Car just died

[ibatic1]

Drove to work today. Car cranked up first try and ran great for my 30 min drive. I parked and was sitting in the car for a few moments before going into the office. The car just randomly stalled. When I tried to crank it back up only the starter spins. Doesn't even try to crank. I am at work 30 min from home and need help. Thanks R3V.

[ibatic1]

Got a starter inbound to my location. Hoping that gets it to crank. Just kinda leaves a grey area as to why the car stalled. I did just now put in a timing chain tensioner and had to fix up a idle screw on the throttle body. I did that on monday 2 days ago. The car has been running great. It was dying at idle until I put the idle screw in.

[ibatic1]

Could really use some guidance. I replaced the starter in the back of my job and still has the same effect. Starter just spins and motor does not crank.

[ibatic1]

Oriellys told me that the old starter was fine.

[e30davie]

"Starter just spins and motor does not crank"

Assuming a correct description of the issue only way this can happen is if the solenoid on the starter is not engaging and pushing the stater gear into the flywheel gear.

Either the solenoid has not been wired in correctly or the wiring is damaged (usually its an extra wire or two on the solenoid). Or the solenoid itself is stuffed.

[Todd Black 88]

Pop the oil cap and see if the cam turns when cranking.

[ibatic1]

There were 3 wires on my old and new starter and the 3 wires have connectors corresponding to the size of the bolt they go on.

[ibatic1]

Should the cam turn or not.

[Todd Black 88]

If the big radiator fan turns, the cam should turn.

[jaredmac11]

Oriellys told me that the old starter was fine.

If you cant return the starter, the good news is you can have that original bosch starter rebuilt for around $100 and save it for the next time the starter goes... in 5-7 years. OEM bosch will last 10+

[e30sh]

When he bench tested the starter, did the spur gear extend? If it did, sounds like a car wiring issue. Get out your DVOM and start probing. Swap out the unloader relay as well.

It's also possible the flywheel lost a tooth. Rotate the engine by the front crank bolt to give the starter a new spot on the flywheel to engage.

[jaredmac11]

can a bad chain tensioner cause the chain to skip a tooth? When I was building my m42, everything was really tight, and only slightly loose when the chain tensioner was off. But with a turning crank, it may be plausible.

Im starting to wonder if the tensioner grenaded and caused the chain to jump and throw the timing off.

[ibatic1]

The old starter worked fine on the bench test. Gonna pull the vc today and check for bent valves due to timing jump. Lets hope it is electrical. Couldn't really check for that last night in the parking lot during a downpour. Ill keep this thread updated with the directions i take the repair and what solves it.

[IRON-E]

Is it early or late model?

[ibatic1]

1992 318ic