1984 BMW 5 Series 528e from North America - Comments

RE: battery drain.

Check the trunk latch and make sure it's adjusted so the trunk is closing securely. If not, the trunk light stays on. I've found this to be a pretty common problem for some reason on E28's.

I've had my '84 528e for almost 20 years. Treat it right, it'll treat you right.

I've had my 528e - 84, since 1984, and drive it every day. I had transmission rebuilt about twelve years ago. My mileage counter stopped working at 279,000 miles - and that was 16 years age. I am probably pushing close to million miles. Who knows?

I also have the battery drain problem, so much so that I have resorted to disconnecting the battery at night.

Currently I may need a complete drive shaft. I do a lot of repairs myself, but am in need of a GOOD mechanic in the Atlanta area, since the one I've had for the last 14 years has moved too far away. Does anyone have a lead? My only request is that he/she simply love working on BMWs and live in Atlanta, GA proper.

Thanks for any help.

reachyvonn@yahoo.com

Sears used to sell a battery that automatically shut down if it drained excessively -- leaving enough power remaining to start the car. Similar devices are available which install separately from the battery. I would try to isolate the drain if possible by removing fuses one at a time, looking for a spark when you find the right one. Barring that working, at least with a battery drain device, the car wouldn't go completely dead on you. Also, look for dome light, trunk light, turn signal lights, or hood light sticking on, (try removing the bulbs to isolate if nothing else works. I had a 733i in which the dome light came on by itself, so I used the manual dome light off switch in order to make sure it didn't drain the battery.

Has anyone ever replaced the muffler on their 528e? Mine has a bunch of holes, and is probably original, so I need to replace it. I notice that it's held on by 3 bolts, and they look quite rusted. So, I'm wondering if anyone has attempted this, and maybe can tell me if they ran into difficulties getting the old one off, and then installing the new one. Please reply to me at tirATsiscomDOTnet if you have any good info to pass along.

Thanks in advance,

Steve.

I bought a new muffler for my '87 in March, and had it installed locally at a non-BMW repair shop. They had no problem. I initially tried, but could not get those bolts removed. The muffler was $154, including shipping from eBay seller macautopartsdiscounts, and the shop charged me $50 to install it. I'm pleased.