What am I looking for? - BMW Forum

Merrykoala · 03-20-2009, 04:40 AM

Hi guys, new to the forum and looking for my first BMW, going to look at a 1994 518i tourer tomorrow and it would be handy to know what common faults to pay particular attention to.
The car has done 135,000 miles according to the owner and is supposedly very reliable, he says there is a little noise coming from the front right wheel side when he 'goes over bumps' but I can check that out on the test drive and suspension test. I know about checking for head gasket failure, rot and other major faults just wondered if there was anything that was common to the model that you guys could help with.
Thanks
Sean

Cam_uno · 03-20-2009, 08:54 AM

I would say wheel bearing, Just did mine on the driver side....Quite painless

rashid · 03-20-2009, 01:05 PM

It might be the bushes or the control arms too

Torque · 03-20-2009, 04:41 PM

Check that all the electrics work; check for shaking between 50-60mph (80 -100km/h) -- the shaking is typically thrust arm bushings.

As far as noise over bumps; could be a wide variety of things, but I'd look at the sway bar endlinks first.

Cam_uno · 03-21-2009, 04:44 AM

Oh Yeah, I did replace the pas side control arm too....I forgot

It is a 94! Common you ask? I would say yes. I just bought mine about a month ago and it's clean, but it's not without it's faults either. I love the looks of it and the way she drives, but I'm always adding things to the to do list, as I'm anal as hell...I'm the guy who will stop when he hears noises that aren't supposed to be there

, so being a 94 there are a few coming out of the cargo area that I'm tracking down...lol It's going to be my little project while my American rear-end is here in Finland for the next few years.

Like Torque said: Check all electrical work! Including that Double sun roof up there. If it don't work make sure it's something you can do! I have a rear defroster to re-do. Pain in the arse,

but doable!

Good Luck

Merrykoala · 03-21-2009, 06:27 AM

Thanks guys, been to look at it today and the noise comes and goes as you drive along, pretty quiet so i might not have noticed it if he hadn't told me. car tracks fine and goes lock to lock and round corners fine, had a look underneath and nothing looked untowards, suspension settled normally and I checked the other side to compare, nothing was loose or broken.
Speedo and mpg meter didn't work but the odomoter was still on, rev counter, temp and fuel gagues all working fine.
Car drove nicely and bodywork and chassis were as to be expected for a 14 year old car in good condition. Spoke to my father-in-law who's an MOT tester and he thinks the knocking could be a bottom ball joint, he's coming down with me this afternoon to jack it up and check it out. Hoping the speedo is just a fuse.

Cam_uno · 03-22-2009, 11:24 AM

Well...Whats the verdict boss ??

Torque · 03-22-2009, 01:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Merrykoala

Thanks guys, been to look at it today and the noise comes and goes as you drive along, pretty quiet so i might not have noticed it if he hadn't told me. car tracks fine and goes lock to lock and round corners fine, had a look underneath and nothing looked untowards, suspension settled normally and I checked the other side to compare, nothing was loose or broken.
Speedo and mpg meter didn't work but the odomoter was still on, rev counter, temp and fuel gagues all working fine.
Car drove nicely and bodywork and chassis were as to be expected for a 14 year old car in good condition. Spoke to my father-in-law who's an MOT tester and he thinks the knocking could be a bottom ball joint, he's coming down with me this afternoon to jack it up and check it out. Hoping the speedo is just a fuse.

The speedo and broken mpg gauge is 95 percent of the time a broken speed sensor in the differential. Shouldn't cost you more than ... I dunno, 20 pounds and half an hour worth of work to get it in there.

Merrykoala · 03-23-2009, 04:55 AM

Bought it, father in law diagnosed the knocking as the track rod end having gone and gave the rest of the car a clean bill of health, it's outside at the minute but I've got a million and one other things to do before I can look at the speedo. Got it for £350 off the guy in the end, the Service book is stamped up to 122,00 miles so it's not too bad.
Thanks for all the help guys.

Cam_uno · 03-23-2009, 12:27 PM

Nice... Keep us posted.

Torque · 03-23-2009, 12:51 PM

Congrats.

For that little money, if it runs and drives, it's definitely a great deal, no matter what it needs.

Please keep us updated on the progress, and post some pics.

Merrykoala · 04-01-2009, 01:00 PM

Any ideas where I can get a speed sensor from? Been looking around but can't seem to find one.

Merrykoala · 04-02-2009, 03:18 PM

Doesn't matter, had a look at the diff when the car was up on the ramps getting the tracking done (was way off after we changed the track rod end) turns out one of the wires on one side of the plug for the speed sensor had broken, I've reterminated it now and it works fine.
Car has been great so far, only cost about £32 to get bits sorted and it's tickety boo. Not a bad deal for £350.

rashid · 04-03-2009, 08:04 AM

Request for clarification (RFC):

Thrust arm & the control arm, are the same??
What is the sway bar endlinks??

EnginE34 · 04-03-2009, 10:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rashid

Request for clarification (RFC):

Thrust arm & the control arm, are the same??
What is the sway bar endlinks??

The thrust arm is the arm that keeps the forward and backward motion of the wheel while the control arm controls the left to right movement, some may also call it lower and upper control arms.

The sway bar endlinks are the connection between the sway bar itself and the strut. The sway bar is down the bottom while the connections are about half way up the struts. The straight pieces of steel, usually cause a clunky noise over bumps if their worn.