My '87 325 - Nörm

[superj]

its the 027 afm. pop the hood and loosen the spring a few clicks. since its for an m30 motor, the spring is set for more vacuum then our motor makes. when you loosen that spring and mess it to find the sweet spot, it will fix the problems you are having.

[128keaton]

its the 027 afm. pop the hood and loosen the spring a few clicks. since its for an m30 motor, the spring is set for more vacuum then our motor makes. when you loosen that spring and mess it to find the sweet spot, it will fix the problems you are having.

Totally forgot to check! Thank you, will dk


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[128keaton]

I adjusted it about 7-8 teeth out. Will continue to adjust, just paranoid right now about the ticking I’m hearing.

I pulled the plugs just to check. They looked pretty good, save for one:

Far right looked sketchy.


I believe this was from cylinder 4.

I also noticed a bit of smoke coming from the oil fill cap once removed.

I’m really wondering if timing is off a tooth.

Video of oil cap smoke:
https://youtu.be/HocrZ1uuBL4

Video of revving trying to capture the ticking the engine makes:
https://youtu.be/fa01zAcJY_E

Video of the exhaust after a cold start (smells strong, but not like coolant)
https://youtu.be/0NR76mRKEPs

If I have time this weekend I am going to double check timing and double check valve clearances. Something just isn’t right.

SuperJ, I will continue to adjust my AFM according to your instructions.





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[128keaton]

Also snagged a pic of the o2 wiring.


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[superj]

normally, the engines make a ticking noise because the eccentrics are worn at the rockers. I have only had one e30 that didn't have the light valve ticking sound.

I cannot play your video so I assume that is the noise you are hearing. work computers are locked down to almost all videos.

maybe you can go to the junkyard and look for the o2 end you need from an e36, or another model of car? that end has to be shared on something else, maybe Volvos, Mercedes, ford, something? than you can look for it that way, too?

[128keaton]

normally, the engines make a ticking noise because the eccentrics are worn at the rockers. I have only had one e30 that didn't have the light valve ticking sound.

I cannot play your video so I assume that is the noise you are hearing. work computers are locked down to almost all videos.

maybe you can go to the junkyard and look for the o2 end you need from an e36, or another model of car? that end has to be shared on something else, maybe Volvos, Mercedes, ford, something? than you can look for it that way, too?

There is a ticking noise that is very different from the valves that is present that the video couldn’t capture. I’m going to do a compression test on it and probably tear it down for the timing belt to make sure I did it right. I’m almost sure that it’s one tooth off. It just runs so bad, MAF is still plausible, but even running disconnected there’s still a miss of sorts.

Good call on the O2 sensor, I’ll see what else is compatible and start looking in junkyards. Wiring is still a mystery to me.

I have a line on a good B25 AFM/airbox and known good 173 ECU for a good price, might buy those just to eliminate any other variables. The ECU I currently have was given to me with a warning of “it might work, it might not”


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[128keaton]

I think I have got the O2 sensor wiring figured out


Based off this diagram:



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[superj]

looks like it.

I would definitely go back to stock so you can rule out possible mismatch issues. that's what I told my son on his since he is having the exact same issues. his, turns out, is his fuel pump though. my younger son and I popped the hood on his car and started checking because he was getting aggravated and had to go to work and we decided his fuel pump is not working. its making noise and getting power but when I pulled the return line from the regulator, nothing comes out. we pulled the regulator off and barely any fuel dribbles out when the car is coughing and trying to idle.

I know his pump is questionable so I told him to get a new fuel pump and we would start trouble shooting from stock if it still won't run when the new pump is in. we would swap the stock ecu and afm from the black e30 so we would be starting from a known good point.

[128keaton]

looks like it.

I would definitely go back to stock so you can rule out possible mismatch issues. that's what I told my son on his since he is having the exact same issues. his, turns out, is his fuel pump though. my younger son and I popped the hood on his car and started checking because he was getting aggravated and had to go to work and we decided his fuel pump is not working. its making noise and getting power but when I pulled the return line from the regulator, nothing comes out. we pulled the regulator off and barely any fuel dribbles out when the car is coughing and trying to idle.

I know his pump is questionable so I told him to get a new fuel pump and we would start trouble shooting from stock if it still won't run when the new pump is in. we would swap the stock ecu and afm from the black e30 so we would be starting from a known good point.

So I pulled timing belt off, was off about a tooth.

Yikes.

I don't think any valves got bent, fortunately.

After putting back together, ran great. Until the weep hole on the water pump started spewing. Gonna call around locally to see if I can find a water pump tomorrow.

I also need to "tighten" the AFM gear since I'm pretty sure this was already adjusted for an E30. I thought the throttle cable was sticking when it got warm, but I think it was idling up crazy because of no O2 and the AFM being over-adjusted. Just a theory.
Still going to pursue the 173 ECU and the stock AFM/airbox just to make sure.

Ran sooooo much better though. Had good power.

The clicking/ticking noise that I was mentioning above I believe to be the water pump bearing going. I'm thinking that it just sat for a bit too long and had rust in it. The coolant coming out after draining a bit to get to the timing belt was pretty brown. I DO plan to move to BMW blue coolant asap, but I wanted to run the cheap stuff through to clean it out.

After getting it driveable, the diff is next.

[superj]

Sounds good.

Being one tooth off won't bend valves, so no worries there and yes, afm spring is probably too loose. Maybe around 4-6 teeth is around where it should be clockwise of the original spot

[mtemple43]

hey Norm-
Just joined the Forum because I have a 1987 325 that I need to find a new owner for. Mine is 5 speed manual with 163k original miles. I am the second owner, and, have records going back 20 years or so. The body has some rust and the paint is very worn, but, the car I has a strong engine and BRAND NEW tires.... Anyway, if you have any interest in a twin car to pull parts from, let me know. Or a beater to drive around for that matter...

[128keaton]

hey Norm-
Just joined the Forum because I have a 1987 325 that I need to find a new owner for. Mine is 5 speed manual with 163k original miles. I am the second owner, and, have records going back 20 years or so. The body has some rust and the paint is very worn, but, the car I has a strong engine and BRAND NEW tires.... Anyway, if you have any interest in a twin car to pull parts from, let me know. Or a beater to drive around for that matter...

Hey man,

I’m assuming it has an ETA motor?
How is the interior?


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[128keaton]

Found the loud clicking noise. Also found out why the water pump failed.

New one going in tomorrow.


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[128keaton]

Sounds good.

Being one tooth off won't bend valves, so no worries there and yes, afm spring is probably too loose. Maybe around 4-6 teeth is around where it should be clockwise of the original spot

Good!

I reverted it to when I received it. Hopefully it idles better.


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[128keaton]

Water pump was reinstalled and block was flushed. Refilled with OEM blue coolant.

Much quieter, but still no torque or power except in higher power bands. Gonna check for intake leaks, maybe tinker with AFM.




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[superj]

there was nut in the water pump? dude, that's crazy

[128keaton]

there was nut in the water pump? dude, that's crazy

Lucky it didn’t go elsewhere honestly. I dunno what it came off of, how it got in there, or if I should go buy a lotto ticket.




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[superj]

for sure. luckily in the cooling system there is not to much stuff but the pump, thermostat and heater core but wow!

its always interesting to me to see stuff that have appeared in engines that don't belong there. stuff in oil pans, air filters, and now cooling systems

[128keaton]

for sure. luckily in the cooling system there is not to much stuff but the pump, thermostat and heater core but wow!

its always interesting to me to see stuff that have appeared in engines that don't belong there. stuff in oil pans, air filters, and now cooling systems

I’ve found nuts, sockets, bolts, etc in intake valleys and whatnot. Never anything in the oil pan, hopefully I haven’t Jinxed myself.


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[superj]

Ha ha ha, i have found nuts, washers, and sockets in oil pans and the engines ran fine. I figure better the pan then somewhere else.


I was wrong on how much we moved our afm settings. Check out the picture20200124_170219.jpg20200124_170219.jpg

[128keaton]

Ha ha ha, i have found nuts, washers, and sockets in oil pans and the engines ran fine. I figure better the pan then somewhere else.


I was wrong on how much we moved our afm settings. Check out the picture20200124_170219.jpg20200124_170219.jpg

Them ain't rattles boy, thems features! Lol. Agreed, the pan is a nice place as long as it doesn't get caught in the pickup.

Thanks for the pic, I'll adjust accordingly when I get the chance. I had to move out of my old place this weekend, so not much time was available. However, I did receive new rear shocks and a new rotor for the dizzy today. The old one was stripping and cracked. Still need to wire up O2. Lol, I should just set that as my signature.

[superj]

new shocks can be so nice.

moving is a bummer.

[128keaton]

new shocks can be so nice.

moving is a bummer.

Especially in the rear. The factory shocks were still on.



Also reattached the swaybar with new brackets. Looking for a good way to secure the battery properly. It needs a new one, unfortunately. Batteries for this are surprisingly, relatively, expensive.

I wired up the O2 sensor and tweaked the AFM wheel. I never made a reference mark like an idiot, but should be receiving a B25 AFM soon. Runs great now, still needs some adjusting of the AFM. Throttle response isn’t fantastic from idle.

The wiring ended up being pretty easy. The two white wires from the O2 were actually the heater wires. The gray was Signal - and the black was Signal GND. On the engine harness side, the two shielded wires went to the signal ends on the O2: black to black, brown to gray. The heater doesn’t have polarity, so the blue-striped-green wire and the brown wire just hooked up to either one of the gray wires. Worked great! Measured voltage on the signal lines.

I did replace the O2 sensor with Bosch P/N 15717. Threaded in great, just cut the loom and wired up.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=llH_XKcypQo

[superj]

Cool

[ZeroDarkE30]

I have to do a full suspension overhaul, but im limiting myself to getting the engine and trans fully sealed up again first before i start taking on other things. I started my project with doing the whole brake system but now i just have really nice new brakes on a car that doesnt move lol.