RE: '89 535i defective speedometer & misc

[alex.fadeev@xxxxxxxxxxx]

Rick [mailto:rickg@domain.elided] wrote:
> 
> Looking at an '89 535i for possible purchase
> 
> 1) Is there a difference between 535i and 535ia?  The emblem 
> on the trunk says 535i but service invoices I found in the
> glovebox say 535ia.

Rick,
The 'a' designation normally stands for 'a'utomatic transmission. That's
what you have, right?
Your car will be marked as 535iA everywhere (the paperwork, driver side
B-pillar sticker, etc) but the trunk lid. I guess BMW does not want to
publicly embarrass its slush-box customers.
 
> 2) How would I obtain the radio code?  The battery was 
> replaced, and need to obtain the unlock code for the radio.

Take the battery out if you can and write down the serial number stamped
into the back of the radio. Take the serial number to a local dealer and
they will pull the code for you for free. If you can't remove the radio on
your own, the dealer might try to charge you $10-20 to do it for you. That
price is negotiable and you can cut it down to $0 if you just ask them to
borrow their radio removal tool for a minute ;-)

> 3)  The speedometer was functioning intermittenly.  Is this a 
> tough repair, or a $$$ repair?

Take a close look at your rear differential. There should be two wires
snaking to the back of the diff and into a rubber sleeve. That the
connection to your speed pickup sensor. Very often the rubber seal gets
damaged with time and the sensor's connector starts rusting. Try to clean it
off first, replace if necessary. 
The other possibility is that the speedometer inside the instrument cluster
is going bad, but that's very rare.

alex f

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