92 BMWcar
TROUBLE-SHOOTER
The M50 engine, as fitted from late 1990, is one of BMW’s best engines – they
are all but unbreakable. Both the 150hp 2.0-litre and the 192hp 2.5-litre can
thrive on neglect. Faults include cracked heads if they’ve been cooked (make
sure it has a good, steel impeller water pump) and, on 9/92-onwards cars,
a rattly Vanos unit. But, when given regular oil and coolant changes, these
engines will just run indefinitely.
Manual gearboxes and diffs seem to last forever – all five-speed Getrag or ZF units,
with six speeds on the 540i Getrag 420G unit. Diffs never wear out, but the LSD
action on Sport models will tire eventually and require a rebuild. Automatics are the
four-speed GM (later 518i), four-speed ZF (M20 and M30 cars) and the excellent
five-speed on the M50 and M60. They all need regular fluid changes, though.
The E34 does rust, sadly. Well, they are old cars now. Common spots to check are
the rear sills, under the fuel filler, front arches, jacking points and door bottoms.
Forget used wings, they’re all rusty. Pattern wings are cheap and generally a good
fit, and good doors are still around, but the supply is drying up. Rusty examples
are rarely worth the bother, although the 525i and 535i Sports are creeping up in
value nowadays.
Worn out front suspension is a common E34 ailment. Weak, leaking front dampers
are often found, as are tired track control arm bushes. Front arms are best
replaced whole, but they aren’t always supplied with the inner bush. Buy and fit
E32 750i ones if they don’t. Be careful with front dampers, though, as there are two
types – short-pin (small black top mount cap) and long-pin (a big centre cap about
9-10cm), plus BMW altered the pin diameters in 1990/91.The 518i was reliable enough. The original, pre-1994 cars used the M40 engine,
known for camshaft wear. Cams and followers are available aftermarket (just),
and a top-end rebuild is easy enough without removing the head. Later cars used
the M43, which was a cracking engine whose only vice is an appetite for head
gaskets. But they’re so easy to work on and repair.Others areas of concern should be the wiper linkage which wears, with the
passenger arm being worst – they’re a sod to change, and good used ones are
rare. Buy an old one and have it re-bushed, ready to swap when necessary. New
ones are hundreds. The fuel pipe behind the rear bumper rusts and leaks, and all
Tourings (apart from the 518i and 520i) have hydro self-levelling. If it’s all rotten
and leaking, convert it to standard springing with a pair of rear straits, and a
standard power steering pump. The old M51 diesels were OK, but aren’t that great
on fuel and can have starting troubles and leaks from the main diesel pump. BMW
parts prices are just pure comedy, so try and hoover-up aftermarket parts where
you can – they won’t be around for much longer.5
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