Das Einhorn - LebensmittelgeschäftWägon - E34 V8 Manual

Dirtydog said:

Looking good.  If you still have the other Bimmer, are any suspension parts swapable?

Excellent point. I'm not sure exactly what all comes over from the suspension, but brakes can be swapped over. You should definitely take the rear brake calipers off the 740i. Memory serves that they are the same part number as the E34 540i rear brakes. Couple them with 540 rear rotors and you'll be able to have 300x20 ventilated rear brakes. Front will provide a small upgrade in thickness, up from 22mm to 28mm.

In reply to MTechnically :

Good food for thought.  I want/need to get this running and driving reliably before I consider any upgrades.

I got the valve covers primed and painted.  Yup.  Red.  Like Ferrari.....

Should be good for an extra 5 hp.

In reply to Indy-Guy :

Totally understand sorting out the important stuff first. Figured you might want to keep the brakes for yourself if you decide to fully part out the 740. So what else do you think needs to be addressed before it's ruining and driving reliably?

Looks like you've addressed the common oil leaks and it seems like you've covered the majority of the cooling system at this point. These cars can be a little hard on front suspension, particularly control arm bushings, and the tourings tend to eat the rear strut mounts. Definitely a good idea to give the whole suspension a thorough look over, at 226K you're bound to find more than the idler arm has worn at this point. Most likely nothing is too far gone for you to continue driving on, but if you're like me you'll want to fix it sooner rather than later.

Zapped the oil pump nut as you guys suggested pan going on next.

Oil pan back on:

 And then, lipstick on a pig?

:

I just joined Grassroots to comment on this thread.  I, too, had a green 530iT that I used as a daily driver for a while.  It was a great car.  If you're planning on selling this, let me know.  I'm outside of Indy (Pendleton area) and if the price is right, I really wouldn't mind getting back into another one. It's also ironic, as I drove a manual '96 SC2 for years and while most thought it was a junker, I loved that car.

From experience, be very wary of using Uro parts when possible- I have had several failures and will not purchase anything for them for any of my E30s.  For that steering idler arm, use Lemförder if you can swing it.  If you haven't found/used FCP Euro yet, their pricing is very competitive and they offer a hassle free lifetime warranty on every product they sell.  

Cheers!

https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/bmw-center-drag-link-32211138864l

My old 530iT:

https://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=327987

In reply to blue91lx :

Welcome to the forum, and sorry for the delayed response, I'm just now getting back to this thread.

The Einhorn was intended to replace the "Ratty Satty", but old habits die hard (I've been daily driving a Saturn SL2 of one variety or another since 2002), and I just couldn't bring myself to expose this to the winter salt.  Not certain yet if I'm going to keep this wagon long term or not.  However, you're welcome to come and hang out & wrench some time.  I'm on the FAR east side of Indy.  I'll send you a PM with my contact info if you're interested.

I've since found FCP Euro, and the new valve cover gaskets, & lift gate gas struts came from them.

Your 530iT looked great on those wheels.  Nice:

and the stance is spot on

New plugs in, old ones out.

(Note, one of the plugs was replaced last fall during troubleshooting)

Documenting the brand that went in.

Got it buttoned up, and before I added any oil, this showed up.  

I had to pull on the remote power steering resivior when reinstalling the valve covers, so I'm 99.9% sure it's power steering fluid.  sigh.  One.  More. Thing. to Fix.

What a pain. But it would also be a huge pain to do all of this deferred maintenance only for someone else to enjoy it. Keep at it. 

Plug pulled.  It's for sale/trade.

link to the for sale trade ad

Good grief.

Even though it was less than a mile, I drove the car last night for the time in 6 months. (Last drive was Sept 7th).

I think I might regret selling it.

It's amazing how the sensations of the drive can renew motivation.  The Roadkill guys are so right on this point.

Nooooo but I get it. You have a way cooler V8 project to work on anyway and this was never meant to be a project.

Engine bay all buttoned up.

I like the red covers for a bit of an accent.

Also got to looking.... It appears as though the power steering fluid reservoir hose from Mr Parallel the E32 will work for the Einhorn.  

In reply to Indy-Guy :

I’d be surprised if the reservoir was not the same part number on both vehicles.  Also, there’s an o-ring in the cap that takes a set and gets weepy.  Carefully pry it out and flip it over, and it will stop weeping.

Being a car guy has its ups and downs, and this car is certainly a roller coaster.  

I'm a cheap skate my nature, and this being my first BMW, I didn't mentally account for all this deferred maintenance that needed to be caught up on. Heck, I really did buy this thing super quick, on a whim, and with zero research.  It's been an education for sure.  

Last night, after I got started in the garage, I had some help from Indy-Kid #2:

Time to fix the power steering fluid reservoir hose leak.

Success!

Indy-Guy said:

Being a car guy has its ups and downs, and this car is certainly a roller coaster.  

I'm a cheap skate my nature, and this being my first BMW, I didn't mentally account for all this deferred maintenance that needed to be caught up on. Heck, I really did buy this thing super quick, on a whim, and with zero research.  It's been an education for sure.  

Last night, after I got started in the garage, I had some help from Indy-Kid #2:

 

Success!

I made this list several days ago in preparation for selling/trading this off.  There's a lot more cosmetic things that I could add to the list too, however now that I've gotten over the initial intense frustration I had over the fluid leak, repaired it, and successfully test drove it last night, the list really only has one item that MUST be done before attempting to daily this thing again.  The urge to keep it is strong.  I have developed an love/hate relationship with this car, and after driving it again last night I'm on the love side of things again.  I think I'll suspend the sale, replace the center drag link/ tie rod ends, buy some tires for the M Parallels and drive it.  Indy-Kid #2 said he had fun working with me on the car last night. (that in no way influenced my decision )

In reply to Indy-Guy :

Have you told him about Michael Jackson?

I'm happy you're keeping it for now!

Why bypass the SLS? is it leaking? if not, it's generally a really nice system to have. And you can adjust the rear ride height (within reason) by spinning a nut on the rear suspension level sensor. 

But it you tell me you are swapping in performance rear shocks, then, by all means, bypass  When I did the bypass on my e32 challenge car (stock ones were leaking and I scored a set of used e34 bilstein b8s on ebay for like $100 i think), I remember having to just quickly loop the line from the distribution block. Behind the driver's front wheel and under a splash guard, there was the distribution block. Two lines went to the rear of the car (they are basically steel brake lines), one is in and the other is out, but it doesn't matter which is which. Don't plug them, loop them together. 

In the e32, it was really easy because one of the lines had a splice (factory) about 8 inches down the line. So I just had to disconnect that splice to get the male end, take the other line out of the distribution block, and then bend the line around so it looped back in. Super easy and free. 

Robbie said:

I'm happy you're keeping it for now!

Why bypass the SLS? is it leaking? if not, it's generally a really nice system to have. And you can adjust the rear ride height (within reason) by spinning a nut on the rear suspension level sensor. 

The plan was to remove it, due to the pump making a bunch of noise (and the rear squats a bit).  Fixing the power steering pump hose/leak has quieted it down.  So by-pass isn't going to be required.  Now can you point me in the right direction for information about adjusting the ride height?

Thanks.

Oh, I'm driving it to work again!  Here it is at lunch break today:

Glad your keeping it.

Amazing what a set of nice wheels does to that car. Goes from tame grandmas grocery getter to agressive sporty machine. 

In reply to Indy-Guy :

If your SLS is operating correctly, all you need to do is adjust u-bolt that connects the lever arm to the rear sway bar (Part #5 below). Loosen the bolt and rotate the arm for your desired adjustment. 

If you haven't found this site yet its full of tons of useful information on the E34 and has a touring specific section. http://www.bmwe34.net/E34main/Maintenance/E34Touring/Suspensions.htm

Bump.

I've been back and forth with this car, but it's 100% for sale.  I'm flying to Florida May 11th to pick up another car, so I need the space....

Link again to the for sale ad

In reply to Indy-Guy :

Boy, what a rollercoaster of a thread. I'm excited to see what you do with the Jag, but I'm a little sad it comes at the expense of the E34. Hopefully, it goes to a good home. Even better if it went to a GRMer.

In reply to MTechnically :

Yeah,  sorry about the roller coaster part.  The E34 Touring is a great platform, I mentioned this a while back, I just haven't bonded with this car for various reasons.  It's not the car's fault it's me.