Just purchased 1988 325is--problems?? HELP

[Spieler209]

Hello,

I am new to the whole E30 thing. I just picked up a 5 speed 325is with 160k on it. Its got the M3 momo steering wheel, shifter and pedals, suspension upgrades etc. The car is in decent shape except for the engine. When we picked it up from a friend he had stated it was missfiring. So we fired it up and during idle pulled each plug one at a time --there was no change in idle. The car idles horrible bad and knocks and has a hissing sound at idle. When you get the car up to speed and run it through its gears it goes..It does feel slower than i remember it being. It has an intake, dinan exhaust and a chip as well. It feels like a major loss in power and the idle? Could that be the valves too tight or a vaccum leak? Any thoughts would be gladly appreciated as I am about to have either the whole engine rebuilt from the bottom up or of fixable a major recondition. Another question is, is it worth it to even do a major overhaul at this mileage instead of a full rebuild? I have heard these cars are built like tanks and can run forever? I will post some pics up shortly..

Thanks,

David

[Spieler209]

Anyone??

[StereoInstaller1]

Hey man...an hour is not enough time to get a response on such a boring topic as "my car runs like shit, HELP!".

Post shit about tits, VW's, plane crashes, that kind of shit...then R3V responds in a hurry.

So, about that "car running like shit" thing...

What diagnosis besides pulling the wires have you done? What have you looked at?

Oh yeah, welcome to R3V.

Luke

[IRON-E]

Hello,

I am new to the whole E30 thing. I just picked up a 5 speed 325is with 160k on it. Its got the M3 momo steering wheel, shifter and pedals, suspension upgrades etc. The car is in decent shape except for the engine. When we picked it up from a friend he had stated it was missfiring. So we fired it up and during idle pulled each plug one at a time --there was no change in idle. The car idles horrible bad and knocks and has a hissing sound at idle. When you get the car up to speed and run it through its gears it goes..It does feel slower than i remember it being. It has an intake, dinan exhaust and a chip as well. It feels like a major loss in power and the idle? Could that be the valves too tight or a vaccum leak? Any thoughts would be gladly appreciated as I am about to have either the whole engine rebuilt from the bottom up or of fixable a major recondition. Another question is, is it worth it to even do a major overhaul at this mileage instead of a full rebuild? I have heard these cars are built like tanks and can run forever? I will post some pics up shortly..

Thanks,

David

1. Clean your ICV
2. You maybe right on a vaccum leak
3. Are you serious? @ 160k
4. She's just barely getting broken in but it's up to you what you do with her.

Good luck, with your newly acquired addiction,

Welcome to r3v........;)

[PУCCKAЯ_e30ka]

do a full tune-up

[Spieler209]

Yeah--sorry about the quick questions. Im just i got the car... Its going to get all the belts /hoses and fluids etc changed..My neighbor was a bmw mechanic for 20 years so hes gonna do all the work for --he just doesnt know it yet. I did some more investigating it came with 6 way adjustable tokicos, eibach springs and I beleive eichbach sways as well. I am going to do the z3 short shifter first cause the ol school throw is like drivin a big rig. car handles like its on rails. I should have some pics up soon.. Friends are allready hitting me up to sell but im keeping this thing 4ever... HOOKED! Thanks again
d

[E30Hooligan]

With all performance mods.... suspension, chip, intake, it sounds like your e30's previous owner loved to use and abuse that machine....yikes.

You give to little information and have done relatively nothing to diagnose.

But in general do the following:

1. Look at your idle when your car is warm, it should be mid 700's, if it's idling to high your engine probably has a vacuum leak, very common for a 20 year old car. The logic behind this is your engine is taking in excess air from the leak and therefore spits more fuel at it.....it does this by going faster....more RPM's.... high IDLE.
.............So check EVERYWHERE, ALL your vacuum hoses, listen around your intake Mani for leaks, use a stethoscope if you have one, if not, putting a wooden dowel to your ear works pretty good too. Check your Air Filter and remove the air filter housing COMPLETELY and check it for cracks. Check your oil dipstick tube's o-ring, and your oil filler cap.

2. Change your oil if you haven't already done so and make sure the oil filter gasket is lubed and it sealed to the block well.

3. Change your Distribuator Cap and Rotor....these are fairly cheap and is easy to R&R.
When you get more money change your ingnition wires....... about $130 - NO EBAY

4. You checked your spark plugs right.... good condition.... proper gap??

5. Might aswell adjust your valves...as it doesn't cost any money.

6. Buy a bently manual if you havne't already.....this is the noob bible for DIY'ers

7. Change your fuel filter, it's prolly been awhile.

8. Remove your Throttle body and clean it really well with brake parts cleaner, and lube up the bears with a LIGHT coat of grease.

9. Remove your ICV, and clean it with brake parts cleaner, NO WD-40, (WD-40 leaves residue....not good). spray parts cleaner into it and shake it up and pour it out, repeat untill fluiding is clean.

10. If your up for a little more work you can remove your fuel injectors and clean them out really good with.....you guest it, brake parts cleaner.

11. Might aswell change all your fluids. Engine/Tranny/Diff Oil, Power steering drain and refil, coolant flush, and Bleed your brakes, probably been a LONG LONG LONG time.

12. Change your timing belt while your at it and replace your tensioner too... Don't cheap out now. (Z27)

13. Now Replace Every rubbing bushing on your car.......hahahha yeah right. No seriouly this should probably be done, but it easier said than done...for most people this is a long process that takes years to complete, better start now.

14. You checked your battery right, it's in the trunk. 12.6 volts ish with the engine running.....BUY a nice multi-meter you cheap jew.

63 Hours later your car should be running pretty good, untill the next thing.......

................and there's always a next thing




Did I forget something important guys?

[twothrees]

With all performance mods.... suspension, chip, intake, it sounds like your e30's previous owner loved to use and abuse that machine....yikes.

You give to little information and have done relatively nothing to diagnose.

But in general do the following:

1. Look at your idle when your car is warm, it should be mid 700's, if it's idling to high your engine probably has a vacuum leak, very common for a 20 year old car. The logic behind this is your engine is taking in excess air from the leak and therefore spits more fuel at it.....it does this by going faster....more RPM's.... high IDLE.
.............So check EVERYWHERE, ALL your vacuum hoses, listen around your intake Mani for leaks, use a stethoscope if you have one, if not, putting a wooden dowel to your ear works pretty good too. Check your Air Filter and remove the air filter housing COMPLETELY and check it for cracks. Check your oil dipstick tube's o-ring, and your oil filler cap.

2. Change your oil if you haven't already done so and make sure the oil filter gasket is lubed and it sealed to the block well.

3. Change your Distribuator Cap and Rotor....these are fairly cheap and is easy to R&R.
When you get more money change your ingnition wires....... about $130 - NO EBAY

4. You checked your spark plugs right.... good condition.... proper gap??

5. Might aswell adjust your valves...as it doesn't cost any money.

6. Buy a bently manual if you havne't already.....this is the noob bible for DIY'ers

7. Change your fuel filter, it's prolly been awhile.

8. Remove your Throttle body and clean it really well with brake parts cleaner, and lube up the bears with a LIGHT coat of grease.

9. Remove your ICV, and clean it with brake parts cleaner, NO WD-40, (WD-40 leaves residue....not good). spray parts cleaner into it and shake it up and pour it out, repeat untill fluiding is clean.

10. If your up for a little more work you can remove your fuel injectors and clean them out really good with.....you guest it, brake parts cleaner.

11. Might aswell change all your fluids. Engine/Tranny/Diff Oil, Power steering drain and refil, coolant flush, and Bleed your brakes, probably been a LONG LONG LONG time.

12. Change your timing belt while your at it and replace your tensioner too... Don't cheap out now. (Z27)

13. Now Replace Every rubbing bushing on your car.......hahahha yeah right. No seriouly this should probably be done, but it easier said than done...for most people this is a long process that takes years to complete, better start now.

14. You checked your battery right, it's in the trunk. 12.6 volts ish with the engine running.....BUY a nice multi-meter you cheap jew.

63 Hours later your car should be running pretty good, untill the next thing.......

................and there's always a next thing




Did I forget something important guys?

You nailed just about everything! Check the injection harness connector too, it tends to corrode inside that boot. OP mentioned a chip? Whose chip, cheap ebay chip? If the OP gets through that whole list, he may want to try a 173 ecu to make sure its not the unknown chip causing the idling problems.

[SpecM]

Did I forget something important guys?

1- if the car has a vacuum leak it will not "spit more fuel at it", it will run lean, and idle with a higher mass of intake, thus the higher idle. Air filter housing cracks will NOT cause a vacuum leak, and the easiest way to check for leaks is with some carb cleaner.

8- you don't need to remove the TB for that!

14- battery voltage should be 13.5-14.5 with the engine running, 12.6 with the engine OFF

[ansonivan]

...the easiest way to check for leaks is with some carb cleaner...

Unless you're lucky enough to have access to a pressurized smoke machine, those things make vacuum leaks insanely easy to locate.

http://www.thesmokemachine.com/Full-Feature%20EVAP-Approved%20Model%206525.html

[StereoInstaller1]

Is the CHECK ENGINE light on?

[SpecM]

Unless you're lucky enough to have access to a pressurized smoke machine, those things make vacuum leaks insanely easy to locate.

http://www.thesmokemachine.com/Full-...el%206525.html

oh heck yea, my school has one of those!

nice "Hitchhiker's" avitar, btw

[E30Hooligan]

1- if the car has a vacuum leak it will not "spit more fuel at it", it will run lean, and idle with a higher mass of intake, thus the higher idle. Air filter housing cracks will NOT cause a vacuum leak, and the easiest way to check for leaks is with some carb cleaner.

8- you don't need to remove the TB for that!

14- battery voltage should be 13.5-14.5 with the engine running, 12.6 with the engine OFF

U dont need to remove the TB to grase up the bearings????.....u sure now??

yeah sorry 12.6 with engine off, mistake...they do happen

and you should just check the air box anyway, that's what I was saying ....Until uber Nazi school teacher re-read my post 14 times trying to find mistakes.

[Spieler209]

check engine light on and brake lining light.. I know the guy used it as his dail driver. The previous owner to him was a Mercedes Benz seasoned mechanic.. But for the pas 3 years his buddies had the car.. Pretty much a dip shit.. The chip ?? Hmm dont know what kind.. Was bought from the bay area some where for like $300 BUCKS or something. I will pop some pics up shortly.

I appreciate all your input.. this fucker will be squared and fully dialed in soon. Im gonna put about $3k into the motor--to make it fresh,,,

[Rolla1990]

Im gonna put about $3k into the motor--to make it fresh,,,

You shouldn't have to "freshen" the motor until about 300K miles...

I would try to focus on the things already discussed in this thread, and track down your problem. An engine rebuild won't fix a shitty MAF sensor or vacuum leak from your intake boot.