Pre purchase questions on E34

[SNAFU]

I'm close to purchasing an E34 and am having a PPI done tomorrow morning. I noticed some lifter noise when I cranked it for the first time which lasted for a minute or so, and then none thereafter. The owner said it had been sitting for several days, I'll have to see if it does it when I crank it tomorrow. It's a 2.5L 92 525i which from my research means it has the M50 engine so I shouldn't be concerned about timming belts, right? Looking under the hood I could find no identifying marks on the engine. I did notice a Dinan sticker on the right strut tower. Don't know if that means it has Dinan springs, it felt a bit soft to me. It has 190K on the clock and is very smooth and quiet.

Anything in particular I should be concerned about? Is the cold valve noise something to jump right in and fix or is it normal? Can these valves be adjusted?

Thanks for any advice. Obviously I'm a BMW noob but a car nut nonetheless and look forward to posting here in the future.

Alan

[Unregistered]

I doubt if your engine has any problems. Its all the other stuff on the car that can add up the most. Take it out and put it through the paces including high speed driving, pay attention to vibrations, roll, etc. Have a look at this link for a few more ideas. http://www.bmwe34.net/e34main/trouble/what_will_break.htm

[SNAFU]

Thanks for the link. Molst of the things he lists are to be expected on a high mileage vehicle. The one thing that concerns me is the camshaft wear from
loose bolts on the oil spray bar. Does this apply to M50 engines? I think that may only apply to the solid lifter engines.

Alan

[Mr Project]

Loose oil bar bolts do not apply to the M50 engine, as you suspected. No worries there.

[Warren N.CA]

switching to mobile 1 0W40 oil. No timing belt. No oil spray bar issues. Check if it has 100% original paint, with no rework, and NO RUST. Duplicating the original pint to BMW standards might run you $8000, so that's a scenario to be avoided. Most (cheaply)repainted BMWs look really bad to me.



I'm close to purchasing an E34 and am having a PPI done tomorrow morning. I noticed some lifter noise when I cranked it for the first time which lasted for a minute or so, and then none thereafter. The owner said it had been sitting for several days, I'll have to see if it does it when I crank it tomorrow. It's a 2.5L 92 525i which from my research means it has the M50 engine so I shouldn't be concerned about timming belts, right? Looking under the hood I could find no identifying marks on the engine. I did notice a Dinan sticker on the right strut tower. Don't know if that means it has Dinan springs, it felt a bit soft to me. It has 190K on the clock and is very smooth and quiet.

Anything in particular I should be concerned about? Is the cold valve noise something to jump right in and fix or is it normal? Can these valves be adjusted?

Thanks for any advice. Obviously I'm a BMW noob but a car nut nonetheless and look forward to posting here in the future.

Alan