Cam Wear

When I did the valve adjustment, I looked closely at the cam, it has pretty significant wear on the #1 lobe. The car will probably run ok for another 50k, but I will likely get a junkyard engine and do a bench rebuild. That was part of the reason I got the car anyway, so that I could do a new motor at some point. I'll get her solid and run her for another 20k or so, probably 2 years, then think about doing a new motor.

Back on it

Nope, decided that the e28 is so close to being road-worthy that I'll tackle it first, then do the e34 later. The e28 has been relegated to the 15" wheels that came off the e34 though, but they look nice. Initially I won't bother with lowering the car or anything. For now I want it to be "off-roadable" so that I can drive down dirt roads to get to mountain biking trails. For that the 15" wheels are fine. I'll just need to get some mudflaps/splash guards so that rocks don't ding it.

I think I know what's causing the steering issue, and I'll try to address that this weekend. Still not sure on the thumping, but I should be able to figure it out. I also found that the main oil leak in the back is from the oil pressure sensor. Someone installed the wrong one and doesn't look like they used a gasket. I have a new one on order.

I will probably go ahead and address the CSB and shifter linkage soon too. Once those are fixed the car should be a solid driver.

Nut job and new car

Dang, dodged a bullet. Local guy was advertising help on e28's, claiming to be an expert. So he comes over, has some good input, but is pretty much a blow hard. Gets lots of things flat out wrong, but I tolerate it because it seems like he has some good info. Well, I let him know what I want him to do, essentially focus on the motor, get it running right, don't bother with the rest, I'll take care of it. Well, he pretty much throws a tantrum because I'm a fool if I don't do everything he says I should, and apparently every car except for the e28 is a piece of crap, and everyone who doesn't agree with him is an idiot. So, I blow it off. Well, he comes back a couple days latter apologetic, so I figure I'll give him a second chance. About 4 emails later he's back in tantrum form. Apparently I'm an idiot if I have him do the valves, even though he'd previously said they needed to be done, same with the cam sprocket, I needed it, now I'm an idiot if I replace it. Apparently according to this guy cam sprockets and valve guides don't ever wear out...yeah right. Nut job. I guess I should have walked away when he indicated that he was proud that he'd been banned from the e28 forums....yeah...right...nut job.

Good thing I didn't let him touch the car, he'd have screwed it good.

Anywhoo, I couldn't resist, found a 1990 535i manual, 118k miles. Paint is trashed, suspension worn, interior needs work. But, the engine runs well, no brake shimmy, no vibration from the drivetrain, and no body damage. Good candidate to fix up. Has a few electrical issues, but nothing that looks too difficult. I'm thinking I'll shelve the e28 for a little while, get the e34 up to snuff, then I can tinker on the e28 at my leisure. This means I'll probably be selling the 2007 328. Even worn out the e34 feels more fun to drive. Here's a shot from the ad. Because it's wet in this image you can't tell, but someone has started sanding the paint in preparation for a full respray but didn't finish, so the paint is completely shot.

Oh yeah, according to the nut job, all e34's are crap because of the heater core...yeah...right.

Subframe

Turns out the steering mount was completely sheared off. I got the mWrench fix for it, and when I removed the bolt holding the steering gear the mount fell off.

It had obviously been welded before, and not very well. Took a while to file down the slopping welding so the fix kit would fit (this is an awesome fix btw, highly recommended). Unfortunately this didn't fix the pulsing in the steering or the rattle on accelleration. Fortunately I think I've found an e28 guru who should be able to come over this week to help me diagnose some of the issues.

There is a good chance the head gasket has gone, as I notice a little milky-ness in the oil, though this could be due to condensation, we'll see.

Front subframe

Finally found what was causing the steering issue. The front subframe mount for the steering gear is almost completely sheared off. Common on these cars. A bit of a PITA because I really need to get the emissions test done so I can register it, but this needs to be done first. I'll drop the front subframe and have a local shop re-weld and add some gussets. Obviously someone did a sloppy job of trying to fix it before, and the weld didn't hold.