Intro to all!

[Ken E.]

Greetings to all of you sifus!Been browsing the forum b4 finally getting my 1st beemer about 3 weeks ago. A '90 525i 12V in pretty good condition. Damn 'HANDSOME CAR' man!!Anyway you guys are really informative as I've been passively gathering info on the E34s(although not as religiously as Apple!!).Would like some help on my journey as I try to avoid being over-racuned!!Got some appreciated help from Zeneger on the strut bar :yahoo: (thanks bro!)The few other things I would like to upgrade are :-1. Would really like to change my steering to the M-tech type (forget E-bay, they suck!!) coz I cant tahan the ori lorry type!!2. There doesnt seem 2b a rear roof spoiler so would like that as well (I think that will really go with the car ) There was a mention of some guy in SS19 who does body kits; would this guy be able to help?3. A good looking tail piece would definitely add to the fun!! 4. Maybe at a later stage, 16" rims to go with a body kit would be real nice!!May join u guys one of these days for TT (actually HH sounds better!!). You all sound like a swell bunch and YOUNG too accept maybe for Jarance who is at that WISE age!! No offence bro! I'm aged in the same decade!)Only thing hindering me is time cos have 3 vehicles, 6 kids & 1 wifeeee to jaga so time is not my own lah!!Ah yes! Just to check, any old boys from La Salle PJ in the forum?So till I get flooded with replies (based on prior observation, u guys are a real welcoming lot!),Cheers & Stay Blessed! :yahoo: Ken E.

 

[fabianyee]

Welcome to the forum.... Did u say 6 kids????? :blink:

 

[flash]

Welcome to the club bro.... 6 kids? Chun... k: Awaiting for my first one...

 

[jeffreyewe]

WELCOME

6 kids??.....wow, really productive, you are!

 

[wkwoo69]

La Salle PJ: I'm from 1991. Kahar is from 1990. Err..that's it I think. What year were you, Ken E?

 

[renzs]

Welcum Ken E to this forum... BTW for e34 body stuff u can lookup either 535i or xtracooljustin... there both using e34s.

 

[XXX]

Oooitt! people asking abt car you all talking about his reproductive skills.

Ken E

I think first thing first you need a nice pair of shoes to go with that suit. A set of 17'' AC's would be perfect, and I so happen to know where you can lay your hands on one (Original not replica). PM me if your interested.

Cheers and wellcum to the club.

Ps. Im also looking for the rear roof/windscreen spoiler anybody got road.

 

[Ken E.]

Thanks guys for the warm welcome!

wkwoo69 : I left in '81 (wah! sounds so loooooong ago). Bro. Felix was still there. Still in contact with any old boys?

As for my 6 beautiful kids :yes: , yup no typing error!!
that's y have to get udm to divert andrenalin mah!

Flash : awaiting as in "on d way?" . I like your 'preparation-for-the-arrival-of-my-first-one' : "GETTING AN E34" !! Cheers man with many more to follow! B)
Believe me kids are as much fun as driving an UDM! Sometimes they can both drive u up the wall though!!!!! :rofl:

XXX : 17 would really look good but dont you think 16 would be a better ride and of course lower running cost (remember besides the new shoes for my udm, also have to consider 6 other pairs of real shoes for my regiment !! :rofl: Anyway out of curiosity, new or 2nd hand & berapa brudder??

Cheers guys!

 

[XXX]

Aiya sorry Ken E just found ut the AC's sold already they were used.
Anyway how abt this sinced u said u wanted 16's. Its BBS with Michelin tyres but abt 30-40% thread left. Rims in good condition but I think its best u have a look and judge for yourself. I think he want to sell Rm1800.

 

[flash]

Originally posted by Ken E.@Jun 28 2005, 11:23 AM
Flash : awaiting as in "on d way?" . I like your 'preparation-for-the-arrival-of-my-first-one' : "GETTING AN E34" !! Cheers man with many more to follow! B)
Believe me kids are as much fun as driving an UDM! Sometimes they can both drive u up the wall though!!!!! :rofl:

Yup, as in, "on the way". 4 more weeks or less and counting.

Well, my junior is already "driving" my wifey up the wall with all his kicking, and I do mean hard kicking. Can see the bumps moving on her abdomen.

 

[Ken E.]

Originally posted by XXX@Jun 28 2005, 11:48 AM
Aiya sorry Ken E just found ut the AC's sold already they were used.
Anyway how abt this sinced u said u wanted 16's. Its BBS with Michelin tyres but abt 30-40% thread left. Rims in good condition but I think its best u have a look and judge for yourself. I think he want to sell Rm1800.

XXX,
Mana boleh tengok bro?

 

[XXX]

Ken E,

Ive Pmed you my friends number why dont you call him and make arrangements.

Cheers

 

[525iBoy]

hah!! another e34 convert!!

anyways Ken E. I've just gotten a 1990 e34 2 months ago and finished "prettying it up".

Specifically I put on new 17" M3 rims, lowering springs & bilstein shocks and the big $$ an new 2.5 12v engine. also spent about 2K on new shifter bushing, propshaft bearing, susp & stearing arms/joints.!!

Car now drives great and indeed someone remarked there it still feel soo modern.. heh! heh!! Here's what I found!!

17" or 16" rims are ideal for the tire. My car with 17" rims and lowering springs and HD bilsteins rides so much better than a car I tried with the standard spring, same shocks and 18" rims. The 18" rims just don't seem to suit our roads well and indeed the M5 17" rimmed e34 was reputed to have the better ride/handling balance. Yes 18" feel is much sharper but the ride is just plain bad

re: cost of 17 and 16" tires. the cost is not too great and in some tires such as falken st 115 & 571 the same!!. some are even cheaper in the 17" version eg. the Firenza ST03. Figure on RM 300 a piece for an "OK" tire. I put on Yoko C2 for 450 each, and in a 16" version they would have cost about 410. so price diff no too great.

I bought the same strut bar from Zeneger - and yes it does work.

Bilsteins I feel are definitely a better ride/handling compromise for me than boge- same price too. and reputed to last longer/generally of higher quality

If you are not too fussy about muffler tips, our local shops make some cheapo ones which are "OK" lah.

People are asking an ARM & A LEG for the M-tech steering wheels (about 500+) and they are'nt even in very good condition & if you reupholtery, the quality of workmanship is not too great and you get charged 200+ rm. so for the same price go buy youself a decent MOMO !! It will be brand new and there are many models which suit the e34.

IMHO 12v. 2.5 engine is a good strong, relatively easy to maintain car but getting youself a GOOD BMW mechanic!! absolutely critical!! That said: to keep you car's engine running well, just clean the dist cap and rotor evey year (& replace when corroded). change plugs & airfilter every year & prefably adjust valves. and every 5k km -15 kms (depending on if you use mineral of Syntheic) change your oil and Oil filter using a good quality 1040 if engine is newish or 10/20-50 if engine is older/more worn/eating oil.

Lastly. CHANGE your TIMING belt and bearing religiously BEFORE 50K kms. some say even at 40K or less!! . if you drive oustation than 50 or even 60k is OK. but if driving in town then 40 or 50k better. (factory says about 100K kms but than is in European conditions!!) original Contitech belt & BMW SKF bearings less than 120 total. lbr about the same so do it . Trust me a broken engine head is no laughing matter! :huh:

I think you find parts very reasonable, less for most maintenance items. and please use quality german/italian parts!! . no local rubbish or Thailand made parts please, the car will breakdown or act up if you do... Oh yeah make sure you replace your brakes every year or so. it makes a HUGE difference.

I did somework myself on the car - such as tightening my steering box, cleaning my idle valve, servicing ignition components. tightening doors , cleaning my odomoter / milometer instrument cluster and recalibrating my speedo and fuel gauge to be more accurate. It's a good easy car to work on so have fun!!

BTW: I'm not from la Salle but i did graduate from a Catholic school in 87!! so dont feel too old!!. No kids - but 2 german rottweiler "children" guarding my German car!!

 

[Ken E.]

Brothers!
Checking for a friend. He has a 520 and experiences a sound like a dog whining coming from the engine bay. Can't figure out what it is. Any comments guys or experiences?
Cheers!

 

[ZeNeGeR]

yeah nice car especially the paint.. Hmmm if got sport rim more Chun... Engine bay also damn new ... Cheers enjoy the strut bar can definately feel the handling

 

[Ken E.]

Thanks 525iBoy for that in-depth sharing of your experience with your e34.

Momo steerings sound interesting but we'll have to use the boss kit, right?

As for 16" or 17" rims, still undecided lah but a friend trying to racun me to go for the 17!!

1st thing i did when i got the car was to change to the euro lights for the tail,repeaters and signals so now the car doesn't look like 15 years old!
Next i changed the belts and the oil for the gearbox & rear axle. Engine oil was changed b4 taking the car so that was taken care of.
Interior is immaculate so only thing to upgrade is the steering!! damm big man!
Just picked up the strut bar and will fix it up this evening. I have actually seen 2 e34s with the same crack on the bottom part of their windscreen so really dont know if its caused by heavy cornering coz the cracks are actually in the exact same position on both cars!! :dunno:
Anyway cheers for now!

 

[nikazwaa]

Pics, pics, pics!!!

 

[525iBoy]

boss kit around 150-180. let me know if you can find it cheaper!! I want to buy one too. while you are refurb your steeing. tighten / double check you steering box or pay someone 10$$ tyo do it. it is a big source of play and is designed to be regularly adjusted for wear.

Go for 17" looks sooo much "harder".. I only paid RM900 for a set of 4 original M3 refurbished rims. will get easier to find perf tires for 17" too as this size is becoming more and more common. (generally e34 looks good with a dished rim).

I would hazard to guess that cracked winscreen is due to improper installation. Remember bonded glass (like on our e34) in an integral structural element in chassis rigidity. I know people will say "how can!" glass not strong. but what is strength!! there are many type incl tensile and compressive.

Glass is very very stong in compressive and pretty strong in tensile. It however has very low fracture, bending limits and is very brittle (duh) so if installation puts pressure on a locallized point glass will crack. Furthermore there were no factory recalls for cracking windsceen were there?

your friend "whining" dog in engine bay is either a worn waterpump or alternator, elec cooling fan. it could also be a sipping V-belt. (less likely - as normally it is a "screetching sound" - similar to a giant constipated Rat!!). If whine goes up and down with Rpm it's normally some sorta bearing. Aslo cheick that nothing is rubbing against a moving part, eg hoses against a flywheel.

 

[flash]

Originally posted by Ken E.@Jun 28 2005, 03:46 PM
I have actually seen 2 e34s with the same crack on the bottom part of their windscreen so really dont know if its caused by heavy cornering coz the cracks are actually in the exact same position on both cars!! :dunno:

Seems to be a common problem. When I was looking for my E34, I have seen a few specimens in which the lower right windscreen seems to be "delaminating". Even my present one seems to have the same problem but not as bad. But anyway, I could be changning my windscreen at the end of the year. :nyehehe: :nyehehe:

 

[flash]

Originally posted by 525iBoy@Jun 28 2005, 04:30 PM
boss kit around 150-180. let me know if you can find it cheaper!! I want to buy one too. while you are refurb your steeing. tighten / double check you steering box or pay someone 10$$ tyo do it. it is a big source of play and is designed to be regularly adjusted for wear.

Go for 17" looks sooo much "harder".. I only paid RM900 for a set of 4 original M3 refurbished rims. will get easier to find perf tires for 17" too as this size is becoming more and more common. (generally e34 looks good with a dished rim).

I would hazard to guess that cracked winscreen is due to improper installation. Remember bonded glass (like on our e34) in an integral structural element in chassis rigidity. I know people will say "how can!" glass not strong. but what is strength!! there are many type incl tensile and compressive.

Glass is very very stong in compressive and pretty strong in tensile. It however has very low fracture, bending limits and is very brittle (duh) so if installation puts pressure on a locallized point glass will crack. Furthermore there were no factory recalls for cracking windsceen were there?

your friend "whining" dog in engine bay is either a worn waterpump or alternator, elec cooling fan. it could also be a sipping V-belt. (less likely - as normally it is a "screetching sound" - similar to a giant constipated Rat!!). If whine goes up and down with Rpm it's normally some sorta bearing. Aslo cheick that nothing is rubbing against a moving part, eg hoses against a flywheel.

Hi 525iboy, why don't you post your total cost of your repairs / upgrading for our reference? My list is not complete yet and is increasing by the weeks. :yes: :beaten: