A bunch of little things

General conversations about BMW E28s and the people who own them.
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notouching
Posts: 20
Joined: Aug 29, 2021 7:56 PM
Location: Kenmore, WA

A bunch of little things

Post by notouching »

Hi everyone,

I have recently got an E28 and after addressing the major issues with the powertrain and suspension (some notes here) I am down to a bunch of minor annoying things that I hope to get some advice on here:
  1. Squeaky brake pedal. I tried lubing the spring behind the pedal with white lithium grease, but the silence only lasted a couple of days. Is there a recommended lube for that? Or maybe I'm missing some rubber/plastic bushing?
  2. Sunroof rattles when driving. It's the headliner wrapped around the sunroof rattling on the ceiling headliner. I was thinking about sticking some felt tape there on the ceiling along the edge of the sunroof, but open to suggestions.
  3. Brake light check light sometimes turns on. Sometimes when I first turn the key in the morning, and in those cases usually pumping the brakes makes it go away. Sometimes it lights up after driving for some time. Sometimes it stays off for days. I checked the brake lights and they are fine, evenly lit bulbs on both sides. I was going to replace the bulbs and clean the contacts, hopefully it's not an issue in the diagnostic system itself.
  4. Driver door whistles at speeds > 45mph. It's coming from the top of the B-pillar, I am guessing a bad/old door rubber seal. Lowering the window just a tiny bit makes it go away. Is this a common problem?
  5. To properly close the front passenger door I gotta slam it pretty hard. What can be adjusted to address this?
  6. Finally, the car is missing the trunk label, "528 e". Does anyone have the measurements or a template for the placement of the chrome lettering? I have bought the new "528" and the "e", and want the car to look as OEM as possible.
Thank you! Any advice is appreciated.
Blue Shadow
Posts: 10195
Joined: Feb 12, 2006 12:00 PM
Location: SE PA

Re: A bunch of little things

Post by Blue Shadow »

3. RTFM. The brake check light is always triggered by a start until you first use the brakes and the car verifies the brake lights work. This part seems to be working as designed.

Coming on after a while driving can be loose bulb connection or more probably corroded connection between socket and conductor plates

4. The window guide (gasket) might be an issue. Cracks along the seal length also separates at corners.

5. Should be a plastic bumper on the finger that gets hit by the door latch bar on the body. Using a chunk of fuel hose will work while you hunt for those couple buck a pop bumpers. Check other doors to see how many you need. They crack before they fall off.

6. The location of these emblems is in the BMW repair manual and someone will drop in with those dimensions. You might find em with a tech talk search of trunk emblems. Maybe spacing or some other words.
Last edited by Blue Shadow on Nov 27, 2021 7:58 PM, edited 1 time in total.
Mike W.
Posts: 26872
Joined: Feb 12, 2006 12:00 PM
Location: California Whine Country

Re: A bunch of little things

Post by Mike W. »

Brake pedal. It's probably in the pivot shaft. And there is a plastic bushing in there. Try a shot of Triflow or superlube at the ends of the tube. Not WD40 or a penetrant, you want a lube in there. If no luck, take it apart and a dab of grease at the contact points.

Brake warning light. It might be a flaky switch, they go intermittent when they go, it might be bad connections at the bulb/socket, or it might be the taillight. The taillight used a piece of galvanized sheet metal folded over another piece of sheet metal for the ground. Over the years corrosion develops and it's a bad ground. Here's a pic.

Image

Also a thread on it. https://www.mye28.com/viewtopic.php?f=3 ... s#p1273778

Wind whistle. If lowering the window makes it better, it's probably the window channel, not the door seal. Never done one myself, but people say great good things about how things are after replacement.

Pass door closing. There is supposed to be a little plastic cover on the part of the latch mechanism that pivots to latch the door. It's probably missing. It's called a "buffer"
Blue Shadow
Posts: 10195
Joined: Feb 12, 2006 12:00 PM
Location: SE PA

Re: A bunch of little things

Post by Blue Shadow »

Mike, you were typing and linking a pic while I was pecking on an old small phone but we got most of it covered. Maybe we'll hear back about successes and a couple more problems. Ball is definitely in his court on a number of his little issues. In under an hour. That's good service.
Mike W.
Posts: 26872
Joined: Feb 12, 2006 12:00 PM
Location: California Whine Country

Re: A bunch of little things

Post by Mike W. »

Blue Shadow wrote: Nov 27, 2021 8:02 PM Mike, you were typing and linking a pic while I was pecking on an old small phone but we got most of it covered. Maybe we'll hear back about successes and a couple more problems. Ball is definitely in his court on a number of his little issues. In under an hour. That's good service.
I saw your post after I posted and thought he must type faster than I do. :laugh: We're pretty close though.
notouching
Posts: 20
Joined: Aug 29, 2021 7:56 PM
Location: Kenmore, WA

Re: A bunch of little things

Post by notouching »

Thanks guys, super helpful.

I think you're right, my window guide looks bad and cracked and separated in the corners. Going to research the replacement procedure, looks like the part is available for sale. Eventually should do all 4, none of them look great.

Will try lubing the brake pivot shaft with the recommended lube.

The taillights had leaky seals and were letting water into the trunk until recently. Once it stops raining (should be next Thursday, lol) I'll examine for corrosion.

Ordered the 4 door buffers. One is missing and two others are cracked.
topher800
Posts: 446
Joined: Nov 24, 2009 9:44 AM
Location: Marshall, CO

Re: A bunch of little things

Post by topher800 »

...and replace both items here (the white/grey in the lower and the grey/black wedge in the upper):

Image
Mike W.
Posts: 26872
Joined: Feb 12, 2006 12:00 PM
Location: California Whine Country

Re: A bunch of little things

Post by Mike W. »

notouching wrote: Nov 28, 2021 6:29 PM
The taillights had leaky seals and were letting water into the trunk until recently. Once it stops raining (should be next Thursday, lol) I'll examine for corrosion.
You can't see resistance. Metering it is even borderline but might be of use, if you don't get good readings, it's safe to assume you need a jumper wire, but if you do get good readings it doesn't mean it will always be good. There's a guy here selling what he calls the octopus. IMO it's overkill as the brake light seems to be the only one affected by that folded ground.

And hey, send some of that rain down our way!
Foonfer
Posts: 702
Joined: Mar 18, 2015 11:33 PM
Location: New York, NY

Re: A bunch of little things

Post by Foonfer »

E28 tailight assemblies rely on a *very thin* galvanized steel sheet being continuous and in continuous contact with the bulb holders' carriers, which have 2 contacts each.

This galvanized sheet is prone to rust, wear and breaking, thus becoming discontinuous (for the lightbulb carrier). This has been the case with my car on the driver's side, part because of moisture, part because of the jack/jacking components not been properly tied down all the time and sometimes hitting the tailight assembly.

Look for rust/physical gaps in the galvanized steel sheet on your tailight assemblies, weld them/solder them if you can, and make sure you secure whatever might hit the tailight assemblies... you should be good to go. Wire-brush clean all contact tabs in your lightbulb carriers.
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