What did you do to your E28 today?

[1st 5er]

Bought the grandson's.
He gave up.

[dsmith]

Bought the grandson's.
He gave up.

That's scary, since these cars are so simple. What's the alternative, a new car?

[duggi]

Yesterday I changed a flat tire due to running over a rather large screw and then cleaned up my main ground. Finally have over 1000 miles on the car since pulling it out of storage a year ago.

[white chocolate]

I drove her around. For the first time after this....

Oops

Well dang!

[Mike W.]

Yesterday I changed a flat tire due to running over a rather large screw and then cleaned up my main ground. Finally have over 1000 miles on the car since pulling it out of storage a year ago.

A whole thousand miles? You better be careful, you'll wear it out.

I know people who drive more than that in a weekend.

[1st 5er]

Bought the grandson's.
He gave up.

That's scary, since these cars are so simple. What's the alternative, a new car?

His step-dad gave him a Subi with working a/c.

[a]

Yesterday I changed a flat tire due to running over a rather large screw and then cleaned up my main ground. Finally have over 1000 miles on the car since pulling it out of storage a year ago.

A whole thousand miles? You better be careful, you'll wear it out.

I know people who drive more than that in a weekend.

Yah guys like me 12 yrs ago. My 528e went almost 150 miles last yr. I parked on the front front yard and used it as a tool box whilst I detailed the front of the house. I get more than enough driving during the week these days . So I don't drive much on week ends these days.

[duggi]

Yesterday I changed a flat tire due to running over a rather large screw and then cleaned up my main ground. Finally have over 1000 miles on the car since pulling it out of storage a year ago.

A whole thousand miles? You better be careful, you'll wear it out.

I know people who drive more than that in a weekend.

Yah guys like me 12 yrs ago. My 528e went almost 150 miles last yr. I parked on the front front yard and used it as a tool box whilst I detailed the front of the house. I get more than enough driving during the week these days . So I don't drive much on week ends these days.

Well, it was in storage from 2011-2015 due to several issues I could't afford to fix at the time and upon bringing it out of storage last year, it just needed SO MUCH WORK to get it safe and reliable - then the transmission blew.

So in reality, what I should've said is: $10k and a year later I've finally been able to put 1000 miles on it and I'm still alive to tell the story. And it still needs a ton of work.

[Karl Grau]

New shocks, bump stops, dust boots and top gaskets.




Put the wheels back on and am now waiting for the photographer to show up for the Pirelli shoot.

[Karl Grau]

Took it in for a SMOG test.




At 25mph, it passed with flying colors but at 15mph, it failed miserably. Now I'm Gross Polluting my way down the Boulevard of Washed Out Hopes and Dreams.

[e28Sean]

Installed MrFixit's Project Octopus kit!

[milarsky]

Pics please!!!!

Installed MrFixit's Project Octopus kit!

[e28Sean]

I just finished editing an install / review video, which is uploading to YouTube as we speak. I'll post it in the Proj O thread once it's up.

[byf_42]

Finally finished some cosmetic upgrades this weekend...

[e28Sean]

Installed MrFixit's Project Octopus kit!

Pics please!!!!

milarsky: Video

[a]

I have been giving the last 528e Italian tune ups. Sundays I go visit Mum at her new place down in Plymouth. About a 12 mile run. in 2 and 3. It runs great once it starts . The starter is dragging before it gets gas to the cylinders. Hey Keith, what's the p/n for the 735i check valve ?. I dont smell gas, so I'm eliminating any under hood issues. I'm totally amazed by the battery. I just keep charging the battery every so often. If its got enough to start , I use the 9 buck floater. If it won't start the engine, it gets a 2 amp rate overnight.

[12valves]

Over the past couple of years I've been on a quest to quiet down my e28 a bit. I suspect that '82s didn't come with as much sound deadening material as later years, and a lot of what mine did come with has fallen off, been eaten by mice, or otherwise disappeared over time. So I bought 20 sq ft. of Second Skin Damplifier Pro. It's twelve sheets, one sheet weighs one pound. I've used about half so far, applied strategically inside the trunk and behind/under the rear seat. I put it on the panel which separates the trunk and passenger compartment, on the wheel wells, the underside of the rear deck, and the floor above the subframe. It's made a noticable difference.

On the e24 I replaced the thermostat housing and water manifold. They were badly corroded and coolant was seeping around the ends of hoses. After reassembly I went for a test drive and the temp gauge was reading higher than it should. I cranked up the heat and returned home. When I checked the lower rad hose it was cold. I took the thermostat out of a junked M20 thinking I would swap it in there. Then I noticed that it was different than the old one. I put them in boiling water and they both opened properly. But the M20 thermostat was shorter and the plunger wouldn't reach far enough to cover the hole inside the water manifold, according to my measurements. It was all very confusing. When I looked online, I saw vendors selling the same thermostat for the M20 and M30. Finally I started comparing the old and new water manifolds and found that they were slightly different. Apparently I had an old version and that's why my old thermostat (made in West Germany) did not work in the new one. I put the M20 thermostat in and went for a second test drive with no problems.

Is there a trick to preventing the water pump pulley from eating the lower rad hose? I've replaced this hose twice already and now it has a groove in it again.

[1st 5er]

Waldo is running and driving.

[John in VA]

Is there a trick to preventing the water pump pulley from eating the lower rad hose? I've replaced this hose twice already and now it has a groove in it again.

#2 - hose clamp (AKA hose carrier) to keep the hose away from the pulley - 11 53 1 717 091 - BMW MSRP $5.20

[1st 5er]

Is there a trick to preventing the water pump pulley from eating the lower rad hose? I've replaced this hose twice already and now it has a groove in it again.

#2 - hose clamp (AKA hose carrier) to keep the hose away from the pulley - 11 53 1 717 091 - BMW MSRP $5.20

The help here never ceases to amaze.

[davintosh]

I got to see my car a couple of days ago; it was up on a lift at the shop in Holzen, a little town few kilometers down the road. I'm having my new best friend Axel work through the surprisingly short to-do list that the TÜV man put together for the car. I was expecting a lot more, but all that it needs is a set of new tires (I knew that already), and to have an oil leak stopped up. The main drippage appears to be coming from the oil level sensor on the bottom of the oil pan and from the drain plug. The TÜV man also found that one of the brake lights wasn't working, and the light harness connector by the trailer hitch was missing a part and had some wiring exposed. Once those things are fixed and the TÜV man signs off on it, he'll issue the certificate to get it registered (I hope.)

I'm finding that the Germans are kinda funny when it comes to inspections like this. I first noticed it on the fire safety inspection for our building. Typically in the US you have a checklist of things that you know they'll be looking for, and you get them squared away beforehand; the inspector comes, goes through the checklist, and at the end tells you if you're in compliance or not, and how to get there. But here the authorities suggest that you present for inspection as-is; the inspector looks things over, gives you a list of deficiencies that need to be addressed, you fix them, and you get the list of deficiencies signed off. It all seems way too subjective to me.

[BDKawey]

yesterday.. swapped my walbro 255 fuel pump to a housing that wasnt totally destroyed went i fitted it the first time. also changed the fuel filter and deleted the in line fuel pump. then i adjusted my rear camber to as most positive as i could and took the 5.0 swap on its first (successful) test drive. went well. still needs brakes and power steering bled more.

[Pauly Walnuts]

Tried to torque the head down and this happened, followed by yet another order from Pelican.

[Karl Grau]

Does anyone want a free M5? Seriously, get this POS out of here.

So back in June I had it up in the air to install the catalytic converter for its biannual smog test. While in the air I notice one of the rear Billie Sports is leaking, so fark, I’ll just replace them both as long as it’s already up on jack stands. A couple of days after I place the order I notice the sway bar bushings are looking somewhat suspect and the boots on the sway bar links are torn. I figure, fark, might as well replace everything as long as it’s already up on jack stands. I went for the Powerflex mounts and after fighting them for hours, I gave up and ordered stock bushings. Six days go by and I get an email saying, “sorry there are no M5 bushings in stock in the U.S. right now”.
I pay my DMV fees to avoid a late charge and on a whim, I call Carl Nelson at LJI to inquire about M5 sway bar bushings. He says “sure, come on down I’ll set them out for you”. So I'm all, “fark”, why didn’t I just call Carl in the first place?.
I put the bushings on and go in for my smog test where at 25mph, it’s clean as a whistle, nary a hydrocarbon to be found. At 15mph it spewing so much foul shit, it gets Gross Polluter status. I couldn’t remember when it last had a tune up but I know it couldn’t have been too many miles ago because I never drive the POS. I decided at the very least, that I would change the air filter and engine oil but then said, fark, I’ll do plugs cap and rotor too. While I’m under the car, I notice the fan is REALLY close to the fan shroud and on further investigation I see a dodgy looking engine mount. So I decide fark, I better replace them too. I was digging around in the parts warehouse and found a new mount so I’m all, “finally something going my way”. On closer inspection, the only marking on it is “Germany” so I don’t know if it’s crap or not and plus, it’s not the solid kind. So I’m thinking fark, I better just buy two that I know aren’t crap.
To make things better my neighbor was futzing around with his rock crawler POS which is fine except that everything he does to that thing requires the use of an oil-less compressor and what sounds like a dental drill only one thousand times louder. *sigh*


Suspect engine mount:


When I change the oil on a car with a spin-on filter, I put the date on it so after 87 years I got the bright idea to put it on air filters too.

[a]

I got to see my car a couple of days ago; it was up on a lift at the shop in Holzen, a little town few kilometers down the road. I'm having my new best friend Axel work through the surprisingly short to-do list that the TÜV man put together for the car. I was expecting a lot more, but all that it needs is a set of new tires (I knew that already), and to have an oil leak stopped up. The main drippage appears to be coming from the oil level sensor on the bottom of the oil pan and from the drain plug. The TÜV man also found that one of the brake lights wasn't working, and the light harness connector by the trailer hitch was missing a part and had some wiring exposed. Once those things are fixed and the TÜV man signs off on it, he'll issue the certificate to get it registered (I hope.)

I'm finding that the Germans are kinda funny when it comes to inspections like this. I first noticed it on the fire safety inspection for our building. Typically in the US you have a checklist of things that you know they'll be looking for, and you get them squared away beforehand; the inspector comes, goes through the checklist, and at the end tells you if you're in compliance or not, and how to get there. But here the authorities suggest that you present for inspection as-is; the inspector looks things over, gives you a list of deficiencies that need to be addressed, you fix them, and you get the list of deficiencies signed off. It all seems way too subjective to me.

That's pretty much how my MA inspector at the local Shell station handles my heaps. Last time, he didnt.even remove the sticker. He said the exhaust was too leaky and the E-brake flunked too. No real big deal. So, I know what to fix I value the man's skill in diagnoses. He is way too busy to work on old BMWs, but he can inspect the hell out of them. . From what Ive heard of TUV, I probably would be walking a lot.

[dhdrums]

Finally had time to work on my car. Two weeks ago I was idling in my driveway. As I left I noticed a large puddle. So long story short it was the CSV o-ring. After getting that back in place, I found the culprit to the rough idle I've had. The vacuum hose between the ICV and the intake manifold had a large crack in it (which is weird because the hose is less than a year old). After electrical taping it back together (another one is being ordered), I put it all back together and sure enough the idle was fixed and no more fuel puking out of the side of the engine. Funny the way things work out and it is always good to check stuff even if it is fairly new.

[1st 5er]

Bought it.

[Das_Prachtstrasse]

I got to see my car a couple of days ago; it was up on a lift at the shop in Holzen, a little town few kilometers down the road. I'm having my new best friend Axel work through the surprisingly short to-do list that the TÜV man put together for the car. I was expecting a lot more, but all that it needs is a set of new tires (I knew that already), and to have an oil leak stopped up. The main drippage appears to be coming from the oil level sensor on the bottom of the oil pan and from the drain plug. The TÜV man also found that one of the brake lights wasn't working, and the light harness connector by the trailer hitch was missing a part and had some wiring exposed. Once those things are fixed and the TÜV man signs off on it, he'll issue the certificate to get it registered (I hope.)

I'm finding that the Germans are kinda funny when it comes to inspections like this. I first noticed it on the fire safety inspection for our building. Typically in the US you have a checklist of things that you know they'll be looking for, and you get them squared away beforehand; the inspector comes, goes through the checklist, and at the end tells you if you're in compliance or not, and how to get there. But here the authorities suggest that you present for inspection as-is; the inspector looks things over, gives you a list of deficiencies that need to be addressed, you fix them, and you get the list of deficiencies signed off. It all seems way too subjective to me.

That's no different to how it is here, either. The list of things that cause a roadworthy fail is so extensive that it's left up to the discrepancy of the tester to pick the faults. Fortunately, a roadworthy isn't an annual check and is only required when buying/selling a car with registration, so once it passes you never have to worry about it again unless the police request it and that only happens if something is extremely obvious and dangerous.

To keep with the thread title, I drove it to work today which I don't like doing as the beige seats don't take kindly to filthy clothes, but the wife took the e34 keys by mistake this morning so I had no other option. At least it's a sunny day.

[1st 5er]

Bought it.

Drove, well, driving, it home.

[Ordnator]

Replaced the soundproofing under the bonnet, fitted heated windshield washers and harness and new windshield wiper arms to the Zobelbraun Eta.