Out with the old, In with the new.

ryan s · Aug 5, 2011

the E38s were never, ever meant to be cheap cars. the parts will never get cheaper. they (and other flagships) had technology in them that few/no other cars received until years later, which led to further issues. these are the cars the original owners dropped off at the dealership and came back with a blank check to pay for the service.

this is what happens when you buy a car that once sold for about 80 grand for less than a tenth of that, 10 years later, with over 100k :poke:

CG6Lemon · Aug 5, 2011

this should be a lesson to other 16 and 17 yr olds, don't try to go out on your own and buy cars worth over 5k. You should be grateful you get to drive already at that young. Driving is a privilege, not a right.

kashmeister · Aug 5, 2011

Honda4Life said:
The first thing I would check is your tire pressure

Then I would inspect your pads (see if one side is thicker than the other)

Your calipers may be sticking...I would do a full caliper cleaning and change the brake fluid....

its not the calipers... this is immediatly after changing the rotors and pads

Honda4Life · Aug 5, 2011

kashmeister said:
its not the calipers... this is immediatly after changing the rotors and pads

Hmmm....

check tire pressure...

another possibility (rarely) would be a suspension part (maybe a bushing is shot) but my bet (if not tire pressure) would be either that your installation was a poor job or your caliper needs to be rebuilt

kashmeister · Aug 5, 2011

Honda4Life said:
SOOOOOOOOOO SKETCH

I would have ran away!!!!

Good luck trying to re-sell it...

Plan on driving it till it blows up!

The E38 is a solid car...right after the E34...

GL

Yea, I think once its all set I should be pretty much trouble free for a while. A lot of work was done, I got some records from different dealerships. Rear suspension, all shocks, radiator, were all taken care of

Honda4Life said:
"don't buy German"

I would have to disagree with you 10000000000000%

You were better off saying don't buy a car without a full inspection!

yes German cars are expensive to fix but if you find a nice one, like I did, they can last just as long as Jap cars.

Ie) I bought my BMW with 92K from an old nurse that drove it from her work (15 mile commute) home and to the store...I put about 130k on it and beat the crap out of it and it held up well...

Now if I were to buy that same car from someone that beat the crap out of it... I would have had more problems with the car.

You're young and take this as a lesson.

One thing I have learned in life is when you are making a purchase people, in general, will make the purchase based on emotion rather than logic. You should ALWAYS take another person with you that a) can help you inspect b) knows about that kind of car and c) does not have that emotional investment in the car so he/she can easily tell you to take off or buy it.

I have saved a friend from buying a crappy M3 twice now...not trying to pat myself on the back but while he was driving the car and seeing himself in it was listen to things and asking questions that he may have over looked.

My 2 cents.

But good luck with the BMW...I would get a compression test done on the engine and consider doing a drain and fill on the tranny (BMW says life time fluid but that is BS...do a 3X drain and fill and the last time change he tranny filter)

This site will be your best friend

Autohausaz.com
Pelicanparts.com is okay too but more $$$

Lemforder will be the best brand you can buy when it comes to suspension

Its mechanically perfect. That's pretty much why I bought it. Compression was perfect. They were all within 90% of each other.

kashmeister · Aug 5, 2011

ryan s said:
the E38s were never, ever meant to be cheap cars. the parts will never get cheaper. they (and other flagships) had technology in them that few/no other cars received until years later, which led to further issues. these are the cars the original owners dropped off at the dealership and came back with a blank check to pay for the service.

this is what happens when you buy a car that once sold for about 80 grand for less than a tenth of that, 10 years later, with over 100k

I realized that lol.
but hopefully all will be well once its done. a lot of the stuff im doing is preventative.

youre right, everything on this car was designed as complicated as possible to make people go to the dealer.

kashmeister · Aug 5, 2011

Honda4Life said:
Hmmm....

check tire pressure...

another possibility (rarely) would be a suspension part (maybe a bushing is shot) but my bet (if not tire pressure) would be either that your installation was a poor job or your caliper needs to be rebuilt

I dont think I was clear. It was dark when I changed the discs and I think I got a little bit of anti-sieze on them. So i think its the small amount of anti-sieze on the face of the pads... braking was perfect before i changed the rotors and pads.

Honda4Life · Aug 5, 2011

I hope so...remember BMW's weakness is their cooling system so stay on top of it...don't wait for your water pump to go out...change it with the radiator every 5-6 years (depending on how hard you drive)

If I were you I would get on that TRANNY ASAP!

don't get all fancy with cool fluid...throw some OEM in there and be done...

I want to say they required Dex III but I could be totally wrong so please check before you do.

Oh and if my memory serves me correctly...you may should expect some electrical problems in the near future ( I hope you don't)

Honda4Life · Aug 5, 2011

kashmeister said:
I dont think I was clear. It was dark when I changed the discs and I think I got a little bit of anti-sieze on them. So i think its the small amount of anti-sieze on the face of the pads... braking was perfect before i changed the rotors and pads.

I might have mis-read this

So you got anti-s on the part of the pad that touches the rotor?

Well in that case I would take it apart and clean it (as that should take you no longer than 1 hour)

if that doesn't solve it I would then go with the items already talked about

And yes use break clean...not too sure about sanding them

did you break in the pads and rotors correctly?

YOU HAVE TO REMEMBER THAT EVERY PAD REQUIRES A DIFFERENT BREAK IN PROCEDURE....I hope you didn't go out there stomping on your brakes to heat cycle it....

This may be a potential warp in the working and a back bedding

kashmeister · Aug 5, 2011

I'm going with Mobil1 Synthetic ATF. Its approved as an alternative to Esso BMW fluid.

Oh and guys. I completey forgot to tell you this. Its been raining balls in Illinois this summer and one night I got caught in a storm... got stuck in a street and even on some guys lawn the water got up to the headlights. Engine started to sputter, and i decided the best thing would be to let it die on its own. 2am with 2 friends we jumped out the window and pushed the car half a mile and left it in a random driveway.

Went back in the morning, took out the coils, took out the intake, plugs everything. Stuck a shop vac into the intake manifold got out all the water i could. pulled fuel pump fuses and cranked all the water out. put some oil on the plugs, put them back in, and it fired up instantly!

Twas a crazy *** night, once again lucky to be alive. srsly
No damage from the water at all. We came out from the windows so no water got in.

Thats why all the fluids are a prioirty on my list. I dont want water mixed in with anything and its time to change them anyway.

Out with the old, In with the new.

ryan s

they dont think it

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