My new 1995 540i/6
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Bad news everyone, problems have come up again and you guessed it....their with the brakes. So I was going to drive over to my grandparents place for the day and when I pressed in the brake to stop the car from rolling the brakes froze up pretty much exactly as they did before I replaced all the calipers. I haven't noticed any significant problems with the brakes before today. For all I know everything else in the brake system needs to be replaced but I wanted a second opinion so what do you guys think?
BMWCCA #499464
Current - 1995 540i/6 V 2.0 | Dead - 1995 540i/6 | Sold - 1995 318is
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Is the pedal overly firm or does it feel normal when the brakes locked up? If the pedal is normal but all of your calipers seize then you need a new master. If the pedal is rock solid then you have a booster issue.
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Is the pedal overly firm or does it feel normal when the brakes locked up? If the pedal is normal but all of your calipers seize then you need a new master. If the pedal is rock solid then you have a booster issue.
Talking on the phone last night I think he said the peddle got firmer, but I'll wait for Ben to confirm.
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The booster is easy to diagnose. With the car off, push the pedal a few times to firm it up then, while holding the pedal like you were sitting at a stop light, turn the car on. The pedal should drop, if not then it's a bad booster. The hose going to the booster can also be suspect if it is too soft and pinching shut.
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Thinking about this more, the master won't cause the brakes to lock up at all. It will cause a low or spongy pedal but not lock up. It has to be either brake booster or an obstruction in the lines/hoses creating pressure and causing a lock up.
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I was thinking today and last night and I guess I have realized the brake petal getting increasing harder. It would make sense that pressure in the system is constantly building up and then finally causing the brakes to stop relaxing. Another thing is the mileage on car, when I replaced the old calipers they were literally falling apart from rust (I broke one of the bleeder screw clear off) so there could be easily be rust in the system messing stuff up. Of course being a poor college kid I had to go with the quick fix but that never works out and here I am. For me to be able to get it to a shop, do you think I could open one of the bleeder screws to release some pressure from the system, possibly relaxing the calipers for enough time to get me to a shop. My car is not in a position so do any sort of work as of right now so doing a full bleed or trying to look/work on something is completely out of the question.
BMWCCA #499464
Current - 1995 540i/6 V 2.0 | Dead - 1995 540i/6 | Sold - 1995 318is
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I'm not sure if they are compatible but I have a bunch of e39 brake parts of you need anything.
I'm not sure if they do either but I'm in South Carolina right now for school and I'm trying to drive home in a week. Thank you for the offer! Maybe we can work something out though.
BMWCCA #499464
Current - 1995 540i/6 V 2.0 | Dead - 1995 540i/6 | Sold - 1995 318is
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I would highly recommend you don't do that. You would need to crack open all of them and you will lose fluid quickly. It could become dangerous very quickly and there is a good chance it wouldn't work.
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AAA ftw, why wouldn't they tow it. Just don't try to have them pick it from a repair shop, huge hassle, just get out to the road in front and say it quit there. Tell them it is rwd so they don't send just a front lift truck. You should request a flatbed truck.
Sent from my potato phone
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AAA ftw, why wouldn't they tow it. Just don't try to have them pick it from a repair shop, huge hassle, just get out to the road in front and say it quit there. Tell them it is rwd so they don't send just a front lift truck. You should request a flatbed truck. Sent from my potato phone
I'm trying to get it towed to a specific shop but I think it will work out.
Also small update, car is going to this new shop I found. Guy is a grad from The Citadel (my college), he is a great guy, and him and his partner have 60 years of BMW experience. They had a spot open Thursday so hopefully they can get it done before the weekend.
BMWCCA #499464
Current - 1995 540i/6 V 2.0 | Dead - 1995 540i/6 | Sold - 1995 318is
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AAA will tow it to any shop or your residence, they will not want to drop it off at a storage unit however. I had my e30 towed supposedly to my house but the driver just took it to the storage unit I wanted it at that was only 6 blocks away, he said if they ask tell them it went to your house lol. I have the 100 mile plan, totally worth it, one hook and its paid for itself for the year.
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Well the damage report came back today and it was minimal! Turns out the linkage that went from the brake petal to the master cylinder rusted up (Damn Canadians) and that's what was causing the brakes to freeze up. He just took it apart and lubed it up and suggested I find a none rusted one from a junk yard eventually. I was expecting some huge problem and it was a under $100 fix so I pretty damn happy and I can leave from home on time.
BMWCCA #499464
Current - 1995 540i/6 V 2.0 | Dead - 1995 540i/6 | Sold - 1995 318is
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So there is a lot for me to talk about since I haven't posted for a while and there has been a series of dramatic events regarding my car.
To start the story, I'm an idiot. I was screwing around in the snow with my friends and with the combination of fresh snow and no snow tires I ran my car into a mail box.
That's the damage, I bent the hood out a little today but it's not going to make a different. I'm lucky that was it wasn't anything serious but it was a good amount of damage for how fast I was going (not fast, 15 tops). I had to get that out there quick.
Before all that Chris and I got a chance to start attacking the rust a little. We took a little grinder to all the rust on the doors and then covered it up with vinyl.
It turned out pretty good! I barely notice it at all anymore even though the vinyl is matte black. We only got to two of the doors so I'll finish the rest down here.
She even got a interior detail before I messed her face up
That all I really got to this winter, time and money constraint held me back but I'm coming up with a new plan of attack for this car. Since I made my own customization to the front of the car, I've decided which the odometer at 437259 km (271700 mi) this car deserves a much needed tear down. For spring break I'm going to drive her back up to Wisco and park her in the shop till many much needed repairs happen. The list is pretty long at this point,
Upper/lower control arms
Tie rods
Wheel bearings
Engine Mounts
Completely new drive shaft
Transmission flush
Deferential flush
Trailing arm bushing
Rust, rust, and rust
New hood
Euro smiley projectors
Cat delete
Coilovers
Engine refresh (Engine mileage is probably close to 200,000 at this point)
I'm going to do it right and get all of this stuff done before she gets on the road again. It's probably going to take me a long time being I go to school down in SC but it will be worth it in the end to get her into the shape she deserves. Since I have to do so much work on the front end, I might as well take the engine out of the bay, do a good refresh to get some of the ponies back. I don't want to do a complete tare down but at least get the heads off to get them ported and get a good idea of how the engine is looking and of course replace lots of gaskets and whatnot. And with the engine out of the bay it will be much easier to get the work done on the front end with all the extra space. It's going to be a long drawn out process but will be worth it in the end. I'll be driving something else back and forth from SC so I don't have to punish this car anymore but that car is still being determined. Also if anyone knows of a Oxford Green hood out please let me know.
BMWCCA #499464
Current - 1995 540i/6 V 2.0 | Dead - 1995 540i/6 | Sold - 1995 318is
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