please help, 325i problems

[240zac]

i am new to e30's and recently picked up a 91 325i for a daily driver from a friend that needs some work.

i went to work on the car some and it was giving me issues while running/
problem #1: crank, no start. after letting off the key it seemed like it wanted to kick but after a while of checking random things the car started just fine. (im thinking bad gas that needed to be cycled through because the car had been sitting for ~2 years)

#2 once running it has a lopey idle (would vary from about 550-950 rpm)

#3 while free revving it seems to be breaking up and/or stuttering sometimes not wanting to rev above ~3k to ~4k


I grabbed the codes from the ecu on the dash and it gave me code 1222: lambda control #1

while trying to figure out what is going on i unplugged the coolant temp sensors (wasn't sure which one went to the ecu so i just unplugged both). the car still had a lopey idle but would then rev cleanly through the rpms however now when i let off the gas the car would die. if i restart the car it would still have the lopey idle until i rev it 9after revving it would die on idle.

i hope someone has had similar problems or knows whats going on.

i plan on replacing the spark plugs (they look pretty nasty) and doing the timing belt soon. the spark plugs might be part of the problem but I definitely don't think that they are completely the problem. i checked the coolant and it seem pretty nasty (rust colored and quite opaque, the coolant has been bled however) so i plan on drianing that out and filling the system with clean coolant.

thanks a bunch for any input!

[vpilarrt]

How much bad gas was in it? Could there still be some? I would drain it and add fress gas. Replace the fuel filter. IIRC the 1222 code indicates a bad O2 sensor. Do a search on this.

[jlevie]

The 1222 code probably means an A/F upset. The most likely cause of that, and the first thing to check for, is intake leaks. Intake leaks would be a good match for what the car is doing. Have a smoke test run.

[240zac]

im not sure how much gas was left in it when i got the car (it wasnt much at all) but i put $10 ( ended up being about 1/4 tank) of fresh gas in on the way to my house when i got it towed.
next time im out working on it i will check for intake leaks