Car is on the road Finally!!! (My open season checklist of issues)

[Lakis]

Finally got my E30 M3/S52 car on the road for the first time in 3+ Years.

Running OBD1 with THouse Harness Adapter.

1. fuel pump is very loud
2. even though I put treehouse c.arm bushings, new tie rods, new sway bar links, l.weight control arms...my steering has lots of play especially at high speed. stock e30 m3 steering rack?
3. ABS light is lit constantly.
4. Temp gauge doesn't work (was I supposed to do something to make this work?)
5. Oil temp gauge doesn't work.
6. MY SRS light blinks EVERY Time I begin a drive .(Sometimes continuously)
7. Odometer doesn't work but speedometer and RPM does.

Positives: the car rips, sounds great and for all season tires, they're pretty good.

Any advice is appreciated; I am still a novice at best.

[FredK]

Running OBD1 with THouse Harness Adapter.
1. fuel pump is very loud

I am uncertain of the fuel pump setup on the late S14 cars. If it is a combination of a lift/main fuel pump, you might have a weak lift pump. The only real way to check things out is to inspect each pump's output.

2. even though I put treehouse c.arm bushings, new tie rods, new sway bar links, l.weight control arms...my steering has lots of play especially at high speed. stock e30 m3 steering rack?

Did you get an alignment, and is the play only on center?

3. ABS light is lit constantly.

Does the THR harness power the ABS properly? Call them and ask.

4. Temp gauge doesn't work (was I supposed to do something to make this work?)

Yes, you need to either drill and tap the head, use a temp sender manifold from somewhere like The Racer's Market, Zionsville, or something like that.

5. Oil temp gauge doesn't work.

There's no oil temperature sender on the M/S5x unless you install an aftermarket unit.

6. MY SRS light blinks EVERY Time I begin a drive .(Sometimes continuously)

Mine does too, but I haven't really gotten the motivation to fix it.

7. Odometer doesn't work but speedometer and RPM does.

You likely have stripped gears in the odometer. Look up "stripped odometer gears" in General Technical. You'll likely have to pull the cluster and remove and replace the broken gears.

[Lakis]

I am uncertain of the fuel pump setup on the late S14 cars. If it is a combination of a lift/main fuel pump, you might have a weak lift pump. The only real way to check things out is to inspect each pump's output.

Will do; thanks. Did you know I am from Massachusetts? I had this car in East Cambridge for years before moving out west.

Did you get an alignment, and is the play only on center?
I did get an alignment and yes, the play is only on center.


Does the THR harness power the ABS properly? Call them and ask.
Will do. thx


Yes, you need to either drill and tap the head, use a temp sender manifold from somewhere like The Racer's Market, Zionsville, or something like that.
I used a tem sender manifold from Turner. not working ?


There's no oil temperature sender on the M/S5x unless you install an aftermarket unit.

Mine does too, but I haven't really gotten the motivation to fix it.


You likely have stripped gears in the odometer. Look up "stripped odometer gears" in General Technical. You'll likely have to pull the cluster and remove and replace the broken gears.

[FredK]

Ah, on-center play pretty much means that the pinion gear is worn, which means you'll need a new rack. You must have driven the car prior to the swap--did the rack feel any better before?

Yeah, that splitter from Turner does not work on an E30. You'll need an E30 temperature sender sampling the coolant temperature somewhere in the cooling system.

I actually work right on the East Cambridge - Somerville border.

[Lakis]

Ah, on-center play pretty much means that the pinion gear is worn, which means you'll need a new rack. You must have driven the car prior to the swap--did the rack feel any better before?

Yeah, that splitter from Turner does not work on an E30. You'll need an E30 temperature sender sampling the coolant temperature somewhere in the cooling system.

I actually work right on the East Cambridge - Somerville border.

Wow- that's funny. I loved East Cambridge!

So- if I am gonna replace the rack at some point; what is your opinion? Seems many use a 95' M3 rack unless I am mistaken.

It's a shame I didn't do it at the start...like when I had my subframe in the trunk of my other car and an empty engine bay. Oh well. AND I just changed my tie rod ends! hahahahah

Idiot! (me)

[Lakis]

THE TREEHOUSE RACING M50 ADAPTER DOES work for the abs LIGHT.

So then why would my ABS light be lit? Can only the factory reset this?

[FredK]

Does the ABS light come on right when you start the engine, or after the car moves forward a bit?

If it is after it moves, then a sensor is bad.

If it comes on right at startup, then the ABS fuse could be blown, the ABS relay could be bad, or the control unit could be bad. There are some writeups on fixing the ABS relay on this forum.

This is not something that a dealer can diagnose / reset, because the breakout box for the E30 ABS system is older than dirt, and few people have them sticking around any more.

[Lakis]

Does the ABS light come on right when you start the engine, or after the car moves forward a bit?

If it is after it moves, then a sensor is bad.

If it comes on right at startup, then the ABS fuse could be blown, the ABS relay could be bad, or the control unit could be bad. There are some writeups on fixing the ABS relay on this forum.

This is not something that a dealer can diagnose / reset, because the breakout box for the E30 ABS system is older than dirt, and few people have them sticking around any more.

Thanks for your help.
Ok, to be clear. Immediately upon startup ABS light is on and stays on.
I tried to lock my brakes up today and was successful. (yay!)

That said- My abs is not working. It worked just fine before the swap, but the car did sit for 4 years without being driven once.

I don't know which fuse is the ABS fuse; but I checked all under the hood fuses and saw not one that was tripped. However, which relay is the ABS relay? I suppose I could check on the forum or real oem.

Thanks for saving me a trip to the dealer.

[Lakis]

Oh- what is this part called? Right now there is no hose there on my car. Where does that hose go to?

[7pilot]

There is supposed to be a one way PCV valve at that port.
Excess crankcase pressure and oil/oil vapor are routed out to a separator which feeds the vapor back into the intake and the oil back to the oil pan.
You can add a suitable piece of hose with the OBD1 PCV and a further length of hose to a catch can of about 1 qt.

Avoid an arrangement where the system becomes a siphon.



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[Lakis]

Finally got my E30 M3/S52 car on the road for the first time in 3+ Years.
UPDATE TO ORIGINAL!

Running OBD1 with THouse Harness Adapter.

1. fuel pump is very loud
I am going to replace the FUEL FILTER. Can I fit a larger one? Any recommendations on replacement?

2. even though I put treehouse c.arm bushings, new tie rods, new sway bar links, l.weight control arms...my steering has lots of play especially at high speed. stock e30 m3 steering rack?
Sounds like an E36 Rack at some point is the way to go.

3. ABS light is lit constantly.
Thanks for the help. I will try to replace my ABS relay ($25) under drivers side dash.

4. Temp gauge doesn't work (was I supposed to do something to make this work?)
TMS sensor doesn't work for the swap.

5. Oil temp gauge doesn't work.
No Solution
6. MY SRS light blinks EVERY Time I begin a drive .(Sometimes continuously)
Apparently the AIRBAG at 20 years old is dangerous and I should consider eliminating my stearing wheel with something else.

7. Odometer doesn't work but speedometer and RPM does.
This is working fine now; not going to mess with a new speedo.

Positives: the car rips, sounds great and for all season tires, they're pretty good.

Any advice is appreciated; I am still a novice at best.

[FredK]

The stock fuel filter is already pretty good.

[m3boost]

ABS relay is under the driver side panel next to the steering wheel. If I remember correctly, it's next the ABS module... Remove the cover from the relay. There's a fusable link that might be blown inside the relay.