My Project II

[SamsM635csi]

Hi all,

My name is Sam and I am 6erholic. It has been 30 years since I fall in love with 635csi and last month I was able acquire one, Euro1985 M635csi S38 charcoal gray, black leather, manual with 134k miles. It was imported from Europe, everything in German including manuals! It needs some TLC and l have been spending sleepless nights reading everything I can find about this car including the postings of this forum.
I need to perform basic maintenance, fluids, filters, spark plugs, etc. it also needs an alternator. So far, I have not been able to find the correct parts or at least a bit confused about them.

I appreciate any help to point me to the right parts or sources.

Thank you,
Sleepless in Virginia!

[Ralph in Socal]

Welcome Sam. Unfortunately that car will be of no use to you so please put back on that transporter and send it to California. I will PM you my address!!

Nice score there. Rare cars that are only going up in value. I'm not familiar with the Ms so I need to learn more when you send that car over here. Regular e24s wear out the Alternator Brushes and that is all that really needs to be replaced. Maybe the M alternator is the same way? The Aussies and Brits have more experience the M635 cars so they should be able to help you out. Hang tight.


Ralph - just kidding if you couldn't tell! Nice project but I think that is an M88 motor.

BTW - what are those clamp-like parts on your hood shocks? And support for the LGBT community with your Air Cleaner strap is a nice touch.

[jps635]

Nice car. They look so much better without licence plates.
These 2 catalogue sites are useful to figure out what parts you need
http://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/select , http://bmwfans.info/parts-catalog

To buy, I believe Pelican Parts are the best in the US. http://www.pelicanparts.com/catalog/Sup ... atalog.htm
I deal with Michael Ashcraft, very knowledgeable and helpful. [[email protected]].

For hard to get stuff I use this place in Germany. http://eshop.original-teile.de/index.ph ... art&lang=1. The website is a bit crappy and you do need to know the part number you're after, but they are reliable.

[SamsM635csi]

Thank you all for the informative and humorous feedback, I knew I came to the right place!
I will dig into the shocks clips and LGBT support issues very soon.

Let the insanity begin!

[sansouci]

Welcome to the BigCoupe community. Looks like a nice, clean car. will this be your daily driver? Salt will kill these cars so keep it nice and dry and off the road for the winter. Ask me how I know.

[SamsM635csi]

Thank you. No it is not going to be a daily driver, only sunny dry days for this baby. I am going to work on it to Planning to get it ready for this summer. It sounds like you have some experience with these cars.

[sansouci]

Collectively, the group has 100's of years of mucking around the e24s. Glad you're on board.

[GazM3]

Welcome.
Love the color too.

I see you already have the very useful strut brace bar also.

[SamsM635csi]

Hi guys,
Well, the basic maintenance parts are on order and next weekend should be very busy. In my search I found recommendations for Synthetic 10w60 oil to use on this car with this age, what do you guys use?
Thanks

[TBM]

Hi guys,
Well, the basic maintenance parts are on order and next weekend should be very busy. In my search I found recommendations for Synthetic 10w60 oil to use on this car with this age, what do you guys use?
Thanks

You should try to use a 5w 40 synthetic rotella. Its what I've been running. The 5 is great for cold startups and the rotella being a diesel oil will have the protection you need for the tappets etc.

[davem6]

I use the Penrite oils because they still contain high zinc levels to protect the cam and followers. It is warmer here so I use the Racing 20 oil, for your temperature I would recommend HPR10.
http://www.penriteoil.com.au/catalogue_book.php

[MSGGrunt]

As other have said, very nice car. Do not overlook your local BMW dealer for parts as well. I found I was able to buy interior plastic bits of trim through them when I couldn't get them anywhere else. And if you are a BMW car club of America member some dealers give a 20% discount making their prices competitive.

I second Rotella oil. I'm no oil expert but, I have heard that the diesel oils do in fact have a higher zinc content which is good extra protection.

We will require some interior photos as well. If you need a perfectly sized warning triangle for your trunk let me know. It isn't the hard to find blue cased one, it is red, but the same exact size.


Welcome
David

[SamsM635csi]

Thank you all for the advice. I finished the first round of maintenance work, fluids, filters, park plugs, and rebuilt the alternator. Following members advice, I used Liqui Moley 10 w60 oil to start with. I took it for a check ride and noticed the following issues maybe I could get some advice about:
1. Idel a bit rough, especially when cold. I didn't gap the spark plugs, any idea what it shoul be?
2. When I release the clutch and let it idel in neutral, I hear a bit of clunging noise!
3. Stearing is a bit hard and I noticed stearing pump is wet. Should I replace or rebuild it? Any recommendation as what power stearing fluid I should use?
Thanks again,
Sam
Here are some interior pictures

[SamsM635csi]

I also want to replace the ugly after market stereo that came with car with original or period one, any ideas?
Thanks,
Sam

[hornhospital]

Nice interior! There have been several offers of OEM head units in the "for sale" section here.

All of these things leak fluid at the power steering pump/hoses. Replacing the hoses usually cures it. Dexron III ATF or equivalent is used as as power steering fluid, NOT conventional off-the-shelf "power steering fluid".

[GazM3]

The head unit is a tricky one as I have a Becker Mexico period correct one in my e23 which I was thinking of installing it in my m635csi but you would lose the hands free phone and the iPhone charging/music etc. I may end up with a modernised OEM looking one in the future. I see quite a few old Porsches and mercs with modernised old school head units.

[miike87]

As I was restoring my '84 M635 to an even better condition I got some thoughts from the european side:

From your engine bay picture it's a M88/3.
Somone modified your vacuum system between the intake and fuel pressure regulator. Normaly there is no additional line down the valve cover. Where is it routed to? If you got vacuum leaks the engine will act strange and you can hardly adjust it.

BMW recommends mineralic 15W40. Over here synthetic oils are not recommended. Additionaly the community tends to think that 10W60 is to thin and tends to leak. Some even think that the old chain tensioner doesn't work properly during start/low oil pressure with thin oils.

Rough running could be a bad synchronisation of the throttles. Especially as the cap of the synchronisation screw of cylinder #1 is missing.
Did you checked the valve clearences? If they are to loose the M88 gets noisy quite fast.

Depending on wich version of the hydraulic pump you got there is an rebuild kit. It should be 32411135880. But leaking lines are quite common too. As you replace the fluid you should check the filter at the bottom! (under the mesh and a metal disc) of the reservoir.

May you should take a look at the Bavaria C Electronic. There is an option for Line In on the DIN-socket. But I don't know bout the US frequencies. Design fits quite well in the dash even if it's some years newer.

Are your headlights cloudy? I think they look like. May you should give them a careful cleaning on the inside to improve the light output.

I don't like the rims. They are looking to new for me. Maybe you should go for some old BBS or the stock BMW ones.
Outstanding interior. Still the original shifting head. Kind of rare...
Leather seems to be in perfect condition except between the rear seats. If you want to sell your drivers seat ask me.