Page 202 of 213

Re: What did you do to your E28 today?

Posted: Oct 29, 2019 7:25 PM
by Shawn D.
Continued scrapping/parting out my '86. :(

Re: What did you do to your E28 today?

Posted: Nov 02, 2019 11:22 AM
by richardb
Did my first oil change!

https://youtu.be/8aLSbbrgWxs

Re: What did you do to your E28 today?

Posted: Nov 05, 2019 7:56 AM
by Beemernut
Got my exhaust gaskets, fan clutch, and brake bomb all done. All were badly needed.

It's crazy how much better the thing idles with those manifold to pipe gaskets fixed. Could be my imagination but I think it pulls harder too.

AND NOW I HAVE STRONG BRAKES for the first time in my 3 years of ownership. :D

Re: What did you do to your E28 today?

Posted: Nov 05, 2019 12:50 PM
by MattC
Received my newly wrapped leather steering wheel from Chris Scow at Leatherwheels.com.

I'd highly recommend his work, which is both affordable and very well done! Turnaround time is quick as well (only a couple days).

Image

Re: What did you do to your E28 today?

Posted: Nov 05, 2019 7:15 PM
by dsw99a
Yep, Chris does a rocking good job. Looks good!!

Re: What did you do to your E28 today?

Posted: Nov 09, 2019 5:36 PM
by amagansa
I come out to drive the thing, CLS not working. Strange. Key on, no power. Weird, it's a good battery. Pop the hood and my positive battery terminal end had come clean off the terminal. Admittedly I hadn't checked tightness of the terminal in a while, but to get moved like that? That's something.

Also, I curbed my wheel the other day aka died inside a little.

Re: What did you do to your E28 today?

Posted: Nov 09, 2019 5:54 PM
by bafbaf
Time to go into hibernation for winter.
Image
Image

Re: What did you do to your E28 today?

Posted: Nov 10, 2019 3:25 PM
by lswoboda
[quote="bafbaf"]Time to go into hibernation for winter.
Image

What size Quick Jack are you using, and why are you using the length of wood?

Thanks!

Re: What did you do to your E28 today?

Posted: Nov 10, 2019 5:16 PM
by bafbaf
It's the bl-5000slx. I didn't have time to order the pinch weld blocks (plus the gas line runs just inside the pinch weld so you have to be careful not to crush the line if you're using the blocks) so the wood's there to spread out the load.

Re: What did you do to your E28 today?

Posted: Nov 18, 2019 8:14 AM
by BDKawey
grabbed some 540i calipers over the weekend, full set for a hundred bucks. they've got midwestern rot but ill clean them up and throw some new seals in them. feel like its not a bad deal at all.

this car has unassisted brakes, am open for pad suggestions.

Re: What did you do to your E28 today?

Posted: Dec 02, 2019 5:33 AM
by amagansa
My car keeps blowing the fuse for the tach, CLS, etc. So now I've got to figure out what's broken. Also I really need a new diff mount. Can't even spin tires in the rain anymore lol.

Re: What did you do to your E28 today?

Posted: Dec 03, 2019 6:37 PM
by amagansa
I "fixed" my fuse 5 blowing problem AKA disconnected the OBC connector next to driver strut tower. Never worked since the day I bought it anyway. At least I narrowed it down a little.

Re: What did you do to your E28 today?

Posted: Dec 03, 2019 8:21 PM
by RonW
Commuted with it, 65 miles each way. My 535i is now a permanent lawn ornament, and the E46 325Ci needs coils and plugs, so I'm driving the 535is for the first time in a long time. The E46 has been my daily driver for a few years now, and after that and various new spaceship-like rental cars on business travel, the E28 is simple, genteel, and stately. Driving it is so bereft of distractions that you become consciously aware of a peacefulness of the experience that is lacking in modern cars.

How could this simple car with 180 horsepower have been considered an expensive and luxurious "ultimate driving machine" in 1987? Considering this paradox - this koan - makes driving the 535is not just peaceful, but zen-like.

Re: What did you do to your E28 today?

Posted: Dec 12, 2019 6:31 PM
by amagansa
Finally got around to replacing my odometer gears. I was worried about screwing it up, but actually one of the easiest repair jobs i've done on the car. Besides running to Lowes to get a pair of dykes, it was essentially a 20 minute job. According to a carfax I had when I bought it, the odometer has been stuck at 239k since at least 2010 :shock: I'd say mileage is probably around 280-290 based on averages.

Re: What did you do to your E28 today?

Posted: Dec 14, 2019 4:19 PM
by SeattleGuy
RonW wrote:Commuted with it, 65 miles each way. My 535i is now a permanent lawn ornament, and the E46 325Ci needs coils and plugs, so I'm driving the 535is for the first time in a long time. The E46 has been my daily driver for a few years now, and after that and various new spaceship-like rental cars on business travel, the E28 is simple, genteel, and stately. Driving it is so bereft of distractions that you become consciously aware of a peacefulness of the experience that is lacking in modern cars.

How could this simple car with 180 horsepower have been considered an expensive and luxurious "ultimate driving machine" in 1987? Considering this paradox - this koan - makes driving the 535is not just peaceful, but zen-like.
Yah buddy. I always argue in FB with a friend of mine who likes the E32, E34 and E36.

Car Talk Today Part Deux: Best BMW of All Time (BOAT)

I know Mladen will show up to throw some shade well bring it on dude. The Bottom Line on saloons is this:
https://www.carbuyer.co.uk/reviews/reco ... aloon-cars

The E28 is overall the best sedan driving experience on a day-to-day basis you will ever have. Even today still top-rated. My point is I don't need nor want all of that new shit on my car. Airbags are nice but if I'm in an accident that bad where my E28 doesn't have my back it was probably my time to go right.

My ideal day to day would be the impeccably-modded E28 Euro in the picture but not even necessarily with its degree of refinement. It's ultra high-end and upwards of $45K. I'd settle for mine with $5-8K resto and call it a day.

And you don't need a damn M5 to enjoy the fun. A good running M30 is fine enough, even stock.

So Mladen Micic I'm waiting for ya bro. I've owned or driven so many nice cars I can't even remember. Sometimes I take Maxine for granted. Sometimes but not often that is. You want new shit? Go and get it bro. Newer and cheaper cars like base VW Golf as quicker cars? OK fine go and get one then. They are certainly nice cars. And they are on every street corner. I go for MONTHS without seeing another E28 these days much less one as nice as Maxine.

At the End of the Day I know what the Best is. And the Best is the E28. Take your Merc 123/124.... great cars too but try to find a stick in the 124 in America right. Not happening Brotha'. Take your Alfa Milano/75 too... love them but OMG maintenance nightmare by comparison and those are more akin to an E30, right. Right.

What else ya got?

An E39 540 6sp to keep the miles down on the E28? Fine. I'll go for that.

Other than that you just got a whole lotta nothing :)

**************

BTW to sorta stay on point, last week:

1. New Clutch and full hyrdraulics
2. New plugs (the old ones still looked decent just my annual thing)
3. New Paper Air Filter -- K&N was pulled. Eventually I'll get around to ordering the cleaning agent and oil LOL
4. Fresh coolant flush and thermostat
5. Fresh oil 1K ago.

Really just needs a blower motor for now, in a year or so starts the suspension refresh and shocks but she rides fine now and not horrible on-center slop still responsive and nice.

Re: What did you do to your E28 today?

Posted: Dec 16, 2019 1:05 PM
by SeattleGuy
MattC wrote:Received my newly wrapped leather steering wheel from Chris Scow at Leatherwheels.com.

I'd highly recommend his work, which is both affordable and very well done! Turnaround time is quick as well (only a couple days).

Image
That's great to know! Yes his prices are great. And I preferred my 533i hoop to the 535is hoop for sure. I am likely moving back East in the spring -- outer Philly. I will PM you for some ideas. I don't need to be right near the city but I do feel a need to be near somewhere I can ride a dirt bike like a KDX 200/220 or something.....

Re: What did you do to your E28 today?

Posted: Jan 02, 2020 5:38 PM
by dsmith
Finally had something to fix on my e28. My cruise cable snapped, so I dug out a spare, cleaned it up and installed.

Re: What did you do to your E28 today?

Posted: Jan 02, 2020 5:47 PM
by richardb
Not much work on the 533i these days since the car is in storage. But, dug out this old video of an E9 I almost bought last year:

https://youtu.be/OZn_kYu4ytY

Re: What did you do to your E28 today?

Posted: Jan 02, 2020 6:08 PM
by tn535i
This past weekend I finally changed out the last two tires on the 535 after doing the front a few weeks back after getting a flat. I've been having some fun with the old rear tires every time it rained but wanted to wrap up before winter sets in. I have a home grown method to remove and mount the new tires and honestly breaking the bead is the hardest part but putting a new tire on a clean rim is surprisingly easy to do. I balance with a homemade shaft and my son's motorcycle balancer. Not a dynamic only static and no road force check but OK. I use adhesive weights in the center of the rim and get it easily within 1/4 ounce. In fact I can test the wheel alone first and rotate the tire if needed to keep weight as low as possible.

Image

I ran the car up to (let's just say illegal speeds) and it's very smooth. It still has all it's weird noises for whatever other problems but rides much nicer now. It was raining today and so I can really feel that wet traction is greatly improved compared to a week ago. For anyone considering a more budget end tire I am a fan of the GMax AS05 as my son has had them on his LGT and they perform really well there and feel great on the 535. Snow traction yet to be decided if/when we get some.

Re: What did you do to your E28 today?

Posted: Jan 14, 2020 1:34 AM
by amagansa
A week ago I acquired a black sport seat for cheap. Today I was finally able to mount it. The motors didn't work and it wasn't mint, but it was still solid and thanks to the wealth of info on the forum I was able to figure out how to manually adjust the seat and get the correct hardware, also bent the seatbelt buckle straight. Feels great but haven't gone on a spirited drive yet.

Also replaced a bunch of vacuum/intake hoses. Some were really bad. Don't you just love it when rubber turns to plastic?
Image

Re: What did you do to your E28 today?

Posted: Jan 17, 2020 2:54 PM
by rochareels
I put my fancy red door cards in finally. Had them in the closet forever!

ImageBMW 524TD by rochareels, on Flickr

Re: What did you do to your E28 today?

Posted: Jan 17, 2020 8:03 PM
by Mike W.
tn535i wrote:This past weekend I finally changed out the last two tires on the 535 after doing the front a few weeks back after getting a flat. I've been having some fun with the old rear tires every time it rained but wanted to wrap up before winter sets in. I have a home grown method to remove and mount the new tires and honestly breaking the bead is the hardest part but putting a new tire on a clean rim is surprisingly easy to do. I balance with a homemade shaft and my son's motorcycle balancer. Not a dynamic only static and no road force check but OK. I use adhesive weights in the center of the rim and get it easily within 1/4 ounce. In fact I can test the wheel alone first and rotate the tire if needed to keep weight as low as possible.

I ran the car up to (let's just say illegal speeds) and it's very smooth. It still has all it's weird noises for whatever other problems but rides much nicer now. It was raining today and so I can really feel that wet traction is greatly improved compared to a week ago. For anyone considering a more budget end tire I am a fan of the GMax AS05 as my son has had them on his LGT and they perform really well there and feel great on the 535. Snow traction yet to be decided if/when we get some.
With old style cone and cup bearings I used to balance just using the front wheel/hub. The heavy spot would drift to the bottom and I'd put a weight up top. Now I wouldn't attempt something like that on an E28 as hypersensitive as they are on the front end, but on simpler cars it worked fine. I think I still have a coffee can of old wheel weights waiting a destination. :laugh:

Re: What did you do to your E28 today?

Posted: Jan 19, 2020 12:50 PM
by HayekFan
Did a windshield install after getting the car painted. I've got a new OEM windshield on order but for unexpected reasons needed to drive the car immediately so installed the original windshield temporarily.

Re: What did you do to your E28 today?

Posted: Jan 20, 2020 12:09 PM
by tn535i
Mike W. wrote:Now I wouldn't attempt something like that on an E28 as hypersensitive as they are on the front end, but on simpler cars it worked fine. I think I still have a coffee can of old wheel weights waiting a destination. :laugh:
Difficult to see in my pic but I've made a hub of sorts that the wheel centers on and all the rest of that simple hardware pushes the wheel against my hub. I have in effect hub centering rings I've made on my lathe for 3 BMW sizes, Subaru and Hyundai.

I don't think our cars are as sensitive as some suggest. My e28 has a noticeable brake surge up front right now and that is what is setting up some shimmy from 50-60. It's not my new tires or my balancing or probably even the aging UCA's which are 10+ years old. In fact I ran it about 75-80 again the other day and only thing I need to address is a slight rear end steering with accel/decel. I only replaced one side a while back because it was completely shot and still need to do the other side.

I would never use the old style rim weights on any new wheels and most front faces won't accept any sort of wheel weight anyway. The method of balancing with adhesive weights in center only by gravity has proven excellent on 7-8 different vehicles for me now. The only vehicle in my family with a vibration (slight) is my wife's car that was 'professionally' done but those tires have over 30k on them. I would do them if they fit my rig.

I think checking the wheel out first and using a decent quality tire is a big part of getting things smooth and I believe the most weight I've ever used was 1.5 ounces and I didn't like that as I am usually under an ounce and often 1/4 -1/2 ounce. I studied up on balancing some time back and the most interesting thing I found was Porsche recommendations. IIRC they allow the tech 30 minutes to do ONE wheel, checking the wheel first and rotating the tire for best match up and suggest the tire be rejected if it needs more than about 1 ounce (100ish grams). I'm basically following that without the dynamic measurement element of it.

Re: What did you do to your E28 today?

Posted: Jan 21, 2020 12:18 AM
by vandiesel
Picked up mine from getting C-quartz detail done. The car is a freaking mirror.
Image
Image
Image
Image
This one really shows how clear it came out.