85 M535 Engine Mount Part #'s

Specific conversations and info for the BMW E28 M5 and M535i.
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PWH
Posts: 6
Joined: Nov 18, 2014 2:44 PM
Location: Charlotte, NC

85 M535 Engine Mount Part #'s

Post by PWH »

Hello everyone!

In the process of continuing to freshen up my 85 M535.

Motor mounts are shot, and having a very difficult time sourcing motor mounts that match what are coming out of the car.

Here is what I have so far:
Bought 'HD' motor mounts from Autohausaz - took car to shop and received word 'these look nothing like what are coming out of car'
Called BMW who provided part number 111811128932 - This seems to be a US spec 535 engine mount
Live Chat with ECS tuning provided part number above, but specified it actually uses 2 'Left' mounts - shop looked at picture of above part number and said, that's not it either.

Shop says my engine mount has some angles to it, and is not a basic round mount.

Any help sourcing the correct part number?

Additionally I'd really like to upgrade to poly, or something more substantial than the OE Rubber.

Any links would be greatly appreciated.

By the way, if near the Charlotte area the 'Axles Unlimited' shop is awesome for any steering or driveline needs. They rebuilt my OEM axles with Spectre components, keeping me from having to use China sourced parts.

They also did an awesome job on my 4x4 Tundra drivetrain, including Front CV axles.

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

Re: 85 M535 Engine Mount Part #'s

Post by Mike W. »

Greetings and welcome to the group.

In spite of the M prefix, M535i's are mostly a euro 535i. I believe the round, solid mounts and the U/V(?) shaped ones are interchangeable. So I suspect either would work. But I would suggest peeking around a bit in https://www.realoem.com/bmw/, it's not perfect, though pretty good, but a great resource. One of it's weaknesses is it shows the part that came on the car, not all what fits, which may be much different.

https://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/showpa ... Id=11_0058
vinceg101
Posts: 4802
Joined: Jun 20, 2007 2:40 AM
Location: Los Angeles, CA

Re: 85 M535 Engine Mount Part #'s

Post by vinceg101 »

Mike is correct: because you have an M535i it uses many unique Euro parts, some specific and some Euro-only. Also, some of these parts carry unique part numbers but in reality are no different than their North American counterpart.

Engine mounts were a confusing item and fall into this category when I overhauled mine several years back. According to the parts diagram, the M535i uses two identical cylindrical type of bushing mounts (PN: 11811128932, as you state). This cylindrical style mount is also shared with the M5 but only the left side. The M535 part diagram actually shows the more common later mount (I think the one Mike is referring to?), but it is grayed out.

I think this is a case of BMW superseding the original part and declaring that the newer part is now the one you should be using. In this case they are saying the new mount with its' whole different design is acceptable. It could also be that your original mounts were replaced at one point with either the new part or the wrong part (hence the comments from the shop).

When you plug in the -932 part number into ECS you get nothing ("No results found") but when you plug it into Autohaus, you get both the cylindrical one (Meyle #3001181103) and the newer styled one (BMW #118111757735 which coincides as the part for the US 535i). It's strange because when you plug in this newer -735 number into ECS you get both the Meyle cylindrical and the newer BMW mount. Weird and doesn't help the confusion any in the least.

In any event, this newer -735 part fits the M535i as all M30B34 bottom end blocks are the same so don't sweat it.

And a tip when using RealOEM, be sure to use your VIN to research rather than relying on going through all the drop-down menus; it's faster and more accurate. Be sure to pay attention to the Superseding chains when you click on part number; in some parts databases you can still search and find the original part number even though it has been superseded with a newer and that part is also used.
PWH
Posts: 6
Joined: Nov 18, 2014 2:44 PM
Location: Charlotte, NC

Re: 85 M535 Engine Mount Part #'s

Post by PWH »

Thanks for the help!

You all are right, this is confusing.

I hate to say it but I forgot about RealOEM. RealOEM says the -932 part number is the replacement part when searching by my VIN (DC51).

So I'm sort of back to square one, in that I ordered parts the "HD" mounts (11811132793 ) for a 535i but my shop said they wouldn't work. Maybe they will work, but since the new mounts physically don't look round that's where the confusion is coming from?

I started this journey wanting the poly engine and trans mounts from garagisitic https://www.garagistic.com/products/e28 ... 8928304227 as I wanted poly mounts, but garagisitic wasn't sure their engine / trans mounts would work either, leading me to buy the "HD" mounts as others have done here.

I'm headed to shop to pick the car back up, while we sort what does / doesn't fit.

But based on what you've explained, as well as what is in the provided resources, I believe what I have SHOULD have fit from the get go....

BTW Mike I clicked on your "Tips" hyperlink. Great stuff. And yes to red loctite on brake caliper bolts! P.O. 'upgraded' my rear calipers to E34, and I found out the rear caliper bolts didn't have loctite when during an emergency stop, the rear passenger caliper bolts had backed out, broke the remaining bolt and the caliper proceeded to spin with the rotor, ultimately wedging itself between rotor and BBS RA scoring then punching a caliper size hole in the BBS RA. Not a fun day.
vinceg101
Posts: 4802
Joined: Jun 20, 2007 2:40 AM
Location: Los Angeles, CA

Re: 85 M535 Engine Mount Part #'s

Post by vinceg101 »

PWH wrote: Dec 14, 2020 1:22 PM Thanks for the help!

You all are right, this is confusing.

I hate to say it but I forgot about RealOEM. RealOEM says the -932 part number is the replacement part when searching by my VIN (DC51).

So I'm sort of back to square one, in that I ordered parts the "HD" mounts (11811132793 ) for a 535i but my shop said they wouldn't work. Maybe they will work, but since the new mounts physically don't look round that's where the confusion is coming from?

I started this journey wanting the poly engine and trans mounts from garagisitic https://www.garagistic.com/products/e28 ... 8928304227 as I wanted poly mounts, but garagisitic wasn't sure their engine / trans mounts would work either, leading me to buy the "HD" mounts as others have done here.

I'm headed to shop to pick the car back up, while we sort what does / doesn't fit.

But based on what you've explained, as well as what is in the provided resources, I believe what I have SHOULD have fit from the get go....

BTW Mike I clicked on your "Tips" hyperlink. Great stuff. And yes to red loctite on brake caliper bolts! P.O. 'upgraded' my rear calipers to E34, and I found out the rear caliper bolts didn't have loctite when during an emergency stop, the rear passenger caliper bolts had backed out, broke the remaining bolt and the caliper proceeded to spin with the rotor, ultimately wedging itself between rotor and BBS RA scoring then punching a caliper size hole in the BBS RA. Not a fun day.
It looks as though those Garagistic mounts more or less match the BMW older cylindrical -932 mount. What's likely confusing everyone is they don't understand that the motor for an M535i (M30B34) is the same as as the standard E28 535i (it's the M-designation that throws everyone off).
The newer -735 mounts DO fit and ARE the correct part for ALL M535i's. You need to tell your shop to ignore the previous mounts that came with the car; they may the wrong part entirely and BMW has changed the part design. Also, make sure they install them correctly (angle and orientation) so the mounts line up properly (it's easy to reverse them if they've not done it before). Also and if they are not in the proper angle, this can lead to premature failure.
This is mine when I re-installed the engine, notice it is the -735 mounts and they are actually installed incorrectly as they had to be rotated 90 degrees to where they show in this photo (I fixed it since it was taken, at least I hope I did...):
Image

You can see from the old ones when I pulled the block out here:
Image

As a side note, and is my opinion only, I'm not a fan of poly mounts for things like engines, transmissions, or differentials. Rubber is good at providing the required 'give' that these under-torque parts/assemblies operate under. Poly mounts tend to transfer that stress directly to the parts not designed to 'give'; this might lead to premature failure (cracks, bends, harshness, etc.). That all said, BMW engine mounts for the M30 in this generation do tend to wear out quicker than most any other bushed mount in the car, especially if you have a standard transmission. The Meyle HD parts used to be the go-to replacement for these (especially the older green coated ones), but Meyle quality has been all over the map lately.
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