This is my first time posting to this site, and I thank everyone in advance for all thoughts/ideas.

1. Has anyone heard of BMW replacing the engine in 1995 540 series cars to avoid a class action law suit? I met a guy yesterday who just had this done. The engine was not compatible with the USA engine standards and burned too much sulpher resulting in poor performance etc. he said BMW was avoiding all the bad press by repacing the engine. Is this true? Does it afect 530 series of model year 1995?
BMW INSTITUTED A REPLACEMENT POLICY that covered V-8 engine blocks made of Nikosil (thru '94 I believe) because US fuels contain too much sulfur, which erodes the cylinder walls.I think they have an age and mileage limit for replacement and you must have your engine inspected for leakdown by the BMW dealer to possibly be eligible. Check on the e34 or e32 forum for more details.

2. My 1988 528e has 247k miles, and is in great shape..or so I thought... Recently it has started to lose alot of oil...small puddles. The oil plug is fine. What else could it be? I change the oil and filter regularly.
HARD TO SAY WHAT THIS COULD BE, BUT front or rear main seals, or a leakin oil pressure switch may be at fault. I'd clean the engine with Gunk and drive only a few miles and then check it to narrow down the source.

3. The same 1988 528e car has also started to act strangely when I have the heater, radio, fog lites,headlites on..The radio may suddenly turn itself off, the speedometr/odometer may freeze up, the brake lite on the on board computer may stay lit, or on 1 occasion the engine shut off taking a sharp but slow curve. I have replaced the fuses, and it has been checked by a BMW mechanic ($511)but it still malfunctions intermittantly. What could be the root cause? Since this is an older model, I am told that diagnostic tests will not work. Anyone who knows of reputable mechanics in the Newton area of Boston please forward my way.
YOU MAY HAVE BAD FUSE CONTACTS IN THE FUSE BOX. Remove the fuses and bend each contact slightly to apply more pressure on the fuse ends. Then replace the fuses and with a finger rotate each back and forth a bit to renew the contact points. It could also be bad grounds. The Bentley manual gives the ground junction locations that should be checked (by loosening each ground screw/bolt one turn, then retightening it). Also remove and replace each relay to renew their contacts.

4. When I first turn the radio on( original radio) the speaker volume crackles when I turn it up or down. The sound and tuning aspect of the radio/ music is fine. The problem only exists when I mve the volume knob. The Weatherband tuning seems to be "stuck". Do I need a new radio, new speakers or what?
THIS JUST SOUNDS LIKE dirty controls. You COULD remove the radio, open the case, and squirt some contact cleaner into each potentiometer in there, or just use the heck out of them hoping that more use will clean the contact paths inside the pots.