E28 M5 FS Texas Car

[craigrhyne]

Hey guys,

In the past several months I picked up an E60 M5 as a daily driver and an older SL600 as a project car. Consequently, my beloved E28 M5 hasn’t been getting any attention. As it sits, the car really isn’t a garage queen and was built to be driven. With this in mind, I’ve decided to let her go. My father purchased the car in the mid 90’s, and then sold it to me in 2009 (although we haven’t actually transferred the title yet so it’s still in his name). The car hasn’t been in any accidents and includes pretty extensive records both from me and from the previous owner who had the car maintained at Black Forrest Werkshop in Austin, Tx. Being a Tx car, there is absolutely no structural rust on the car or in the body panels. There is, however, a small bubble under the paint on the sunroof. At 180,XXX miles the car underwent an extensive rebuild during which almost every mechanical part prone to wear or failure was replaced. The result was an extremely mechanically sound, tight and fun to drive daily driver. I had intended to keep this car forever (hence the in depth rebuild), but at the moment both my garage and driveway are completely full and it just seems unfair to leave a car like this sitting out in the elements. The car has had regular oil changes with Valvoline VR1 20W-50 racing oil and valve adjustments performed @roughly 15k mile intervals. A full set of valve shims will be included in the sale of the car. Currently, the car has 193,XXX miles on it. A couple major points of the rebuild:

-Timing chain and all related components were replaced (including an Evo Cam Gear)
-S54 Tensioner installed to prevent future timing chain issues
-All suspension components replaced (bushings, mounts, arms, Bilsteins, Euro springs, etc)
-Entire brake system replaced (E34 M5 calipers, Brembo slotted rotors, UUC SS lines, Mstr Cyl, Brake Bomb, etc)
-All ignition components replaced (plugs, coil, wires, dist cap and rotor)
-Rear Sub frame and Front & Rear swaybar bushings replaced with Powerflex units
-SI board replaced with updated unit
-All engine hoses, bushings, rubber, accessible gaskets, engine mounts, etc. were replaced
-JB racing LW aluminum flywheel, new clutch and all associated components replaced
-New clutch slave cyl and ss line
-All shift linkage replaced
-Dinan chip installed (There is an EAT chip listed in the invoice from Steve Haygood, but I never received the part and installed the Dinan unit instead)
-New Oil pump and all related components installed
-All steering linkage has been replaced
-Frank Fey track pipe
-Fuel system completely refurbished (injectors cleaned and flow balanced, new fpr, new fuel pumps, new high pressure fuel lines, gas tanked completely cleaned, etc.)
I have receipts for all of the parts and I’ve included a pretty extensive list of parts and costs below. I just threw this list together in Excel, so a few items might be missing. For a serious potential buyer, I can provide actual receipts (most of which include part numbers and quantities) for just about anything that has been installed in the car.

UUC
SS Coated Brake Lines $119.00
SS Coated Clutch Line $29.00
Magnetic Drain Plug $10.00
Delrin Carrier Bushings $25.00
"Big Boy" Clutch Stop $20.00
RK5 Shift Knob $139.00

Turner Motorsports
JB Racing Light Weight Flywheel $539.00
Plug Wires

Tire Rack
Brembo Slotted Rotors (Fr) $255.00
Brembo Slotted Rotors (Rear) $141.00
4 255/50R-16 Dunlop Direzza Sport Z1 Star Spec Tires $559.00

Steve Haygood
Crankshaft Seal Most BMW M30
Gasket Timing Cover S38 M5,M6,M30
Oil Pan Gasket m30
Motor Mt
Motor Mt M5.M6
S38 Valve Cover Gasket
SparkPlug Cover Gasket e24,e28
Cam Seal
Camshaft Oring M3.M5,M6
S38 Needle Bearing e24,e28
Idler Shaft Oring
S38 Guide Rail e24,e28
S38 Compression Spring
Rubber Bushing
Oring
S38 Timing Chain
Deflection Wheel S38 E24,E28
Tensioner Rail S38 e24,e28
Tensioner Rail S38
S38 Intake Cam Gear e24,e28
Cam Gear Evo SportM3/5/6
Lock Plate
Crank Gear m30, >81,M5,M6
4140 Crank Hub Heat Treated 58-60
left lower control arm Meyle
Rt lower control arm Meyle,
Thrust Arm W/750 Bushing
Thrust Arm W/750 Bushing
Center Link e24 e28 83>
Tie Rod Assem Lemforder
Idler Arm Meyle Brand Retail 75
Frt Sway Bar Link Lem e24,e28
Front Sway Bushing e24 87M6 21MM
E28 M5 Rear Sway Bar Bushing
rear sway bar link
Diff mount
HD Rear Axle Carrier Bushing e24,e28
Rear Pittman Arm
M Technic e24/e28 Frt Spring
M technic Rear Springs
Eat Chip
Trans Mount E28M5 E24 M6
S52 Tensioner
Seal
Radiator Mount
Radiator Mount
Bypass Hose M5
Thermostat Hsgn Hose M5,M6
Thermostat Cover HoseM5,M6 List
Coolant T
HoseM5,M6;
Distribution Piece
Exp Tank Hose
Bypass hose M5,M6
Upper Radiator Hose e28 M5,M6
Heater Hose
Heater Hose
Heater Hose
Rear Shock Mount e28/e24
e28/24 rear mount gasket
strut mount e24/28/30
Crank Nut M30 BMW
oil pump
Power Steering Filter
Injector Seal
Oil Pump Sprocket
Oil Pump Chain
Bilstein HD Frt Insert E28/24
E24/28 Rear HD Bilstein
In Tank Prepump e24,e28
Total $4,336.54

Pelican Parts
Hex Bolt $2.50
Adjuster Bar for Power Steering Belt $9.75
Steering Shaft Flexible Joint $18.25
Wave Washer B6 $6.00
Hex Bolt $4.00
Head Screw $4.00
Flywheel Seal $24.75
Pilot Bearing Felt Ring $1.50
Pilot Bearing Plate $2.00
Gasket Rear Crankshaft $0.75
Throttle Cable Plastic Clips $2.00
Inntake Manifold Gaskets $10.50
Fuel Hose Clamps $10.00
Fuel Hose 8mm Elbow $4.00
Muffler Hanger Ring $5.75
Oil Filter Kit (2) $11.50
Selector Rod Seal $3.75
Output Shaft Seal $3.75
Input Shaft Seal $5.25
Tail Light Bulb $4.50
Wheel Cap Emblems $30.00
Mirror Grommet $5.00
Seal RU=42BER $5.75
Clip $4.00
51-91-0-427-859-BOE $30.00
Accel Cable $30.00
17-11-2-225-132-BOE $2.25
Hood Release Lever Mech $30.75
Hex Bolt $1.50
Adjusting Nut for Alternator $5.50
Swivel Joint $41.50
Fan Clutch $80.75
Engine Fan $18.00
Lamp Socket $13.00
Hood/Trnk Emblem Grommet $2.00
86mm Roundel Trunk $16.50
82.5mm Roundel Hood $16.00
Master Cyl to Res Grommet $3.50
Brake Master Cyl $183.25
Shift Rod Shim $1.00
Front Caliper Retaining Clip $23.00
Strut Tower Bushing $5.00
Oring For Swivel Rod Joint $0.50
Rubber Buffer Sponge Shift Rod $1.50
Shift Rod Dowel Pin $0.75
Shift Rod Spacer $1.50
Selector Circle Clip $1.50
Selector Rod Joint $15.50
Shift Lever Boot $15.75
Rear Shift Arm Bushing $29.25
Oil Filter Kit $5.75
Lower Rear Spring Pad $14.00
Upper Rear Spring Pad $7.00
Lower Front Spring Pad $5.50
Upper Front Spring Pad $6.50
Tie Rod Outer $41.25
Mufler Hangar $5.50
Water Hose $4.25
Breather Hose $25.25
Brake Fluid Res Cap/Float $24.50
Expansion Tank $77.50
Washer $1.00
Oring $1.00
Guide Pin $26.00
Rubber Boot $85.50
Fuel Pump $223.25
Fuel Filter $10.00
Flywheel Bolt $22.00
Clutch Release Fork Spring $2.25
Bosch Spark Plug Super $30.00
Ignition Rotor $15.75
Distributor Cap $40.75
Oil Filter Kit $5.75
Pwr Steering Belt $5.75
A/C Belt $8.25
Alt. Belt $7.25
Air Filter $61.25

Various Sources
Odometer Gears $25.00
Cruzin Performance Injector Refurb $106.50
Frank Fey Track Pipe $350.00
E34 M5 Brake Calipers $400.00
Alpine CDA-9887 $229.00


Bimmer World
Power Flex Subframe Bushings $110.91

Beast Power
StopTech Brake Pads Set $149.00
F&R Power Flex Swaybar Bushings $103.98

Bav Auto
Embroidered Ultimate M5 Mats $164.95

Autohauzaz
Crankshaft Pos Sensors $159.18
Fuel Pres Reg $76.98
Brake Accumulator $93.71

Total $9,653.50


Unfinished items & flaws of note:
-The dashboard needs to be replaced. It currently has several large cracks in it.
-The fuel door needs to be replaced as it has a very noticeable bend in it
-The trunk seal needs to be replaced (small leak)
-The plastic cover above the rear bumper is wavy
-The car needs new exhaust tips
-The fog lights are missing
-There was some paint damage on the driver’s side door due to what appears to have been something corrosive dripping on the car at some point. I put a little BMW touch up paint on the spots, sanded them down, and then buffed them back out, but the original marks are still noticeable when looking at a reflection.

-The A/C blows cool but not cold in three digit Texas heat. Not really sure what the problem is there.. maybe just needs a system refresh?

Pics of the car:



























I would like to get $8500 obo for the car which I feel is quite fair as it’s a bit less than I’ve put into just parts in the last 15k miles. To build an E28 M5 in similar mechanical condition it would easily cost three times my asking price. For more information please give me a call @830 370 8509. I generally stay pretty busy during the week, so please use the phone number for a quick response.

Thanks,
Craig Rhyne

[1st 5er]

Are you sure you're not gonna hate yourself later?

[davintosh]

Come on, Sherman; buy this thing before I'm tempted to do underhanded things to get my hands on it. You know you need, or at least want, one more ///M car.

[1st 5er]

.. I'm tempted to do underhanded things to get my hands on it...

I'd suggest you go ahead.
At his price point and description, it appears, at least mechanically, this would be the one.

If I had the resources, they'd all be in my "Jay Leno like" garage, waiting...

Key word, "if".

[TurboChris]

Nice, looks like the interiors been redone as well?

[craigrhyne]

I appreciate all of the responses guys. Like I said in the ad, mechanically, the car is in fantastic condition. Concerning the interior, in my opinion it is in pretty good condition for 24 year old car, but it certainly has it's flaws. Like I mentioned in the ad, the dash needs to be replaced as it has multiple large cracks in it. Thee e-brake handle is pretty nasty as can be seen in the pictures, and there is a dark spot by the cigarette lighter where the side of my leg rests while I drive. Concerning the exterior, if I were going to keep the car long term I'd repaint it. There are rock chips typical of a 24 year old car, and there are the very noticeable (in a reflection) flaws on the passenger side that I mentioned in the original ad. I'd also like to re iterate that the fuel door needs to be replaced, and the A/C probably needs to be gone through. I'll try to get out and take a few detailed pictures of the above mentioned flaws later today.

Nice, looks like the interiors been redone as well?

The interior is actually original.

Thanks,
Craig Rhyne

[Mab1957]

Wow This is a good offering IMO, Craig. If I were in the market I'd consider your M5 over the two 106k M5s in the NACars for Sale Thread listed at more than twice the price! I've learned (the expensive way) that proper maintenance has value, especially if the owner likes to drive the car.

The interior looks quite good for original. TurboChris had his e-brake handle cleaned/refinished, it can be taken care of easily.

You might share compression numbers and condition of the G280 transmission and final drive. Good luck with the sale, wish I could afford two.

[craigrhyne]

Wow This is a good offering IMO, Craig. If I were in the market I'd consider your M5 over the two 106k M5s in the NACars for Sale Thread listed at more than twice the price! I've learned (the expensive way) that proper maintenance has value, especially if the owner likes to drive the car.

The interior looks quite good for original. TurboChris had his e-brake handle cleaned/refinished, it can be taken care of easily.

You might share compression numbers and condition of the G280 transmission and final drive. Good luck with the sale, wish I could afford two.

Thanks for the kind words! I haven't performed a compression test as it requires an extension to reach down into the spark plug well. For a potential buyer that comes down to take a look at the car and has the funds, I'd be willing to track down the tool and perform the test in front of them. I can assure you that the engine is extremely healthy and pulls quite a bit harder than our previous E28 M5 and several of our other cars that are in a similar horsepower category (gotta love that low gearing). Concerning the transmission, all of the shift linkage has been replaced and it shifts beautifully in and out of all gears. You're very correct in saying that maintenance is an important consideration for these cars. It is important for a potential E28 M5 buyer to recognize that parts and labor costs can pile up quickly on a poorly maintained example. Also, I'm not sure that I mentioned in in my original post, but like almost everything else mechanical on the car, the entire fuel system with the exception of the hardline and the fuel rail was replaced (injectors were actually not replaced, but refurbished and flow matched by Cruzin Performance). All rubber fuel line was replaced by high pressure, lined, Goodyear fuel injection line, and both fuel pumps and all filters were replaced with OEM units.

I went out and took extremely detailed pictures of all the flaws I mentioned above. When viewing the pictures, please keep in mind that they were taken with a very good camera with the intent of accentuating any flaws. I hate to post pictures that might make the car appear worse than it is, but I don't want a potential buyer to find any surprises. Also, while combing over the car I found a couple other small issues with the car (all of which are detailed in the pictures to follow). 1. There are 3 spots where rust has eaten away at the edges of the trunk seal lip. I believe these are due to the leaky trunk seal. The rust is contained to the areas shown in the pictures and no there is no rust or water damage actually in the trunk. 2. There is a slight outward crease in the hood that can be seen when looking at a refelection on the hood @eye level. It's a rather strange crease as it pushes outwards, and I have no idea how it came to be. Please see the pictures below for further detail.

Trunk lip seal #1


Trunk lip seal #2


Crease on hood in red box:


Small rust spot on Sunroof (about the size of an english pea):


Paint spots mentioned in above posts:


Fuel door:


Dash:


Thanks,
Craig Rhyne

[DHracer]

Looks like Craig and I have struck a deal!
I have booked flights for myself and my uncle MicahO.

gonna be an amazing and memorable 1,800 mile trip back

words can't really express my excitement so I think some silly emoticons are in order...

[gray635]

Looks like you got a good car at a very good price! Congratulations to both buyer and seller on a remarkably swift transaction.

[MicahO]

Cue the Epic Road Trip Thread!!!!!! This is going to be a fun trip!

We'll work out route details, and post some pics, though I'm not sure how much sightseeing we'll get to do. We will likely be running along 10 to NO, then up 59 and 81 north. As much as I'd like to meet a bunch of you guys, I don't know if this will be the trip. This will be my second 30-hour, go-get-a-car roadtrip in 6 months. I will admit that I am MUCH more confident in my co-pilot this time around!!!!

[davintosh]

[1st 5er]

Looks like Craig and I have struck a deal!
I have booked flights for myself and my uncle MicahO.

gonna be an amazing and memorable 1,800 mile trip back

words can't really express my excitement so I think some silly emoticons are in order...

Yeah, right!!!

I had a feeling this one wouldn't last.
Nice move Mr. DHracer.
See ya in H-town.

[davintosh]

Yeah, right!!!

I had a feeling this one wouldn't last.
Nice move Mr. DHracer.
See ya in H-town.

Well, I got as far as testing the waters with the wife and she didn't laugh out loud (as she has done in the past); I count that as a positive sign. I figured it would go fast too, but dang if that wasn't a quick sale... The timestamps show 16 hours & 2 minutes between the original post and DHracer's pronouncement. That has to be a record of some kind.

I would like to get an ///M car at some point, and this looked like the one to buy. Being prepared and patient is the deal I guess. Congrats, Mr. DHracer!

[DHracer]

thanks guys!
Will let you know how we get on, should be an excellent trip. and I acted fast lining up flights, getting a depost and things just fell into place with MicahO volunteering to co-pilot.
Thus far its been a pleasure dealing with Craig; a gentleman and thorough seller. I am obviously very excited about the car and belonging to a community of such dedicated enthusiasts. - regards, PJ

[Rich Euro M5]

Looks like Craig and I have struck a deal!
I have booked flights for myself and my uncle MicahO.

gonna be an amazing and memorable 1,800 mile trip back

words can't really express my excitement so I think some silly emoticons are in order...

So when are you making the trip to H-town? We need to have a sending off party for you and your uncle.

[DHracer]

sounds awesome! will be passing by Friday evening around 4 or 5 pm!

[MShimon]

Awesome pickup! This is definitely in better condition than mine and I paid more. I just hope the PO doesn't regret it! Have a safe trip home.

[1st 5er]

So when are you making the trip to H-town? We need to have a sending off party for you and your uncle.

I've been PMing MicahO and have gotten some preliminary things working.
I'm sending out an email to a few locals, you'll be included.

[Rich Euro M5]

So when are you making the trip to H-town? We need to have a sending off party for you and your uncle.

I've been PMing MicahO and have gotten some preliminary things working.
I'm sending out an email to a few locals, you'll be included.

Thanks for the heads up.

[1st 5er]

'Til Friday afternoon.

[MicahO]

'Til Friday afternoon.

Really looking forward to meeting a bunch of the locals down there! We've got good weather forecast for the entire trip back. This is a real blessing given that we're planning on a 1900 mile drive in the middle of January, in a car with extreme summer tires!

We're planning on pushing through relatively hard the first night, then stopping for real sleep Saturday night in Blacksburg with a couple of nephews/cousins at VT. Sunday we've got 9 hours or so on the road to get us home before the real cold hits. Sunday night in the NY area is forecast to see a lot of single-digits. Brrr!

There is a lot of sightseeing I'd love to do along the route. It's been too many years since I've had a po-boy at Casamentos, though it looks like we'll be rolling past NO in the wee hours. We'll be steaming past the Tail of the Dragon mid-day on Saturday , and I haven't driven the Blue Ridge Parkway in over a decade (and that trip was in an E350 ). In a different season, and if I could drag along a kid or three, we'd make it a different and slower drive. As it is, I think the 30 hours of driving spread between 2 drivers and over 48 hours should be relatively safe.

We'll leave the to the locals in Houston, we've got some to do!

[craigrhyne]

Alright guys, DHracer and MicahO just came down to take a look at the car and unfortunately, we couldn't work out a deal. The car has been parked for about six months (been dd'ing other cars) and when I took off down the road to meet them in San Antonio the teperature gauge began to read a little hot while stopped at traffic lights. At one point going down the highway the gauge jumped dramatically leading me to believe the issue might be a sensor problem, but after additional driving and non-erratic warm temperature readings, it seems that the car may in fact be running hot.

MichaO and DHracer were extremely thourogh in their inspection of the car and pointed out a few things that I missed and failed to mention in my ad:

-the heater blower motor has apparently seized while the car was parked (we actually discovered this before they made the trip down, but It definitely needs to be mentioned in the for sale ad).

-Similarly, the rear passenger's side window has ceased to function while the car was parked (hopefully this is just dirty contact points on the switch. I intend to look into it when I get home).

-the tires have about 15k miles on them and are pretty worn. Not pointIng this out in the for sale ad was a serious oversight on my part, and for that I apologize.

-there is a repaired rock chip in the windshield

With their long trip home and the newely discovered issues in mind, i was willing to take a bit less than the $8500 asking prive, but ultimately it wasnt enough to seal the deal. I feel terrible that MicahO and DHracer made the trip all the way down and won't be returning home with the car. I've been in the same situation more than once and I know it's a terrible feeling.

Unless someone is interested in the car as is, the car is off the market until I've had the opportunity to delve deeper into the aforementioned issues. I'll post detailed pictures of the tires as soon as I make it home.

EDIT: The overheating was due to a cracked thermostat. Problem solved.

Thanks,
Craig Rhyne

[MicahO]

No sale this trip, so we will not be making our Houston dinner date.

[1st 5er]

I hate it when the wheels fall off.

Sherman

Richard

James

Clint

Luis

[craigrhyne]

As as the day wore on the car seemed to run hotter and hotter. On the way home I became concerned about the temperature @which the engine was running so I stopped and pulled the thermostat. As it turns out, the relatively new thermostat (~15k miles) failed. I drove the car the car the rest of the way home (about thirty miles) without a thermostat and all of the overheating issues (while moving and at idle) appear to be resolved. A new thermostat will be installed as soon as I can get my hands on the part. It is truly unfortunate that the failure didn't occur early enough for me to diagnose and repair it prior to meeting MicahO and DHracing in San Antonio.

A picture of the failed thermostat:



Thanks,
Craig Rhyne

[MicahO]

It is nice that Craig found a reason for the high running temperature. That explanation does explain the symptoms witnessed during our short test drive. That issue, the very worn tires, and the lack of heat made this a car that was not ready for any serious road trip.

The heater fans on these cars are generally easy to swap. In fact, I yanked the heater fan from my car and packed it along for this trip. (After a swipe for bomb residue, it dis pass TSA inspection!) The plan was to swap the fan before hitting the road, though that plan was made without knowledge of the cooling issues or the tires.

Back to the heater fan. This car, interestingly, has a fuel cooler. This means that there are a couple of lines coming off the high side of the AC system and feeding through the firewall panel. There are also fuel feed lines feeding through the firewall panel. There is also a heat exchanger located behind the firewall panel. All of this means that there is really no easy way to swap the heater fan without getting into the AC and fuel systems. There is also apparently a history of popping fuses on the heater/AC circuit. Craig had patched in a buss fuse connector in the fuse box and he said that had stopped the problems. The presence of all these issues, and concern about other possible gremlins, combined to give us the feeling that it was not the car we wanted to buy.

If anyone has any other questions, I'd be happy to discuss further. We took a chance on this one and it didn't pan out. San Antonio is a great town. We did go and see the Alamo!!!

[craigrhyne]

A couple of points:

As MicahO stated, this M5 did come from the factory with a fuel cooler. To be honest, until MicahO pointed it out, I had no idea this wasn't standard on all E28 M5's.

Secondly, I did "patch in" a blade style fuse into the factory fuse box for the air conditioner/heater circuit. No wires were cut or spliced and the circuit could easily be returned to stock if desired. The two blowers draw a lot of current and after melting a few of the readily available plastic-bodied fuses in the stock configuration (resulting in either a poor or loss of connection), I purchased a stand-alone blade style fuse receptor that had two short wires running out of it. I then attached a small female spade connector to each wire and then slipped one over each of the factory metal fuse receiver ends. I would like to make it very clear that the blade style fuse I used carries exactly the same rating as the original fuse and this modification did nothing more than provide a more secure connection for that particular circuit. At the moment I've taken the car back to Kerrville and returned to Austin, but I'll post a picture detailing this modification as soon as I make it by the house.

Thanks,
Craig Rhyne

[tsmall07]

Damn.

[1st 5er]

As my previous post indicated, we too were a bit disappointed with the way things turned out.
To pacify the hurt, a couple of us went ahead and had dinner at Goode Company BBQ and then enjoyed a short semi-spirited drive.