No start thread, I know, I know...

[steel330i]

Day: 1 after swap...Ok fellow M42 neighbors, I've searched as best as I can for any and all "not starting" threads from previous people...well I'm at a loss...So here's the story, my head gasket blew oh say 2 years ago, I've been lazy/loose with money on other projects, renovated a house to get it rented out and bought another house all with a daughter and another kid on the way in October...needless to say, I've been busy and priorities shifted, a lot...so last weekend a friend and I successfully conducted in a long Saturday a swap from my blown M42 (with a cracked head) from my 1991 318i Sedan to another M42 from a 1991 318is, te previous owner said that he had no issues with the motor but wanted to do a swap and was just selling the motor, given that his 318is was now sporting an S50 I assumed he wasn't kidding around. So we do the swap and discover that I lost my OEM key, so I had the dealer cut me a new one and my starter was bad, bench tested at AZ and sure enough its gone, so new starter gets put in, add new gas and fuel filter, new plugs and wires and presto lets get it crankin'!!... well no luck, M42 swap 1, me 0...try a few different symptoms that are typical...check ground wire to motor mount is good and battery is good, recheck all hoses under the intake manifold and secured, still nothing, it cranks and just nothing, then just starts to dwindle down in volume of the cranking noises...then it once "backfired" aka it blew off the connection to the ICV and blew the hose off of it from the manifold...also the only noises that I can guaranteed hear at "Key on" position is ABS coming up and antenna and CD changer coming on...maybe the fuel pump but not for sure, I do know that the spark plugs are getting fuel on them...any ideas or direction would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance!

Day 2:
so CPS is good, nothing new on fuel pump...seriously at a loss of ideas..plug looks like theyre getting fuel and spark...anything is appreciated...TIA

Day 9:
Ok gents, so today I tested out the fuel pump, definintely getting fuel to the cylinders, compression (keeping in mind its a cold motor with no start for over 3 years at this point) was about 90psi in each cylinder +/- 2-3psi per cylinder. Also this through us for a loop, we sprayed a little, and I mean little, amount of starter fluid spray into the TB, upon cranking the motor a "Hongkong No Shitter" fireball and flame shot out of the TB, it then stayed on fire until we blew it out!! It was exciting to say the least... So I'm thinking that there are three potential items causing the no start...compression, wrong plugs from Autozone that are too deep and being flooded by fuel and not receiving the spark or timing!! Timing, I think, is correct, the "A" cam goes to Exhaust and the "E" cam is for Intake, all set at TDC for #1 cylinder. Is there any reason why that should be fixed/changed?? We did test the fuse and relay for voltage at the fuel pump relay and got nothing, but definitely have fuel on the spark plugs. Please provide anything, I mean anything and I will check it out for a possible idea at troubleshooting this thing...I'm starting to feel urgency to get it running with the new baby coming in October and also a little deflated a mostly successful motor swap (my first). TIA!!

-Travis

[Dj Buttchug]

bro reverse the fuel lines

[steel330i]

fuel lines? how so, do they cross under the manifold? if the hard lines are set and the two rubber ones are straight off of them, how could get they get mixed up? Thanks I will try it though...keep 'em coming if anyone has anything else...TIA

[oldmann]

You have fire to plugs in the wrong order, Fire out the TB, is intake valve open when that cyl. gets spark. CK your plug wires (at plugs and on coils) for correct firing order.

Also what DJ said, fuel lines, where they leave the frame rail to the fuel rail, easy to cross up.

[steel330i]

ok, I'll check them today, thanks again fellas....just to clarify the coil order of 1-2-3-4 correlates to cylinder 1-2-3-4 starting from the front of the car correct??

[Vanilla Gorilla]

ok, I'll check them today, thanks again fellas....just to clarify the coil order of 1-2-3-4 correlates to cylinder 1-2-3-4 starting from the front of the car correct??

No.. Check out this article:

http://blog.bavauto.com/11164/bmw-318i-m42-coil-pack-spark-plug-wire-and-firing-order-318is-318ic-318ti-z3/

[steel330i]

Update....so with the new wires in proper firing order, same result....we used a little starter fluid to help things along and the hose from the back of the intake manifold that connects to the ICV blew off and the ICV made an interesting pop noise...any ideas? TIA

Update...didnt mention it before but does anyone have a good pic of Mess under the Intake mod completed, just in case I messed up the hoses? TIA

[steel330i]

Update! The M42 turned over!!! However, due to dead battery, throttle cable and multiple issues with the spark plug wires it will not hold a solid idle...also its keeps trying to blow out the ICV and the hose will not stay on that ICV...lastly there is milky/steamy looking residue on the oil cap, yet no coolant on spark plugs and lots of whiteish smoke and rusty colored liquid coming from the tail pipe. I'm assuming that most of this is due to the motor sitting for almost 3 years and its just burning off a lot of residue and build up, however, not sure about the oil cap since the head gasket is new and head was freshly cleaned...any ideas or advice for the idle, or liquid situations?? TIA

[RCtheRed]

http://www.m42club.com/forum/index.php?topic=2742.315

Mess under the intake thread, halfway down is the diagram.

When was the last time you changed the oil or cracked open the valve cover to change the gasket and clean up under there? Also if coolant is leaking into the cylinders your spark plugs should appear to be steam cleaned and it is unlikely you would have coolant residue, you'd just be left with super clean spark plugs.

With your non existent idle the problem could be lack of enough fuel or air. How many parts have you already replaced? Have you troubleshooted the sensors?

[steel330i]

can't explain the white smoke...seems like like water and oil are mixing somewhere and coming out of the tail pipe...no indications on the spark plugs or visibly in cylinders...brand new head gasket and I bought the block off of CL, I can only assume that this block is toast somewhere inside...any thoughts or ideas? TIA

[Eurich]

I'm having the exact same issues as you, even down to the starting fluid exploding out of the TB. Yes, very exciting btw. I just replaced my headgasket and studs, which had no visible flaws, as well as all the vacuum hoses and plugs and wires. Also a new radiator, water pump and thermostat as overheating was the reason I parked it. Same situation with sit time. The car has been in my driveway since I overheated it really bad a couple years ago. My fuel is clean and flowing well as I've replaced the fuel pump and filter as well. I'm just at a loss and it's very frustrating. Hearing the engine kick once or twice, just to die time and again is disheartening to say the least. The only thing I would say is slightly different is when the line for the ICV blows off the valve cover, the whole intake assembly (boot, filter) sucks in then blows out. It's almost like there is detonation in the intake or, as a previous poster had said, the valves are opening wrong. I know this isn't the issue though, as I've just redone the HG and while the head was off everything was inspected and appeared to be fine. No signs of unusual stress or cracks. As a matter of fact the pistons were insanely clean and the cylinder walls looked great. All compression tests check out to spec. I've gone over the whole thing multiple times and just can't figure it out. Very frustrating to say the least. If you get yours to run please let me know the steps you took, I'd really like to get her going before the snow hits. We all know how fun these little ladies are in the snow and rain ;) TIA.