Pre-oil before first start?

[88E30M50]

Hey Folks,
I'm about ready to try starting the 88 for the first time after the M50 swap and was wondering what the concensus was on pre-oiling before a dry start. The engine had no work done to it except for new seals and gaskets but has not been started in a couple of years. I was thinking of squirting a bit of oil in each cylinder and turning the engine over without the plugs until oil pressure built.

My concern is regarding the coil packs. I think I read that you cannot turn the engine over with the coil packs disconnected without risking damage to the ECU. Is that true? If not, what kind of routine do most of you do before starting an engine that has not ticked over for a couple of years?

Thanks,
Tim

[MR 325]

Unplug the ECU and just crank the engine for a bit to circulate the oil.

[PiercedE30]

Yup.

[Money$hit]

If Im running around in my M50 car with one coil pack disconnected, will it disrupt the ECU?

[88E30M50]

Unplug the ECU and just crank the engine for a bit to circulate the oil.

Sounds good. I think I'll try to irritate the neighbors with some open pipes after work tomorrow. Wish me luck.

[MR 325]

If Im running around in my M50 car with one coil pack disconnected, will it disrupt the ECU?

Why would you do that?

[Money$hit]

Why would you do that?

Long story, but somehow im not getting spark/the coil is bad. Its unplugged so I dont just dump gas into a cylinder with no spark.

[hoveringuy]

Long story, but somehow im not getting spark/the coil is bad. Its unplugged so I dont just dump gas into a cylinder with no spark.

Huh? Did you disconnect the injector for that cylinder?

[Money$hit]

the plug that plugs into the coil will cut the fuel too if you disconnect it, right?

[Dominic49]

the plug that plugs into the coil will cut the fuel too if you disconnect it, right?

ummmmm is this a trick question?

[AL GReeNeRy]

ummmmm is this a trick question?

LOL! the answer is NO. unplug the injector

[Money$hit]

LOL! the answer is NO. unplug the injector

How do you do that, all the injectors are attached to the rail, and it seems you cannot just disconnect one.

I disconnected the plug to the coil because i thought that cylinder is misfiring, and the car seemed to run better/have more power. Im at a loss of what to think right now..?

[jakeb]

what is the actual problem? why run on only 5 cylinders?

[Money$hit]

what is the actual problem? why run on only 5 cylinders?

Well, I hate to thread jack, but ill go ahead.

The car began to missfire, so I began to try to weed out issues. I did some basic things, a fuel filter, plugs, ran some seafoam through it, etc. When pulling the plugs, I was pretty disgusted to find that they were the Bosch Platinum 4's. Upon pulling them one plug was missing all 4 electrodes, and I believe 2 other plugs were missing 1 electrode each. To further exacerbate the issue, the plug that was missing all 4 electrodes was loose in the plug hole, and was covered in oil. Long story short, I needed to put a helicoil in the plug hole to get a new plug in there securely. I believe the oil is from a valve cover gasket, which I have yet to replace. (could the oil cause a misfire?)

After restarting the car, the car seemed to run great for about a mile. Then the misfire reappeared. I pulled the plug out, and for some reason, the helicoil sleeve came with it. I inserted a new sleeve with a little more RTV silicon, and gave it another shot. The missfire returned again after about a mile.

I pulled the plug, and it is covered in oil again, electrodes are intact. I have a valve cover gasket on order. I have since pulled the plug to the coil pack on the cylinder (2nd closest to the firewall), because this is the problematic cylinder. As I posted above, the car ran better, seemed to missfire a little less, etc. My gas consumption seems to be less too, could be my imagination.

Again, Im at a loss for what to do. Ive got a valve cover gasket on order, I guess the next thing to do would be a new coil pack?