a Bentley manual in the uk - http://www.linwar.com/bmw_workshop_manuals.html. Not the cheapest thing in the world at nearly £50 but a lot better than the Haynes. Linwar are an indy up in Southport, never used them other than for the manual.
There's a recent thread on here somewhere for a PDF version that you can download.

What sort of condition is the 540 in? You did well to get a manual, especially for that money!

Just found that manual as a download. Cheers !

As for the car,there is shallow dent in the n/s rear door below the trim piece, a bubble of rust next to the filler cap smaller in size than a 1p coin, a few bubbles on the drivers door bottom and a paint scrape on the n/s brake duct. The inside is perfect apart from a small split on the driver ( sports ) seat on the bolster.
It was bought as something with the power first, body condition second, and with a max buying budget of £1200. I did vow not to spend a ton of cash on the car as I'm meant to be putting that money towards another BMW money pit, in the shape of a E30 M3 total bare shell rebuild. I can't help it though, it really is a good car. Damn. during the easter weekend, I'm taking the 540 to the Nurburgring for 4 days of track fun. Expect some bullet cam footage when I get back.

Here's a couple of pics of both cars. Cheers.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v318/bmgm3/IMG_0840.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v318/bmgm3/bestview.jpg

[Sidney Rough-Diamond]

Where did you buy your throttle cable and how hard was it to replace?

BMW dealer at about £17 cost. The hardest bit is removing the plastic block that slots into a hole on the firewall which the cable passes thru. Not hard to do as such, more a fiddle with limited access.

[Ross]

i think our american friends are unaware that most E34s on the road in the UK are trash and you cant give them away.

not at all refering to you or any members here, there are many wonderful examples about in the UK. But as you point out you can get e34s very cheap in good condition here, even a 540, where as in america i belive the prices are generally higher, probably due to the climate

The air bag can be removed, first disconnect the battery and come back to it at least 10 mins later. Once it is removed you will have an airbag light on the dashboard, its probably best to just remove the bulb - I would think strongly though about keeping the airbag, its a fast car....bla bla bla
also the e30 steering wheel is slightly smaller than e34 mtec wheel

There is a very good chance you also have the wrong type of steering column they changed it over the years especially for airbag cars - you will be able to tell when you remove the airbag - if you find it is different then put the airbag back on before reconnecting the battery so it never knew it was removed and you shouldnt get a warning
Yes the prices you UK guys speak of are dirt cheap by US standards. Makes me cry. Why are the UK E34s so bad/cheap? The poor Ozzies are the ones getting F'ed hardest though, they think US prices are cheap.
Regarding the airbag, be sure NOT to power up the car with it disconnected if you intend to reinstall it as you will get an SRS indication that requires a trip to the dealer or buying a tool to reset it. The usual oil service reset tools don't reset SRS.