Project Big Six-y: 1991 BMW 535i/5

[Jake]

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I took Big Sixy to a shop for some work. Before you all pile the hate on me, I've already pulled a BMW driveshaft and rusty exhaust while laying on my back and the car on relatively short jackstands. I have less free time and more money than I did in college (and zero desire to do this type of work myself again), so I decided to find a good German shop and bring them my parts and the car.
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She's at German Auto Group in Springfield. They let me bring the parts and are charging a very fair labor rate for what they are doing. I was getting this nasty vibration in the driveline after ~10-15 minutes of driving. It got worse or better with speed and also sounded like a rubber band was slapping the underside of the car.

GAG is replacing the center driveshaft support bearing, the guibo/flex disc (connects the trans to the driveshaft), two transmission mounts and two seals. The seals are where the selector rod hooks up to the trans, and the trans' rear output shaft. If you recall my E30 ownership experience, I did the center bearing. The E30's guibo was in good shape. Big Sixy's was not. The rubber has some sort of hair/thread looking stuff inside, and mine was sticking out from the sides... obviously toast.

As a perk for signing my life away to this shop, they gave me a free loaner car, which is boring, slow and has a sucky radio and awful transmission:



I swear this transmission has the attention span and mental capacity of a toddler. There are "C" and "S" modes (it defaults to S) which I assume mean "Comfort" and "Sport" -- they really should mean "Comatose" and "Sluggish" because C makes it almost undriveable. S still has mushy shifts and a general lack of idea as to which gear is the right one.

The radio is pretty bad when you crank it. I've already messed with the EQ and it hasn't helped much.

It's a C230, so whatever motor in there is making about 190-200 hp, so says Wikipedia. Sure doesn't feel like it.

I guess if I were an old man who wanted a Camry with a douchey badge protruding from the hood (and always in your periphery) and more fake black perforated leather (MB-Tex vinyl ftw, it's actually really comfy), I'd buy a C230.

But I miss the E34... I get it back on Friday AM.