Sweaty, bloody, dirty.... and still no idle.

[MIKe30]

Same problem. Runs great cold, no load. Warms up, stalls under load.

Whoa buddy, we've got the same problem - so answers work for both of us. I know it's frustrating to try and troubleshoot, but it's not like I'm threadjacking talking about euro ellips or something. I posted over here because maybe some of the things I did/thought of would help you.

My problem was the fuel pump sucked up too much crap on the bottom of the tank and burned out - replaced pump, all good. Hope it helps...sorry for butting in :(

No, we don't have the same problem. My car isn't running under load warm or cold. Can't even keep an idle, warm or cold. Not the same problem.

I do, however, hope that the solution may be the same - as I'm about to try the fuel pump (even though it's only a year old).

Since i've last posted in here, I've replaced the intake manifold gasket - no change. And i've verified that my vacuum lines are correct.


And I'm sorry, didn't mean to be nasty, or come off nasty - but yes, it is very frustrating not getting the car running properly. Especially after I just used the motor to drive myself to where I did the swap without any issues on the way. Frustrating is an understatement.

[haso]

i had the same exact problem with my car. When the car was cold it would start up perfectly but when it warmed up and i turned it off, it would not turn on again. I changed basically the entire starting system until my dads friend whos a chrysler mechanic finally found out whats wrong with it. It was two bad crankshaft positioning sensors located on the left side of the bellhousing. The two sensors cost me $300

[E30SPDFRK]

Did you move the tps at all during the swap?

[MIKe30]

i had the same exact problem with my car. When the car was cold it would start up perfectly but when it warmed up and i turned it off, it would not turn on again. I changed basically the entire starting system until my dads friend whos a chrysler mechanic finally found out whats wrong with it. It was two bad crankshaft positioning sensors located on the left side of the bellhousing. The two sensors cost me $300

I'm beginning to believe those are the culprit, as it the motor is missing and having a very lopey idle when it does idle.

Did you move the tps at all during the swap?

Nope. Literally took the entire motor, almost untouched, out and dropped back in. Entire wiring harness connected to motor, just unplugged from ecu and grounds. Only things to come off motor for removal was intake boot/afm, and power steering pump. Everything else stayed on, oil cooler, metal ac lines, everything.

I replaced the tps last night. no real difference. It does seem to run a little better without the tps plugged in, but that just may be coincidence because it pretty much ran the same after I replaced it.

I'm probably going to pull the crank position sensor off my parts car.

Thanks for the heads up haso.

[eyagel]

check to make sure the coolant temp sensors arent plugged in backwards.

[VacMan]

Any change at all when you take the oil cap off, IE cause a vacuum leak? If not I'd suspect something vacuum related. Otherwise from what I've read I'd say CPS, temp sensor or fuel delivery. Did you check the pressure yet?

[MIKe30]

Any change at all when you take the oil cap off, IE cause a vacuum leak? If not I'd suspect something vacuum related. Otherwise from what I've read I'd say CPS, temp sensor or fuel delivery. Did you check the pressure yet?

There was definately a vacuum leak. These were my last two posts on e30tech. The second I just wrote up now.

update on what i've been up to..

disassembled everything to check the timing, it was fine. re-torqued down the intake mani, re-assembled everything. re-gapped the plugs. Found one of the ingnition wires was off (1 or 6, whichever is nearest firewall). I must have forgotten to pop it on after replacing the plugs a few days ago - which resulted in the misfiring. Sounds like a real stupid mistake (and it was), but to my defense it was so hard to see against that firewall that 5 different people that took a quick look at the engine didn't notice it.


Anyway, misfiring is now gone. Can't hold a steady idle still. Can't hold one at all with tps plugged in. When I drive, severe bucking. If i step on the throttle minimally, car will accelerate minimally. If I step on it 1/3 or halfway, car drops all power - begins to want to stall it seems until I slightly let off throttle. Then continues accelerating again.

Severe bucking is almost completely eliminated with tps unplugged, but throttle issue remains.

I've already swapped it out with a tps from my parts car - but I'm thinking I may have adjusted the tolerances a little too close. I didn't let the car warm up and set idle at 950 like books says to either - so I'm going to redo it.

Also sounds like I have a vacuum leak from either the hose connecting icv to tb, or the hose connecting valve cover and tb. Will try to confirm tomorrow since it's so damn late.

Feel like I'm getting closer. And I feel like I just wrote in my diary at night before bed.
-mike

update!


Last night I taped up what sounded to be where the vacuum leaks were coming from. Also raised the idle ever so slightly. Was still acting a little off.

Took it for a drive to get some gas. From stopping on the way there a few times and while at the station, finally bled the damn m42 radiator. With it completely bled I had heat in the cabin, no overheating issues with the motor from air bubbles, and it was smooth sailing all the way home.

Fast foward to today, I just started it up and took it around the block. No issues. I wanted to make sure it ran well cold too before reporting victory! So happy.

Ordering the hoses online now (ICV to throttle body & valve cover breather hose).

Final conclusion... I believe the HUGE air bubble in the system wacked out my coolant temp readings, making it run rich. In combination with the vacuum leaks, it was hell on wheels - and not the good kind.

Hopefully this thread helps others in the future. Make sure your cooling system is COMPLETELY bled properly. Make sure when you do simple jobs, you don't overlook the small stuff (forgotten ignition wire to spark plug at firewall), and lastly take care of your damn vacuum leaks.

that is all. Thank you everybody for the help :D