Intro: '92 525iT and questions about it

[Intrstlarovrdrve]

Hey, I'm new here and fairly new to BMW's but not european cars (always been big into VW's and volvos). I just picked up this '92 525i touring with 180k on the clock, and a lot of recent service thats been done. I've got a few pictures, and have a lot of questions (yes, I've searched..) about the car.

1) What does the factory touring roof rack look like? My car has a rack that the PO said was a BMW rack, but I can't find any pictures to verify thats what it is? I can't seem to find anyone who will get me keys for it, and I'd like to unlock it.

2) How do I go about lowering the car? I know it has sls rear suspension, and I searched the e34.net but the links in the how to article were dead. I couldn't find anything on H&R's website for lowering springs for the touring. Can I not just bolt up non hydraulic struts from another car in the back of my car? Or would I have to buy the kit from bav auto?

3) What usually breaks on the sunroof? The PO has all of the switches out so I can't really open it (plus I'm afraid to being that its winter and I have no garage). He located another roof for the car, but I don't want to pay for one until I try to fix this one myself.

I think thats all of my questions for now, I'm sure to have more. Here are a couple of quick and dirty pics of the car, I haven't had a chance to clean it up yet. :)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v467/EchoeOfLife/_MG_9439Small.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v467/EchoeOfLife/_MG_9436Small.jpg
Heres the only clear pic showing what the roof rack looks like, sorry I'm in it
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v467/EchoeOfLife/_MG_9449Small.jpg

Thanks!

[repenttokyo]

nice nick, welcome to the forum.

[Brandon J]

That's a great touring you have there.

1. You do have the factory roof rack. Can't help you wit the keys.

2. Tell us more what you are looking for with the lowering and the ride. H&Rs are stiff and can ruin a ride, but be sporty. There are other combinations where you can have both a good ride and sporty handling. So please tell us more.

[Intrstlarovrdrve]

That's a great touring you have there.

1. You do have the factory roof rack. Can't help you wit the keys.

2. Tell us more what you are looking for with the lowering and the ride. H&Rs are stiff and can ruin a ride, but be sporty. There are other combinations where you can have both a good ride and sporty handling. So please tell us more.

Thanks! I wasn't sure that it was the OEM rack, as a quick google image search revealed another rack.

I really just want to level out the ride a little bit, the rear isn't really sagging but its got no fender gap compared to the front. I want a nice ride, and fairly sporty handling, although I don't feel the car handles badly now. I just want to drop the front by about 1.75-2.25in and the rear maybe 1.5. Maybe not so low, I don't really know whats out there.

People replied a lot faster than expected, thanks!

[BennyM]

Sorry, can't offer anything more than that comment. :)

[Brandon J]

Thanks! I wasn't sure that it was the OEM rack, as a quick google image search revealed another rack.

I really just want to level out the ride a little bit, the rear isn't really sagging but its got no fender gap compared to the front. I want a nice ride, and fairly sporty handling, although I don't feel the car handles badly now. I just want to drop the front by about 1.75-2.25in and the rear maybe 1.5. Maybe not so low, I don't really know whats out there.

People replied a lot faster than expected, thanks!
You might want to look into the M-tech springs for the touring. Here is the link for you: http://www.bmwe34.net/E34main/Maintenance/E34Touring/Suspensions.htm

Eliminating the self leveling is really a breeze if you want to remove it. You say the rear is lower, well perhaps your self leveling needs to be recalibrated for the correct height. This happens all the time with the rear sls. Another thing to check is if the sls is leaking along the lines or the rear shocks. That could be a culprit for the sag in the rear.

Good Luck.

[GJPinAU]

There are a couple of guys with tourings on here, I'm sure they can point you in the right direction as far as fixing the sunroof etc.

Have you looked at www.bmwe34.net this is also a very good site for information.
Enjoy the car :)

cheers

[vince]

Nice touring! Many of us here will be coveting your roof racks!

I have two, a blue '94 with 107k and rear end damage that I'm repairing, and a recently acquired silver '92 with 260k and a manual and some rust. Both have more space between the front fenders and tire than at the rear. The again, so do both of the non touring 525s here too. Yours looks similar. Bigger wheels and tires will change this and make the differences less noticeable. Others here are offering more useful info on the suspension changes than I currently can.

Ths sunroof has always been an issue, and I can't help much here but say to wait until it's warmer. My blue one has no sunroof, and the silver one has had the fuse pulled to prevent accidental operation.

Welcome!

vince
naperville, il

[attack eagle]

the best thing IMO you can do with a sunroof, is use it... frequently.


when not used they jam up and lead to expensive repairs... as the only real repair generally is to replace the cartridge completely, at least to the best of my knowledge. Mine formerly resided in socal so it was used it's whole life, and still works great now.

ride height looks fine for OEM. Has just a bit of nose down it looks like, which is normal.
IF (big if) your SLS is ok, you can recalibrate the rear ride height for the drop you want. There is an adjuster on the sway bar, driver's side. that can be loosened and moved to adjust the ride height. it looks like a little U bolt.

There is a sensor on the passenger side trailing arm that gives check control messages if the height is out of spec. you may or may not get a message. If you do, you can either try bending the rod (dunno how or which way) or you can ground a pin.

then all you would need would be standard sedan front suspension parts. Vogtland seems to be the most popular choice for people who want to lower the nose quite a bit, but I am sure others can best suggest the front suspension that will get you where you want.


RE: the rack locks. with the number on the lock you can order new keys. Forget if they are Thule or not (probably cheaper if they are to order directly) but I know BMW can order them. This topic was recently discussed on bf.c, if you want to search over there. the name of the rck system you have is Aeroprofil in the parts system... you can use realoem.com or others online to look stuff up.

when off, there are rubber inserts for the tracks which you should use. might be in the car, or you might need to buy some.

SAVE now for a 5 speed... the autotragic mightgo out tommorrow, or it might last forever. I wouldn't even TRY changing the fluid in it unless you KNow the fluid has been changed routinely. Seems to be the kiss of death for a neglected 4l30e... and the reason mine is getting a 5 speed manual driveshaft and rear diff tonight/tommorrow.


Welcome to the forum, and to e34 ownership... but even more so welcome to the Touring club.

[Brandon J]

ride height looks fine for OEM. Has just a bit of nose down it looks like, which is normal.
IF (big if) your SLS is ok, you can recalibrate the rear ride height for the drop you want. There is an adjuster on the sway bar, driver's side. that can be loosened and moved to adjust the ride height. it looks like a little U bolt.

There is a sensor on the passenger side trailing arm that gives check control messages if the height is out of spec. you may or may not get a message. If you do, you can either try bending the rod (dunno how or which way) or you can ground a pin.

then all you would need would be standard sedan front suspension parts. Vogtland seems to be the most popular choice for people who want to lower the nose quite a bit, but I am sure others can best suggest the front suspension that will get you where you want.

Actually there is a whole procedure to correctly adjust the ride height. The correct stock ride height should be calibrated first then it is advised to adjust for lowering from there. The calbration is used to ensure the proper weight for the low point and mid point of the self-leveling shock travel. The touring might need to be driven on top of double stack 2x8s to get enough clearance to reach underneath the rear.

The procedure includes, but not limited to:
1. put car in neutral and release the parking brake
2. load the trunk with specified weight(616lbs?) for a touring
3. underneath, disconnect the control link to the lever and start the engine
4. then adjust the lever to the correct height (measured with correct wheel size) and lock down the lever
5. remove the weight and let the car relevel itself
6. reload the car, wait a few minutes and check ride height again

Good luck with the touring and keep us updated!

[Intrstlarovrdrve]

Thanks, the SLS actually is good, it has a clean bill of health from one of the local BMW shops. The transmission was replaced with a reman a little over 10k ago, so I'm not real worried about the condition of it. I read how to adjust the ride height with the sls, and might give it a try, but I'd just like to get the front end down an inch or so to make it look level.

The car actually has had a good bit of recent work. 2k miles ago the steering rack was replaced, trans is replaced, newer tires, upper torsion arms are new, updated cooling system, AC system has new seals installed, new plugs and upgraded coil packs, and a few other small things have been done. The major issues of course are the sunroof, and the hatch wiring is broken so my third brakelight, rear wiper and defroster don't work. Nothing major though, and hopefully the list of new parts has pretty well got all of the problem areas in the car covered (I think..I read up before I purchased the thing). Thanks for comments :)

[fin]

Welcome to the touring family.

Buy a digital voltage meter if you don't already have one. I you keep it long term, you are going to have to run down wiring/electronic issues.

One other thing to mention about the sunroof is to run a wire (insulated would be best) down the drainage pipes to keep the dirt/leaf/??? gunk from building up and allowing water to sit and rust out the roof.

Find another similar E34 series car in a junk yard and pull its roof guts. Refurbish that set, remove yours and replace as necessary. BMW used similar parts across the product line, so even a 735 might have the same stuff.

How does it handle on the 'Tail of the Dragon'?

Cheers,

Fin