E34 540i maintenance help/advice pls.
Discussion
I have a quandry. The main issue's are my love of my current car, it's value and my total lack of mechanical knowledge.
My car is a very late E34 540i auto - registered 1/3/96. It's only had 3 keepers including me and has only just passed 73,000 miles. The history is good, it has nearly all the toys other than electric seats and is in Avus Blue.
I've had it nearly 6 years and knew the previous owner. It's been our family car and other than pretty ordinary fuel consumption (average of 20mpg in mainly town driving) it has been magnificent! It's carried double buggies, 2 kids and all their junk and taken us away on holiday. The power is amazing and other than get an E39 I can't really think of what I'd replace her with.
That is all the good news. The bad news, relatively, is that the cost of maintaining her with no DIY work is worrying me. I have a good indy who advises me of a few things that need doing. Replace rocker cover gaskets, gearbox mounts and n/s/r diff seal. The steering/ride seems a little loose too. The car seems to wander at slow speeds on some surfaces. Bushes? I had the upper control arms replaced last year.
I had a small bump earlier this year
so the front end needs tidying and the paint generally needs some TLC (no rust at all though).
Are any of those things worth prioritising? Labour cost is what worries me - the parts are cheap enough.
Anyone fancy a project
My car is a very late E34 540i auto - registered 1/3/96. It's only had 3 keepers including me and has only just passed 73,000 miles. The history is good, it has nearly all the toys other than electric seats and is in Avus Blue.
I've had it nearly 6 years and knew the previous owner. It's been our family car and other than pretty ordinary fuel consumption (average of 20mpg in mainly town driving) it has been magnificent! It's carried double buggies, 2 kids and all their junk and taken us away on holiday. The power is amazing and other than get an E39 I can't really think of what I'd replace her with.
That is all the good news. The bad news, relatively, is that the cost of maintaining her with no DIY work is worrying me. I have a good indy who advises me of a few things that need doing. Replace rocker cover gaskets, gearbox mounts and n/s/r diff seal. The steering/ride seems a little loose too. The car seems to wander at slow speeds on some surfaces. Bushes? I had the upper control arms replaced last year.
I had a small bump earlier this year
so the front end needs tidying and the paint generally needs some TLC (no rust at all though). Are any of those things worth prioritising? Labour cost is what worries me - the parts are cheap enough.
Anyone fancy a project
JamesK said:
Ooo and while I'm here - anyone know what part number 67.16-8355728 is? I can't find a non German reference online and its started making an odd grinding/vibrating noise when I turn the headlights on...
Have a look on www.realoem.comThx Vee but its a bit chicken and egg. I don't know what type of part it is to even locate it on oem. It is a rectangular piece about 3 inches long that attaches to the back of the headlight unit on both sides but isn't either bulb.
Edited to add I put in the part number and its not listed. Wierd. Only other things written on it are "12V" and "455" - same refs on both sides.
Edited to add I put in the part number and its not listed. Wierd. Only other things written on it are "12V" and "455" - same refs on both sides.
Edited by JamesK on Saturday 29th December 14:18
Have a look here . . . http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?model=HE62...
I've assumed your car is a Dec 1995 build.
As you say, the part number is not listed but 67168355XXX seems to relate to a headlight aim control unit (item 21 in the link above).
Makes sense that is makes a noise when turning lights on as they're auto levelling ?
See if it makes a noise when you adjust the level from inside the car.
I've assumed your car is a Dec 1995 build.
As you say, the part number is not listed but 67168355XXX seems to relate to a headlight aim control unit (item 21 in the link above).
Makes sense that is makes a noise when turning lights on as they're auto levelling ?
See if it makes a noise when you adjust the level from inside the car.
Ok managed to disconnect the noisy one after having put the car on various slopes - it is a dodgy passenger unit. I never tow anything and have never manually touched the beam height adjuster in the car in 5 years. I'll live without that for the moment I think...
Edited by JamesK on Sunday 30th December 16:47
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