Help trying to get the car running!

[GodOfChugs]

First and foremost, I wasn't 100% sure where to put this so please feel free to move!

I have a 1990 325i Convertible with 93k Original miles on it. To make a REALLY long story fairly short, I acquired it from my dad who had it sitting in a warehouse untouched for 10 years. Replaced fuses, changed oil, drained the gas tank (doesn't look the prettiest), filled up and cycled through gas a few times to get the cruddies out. Replaced spark plugs a few times.

I'll be the first to admit, I'm not necessarily mechanically inclined. I actually wanted to use the E30 as a learning point :)

but anywho back with the story! You can turn the key, it sounds like it's cranking and it'll start up, run really rough and IF you let it get to idle, it'll bog and stall out. At this point if you trying turning the key over again it's a 50% chance if it wants to turn over.

What I noticed today with a friend is that there's a crack in my air intake boot (the one that connects to the manifold) and it's leaking what looks like gas. Got underneath the car and you can see a gear inside of my transmission... I feel like that's not good?

Well anyway, any suggestions, idea or help you can provide would be very much appreciated and thank you in advance!

[e30davie]

been sitting for 10years? thats a long time. You put a known good battery in it?

If you have it spluttering then that is a good sign. The above should get you closer to getting it running, then once it is running you can start replacing worn components systematically.

Heres how i would attack it,
1 - give it a quick compressoin test - least you know where you stand on engine condition
2- fix all air leaks, nothing can leak on this motor as it has an air flow meter. check every hose, they must all not leak ever. that crack in the boot can cause big problems.
3- Figure out if the fuel pump is any good. After 10 years of sitting probably worth just buying a new one, or at the least using a known good one (just to get it running). and put a new fuel filter in it.
4- check the distributor cap and rotor for corrosion, clean it off with sandpaper for now if there is some - look to replace if you get the motor going

[GodOfChugs]

been sitting for 10years? thats a long time. You put a known good battery in it?

If you have it spluttering then that is a good sign. The above should get you closer to getting it running, then once it is running you can start replacing worn components systematically.

Heres how i would attack it,
1 - give it a quick compressoin test - least you know where you stand on engine condition
2- fix all air leaks, nothing can leak on this motor as it has an air flow meter. check every hose, they must all not leak ever. that crack in the boot can cause big problems.
3- Figure out if the fuel pump is any good. After 10 years of sitting probably worth just buying a new one, or at the least using a known good one (just to get it running). and put a new fuel filter in it.
4- check the distributor cap and rotor for corrosion, clean it off with sandpaper for now if there is some - look to replace if you get the motor going

Thanks for the advice! I forgot to mention I replaced the fuel pump and filter as well!

I will try the other things the next day we get that's warm here in Maryland and I'm also thinking I might order a new hose kit (couldn't hurt to swap them, mine are brittle anyways) and maybe convert the stock air intake to a short ram... seems like less problems and will clean up engine bay room a little