Firstfives.org

I had the same issue with the hydraulic hose on my 76 530i. I removed the hose and took it to a shop that does hydraulic repairs and they made up a hose for me. Wasn't that expensive and solved the problem.

Yes, I'm sure it's not working- you cannot move the wheel unless the car is moving. When I add fluid, it works perfectly but all leaks out within 15 minutes. I'll have someone sit in it and turn the wheel to see if I can figure out where the power steering fluid is spraying out from when I'm not working (been a busy weekend at work).

New problem... The oil light comes on when the engine is at idle under 1000rpm, but only if the engines warmed up (it seems to idle at between 500-800rpm, lower when it's cold). When I accelerate it goes off. I checked the oil and its fine. The oil pressure gauge shows 10psi at idle, approx 45-50 when driving 40mph. I'm not sure if that's normal or not. I'm currently living with the "it's an old car and is bound to do crazy things" explanation...

Meanwhile it continues to run rough, seems like its misfiring, am going to try and replace the spark plugs at the suggestion of my friend.

Oh, and the driver side window came off it's track last night, so far I managed to get it back up but will have to remove the door panel and play with it at some point. Did I mention I have bad luck with cars in general?!

Also, check for air leaks EVERYWHERE! These cars are meant to run with NO outside air coming in. Sealed is the only way they run right. Otherwise, they'll run rough. Check the large & small hoses.
Down to the oil dip stick. There should be a very slight resistance when you pull it out and push it in.
Good Luck,,,,Greg

Update on the car...

Located the power steering leak, it's the line that goes from the pump to the steering box. Could not locate the line online or from BMW, though i will try emailing steve@blunttech for it.

I brought the car to my mechanic and he can't get it either... So he's going to try and have one custom made if I can't get it in the next few days.

He noticed the belts need to be changed, and he replaced the plugs and points (I would've done it, but I don't have another day off to look at it for another week or so), and it is running better though it is lacking in power still. I'm thinking it might be vacuum related as I did notice that there's no resistance pulling the oil dipstick out.

Well, I managed to get that power steering line from Steve, as well as a cold start valve. The bad news so far... my mechanic also says it needs an idle speed motor and an ignition condenser, which I can't seem to find anywhere. Is there someone that rebuilds these parts?

Junkyards around here don't even seem to have these cars... it's just, too old, I guess they all rusted away 15 years ago (well, all but mine!)

adamrobertg wrote:Well, I managed to get that power steering line from Steve, as well as a cold start valve. The bad news so far... my mechanic also says it needs an idle speed motor and an ignition condenser, which I can't seem to find anywhere. Is there someone that rebuilds these parts?

Junkyards around here don't even seem to have these cars... it's just, too old, I guess they all rusted away 15 years ago (well, all but mine!)

Idle speed motor is a real problem, they didn't come with anything remotely like that.

Ignition condenser? Overpriced, but still only a ten spot.

http://www.pelicanparts.com/cgi-bin/kse ... 1268441&I1.

That's also the sort of thing worth a trip to the dealer if you run into trouble finding it, the extra few bucks on a ten dollar part is worth it if nobody else seems to have it. That may or may not be correct, I just picked a year and some may be different.

Then again, it's a perfect excuse to convert to electronic ignition.

Isn't it a good idea to put in new points if your going to put in a new condenser?

canada karl wrote:Isn't it a good idea to put in new points if your going to put in a new condenser?

Goes without saying IMO. On the other hand, I would replace points without condenser as short lived as they can be on BMWs. Stock, my Bav needed points and plugs every 5K.

mike Are you running Pertronix ignition on any of your cars? Did you notice much of a difference in performance? I bet it would improve the ignition especially if the distributor shaft was wearing down.

Yes, we're putting in new points as well. Points and plugs every 5k miles? That seems like a lot... guess I'm not used to these older cars. I think I changed the plugs on my E36 once in 8 years of owning it!

Didn't expect the dealer would have parts at all for this car... good to know that they do.

No idle speed motor? Hmm... no wonder I can't find anything online. The issue that we're experiencing is that the idle is too low when starting the engine cold... maybe idles at 200rpm and then stalls unless you rev it to 1000 for a few minutes. I suggested the cold start valve (and ordered one). In addition, it also seems to rev up on its own to 1100ish, and other times idles at about 500-800. Hence his suggestion of the idle speed motor....

I'm not sure when the Pertronic Ignition System happened. I do know my '75 (Country) doesn't have it, but, my '80 (Rosallina) does have it.
Country is a lot faster because there's no smog control system in the way.
But Rosallina feels a lot more sophisticated!

canada karl wrote:mike Are you running Pertronix ignition on any of your cars? Did you notice much of a difference in performance? I bet it would improve the ignition especially if the distributor shaft was wearing down.

No, I'm using the standard (for E12 528i's) electronic ignition. Some have had problems with the control unit, but I haven't in close to 200K on cars with it. It's a hot enough spark it still ran fine with a bad spark plug cable, the last .5" was basically charcoal. I only found out when I was searching for something completely different than that.

Hey... so, I finally got the car back from the shop. It's been a really interesting experience so far, even though I haven't been doing most of the work I'm still learning a lot about the way things work!

Power steering is working perfectly now. It's also running better, the valves were way out of adjustment and just having that done really improved the performance. I easily passed 2 cars that were doing 65mph on the highway this evening. There was an exhaust leak which is now fixed, and new belts as well.

That being said, it's still got a few issues. It's still not idling correctly... apparently the auxiliary air valve is stuck open. I saw the FAQ on here about it- and I guess my mechanic couldn't get it freed up. So upon a cold start the idle is low and it tries to stall unless you rev the engine a bit. When it's warm and you put the car into park, the idle goes way up to 1500rpm+. When the engine's warmed up (eg. driving at highway speeds for 30mins), and you come to a stop, the idle seems a bit low, dips down randomly, and the oil light sometimes blinks a few times as if it's about to stall. As soon as you start driving everything's normal again. My mechanic swears that replacing that valve will correct all of this strangeness...

I also need to do brakes and rotors in the front at some point... which I should be able to do myself, I think. I noticed that looking on BavAuto's site, they have two types of rotors- with and without studs. What should I be getting?

Also just installed new Infinity Kappa series speakers in the front and rear tonight- huge difference there. Have been noticing a buzz in the audio (on radio or CD) that gets higher or lower depending on the engine speed- is that more likely an audio grounding/insulation issue or something engine related (eg spark plug wires)?

The buzz might be caused by the alternator or the ignition. You should find some capacitors/filters that can fix these kind of problems in a respectable car audio service.

adamrobertg wrote: I also need to do brakes and rotors in the front at some point... which I should be able to do myself, I think. I noticed that looking on BavAuto's site, they have two types of rotors- with and without studs. What should I be getting?

I think '77 used without, but just pull a lug, is it a bolt or a nut?