E28 jacking points

Post Sat Mar 26, 2011 3:01 pm

Hi guys

I'm very close to buying a e28, but all 4 jacking points will need welding & it requires a new backbox to pass an MOT.
Otherwise it is a pretty solid 525e.

Is the welding required to the jacking points a straight forward job?

I will have access to a welder at work & there is a bodyshop next door too.

Post Sat Mar 26, 2011 3:22 pm

Yeah a competent bodyshop should be able to do it easily enough. If all 4 jacking points are gone, have a serious look at the ends of the sills (front of rear arch) and just inside that where the subframe mounts to the car. Sill ends aren't so bad but you don't want to be repairing rotten subframe mounts. Also have a good look around the inner lip of the boot, especially at the corners where it meets the rear quarter. The scuttle is worth checking also...

Post Sat Mar 26, 2011 6:00 pm

In general,think bigger E30 when checking these things for rust,top of the inner front wings rusts as well.

If the price is right,it would always make an engine doner for an E30!

Post Sat Mar 26, 2011 7:11 pm

[quote="daimlerman"top of the inner front wings rusts as well.[/quote]

Good point. Car killer that. Like subframe mounts, generally doesn't make economic sense repairing it, hence it's toaster time...

Post Sat Mar 26, 2011 7:19 pm

also check the front doors on the inside by the "A" post and also check the bumpers, good one's of these are getting very hard to get hold of. Great car the 525e. Wings are about £50, have you driven the car yet? 55 mph shimmy?

Post Sat Mar 26, 2011 7:23 pm

e30mreg318i wrote:Wings are about £50

Pattern outer wings are. Inner wings is a different ball game..

Post Sat Mar 26, 2011 8:00 pm

Im going to see the car tomorrow, I heard about this 55mph shimmy, whats the reason for that?

EDIT: As well as a full service, I'm probably going to have to overhaul all the bushes as it apparently has been sorn for over a year.

Post Sat Mar 26, 2011 8:06 pm

Worn front suspension components. Sortable, but can involve a fair bit of messing round. Watch out for feedback into the braking system from this problem. Also, if it's been unused for a period, brakes will need overhaul, most likely including lines, master cylinder etc.

Post Sat Mar 26, 2011 8:09 pm

The e28 uses upper and lower arms and these bushes if worn cause the wheels to feel out of balance and make driving the car unpleasant, the originals are made by lemforder and cost in the region of £300 to replace the four, can be done with budget arms or polybushes but it really is best to stick to original spec, also these cars are very sensitive to tyre quality and need good quality tyres, the shimmy can also be the steering box needing adjusting but normally the bushes are pretty worn. I have found that this is the problem with the 5's and 7's that they can be cheap to buy and are great cars but the parts usually seem to be 30-40 more than e30, still got to admit, love em!!

Post Sat Mar 26, 2011 8:34 pm

Hopefully I should pick it up real cheap, as long as it doesn't turn out to be a rusty shed.
It's on 135k miles with plenty of history, but no tax or MOT.
Just had the following emailed over from the current owner these are the points noted on the MOT failure sheet:

This is the actual description on the MOT failure sheet:
001 Nearside and Offside headlamp not in good working order adversely affecting beam image
003 Rear exhaust system has a major leak of exhaust gases
004 Rear exhaust system has part of the system excessively deteriorated
005 Nearside front (sill) Offside rear (sill) body has excessive corrosion, seriously affecting its strenght within 30cm of the body mountings
007 Nearside rear body and Offside front body has excessive corrosion, seriously affecting its strenght within 30cm of the body mountings
008 Nearside front (beam) body has excessive corrosion, seriously affecting its strenght within 30cm of the body mountings
009 Parking brake efficiency below requirements.

Post Sat Mar 26, 2011 9:14 pm

Headlights £30 ish each side in used condition off ebay, exhaust available on ebay also and to be honest most e28 have had some welding on the sills by now, try and get a quote on the welding if you can, with money and time it could be lovely once again, I've often thought of lpg'ing one as with its slow revs it would respond to gas well and would be cheap to run.

Post Sun Mar 27, 2011 12:30 am

007 Nearside rear body and Offside front body has excessive corrosion, seriously affecting its strenght within 30cm of the body mountings

What's this one about?

Post Sun Mar 27, 2011 11:39 am

snakebrain wrote:007 Nearside rear body and Offside front body has excessive corrosion, seriously affecting its strenght within 30cm of the body mountings

What's this one about?

Still scratching my head in that one, will be viewing it later so hopefully all becomes clear.

Post Sun Mar 27, 2011 11:44 am

I'm thinking the offside front body could be the usual dodgy E28 wing. The nearside rear body could be the boot corner I mentioned. I'd get clarification from the seller and confirm it with my own eyes before handing over any cash..

Post Sun Mar 27, 2011 11:44 am

A couple of pics of the car...

...looks like its been in that spot for a while.

Post Sun Mar 27, 2011 11:50 am

It's quite a nice one if the shell's sound. Shadowline makes an E28 look good. As above, wings, scuttle, sills, boot corners need a serious inspection. If it's not good, you can still shift the engine to the engine swap crew on here and the bumpers and other bits and pieces to some obsessive E28 enthusiast like me. If it's cheap enough, you haven't that much to lose..

Edit: if you're planning on hanging onto it, plan on rebushing, having the timing belt done etc. You won't have much change out of a grand but it should be good to go for a while after that.