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Thread: Another project

  1. #1
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    Another project

    I sold my turd of a 530i so I could get this instead. It's already got a 5 speed and LSD (I believe it's a 3.23) which was half the battle with the 530i. This car also has records going back to around 1994-95. One owner had it for almost 13 years and had a local BMW shop do all of the work. A lot of the work is recent like suspension, clutch, shocks, headgasket with some head work, and brakes. It's also a good starting point for an S5x swap like I was planning on my other 525i5 before it was totaled. The only thing I do not like is that the previous owner swapped the hood and grill to the wide nose grill. I still have the original hood but the grill was too messed up to reinstall.

    The great thing about this is that I already have an extra set of nice lowering springs, throwing stars, and a short shift kit I can install. The car rides extremely well at all speeds, doesn't shake or shimmy at 55 or when I am braking, and doesn't overheat. I do have some issues like the headliner and some other interior stuff but nothing major. I also have an electrical issue that I will post about later.



    The old seats. Instead of having this eyesore in the car (or stupid looking seat covers), I installed my extra set of black comforts in it. It actually does not look that bad with the black seats in the car. I need to replace the back seats also since the bottom is ripped in a few spots and may get black seats for that also.





    I cleaned everything inside the car and threw away the old floor mats. They were falling apart and the backing was everywhere in the car.



    More pics.




    I chalked the back since I was jumping in and out of it. The ebrake works but I'd really hate for it to roll into my neighbors house.


    - - - Updated - - -



    The engine runs fine. Voltage from the alternator is good also. Around 13.5-14.7 volts depending on RPMs. When I turn the headlights on, it goes away but then it comes back even worse thru all the lights. I metered the battery and it checked out at 12.57 volts when the car is not running. Ideas?
    Last edited by atl530i; 03-09-2015 at 12:03 AM.

    95 540i6 M Sport - 95 525it S52/OBD2 - 433k E36 328i5 - X5D that hit a pothole - IG: @justinmurray95

  2. #2
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    Hmmm...after watching that video, it really looks to me like either you have a bad winding in the alternator or the voltage regulator is about to die. If you rev the engine up it kinda goes away, doesn't it? A bad winding is my guess here - I've seen this on a lot of older domestic cars, and even a few new ones shockingly. Maybe pull the alt and have it tested at one of the 'free test' parts stores?

    Fox (rather jealous of the new beater...except that it's Alpine. I'd rather have a color... )


  3. #3
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    Check the voltage regulator. Easy enough job on a M50

  4. #4
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    Doing that after work. Thanks everyone

    95 540i6 M Sport - 95 525it S52/OBD2 - 433k E36 328i5 - X5D that hit a pothole - IG: @justinmurray95

  5. #5
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    I have a narrow nose panel in Alpine too! Wink, wink
    Hark, lightning that rides within the ashen depths; descend down as a storm upon my foes!

  6. #6
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    Hit me up raf

    95 540i6 M Sport - 95 525it S52/OBD2 - 433k E36 328i5 - X5D that hit a pothole - IG: @justinmurray95

  7. #7
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    hiss by my window
    So, who got the turd?

    If you can leave two black stripes from the exit of one corner to the braking zone of the next, you have enough horsepower. - Mark Donohue

  8. #8
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    Friend of mine did.

    95 540i6 M Sport - 95 525it S52/OBD2 - 433k E36 328i5 - X5D that hit a pothole - IG: @justinmurray95

  9. #9
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    I spent the weekend working on the car and fixing some other stuff that needed to be addressed. I scored an alternator on the cheap from a friend to replace the failing alternator that was on the car. From the looks of it, it looks like the original alternator that came with the car in 1992. I have pretty extensive records but there was nothing about an alternator being replaced, ever.



    I also had to replace the water pump. Why would I replaced a perfectly working water pump, because the threads for the pulley were completely stripped out... Somewhere down the line of previous owners (I'm guessing the last owner but am not sure) the threads were cross threaded and stripped and two bolts had broken in the water pump. That meant that only two very lose bolts held the pulley to the water pump on the ride home. I had to break the old pulley to get the water pump off. Luckily, I had already ordered new bolts but did not expect to have to replace the water pump and pulley (I thought they were just missing).

    Since I needed the fan clutch, I put the water pump in a big vise and gave it one good pull to get the clutch off the water pump. Everything is torqued to spec and running good now. The only thing is that the temp gauge sits just above half way but I could honestly careless. Coolant comes out of the bleed screw so all of the air is gone from the system. As long as it does not overheat it's all good.

    I also swapped the free form headlights to ellipsoid headlights that I had sitting on the shelf. It looks a lot better and the light output is a lot better.

    From this:


    To this:


    Now I need to find a stock muffler to put on it and the stupid crap is fixed for now.
    Last edited by atl530i; 11-07-2014 at 07:51 AM.

    95 540i6 M Sport - 95 525it S52/OBD2 - 433k E36 328i5 - X5D that hit a pothole - IG: @justinmurray95

  10. #10
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    So, no need for my headlights??
    Hark, lightning that rides within the ashen depths; descend down as a storm upon my foes!

  11. #11
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    So I have been going down the list of stuff to fix pretty quickly that was messed up from the previous owner. I had a new muffler installed by a local shop. Someone hollowed out the old muffler and it sounded like ass. Progress being made...

    Last night I was driving home and had a ball joint pop out of the left side tie rod. Right hand turns were awesome but I was 5 mins from home and kept going. Left turns were the same, interesting. One-wheel steering ftw.

    The carnage:
    Last edited by atl530i; 11-07-2014 at 07:51 AM.

    95 540i6 M Sport - 95 525it S52/OBD2 - 433k E36 328i5 - X5D that hit a pothole - IG: @justinmurray95

  12. #12
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    Wow.

  13. #13
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    Geez thank goodness that didn't happen on the freeway.
    Last edited by M540fella; 06-29-2014 at 12:26 AM.

  14. #14
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    Wow. Some serious pucker factor there. I wonder how old / what brand that tie rod was.

    Are you going to toss those gray seats? If so, I need the driver's (LH) outer plastic trim (where the controls are) and associated screws. If in good shape might even take both sides off your hands.
    Last edited by ancho; 06-28-2014 at 10:17 PM.

  15. #15
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    I was going to toss the seats but never bothered since I have extra space for them. It looks like the original tie rod. Everything else has been changed at least one time. I guess the previous owner who had it for a long time never had issues with the tie rods, lol.

    @Josh. I'm glad that didn't happen or the water pump pulley coming completely off on the highway since it had two snapped bolts and the other bolts where stripped and barely holding the pulley to the pump. The second owner took good care of it but once he sold it everything went down from there and I've been piecing it back together.

    95 540i6 M Sport - 95 525it S52/OBD2 - 433k E36 328i5 - X5D that hit a pothole - IG: @justinmurray95

  16. #16
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    Swapped out my tie rods and will be taking the car for an alignment on Monday. They were for sure the original tie rods because I cannot find anything in the records folder about them ever being changed. Everything has been changed because it's in the records and it all looks newer than everything else under the car, lol.

    Last edited by atl530i; 11-07-2014 at 07:52 AM.

    95 540i6 M Sport - 95 525it S52/OBD2 - 433k E36 328i5 - X5D that hit a pothole - IG: @justinmurray95

  17. #17
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    nice progress in bringing her back to her former glory. Im looking to buy one next month.

  18. #18
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    Thanks

    This is a slow project. Been working on my M Sport and getting a few cosmetic things fixed so this one has been sitting on the back burner. I've been driving it around for the last couple months now and what I want to do to it has changed. I've been thinking about swapping an M52 and eventually doing S52 cams in it. The M50 is pretty tired.

    95 540i6 M Sport - 95 525it S52/OBD2 - 433k E36 328i5 - X5D that hit a pothole - IG: @justinmurray95

  19. #19
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    I feel like the M52 with cams and software would be better than an S52 as well. It may not have the the power of an S, but it doesn't come with the maintanance needs either.
    95 E34 553i6 LS TR6060 Project
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  20. #20
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    Quote Originally Posted by XCRN View Post
    but it doesn't come with the maintanance needs either.
    an S52 has no needed maintenance vs an m50 or m52

  21. #21
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    It's a BMW so it's going to need maintenance... Just saying.

    I can find M52s all day long with everything I need for $450-600 depending on mileage vs an S52 which would be more than $1k. Right now, anything would be an improvement over the very tired M50 that's currently in the car.

    95 540i6 M Sport - 95 525it S52/OBD2 - 433k E36 328i5 - X5D that hit a pothole - IG: @justinmurray95

  22. #22
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    Quote Originally Posted by atl530i View Post
    It's a BMW so it's going to need maintenance... Just saying.

    I can find M52s all day long with everything I need for $450-600 depending on mileage vs an S52 which would be more than $1k. Right now, anything would be an improvement over the very tired M50 that's currently in the car.
    I'm just saying an s52 has no more maintenance than an m50 or m52

  23. #23
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    Quote Originally Posted by 5mall5nail5 View Post
    I'm just saying an s52 has no more maintenance than an m50 or m52
    That's what I was trying to say. Sorry for the confusion.

    95 540i6 M Sport - 95 525it S52/OBD2 - 433k E36 328i5 - X5D that hit a pothole - IG: @justinmurray95

  24. #24
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    I picked up some cheap wheels for the 525. Something to clear the E34 M5 brakes I'll be installing soon.



    From a past project from another member (where I got the idea from).
    Last edited by atl530i; 11-07-2014 at 07:53 AM.

    95 540i6 M Sport - 95 525it S52/OBD2 - 433k E36 328i5 - X5D that hit a pothole - IG: @justinmurray95

  25. #25
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    Quote Originally Posted by atl530i View Post
    I picked up some cheap wheels for the 525. Something to clear the E34 M5 brakes I'll be installing soon.

    From a past project from another member (where I got the idea from).
    E34 m5 brakes on a 525? Or did I miss something?





    Some Places remain unknown because no one has ventured forth. Others remain so because no one has ever come back......

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