Andrew Wilson's 1988 M5 Restoration Thread

General conversations about BMW E28s and the people who own them.
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1st 5er
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Re: Andrew Wilson's 1988 M5 Restoration Thread

Post by 1st 5er »

:wave:

Sorry I missed you and your car in Hot Springs. :(
adawil2002
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Re: Andrew Wilson's 1988 M5 Restoration Thread

Post by adawil2002 »

1st 5er wrote::wave:

Sorry I missed you and your car in Hot Springs. :(
Missed you and your car as well, I was wandering around wearing a blue and white striped Lacoste shirt.
1st 5er
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Re: Andrew Wilson's 1988 M5 Restoration Thread

Post by 1st 5er »

adawil2002 wrote:
1st 5er wrote::wave:

Sorry I missed you and your car in Hot Springs. :(
Missed you and your car as well, I was wandering around wearing a blue and white striped Lacoste shirt.
Did Lissa Rickman get a shot of your car?
adawil2002
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Re: Andrew Wilson's 1988 M5 Restoration Thread

Post by adawil2002 »

Yes, parked next to Rodney Middendorf's HAND BLT. Maine plate HND BILT with Euro headlights.
adawil2002
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Re: Andrew Wilson's 1988 M5 Restoration Thread

Post by adawil2002 »

Car goes to VSR today for two weeks, should be able to diagnose the ignition cut out in that amount of time...at least I hope so.
adawil2002
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Re: Andrew Wilson's 1988 M5 Restoration Thread

Post by adawil2002 »

Sent Mario an email as I've been on vacation to get an update. He had a shop wide meeting to brainstorm the random miss. Car has been hooked up to scopes and computers and has not exhibited the random miss. Chris is going to be driving the car as a daily for several days to the NH seacoast and back with the computer recorder hooked up...hoping the miss happens so we can get to the bottom of this.
adawil2002
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Re: Andrew Wilson's 1988 M5 Restoration Thread

Post by adawil2002 »

The elusive ignition issue has been solved! Spoke to Mario this morning, turns out there was a loose connector on the main relay that would randomly lose contact with a relay pin. The random miss was easily repeatable when the loose connection was found. The connector was re-crimped to make a solid connection.
wkohler
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Re: Andrew Wilson's 1988 M5 Restoration Thread

Post by wkohler »

Well that just spectacular news!
adawil2002
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Re: Andrew Wilson's 1988 M5 Restoration Thread

Post by adawil2002 »

Bad news...still has a random stutter. Not as pronounced as before and less frequent. Goes back to VSR on July 7. Have been using the car as a daily since picking it up last time. My other cars are just sitting and really need to be driven, haven't taken Athena anywhere this year.
adawil2002
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Re: Andrew Wilson's 1988 M5 Restoration Thread

Post by adawil2002 »

Dropped the car at VSR, hope to have it back in time for The Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix, I leave Thursday July 13.
L_N_Love
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Re: Andrew Wilson's 1988 M5 Restoration Thread

Post by L_N_Love »

I know that it must be so frustrating. It's probably going to be something simple but so hard to figure out. Keep trying.

:brickwall:


:alright:
adawil2002
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Re: Andrew Wilson's 1988 M5 Restoration Thread

Post by adawil2002 »

Spoke to Mario yesterday, the problem persists. Have ruled out fuel delivery, the air flow meter and plug wires, now on the 3rd ECU, so that's not the problem. Next step is to remove the dash and check the wiring harness for abnormal wear and continuity. VSR is part of an extensive network of professionals who have offered advise of experiencing the same or similar problems and what their solutions were...yet the problem persists. :?
adawil2002
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Re: Andrew Wilson's 1988 M5 Restoration Thread

Post by adawil2002 »

Spoke to Mario, the culprit seems to be a pressure release valve.
adawil2002
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Re: Andrew Wilson's 1988 M5 Restoration Thread

Post by adawil2002 »

The car has been driven extensively over the past 3 weeks, dropped it of July 7, 2017. Problem is it takes so long to test drive the car after making a change to see if the instant ignition cutout remains. Changed the plug wires, tried another ECU (the 5th), tested fuel pumps, tested the air box flap thing including testing continuity and resistance. Basically followed all the suggestions received of what could possibly cause the problem. So far this round of investigation has been a real head scratcher as nothing has jumped out as the eureka moment like when the loose relay connections were found.
adawil2002
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Re: Andrew Wilson's 1988 M5 Restoration Thread

Post by adawil2002 »

Word from VSR. Car has been driven 300+ miles with no ignition cutout symptoms. Estimate the car should be ready Friday the 4th by the end of the day.
adawil2002
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Re: Andrew Wilson's 1988 M5 Restoration Thread

Post by adawil2002 »

Car is on the lift for new strut bushings, will be ready Monday. Hope to pick up from VSR Tuesday August 8th.
Karl Grau
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Re: Andrew Wilson's 1988 M5 Restoration Thread

Post by Karl Grau »

I wonder why they didn't do the strut bearings at some point over the year and a half they've had the car? I'll be curious to see what they decide needs replacing next week. :)
adawil2002
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Re: Andrew Wilson's 1988 M5 Restoration Thread

Post by adawil2002 »

Karl Grau wrote:I wonder why they didn't do the strut bearings at some point over the year and a half they've had the car? I'll be curious to see what they decide needs replacing next week. :)
Thanks, 'next week' made me laugh!
adawil2002
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Re: Andrew Wilson's 1988 M5 Restoration Thread

Post by adawil2002 »

Have to correct my previous post, they replaced the front thrust bushings with modified 7 series, not upper strut mounts. Well, VSR has managed to get rid of the random stutter by systematically going through the car and testing every system. Just drove the car home and not a hiccup, misfire or stumble. Did learn that 3 of my Style 32 wheels are out of round. Will sent them out to be trued in the off season. So it looks like I'll be putting tires on the original wheels sooner than expected.
adawil2002
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Re: Andrew Wilson's 1988 M5 Restoration Thread

Post by adawil2002 »

Had a Dyno Run Day yesterday, took Vern my '73 Tii, Athena the '73 3.0CSi, Rodney '88 M5 and my '97 M3.

Wanted to get HP and torque numbers at the wheels. Was able to run the '97 M3, which I should have run to redline on my pulls best run was 218hp from 2500-6K RPM at 110mph forget the torque reading.

Wasn't able to run Vern, Athena or Rodney unfortunately. There was no way to hook up the rear cross chains to them due to the gas tanks, or exhaust and inaccessibility of the rear trailing arms.

Had a great drive to the venue and back, the guys who volunteered to drive the cars loved the chance to test drive Vern, Rodney and The M3.
adawil2002
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Re: Andrew Wilson's 1988 M5 Restoration Thread

Post by adawil2002 »

Rodney the M5 is doing well. Attended OktoberFast in Vermont from September 29-October 1. Our 3.0 CSi, Athena, won Best BMW and Best of Show.
The M5 has been my daily since August and I absolutely love it.
adawil2002
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Re: Andrew Wilson's 1988 M5 Restoration Thread

Post by adawil2002 »

It appears my rear universal joint on the drive shaft failed so getting a new driveshaft. European Auto Service in Gardiner, Maine is addressing a short yet expensive to do list.
adawil2002
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Re: Andrew Wilson's 1988 M5 Restoration Thread

Post by adawil2002 »

Well it appears there were a myriad of things the car needed. Drive shaft, transmission mount, ball joints, tie rods, a few leaks fixed the list goes on to the tune of $7K. I spent enough to get a travel mug from the garage to hold my tears, that bill hurt. The shimmy the car had since day one is gone so I'm happy.
stuartinmn
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Re: Andrew Wilson's 1988 M5 Restoration Thread

Post by stuartinmn »

adawil2002 wrote:the list goes on to the tune of $7K. I spent enough to get a travel mug from the garage to hold my tears, that bill hurt.
When I've dropped big sums of money at my local repair shop, they've given me gift certificates for dinner at nice restaurants - I think you need to hold out for more than a mug. :D
milarsky
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Re: Andrew Wilson's 1988 M5 Restoration Thread

Post by milarsky »

Hi Andrew. A question. I have followed this thread from the beginning. Wasn't this car restored in NH? How is it that you have this many issues and problems so early on. And how would a transmission mounts, front suspension components, and driveshaft result in a $7000 bill?

best,
jeff
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