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Is this what an engine that "misses" is like?

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    Is this what an engine that "misses" is like?

    Before I go into a much longer and detailed post about what I think is a problem (though probably a minor problem), I want to get an opinion on if this is normal or not. I'm assuming it's not normal, but I don't spend a lot of time around other people's M20B25s. I'm not so much looking for a solution in this thread, as I am a few people saying "Yep, that's a problem" followed by "that's classic misfiring" or "That is likely something unrelated to fuel and spark".

    In case it's hard to tell, the change in sound and what sounds like the engine lagging for a split second is not rhythmic. With poly engine bushings, I can feel it in my seat almost more than I can hear it from inside the car.




    From the tale pipe. This ended up being more muted than I thought it would be, but besides the sound, it also exhibits a sort of puffing sound. If you were to measure the velocity of the exhaust gasses, I'm positive they would read differently around the time the engines misses.




    From inside. Notice how spot on the needle is. You can see a slight quiver between 15s and 18s. The needle only moves when a few of the misses line up back to back.




    Finally, here it is off of idle. The same thing happens, just with more frequency. Outside of the obvious change in the primary sound, you can hear little popping sounds that were rather muted by the mic. Also take note that in this one the camera is setting on the coolant reservoir and any shaking in the camera corresponds perfectly to the engine misbehaving.



    One last thing. When reviewing this video I noticed a sound that seems unrelated but shows up at about 25s and goes in and out through the end of the clip.
    -------------------------------------------------
    1989 - E30 - M20B25 - Manual. Approx 300,000+ miles - Track Rat & Weekend Fun
    2000 - E46 - M52TUB28 - Manual. Approx 130,000 miles - [not so] Daily Driver

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    I'm looking for a Lachssilber Passenger Fender and Hood. PM if you have one or both to sell!

    #2
    My car sounds a little like this, hope you find out. I was thinking it might be spark plugs or the distributor cap.
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      #3
      Originally posted by DaKine View Post
      My car sounds a little like this, hope you find out. I was thinking it might be spark plugs or the distributor cap.
      For you that might be a good bet. I've had the issue for 2 years and in that time replaced a lot of ignition parts chasing other problems. I always fix the problem, but this behavior is always there when I'm done. That is why I'll be posting a different thread if someone points to this as a problem, because I've eliminated a lot of likely causes already.
      -------------------------------------------------
      1989 - E30 - M20B25 - Manual. Approx 300,000+ miles - Track Rat & Weekend Fun
      2000 - E46 - M52TUB28 - Manual. Approx 130,000 miles - [not so] Daily Driver

      sigpic

      I'm looking for a Lachssilber Passenger Fender and Hood. PM if you have one or both to sell!

      Comment


        #4
        No other comments aye? Is that because no one that has viewed this knows, or because nothing can be discerned from the video? If you have the option, get a decent pair of headphones or speakers plugged up. I just used a crappy pair of headphones and realized most of frequencies are gone or distorted. On my good speakers it's a lot easier to distinguish changes in sound.
        -------------------------------------------------
        1989 - E30 - M20B25 - Manual. Approx 300,000+ miles - Track Rat & Weekend Fun
        2000 - E46 - M52TUB28 - Manual. Approx 130,000 miles - [not so] Daily Driver

        sigpic

        I'm looking for a Lachssilber Passenger Fender and Hood. PM if you have one or both to sell!

        Comment


          #5
          Listening to it on a phone doesnt really work well, but it seems similar to the idle stumble issue my is has
          Originally posted by priapism
          My girl don't know shit, but she bakes a mean cupcake.
          Originally posted by shameson
          Usually it's best not to know how much money you have into your e30

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            #6
            This is interesting, I've heard it before but can't discern what it is. Other than that it sounds like you have a pretty healthy M20.
            Maybe its excess vibration caused by the stiffer bushings?
            Does it do it if the clutch is in?
            How're your belts?

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              #7
              Originally posted by CabbE30 View Post
              This is interesting, I've heard it before but can't discern what it is. Other than that it sounds like you have a pretty healthy M20.
              Maybe its excess vibration caused by the stiffer bushings?
              Does it do it if the clutch is in?
              How're your belts?
              More vibration, sure. But transitioning from butter smooth to vibration every couple seconds? We're talking about an inline 6 here :) even in an unbalanced rough sounding engine, the vibration is rhythmic and predictable. This is neither.

              Interesting though with the clutch I suppose. It's certainly not something I've looked at closely. My immediate inclination is to say it still does vibrate, because I don't shift into neutral at stop lights and I'm pretty sure it's always there at idle. I'll look into it though.

              It is a rather heathy M20, or so I like to think. It'll see a track day this Friday, followed by a Dyno day on Saturday. If I have good numbers I'll try to ignore it.. If I'm under spec (even for an old engine) I'm going to be attacking this issue, since its the only observable negative my engine has.
              -------------------------------------------------
              1989 - E30 - M20B25 - Manual. Approx 300,000+ miles - Track Rat & Weekend Fun
              2000 - E46 - M52TUB28 - Manual. Approx 130,000 miles - [not so] Daily Driver

              sigpic

              I'm looking for a Lachssilber Passenger Fender and Hood. PM if you have one or both to sell!

              Comment

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