I'm Back in an E34, Actually 2 of them!

[DaCan23]

Over the weekend I went to CT and bought 2 E34s, a 1992 535i 5spd and a 1995 540i 6spd. An old guy passed away and these were his cars, he was a huge fan of the E34 and took care of them well, priority was given to buyer that would take both so I was the lucky one. The 535 has 227k miles and the 540 has 149k, I expected the 540 to be in better shape but the opposite is true. Both are rust free, the 535 is very clean and only needs belts, the 540 wouldn't start originally. It might of been shorted in charging, the battery is shot, and the alternator could be bad. After started the 540 saw that it definitely needs valve cover gaskets, heater core maybe, but definitely a coolant leak somewhere, thrust/control arms might be needed soon, and the steering column squeaks bad, but the engine pulls strong. Thing is the 540 wont give my peake reader any codes, it just sits there reading and never stops. So I am thinking the short still exists and its always draining the battery too. In 15yrs I've never seen my peake tool not come back with codes or the all clear.

Plan was to keep 540 and sell 535.... but now I am going to drive the 535 while I refresh the 540.

8316

[632 Regal]

Can just about guarantee the 540 at least needs heater core O rings. Did you try the old stomp test? Being up in salt country check the grounds first and also the fuseable links. Do you have any maintenance records? If not you should do the 5000 point inspection and maintenance so you have no issues come sneaking up on you. He probably maintained the 92 and the 95 didn't get as good of treatment as the guy aged.

They both look great! Keep us posted.

[DaCan23]

Yeah theres quite a bit of records, havent examined everything yet. He owned the 535 for 13 years and 540 for 10 years, the 540 wasnt driven in the winter.

Thing about the coolant leak is its in the engine compartment I think, where if it was the o-rings on the core I would expect some dampness on the carpet. Did that job on my 95 530, not looking forward to it again.

Havent tried the stomp test yet but planning to when i get time (daylight) and its warm out. Was thinking ground could be the issue already checked the fuseable link under the back seat, cant remember where others might be.

Gotta clean out garage bay 4 to stick the 540 in there to start work. Only have to replace the belts on the 535 and it should be registered next week.

Still cant believe I scored 2 good condition manual E34s, and not auto converted to manuals...

[genphreak]

What luck eh? The best of the e34s, side by side. Nothing could be more enjoyable and no doubt both will be purring in no time at all.

Welcome back to the wonderful world of e34, the ONLY place to be.

[632 Regal]

Thing about the coolant leak is its in the engine compartment I think, where if it was the o-rings on the core I would expect some dampness on the carpet. Did that job on my 95 530, not looking forward to it again.


Mine has a leak somewhere also and can't track it. I have a pretty bad leak somewhere in the heater core system and the carpet does not get damp. I put the car in the air a couple times to find a leak with no luck. Can smell both antifreeze and burning oil when it's hot and the hood is open. Me and my son spent quite some time looking with all the acoustic panels off... nothing. The antifreeze goes low in a couple weeks so I know it's going somewhere. Kinda doubt it leaks that much from the heatercore because it should be dripping somewhere or soaking the carpet. Idonno.