Messages

1

For Sale / '91 318is FS in Pittsburgh, $1300

« on: April 18, 2011, 10:33:58 PM »

Body from 20 feet away in the pics looks a mess, and for sure the underside is a disaster given the condition of the topside. Lord knows what the mechanicals are like, given how the body looks. I can't imagine whoever owned it before the present owner was keeping up on maintenance. Sad really, because it certainly was a sharp little car way back when.

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Engine + Driveline / Detailed oil system info?

« on: April 18, 2011, 10:01:38 PM »

I am working an oil issue now. Three bolts in the pan, some old chain debris as well. Luckily the bolts didn't go through the pickup screen. I have the front covers off and the chain and all associated parts are new. The new tensioner had no oil in it, so this is another oil flow path you may want to check. If this is blocked, you will have another mess with the chain flopping on the guide rail. The motor I am working luckily (I hope) did not run long with low pressure otherwise I am looking at bearings too. After reading this, the oil filter assembly is coming off too, I will try compressed air to blow the crap out with the oil pan and covers off. I am also weighing using the brake parts cleaner--the spray stuff--backwards through the oil channels to see what comes out and where. I have no desire to rip the motor completely apart.

3

Engine + Driveline / oil pressure diagnosis procedure?

« on: September 10, 2010, 01:52:16 PM »

Have a '91 318 M42. Oil light is on. I have an E30 Bentley but it doesn't cover the M42. Is there some diagnosis link out there somewhere which takes you step by step to diagnose problem? I am familiar with the shifting oil pan/bolt issue but would like to diagnose pressure up top before ripping into it. I'd like to eliminate the pressure switch as the problem, etc, before pulling the pan and the front cover off. The car runs but I haven't run it since the light came on. I did not notice any audible grinding noises.
I also used the search function on this topic and didn't see anything...

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Engine + Driveline / Thermostat and Coolant Bleeding Issues

« on: October 08, 2009, 09:47:28 PM »

It appears this problem may have been solved.
Once upon a time, I had a car doing this, bleeding coolant, gauge all over the place. It turned out to be a bad head gasket. There was no white smoke, no coolant in oil. Exhaust gas was going into the coolant. It was a pretty strange problem, that went away after I changed out the head gasket.

5

Off-topic discussion / Movies to watch while...

« on: May 29, 2009, 12:42:54 AM »

I liked "We Were Soldiers," and "The Patriot" with Mel Gibson. Two things I saw in Washington, D.C. I will never forget are the Holocaust Museum, and the room in the American History Museum filled with the things left at the Viet Nam wall. Both will break your heart. Thank a veteran for your freedom, boys. America is changing, and not for the better. Do not forget the men and women who defended your freedom. Who continue to defend your freedom.
Other movies?
See "Contempt" with Brigitte Bardot. Anything with Bardot from the late 50s. That woman---oh boy. Try "Ocean's 11," the original with Sinatra and Dino. Not sure your age, but "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World" is funny as hell. "The Godfather" series is good but hey, these are on TV all the time. For a change of pace, see "Once Upon a Time in America." Get the Sergio Leoni version too. Good story. Leoni also did "Once Upon a Time in the West" with Henry Fonda. Fonda plays the bad guy. Good movie. I like the Bronson "Death Wish" movies. Campy, but good stories. "Jeremiah Johnson " was good. If you like newer movies, try "Fight Club," "Schlinder's List," "21 Grams," "7 pounds" and "V is for Vendetta."
I pray you get lucky, my friend. Many people do. No reason why you can't be on the "lucky" list.

6

Engine + Driveline / Are valve guides screwed in, pushed in or part of head itself?

« on: January 23, 2009, 12:10:38 PM »

someone changed the timing chain and one of the cams is in the wrong place. It idles fine. when I turn it by hand a valve in #1 cylinder is bent I can feel it. I haven't pulled it apart yet I just figured if the valve bent, the guide was toast.

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Engine + Driveline / Are valve guides screwed in, pushed in or part of head itself?

« on: January 22, 2009, 11:02:18 PM »

Which leads me to part two: to change out is it a simple screw out, push out, or do I need to find a milling machine and drill the old one out and push in the replacement?

8

How-To's / Engine failure due to pan gasket shift/bolt loss (e30 only)

« on: June 20, 2008, 01:56:16 PM »

pieces of your timing chain

9

Engine + Driveline / changing valves, info please

« on: June 18, 2008, 06:37:58 PM »

You know at first I wasn't sure what the hell you where talking about regarding the cam and the rope. But that makes since after I thought about it. Interesting, but unnecessary. Just be careful and take it slow. I have removed and installed a few of them so far without any problems.

Regarding valve guide replacement. I have some good news for you. Since the head design is 'cam over bucket' the valve has no side loads whatsoever. So very very little wear. Just bending the valve does not automatically ruin the valve guide. I have done 2 M42 heads, one had all 8 intake valves bent and the other had 4 exhaust valves bent, didn't have to replace any guides.

And yes the guide is pressed in and no you can't reuse a used one. The reason being is that you will most likely damage it upon removal. But if you feel confident enough. The problem is that if you mushroom any part of the guide during installation and don't catch it the valve could seize when the engine warms up. I have seen happen before on other cars so I speak from experience.

Good Luck with it.

Regarding the guides, what you say makes sense too.
Aluminum is pretty soft. I'm thinking a tool could be made from a good valve, the stem would probably keep everything straight, but the valve seat-end of the valve would have to sit absolutely perfectly flat on top of the guide, (machine the "tulip" flat) and that end would also have to be machined slightly undersize of the guide diameter, so the guide could be pushed though the head, (by pushing on the valve tool). If you use a press to push it out, perhaps it would not mushroom.
My dad is a machinist, i'm sure he could cut a valve to make it work.
From what you are saying though, the guides should be OK. Thats one piece of good news.

10

Engine + Driveline / changing valves, info please

« on: June 17, 2008, 10:20:26 PM »

Naw, don't worry. I'll be doing it allright, but not before I do the tranny job in the 88.
I thought people would assume I pulled the head first. Common sense and all. I was more curious about whether I could change out the valve without removing the cam, because the tool is like $1,400 or something, isn't it? I sure won't be buying that, it would be cheaper to replace the engine. The rope between the valve and valve seat is supposed to take enough pressure off the cam that it can be removed without breaking the cam.  I've read the evenly untightening the cam caps won't prevent cam damage.
On the guides, believe it or not a bmw tech said the guide probably could be used but I doubt it. The main question is, are the guides pressed in, or is the head cast and machined? If the guides are pressed in I can take one out of a donor head.

11

Engine + Driveline / changing valves, info please

« on: June 17, 2008, 03:02:16 PM »

Got at least one bent valve for sure, wondered if the corresponding cam has to be removed to change a valve, or can a valve be changed with the cam in place in the head?
Are valve guides replaceable? Real OEM shows a "valve guide" part number which is replaceable, but the part is discontinued. When a valve bends, is that guide automatically shot? Can a used guide be salvaged from another head?
Does the M42 cam require the special tool, or some other procedure for removing a cam so it doesn't crack? I've seen pelican parts DIY where they take the tension off the cam by placing rope inbetween the valve and valve guide, enabling the cam removal w/o as much danger of breaking cam.

12

Engine + Driveline / adjustable cam gears

« on: June 17, 2008, 02:53:41 PM »

I almost wonder if this helps make timing chain installation and "tensioning" easier. I'm not 100 percent on this, but my 2.8 Audi was this way: If you hold the crank stationary, hold the cams stationary, install the chain (on audi it's a belt), then loosen the cam gears, apply the tensioner to the chain/belt, the chain/belt will tension correctly and uniformly and the cam gears being somewhat loose will help facilitate that process. You then tighten the gears, take out the crank pin and cam holder, and you should be done.
If you take out either the crank pin or cam holder and THEN loosen those gears, it would change the timing, no?

13

Engine + Driveline / How long can Engine last with a spun/damaged bearing?

« on: June 17, 2008, 02:33:20 PM »

Can the crank be machined for oversized bearings?

14

Engine management / Timing chain? Well, not exactly. Yet.

« on: June 14, 2008, 02:11:43 PM »

Well, something isn't right. I just turned it again and at NO crankshaft position do the first two cam lobes point at each other. When the outer cam lobe points toward the inner, the inner cam lobe is straight up in the air.
The guy I bought the car from didn't know how to work on cars, therefore he must have paid someone to ruin his engine. The chain is tight, the gears are like new, I don't think something spun that cam out of position? Is that possible? The oil light mystery still hasn't been solved. Apparently the racket is the valve hitting the piston. Joy.

15

Engine management / Timing chain? Well, not exactly. Yet.

« on: June 14, 2008, 01:42:21 AM »

I bought a 1991 318ic from craigslist. Paid $450 for the car knowing the top was bad and some accident damage (need a passenger side door+partial qtr, anyone?)
Was told it ran fine, but surprise, surprise, when the car was delivered from Cali to PA, there's the awful clacking racket and the oil pressure light stays on. The car DOES run and idle, does not miss out the exhaust. Doesn't run too well under load though. No water in the oil, etc. There's a lot of oil around the oil pans, upper an lower, but the oil level on dipstick is fine.

Now is where it gets better. I pulled the valve cover--the timing gears on the cams look fine, the teeth are good, flat at the tips, not pointy at all. The chain is tight. WTF?
Thinking a bearing may have spun, I figure if the engine turns EZ, that the bearings wont be totally fried. So, I pull the plugs, put a socket in the crank and she turns pretty easy. As I turn the engine by hand, it seems as if something is hitting something up top. LIKE A VALVE. Like a valve is opened, but it's bent, so it doesn't retract too easy. It feels like it's the piston closest to the front, the inside cam.
Now i'm wondering if someone changed the gears and chain but screwed up timing the cams.
I have the TDC pin for the flywheel, my question is, If i buy the cam holding tool, will the cams be in time when that pin is IN? So that if the pin is in, that cam holding tool should slide right into place if both cams are in time, right? If the cam holding tool WON'T go on when the TDC pin is in, there's an issue?