Proud Owner of 95 530i

[e34.535i.sport]

3. Depending on your climate, but I think most people use 5w30 if im correct, atleast thats what I use. Depending on the mileage, mobil 1 is good candidate, but as with higher mileage engines, it tends to leak in spots where conventional oil would be leaking in the future.With 150,000 miles, I would put it in, but thats me, if it hasn't had synthetic before, expect some leaks.

Hmmm... I've used 10w40 Castrol Magnatec Since I bought mine and its got 155k on the clock now - no problems, no leaks... Just the way I like it. :)

[Golgade]

Well I bought the 530i, 95 with about 150,000 miles. Got a few questions:
1. How hard is it to put a new stereo in? Do you lose some of your speakers up front?
2.The LCD on the OBC doesnt light up, you can just barley see it at night, can that light be replaced or do i have to buy a new one?
3. what kind of oil do you recommend?
I had a whole slew of questions but I have seem to have forgot them.
oh well
Dan Lafley
77 & 95 530i

[Phatty5BMW]

Well I bought the 530i, 95 with about 150,000 miles. Got a few questions:
1. How hard is it to put a new stereo in? Do you lose some of your speakers up front?
2.The LCD on the OBC doesnt light up, you can just barley see it at night, can that light be replaced or do i have to buy a new one?
3. what kind of oil do you recommend?
I had a whole slew of questions but I have seem to have forgot them.
oh well
Dan Lafley
77 & 95 530i

1.There are several write up's about the radio. I have not personally done it yet, but do a search for it as it has a factory amp in the trunk that you have to bypass.

2. Which lcd? just the strip at the bottom or the whole cluster? You may want to pull it out and check/replace bulbs.

3. Depending on your climate, but I think most people use 5w30 if im correct, atleast thats what I use. Depending on the mileage, mobil 1 is good candidate, but as with higher mileage engines, it tends to leak in spots where conventional oil would be leaking in the future.With 150,000 miles, I would put it in, but thats me, if it hasn't had synthetic before, expect some leaks.

[artguy]

Well I bought the 530i, 95 with about 150,000 miles. Got a few questions:
1. How hard is it to put a new stereo in? Do you lose some of your speakers up front?
2.The LCD on the OBC doesnt light up, you can just barley see it at night, can that light be replaced or do i have to buy a new one?
3. what kind of oil do you recommend?
I had a whole slew of questions but I have seem to have forgot them.
oh well
Dan Lafley
77 & 95 530i

1) Sorry...can't help with the stereo yet. I'll be doing mine when my "list" gets a little shorter.

2) Sounds like your bulbs are out. Mine are the same way right now. Get the right bulbs. Some info...

http://www.bimmernut.com/forum/showthread.php?t=35941&highlight=obc+bulb

http://www.bimmernut.com/forum/showthread.php?t=12320&highlight=obc+bulb

3) I use Valvoline Synthetic 20w50...she loves it. I get filters from BAVAUTO.

[uscharalph]

What? No pictures??

[ThoreauHD]

I did the stereo. I wanted it to be OE without the ghetto aftertaste, so I bought the front mid-range speakers from bavarian soundworks, and 2 front speakers and 2 rear that were Infiniti brand. I have an alpine head unit.

I removed the OE amp and replaced it with 1 infiiniti amplifier for the head unit/speakers. It fits well. I needed a little more base, so I had a subwoofer mounted in the back of the trunk with another amplifier, this time mounted on the left side of the trunk sideways. It glows blue and looks pretty neat. I had the head unit wiring redone so it connected directly to the speakers, bypassing the 30 dollar converter thing.

It looks like now bavarian soundworks have a full speaker replacement package.. damnit. Those fkin bastards. I spent twice that. Anyhow, here's the link:

http://www.bavariansoundwerks.com/product/607/174/BMW-Speakers-Upgrade-5-Series-E34/
http://www.bavariansoundwerks.com/product/363/196/BMW-Subwoofer-System-Universal/

If you are just replacing the head unit and not the speakers, it will take all of 10 minutes with that 30 dollar harness. You'll lose sound quality with the harness, but not that much. My speakers would crackle a bit so I decided to replace the whole lot, and now it sounds as it should. Crystal clear, and if I wanna roll with the homey's, I can do that too. But I don't, so moving on..

As for oil, I use amsoil 5w-40 and I used to use mobil 1 0w-40. I'm in a sometimes cold climate so the lower the front number of the oil viscosity the less effort at startup and the more horsepower. I detected a real loss in pickup when I used 10w-40 or even 10w-30 synthetic.

As far as the obc light bulb, it's been answered I believe. 12V and have the black plastic base. Part number is 62 11 1 368 299

Good luck.


http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y106/toasty0z/IMG00028.jpg

[glen-sj]

I'm using 15 - 50 Mobil 1 on both the 530 and 525.

[h2oyo]

Well I bought the 530i, 95 with about 150,000 miles. Got a few questions:
1. How hard is it to put a new stereo in? Do you lose some of your speakers up front?
2.The LCD on the OBC doesnt light up, you can just barley see it at night, can that light be replaced or do i have to buy a new one?
3. what kind of oil do you recommend?
I had a whole slew of questions but I have seem to have forgot them.
oh well
Dan Lafley
77 & 95 530i
Welcome aboard, My car has a little over 180k on it. I don't know what the previous owner used to run in it but I put Mobil 1 5w 40. I have had no issues with it. In fact it seemed to run smoother and cooler with the Mobil 1.

[Golgade]

I remember one of my more pressing questions, Did 95 530is come standard with keyless entry? I thought they did but im not sure. Anyways I did not get a remote with the car. Any way to tell if it does aside from taking to the dealer?
Dan Lafley
95 530i

[healtoeit]

Well I bought the 530i, 95 with about 150,000 miles. Got a few questions:
1. How hard is it to put a new stereo in? Do you lose some of your speakers up front?
2.The LCD on the OBC doesnt light up, you can just barley see it at night, can that light be replaced or do i have to buy a new one?
3. what kind of oil do you recommend?
I had a whole slew of questions but I have seem to have forgot them.
oh well
Dan Lafley
77 & 95 530i
Congratz on the car man! stick with it, and welcome to the club! I run 10w-40 in my 525i...
The LCD is easy to fix, it might just be loose like mine, all you need to do is pull the radio receiver out and you can see the connections and the bulb.
I just did my stereo, but the stuff I replaced was something the first owner did, It was a nightmare, is the radio stock or has it been modified?

[repenttokyo]

1) Sorry...can't help with the stereo yet. I'll be doing mine when my "list" gets a little shorter.

2) Sounds like your bulbs are out. Mine are the same way right now. Get the right bulbs. Some info...

http://www.bimmernut.com/forum/showthread.php?t=35941&highlight=obc+bulb

http://www.bimmernut.com/forum/showthread.php?t=12320&highlight=obc+bulb

3) I use Valvoline Synthetic 20w50...she loves it. I get filters from BAVAUTO.

you don't find that oil too thick in the michigan winter?

[bubba966]

Don't know what to tell you about the radio.

But as far as what oil to use around here in Seattle I use Amsoil Series 2000 0w30 in my '95 540 M-Sport and really like it. Much better than the Mobil 1 the PO used to put in the car.

I put Amsoil European Car formula (5w40) in a friends '95 525iT, and in a '93 M5 and that works well also. Would've just used the 0w30 in those as well if they didn't mind the added $ of the Series 2000 over the Euro formula.

Can find Amsoil around here at Joe's.

What's the build date on your 530? Last 7 digits of the VIN? Got a picture of the ignition cylinder? How about a pic of the big center vent on the top of the dash? Or a pic of what's under the rear seat? There's both a factory & dealer installed alarm/keyless entry for E34's. And there's various things that tell you if it's got one or the other.

Enjoy your 530. Maybe I'll see it around here someday...

[BMWCCA1]

I remember one of my more pressing questions, Did 95 530is come standard with keyless entry? I thought they did but im not sure. Anyways I did not get a remote with the car. Any way to tell if it does aside from taking to the dealer?It should have it. Easy way to check is to look for a red LED on the panel just below the rear-seat A/C outlet vent at the back of the center console (next to where the rear cigar lighter should be!). Next you'll need to pull the rear seat bottom and see if the control unit for keyless-entry/alarm is still there. You'll need to locate this anyway to program it for the new alarm fob's chip when you get one. Look in your owner's packet and see if the booklet about the alarm and re-programming a key fob is in there.

[artguy]

you don't find that oil too thick in the michigan winter?
It's not too cold where I am...so I chance it a little. Right along Lake Michigan we are usually a little warmer in the winter and a little cooler in the summer compared to in-land. The Lake buffers us. There are only a handful of days that actually get below 20 degrees. If it does...I just stay in bed :D

It can get pretty warm and humid though in the summer (90+), so I like the 20W-50 for it's range.


GENERAL INFO FOR NEWER OWNERS:

I like the thicker oil for the older engines. It keeps those parts coated better and it doesn't breakdown near as fast. Light weight oils are not for these cars.

http://www.captive1.com/mrk/oil_weight_w.jpg

[repenttokyo]

It's not too cold where I am...so I chance it a little. Right along Lake Michigan we are usually a little warmer in the winter and a little cooler in the summer compared to in-land. The Lake buffers us. There are only a handful of days that actually get below 20 degrees. If it does...I just stay in bed :D

It can get pretty warm and humid though in the summer (90+), so I like the 20W-50 for it's range.


GENERAL INFO FOR NEWER OWNERS:

I like the thicker oil for the older engines. It keeps those parts coated better and it doesn't breakdown near as fast. Light weight oils are not for these cars.

http://www.captive1.com/mrk/oil_weight_w.jpg

thanks for the reply. I am running 5w50, bc it gets DAMN COLD here :(

[GJPinAU]

Stereo upgrade right here!
http://www.bimmer.info/forum/showthread.php?t=11484