E34 m5 3.6 - what to look for

Post Wed Dec 03, 2008 8:48 pm

I'm viewing an e34 m5 3.6 tomorrow, can anyone advice what things I should pay particular attention to when checking the car over.

Thanks,

Theo

Post Wed Dec 03, 2008 8:50 pm

Have you not got enough turds up your back alleyway?:gay:

Peter the Pacer has been teaching you!

Post Wed Dec 03, 2008 8:56 pm

My back passage is very spacious Jon, you should know that.

Post Wed Dec 03, 2008 9:28 pm

rot, rattling cats the usual

Post Wed Dec 03, 2008 10:37 pm

Suspension?

TBMW a few months ago had an excellent buying guide for the M5.

Post Wed Dec 03, 2008 11:36 pm

Only suspension drama i'm aware of is EDC which is really costly to replace. However, that's irrelevant on the 3.6 as it wasn't fitted.

Post Wed Dec 03, 2008 11:40 pm

M components like exhaust system, general suspension condition, steering box, engine, suppose the rest is regular E34 fodder

Post Wed Dec 03, 2008 11:42 pm

Theo i think it's mainly engine drama's, noisey chains. They are a tough lump. Steering rack also as it's specific. Broken A/C's

They seem to rust a bit under the side skirts. 55mph shimmy in the s/wheel is that big nut come loose on the column.

Brakes are much cheaper on 3.6's. Exhaust is NLA now

I'd still like one of these one day

Post Wed Dec 03, 2008 11:52 pm

Might replace the chromer with one of these chariots. Had the 325i for 3.5 years and quite fancy something different. The car in question is very local and potentially cheap. It's calypso red which is a nasty colour in my eyes but i'm not too fussy about that sort of thing.

Listen to one with an asbo exhaust fitted! Amazing.

Post Thu Dec 04, 2008 9:24 am

Wish I had never sold mine

.

They suffer rust at the front of the wings and along the valance. Cill's are prone to rot aswell, And if it's got grey bottom trim all the way round the car then check for damage repair....

Post Thu Dec 04, 2008 9:31 am

They have a steering box and not a rack as far as I know, but it is geared differently to the standard car. I think the grey trim round the bottom is only relevant on the 3.8s ?

Theo ask on the five forum mate, several people own them on there ?

Post Thu Dec 04, 2008 9:51 am

Should be grey at the sides and front only. and have the 17" wheel's with jet fan style cooling cover's.

Post Thu Dec 04, 2008 11:48 am

I have a pair of calypso mirrors from my E34 engine donor....

Post Thu Dec 04, 2008 1:07 pm

i would say the main things to watch (having owned a few non M e34's) are:

Steering box is m5 specific and is a servotronic box a small amount of play is ok (and normal) but excessive play can mean a huge bill of over 1,500 (thats the price for std e34 item from the stealers! m5 box will be 2k plus!) this play can be adjusted out but people do it too much and the box can "lock!" around a corner sending youhead on into a bus etc not good! so watch out for that!

sills under the kit esp near the back quarters

front suspension parts wear out quite fast if driven hard due to the weight of the car, the shimmy is normaly caused by the upper control arms, if its tramlining it would be the lower and upper as well possibly (when i had the shimmy and the tramlining i ended p changing everything on the front down to the top mounts!)

rear suspension dogbones can also influence tramlining and genral bad handling and rear subfmae mountings.

these are easy to clock so check history and previous mots, even then there that easy to clock this could be fake aswell if some one has changed the coding chip between mots (a new one is about 20 form bmw and people have been known to change them after clocking up so many miles on the original and then swapping to the "snide" one and when it goes in for mot you have only done 4k when on the other chip you have also done 4k so the car only shows half of its miles!

i would buy just on the condition buy as mint as you can there are lots of turds about! as one with stacks of history could be clocked but crap, one with no history could be genuine. mixed bag really!

engine is very strong (more reliable than the 3.8 i have been told) but chain rattle could be expesive this normally disapears when revved past 4k (when it gets tension) so mite get away with a tension unit in that case.

other than the above i think there top cars, its just very easy to get had over with an e34 as i found when i bought my sport! (now sold and 4k out of pocket!)

Post Thu Dec 04, 2008 1:13 pm

also forgot to say, if you want to check weather it has been clocked (seller mite not be very happy with this!) the only way is to remove the clocks (only 2 screws) and the coding plug has a plastic seal from the factory if this is broken you know the plug has been pulled at some point and then discard any reading, as it could be 10k or 250k

Post Thu Dec 04, 2008 4:29 pm

Thanks for all the tips, I had a look round the car today.

It was fairly tidy though nothing special. Very nice interior which is super comfortable, as I was driving it I was thinking how good it would be for cruising down to the Nurburgring...

The performance wasn't quite what I expected though. I will need to do the valve clearances as there was one which sounded a bit noisy. What really suprised me was the throttle response, it was rather poor. The throttle actually jammed open in comical fashion, sorted that out with some freeing oil but even after this I thought the response was poor. Can you service/sychronise the throttle bodies so they are tip-top? If so how do you do this?

I thought the steering was a bit crap, but I supose that's to be expected with a steering box. Gear shift was sloppy, definitely needs some of the bushes/washers replacing. The engine had a slight oil leak, but it was too cold for me to grovel under the car.

I think i'll probably go and view it again armed with some tools and a jack and really have a good look underneath.

Post Thu Dec 04, 2008 4:43 pm

if the TB's are out there are alot of ponies missing!

Post Thu Dec 04, 2008 5:14 pm

Theo325 wrote:Thanks for all the tips, I had a look round the car today.

It was fairly tidy though nothing special. Very nice interior which is super comfortable, as I was driving it I was thinking how good it would be for cruising down to the Nurburgring...

The performance wasn't quite what I expected though. I will need to do the valve clearances as there was one which sounded a bit noisy. What really suprised me was the throttle response, it was rather poor. The throttle actually jammed open in comical fashion, sorted that out with some freeing oil but even after this I thought the response was poor. Can you service/sychronise the throttle bodies so they are tip-top? If so how do you do this?

I thought the steering was a bit crap, but I supose that's to be expected with a steering box. Gear shift was sloppy, definitely needs some of the bushes/washers replacing. The engine had a slight oil leak, but it was too cold for me to grovel under the car.

I think i'll probably go and view it again armed with some tools and a jack and really have a good look underneath.

TBs can be re-sync'd...

Procedure is written up here: http://home.insightbb.com/~todd.kenyon/throttle.htm

Post Thu Dec 04, 2008 5:18 pm

Rosc0PColtrane wrote:Suspension?

TBMW a few months ago had an excellent buying guide for the M5.

If i can find this i'll attempt to scan it in and post here for you tomorrow mate.

Post Thu Dec 04, 2008 5:36 pm

Thanks Julz, I'd been trying to find out info on that proceedure without much sucess. Do you have a similar link for doing the valve clearances on the s38?

Ste, a scan of the article would be greatly appreciated mate.

Post Thu Dec 04, 2008 6:23 pm

theo I think the valve clearances are the same as the e30 M3 in which case it's a faff. Stu lent me the tool to do it it was an arse to do too. involves rotating the cams and using the tool to push the buckets down and extract the shim measure that and measure the clearance I cant remember off the top of my head what they should be but sometimes flipping the shims over can restore the correct values

Post Thu Dec 04, 2008 6:31 pm

Yeahm same proceedure and components as the S14 from what i've read. Will have to contact Stu for a tool rental/lendage - the tool is about £200 from BMW apparently.

Post Thu Dec 04, 2008 6:58 pm

Hi

I may have the s38 work shop manual in pdf, I will pm if i find it.

When i checked the tool for the s14 they were nla but aviable in the US and also they only have a shim kit aviliable, about £400 rather than individual shims.

Check s14 net as I think volvo shims fit and are much cheaper, my local machine shop has a shim grinder so i was going to get a st of the volvo ones and grind them down

Jason

Post Thu Dec 04, 2008 7:22 pm

Thanks Jason, that manual would be great if you can find it.

Don't fancy a shim kit @ £400! Supposedly there is a set price of £220 for BMW doing the job.

I also read that the Fiat tool can be used as it's pretty much the same as the BMW tool, and also Fiat shims have been used without issue by various intrepid penny pinchers.

Post Fri Dec 05, 2008 7:29 am

Theo,

check the resonance flap is working. If it's not you'll have really poor low end torque. Make sure tensioner is ok. Check cooling system to make sure it's working ok and the aspirator isn't blocked.

3.6 M5's are quick cars but they need to be worked quite hard. The delivery is very linear which does not give the impression of much power.

If it's got standard suspension - get ready to experience some ROLL.

Post Fri Dec 05, 2008 9:12 am

Theo, or anyone else for that matter, drop me a PM with your e-mail addy and i'll send the multipage pdf file to you as you can see it better. My work computer won't let me upload to sendspace or the like so i'm kinda restricted on where i can host from and my ftp site is down to. Happy Fridays! Direct links below the pic's

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b73/5 ... Page_1.jpg.
http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b73/5 ... Page_2.jpg
http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b73/5 ... Page_3.jpg
http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b73/5 ... Page_4.jpg
http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b73/5 ... Page_5.jpg

Post Fri Dec 05, 2008 10:39 am

M5pilot wrote:Theo,

check the resonance flap is working. If it's not you'll have really poor low end torque. Make sure tensioner is ok. Check cooling system to make sure it's working ok and the aspirator isn't blocked.

3.6 M5's are quick cars but they need to be worked quite hard. The delivery is very linear which does not give the impression of much power.

If it's got standard suspension - get ready to experience some ROLL.

Thanks for the post Sal, I'd not come across the resonance flap until you mentioned it. Just seen that they do a self test when you start the car. I'll check this when I go and view the car again.

The temperature gauge sat dead on halfway, the car actually warmed up very quickly - is this normal?

It does indeed have standard suspension, and it is a bit soft. However, it's a welcome break from my 325i which is too stiff for the shite roads which Kent and Sussex are littered with.

Post Fri Dec 05, 2008 10:41 am

Ste thanks for posting up that article, just about managed to read it! If nothing else, it makes me realise how badly an e34 needs the shadowline trim.

Post Fri Dec 05, 2008 11:06 am

Theo325 wrote:However, it's a welcome break from my 325i which is too stiff for the shite roads which Kent and Sussex are littered with.

You getting old before your time fella

? But I know what you mean - roads in Kent seem to be getting worse!

Post Fri Dec 05, 2008 11:51 am

No worries Theo, if you want i can e-mail you over the pdf which you can read without a magnifying glass

Post Fri Dec 05, 2008 1:41 pm

Thanks Ste, but I can make it out ok from the pics you've posted. Still thinking it over whether or not to go for the m5, certainly a lot cooler than my e30. It is a bit on the large side though.

Post Sat Dec 06, 2008 12:23 am

Theo, feel free to bring it over some time.

I have to dyno a 3.6, dynoed loads of 3.8's.

I have owned two very healthy engined 3.6's. They are MUCH faster than most 2.7's once on the move. They just don't feel very fast because of the refinement.

You like the suspension???......your definately getting old!

You looking to keep this car?

Post Sat Dec 06, 2008 9:23 am

i'll have it!

Post Sat Dec 06, 2008 9:46 am

I sooo want one of these cars!!

Post Sat Dec 06, 2008 10:42 am

Still thinking it over, I do really like the m5 it's a completely new level from an e30 in terms of comfort and refinement. Only thing it's missing which I would like is heated seats, but I imagine these are easy enough to retrofit.

If I go for it i'll need to do the valve clearances without a doubt, and syncronise the throttles both of which are quite fiddly jobs. Plan would be to buy it, getting running sweet and then sell/break my 325i ending me up in profit!

I really don't want to go down the route of spending money modifying it, slightly stiffer suspension would be good, but you really must appreciate how crap the roads are round where I live!