540 and Nurburgring track prep and repairs

[Sidney Rough-Diamond]

Well, its almost time for another trip to the mighty Nurburgring at the end of the month.After the last trip, the car was obviously going to need some attention ; the brakes were juddering like mad, the drivetrain didn't feel as secure as it should have and the handling was a little off along with the steering.Add to that several jobs that I hadn't got around to doing, plus the usuall service items needed meant a fair chunk of work was going to be needed.
First off the brakes. I've got new discs and pads on the front as the old items had a 1 inch crack in each. Also taking a spare set of new discs and pads with me as a 'just in case'. Rear also has new discs and pads, mainly because I got a new set quite cheaply off eBay,so it made sense to have all new parts.

Next up was the engine mounts. Two new mounts and also a couple of gearbox mounts were ordered and it was just as well, both engine mounts were broken along with the two upper gearbox mounts. This transformed the car and made the car feel like new again,not to mention making the gear shift a lot better now everything is not flopping about on the underside.

Now the bane of of every E34 owner - those thrust arm bushes. I had all new arms fitted at the start of the year and thought they would at least see a year out. WRONG ! Both were shot but the near side bush was so bad it was more or less just floating in the metal sleeve. Purchased a set of RTRS uprated items form a mate who had a spare set. The result is much improved and not being too harsh for road use. Hopefully these items will last a hell of a lot longer than the others.

When I bought the car it had a damaged sump pan. Nothing to bad but someone had grounded the car on something . A as new replacement was sourced from US eBay for a bargain price. Had a surprise when I was fitting this, dropped the pan and found a bolt sat there ! Looking up in the sump and you could see a missing bolt holding the oil pump in place. I did a check of all the nuts and bolts I could reach relating to the sump pans and oil pump. Just about everything seemed a lot more loose than it should have been. All corrected now though.

There was a few other odd jobs done on the car,not to mention the expense of 3 new tyres, but it's the steering I'd like to tackle next.It just seems far too dead and I'm hoping the steering box adjustment is going to help some here. Anyone done this on a V8 ? Anyway, roll on the end of August !

[Macv]

You suck... suck suck suck. Take many pictures when you go. Better yet, bring me along.

[MTechnik540i]

Well, its almost time for another trip to the mighty Nurburgring at the end of the month.After the last trip, the car was obviously going to need some attention ; the brakes were juddering like mad, the drivetrain didn't feel as secure as it should have and the handling was a little off along with the steering.Add to that several jobs that I hadn't got around to doing, plus the usuall service items needed meant a fair chunk of work was going to be needed.
First off the brakes. I've got new discs and pads on the front as the old items had a 1 inch crack in each. Also taking a spare set of new discs and pads with me as a 'just in case'. Rear also has new discs and pads, mainly because I got a new set quite cheaply off eBay,so it made sense to have all new parts.

Next up was the engine mounts. Two new mounts and also a couple of gearbox mounts were ordered and it was just as well, both engine mounts were broken along with the two upper gearbox mounts. This transformed the car and made the car feel like new again,not to mention making the gear shift a lot better now everything is not flopping about on the underside.

Now the bane of of every E34 owner - those thrust arm bushes. I had all new arms fitted at the start of the year and thought they would at least see a year out. WRONG ! Both were shot but the near side bush was so bad it was more or less just floating in the metal sleeve. Purchased a set of RTRS uprated items form a mate who had a spare set. The result is much improved and not being too harsh for road use. Hopefully these items will last a hell of a lot longer than the others.

When I bought the car it had a damaged sump pan. Nothing to bad but someone had grounded the car on something . A as new replacement was sourced from US eBay for a bargain price. Had a surprise when I was fitting this, dropped the pan and found a bolt sat there ! Looking up in the sump and you could see a missing bolt holding the oil pump in place. I did a check of all the nuts and bolts I could reach relating to the sump pans and oil pump. Just about everything seemed a lot more loose than it should have been. All corrected now though.

There was a few other odd jobs done on the car,not to mention the expense of 3 new tyres, but it's the steering I'd like to tackle next.It just seems far too dead and I'm hoping the steering box adjustment is going to help some here. Anyone done this on a V8 ? Anyway, roll on the end of August !

I take it you've already safety wired your oil pump cover bolts?

As Macv noted, PLEASE get some pictures!

[wingman]

Whatever happens at the 'ring be prepared to be overtaken by everything. I recently completed the 'ring in an M5 and was overtaken by hot hatches and 'family' style cars .























Oh, I did it on playstation .

[Sidney Rough-Diamond]

That's also true for real. Rule 1 is, don't race the locals. Track knowledge is everything at the Ring and there is plenty of tatty looking VW Golfs that destroy 911 owners.
When I finally remove the 540 badge from the rump, I like the fact It'll be pretty unassuming

[Bin_jammin]

Well, its almost time for another trip to the mighty Nurburgring at the end of the month.After the last trip, the car was obviously going to need some attention ; the brakes were juddering like mad, the drivetrain didn't feel as secure as it should have and the handling was a little off along with the steering.Add to that several jobs that I hadn't got around to doing, plus the usuall service items needed meant a fair chunk of work was going to be needed.
First off the brakes. I've got new discs and pads on the front as the old items had a 1 inch crack in each. Also taking a spare set of new discs and pads with me as a 'just in case'. Rear also has new discs and pads, mainly because I got a new set quite cheaply off eBay,so it made sense to have all new parts.

Next up was the engine mounts. Two new mounts and also a couple of gearbox mounts were ordered and it was just as well, both engine mounts were broken along with the two upper gearbox mounts. This transformed the car and made the car feel like new again,not to mention making the gear shift a lot better now everything is not flopping about on the underside.

Now the bane of of every E34 owner - those thrust arm bushes. I had all new arms fitted at the start of the year and thought they would at least see a year out. WRONG ! Both were shot but the near side bush was so bad it was more or less just floating in the metal sleeve. Purchased a set of RTRS uprated items form a mate who had a spare set. The result is much improved and not being too harsh for road use. Hopefully these items will last a hell of a lot longer than the others.

When I bought the car it had a damaged sump pan. Nothing to bad but someone had grounded the car on something . A as new replacement was sourced from US eBay for a bargain price. Had a surprise when I was fitting this, dropped the pan and found a bolt sat there ! Looking up in the sump and you could see a missing bolt holding the oil pump in place. I did a check of all the nuts and bolts I could reach relating to the sump pans and oil pump. Just about everything seemed a lot more loose than it should have been. All corrected now though.

There was a few other odd jobs done on the car,not to mention the expense of 3 new tyres, but it's the steering I'd like to tackle next.It just seems far too dead and I'm hoping the steering box adjustment is going to help some here. Anyone done this on a V8 ? Anyway, roll on the end of August !

Ummm... you didn't just go around cranking down rod and main bearing caps did you?

[Sidney Rough-Diamond]

Nah. The oil pump bolts and the upper oil pan. The lower pan bolts were also a little slack when I removed it I thought.Probably the cause of a very slight oil leak from the rear of the lower pan.

[Barney Paull-Edwards]

Nah. The oil pump bolts and the upper oil pan. The lower pan bolts were also a little slack when I removed it I thought.Probably the cause of a very slight oil leak from the rear of the lower pan.

My biggest problem there was boiling power steering fluid.When I got back I flushed the system out and all sorts of crap came out. Filled it with kosher stuff and it transformed the steering. To help your brakes the cheap way, disconnect the pipes to the headlight washers and re-run it ty-wrapped down the lower arm to a washer nozzle by the inner disc vent. A bit of re wiring via the brake light switch and it works, frightens people in the car park when you come back in with steam pouring out of the wheels! Adenau garage sells amazing fuel, 103 I think,keeps the engine cool too.

[525SEI BRIT]

When are you going? im hoping to stop off ther again, around the 7th September, on the way back to the UK. depending on the weather!

[Sidney Rough-Diamond]

Will be there the weekend of the 1st of Sep. Sat,Sun and Monday.

Interesting about the power steering fluid drain and refil making a big difference. Hmmmm, may have to try that now you mention it. I kinda like the idea of that brake cooling mod ! I sometimes drive into Adenau after a lap when needing petrol. If nothing else it cools the car down, plus you can join the track there to avoid the jams in the main car park/entrance.