Messages

1

For Sale / M42: last chance before the junker-oil pan-compleat exhaust

« on: March 17, 2010, 06:01:54 AM »

Gruppe:

Clearing garage space. M42 from my 91 e30 318is. I actually bought this motor on the forum from ak96ss back in 2007, then the timing chain broke in 2008 and I re-powered the car w/the M20 from my wrecked 90 325iC...yeah, yeah, I know, heresy an all that.

Anyway, the oil pan is in good shape, and I also have a DEC cat (less than 1k) and a Bosal cat-back with chrome tip, in very good condition.

I'll unload the oil pan for shipping costs, I'm thinking $200 for the whole exhaust, pick-up only in Alexandria VA 22301.

Any other bits from the block you may need...head is toast (cracked) and pistons hit valves, so bottom end is suspect.

lemmee know what you need...

John Grills
NCC-BMWCCA
Alexandria VA

2

Engine + Driveline / bent valves

« on: July 15, 2009, 09:49:43 AM »

Nah, I'm tossing ALL the valves and replacing with Intervalve parts (swiss company). I suspected the guides were quite durable, as the bottom lips had no visible damage.

Thanks for the advice!

3

Engine + Driveline / Do bent valves == new valve guides?

« on: July 08, 2009, 08:49:57 AM »

Gruppe:
Finally getting around to R&Ring my head. Broke the chain over a year ago. Totalled my current iC DD, so now pressed to fix the iS...on the cheap, of course.

I've got the head stripped down. About 1/3 of the valves were bent. Mostly exhaust. Several were really mashed. The valve guides 'seem' ok. I slid a straight valve in, no play in any of them that I can notice. Valves also move smoothly. Should I replace the guides just as a precaution? The head is practically new, not warped.

Have others R&R'd the cams w/o the special cam holder clamp-down tool? (11 3 260) There is risk of breaking the cams, right? I have 2 sets...do I feel lucky?

Also, I'm buying all new valves. AZAutohaus seems to have the best price on the Intervalve parts...anyone know of a better vendor? Time for a valve GB?

cheers!
John Grills
NCC-BMWCCA

4

Engine + Driveline / Valve Removal Question

« on: June 24, 2008, 07:23:19 AM »

Gruppe:

Got a fancy new valve spring compressor, and I'm about to tear into a head rebuild/swap on my broke 91 318is. Frankenstein job, one cracked head w/good cams/valves and one recently rebuilt head that valves crashed when timing chain broke last summer.

Question: any trick to removing valve retainers that I should know about? I can certainly practice on the crashed head, but I want to be real careful not to mar the seats/guides, and conversely the on cracked head, not to damage the stems. Anyone BTDT?

Cheers!
John Grills
NCC-BMWCCA

5

General Topics / M42-318is...motor cut out

« on: November 07, 2007, 07:14:51 AM »

bump

6

General Topics / My broke timing chain...question on tear-down

« on: November 07, 2007, 05:57:27 AM »

Head was rebuilt, I guess they did not replace the chain. I put the
improved chain tensioner in during the swap, and never had any chain
lash. I heard no bad sounds when the engine cut off, but I gotta
believe I have a bent valve or two. It's inevitable, right? Hopefully
no piston damage!

My questions:
The chain is wedged in under the intake cam gear and I cannot rotate that
cam to TDC to lock it at the rear. Crank is at TDC and flywheel is
locked with a pin. The damn crank bolt has already broken my 1/2"
crapsman breaker bar...thanks to big pipe extender. Now ISO a 3/4" 22m
impact socket and bigger pipe! BTW, 1/2" Impact gun did nothing for
me. I'd usually spin the starter to break free this bolt, but I dare
not under present conditions. Any tricks for getting this free?

Also, can I just loosen up the head to clear the valves instead of
taking off the cams 1st as the manual suggests? I actually have a
electrons (manual) for the M42 motor, so that's a plus!

Is it time for an M50/S50/S52 swap? hmmmm...haven't had too much
luck with the M42...2 broke, 3's a charm? wait, the 2nd motor CAME
from Charm City...

cheers!
jpg

7

General Topics / Re: M42-318is cut out--cam sensor is not sending signal to DME...

« on: November 07, 2007, 05:54:14 AM »

...because the timing chain is no longer attached to it. Smart sensor huh?

So, I popped a timing chain w/o any noises...good thing, fingers
crossed. I have a new chain. Hopefully I didn't have valves crash.

All those M20 timing belts I changed religiously and a freakin CHAIN
decides to break on me...

Glad I finally go around to taking off the valve cover.

This explains the whrring on start...no valves are moving. I hope the
chain didn't tear up too much stuff...new rail/runners up front for sure!

cheers!
jpg

8

General Topics / M42-318is...motor cut out

« on: November 07, 2007, 05:51:44 AM »

When the ECU looses power it looses the codes also...

Yeah I know, 1444...should have done this while waiting for the tow truck

9

Engine + Driveline / e30 318iS engine cut out on motorway

« on: November 05, 2007, 05:58:24 PM »

Did the car run nice before the stop? if not check the regulator.
And as written before the fuel pump.

The car was running beautifully prior to cutting out. Regulator and Fuel pump are new...

here is my thread on this topic if you care to have a look:

http://www.m42club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4010

Thanks,
jpg

10

General Topics / M42-318is...motor cut out

« on: November 05, 2007, 05:49:03 PM »

I've swapped the DME in and out since the motor cut out....does the DME save Codes w/o power?

I'll give the stomp test a go...to be honest, I never knew you could get that deep into the code diagnostics...the Peake tool is quite limited in this regard. I used that 1st, and nothing showed up...

The Code relay I was referring to is on e36 models as part of the OBC...I do not have one on this car, only the simple e30 OBC.

cheers!

11

Engine + Driveline / e30 318iS engine cut out on motorway

« on: November 05, 2007, 04:15:37 PM »

Did you ever resolve this? I have the same symptoms and troubleshooting is driving me nuts!

cheers!

12

General Topics / update...all still bad

« on: November 05, 2007, 03:53:56 PM »

OK,
I can make the pump run by jumpering across the fuel relay, so wiring
is good. I tried cranking while jumpered, still no start. just goes
whrrrrrrrr. Fan is spinning, so I assume crank is moving...right?

I still have no signal from pin 1 on the DME to pin 85 of the fuel
pump relay. The DME pulls pin 85 to ground to allow the Fuel Relay to
power up the pump.

I see only 2 relays in the driver's foot well. One is the flasher
relay, up on the steering column, 3 pin (49, 49a,31). The other is a
4-pin (15,31,L,S) with a small mounting clip on it. It's the larger of
the 2. It's labeled "Gurt Zeitgerat" which lit. translated means
"seatbelt timer"... the gong control for the seat belts.

I have a simple 9 button e30 OBC, so no CODE feature, right? This is
getting very frustrating. Do I even HAVE an OBC relay on this car? I
can't find mention of one anywhere...

Same symptoms w/2 different DMEs now...crank and cam sensors are in
spec. Same whrring sound w/2 different starters, both worked fine
prior to the engine cutting out...going on 2 weeks now! The Gremlins
are ready to jump in there!

r/jpg

--- In E30@yahoogroups.com, arma defuego wrote:
>
> if there is no power at the main relay then it could be the OBC
relay in the driver's footwell.
>
> Check for main power at the main relay.
> If power there switch on the car and check for power at the fuel
relay.
> If no power there check at the OBC relay.
>
> not much point in swapping parts elsewhere until you can get power
at the fuel pump.
>
> Gary Derian wrote:
> I don't have a 318 ETM but in the 325 the coil gets power
directly from the
> ignition switch, through the OBC code relay. If you're getting
spark, the
> DME is switching the coil primary, which means it is getting power to
> operate.
> Gary Derian

13

General Topics / ...not the DME

« on: November 04, 2007, 06:29:32 AM »

As suggested, crank sensor(s) are fine.

Just got a replacement DME in there...still no start. Still no power to the new fuel pump (new relays too). I even jumpered across the fuseable link, which looked fine anyway.

I guess next is to test for power on the DME connector. Not sure of any other way to see if the DME is even powering on or not.

I have spark at the plugs, does that indicate DME function? I assume DME fires up the coils, right?

Physical wiring checks are a possibility....but the car was running just fine before it cut out on a smooth highway! Chassis ground is fine, as my instruments are powering on.

The starter is still making that whirring sound. The fan is spinning under start, but no cranking. I swapped the starter with my spare...same sounds from both starters, so it's not likely a starter solenoid issue. e30 M42 engine has no knock sensors (on the flywheel), so they can't be failing

Help! I'm at whit's end on this one!

14

General Topics / Relay testing-Bad DME?

« on: October 30, 2007, 12:17:26 PM »

OK,
Finally stopped raining. So, all new relays. Still no buzz from the NEW fuel pump (now I have a spare...damn). So I start detailed troubleshooting...section 130-7 of the Bentley Manual

Main Relay: Ignition On, No switched ground from DME on terminal 85
Fuel Pump Relay: Ignition Off, no 12v on terminal 30,
Ignition On, No switched ground from DME on terminal 85

Bad DME, right?

I guess DME failure can happen at any time, right? I just thought it odd to happen while underway.

15

General Topics / Crank sensor test?

« on: October 24, 2007, 11:38:26 AM »

Vladi,

crank sensor shows only 528 ohms, supposed to be 1280! guess that's it...the DME will not fire the engine w/o a proper signal from this sensor. I have a spare that I will swap in whenever it stops raining!

cheers!