400k club

[stx133]

Have now done over 400,000kms on my e34 540. still havent put a spanner on the engine, transmission or diff. (obviously oil and spark plugs).
Have rebuilt the front end once about 150k ago (upper and lower and sway bar and steering links), thinking i may have to do the lower control arms again and the rear sub frame bushes (already done the dog bones with lemforder parts).

The power steering is leaking in several places, neeed to rebuild the pump, replace high pressure hose and rebuild the 'rack'.

Do i spend the money or unload for an E39 540. i do about 50,000kms / year.

[Ross]

I'd be opening up the oil pan to check for loose/missing oil pump bolts. It would be a shame to loose it to something so silly after 400k.
Replace engine mounts when doing the P/S hoses. Your "rack" is a box and should be done at the same time as the mounts and hoses given the close confines in that area.
Several here with those miles on 540s still rolling along just fine.
Spend some time in an E39 before you make a jump, you may regret it.

[Tiger]

About your PS leak... have you found out where the leak is? 90% of the time is the return hose and is the easiest one to change... only about 18" long and two clamps. The other two hoses... with metal fittings... I found on mine is in good shape and you can just trim back the rubber hose and reclamp it.

[Mr._Graybeard]

In the PS fluid circuit there are also those two annoying little hose segments that connect the cooling coil -- they're under the brake booster on the 540i and only accessible by removing the left headlight assembly. They can harden up and leak badly -- and the leakage tends to drip on the driver's side motor mount.

As for the control arms, I was just talking to one of the BMA guys (Yves, I think) about the suspension arms, and his observation was that the thrust arms (the "uppers") are the real problem component and the control arms (the "lowers") hold up pretty well. Of course, you must be pretty familiar with your car by now (congratulations on its long life), so your diagnosis may be correct.

[stx133]

Have already replaced the engine mounts, had the mysterious "power steering cut out" under starting acceleration.

I will double check the control arms for upper / lower before replacing. thanks mr grey.
There are always more things to learn.

[stx133]

Spend some time in an E39 before you make a jump, you may regret it.

What would be the 'regret' of the upgrade? most reports indicate the
e39 is a better drive, once the Cooling system is sorted the mechanicals are going to be basically the same for mainteneance..

[Ross]

What would be the 'regret' of the upgrade? most reports indicate the
e39 is a better drive, once the Cooling system is sorted the mechanicals are going to be basically the same for mainteneance..

I own an E39 528i. It is an entirely different animal than the E34. I don't much care for it(wife loves it though so it's a keeper:(), my biggest objection being the dismal visibility due to it's huge airbag filled pillars and lousy mirrors.
(Has it occured to any of the government asswipes that mandate all these crash goodies that if you could SEE WHERE YOU ARE GOING you may be less inclined to crash?)
The E39 feels "soft" by comparison, material and build quality are lesser and there is more electronics to fail, some with amazing regularity.
In it's defense it's a comfortable cruiser and gets better fuel economy that any of my E34s ever did.

[repenttokyo]

mine just hit 430,000 km's!

[ahlem]

I just hit 350,000 miles yesterday. Needs an A/C rebuild/conversion and some other maintenance work but I prefer it to most all of the rental cars I end up with on business trips. If you do your own work these aren't hard to keep on the road at a reasonable cost.

[Grantus]

Given that an E34 with 400 000K on it isnt going to contribute a lot of funds to the next purchase, why not keep it and buy the E39 as well.

[Mr._Graybeard]

Have already replaced the engine mounts, had the mysterious "power steering cut out" under starting acceleration.


I'm not clear on what's happening with your steering. Is it stiff when the car has been sitting, say, overnight, and loosening up a bit when the car warms up?

[stx133]

The power steering cut out was due to the ps hose being pinched by the engine movement due to the engine mount being shredded and only working as a support, not tying the engine down. showed up as the power steering 'freezing' usually when pulling away quickly from traffic lights across traffic and doing hard turn.

[Paul in NZ]

even the e34 540 is much less engaging the a e34 535.The e39 540 is even further along the 'less engaging"spectrum.