Hello,
I bought my first e30 about 6 months back. I picked it up in Pasco, WA and drove it the 4 hours to Seattle without any *major* issues. (My throttle cable came unhooked from the pedal, and I had to duct tape it back to get home the last hour :D)
The car was purchased as my first real project. I’m a computer scientist, and have strong engineering fundamentals but about no knowledge of engines (yet). I have been working to clean it up, starting with a fluid swap and timing belt change. The belt wasn’t terrible, but since I had no clue when the last time it was changed, I decided best to do it now and be certain, since I know a broken belt can cause catastrophic engine damage.
So, I went ahead and got all the parts for a full fluid flush and belt change / tune up, including a new water pump, distributor cap/rotor, etc. (kept my ignition wires). I stripped it all down, following the Bentley manual and various online videos / forums here, and put it all back together, including the new distributor cap.
Once I got it together, it wouldn’t start. I figured maybe since it was my first time doing the job, perhaps I slipped a tooth on the belt or something. So, I stripped it down and re did it.
Again, no start. I figured, damn I’m kind of a noob, maybe 3rd times the charm. But, just in case, I threw the old distributor back on and plugs, and ensured the c1 was plugged into 1 on the distributor cap, and so forth. I also tested the fuel pressure, and spark. I had both, and plenty of them. I noticed sometimes when cranking, that it seemed to kind of back fire on maybe one cyl, but very rarely and usually after I stopped cranking.
When double (like quadruple at this point) checking my timing marks, I used a screwdriver to also verify C1 was at top dead center, even after cranking it a few times. It all was right, TDC with the timing marks both aligned. I did notice however, that my rotor mount was facing 180 degrees from every manual and video I saw. First photo is an example of someone else’s, 2nd is mine. 3rd shows how the cam has an alignment hole, which prevents me from mounting the sprocket, and rotor up any other way.
I noticed that the rotor is set to strike c6 when aligned at TDC, so, I swapped my 1/6, 2/5, and 3/4 wires going into my distributor cap, and boom the engine fired right up, sounds and runs just as it did before when I first got it.
I have talked to a few buddies locally, and one who's friend had done 25+ M20 timing belts and never seen this. Does anyone know what’s going on? I have no history on the motor, no clue what previous owners may have done. All I know is that it still seems to run strong. Am I at risk of anything?
I bought my first e30 about 6 months back. I picked it up in Pasco, WA and drove it the 4 hours to Seattle without any *major* issues. (My throttle cable came unhooked from the pedal, and I had to duct tape it back to get home the last hour :D)
The car was purchased as my first real project. I’m a computer scientist, and have strong engineering fundamentals but about no knowledge of engines (yet). I have been working to clean it up, starting with a fluid swap and timing belt change. The belt wasn’t terrible, but since I had no clue when the last time it was changed, I decided best to do it now and be certain, since I know a broken belt can cause catastrophic engine damage.
So, I went ahead and got all the parts for a full fluid flush and belt change / tune up, including a new water pump, distributor cap/rotor, etc. (kept my ignition wires). I stripped it all down, following the Bentley manual and various online videos / forums here, and put it all back together, including the new distributor cap.
Once I got it together, it wouldn’t start. I figured maybe since it was my first time doing the job, perhaps I slipped a tooth on the belt or something. So, I stripped it down and re did it.
Again, no start. I figured, damn I’m kind of a noob, maybe 3rd times the charm. But, just in case, I threw the old distributor back on and plugs, and ensured the c1 was plugged into 1 on the distributor cap, and so forth. I also tested the fuel pressure, and spark. I had both, and plenty of them. I noticed sometimes when cranking, that it seemed to kind of back fire on maybe one cyl, but very rarely and usually after I stopped cranking.
When double (like quadruple at this point) checking my timing marks, I used a screwdriver to also verify C1 was at top dead center, even after cranking it a few times. It all was right, TDC with the timing marks both aligned. I did notice however, that my rotor mount was facing 180 degrees from every manual and video I saw. First photo is an example of someone else’s, 2nd is mine. 3rd shows how the cam has an alignment hole, which prevents me from mounting the sprocket, and rotor up any other way.
I noticed that the rotor is set to strike c6 when aligned at TDC, so, I swapped my 1/6, 2/5, and 3/4 wires going into my distributor cap, and boom the engine fired right up, sounds and runs just as it did before when I first got it.
I have talked to a few buddies locally, and one who's friend had done 25+ M20 timing belts and never seen this. Does anyone know what’s going on? I have no history on the motor, no clue what previous owners may have done. All I know is that it still seems to run strong. Am I at risk of anything?
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