PROBLEM SOLVED: Failed keyway/woodruff key on crank and crank end gear, to which the harmonic balancer bolts. Timing was therefore WAY off (both cam and spark). See page 3.
Power is now normal - torque is great, idle is dead steady at 650. She's a runner!!!
[Original post below]
Well, damn it.
Just picked up a cheap '88 cabrio over the weekend - great interior, manual transmission smooth as butter, suspension, brakes, top works nicely, looks decent... has heated seats that work! Neat.
But runs like a dog. Like, if this thing makes 80 HP, I will eat it. See:
I've had many e30s, currently have another 325is I can drive back to back, and it's SO SLOW. I drove it about 1,000 miles to get it home, and it got progressively worse - from just slow and unresponsive, to bucking and barely idling.
Symptoms:
Details of what's been tested/observations:
I feel like the timing could be way off. Could be a fueling issue, but the car never pings, under any load, and burbles on lift, so maybe too rich?
Since all the plugs look the same, I don't think any single injector is leaking.
I'm stumped. I plan on just plowing forward with a timing belt change (don't know when it was last done) and a valve adjust, just to know those aren't the problem... But what could this be?
Hoping it's something someone else has experienced and fixed.
Power is now normal - torque is great, idle is dead steady at 650. She's a runner!!!
[Original post below]
Well, damn it.
Just picked up a cheap '88 cabrio over the weekend - great interior, manual transmission smooth as butter, suspension, brakes, top works nicely, looks decent... has heated seats that work! Neat.
But runs like a dog. Like, if this thing makes 80 HP, I will eat it. See:
I've had many e30s, currently have another 325is I can drive back to back, and it's SO SLOW. I drove it about 1,000 miles to get it home, and it got progressively worse - from just slow and unresponsive, to bucking and barely idling.
Symptoms:
- Idle is low. 500 RPM.
- Just cracking the throttle is worse - stumbles and wants to die.
- No torque under 2K RPM.
- 2K-3K, pulls smoothly, but very very slowly, at any throttle, including WOT.
- Above 3K, to about 5K, it sputters at part throttle, very slow at WOT.
- backpops (burbles) on lift throttle (actually sounds awesome, but it's bad)
Details of what's been tested/observations:
- For sure a 2.5 head. Likely a 2.5 block too.
- TPS tests fine
- FPR seems good - tested pressure at the rail and it looks great
- Cap and rotor were swapped for known good - no change
- C191 looks great
- Plugs ended up being fouled. New plugs have been swapped in (bosch copper supers)
- Pulling each plug wire makes the idle worse - seems each plug is firing
- Grounds look good (hood, strut tower, oil pan)
- Oil is nice and clean - seems like no blow-by, very little consumption in 1K miles
- No fuel smell in FPR vacuum line
- AFM has been swapped with known good - no change
- Coil swapped with known good - no change
- Swapped 153 ECU with known good 173 - no change
- Disconnected O2 sensor - no change
- CPS replaced
- CTS replaced
- Toothed wheel torqued to spec and not separated.
- Timing belt marks are spot on
- Valves adjusted to spec - smoother and better top end, no change on part throttle bucking
I feel like the timing could be way off. Could be a fueling issue, but the car never pings, under any load, and burbles on lift, so maybe too rich?
Since all the plugs look the same, I don't think any single injector is leaking.
I'm stumped. I plan on just plowing forward with a timing belt change (don't know when it was last done) and a valve adjust, just to know those aren't the problem... But what could this be?
Hoping it's something someone else has experienced and fixed.
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