Project Dingolfing E28 520i - Drop the hammer and step back!

[Steve79]

Fantastic! That's really nice, you'll love it, I'm sure. I've got a pair of heavily surface rusted but sound front struts if you're desperate. Mine has had lots of MOT welding and is really scruffy but it still got positive comments before I hid it in my lock up.

Well bought.

Cheers. Will have a look at my struts when the front shocks are being replaced and i'll see what they're like. Might take you up on your offer

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

The garage where the PO had the work done did make an advisory comment on the paperwork noting that various vacuum and breather hoses were perished.

 

They can't be that bad as it didn't fail the emmissions test. But I'll still look at these tomorrow.

 

The idle speed is regulated by the water heated H valve under the inlet manifold. These just corrode inside and stop working leading to variable idle speed. There is an air speed screw  on the manifold (No.19 fits into No.5)  - DO NOT adjust the idle speed on the the throttle body.

 

New H valves are NLA so what I used to do is insert an old 3/8 socket into the rubber air hose to reduce the volume of idle air. A bodge but it works.

[Steve79]

 

That is an absolute no no. So it needs at least one strut - I've seen these go bang over a pothole.

Is this not acceptable for MOT? The work was done in 2016 and has passed two mot's since then.

[Schaefft]

Very nice purchase, very nice color as well! E28s are from just before my era of BMW, but I bet its a fantastic car nevertheless. It'll be interesting to follow your progress with it.

[Magnificent Rustbucket]

My grandfather bought an E28 in this colour combination back in January 1985, just with the bigger engine. He took it to France on holiday in the June and the damn thing was stolen and used as a getaway car in a bank robbery. Can't be many thieves who use a foreign car for that!

 

 

I don't remember ever seeing an E28 with an analogue clock like that - they all had a digital one or a car computer if you paid (a lot) extra. - It was the E30 which had a clock like the one in the first post.

 

Nice cars.

[Steve79]

This is the first car i've bought in a while (apart from the XJ8) where I have been properly excited about owning it.

 

I usually buy cars because I like the look of them but my problem is I get bored easily and have sacked them off (the proton).

 

It got a few niggles like a temperamental electric passenger window and bodywork issues but these are things I can take my time and enjoy fixing.

 

I've always liked the early 80's beemers (missed the boat on cheap 6-series) and didn't think I'd find a decent 5-series at such and affordable price since most I've seen are £1.5k and that's just for a project that hasn't seen an MOT for years!

[wuvvum]

I do like an E28.  I had a 520i auto in the same colour as that back in the day.

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

Is this not acceptable for MOT? The work was done in 2016 and has passed two mot's since then.

 

 

It's not acceptable for me, that's for sure. Those spring cups are under enormous load. They are designed a certain way and made from a certain gauge of steel to be strong enough not to collapse. By the time it's rotten enough to have a hole, it's scrap. Whoever welded up a rotten spring cup should be shot.

I really would get the struts from Spartacus, get them blasted and start from there. CP4L used to be a good source of E28 dampers. 

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

Here we are for cheap shox m8. Avoid KYB rubbish as well. You'll need new bump stops too, about 10 quid from Amazon or Ebay.

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Sachs-Front-Shock-Absorber-Suspension-Damper-100388-5-YEAR-WARRANTY/163057952228?fits=Car+Make%3ABMW%7CPlat_Gen%3AE28&epid=1849795702&hash=item25f702e5e4:g:gLwAAOSwSw5bArWe

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Meyle-Front-Suspension-Strut-Insert-Shock-Absorber-Damper-326-624-0003/351626853010?fits=Car+Make%3ABMW%7CPlat_Gen%3AE28&epid=654188949&hash=item51de97fa92:g:IK8AAOSwLN5Wk6jo

[Skizzer]

Great buy, really like these. And the level of knowledge and practical advice on this thread is another example of AS at its best.

[Steve79]

Definitely not buying kyb again. Fitted kyb gas adjust to the Jag and within 3 months the bottom bushes are fooked and will need to see if it's possible to get new ones pressed in.

[Steve79]

Here we are for cheap shox m8. Avoid KYB rubbish as well. You'll need new bump stops too, about 10 quid from Amazon or Ebay.

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Sachs-Front-Shock-Absorber-Suspension-Damper-100388-5-YEAR-WARRANTY/163057952228?fits=Car+Make%3ABMW%7CPlat_Gen%3AE28&epid=1849795702&hash=item25f702e5e4:g:gLwAAOSwSw5bArWe

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Meyle-Front-Suspension-Strut-Insert-Shock-Absorber-Damper-326-624-0003/351626853010?fits=Car+Make%3ABMW%7CPlat_Gen%3AE28&epid=654188949&hash=item51de97fa92:g:IK8AAOSwLN5Wk6jo

I'd seen the meyle ones but not the sacha. Will be looking into these. Cheers

[Tadhg Tiogar]

... (missed the boat on cheap 6-series) ..

There's no such thing as a cheap E24. It will cost you in several different ways.

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

E24's are one of the most needy, wallet draining cars ever built. I was never a massive fan of them so managed to only own two, both sold one sharpish for a quick buck.

 

KYB dampers are garbage. If they actually fit properly, they're pissing oil out after a few months. I was supplied some fronts for an E34 and they were too skinny - KYB did supply a plastic spacer. FRO m8.

 

ECP's Anschler budgets are pretty good.

[captain_70s]

That looks excellent, well bought.

[Tadhg Tiogar]

E24's are one of the most needy, wallet draining cars ever built. I was never a massive fan of them so managed to only own two, both sold one sharpish for a quick buck.....

I had one for 18 years. To be fair, it rarely had a problem passing MoTs, but the rust you couldn't see - because Karmann - was always a worry.

[Steve79]

The idle speed is regulated by the water heated H valve under the inlet manifold. These just corrode inside and stop working leading to variable idle speed. There is an air speed screw on the manifold (No.19 fits into No.5) - DO NOT adjust the idle speed on the the throttle body.

 

New H valves are NLA so what I used to do is insert an old 3/8 socket into the rubber air hose to reduce the volume of idle air. A bodge but it works.

Started the car and let idle till the temperature gauge was halfway. Idle speed was reading around 1100rpm. So i took your advice and backed the air speed screw off a couple of turns until it was reading around 700rpm. Engine sounds a lot happier for this. Cheers for the tip

[Steve79]

On another positive note, i've just spent the last 15-20 minutes under the car (as best I could without quick access to my ramps) and I cannot find any trace of leaking fuel anywhere near the fuel tank, around the filter or from the hoses.

 

The mot fail made clear reference to a steady drip of fuel from the tank. The PO mentionned when I commented on a smell of fuel from the boot that he had knocked over a can of fuel in the boot just before the MOT. I now think that this was the cause of the dripping that the MOT tester found. If so, then that saves me from dropping the tank.

 

The fuel pump and filter were replaced a few years ago and the hoses (as best as I can see) are in fairly good condition with no visible cracking.

 

I still need to check the front shocks, but bouncing the car on each corner doesn't provoke any unusual movement be it excessive or zero.

 

One thing they were right about is the perished vacuum hoses. I've found about five hoses so far that have been bodged in some way, mostly with black electrical tape. It making the bugger hiss like a steam train!

 

Also found that the rear silencer is leaking on the join.

 

I think before I spend any money on it I'm going to take it round to my mates MOT station and let him test it. I wouldn't be surprised if it passed straight away!

[Peter C]

The condition of your BMW is on par with my recently acquired W124, lived in, a little tired but definitely worth saving.

 

I love the interior and dashboard.

 

Good luck getting it sorted.

[Peter C]

Inspiration:

 

http://retrorides.proboards.com/thread/204106/bmw-e28-520i-4500ono-ipswich

[r.welfare]

Four and a half! I'm glad I had a 528i when they were cheap (£650, 2002). I bet they've become extinct, but BMW did some holed steel wheels with metal nave plates on the very early versions which look great.

[Dave_Q]

Bronzitbeige, hubba hubba.

 

Apart from the trimz it's the spitting image of my old 525e.

 

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

Four and a half! I'm glad I had a 528i when they were cheap (£650, 2002). 

 

Mental isn't it? Apart from an Alpina B9 3.5, I never paid more than £500 for an E28 including a fully specced 528i with an LSD, sports gearbox and A/C.

[outlaw118]

Had a white 520i DNO???X about 17/18 years ago.

 

Absolute shed, but went well, and I INVENTED DRIFTIN M8

[Steve79]

Mental isn't it? Apart from an Alpina B9 3.5, I never paid more than £500 for an E28 including a fully specced 528i with an LSD, sports gearbox and A/C.

Prices for 80's stuff is insane and its only going to keep going up. Unless you're lucky, the true shitter gets priced out of the market.

[Tadhg Tiogar]

Prices for 80's stuff is insane and its only going to keep going up......

 

I'll hang onto my CX then. 

[BavarianRetro]

The fuel tank usually leaks from the top. There are three metal breather pipes - like brake pipes - too. They rust out.

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

Prices for 80's stuff is insane and its only going to keep going up. Unless you're lucky, the true shitter gets priced out of the market.

 

 

Yup. But on the flip side, I'm lucky to have had most of the good stuff when it was cheap and you could enjoy it. I ran all of the E28's, had about 10 or 15 in all. The 90 bhp carbed 518 was ghastly without PAS and five speeds but the 518i (105 bhp, 5 speed, PAS) was a pretty good car. I ran three, a blue '84 (BMW press car), a red 1986 and a blue 1987 that I p/exed for a 320d Estate in 2000. The 520i was smooth and fairly brisk-ish and I ran one for 2 years, an A reg Henna red manual. I ran two 525i's and a dark blue one was my first E28, bought in 1992. They were a lovely engine (150 bhp) but not massively faster than a 520i and a good 4-5 mpg down. 528i's were rapid with 184 bhp but the auto box spoiled them. They had to be a manual as the 2.8 was a revver, not a slogger. 535i's were fast but they were right on the edge of the power/roadholding limit. You could get into real trouble and they all had those fucking metric TRX tyres that were great on some cars and absolutely lethal on the E28. In the wet they bordered on dangerous.

 

Best was the 525e, especially the manual version. They had so much low down torque and on a run you'd see a real 35 mpg. I converted one to manual (we only got autos) and it was like driving a really good turbo diesel. BMW put that engine in the lighter, much more aerodynamic E30 to create the 325e. A five speed manual version was well known for doing 40 mpg plus on a steady run but BMW abandoned it and put their eggs ion the diesel market. Pity - they could have led the way in big super economical petrols. 

[cort16]

The 525e is an interesting oddity especially with the 4000 rpm rev counter. I had a really nice metallic blue one with blue sports cloth interior but they’re quite dull to drive .

I Imagine as a daily driver it’d be great and they’re interesting but not a lot of fun.

 

The ultimate e28 I dreamt of was a black 528i manual with shadow line trim and ox blood sports interior.

[Tadhg Tiogar]

The 525e is an interesting oddity especially with the 4000 rpm rev counter...

Unfortunately a lot of them have been dismantled because E30 enthusiasts want the engine.