Messages

1

Engine + Driveline / Re: My 1st bmw is making me go CRAZY. Help me before I BURN IT

« on: June 28, 2018, 07:24:38 AM »

If you have spark, that means your cam/crank position sensors are working at least on some level. The fact that it fired up on starting fluid/brake parts cleaner and ran for a bit further tells me that the ignition side is probably fine.

If you have no crank, start from one end of that system and work your way to the other. While I'm not as familiar with E36s, the I think the setup is similarly straightforward aside from EWS which I believe just disables spark. The car will still crank with an EWS fault. Start with the battery. Got a good charge? 12.5V or more is what I'm looking for here. There is a fusible link off of the battery that can fail, so the next step is to check that you have battery voltage at the large lug on the starter. This will be constant battery voltage all the time; it's not switched. Then find an extra set of hands and check the voltage at the small starter solenoid wire when the key is in the crank position. It should be at battery voltage when the key is in that position, and 0v otherwise. If this checks out, your electrical system on the car side is good and you probably burned your starter up. You can further check this by using a screwdriver or something (make sure your body is isolated from it and you aren't touching the car AT ALL) to briefly connect the large lug on the starter and the coil wire. It should crank the engine when you're doing this. You're just bypassing the electronics in the car to see if the starter works with this test.

Let us know how this goes and we can go from there.

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Engine + Driveline / Engine refresh questions

« on: May 29, 2012, 08:13:08 PM »

Actually, not all M42's are the same. E30 M42's have a timing chain idler gear, 7mm valve stems, and double-wound valve springs among other things, where e36's got a slider, 6mm stems, a slightly different head and intake, and single wound springs. E36's also have knock sensors iirc.

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Engine management / Unable to rev past 3k...

« on: April 28, 2012, 01:25:25 AM »

I dunno, that sounds exactly like a cam or a crank sensor failure to me. A clean cutoff is almost always ignition related, and that controls it all. The coils in those sensors are more prone to be noisy when they get hot, I'm betting something is still off there somewhere. Especially if pulling the sensor and reinstalling it fixed the problem for a bit.

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For Sale / Turbo Race Car Update

« on: February 08, 2012, 07:37:25 PM »

You've piqued my interest... I've got a turbo M42 that could use the trickle-down of some of your R&D haha. I suppose at this point I'd be curious as to what all you have and what kind of prices you'll be selling parts for as I am on a college-student budget, and I don't think I can quite afford that motor...

I think tops on the list would be an all-aluminum radiator, a nice intake plenum (even if maybe it was a development part, I could do my own R&D and tuning...) and possibly the crank/pistons, but again, this is all very theoretical until I know what kind of money you're looking for. Too bad I just had my head gone through.

What is prompting the new direction with the car?

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Swaps, Turbos, Buildups / Buildup: My quest for NA 280 hp

« on: February 08, 2012, 07:29:21 PM »

Phenomenal project you've got going; always good to see M42 development. I took the easy way and did MS and a turbo, haha.

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Engine management / Rev limiter location and repair?

« on: February 08, 2012, 07:26:32 PM »

Crank and cam sensors should be on the list of things to check. If either has noise issues or is at the end of its life, it won't work well at higher revs when there is more noise and the pulses are more rapid.

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Engine management / running rich & mind of it's own..

« on: February 08, 2012, 07:23:27 PM »

Check your coolant sensors. If they are bad, then the car will think the engine is too cold and run a higher idle, retarded ignition timing, and will run richer.

8

Engine + Driveline / 4.10 LSD now slipping

« on: February 08, 2012, 07:20:02 PM »

They do tend to wear after awhile-my LSD 3.73 can't hold any torque from the turbo, really.

Your differential is a clutch plate differential, not a visous diff. That right there could be your issue, if you put viscous-type fluid in it. You can buy clutch plates for the diff as part of a rebuild kit, but I don't recommend doing it yourself unless you know how to set pinion lash. That said, rumor has it that you can also fit an extra plate in the factory stack to increase torque capacity.

the factory 25% is typically plenty, IF it is in good condition. Most are less than 20%. Some E30 M3's (along with e34 M5's, but that is a different story) came with 40% limited slip rears, but those are hard to find, and are not marked in any unique manner.

Z3 Torsen is great, and with the cover will bolt in, as Dave said. The nose of the diff is a little longer, so you will have to loosen the compression fitting on the driveshaft and slide it in slightly.

9

Engine + Driveline / Engine tuning M42B18

« on: February 08, 2012, 07:13:52 PM »

The Getrag 220 and 250 have the same, or at least similar, ratios, but the 250 will be the correct fit for the M42. The 220 is a fair bit longer, iirc. I'm not sure if the output flanges are the same or not.

Just to quell any misinformation right here, adjusting cam gears is in no way a substitute for aftermarket cams. What the M42 really needs is a little more lift and duration (those catcams should work great, and are a step above the usual S50 profile a lot of M42 cams use). Note that you can also get more reliable high revs out of the engine by fitting solid lifters ($$$) and you can bump up the high end by fitting larger valves. Later M42's also have narrower valve stems (6mm vs 7mm diameter) that allow for slightly better flow.

Lighter flywheel will do wonders for the responsiveness of the engine, and acceleration in first and second gears.

When you have the chip made, for maximum performance you will want to have it dyno'd on your car, with your setup. Changes to the intake and exhaust along with minute production and wear differences between engines means that most chips are conservative for most cars.

10

General Topics / 1995 318i rack

« on: February 08, 2012, 07:05:18 PM »

That said, it is very unusual for them to fail. On a 318is, it is far more likely for the compression nut under the dashboard on the steering shaft to be loose and causing slop and clunking. It needs to be torqued down HARD.

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General Topics / What part brands are you buying?

« on: February 08, 2012, 07:03:43 PM »

Usually OE where possible on the E30. The Chevy gets all the off-brand stuff so long as I can avoid things made in Mexico (I've had terrible luck; china crap at least doesn't fail immediately), but I honestly haven't had any problems there.

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General Topics / Temp gauge question.

« on: December 25, 2011, 08:32:53 AM »

That's actually pretty normal. Modern cars don't do that because they have circuitry that makes the gauges less sensitive so that they read rock-solid and under half all the time so the driver doesn't panic. E30's don't do that so much. You will get temp fluctuation depending on driving conditions and when the thermostat opens and such.

there are a few things that can cause incorrect gauge readings-failed sensor (happens more than you'd think), the aforementioned ground nut, and dying SI board batteries.

13

Off-topic discussion / E30 Tech worst forum experience

« on: December 25, 2011, 08:27:59 AM »

I used to be really active on e30tech because their forced induction section is pretty darn good and there is a lot of information over there. To me, though, the dynamics of r3v are just more enjoyable.

As to saying that people on r3v are jerks because they tell you they don't like something you've done to your car, I guess I don't get it. Everyone has an opinion on what looks the best, and the majority of people, myself included, don't think the ebay parts look good. That's just the way it is, and some people express that differently than others. It's your car though, so in the end, why are you taking it so personally. Do what you think looks good.

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Engine + Driveline / even noisier gearbox

« on: April 29, 2011, 12:08:05 AM »

Okay, first off, just because this is a forum doesn't give you any excuse to be completely incoherent. It doesn't take that much more effort to type in an understandable manner, and you will be much more likely to get help.

That said, how many miles are on the car? The only time I ever had a truly noisy transmission is when it blew all the fluid out a seal on track. If you haven't checked in awhile, make sure that there is still enough fluid in the trans. If the bearings are gone (mine were, but lasted another 5k miles before I started losing gears) a new transmission is about the only option. M42 getrag 240's aren't terribly hard to find though; I got one for $100 and another for $200 after discovering the first didn't have a 3rd gear.

15

For Sale / M42 engine for parts or to fix

« on: April 26, 2011, 11:47:30 AM »

Details on the engine? Mileage, service history, etc? I'm having engine issues and may be interested.