1995 e34 525i fixer-upper... my project.

hello everyone.
i have recently bought a 1995 e34 525i that needs some love. yes Amalsinda needs Petes love.
this is my second 5 series. previously owned a 1987 535i 5speed. i miss her. drove her hard and fast and lost my license 1 or twice.

i replaced the thermostat and rad. thanks to the many wonderful forums in here. THANKS ALOT GUYS!! i've never done repairs on cars and this was by far the most complex work i have done on a car. soooo easy btw. even made the fan clucth tool! will post some pics soon.
i realized that my valve cover gasket is no good. found oil in the spark plug wells. NEXT JOB!! looking forwards to that as i really want to paint the cover. alsoo replacing fuel filter and pulling the starter to have it rebuilt. plus a couple of surprisesgoing to be working on her for 1 week slowly. now wheres my shopping list sheet.

Does anyone know where to get metal fan blades and metal fan shroud?

Hi Pete . great project. i had great success using Bentleys repair manual. overhauling those items will prolong the cars life\ and improved drivable. I recently found you can solve gasket leaks by using a Small bead of High temp gasket sealer on the outer edges of gasket then let dry 1 day after instalation . I have even used High temp bearing grease rated for seawater. It has kept the new gaskets conditioned and mostly sealed.I think its the back leg lobes of gasket that can be problematic. The 14 I think rubber grommets to seal the bolts are a must have for a complete gasket change. Any one of them can become fatigued and leak.

THANKS!
secretly im glad that i have to do this job because my valve cover exterior needs some maintenance too.
can you use it on the thermostat housing gaskets also?
i already have the bently's manual that also helped replace the rad and thermostat.
i like your valve cover and the fact u painted the bolts!

Yes that s the idea to do as much to the area and parts as possible. Clean paint and replace gaskets and grommets. Thermostat gasket sealer is good with coolant leaks metal on metal. . For the valve cover gasket i would use regular engine gasket sealant sparely on at least upper top side on out 1/2 edge of gasket and out side of bolt pattern . painting the engine cover in the end, is like going on a date and your girls all prettied up

Why do you want a metal fan? You might kill someone...

Welcome.

Originally Posted by paperplane94

Why do you want a metal fan? You might kill someone...

Welcome.

u think so?

If you don't kill someone with the metal blades, you'll need a new hood if it ever comes apart on you. Go with OEM only on the fan blades. The aftermarket ones are of questionable quality and reliability.

Sent from my ADR6410LVW using Bimmer App

changed the radiator coolant level sensor and fuel filter today. looked like its been a long while since that was last done.
Oil filter bracket sanded and 2 coats tremcladed rust paint.
going to take VANOS cover off tonight and sand and re-paint.

took off vanos cover yesterday, had it sandblasted. brought her home and painted it this morning. now im waiting for the paint to dry 2 hrs. and in the oven for a couple of hours.

done for today. going to finish her tomorrow. immediately after that's installed I'm going to get some red intake coupler hoses.
next i think I'm going to paint the oil filter cap and thermostat housing.
opinions please.

Clean engine compartment!!

Color choice is a bit flashy though.

its goooooone!!!!! there used to be this tack sound coming from the engine. she kinda sounded like a diesel motor at times. it would tack low to high. it used to bother the beejesus out of me. ever since i did the valve cover gassket its gone!!!! im so happy. ive heard this noise comming from 1 other BMW a few months ago. i thought there was something wrong with my valves and it was 1 of the reasons i paid $500 for Amalsinda.

any one else experience this?

nice fix!

You do not need the clutch fan. Remove it and your ride will feel a little peppier and you'll have one less thing to worry about. Your auxiliary fan will suffice...it comes on at 2 speeds, low or high, depending on the temperature that is sensed via the sensor connected on the right of the rad.

You can test this out by driving for a few days with the fan restrained by a thin rope tied to one blade and the intake manifold.

Eventually, you'll need to change the resistor on your auxiliary fan as well, especially considering that you're using it for primary cooling. There is a newer, more modern solid-state resistor that is better than oem. Purchase that instead of the old spring-type version.

Originally Posted by paperplane94

Clean engine compartment!!

Color choice is a bit flashy though.

Thanks I love my BMW! she needs my care.
I'm debating whether or not I'm going to keep it like that. I have access to free nickle plating services need i say more? OK i will... I'm thinking Intake manifold (because i need to get to the starter), Vanos, Oil filter cap, and Thermostat housing are what I'm going to do first.

Originally Posted by robertobaggio20

You do not need the clutch fan. Remove it and your ride will feel a little peppier and you'll have one less thing to worry about. Your auxiliary fan will suffice...it comes on at 2 speeds, low or high, depending on the temperature that is sensed via the sensor connected on the right of the rad.

You can test this out by driving for a few days with the fan restrained by a thin rope tied to one blade and the intake manifold.

Eventually, you'll need to change the resistor on your auxiliary fan as well, especially considering that you're using it for primary cooling. There is a newer, more modern solid-state resistor that is better than oem. Purchase that instead of the old spring-type version.

well winter time is upon us here in Canada. we have two seasons up North, Winter and July/August. I'm probably going to remove the fan and leave it off when I remove the Thermostat housing to Nickle plate it. Heh heh heh. Come end of June I'll install a nice electric fan.
Thanks for the tip!!

removing and rebuilding starter on Amalisinda today. any tips? will post pics later today.

Originally Posted by Peter's 525I

Does anyone know where to get metal fan blades and metal fan shroud?

Bad move, at least when it comes to the fan. More load on the engine, unnecessarily. I don't believe metal fans are sold, btw.

Why don't you remove your fan clutch and shroud entirely ?

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...90#post7149990

And there's a long list of things you might like to consider doing, to bulletproof your aging E34. Please see :

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=653050

cheers,
Roberto

Originally Posted by Peter's 525I

took off vanos cover yesterday, had it sandblasted. brought her home and painted it this morning. now im waiting for the paint to dry 2 hrs. and in the oven for a couple of hours.

Wow. where have i seen a red VC before....



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