Running rich; Running out of ideas

[Bimmerboy91]

ok so today i didnt run the car but i did turn it on and its acting worse then ever. but i tried to do some work to it. here is a pic of the spark plugs, sorry i couldnt get closer because then the focus would suck:


i cleaned them and put them back in and here is a clip of the car running at its worse. sorry about the quality but the focus was all wacked out. when i show the end of the car im trying to show the smoke coming out, i also noticed that there is water and carbon coming out the exhaust. please ignore what i was doing close to the end:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUojjgL6A9M

and well i took out the spark plugs after letting the idle for a little bit. and the came out all looking a little like how they did when i took them out for the first time since i did the tune up about a month ago, again im not sure if you can see anything but here you go:



the spark plugs are champion brand, and when i tighten them down the dont tighten. they just keep turning and turning. so i just leave them hand tight and try to tighten them down. i wonder why....... i think i might go get some bosch spark plugs and put them in there.

help me out guys....

[Bimmerboy91]

bump

[Bimmerboy91]

ok so here is a list of all the things that i have done:

1. ive ran the car with the o2 sensor off; no change
2. i just changed out the fuel pressure regulator with one from the PnP; no change
3. adjusted the AFM spring both ways; no change
4. cleaned out the cold start valve; no change
5. cleaned the ICV; no change
6. there are new distributor rotor and cap on there
7. new fuel filter
8. cleaned the injectors and put on new o-rings on the injectors; no change
9. valve adjustment
10. new water temp sensor for the computer


damn im really getting tired of this car

[redhatpat]

You should still test the fuel pressure. Grassroots Motorsports had a problem with their Spec e30 project car and it turned out the fuel return line was plugged and fuel pressure was spiking at something like 70 lbs even with a good FPR. Info here.

Also, when you had the injectors out, did you clean them thoroughly, soaking them in injector cleaner? Or just change the o-rings?

[Bimmerboy91]

well i cleaned the cud and stuff off until i could see the little sprayer on the tip.

im thinking that i will check the fuel pressure tomorrow if i can.

im going to look at the timing. see if its still good with at timing light.

[AndrewBird]

Uh... If running with the O2 sensor discounted didn't change anything, then that is your problem. If the O2 sensor was working correctly, the engine would run even richer when it was disconnected. No change means it is faulty.

Also, spark plugs than won't tighten is bad. Sounds like the head is stripped out (how did you manage to strip ALL the holes?) and will need to be repaired. Loose spark plugs will cause all kinds of problems.

Vacuum leaks cause the engine to run leaner, not richer by the way (more air = leaner).

[Bimmerboy91]

Uh... If running with the O2 sensor discounted didn't change anything, then that is your problem. If the O2 sensor was working correctly, the engine would run even richer when it was disconnected. No change means it is faulty.

Also, spark plugs than won't tighten is bad. Sounds like the head is stripped out (how did you manage to strip ALL the holes?) and will need to be repaired. Loose spark plugs will cause all kinds of problems.

Vacuum leaks cause the engine to run leaner, not richer by the way (more air = leaner).

that does sound like a break through right here. the o2 sensor. but sometimes the car runs great and others the car just runs like shit or should i say, most of the time now. anyway, after all this im not sure if im going to keep this car anymore......

i didnt strip out the holes. some previous owner was really pissed off the day he changed the spark plugs or something because, i mean, all six are stripped.

no wonder when i disconnected the ICV the car would run a little bit better.

[scm320]

OKay well i dont know if this will help but i had some of the same simptoms and i changed everything but the three main things that really really helped were the dme, the fuel relay, and my crank position sensor. And it was in that order. It finallly stopped being gay after i changed that sensor, my mpg was terrible now im getter better gas mileage then when i first got the car. So i hope that helps in some way

[mops]

hmm...

for me the only reasonable explanation is too much fuel pressure, from whatever reason... faulty FPR or blocked return line....

[CarsSuck]

Loose spark plugs will cause all kinds of problems.

Take your car to a shop.

[charlieboypr]

Bimmerboy91 what did you do with the car my e30 is doing the same thing and i was watching your theard seen if you fix it so what did you do with your e30?

[pig4bill]

on top of them afm, there's a black cover. it's glued inplace (not intended to be sercvicable). you need to pry it out gently and you will see a psring there. note the current position. with a pen or something, so you can go back. you will see how the spring is mounted, so if you tighten it then it will get leaner and if you loosed it it will get richer.

Looking down at it from above, do you remember if should go clockwise or counter-clockwise to make it leaner? I think mine has gotten too rich.

BTW, for Bimmerboy, cleaning the ICV or AFM with brake or carb cleaner can damage it. There is a special AFM cleaner made for that purpose.

[buzdof]

Uh... If running with the O2 sensor discounted didn't change anything, then that is your problem. If the O2 sensor was working correctly, the engine would run even richer when it was disconnected. No change means it is faulty.

If I unplugged my o2 sensor and it made my car run better, what would that mean? My ongoing problem is the car won't rev higher than 2500 while cold and while in gear but if the clutch is pressed in the car revs to the limiter (325e). Once up to operating temp, the car runs just fine (but maybe a little on the rich side).

[E30Eric]

Did you test the temp sensor? My car ran rich for a while. Turned out at the plug for the injector harness and temp sensor was corroded. Computer was reading the temp to be negative 40 degrees and throwing tons of fuel. Use a multi meter and test per the Bentley.

[88E30M50]

well i cleaned the cud and stuff off until i could see the little sprayer on the tip.

im thinking that i will check the fuel pressure tomorrow if i can.

im going to look at the timing. see if its still good with at timing light.

Any luck with checking the fuel pressure? As mentioned above, it does sound awfully close to what the guys at GRM were having trouble with.

Tim