635 Forum: Recent Posts

fletch on "Interior Heating on the 635"

fletch — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 10:59:09 +0000

The heating on my 635CSi has always been, well interesting. The temperature control never seemed to work correctly, either blowing cold when set all the way to the left or roasting-red-hot when even a single click into the red. No big deal. Last week though, that changed. Suddenly the heating wouldn't stay on when driving above 40MPH! Really odd. Soon as I hit 40.. freezing air! Fine driving through town but chilly as fuck on the motorway :( Turns out that it's not actually speed-related but rev-related. At higher revs the pressure in the cooling system is higher and in my case it was enough for the hot coolant to blow through a broken seal in the heater control valve and bypass the heat-exchanger in the car. Two PDFs attached below to show you how to do it! Click to download! :-)

fletch on "New Tyre Recommendation"

fletch — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 09:52:34 +0000

The weather in the UK at the moment is shocking, and with a few long journeys coming up over christmas I thought it wise to finally replace the ancient Michelins I've been rolling round on. These things came with the second hand style 33 wheels I bough and although tread-worthy were pretty much useless, having gone-off (eight years old!). I went for four Falken FK 452s in the end, after wrestling with the idea of Goodyear Eagle F1s (at about £45 a tyre more!) and I've got to say I'm very impressed with them so far. Of course, almost any tyre is going to impress when compared to four fucked old crusty Michelins but since the FK452 has been getting some serious love over on <a href="http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/">tyrereviews.co.uk</a> I thought I'd add my twopenneth here.

tajk540 on "Bronze 635 CSi £3995"

tajk540 — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 06:40:23 +0000

I need your help, the throttle position sensor on your car, is just like the one on my car, in the usa, 87 L6 model. I need to replace it, but cannot find it anywhere here in the usa. Can you tell me where I can purchase it from in the u.k. my email is <a href="mailto:tajk540@sbcglobal.net">tajk540@sbcglobal.net</a> I will pay u, promise. Thanks, Taj.

tajk540 on "TPS"

tajk540 — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 06:36:08 +0000

where can i get a throttle position sensor for a 87 L6 with the 3-2-1 sport transmission. I understand the TPS sensor is different from all the websites are selling. can anyone help

daboss786 on "WANTED BMW 635CSI FRONT + REAR CHROME BUMPERS"

daboss786 — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 17:25:26 +0000

I NEED ORIGINAL BMW 635CSI FRONT AND REAR CHROME BUMPERS. IT DOESNT MATTER IF THEY ARE USED. BUT MUST BE IN GOOD CONDITION. PLEASE EMAIL ME ON <a href="mailto:saqib-daboss07@hotmail.co.uk">saqib-daboss07@hotmail.co.uk</a> if you have them.

fletch on "Bronze 635 CSi £3995"

fletch — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 17:55:33 +0000

Yep, my 635 is for sale! Metallic bronze with beige leather interior, 154K miles. Full service history, inspection II done end August 09. MOT'd till May 2010 and taxed till end of March the same year. Usual 635 goodies: electric mirrors, sunroof, windows, PAS, ABS, switchable automatic gearbox (sport mode) and on board computer. Cobra cat 2 immobiliser professionally installed (I have the certificate) which brings the classic car insurance down even further. Will even include the current Kenwood head unit in the sale since it suits the cars interior. Full service history, loads of paperwork including photos of front wings being restored and letters from BMW car club regarding the cars condition. Work done in the last 12/18 months: new shocks, brake cylinder, air-flow meter, anti-roll bar links, track arms, brake pads &; discs, battery, both exhaust gaskets, all coolant pipes, radiator and as of last week (24th Dec 09 four brand new Falken FK452 tyres!) Cheap classic car insurance OFFERS INVITED £3995 07714 212 331

fletch on "PIstonheads Sunday Service"

fletch — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 11:19:44 +0000

Anyone else going to the Pistonheads Sunday Service at BMW HQ in Bracknell? Just a short meet till 1PM, bacon butties cups of tea and a mooch round some cars etc... It's November the First from 9AM. Check out the thread below for more details. I'll be there in my 635 and there's at least one other E24 M6. Full list of cars going can be found below and you get to go round the HQ and look at some belters. <a href="http://pistonheads.com/news/default.asp?storyId=20855" rel="nofollow">http://pistonheads.com/news/default.asp?storyId=20855</a>

fletch on "Very clean looking E24 - Lambeth Bridge"

fletch — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 11:51:54 +0000

Scratch that, it's two different cars. There's a silver 628 in Lambeth and a Blue(?) 635 often around Horseferry Rd.....

fletch on "89 CSi Highline in red."

fletch — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 11:49:47 +0000

Looking forward to it!

DELP on "89 CSi Highline in red."

DELP — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 15:04:16 +0000

Beautiful I have a G reg version of the same one. In the middle of a complete respray as the paint work has gone dull. Look forward to posting the pics, once the car is back together. del

fletch on "Bottom rad hose leak.."

fletch — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 10:18:20 +0000

I recently replaced all the cooling pipes on my '86 635CSi but I've noticed that the hose running from the bottom of the radiator to the thermostat is already damaged again. The hose runs *so close* to the waterpump/radiator fan assembly that it appears to be occasionally touching the pulley that drives the fan and vbelt system. This is slowly cutting a slit in the pipe. My local garage has told me that they've seen this before when the waterpump bearing is going and the freeplay in it allows the belt pulley too much movement. In my case they reckon this isn't happening and they're flummoxed. Anyone else ever seen this? It's a proper OEM pipe so it ought to be the right shape and when the car is stationary there's about 4mm of space between the pully and the pipe. Heeelp!

fletch on "Very clean looking E24 - Lambeth Bridge"

fletch — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 10:03:10 +0000

I think I've seen this one again! It's actually a 628, won't say where it's regularly parked of course but if it's yours.... say hello!

fletch on "Looking for information on odd wheels."

fletch — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 08:43:24 +0000

Hey Brian, I've seen this ep but have never seen those wheels anywhere else either, will do some digging and update! Cheers fletch

brianpep on "Looking for information on odd wheels."

brianpep — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 01:02:12 +0000

Hello everyone. My name is Brian from the US. I was watching an episode of Wheeler Dealers when they worked on a 635. The car had a fantastic set of wheels on it (the host hated them). I have searched and can find nothing about them. They had a very flat face with a decent lip. There were slots in the face that gave the appearance of a 3 spoke design. The host of the show kept calling them Canadian wheels. Can anyone help me find out more about these wheels and possibly a source to get a set from? Thank you for any help! -Brian

fletch on "Very clean looking E24 - Lambeth Bridge"

fletch — Wed, 20 May 2009 20:26:41 +0000

Going over the roundabout after Lambeth Bridge on the North Side of the river. Looked really clean and think it had Alpina wheels. Grey colour, looked smart! I was stuck in a traffic jam in a smart car!

fletch on "635 CSi Metric Wheels"

fletch — Wed, 20 May 2009 20:23:25 +0000

doh! Unfortunately these are the 220x55XR390 tyres and I'd really like to sell the whole lot to get some space back. Depends if you fancy trying to run odd-sized wheels for the duration of an MOT ;) There are two tyres that are absolutely MOT legal but they're quite old and I wouldn't like to sell them as daily drivers! cheers

richarddavies on "635 CSi Metric Wheels"

richarddavies — Fri, 15 May 2009 16:30:12 +0000

Hi Fletch. I am looking for 2 MOTable tyres (240x45xZR415's) and wondered how much you wanted for the one usable one you have? Also where are you based? Many thanks Richard

fletch on "VIN Numbers"

fletch — Thu, 07 May 2009 15:23:54 +0000

If you head over to bmwfans.info they might be able to help you.. put the last seven digits of your chasis number into the form below to decode it. <a href="http://bmwfans.info/parts/catalog/#all">http://bmwfans.info/parts/catalog/#all</a> Not sure if it breaks down as far as highline/motorsport editions or not but it's worth a shot

fletch on "VIN Numbers"

fletch — Wed, 06 May 2009 14:50:10 +0000

If you give your local dealer a call they should be able to tell you from the chasis number. I'm not aware of a listing on the web anywhere that can decodes them.. although if anyone else has one.. :-)

fletch on "Blue E24, Elephant and Castle"

fletch — Wed, 06 May 2009 14:41:20 +0000

Spotted on New Kent Road on Monday 4th May ! I flashed my lights but got no response... (I was in a smart car at the time :p)

manntint on "VIN Numbers"

manntint — Wed, 06 May 2009 12:18:36 +0000

Does anyone now how to tell if a 635 csi is a highline or not? thanks

fletch on "Cooling System Hose Replacement"

fletch — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 14:22:49 +0000

I got stranded by a burst water pipe the other day and when one goes, they tend to all start going so I opted to replace them all to save being stuck at the side of the M4 again at 8AM. Incidentally it's £7 a month to be a member of the AA... Worth every bean! First off, here's my culprit, my bottom rad hose had "ballooned out" causing it to touch the fan belt wheel which cut a long slit in it. This particular hose runs really close the the wheel so it doesn't take much expansion for this to happen. The cooing system is made up of TEN pipes as below, these are layed out on my living room floor, only slightly useful I know but they are laid out roughly as they appear in the car. There are: - Three really big obvious ones that connect to the radiator top, radiator bottom and a loopback round thermostat. - Three long ones that link the water-pump with the intake for the car heater and the bottom of the header tank. These all join together with a three way splitter underneath the engine, you can't see where they join by looking alone, try to follow the pipe down with your hands and you'll feel it. - Two shorter ones that link the back of the engine and the heater control valve - One overflow pipe from the top of the header tank - One bleed hose from the header tank to the radiator I also opted to change the thermostat and the o-ring as well since previous experiance taught me I'd probably need to take the housing off to get at some of the pipes which would in turn probably wreck the ring and since it would then be off.. I might as well change the thermostat. As you can see below my prophecy was true.. I also replaced the four bolts that hold the thermostat in since they were rusty looking and I can see one of them snapping off when I put it back together and I finally ordered a new flywheel sensor cable (the thing that's taped up in the background). Things to look out for: Don't confuse oil pipes with waterpipes! The 635 has a separate oil radiator about 6 inches high that sits in front of the water radiator at the bottom. You can't see it unless you're underneath the car. If the pipe you're looking at isn't secured with a jubilee clip and looks a bit more "hardcore" than a rubbery water pipe.. it probably isn't. So all in all a grand job. check out <a href="http://bmwfans.info/parts/catalog/E24/Coupe/Europe/635CSi-M30/RHD/A/1986/browse/engine/">bmwfans.info</a> for the cooling diagrams..

fletch on "Insurance Companies"

fletch — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 12:09:46 +0000

I finally went with adrian flux. They were about £200 more expensive than Lancaster but I got my 8 year no claims covered, something called "road rage insurance"(?!) and amazingly international breakdown cover that will return me home from anywhere in europe if the beast blows up on the next road trip!!

fletch on "R W Autos"

fletch — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 12:03:42 +0000

Been here a few times for various bits - exhaust gaskets, shocks, brake bomb, servicing and the like. Decent labour rates and only use genuine parts. Rapid service, I can definitely recommend. 2A Morrocco Street Bermondsey, London SE1 3HB 020 7407 5735

fletch on "E24 M6 Torque Specs - Reference Manual"

fletch — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 13:59:03 +0000

<a href="/files/M6 Torque Specs.pdf">Get the M6 Torque Specs book downloaded</a> it's about as close as you'll get to a 635 version :)

fletch on "Replacement wheels and tyres for the E24"

fletch — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 13:18:59 +0000

"Normal" imperial tyre. The imprint decoded means the tyre is 225mm wide and 50% of that width high (so 112.5mm). The R16 means it's for a 16" radius wheel. A metric tyre. This imprint shows that the tyre is 220mm wide, 55% of that width high (so in this case 121mm) and that it will only fit a 390mm radius wheel.

fletch on "E24 M6 - Reference Manual"

fletch — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 13:09:42 +0000

You can get hold of a PDFd manual from an M6 here, it's not exactly the same as the 635CSi of course but it's super handy! <a href="/files/BMW M6 Manual.pdf">by downloading it by clicking here</a>. I warn you it's pretty big (350MB)

fletch on "My 2002 (E39) M5"

fletch — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 12:47:30 +0000

Noice! Top 3 M car of all time I believe! :)

nick on "My 2002 (E39) M5"

nick — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 07:25:35 +0000

Yeah, so it's not a sixer but it's awesome all the same!

fletch on "Parts and Breakers"

fletch — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 08:42:54 +0000

<a href="http://www.beemer-redeemer.com/">Beemer Redeemer</a> - 01179 860 635 Bridgend Recycling - 01233 713447 <a href="http://www.emray.com/">Emray BMW</a> - 01760 725 933 <a href="http://www.fabdirect.com/">FAB Direct</a> - 01594 827 333 <a href="http://www.fritzsbits.co.uk/">Fritzs Bits</a> - 01823 674 459 <a href="http://gsfcarparts.com">German Swedish and French</a> - See site for local branch number <a href="http://www.eurocarparts.com/">Euro Car Parts</a> - 0870 150 6506 <a href="http://www.ebcbrakesdirect.com/">EBC Brakes Direct</a> - 0845 22 55 0 11 Anyone else got any good suppliers for bits?

fletch on "635 CSi Metric Wheels"

fletch — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 10:25:07 +0000

If you're sticking with a the classic look I have a set of very good condition metric wheels with at least one usable metric tyre! Open to all sorts of offers they're just taking up space in the garage. Would suit someone trying to restore one to former glory or someone who needs a usable metric tyre or two to get them through an MOT.

fletch on "Insurance Companies"

fletch — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 17:15:01 +0000

I've had some wicked quotes recently from Adrian Flux and also Lancaster Insurance. <a href="http://www.adrianflux.com">http://www.adrianflux.com</a> have a deal with <a href="http://www.pistonheads.com">Pistonheads</a> that classes them as a car club getting you up to an extra 15% off (<a href="http://www.adrianflux.com/ph/">see /ph/ for more</a>). <a href="http://www.lancaster-ins.co.uk/">http://www.lancaster-ins.co.uk/</a> are an old-school classic insurance company. They don't take into account no-claims bonus because they just base their quote on you and how much you drive. Aside from that annoyance they seemed really good and **insanely cheap**. Bare in mind that if you don't use your no claims for two years you lose it. Anyone else got any good ones?

fletch on "The M30 Engine"

fletch — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 17:02:29 +0000

The engine in a 635CSi is an M30. A Six cylinder 12 valve affair with a timing chain (no belt!) that was also used in the 535i and the 735i of the same era. It's got 218BHP and 229ft/lb torque that should whizz it to 60 in 7.7 seconds.

fletch on "Electronic Troubleshooting - Reference Manual"

fletch — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 16:30:42 +0000

This is a PDF of an electronic troubleshooting manaual. It's based on an '85 North American six but can come in handy given the distinct lack of manuals for the E24. <a href="/files/e24_85.pdf">click here to download it</a> It's not a great photocopy but it's a fairly famous bootleg download amongst e24 owners.

fletch on "Other Websites"

fletch — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 16:04:15 +0000

The famous John G Burns homepage! Just about anything you want to know about your BMW is here: <a href="http://www.unixnerd.demon.co.uk/bmw.html">http://www.unixnerd.demon.co.uk/bmw.html</a> <a href="http://www.bba-reman.com/">bba-reman</a> Loads of electronic bits for your six <a href="http://aaron.aussiefiverdriver.com/Control%20Arms.htm">aussiefiverdriver</a> How to do the control arms <a href="http://bmwfans.info/">bmwfans.info</a> Exploded parts diagrams for all BMWs <a href="http://www.bmwcarclubforum.co.uk/forum/forum_topics.asp?FID=31">bmwcarclubforum.co.uk</a> Quiet but decent 6 series forum.