Five oh Posted September 18, 2023 Share Posted September 18, 2023 Well well… So here we are. After some years of fettling and repair I’m pleased to say the old dog is back on the road and has been since march. Let’s say it’s been having an extended shakedown, not without incident I might add though. Here’s a recent shot So to recap… this car has had the majority of corrosion cut out and replaced, new front & rear suspension inc brakes and running gear and a full top end overhaul on the motor. Too much to go thru now, but look out for some updates in the near future 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharkfan Posted September 18, 2023 Share Posted September 18, 2023 Love an E34 - tell us more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duncan-uk Posted September 18, 2023 Share Posted September 18, 2023 Nice! Welcome back, that looks fantastic - please do a thread on the work - i remember you starting! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Five oh Posted September 29, 2023 Author Share Posted September 29, 2023 (edited) Before I get into the more recent stuff I thought it would be helpful to recap some of what had been done So the car has had extensive body repairs namely the old e34 bug bear of corrosion in the sills & jacking points Full front & rear suspension refurbish and upgrade And an full top end overhaul on the motor.. With that done late 2022, I kinda phaffed about until I realised there was nothing stopping me from proceeding. However there were a few things outstanding to complete. This included lighting issues, door locks and a general tidy up of all detritus in the car. But first was a new MOT….. …….which was, as expected, a formality. More soon. Edited September 29, 2023 by Five oh 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Five oh Posted October 7, 2023 Author Share Posted October 7, 2023 With an imminent return to the road for the car I needed to sort out securing it. I found initially that none of the door locks seemed to actually work even though some were trying to operate but obviously not successfully. With the early e34 having similar door locks to the e32 with servo operation they are fairly different to those on later e34 which are similar to (the cheaper) e36 style latches I believe. After a bit of adjustment and lubricant I managed to get all locks working bar the front passenger side so that required removing for inspection and dismantling to rectify this issue. I found the lock mech was partially seized requiring a complete strip including the barrel, switches and locking mechanism itself… It is a very complex bit of engineering requiring considerable fiddling to ensure everything goes back from where it came. Get it wrong and the lock operation will become interesting. Also with the deadlock capability, it was imperative to avoid it doing just that! Deadlocked e34's are not easy to get into if the battery goes down for any reason…. Managed to rebuild the lock eventually and now operates reasonably ok. Great. I could secure the car. Next was the lighting. Everything up front was insecure, damaged, faded or just plain tired. A good set of indicator lamps were sourced, cleaned and fitted. I then set about rectifying the main headlights, grills and also tidied the wiring and ballasts When splitting headlight lenses from lamp bodies they must be heated significantly otherwise the lenses will crack. I tended to heat to about 175 degrees for about 10 minutes and the lenses popped straight off. On the dipped lamps, now is the time to clean everything, but beware cleaning the reflector as the silver/chrome coating will come off easily from the plastic body unlike the coating in the main beam lamps which was surprisingly much more resilient probably due to their metal construction. Dipped lamp cleaned and lens re-sealed and here are the projector assemblies after a good clean Repainted the rear of the main beam lamps as looking shabby….All lenses were also removed and the lamps cleaned internally removing the cloudiness from bulb discharge that builds up over time. All new adjusters …and completed HID wiring tidied and ballast secured permanently Final set up showing beam pattern and hotspot. The grilles were thoroughly cleaned and treated with gtechiq c4, though I wasn’t happy with the results so ended up carefully doing another set for a better outcome. With that sorted various bits of trim were refitted around the car. The time had also come to fit the refurbished wheels and new tyres that had been hanging about since just before C19.. but we'll visit that next time…more soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Five oh Posted October 22, 2023 Author Share Posted October 22, 2023 So to continue….The time had arrived for the refurbished wheels with new tyres to be fitted.. A bit of back story…. The wheels on the car were in visually average condition but I decided to go the full refurb route. I also took the opportunity to upgrade to a staggered set up. As proven by sharkfan, there is no difference to the outer lip between the two sizes, however the staggered set up does look to my eyes, more purposeful on the car when viewing from the front 3 quarters or the rear. The increased width of the available rubber is also welcome, especially in conjunction with a locking diff… I had acquired a staggered set of classics some years previously from liquidken on here. These wheels had come off a shed of a B10 he was breaking at the time (always regretted not taking the motor on that one). They were not complete, with locks missing and the centre caps themselves in poor order. But other than a slightly damaged rear wheel and a horrendously awful refurb, they were reasonably straight with potential. Firstly the wheels had to be checked for trueness and unfortunately each one of my selected from the two sets were square, with one of the rare staggered rear’s found to be heavily distorted, but thankfully showing no cracks. Luckily the refurbers were confident they would be able to rectify these issues. Here they are as I left them…. ….And as seen a few days later when I went to drop the new tyres off.. I had wanted a wet paint finish but had failed to clarify this with them so they were powdered. In hindsight this is no bad thing and allows easy cleaning which is a definite necessity with the current disc pads I’m running at the moment. Very dusty, almost ridiculously so. Alway have your tyres fitted by the refurber so if any problems fitting, it’s on them to rectify. Here they are fitted with the new tyres, balanced and ready to go. The previously damaged rear looked perfect but did need a fair bit of balancing weights on the inside to get it spot on. Absolutely no issues in use. Wheels now fitted it was time to put some miles on the car prior to a full alignment. With the obligatory payment to the gov.uk, it was taxed and ready to venture onto the road for the first time in years.. Initial impressions were that the suspension is errrr ‘firm’… General handing was poor with the car very nervous particularly on the front end. Steering was off also. Alignment was desperately required. A few weeks later after some settling miles it was ready for alignment. Since this car is now fully adjustable, it was imperative to have a proper set up done asap. With the wheels now pointing where they should, I can say the drive is now much better. Steering is spot on in the centre and the nervousness I was experiencing now eliminated. Cornering is superb, but with some reservations about the suspension setup that we’ll get into next time. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Five oh Posted October 28, 2023 Author Share Posted October 28, 2023 Now that the car was aligned and seemingly running well, I started to put some reasonable miles on it.. Now in terms of suspension, I decided to go for the ubiquitous bilstein set up using B8 sprints with my original spax springs. Not a common combination but I liked the stance provided. Personally I wouldn’t necessarily go for the B8 in hindsight. The B6 are valved exactly the same, it’s just the rod length is shorter supposedly more suitable for shorter springs The front suspension specification includes Bilstein B8 sprint dampers E31 lower control arms with integrated spherical bushes New upper control arms fitted with e34 M5 bushes New, early type wheel bearings with new backplates. Refurbished strut bodies with new e32 type top mounts 25mm front ARB with all new drop links and bushes Here’s the difference between standard type upper control arm bushes and the M5 type. M5 type on the left.. much more substantial then the item on the right which were already an upgrade to e32 750 some time ago. E31 lower control arms fitted. To avoid aluminium tarnishing these were painted. Front strut built up Also had the strut collar gland nuts, plated to improve visual longevity 25mm ARB with new bushes and clamps The rear suspension specification.. All new bushes and mountings throughout. New wheel bearings and refurbished hub/ABS exciters and new backplates New top mounts on struts. Modified rear beam for full adjustability Spherical bushes for trailing arms Fully overhauled half shafts 18mm rear ARB and new associated components. Beginnings of rear axle mod….. ….With spherical bushes fitted to trailing arms for maximum effectiveness Complete and on the car The ride is very ‘firm’…. Not absolutely uncomfortably so, but tbh if I was using the car on a daily basis I would be seriously considering a change back to a softer set up. On smooth blacktop it is a joy, but if the road becomes more bumpy or undulating then it takes more commitment to hustle. Road holding and cornering are strong so I’ll leave as is for the time being but perhaps a move to different springs, possibly custom made may occur in future. All brake friction were renewed and upgraded. I run a 540 set up… more than enough for my current level of power and performance for the road, but I find the fronts are far too dusty in even light use so an upgrade to ceramic type pads is on the horizon. After a strip down…these caliper pistons would never do, so were replaced… …by brand new items…. …and the calipers themselves completely stripped, dipped and refinished using epoxy. All new brake fluid installed as a standard requirement. More soon 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir Anthony Regents Park Posted October 30, 2023 Share Posted October 30, 2023 Looking good! It must be 13 or 14 years since you had the Laser blue panels from me....2009? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Five oh Posted November 4, 2023 Author Share Posted November 4, 2023 On 30/10/2023 at 17:49, Sir Anthony Regents Park said: Looking good! It must be 13 or 14 years since you had the Laser blue panels from me....2009? Indeed….. it was about that time if I recall correctly. The panels were in superb condition and saved the car from the thin line of bangerdom even then…..refreshing it somewhat. Alas, though whilst still in overall good shape the time is coming when I’m going to have to paint it, if I really want it exceptionally nice. Various little dings, marks and lacquer damage spoil the overall look. We’ll see about that…… I Would have had the car about 7yrs at that point and I’m not shy to admit I got maximum use of it. I did at some points run it hard. But never (until recently…) has it failed to proceed …always getting me home. Even now it always draws attention. Especially from folks that know the series or previously owned one. People constantly ask if it’s for sale… my response… ‘No chance’ Here’s a recent shot. Not in the cleanest shape… the dusty front pads are evident.. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Five oh Posted November 4, 2023 Author Share Posted November 4, 2023 So to continue further… With the car now in regular use a few issues occurred. From a cold start i was getting a ’hard start’ scenario, where it was necessary to excessively crank the engine to start. It was also stinking of fuel regularly. After a bit of poking about, I traced the smell initially to the fuel rail to regulator feed hose on the motor, which was found to be leaking due to a failed hose clamp. Sorted that relatively easy, but still.. it stank of fuel. Upon further inspection I determined the flexible rubber fuel hoses up to the fuel rail on the side of the engine had both perished severely. Bad enough for neat fuel to be jetting out of the cracks when the fuel hoses were manipulated with the engine running…. A definite fire risk. I decided to renew all fuel hoses on the car including the two over the tank to the sender and those inside, from the sender to the pump. Perished fuel hose In regards to the ‘in tank’ fuel hoses.. bear in mind that ‘standard’ fuel hose will not do. It needs to be the in tank ‘submersible’ type that is resistant to attack from the fuel. A little bit more pricey than normal hose but you can get away with a 1mtr length with excess to spare. Still getting the odd whiff of fuel, but have traced that to the open return breather pipe that would run up to the charcoal canister in the engine room on fully emission controlled vehicles. This was removed some time ago due to rot but what was left terminated under the car, not under the o/s rear wheel arch. You cannot clamp off this breather. To do so will cause the tank to collapse in onto itself. I will have to reinstate something to vent under the car so the motion of forward movement takes away the fumes in the airflow under the car or some sort of one way valve may work. That’s the theory anyway….. More soon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir Anthony Regents Park Posted November 4, 2023 Share Posted November 4, 2023 I replaced all the hoses on my E32 last year. I couldn't get any reliable info on hose suitability other that 'yeah that'll do' so I went to Sytners and bought three metres of new fuel hose. I didn't do the in tank ones, but every external hose. I need to do my 318ti next - the tank will need to be dropped to rebuild the rear inner sills so that's a good time to replace them all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duncan-uk Posted November 5, 2023 Share Posted November 5, 2023 On 04/11/2023 at 15:15, Sir Anthony Regents Park said: I replaced all the hoses on my E32 last year. I couldn't get any reliable info on hose suitability other that 'yeah that'll do' so I went to Sytners and bought three metres of new fuel hose. I didn't do the in tank ones, but every external hose. I need to do my 318ti next - the tank will need to be dropped to rebuild the rear inner sills so that's a good time to replace them all. Whats the fleet currently Andy? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir Anthony Regents Park Posted November 7, 2023 Share Posted November 7, 2023 Same as ever really, 730i and the 318Ti, plus an old 2006 118d winter smoker. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duncan-uk Posted November 7, 2023 Share Posted November 7, 2023 Has the 730i cracked the 300k mark yet? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Five oh Posted December 3, 2023 Author Share Posted December 3, 2023 So. With all the positives so far, there were some significant negatives…. Not long after being back on the road, the first issue arose. I suspect the ‘firmness’ of the suspension contributed to this issue. Heading north up the A10 out of London, steaming along nicely, the road becomes very bumpy with some significant ridges across the carriageway that cause some extreme suspension shock and loading at speed. After traversing such a ridge, the motor suddenly lost power and cut out in the outside lane….disconcerting at the least. Luckily traffic was light so I managed to coast into a nearby lay-by… tried again to start. Nothing. Blast. Now usually I always have some kind of tools in the car. This time I caught myself out…having virtually nothing to hand. I managed to determine that It was a fuel issue but other than that I couldn’t pinpoint anything for certain. So I called for assistance and waited. Once the assistance arrived we quickly determined it to be a fuel supply issue which ultimately was found to be the simple problem of the fuel pump relay having ‘jumped’ clean out of its socket… popped it back into position and the motor fired straight up. So my fault since I had removed the relay previously when priming the FI system when I did the cyl head….. A strategically placed cable tie guaranteed no further issues…..or so I thought.. Early August required my attendance at a function in the Stockport area.. a 400ml round journey. I decided to travel up early fri afternoon and return in the early hours of Saturday morning. So..heading home across the Peak District, miserable weather, late at night.. it decided for the first time ever to strand me. I’d luckily reached a village not far from the fabulous Chatsworth house and under a light throttle, I felt the engine make that familiar stutter and subsequently die. This time I did have a full armoury of tools and after a check, again determined the issue to be a fuel supply failure. This time I was certain it would be the pump itself. Blast. This is where it gets messy….I called for assistance at approximately 1am and unacceptably was abandoned by a well known roadside assistance company by the side of the road until 8.30am saturday morning, with little food or water no comfort facilities and rather cold, in a deserted village in the middle of the Peak District.... the attending patrol was very apologetic when he arrived as he’d just started his shift. It seems these recovery companies just can’t get the staff with negative consequences on their customers as a result. As per their policy they needed to diagnose the problem which indeed was the fuel pump completely dead. He did try to get a replacement but as suspected, this was impossible so he’d just have to tow me. Now, he could only take me as far as Leicester forest services where the car would be collected by a contractor to get me to central Hertfordshire. This meant another 2hrs wait. In fairness the actual service on both legs of the journey was impeccable but after reaching home at 4pm Saturday afternoon I felt this was unacceptable for a fully paid up member of this particular group. I've since heard of all sorts of horror stories of people being left stranded, vehicles damaged, keys left on wheels whilst waiting for onward recovery, parking fines at services, indifferent staff….lots of nonsense tbh. Anyways…. Being dropped off at the services… Here’s the car being loaded for next stage of journey… And fully loaded A new fuel pump restored normal operation with perhaps a slight increase in performance? Dunno…. a placebo effect perhaps. The fuel pump that failed was stripped for inspection with significant wear found to the commutator and the pumping section virtually destroyed by seizure. This pump was a used item some years previously when it failed to start one afternoon at work. I’d had it laying around so fitted it and it worked so I can’t blame the car for that. I would suggest a spare pump if the history of the fitted item is unknown especially if in long distance or continental use. Have it boxed and secured, not rattling around in the boot! Another problem that reared its head was a starting issue. From cold it would churn over strongly everytime. But after stopping the motor and leaving it a while it would occasionally result in a non start with nothing from the starter on the key. I decided to have a starter rebuilt and a Bosch unit was delivered to the reconditioners. Luckily since it was the later small bodied bosch sr441x type unit, and not the earlier 440x it’s much easier to exchange but still a PITA. Before… And after…. Annoyingly the intermittent non start occurred a few times after replacement so possibly a fault elsewhere… the car has occasionally suffered from the same problem before and a starter has always cured it. No problem if it does occur… a 12v direct feed to the starter ‘relay’ gets it going. Great on manuals because the relay is just a link pin between two terminals, but on autos this method might not work. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duncan-uk Posted December 4, 2023 Share Posted December 4, 2023 Is yours an M50? 525i? if so i would consider cam and crank sensors, on our 330d we would get occasional no starts when warm, would just churn over - leave it for a while and sooner or later would fire and run fine. Never threw a code but a pair of genuien sensors and it never re-occured. Suspect they go open circuit with heat or something? Worth a look. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Five oh Posted December 4, 2023 Author Share Posted December 4, 2023 M50? Wash ur mouth out....i jest... Nope.. good old M30 motor here.. Perhaps i explained the problem incorrectly. I'm pretty certain it's not a sensor issue, it's the actual starter circuit that's giving problem. It will start on the key every time from cold... but very occasionally when hot and for example when stopping briefly for fuel, there will be nothing on the key..ignition lights yes... crank? Nope. Usually not even a click, but not exclusively so. If I then apply direct 12v to the relay, it will immediately crank & start. I say relay, it's anything but a relay. On autos it would be a traditional 3 or 4 pin type relay that handles the inhibitor. But on manuals it's only a bent piece of metal within a relay shaped box, that just transmits the current between the two circuits. It seems the starter solenoid is not receiving the full required power when it's not playing ball. It also seems very sporadic. It'll go for ages without any issue but then there'll be a spate of non starting. I've never really heard of crank sensor problems on M30b35. Motronic 1.3 is so simple its pretty much bulletproof. But starters on any gen of M30 are known to have heat problems in old age. I also doubt it's an earth problem, though I may try an additional ground next time it does it... I'm leaning towards the ign switch myself, but we'll see.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duncan-uk Posted December 5, 2023 Share Posted December 5, 2023 Forgive me i have sinned 😂 But yes CPS won't be the issue here. I'm not totally familiar with 1.3 but the e28 motronic had sensors in the bell housing which i know you don't. So yours wont even turn over in these situations? Does it have a security relay in the OBC code system? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir Anthony Regents Park Posted February 6 Share Posted February 6 On 07/11/2023 at 11:48, duncan-uk said: Has the 730i cracked the 300k mark yet? A long time ago. It's on 316,000 but it does less than 500 miles a year now. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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