e34 540 Daily Driver Project

[YoungCR]

Yeah the exhaust is the worst part, had to do that job twice now  My suggestion would be to ditch all of the stock clutch lines and Order 32” of 3260-3-INCH stainless braided hose and a *90 male off one end HE606-03P-090 and a straight male HE606-03P-000 on the other. It'll be about $70 from Pegasus but it makes the install way easier. I bought the stainless braided section from ECS and ended up not using it because the clutch slave hardline is such a pain. 

https://www.pegasusautoracing.com/iscustom-hose.asp?RecID=9023

I also have the OEM sockets for the flywheel.

[StriggityStrack]

YoungCR said:

Yeah the exhaust is the worst part, had to do that job twice now  My suggestion would be to ditch all of the stock clutch lines and Order 32” of 3260-3-INCH stainless braided hose and a *90 male off one end HE606-03P-090 and a straight male HE606-03P-000 on the other. It'll be about $70 from Pegasus but it makes the install way easier. I bought the stainless braided section from ECS and ended up not using it because the clutch slave hardline is such a pain. 

https://www.pegasusautoracing.com/iscustom-hose.asp?RecID=9023

I also have the OEM sockets for the flywheel. 

Already have them.

[StriggityStrack]

Slowly plugging away at this project. I changed the rear main seal and gasket even though it really didn't have any leaks at all. In hindsight I should have left it alone because the upper oil pan gasket just crumbled when I gently pried the rear crankcase cover off. I cut it cleanly at the ends and filled it with OEM loctite 5970 differential/pan sealant. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯  Worst case scenario I have to drop the entire oil pan but it should be done anyways by the condition of the gasket piece that disintegrated. 

[StriggityStrack]

@straight6pwr Did you have to do any DME flashing after the swap? I am hearing people say they experienced hanging revs if you keep the auto computer.

[straight6pwr]

no flashing. I didn't swapped DMEs either, they are the same for auto/manual cars. i've experienced no hanging revs or anything funny.

my thread says i pulled my TCU (trans control module), but i have to confirm that i didn't put it back in. IIRC the 'trans program' error popped up when I pulled it, but I'll have to look.

[YoungCR]

I have 2 upper oil pan gaskets if you need one, I could bring one to the cruise Saturday.

[StriggityStrack]

Update from last weekend.

I was able to get just about everything installed including some vogtland springs. I didn't get the driveshaft put back in because the shift selector rod was too short since it did not match the gearshift rod joint that was recently replaced incorrectly (part number change in 10/1994) by the last owner. Instead of purchasing a new one I cut, tapped, bent, and extended the old one to work. Turned out "Meh" but now it is fully adjustable. I had originally purchased some fittings for the bend from the master cylinder but I ended up just making a hard line that worked out even easier. I jumped the starter relay, started the car and everything works great. I should have it all wrapped up next weekend but who knows. 

[jc43089]

Looks good!

[ChrisO]

The style 24's look awesome. Never seen them on a e34 before

[StriggityStrack]

ChrisO said:

The style 24's look awesome. Never seen them on a e34 before

I looked everywhere on the inter-webs for example pictures and could not find anything. I see a lot of people running m contours but never the LTW's. I'm pleasantly surprised with how fitting they are on the vehicle.

[StriggityStrack]

She is alive and dirty. I have a few gremlins to chase and body work to do but otherwise in decent condition. 

[suspenceful]

Any plans to lower the back down a bit?

Love those wheels on there.

[StriggityStrack]

suspenceful said:

Any plans to lower the back down a bit?

Love those wheels on there.

I didn't put the exhaust back on yet because I am working on some bugs but I am hoping since it is 1,000,000 lbs it will help the back settle down a bit more. It does concern me enough to think about lowering the springs but I doubt I will act on it because the rake isn't horrible and this will be a daily driver.

[StriggityStrack]

I’m really not a huge fan of the e34 steering wheel but instead of replacing it with a better one I was able to spruce it up a bit. I used a universal genuine leather wrap from Amazon and stitched it to match the M pattern. I didn’t know if I would like the wide stitching at first but it feels amazing in hand because it add a bunch of grip to the leather. All in all not a bad look for $20 total. 

[Jdesign]

On a scale from 1 - 10, How hard was that? 

It looks amazing though!

[StriggityStrack]

Jdesign said:

On a scale from 1 - 10, How hard was that? 

It looks amazing though!

The difficulty was a 5 but it took a good hour and a half to complete. The leather was surprisingly easy to manipulate and the stitching stayed tight along the way which I did not expect at all.

[YoungCR]

Link to the amazon product? Looks great!

[StriggityStrack]

YoungCR said:

Link to the amazon product? Looks great!

Leather wrap in size "L-". I didn't go with the regular "L" because coincidentally there is a review from an e34 owner who suggested it is loose fit but it probably would have worked just fine if you don't like the gap in mine. 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01L8NUQSS/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Colored thread to match the M stitching. I have a whole bunch now though if you need some. 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06Y63TK4D/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[Jdesign]

That's pretty awesome for how cheap it is. Link saved for future use!

[StriggityStrack]

Well she drives but has the dreaded 50 shimmy. As of now I have the whole font suspension back off to work on the upper and lower control arms. It would have been great to do that when I replaced the front shocks.... On another note if anyone has some rare e34 goodies they are looking to liquidate feel free to push them my way.