I am looking into picking up an e34 (92 525i, 5spd) for relatively cheap.


I was curious if there were any e34 specific things i should look for in this car.


this will be my first e34, after a few e30's and my current e36.


The guy mentioned it had a problem with the cooling system.


described as

"the check coolant level comes on all the time, and it went past the halfway mark on the water temp, it didnt quite go into the red, but it climbed past halfway. I had the radiator and hoses replaced, and it still does that occasionally"



he seems to be under the impression that it "overheated" and hes afraid its going to break down soon. he is asking 1500 for it with 230k on the ODO.

the mileage doesnt scare me, every bmw i have ever owned had over 200k on it except for my e36.

this is going to hopefully be my new DD while i do some work on the e36.

http://c.im.craigslist.org/Ud/D8/G3dvt3aE4VxCdRaAD4fy5mCoM2Gb.jpg

http://c.im.craigslist.org/8J/ro/P5fYaPcEWeedhE0TfdnaFM71iHCW.jpg

http://c.im.craigslist.org/Js/9B/Fb2BkmJ28GBPJ5MbeF2PHmTiQLzU.jpg





TIA

1500 is pretty cheap, i picked my e34 up for 2500. id do it man, work with the cooling system after you get it.

Id go for it.. I'd replace the water pump, thermostat, the electric fan swtich, and check the fan clutch.. If its bad, let me know I'll send you one for the price of shipping since I have a couple laying around. One of my E34's does this as well, and Im 90% sure mine is because of the electronic fan swich because the fan acts weird some times. Check the area on both sides of the block to see if it needs a head gasket, if it does you may need to do that but thats pretty cheap. Its a non vanos so its a good reliable motor.

Id go for it.. I'd replace the water pump, thermostat, the electric fan swtich, and check the fan clutch.. If its bad, let me know I'll send you one for the price of shipping since I have a couple laying around. One of my E34's does this as well, and Im 90% sure mine is because of the electronic fan swich because the fan acts weird some times. Check the area on both sides of the block to see if it needs a head gasket, if it does you may need to do that but thats pretty cheap. Its a non vanos so its a good reliable motor.


yeah, i was going to be replacing all that on the e36 this summer. at the very least im sure id do the water pump on the 5'er.

"the check coolant level comes on all the time, and it went past the halfway mark on the water temp, it didnt quite go into the red, but it climbed past halfway. I had the radiator and hoses replaced, and it still does that occasionally"


This sounds EXACTLY like a blown head gasket and/or cracked head. Be careful, if you're not ready to tackle a project like this you could get in over your head pretty quickly. If the head is cracked, you could dump $1500-2000 in pretty quickly even doing most of the labor yourself.

I get the "low coolant' mesage at least three times a week. My coolant is fine and my temp gauge never goes past the half mark - even in blistering heat. I think that in my case, it's sensor glitch.

try to replace your thermostat with a higher temperature setting, so that the water has more time to cool down the radiator side. once the thermostat opens you will have much cooler water entering your engine.

WHAT? :eyecrazy


You mean so the water WILL GET HOTTER IN THE BLOCK BEFORE THE THERMOSTAT OPENS TO LET IT OUT TO THE RADIATOR TO COOL?


how will that help engine cooling any nathjr? :lol

instead of doing this:hacker you might try doing this:mechstuck so you can learn how something as simple as a cooling system works.

This sounds EXACTLY like a blown head gasket and/or cracked head. Be careful, if you're not ready to tackle a project like this you could get in over your head pretty quickly. If the head is cracked, you could dump $1500-2000 in pretty quickly even doing most of the labor yourself.

yup, I spent $$ for a new long block because there were symptoms like these, which were from a blown headgasket and cracks between the valves (not between the coolant lines!)...so it was bad. it was regardless of a new thermostat, waterpump, flushed out coolant system...

just know that you get what you pay for.

I get the "low coolant' mesage at least three times a week. My coolant is fine and my temp gauge never goes past the half mark - even in blistering heat. I think that in my case, it's sensor glitch.

same with mine, maybe it goes over a little bit when its really hot

I get the "low coolant' mesage at least three times a week. My coolant is fine and my temp gauge never goes past the half mark - even in blistering heat. I think that in my case, it's sensor glitch.

Yeah, my friend's E36 325i did the same thing, maybe even for the same reason. But, when you combine all of the symptoms being described: Badly overheated in the past, constant coolant warnings, random overheating now....that spells 'Death to head' pretty frequently on an M50.

just be careful...I bought mine off a dealer because he didnt know how to fix it, mine had a cracked head and was doing the exact same things...Its a very labor intensive job especially if you havent done one before...Thankfully i have a buddy who is a BMW tech...it became a weekend project...just watch out if your not expecting to spend a little money on it.

to clarify...

it wasnt badly overheated in the past

it never saw the red in the temp gauge, it was between the 1/2 and 3/4 mark


my e36 constantly does the check coolant level as well, i have just been to lazy to replace the level switch.


his bmw, as with most m50's, normally stay on the 1/2 mark for water temp.
so i can see how he got confused about it going above that (but not into the red) as overheating.

also, he is foreign and barely speaks english (im going to assume he is from congo as there was a hint of a dutch accent)


either way i will be checking it out further tonight and i am going to test the coolant system pressure.

thanks for all of the replies

+1 for blown head gasket and cracked head with these symptoms. I had a mechanic who gave me a killer deal and I found a great price on a used motor and it still cost me like $2400

I would get it just to do the work myself. I have never done a project like that and would not mind doing one myself if the opportunity came about. $1500 is a steal for an E34, I am looking at spending $1500 for an E28 :)

About 2 years ago I replaced the head gasket and it had a small crack in the head.. The whole job ran me about 500 doing the labor myself. Its not that difficult as long as you have a Bentley and don't get in a hurry. I did that one while I was in high school in a garage with no heat and no air tools in the middle of winter. I've done 3 more since then and its pretty straight forward, just takes a while to tear everything down.

My 735iL had a brand new water pump when I got it, and you could see on the hood where the old one was spraying.

I drove the car about 4000 miles before the head gasket blew... or I should say, blew again. Somebody put that block seal crap in it, and it actually held.

I tried some myself, and it's 'cured' again, but for how long? I'm putting a head gasket on it, but ain't in any hurry since I have 3 other cars to drive at the moment.

BTW, the 'block seal' stuff, I never seen any in the coolant which was a pretty green, just something to think about. I don't think it's blown much, or this stuff shouldn't work at all.

All I can say is if it does have a cracked head, I would get it just to do the work so I can learn if it happens again. I am always up for a good challenge :)

About 2 years ago I replaced the head gasket and it had a small crack in the head.. The whole job ran me about 500 doing the labor myself. Its not that difficult as long as you have a Bentley and don't get in a hurry. I did that one while I was in high school in a garage with no heat and no air tools in the middle of winter. I've done 3 more since then and its pretty straight forward, just takes a while to tear everything down.

i went out and looked at it a bit more.


the oil looked old and dirty, but no milkyness as i have seen in common with blown headgaskets.

no clacking at all up top, so i would assume the head isnt warped at all (and the valve tick is non-existant which surprised me, even my e36 ticks)

we cranked it up, no smoke what-so-ever.

it runs like a champ.

i will be replacing the waterpump and the t-stat though.

I may pull the head off and replace the headgasket after a short time of driving it depending on how it acts.

it didnt get hot at all while i had it on tonight, and the clutch fan/aux fan worked superbly.


we agreed on 1k, and im picking it up thursday and doing the title work/money exchange

Nice. The one thing I plan on doing in a few months is an electric fan in my car. I cannot stand the loudness of that belt driven fan and it'll free up the motor some too.

it started running hot when i picked it up today, but i got on the freeway and it cooled right down.


the fan clutch has got to be it.


kessler, let me know how much youd charge for one of your clutches. i may as well buy it from you :cool

it had an aftermarket alarm, that didnt sound off.. but the lights flash constantly.

disabled that right away.

http://ruxm.com/gallery/albums/e34/Photo_081706_003.jpg

http://ruxm.com/gallery/albums/e34/Photo_081706_002.jpg

http://ruxm.com/gallery/albums/e34/Photo_081706_001.jpg

small update for those who care...

i took out the fan and fan clutch, and installed an electrical fan.

damn thing runs COOLER than my e36/m50.

i have been driving it around in 90 degree weather most of the day and at its hottest it got to the halfway mark, but it sat at the 1/4 mark most of the day.

i still need to figure out the weird bumping noise on the front passenger side. it makes the noise when i hit a bump and when i brake.

i checked the balljoints, they are good, the tie-rods could be replaced.. but they arent bad enough to give that type of problem.

i am thinking its the strut mount on that side.

other than that she is golden. ;)

Im not sure if its good on it to run cool like that.. Something worth checking into..

If you still want a clutch fan its seriously yours for like 10 bucks.. I've done a few fan delete mods on not only my car, but others and they are just sitting in my garage.

If you wanna get rid of that exhaust let me know.. I have a basicly brand new factory exhaust I'd throw in as trade as well..

Man congrats. $1000 is a STEAL on an E34 that isn't all (severely) dinged up and still runs, even a 525. Is it a manual? If so, that's even more of a steal. I paid so much more than that just a few months ago for my 535i 5-speed (albeit in fantastic interior/exterior condition). I paid a premium for the bigger engine and rare 5-speed option. :(

Man congrats. $1000 is a STEAL on an E34 that isn't all (severely) dinged up and still runs, even a 525. Is it a manual? If so, that's even more of a steal. I paid so much more than that just a few months ago for my 535i 5-speed (albeit in fantastic interior/exterior condition). I paid a premium for the bigger engine and rare 5-speed option. :(

yep its a 5spd

as much as i love bmw's i would NEVER own a bmw automatic

the interior is in great shape, it just needs a few trim peices, and some front seat motors.

the outside has no major dents at all, or hardly any dings for that matter.

all the lights on the front are cracked (headlights, brights, fogs)

so i am going to go with projectors and clears in a few months.