E34 1993/6

[bimmerholic]

I currently have a E34 525iSE Sport saloon 'K' reg (1993) auto, petrol M50 engine that has done 220,000+miles & still a great & fast drive, magic. Unfortunately only does about 20mpg around town. On very odd occasions (maybe once every 2/3 months) (including a drive of approx 100mls) the temp guage decides to rise rather quickly towards the red but I can control it by putting the heating on & you can see the needle drop with no problem. I had a new viscous fan put on but it happened again on the test run! It normally only happens the one time before going a month or two; so they put the old one back on! I have to top water up occasionly but this also fluctuates between a cup & a litre every few weeks.?

I would be interested to know the performance difference between a petrol & diesel E34-5 series, for instance does the same size engine compare or do you have to go larger & what are the BHP/Torque figures. I would only have a few £grand(sterling) to spend & wonder what is the best comparison, hopefully affording one of the last E34's 95/96, M/N 'reg'? My preference would be auto with cruise & a/c etc. :P

Thanks

[Torque]

20mpg sounds very good around town. I'm lucky if I get 18... but that might be because i have a lower-powered 525 and I have a very heavy foot.

about the overheat... check all the hoses for leaks, as well as radiator. with the engine off try spinning the fan. it should have some resistance.. if it spins freely your fan clutch might be dead.

also bleed the air out of the cooling system... many times. one bleed screw is on the thermostat housing and the other next to the expansion tank on the radiator.



as for the diesel vs petrol comparison... the petrol cars are much quicker, but diesels get twice the gas milage or more...

perf. figures for all e34s
http://www.bmwe34.net/e34main/other/Models.htm