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[sticksdaman]

I am having an issue with my 24v swapped 89 325i. Specs are as follows:
OBD1 M52b28
red label 413 DME
m20 starter/flywheel
zf320

Recently I have been having an issue with the idle/power delivery. The car ran fine for the first 50 or so miles. recently the car has a rough/lopey idle along with a check engine light. The car feels like its running on 3 cylinders and there is a delay in responsiveness.

The vacuum lines are all tight and connected, icv functioning and cleaned.

I thought the issue may be related to the vibration damper because i noticed it had somewhat of a wobble to it, likely due to the AC pulley being bent/damaged. I removed the pulley and installed washers with the bolts to compensate for the thickness of the AC pulley. I started her up and she ran wonderfully then a mile or so later, the check engine light flickers and then comes back on along with the lopey idle/poor responsiveness/lack of power. :?

Pop the hood with the engine running and notice there is still a slight wobble so I tighten the bolts about half a turn and one of them breaks off on me at the head. I remove the bolt directly across from it in an attempt to balance it out. start the car up, no check engine, smooth idle. About a mile or so down the road the light is back on and so is the idle and everything else...

Could it be fuel related?
Where should I look next?

[Nick325is]

I know this sounds simple but I had a similar issue that was caused by a vacuum leak under the intake manifold. A new hose solved my idle and CEL issue.

Hopefully, its something as simple as that.

[greyis89]

I'm getting sputters all throughout shifting. Looked at all the stuff you've mentioned and I know I'm running way too rich. Looking into trying a new maf and fixing a small vac leak at my booster. I've also learned the poor power can be due to vanos timing along with mixture, even a slight overlooked wiring mishap I haven't been able to get clear ideas about. Good luck, we're on the hunt for proper running 24v swaps together. Though she drives like crap still my swaped dd gets me 30ish miles everyday, god love her. Hope I can face palm and fix this soon.

[sticksdaman]

@ Nick
I'm gunna look under the intake and make sure everything is connected. I know i ziptied the connector for the icv so that bad boy is snug... I'm going to double check and make sure that tiny hose from the crank case vent is connected still, I was working under there recently hooking up my throttle cable bracket and might've knocked it loose. I'll update you guys in the morning with what I find.

@greyis89
Sputter is a great way to describe it. I drove her a few times but since ive been having this issue I'm honestly a bit embarrassed to have her driving around like this. She feels slower than when i had my m20!

It just blows my mind because the car will run like a CHAMP for a bit and then get all moody on me.

Thanks for the replies fellas, if nothing else its moral support!

[10Toes]

did you scan your codes?

[sticksdaman]

I don't have a scanner and the stomp test didnt/doesnt work.

Checked the hose from the crank case vent and its connected securely.

[shiboujin]

do your spark plug holes have water in them?

[sticksdaman]

Haven't checked but I'm not sure why they would? The hood has been on and closed during any rain we've had.

What would cause that?

[shiboujin]

surface tension. I've seen it happen to about 4 M50 swap E30s now. If you have the valve cover cover it usually isn't an issue though. If you don't use a valve cover cover, it's very likely.

[sticksdaman]

Interesting, I haven't been running the valve cover-cover, water would cause these symptoms? I'll pull the plugs when I get home and see what's what. Is there any risk of damage to the head because of the water? Wipe out the water and install the cover and that's it?

[Fusion]

Carefully remove the coils and before you take the plugs out, get a flashlight a check for water so that if there is any, you don't take the plug out and water will go in the cyl. If there is water in them, I guess it would be best to use a vacuum.
Water can cause your plugs to crack. Some cracks can't be seen, so if you do find water, I'd recommend changing the plugs.
Water won't do any damage to the head itself.

[shiboujin]

Water in the coil area will cause stuttering and general loss of power. If really bad, your car will cut out completely. But usually it's a hesitation and feeling like it was missing a few cylinders.

But yea vacuum out or what not. It won't kill the head. Might kill the spark plugs but doubtful. You should just be able to dry it up and be fine.

[sticksdaman]

didnt find any water in the plug holes. There was some oil around the base of the coils for cyls 1,2,3. I spilled a bit when I was changing the oil and thats probably where it came from. Reassembled everything, took her for a drive, about 5 6 miles, so far so good.

I'll update the thread if anything changes.