BMW E34 520/525/530????

[cjgreaves41]

Hi,

Very general topic on the E34. A mate of mine has recently moved closer to work and can now walk in to work. So after ditching his diesel Passat is looking for something interesting for a few months. Randomly found a 1994 520i on ebay, seem to get alot of car for the money. Also found various 525's and 530's.

First question being which is the best to go for? Are the 6cyl engines stronger than the V8?

Second being what should he look for? Any area that are prone to rust? Or mechanical gremlins? What are parts like to source?

Cheers for the help!

Chris

[liquidken]

The 520 - whilst it sounds great and is smooth - should be avoided. It's too underpowered and thirsty. Certainly avoid early 12v cars (pre 1991) and look at the multivalve M50 lumps.

The 525 is arguably the best all-rounder and the best 6 pots engine. The facelift V8 530 and 540 are lovely cars but the 530 is as expensive to run but discernibly less powerful then the 540.
The 6 pot 535 is a great car but very thirsty and susceptible to overheating. A well sorted example is a joy to own, though.

Rust affects all cars - the inner sills are c ommon weakspot. Each version has it's own idiosynchrasies so it's easier to discuss the car you're going to get than spent hours typing out all the individual issues.

In the real world, the 525 and 540 are the cars to go for outside of any special variants such as M Power versions, Alpina etc

[cjgreaves41]

Cheers for the advice,

Looking at something like this 525.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1994-BMW-525-2-5-auto-SE-/17...

Looking about 540's would be ideal but insurance is an issue! The 525 looks like a good middle ground. Off to look at a few this weekend. Any deatils of where/what we should look at would be much apreciated.

Thanks

Chris

[Jobbo]

cjgreaves41 said:

Cheers for the advice,

Looking at something like this 525.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1994-BMW-525-2-5-auto-SE-/17...

Looking about 540's would be ideal but insurance is an issue! The 525 looks like a good middle ground. Off to look at a few this weekend. Any deatils of where/what we should look at would be much apreciated.

Thanks

Chris

I had a 530i Touring - it's really not a lot quicker than the later 525i with VANOS, particularly in auto form since the gearing is very high. I went for the 530 because it was the best compromise on price/equipment/condition at the time, but I'd choose a 525i happily if I did it again. Would prefer a 540 but they're rarer and at the sort of price of that 525, are going to be rather doggy.

That 525 looks nice though the ad's short on detail. Not much kit; no air-con (though my experience with E34s is it never works anyway) or leather. One thing to note is that it's still on the original metric alloys; tyres are ~£200 each and aren't much good compared to modern rubber, so replace the wheels with a set of 16"s from eBay (and beware that E39 alloys will fit but the centre bore is bigger so you'll need some hub-centric rings to get them centred so it doesn't wobble when driving).

[cjgreaves41]

HI,

Cheers for the advise. Didn't realise they had metric wheels on them! Strange! Not an issue though as my mate worked in a garage that specalises in german cars. So always has a good supply of standard wheels. Hub adapters on ebay are around £20. Going to look at a few 525s this week end.

Whats the main specific areas to look out for?

Body?
Engine?
General mechanics?

Cheers

Chris

[Jobbo]

Bodywork can rust, but shouldn't be rusty on a good one. Fuel filler is an obvious place to look, as are arches, boot lid etc.

Electrics, including the central locking; check all the doors lock and unlock.

Steering box can have play in it but that may just be the UJ under the steering column needing to be tightened.

There's often a really noticeable 55-60mph shimmy which is hard to get rid of; bushes alone won't necessarily sort it. Famous on E34s; make sure you get up to 60mph on your test drive.

This isn't an exhaustive list by any means!

[cjgreaves41]

Cheers Jobbo!

Shimmy? Meaning light steering feel (bit floaty)?

Any clues on the engine any common faults or potential problems?

Chris

[cjgreaves41]

Also will E46 wheels fit or will they need hub adapters (spigot rings)?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/BMW-5-SPIGOT-CENTRE-RINGS-WH...

Cheers

Edited by cjgreaves41 on Wednesday 18th May 16:28

[Jobbo]

E46 wheels will have the wrong offset; E39 alloys are likely to be cheaper anyway.

Shimmy - steering wobble, very apparent if it's there!

[Gruber]

Someone should snap this one up p.d.q.

http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/sales/2803326.htm

[Seeker UK]

Gruber said:

Someone should snap this one up p.d.q.

http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/sales/2803326.htm

That one won't have VANOS.

[Gruber]

Seeker UK said:

Gruber said:

Someone should snap this one up p.d.q.

http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/sales/2803326.htm

That one won't have VANOS.

Does that matter? It's a steal!!

[E21_Ross]

generally, the M30 engine in the 535i is the toughest, though the early smaller 6 pot (M20) and M50 later 6 pot engines are also very robust. i think the V8 is more prone to overheating, though could be wrong. as said, avoid the 520i it's too thirsty for it's power.

if fuel economy isn't too much of an issue, the 535i is the better engine over the 525i (even though it's not much more powerful, it has a lot more low down torque), it doesn't need to be revved as much, and the gearing is taller which makes it that much better on the motorway (70mph is about 2400-2500rpm or so in the 535i, as opposed to about 3000rpm in the 525i.

they are superb cars, extremely comfortable, reliable if cared for, and pretty cool. this is a 535i that i drove a while back. it's still going strong with no faults, and if you turn the quality up to 480p.....check the mileage turn the volume up as it was a friends phone camera and is pretty quiet!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6euI26lXYEc

it's on about 230k miles now and still going like an absolute train.

lovely cars.

Edited by E21_Ross on Friday 20th May 11:15

[Ev84]

520i is waaaaay too heavy and way too underpowered (Talking from experience) I'd go for 525i, unless you wanna splash the cash on insurance and heavy fuel costs!

[cjgreaves41]

Chees guys,

Off to look at a 525 this afternoon. 520 plan has gone outta the window. Strangely the 525 is slightly cheaper on insurance than the passat he had before! But they wont even quote on a 535. Any way wil let you knwo how we get on!

Cheers

[cjgreaves41]

Bought it! £650 106k miles 12months MOT and 6 months tax. Only niggles are a slight knock from fornt right, also play in steering, im guessing control arms? And a bit of interior trim missing but nothing major. Wil be a good project getting back to A1.

Chris

[Seeker UK]

Gruber said:

Seeker UK said:

Gruber said:

Someone should snap this one up p.d.q.

http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/sales/2803326.htm

That one won't have VANOS.

Does that matter? It's a steal!!

I'd spend a bit more for a k plater.

[Huff]

Chris - congrats, hope it serves you well. A nice E34 525 is a damn fine car.


There are many places that play can creep in, not just the infamous E34 steering box. If the box is reasonably 'tight' then you must also check for play:

- the clamp nut on the box output arm i.e. check there's no slop on the spline.
- the big nut at the base of the steering column (above pedals in cabin) - *try this one first.*
- the two universal joints in the steering shaft before the box - check for play.
- the clamp nuts of the above - check they are tight!
- the intermediate tie-rod driven from the steering box and all its (4) joints
- the tie-rod ends
- The idler-arm bearing.

None of these are actually difficult to address, just time spent poking, not driving. But it's worth it.


Now - the steering box adjustment procedure for the E34: it's much easier on the 6cyl variants than the V8, but the critical details are basically the same. Note - this only really affects preload - it cannot correct for a badly-worn steering box. Anyway;

Jack-up front end.

[Assuming a '6' I leave out the required V8 engine-mount undo / engine-jacking procedure...]

The adjustment is on top of the steering box (do NOT play with the big nut on the front end) You may have remove two 10mm nuts holding the heatshield on top of steering box - one on the end, one awkward to get at... discard h/sheild.

Now you can get your fingers on the box adjust setscrew and locknut. You need a 17mm ring spanner (or 177mm socket with multiple extensions and at least 2 UJs) to loosen the locknut, and a 5mm allen key to actually adjust the setscrew It's nearly worth buying a cheap 17mm combination spanner and sawing-off the open-wrench end to get greater 'swing' here if needed (on the V8s, anyway)

With the Allen key in place, check its orientation, and break-loose the locknut. It may take quite a lot of force, but keep/return to the noted allen key 'angle' set.

Now the adjustment: Nip-up the allen key in tiny increments clockwise from above, checking play 'over-centre' by swinging the steering wheel. You'll feel the free 'play' quickly reduce at the steering wheel rim while you watch the movement of the front wheels (nb engine off - no power assistance wanted). On mine, it only took about 30-45degrees of movement of the allen key to take-out 1/2-3/4" of free play at the steering wheel rim. If in doubt LEAVE IT LOOSE not tighter.

Now 'hold' the allen key angle and nip-up the 17mm locknut. It doesn't need to be really tight. Refit whatever you removed to get here, drop car to ground. Go for a drive

HTH.

[cjgreaves41]

Cheers Huff!

Its actually for a mate not me. I live 40 mile form work so a diesel is the only way in for me! Im just doing the digging for him... and nodoubt the fettling. Went to fetch it over in Manchester yesterday afternoon, he then drove it back down to Sheffield then up to see his parents in Newcastle. Predictably it didnt miss a beat! The only downside being filling the 80litre tank.... making his eyes water a bit!

Will have a good look over the suspension tomorrow hopefully. If not next weekend.

Cheers again for the very brilliant advice.

Chris

[Six Fiend]

Agree with what Huff said - also tell him to change the waterpump now for a metal one unless it's already been done. The originals are plastic, disintegrate and cause overheating/head warpage. It's dead easy to do on a 6.

Happy wafting to your mate