Purchase of '95 740

[kielyk@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]

Regrading the purchase of the 740 over the 5er:

Be aware that the following will be a problem at some point-

1. Thrust rod bushings- They will fail and you will begin to get front end
shimmy esp. at braking. The conventional fix is to replace with 750
bushings. I am will be experimenting with urethane shortly.

2. Drive Shaft failure- At the mileage you quoted you will soon have a
failure of the drive shaft joint. There are plently of rebuild sites
available via the Roundel.

3. Nikasil cyl. walls- Good to know the engine has been replaced but I
would ask for hard copy confirmation.

4. Light control module- There is a bank of relays which inevitably fail.
Fixing is easy.

5. A/C vaccuum selenoid failure- The support brakets of the remote
actuators are weak and have been known to break.

6. Heater control selenoids- On the driver's side firewall the heater flow
control valves have gaskets which can fail and gum up the valves. The
result is hot air from the vents which does not respond to controls. The
fix is to replace the gaskets.

7. Seat Cables- The infamous BMW short sheath problem. There are FAQ's
everwhere on how to repair this.

8. Battery- For your own benefit find out how old the battery is. If 3
years old, ask for a new one.

On the plus side, there are a vast array of tuners that can make this
"Geezer" mobile handle like it should. I wouldn't go with the 18" wheel
suggestion, but 17's are a great change and the ride quality will not
change dramatically. Dinan, RD Motorsports, and AC Schnitzer come easily to
mind. Also Steve D. has a great brake upgrade that I am saving up for.

Also join the 7 series Digest at:

bmw-7-series-digest-request@domain.elided

- -Kevin
BMWCCA, GGC

P.S. As a young guy, you will eventually understand the benefit of a big
back seat.

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