The "I'm not going to do anything to it" Build (picture heavy)

[Bwwaaaa]

So I thought I'd update this thread. The car is currently sitting dead in my driveway. I went to Bimmerfest, had a great time, I didn't get a chance to meet anyone else from the forums unfortunately. I was either running around, or sleeping.





On the way home from Phoenix my car suffered what may ultimately kill it. We took this photo about an hour before I had to slam on my brakes thanks to a minivan not really paying attention.



After that the car was misfiring really bad, the check engine light had come on and I had to limp the car the rest of the way home. Anything over 3500 rpm would cause the car to buck and and become undrivable.

Since then I have tried reading the OBD2 port, but it refuses to establish a link. We've checked the wiring, the fuses and a bunch of other things and nothing really helps. I replaced the Cam position sensor, the brake booster check valve, and neither of those made a marked difference. I finally took it to a shop and they said they couldn't find any reason why I can't read the codes either.

I haven't really driven my car since Bimmerfest because of this. Basically I have two options at this point. Park the car for a while and start a swap later on, or bite the bullet and let BMW figure out what the hell happened to the wiring. This is beyond me at this point

I'll post again when I have a significant update, but as it stands right now I'm leaning towards getting rid of this car. It's definitely not fun when I can't drive my car every other month due to some sort of failure.

[Toolmaker]

Nice work. Good luck sorting it out. I hate electrical gremlins

Lino

[BlackBMWs]

??? Odd. You slammed on your brakes then after it seemed to into limp mode? I think you have a 20 pin port in the engine compartment. 1. Is it on tight? 2. If so, try swapping another cap on as they can fail. That was a cause of my ODBII port not reading properly. Got a replacement cap, viola! Not sure if this your issue, but it was mine.

Good luck. If I can help w parts, I will. Cheers!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Bwwaaaa]

Originally Posted by BlackBMWs

??? Odd. You slammed on your brakes then after it seemed to into limp mode? I think you have a 20 pin port in the engine compartment. 1. Is it on tight? 2. If so, try swapping another cap on as they can fail. That was a cause of my ODBII port not reading properly. Got a replacement cap, viola! Not sure if this your issue, but it was mine.

Good luck. If I can help w parts, I will. Cheers!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yup, it was cruising just fine before that. I have checked the 20 pin cap, and it is as tight as it can go. I can try replacing it to see if it helps though.

[BMW_Hatchback]

check coils

[spidertri]

Fuel injectors too. I just had an issue with a set of "rebuilt" replacement fuel injectors causing major misfire issues.

I had bucking issues when the throttle position sensor went bad. The car threw other random codes but I got lucky and a spare TPS fixed it.

[anassa]

Good looking build!

Looks exactly like my ti when I had the M bumper up front! I am looking forward to see a fellow green (boston green etc) ti build!

Yours a 98 model? So in 98 they started with vented front rotors? My ti still had solid front rotors... As soon as my hawk pads die I am going vented for sure.

I also like that it looks like your keeping the rake to a minimum. I am not a fan of BMW rake at all, i don't care how cool that wallposter e36 m3 etc looks like, it just doesn't sit right with me.

[Bwwaaaa]

Originally Posted by BMW_Hatchback

check coils

It's on the list, haven't been able to get to the car for a while. This weekend I'll be looking through there and seeing what's up.

Originally Posted by spidertri

Fuel injectors too. I just had an issue with a set of "rebuilt" replacement fuel injectors causing major misfire issues.

I had bucking issues when the throttle position sensor went bad. The car threw other random codes but I got lucky and a spare TPS fixed it.

I was thinking it might have been the TPS as well. For a while if I modulated the throttle at all, it would panic and buck/misfire. But after doing the Cam Position Sensor, the car seems to be ok in terms of throttle control. It's just way down on power and such.

Originally Posted by anassa

Good looking build!

Looks exactly like my ti when I had the M bumper up front! I am looking forward to see a fellow green (boston green etc) ti build!

Yours a 98 model? So in 98 they started with vented front rotors? My ti still had solid front rotors... As soon as my hawk pads die I am going vented for sure.

I also like that it looks like your keeping the rake to a minimum. I am not a fan of BMW rake at all, i don't care how cool that wallposter e36 m3 etc looks like, it just doesn't sit right with me.

Thanks! It does have vented rotors, definitely a nice upgrade. Gives me some piece of mind. And yeah, I'm really not a fan of rake, very few cars can pull it off properly. I maxed out rear in terms of "low" and leveled out the front from there. It's not for everyone, but I like it.

[marko]

Originally Posted by Bwwaaaa

After that the car was misfiring really bad, the check engine light had come on and I had to limp the car the rest of the way home. Anything over 3500 rpm would cause the car to buck and and become undrivable.

air flow meter? from experience..

[Bwwaaaa]

So things have been slow obviously. I've spent the last few months just trying to figure out what the hell is wrong with the compact. First it was electrical issues, then a vacuum leak. I just couldn't get ahead while fixing it. Even now it runs, but not as well as it should.

After debating what to do with the car, I've finally settled on getting it ready to swap. Originally the plan had always been to S52 swap the car, but I ran into a good deal on a donor car. I found this 97 328i for next to nothing. ZF trans, and a few other good parts still left in the car. But the important part is the M52B28. After parting it out I should be ahead on the whole thing.



This thing has had a very hard life, but all of the stuff I need is still there. The plan is to yank out the M52 and ZF trans, refresh everything and upgrade where need be.



After everything I need has been pulled off of this sedan, it's off to be scrapped. The good news is, this car is meeting the end of it's life so that three others can continue on. So I don't feel too bad about junking it.

[BMW_Hatchback]

Update nao

[anassa]

Originally Posted by BMW_Hatchback

Update nao

This.

[Bwwaaaa]

I was waiting for some good news before I updated the thread, but I'll post what I have now.

I pulled the motor and trans for the sedan, as well as a few other parts that I could part out. I knew the thing had a hard life, but the deeper I dug into the car, the more I worried about the actual drivetrain.



The story the guy I bought the donor car from gave me, was he bought the car, it ran fine but it had a bad fuel pump and he couldn't work on it. There were signs that they had started the fuel pump, and a new one was sitting in the car. He also claimed he put in the battery backwards and fried a few things, something I was less encouraged about. I figured in the worst case scenario, I could still part out the car and make my money back. So out came the motor, I sold the ZF (as I already have one ready to go) and a bunch of small bits that I had no use for. I was in only $100 for the motor and harness at this point.



Sure enough though, the guy had lied to me, a leak down test revealed a blown head gasket and a failed exhaust valve on cylinder one. Opening up the motor, 3 of the cylinders were seriously scored, and one piston was pretty pitted. The oil that came out was chocolate milk. Not the best photo, but you get the idea. When I confronted the seller about this, he said (and I quote) "I said it ran, I never specified to what degree".



This is definitely on me, I should have figured with the condition of the rest of the car, this was a likely possibility. I was so excited about the swap, I didn't think things through when picking up this car. If I didn't rush things I probably would have walked away from the sedan.

Luckily I'm not out any money after the part out, and I have some useful parts for the swap as well as my other ti shell (front subframe, steering rack, etc). I have calipers for a brake upgrade, and some other spare parts from the motor. Things still worked out for the better, just not for the swap.

Currently I'm searching for another M52, and this time I only need a longblock as I have a harness and all the accessories now. Hopefully I'll have some better news soon. Definitely a bummer, but just a temporary set back.

[anassa]

Wow, sorry about that, seems like the seller was a douche. It is important for craigslist, ebay, forum sale sites, to work and people need to be strait forward to foster basic trust in order for those mediums of sale to work. Too bad.

Keep it up!

[Bwwaaaa]

Originally Posted by anassa

Wow, sorry about that, seems like the seller was a douche. It is important for craigslist, ebay, forum sale sites, to work and people need to be strait forward to foster basic trust in order for those mediums of sale to work. Too bad.

Keep it up!

Yeah, I was pretty shocked at his response. I had given him the benefit of the doubt up until that point, but he definitely pulled one over on me. It's a shame, but I'll just take proper precautions with leak down/compression tests in the future. If at all possible, I might try to find a running donor this time around, just so I can actually have the engine running in front of me before I drop it in.