M42 from E36 into E30

[Gloff]

Quick update at 175 miles on the mild rebuild/top end replacement. Coolant level has steadied, and looks like it's not consuming anything. The oil leak is consistent, and only appears to be coming from the profile gasket joints on the passenger side. I may have inadvertently re-used the timing cover profile gasket that was compressed once already, so I'm going to run it for about 500 miles to confirm the coolant level is staying constant then replace that gasket again with some dreibond 1209 as recommended by BMW.

[Gloff]

Yeah, I too have leaky front covers despite recently replacing the upper cover gaskets & profile gasket when doing the thermostat. My leak, however, seems to come from about 1" below the joint where the timing cover/head/valve cover all come together (that joint was sealed with a little grey RTV). I am not sure how or why it is leaking, so maybe the paper gasket got pinched or something. It leaves drips in my driveway, so I am going to have to go back in there again.

FWIW I used DreiBond 1209 on the thermostat housing, and it's dry as a bone. I think I'm going to try that on the joint.

[bmwman91]

Yeah, I too have leaky front covers despite recently replacing the upper cover gaskets & profile gasket when doing the thermostat. My leak, however, seems to come from about 1" below the joint where the timing cover/head/valve cover all come together (that joint was sealed with a little grey RTV). I am not sure how or why it is leaking, so maybe the paper gasket got pinched or something. It leaves drips in my driveway, so I am going to have to go back in there again.

[Gloff]

Lifters quieted down, runs great now, the 2-3k rpm hesitation I used to have is now gone as well. Front covers do leak though, which is a bummer. the seal between the two halves of the rubber seal between the two front covers looks to be the culprit. I did use some hylomar blue on the two ends, but alas, she still leaks.

[Gloff]

Good times. If the coil connector is not fully seated with the lock bracket all the way down, then it could very well have not been making contact. Granted, it should run on 3 cylinders, so it seems like it that was not the full cause. Unplugging the battery would reset all the stored adaptations in the ECU, which should have already been clear if the battery was unplugged before. Double check that the main 88 pin connector on the ECU is fully seated...it is easy to get it cocked such that the clasp is closed, but the left side is not properly engaged in the interlock and half of the pins are making partial or no contact. Also check that the main relay and others are fully seated.

Ticky lifters usually go away after a dozen seconds or so. Maybe post a video. Were the lifters and stuff cleaned when the head got disassembled for machining? They might just be a little gunked up if they were not cleaned, and you could try running additives like LiquiMoly lifter cleaner or Rislone for the next thousand miles or so.

Lastly, as far as oil goes (and particularly since you live in a nice warm climate), Mobil1 15W-50 full synthetic is the best option for these engines. It has some of the highest ZDDP content of any commercial street-car oil, which is crucial for our flat-tappet type lifters. Typically when you use Rislone or other mild detergent additives, you want to dump the oil after 1-2K miles since it loses a little lubricity from the additive. It's a little unfortunate since the synthetic oil is not super cheap, but it's worthwhile to clean out an old gunky engine.

The lifters were not cleaned when disassembled, but they probably drained a little when pulled, so I'll run it for a while and go from there. Last time I did the head gasket, I remember being concerned that the tick didn't go away quickly, and shut it down, next run, they quieted down almost immediately

I've run amsoil for a while now 20W-50. Right now. Using O'Reilly brand 20w-50 and will be changing it after about 100 miles

[bmwman91]

Good times. If the coil connector is not fully seated with the lock bracket all the way down, then it could very well have not been making contact. Granted, it should run on 3 cylinders, so it seems like it that was not the full cause. Unplugging the battery would reset all the stored adaptations in the ECU, which should have already been clear if the battery was unplugged before. Double check that the main 88 pin connector on the ECU is fully seated...it is easy to get it cocked such that the clasp is closed, but the left side is not properly engaged in the interlock and half of the pins are making partial or no contact. Also check that the main relay and others are fully seated.

Ticky lifters usually go away after a dozen seconds or so. Maybe post a video. Were the lifters and stuff cleaned when the head got disassembled for machining? They might just be a little gunked up if they were not cleaned, and you could try running additives like LiquiMoly lifter cleaner or Rislone for the next thousand miles or so.

Lastly, as far as oil goes (and particularly since you live in a nice warm climate), Mobil1 15W-50 full synthetic is the best option for these engines. It has some of the highest ZDDP content of any commercial street-car oil, which is crucial for our flat-tappet type lifters. Typically when you use Rislone or other mild detergent additives, you want to dump the oil after 1-2K miles since it loses a little lubricity from the additive. It's a little unfortunate since the synthetic oil is not super cheap, but it's worthwhile to clean out an old gunky engine.

[Gloff]

She's alive! disconnected the battery terminals overnight, one of the coil connectors was a little loose, so that may have been the culprit. Lifters are clacking away, but could just be some normal run in, I remember them being loud on first drive when I did the original head gasket.

[Gloff]

OK, so you are fairly sure that you are getting fuel delivery?

You plugged the crank sensor into the bottom receptacle on the wiring box under the intake?

I know for a fact I'm not getting spark, but I'm not sure on fuel either, the plug in cyl 1 wasn't wet, but did smell like fuel.

Crank sensor is plugged in to the bottom receptacle

Edit: Fuel fuse #11 was put back and is not blown

[bmwman91]

OK, so you are fairly sure that you are getting fuel delivery?

You plugged the crank sensor into the bottom receptacle on the wiring box under the intake?

[Gloff]

Oil pressure came up after about five 5 second cranks with the plugs out. Hooked everything up, and getting a no-start right now. How do I check to make sure I have fuel pressure? It's not even trying, so I'm not sure if it's just not getting fuel.

Edit: No spark, pulled one of the plugs and cranked it while grounding the plug, no joy. Not sure where to start. Crank Position sensor?
Edit Edit: swapped the Crank Sensor with the one from the old motor, still no joy. Stomp test shows 1444(no codes). kinda lost now.
Edit Edit Edit: CPS checks out for resistance. Could it be cranking it with the plug wires disconnected from the coils? Ran fine before the whole engine out thing.

[Gloff]

You can either just unplug the injector harness, or pull fuse #11 which disables the fuel pump. The only way to disable the coils is to unplug them, as toaster mentioned. This may cause an error code to be stored in the ECU, but it will probably clear up or you can just disconnect/reconnect it to clear it out.

In the filter housing, the center bore is the clean oil outlet, and the outer ring is where the "dirty" oil from the pump comes up. Now that I look back at photos, I am not sure if you can actually back-prime the pump at all since there is a check valve on the inlet from the pump. Dumping oil into the outfeed side of an air-filled pump (without it being able to get back into the pump) seems like it might actually make priming more difficult. An air-filled pump will have an easier time pushing out a bunch of air from the engine's passages than it will pushing a bunch of cold oil out.

If you put some oil into the pump before reassembly, I would just try cranking it without pouring anything into the filter housing or any of that. As I mentioned, I have never had an issue after a timing case rebuild.

See photos here for some reference:
https://www.r3vlimited.com/board/sho...d.php?t=407088

I saw that thread, and I thought that as well. Last night I took apart the old oil pump, and its a straight shot from the pickup to the pump, so when you drain the oil, it should drain out of the pickup tube and leave the pump sorta dry anyway. I'm just gonna fill the sump with oil the normal way and crank without the fuse 11.

Thanks guys!

[bmwman91]

You can either just unplug the injector harness, or pull fuse #11 which disables the fuel pump. The only way to disable the coils is to unplug them, as toaster mentioned. This may cause an error code to be stored in the ECU, but it will probably clear up or you can just disconnect/reconnect it to clear it out.

In the filter housing, the center bore is the clean oil outlet, and the outer ring is where the "dirty" oil from the pump comes up. Now that I look back at photos, I am not sure if you can actually back-prime the pump at all since there is a check valve on the inlet from the pump. Dumping oil into the outfeed side of an air-filled pump (without it being able to get back into the pump) seems like it might actually make priming more difficult. An air-filled pump will have an easier time pushing out a bunch of air from the engine's passages than it will pushing a bunch of cold oil out.

If you put some oil into the pump before reassembly, I would just try cranking it without pouring anything into the filter housing or any of that. As I mentioned, I have never had an issue after a timing case rebuild.

See photos here for some reference:

https://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=407088

[roguetoaster]

Some people have had success doing the entite first start fill via the oil filter housing, although I believe they used both orifices and then added the filter/more oil to cover the filter.

Pull the leads at the coils. The light should go out if all is well.

[Gloff]

Did you pack the oil pump rotors with grease? That probably almost guarantees it will prime the first time you run it. Otherwise, yeah you can try pouring oil into the filter housing to back-prime it. Out of the 2 times I swapped timing cases and one brand new engine, I never bothered with the back-prime, and it primed up within a couple of seconds. Considering the grief other members have had in this area, I'd do the back-prime just to be safe, though.

I did not, but I did oil it up when I put it back together. As far as back priming, I don't know how it all works with the passages, do I just pour oil down the center bolt hole, or in the housing itself around the hole?

Filter in after loading it up? I plan to crank it without the plugs in, I've read the oil pressure light will go out while cranking, is that right? Also, any relay to pull for the spark or just leave the leads loose?

[bmwman91]

Did you pack the oil pump rotors with grease? That probably almost guarantees it will prime the first time you run it. Otherwise, yeah you can try pouring oil into the filter housing to back-prime it. Out of the 2 times I swapped timing cases and one brand new engine, I never bothered with the back-prime, and it primed up within a couple of seconds. Considering the grief other members have had in this area, I'd do the back-prime just to be safe, though.